Emperor of Steel

The official residence of the Volga Republic.

It was late at night, and three people were seated there.

President Vladimir Rekov, Duke Dimitry—the greatest of the Republic’s guardian—and Marquis Tyron, the Meister of Republic Magic Tower.

“The reason why we are gathered here today at such late hours of the night isn’t anything different. It is to cover up the secret.”

“Is it because of the Dark Moon Magic Tower?”

When asked by Marquis Tyron, the president looked at him with surprise.

“Right, how did you know?”

“Well, the thing is, I received a letter from Sylvia.”

It was the same for Duke Dimitry, who was in charge of the military.

President Vladimir smiled bitterly since he knew what it was about.

“Well, if everyone knows, there is no need for me to explain it. The negligence and the deception of the Dark Moon Magic Tower.”

For a while, they all knew that the reason why the Hero class was underdeveloped by the Dark Moon was because of the attack, which happened on it that resulted in them moving over their tower to another place.

This was why they were waiting for them to contact. However, a few days back, they received surprising news.

Sylvia, the second in charge of the Intelligence service, reported that the Dark Moon Magic Tower betrayed the Republic and was cooperating with Rakan’s descendant, Luke.

Naturally, the President and the other 2 leaders didn’t believe Sylvia.

The Dark Moon was one of the three pillars that made the dreams of revolutions and republic government possible in the Volga.

That being said, the Rakan descendant, who would be the first to kill the tower, have joined hands with the Dark Moon?

“And I wanted to be sure of it, so after spying on the Dark Moon, I am able to confirm that Sylvia said the truth.”

Unlike the two members, who decided to ignore her report, Vladimir sent a spy.

It was because he was doubtful that the place where the Dark Moon Magic Tower was located was at the Jason Manor, an estate that belonged to Marquis Luke, the one that was given by Emperor Rudolf.

In the beginning, the President tried to think of it as a secret place where the magic tower could lay low and be away from trouble.

However, the report from the spy shattered the faith and hope he had on the Dark Moon.

“From the Dark Moon, it was confirmed that a Gigant had been produced and sent to the Rakan estates. Not just that, but one of the Gigant handed down to them was the new Hero class Gigant, Orion.”

“T-that can’t be!”

It was the product the Volga had asked for development. Such an item was made yet delivered to the hands of the wrong forces!

The two leaders, who heard the story from their President, were shocked.

“Kuek! Those Dark Moon bastards, they betrayed us!”

“Duke Dimitry, don’t be hasty. Couldn’t they have been threatened over something which they couldn’t refute back?”

“Threatened? Does it make any sense to bow your head over to the opponent whom you have hated for so long?”

“However, there could have been circumstances we aren’t aware of, right?”

Meister Tyron defended the Dark Moon Magic Tower.

He was angry and felt betrayed. However, he was a wizard, so he thought a little bit rationally compared to Dimitry.

And then Vladimir opened his mouth again.

“I too had the same thought, so I called over Sylvia and asked to get to the bottom of this, but… her whereabouts are unknown.”

She said that she had been summoned by the Fairy representatives and went to their base.

Honestly, that didn’t end there. She got caught up in the arrest issued by Bratt.

When she noticed that Elder Nanas and the fairies who supported her violent actions as herself were being arrested, she informed the President and the others before getting caught.

She informed that Luke was indeed interacting with the Dark Moon Magic Tower and intended to trouble the fairy chiefs who weren’t cooperating with him.

Of course, the intentions of the Republic were known by the Dark Moon.

“How about we contact Meister Johas and listen to what he has to say about this situation? And…”

“I already contacted him, but he can’t be reached. I think that it is a waste of time to talk with them.”

“Then what do you plan on doing?”

When Marquis Tyron asked, the President had a hard expression.

“I am going to send them an ultimatum. If they don’t respond to that, we will have to solve it by force.”

Listening to those words, Dimitry and Tyron understood why their President had called for them.

And Vladimir ordered them.

“Choose knights and wizards from the military and organize the troops to attack the Dark Moon. We will infiltrate the Jason Manor in advance, so we will be able to attack right away.”

“Understood, sir.”

The Dark Moon was living in the shadows of the top ten magic towers.

In addition to the warlocks, there were many fairy riders and humans who cooperate with them.

Could such a place be overpowered by a handful of troops?

Although he was in doubt, Tyron accepted the orders without any question.

When the two of them left the office to organize their troops, the President also moved to the communication room to deliver the Dark Moon his ultimatum.

He was ready to go at them hard. However, he was still hoping that the problem would get solved through diplomacy.

After the turmoil of the Baroque Empire, it was better not to focus on the wrong things as much as possible for better growth of the Volga Republic.