Emperor of Steel

Alvera was the third-largest city in the Holy Arthenia Empire and was currently the capital of Konrad.

The city, where Prince Ferrierd was located, became the base for the rebel forces and was currently being called the ‘Konrad Kingdom’.

Its palace was called the rebel palace. It was overlooking the city from a hill.

On one of its sites, a man with grey hair was pulling a bowstring.

He was the head of the rebels—Duke Ferrierd. He called himself the king of Konrad Kingdom.

Duke Ferrierd was also a high ranking lord and an archbishop and was known for his archery.

Duddddr!

As he pulled on the bow’s string, it began making a sound as he further stretched it.

When the bow was completely bent into a crescent shape, Duke Ferrierd released his hand.

Ping-!

An arrow that was just being used for practice flew right toward its target and hit the bulls-eye.

However, Ferrierd’s face wasn’t so bright.

What he was aiming for was an apple that was placed in the middle of the target practice. It wasn’t a difficult target to hit, considering that it was only 200 steps away from him.

But today, he wasn’t able to hit a supposedly easy target.

“Uhm, the arrow dances freely.”

When the frowning duke extended his hand to the side, the escort knight next to him offered another arrow, and he didn’t hit the apple this time as well.

“Uhm, the wind isn’t that great today.”

The annoyed Ferrierd threw his bow away, and the escort knight picked it up.

The wind was just an excuse, but the truth was the arrow didn’t hit its target because the Duke’s heart was upset.

Ferrierd had a reason to be disturbed.

It was good to declare independence against the Holy Empire and defeat their 1st army, but the problem came after that.

It surely rotted and ruined itself, but the power of the Holy Empire, which had been in place for thousands of years, was enormous.

According to the spies, the size and quality of the second squad was too big. In addition, the commanders were all quite capable figures.

‘Just the number of Gigant’s put on the line is at least three times…’

As a result, some of the lords under the duke were rather scared.

Unlike the early days of the rebellion, he could see that the behavior of the lords wasn’t that active.

‘To relive the rebels, we need to increase the power, but there is no news from those who promised to help…’

Ferrierd was grumbling as he reached his office.

On the other side, a young man dressed in brilliant golden armor ran to him.

“Father, they are going to come soon”

“Uh, is that so?”

Ferrierd’s face that was full of dread brightened. The good news, which never reached him, had arrived.

“When would they arrive?”

“At the latest, in the afternoon,” answered his son.

Just as his son had said, a fleet had appeared in the afternoon along the Rio River which flew along Alvera.

All the ships were paddle boats equipped with steam engines. They were carrying the flag of the Flying Dragon.

Duke Ferrierd, who was waiting at the port for help, smiled after seeing the flag.

The Flying Dragon.

The largest war company in the continent that sold munitions, artillery and other military weapons.

In addition, it had its own mercenary force, which was regarded to be equal or better than the knights of the other empires.

They held such a huge size and power because of the huge backing they had.

The power of the Baroque Empire.

It was a fact that everyone knew in the continental politics.

The Baroque Empire had been involved in large and small conflicts on the continent, while secretly funding the Flying Dragons.

Nevertheless, it wasn’t officially revealed because other countries had similar organizations and had done similar things as well.

In addition, the Baroque Empire knew everything that was happening in the other kingdoms, so there was no reason to publicize it.

And with the recent situation going in the Empire, the Flying Dragons, which had been active in recent years, reappeared.

‘And they chose to be on my side!’

As Duke Ferrierd smiled, the fleet of the Flying Dragon entered the port.

Among them, a middle-aged huge bearded man and a dark-haired girl with halberd stepped onto the pier with mercenaries in grey armor.

“Come on, Lazlie.”

At the greeting of Duke Perrierd, the man called Lazlie bowed back.

“Did you have peace, Duke? No, now you must be referred to as His Majesty.”

“Hahaha, do you have any idea how long I have waited for you?”

“I am sorry for causing trouble. Reorganizing the mercenaries took longer than expected.”

“Reorganizing… Do you think that it would work?”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

Slightly raising his eyes, Lazlie smiled confidently.

Lazlie de Voltaire.

The eldest son of Count Voltaire. The right-hand man of Emperor Rudolf. He was a secret agent of the Baroque Imperial Intelligence, as well as a resident of the Flying Dragons.

Lazlie was awkward when it came to using his body, but he had sharp eyes and had a way with words.

It was he who had encouraged Duke Ferrierd to rebel.

In other words, the rebellion of Konard was actually the work of Lazlie.

“This man beside me is our new mercenary captain.”

“I am Sancho.”

At the introduction from Lazlie, the bandit that was like a giant reached his hand out with a blunt face.

At the rude appearance of the man, the escort knights tried to stop him, but Duke Ferrierd stopped them.

‘If we act rude, Count Ferrero, the knight of the Baroque Empire, might not tolerate it.’

Although it was not comparable to the Imperial Intelligence, there were also eyes and ears which worked for Ferrierd.

That was why he could identify Count Ferrero at a glance, but he knew nothing about the dark-haired girl with a small physique standing beside Ferrero.

“But, who might this lady be?”

“Hohoho, hello, I am Shirley. A maiden reaching sixteen by this year!”

Shirley smiled brightly and made a peace sign with her fingers, implying her victory.

‘What is this? Is she really…?’

“Sixteen? I thought she was 12…”

‘Is she a mercenary too?’

As the Duke watched the girl with suspicious eyes, Lazlie officially introduced Shirley.

“Well, this is Shirley, the assault captain of our mercenary force.”

“Assault captain?”

“Yes, despite her looks, she is quite strong.”

‘But is she?’

But Ferrierd, who knew that Lazlie would never lie, didn’t say anything and the others just stayed quiet as well.

However, there was someone who dared to speak.

“Come on, you should at least say something that makes sense.”

He was Aslan, Duke Ferrierd’s son.

In fact, rather than talking out loud, he just mumbled what he wanted to say under his breath, but since the surroundings were so quiet, the words reached the ears of Shirley.

Shirley tilted her head and approached Aslan.

“Why do you think it doesn’t make sense?”

“That…”

“Take this.”

Suddenly, Shirley handed a halberd to Aslan.

Aslan, who wanted to prove her wrong, took it and was shocked.

“Wah, lord!”

‘What, what is this? Why is this so heavy?!’

It felt like as if a Gigant was placed on his hand.

Aslan had always been proud of his skills for being an intermediate knight, but he felt overwhelmed.

He was trying to move his muscles, and the knights around him tried to help, but the halberd didn’t even budge.

“It is made from adamant and gigantium. It splits and drills well, but it’s really heavy.”

Shirley picked up the halberd, which was crushing Aslan. She lifted it over her head as if she was just moving a toothpick.

Aslan’s complexion became pale.

‘Oh my God!’

Adamant and gigantium were heavy metals.

Actually, they were mainly used to make Gigant frames and gloves. It was an alloy, but for a human to carry it as a weapon was unheard of!

What was more surprising was that the one who was wielding it was a 16-year-old girl who looked like she was 12.

“She is still young, but Shirley is excellent at what she does. Her Gigant maneuvering is pretty good too.”

At the words of Lazlie, Duke Ferrierd nodded silently.

Lazlie, who slithered in response to their reactions, pointed at the ships that entered the port.

“I think you would be more interested in things over there than here. I have an expensive cargo that can protect the Kingdom of Konrad.”

As he said that, the curious eyes of the duke looked in that direction.

“Would you like to see them?”

“Obviously!”

As he nodded, Perrierd and his son Aslan along with their escorts went to the port.