Emperor of Steel

-… That was what happened.

At the entire explanation from Count Ferrero, Luke stroked his chin.

“If the testimony of that prisoner is current, it would mean that there was a warlock in the enemy troops right from the beginning.”

-It was my responsibility. If the prisoners were managed thoroughly, this wouldn’t have happened…

Luke shook his hand at Ferrero who was blaming himself.

“No, that isn’t your fault. It was my fault for not calculating this likelihood.”

Luke hadn’t taken a closer look at the reinforcements of the Libiya Kingdom. All he thought was that he had to hurry and kill Rudolf and destroy the Ruins of Time.

-Anyway, we hurried up and tried to move. The 3rd squad is in danger, but it is even more dangerous for the towns and cities near the region.

Honestly, Count Ferrero wanted Luke to go over and fix the situation.

He already had the experience in solving the zombie poison situation in the Holy Empire.

However, he couldn’t say that out loud, especially since he knew that Luke had something important to do.

“With the 3rd squad members, it might be impossible to stop them. While retreating, make the local men evacuate. When the civilians are attacked by the zombies, it will only turn troublesome for us.”

-The civilians are already being moved and helped, Count Darland has already proposed that.

“That so? That was a good move. I’ll contact the 1st squad and make sure that you get the support from the Holy Empire. They have experience in it and can cope well.”

Luke chose to send in the Holy Empire rather than going over to support his men.

His priority was the destruction of the ancient ruins.

-Understood, Your Majesty.

After finishing the communication, Luke directly contacted Commander Rogers.

He then ordered the Holy Imperial Army to be moved to the 3rd squad, right away.

In addition, he told them to send in priests and wizards along with Symphonia troops.

“Your Majesty, our army is rapidly advancing towards Nemesis. I am concerned that the decrease in military power will cause disruption in the further operation.”

The reason why the 1st squad was able to advance that rapidly was because the enemy commanders and lord either fled or surrendered because of the scale of the troops.

If the number decreased, there was a possibility that the reaction of the enemy forts would change.

However, Luke thought that it was highly unlikely.

“Rudolf had called in all the troops from the other sides and had them go to Nemesis. Even the troops that need to guard the border of Volga and Holy Empire are being pulled out.”

-Then, the armies at the borders will also move in.

“Yes, maybe everyone will be racing it, and no battles will happen until Nemesis is reached.”

Although it was undisclosed, the heads of the nations, who were in the Continental Alliance, would be hoping that their troops would occupy the estates of the Baroque Empire.

That way, it would be advantageous to divide the occupied estates or acquire gold in exchange for it.

The reason why the commanders of the Castia Kingdom and Navarre Duchy of the 3rd squad were reluctant wasn’t because of the retreat, but it was because of that very political calculation of owning the estates.

However, Luke had no intention of being greedy about what would happen after the war.

“Reina doesn’t want her people or the people of Baroque Empire to be sacrificed unnecessarily in this march. It’s because our enemies are the Baroque Imperial family and few nobles loyal to them.”

-Well, what is the sin of the people who know nothing about it? You mean, we need to stop the advance of the zombie troops and stop the damage to the people, right? Understood. Then I will do it in the way you have ordered me.

He had told them how to deal with it, but Luke wasn’t feeling well.

The reason was the Holy Empire’s zombie situation reached an end because of his and Reina’s Spirit power and Aether.

Spirit power was able to destroy those germs that spread the zombie poison.

‘Even if the Holy Imperial troops go out, they might not be able to suppress the troops that easily.’

At best, it would be the only way to prevent the poison from further spreading.

Surely, that too was a very great help.

It would give Luke the time he needed to destroy the ruins and eliminate Rudolf.

‘No, there is a more certain way than that.’

It was Reina, the pope of the Holy Empire.

With the power she had, she could suppress all the zombies at once.

The most effective card, however, Luke couldn’t help but hesitate when it came to using her.

He was reluctant to bring her into the battlefield. He had already allowed Karen to tag along, and he couldn’t just let another one he loved to enter, that too in a battle far away from him.

‘This is my selfishness. Reina did say that I shouldn’t solve everything by myself. In addition, when I think of the people with zombie poison in…’

Thinking for some time, Luke made a decision.

In order to properly achieve the goal that was in front of him, it was necessary to make sure that everything that was happening around him needed to be completed the right away.