Emperor of Steel
chapter-172

The 3rd fort was at the forefront of the border fortresses to the west of Navarre duchy. So when the monsters appeared it was him first to be attacked.

Baron Caseron was the commander of such a 3rd fort.

He felt rather uncomfortable when the monster which used to appear several times a month, went silent for a long duration.

Which was why he ordered his ranger forces to scout deep into the grasslands.

“Count Cork, still no signs of contact?”

At the question from the commander, the lieutenant answered.

“It doesn’t count as one, there was some news. But I can’t put their words into meaning as the communication lacked clarity.”

“Kuk, those stupid men!”

Count Cork had the largest estate in western Abba, he was serving as a supporter for the border fortresses.

However, Count Cork wasn’t so supportive of the mission. The year was very hard for them, and they still weren’t provided with any support troops.

“Does that mean that we don’t know if they are safe or just wandering alone!”

At the rage of Caseron, the lieutenant answered.

“My count isn’t supposed to have any monster invasion this year. Rather, yours is an attempt to weaken the power of the nobles in the name of power support for your unseen fear…”

“Hu huh!”

At the lieutenant’s explanation, Caseron looked angry.

The Navarre duchy was a small and poor country, which was divided by empire nobles and noblemen and had a constant power struggle just like the Baroque.

It was always nice to have a competitive power struggle between them.

The problem was that none were willing to support the forces when they needed help for the monster invasion.

‘Is he checking if I really am the empire’s nobles or not?’

It didn’t really matter if Caseron was a noble or a king’s man.

What he really wanted was to keep the country safe from the constant threat of monsters, and to do that, he thought that everyone should overcome their differences and try their best.

However, those men who were blind to power didn’t seem to think like that.

“Such foolish thoughts! I don’t even know when the house of power will shake, how would I even be able to hold it on all by myself?”

Right when Caseron was bursting with anger.

Kang! Kang! Kang!

Suddenly, the bells of the watchtower of the fort rang loudly.

“It’s the monsters! A massive swarm of monsters is coming towards the fort!” A watchtower guard informed.

“Dammit!”

Swearing at the sudden act of the monsters, the commander went towards the watchtower to have a closer look. He couldn’t help but seem shocked when he saw the swarm of monster fills the entire meadow.

“What the, how did this even happen…?”

According to his guess, he thought there would be hundreds or at most a thousand of them. But what he saw right then was the biggest swarm of monsters he had ever seen.

And his guess missed out.

There were tens of thousands of monsters filling the entire grassland and rushing in, but large monsters like the trolls and orcs were clearly visible.

“Baron! Get ready for battle!”

From the side, lieutenant urged the commander.

Realizing the situation, the commander ordered the soldiers to get ready for the battle, but he wasn’t confident if they could win with just 1,000 troops.

They had around 5 warrior-class Gigants with them, but due to their age and their falling performance, it was a huge questionable task if the Gigants could manage to hold off the monsters.

‘Dammit! Because I saw this coming, I kept on asking for more support…!’

The fortress just couldn’t run away from the monsters.

If they fled, one axis of the duchy, the western shield would collapse. And even if just a few forts had been taken down, the Navarre duchy would be clearly visible to the monsters.

‘Dammit, I need to either die or get out of here alive!’

Baron Caseron was ready.

The monster which arrived close to the fort was shouting.

Ogres and trolls were running at the front of the line along with cheers from the monsters behind them.

Most of the monsters had rusted iron breastplates and axes in their hands.

Kwaaah!

Kaaaahk!

The soldiers who were located on the walls with canons were all scared and nervous.

“What are you doing?!”

“Load the cannons and fire them right away!”

At those words, the knights and soldiers, and other officers tried to move, but their morale had already been broken down.

Pupon! Poong!

With shelling, there was white smoke.

Most of the shells missed because of poor aiming, and even the right ones made no impact as they simply bounced off the iron plate.

“Sh*t! The arrows! Shoot the arrows!”

At the order from Baron Caseron, the rangers shot arrows.

The ogres, being unfazed with the incoming arrows, swung their big weapons.

Kwang!

The gate broke into numerous bits with just one blow. Walls were being attacked at various places, and they began to fall down or crack.

Goblins and orcs began to flock inside the broken walls.

“Kuk! Rearrange the positions and drive away from the invading monsters!”

Unfortunately, very few soldiers responded to Baron Caseron’s command. Warrior-class Gigants, their only hope at the moment, were scrapped as the ogres and trolls rushed in.

Eventually, Baron Caseron, who had been fighting alongside some knights, got stepped on by an Ogre.

Once the battle was done, the fortress was flying the flag of the monster legion.

The Orc Hero, Shaikan smiled wickedly as he saw the scene.

‘This isn’t the time to feel exhilarating just yet. This is just the first step. To prove that I am the true descendant of the dragon, I have a long way to go and a lot more to win.’

Looking at the far eastern horizon, the eyes of Shaikan were burning like fire.