Dictator From Outer Space

Rumors always spread quickly and get exaggerated.

The news that the Vandus domain had made a fortune with winter Sardines reached the neighboring domains.

—They say that dozens of merchants visit the domain every day, and they all load their wagons with barrels of Sardines.

—They say that even the Meyer Trading Company, which is exclusive to the royal family, rushed in.

—They say that even the dogs on the street have gold coins in their mouths.

As most rumors are, these were embellished, but it was true that the Vandus domain had earned a lot of money.

And what was really important was not the truth, but the perception of others.

The perception that the Vandus domain had a lot of money.

Money usually attracts unwelcome guests.

Relatives who had never been close would suddenly ask for a treat.

Sometimes, there would be domain wars aiming for that wealth, and it was a problem that the royal family was busy with war.

Normally, they would stop the war immediately, but they were so busy and exhausted that they probably couldn’t afford to care.

The only way to prevent this situation from the source was to increase their own military strength.

But the Vandus domain lacked troops, and the neighboring domains were eyeing that.

—The Baron of Vandus is a weak noble with no connections to the royal family or the powerful nobles in the capital. If we pressure him at this opportunity, we might gain some benefits.

—The strange thing is that no pirates attacked them during the winter. The other domains suffered a lot of damage…

—Maybe they bribed the shadow elves and silenced them? This could be considered an act of treason against the royal family.

As always, jealousy breeds speculation.

These rumors circulating in the neighboring domains were a preparation for a domain war, and Leobold and Arma knew it well.

“The nobles are delusional that it will be fine if they have a decent excuse, since it’s a rural domain that the royal family doesn’t care about.”

“They don’t know that we requested an airship and sent a royal guard for its management.”

The royal guard sent by the royal family was on his way here.

He didn’t have Goliath, but just his name alone would be enough to deter any provocation from the surrounding nobles.

The problem was the mercenaries.

After the Harpy Talon Corps was destroyed, there were several suspicious people who sneaked into the merchant ships and spied on the domain.

Their goal was to recover Goliath, but there was a high chance that money was also included recently.

Arma reported that some of the mercenary corps stationed in Bagran were likely to launch an attack soon.

“The Harpy Talon Corps was small and not very reputable, but Goliath and our money are quite attractive.”

“They’re going to attack us to take them? Don’t they care about Bagran’s royal family?”

“The whole kingdom is very busy with the war with Elvrande. They won’t have time to care. The king is even on vacation right now.”

Currently, not only Bagran Kingdom but also the entire western continent was busy with the war with Elvrande.

Most of their forces were on the front lines, and they wouldn’t have any room to care about a small domain stuck in a corner of the coast.

It wasn’t for nothing that the Harpy Talon Corps ran wild in Vandus domain.

From Bagran’s royal family’s perspective, it wouldn’t matter much if a small coastal domain was destroyed and absorbed by others.

“Mercenaries related to Harpy Talon Corps also know this. And they know that the prince sent a royal guard.”

“How come mercenaries have better information than nobles?”

“They’re closer to the center.”

You usually hear more things when you’re near someone powerful.

Anyway, Arma reported that several mercenary corps would send troops to the domain soon.

“It’s likely to be before the royal guard arrives at our domain. I expect at least three Goliaths to be mobilized.”

“That’s enough to crush a small domain.”

Goliaths had become decisive factors in wars.

However, Goliaths were so valuable because most wars were limited wars.

Arma had obtained data on magic power of various countries recently and reported it.

“The continent of Astera is dominated by ether engineering, but 200 years ago, mass destruction magic ruled over battlefields. Especially Meteor Strike magic was used well.”

“Meteor? They pulled down meteorites?”

“Yes, there are asteroid belts around Tera and Mare.”

Tera was the planet where Astera continent was located, and Mare was the planet where demons lived.

The two planets orbited each other like Pluto and Charon, facing each other with one side. 

There were billions of asteroids around them.

The size of asteroids varied from tens of centimeters to tens of kilometers, and they seemed to have more resources than expected.

The reason why mining ships didn’t go there was because it was much easier to get resources from floating continents.

There were resources everywhere, so you just had to pick them up.

“I couldn’t figure out the principle of Meteor Strike magic, but based on the ancient documents, I think they pull them from these asteroid belts.”

“…That’s awesome.”

Imagine dropping meteorites on each other’s armies and cities.

It could be said to be worse than a nuclear bomb.

It focused only on pure destructive power without radiation, so it had less psychological resistance.

There was magic for shields, but it was difficult to block a concentrated impact.

“As a result of throwing Meteor Strike magic at each other, they realized that they would be annihilated if they continued like this. After that, a treaty banning mass destruction magic was signed.”

“Currently, each country is ready to launch Meteor Strike on each other’s capitals. They have already set the coordinates, so they can activate the magic circle as soon as they call the magicians.”

“It’s like mutual assured destruction.”

No country wanted to face annihilation, so they avoided a full-scale magic war. 

That was the conclusion they reached.

Thanks to that, most of the wars were limited by the use of Goliaths, and Elvrande also tried not to break that rule.

“Recently, there have been some proposals for preemptive magic attacks from places like Zium Empire, but they are not mainstream. Meteor Strike is a magic that requires a lot of preparation, so Elvrande can detect it right away.”

It was similar to nuclear power in that it required a lot of preparation beforehand.

The countries tried not to cross the line of no return, perhaps because of the memory of the near-extinction 200 years ago.

Considering that they tortured enemy soldiers and used civilians as slaves, Astera’s line might be quite high.

Anyway, the attack on the territory was becoming a reality.

Leobold had no intention of stopping it.

Why would he stop them when they said they would pay Goliath as a tribute?

“Once this battle is over, Bagran will also intervene, so it will be hard to deal with them.”

“But they will find a way to attack anyway. It would be perfect if they accuse us of colluding with the Shadow Elves.”

The more the territory grew and became stronger, the more such cases would occur, but it didn’t matter much.

Astera was a world where power was justice, and they had confidence that they would not lose to anyone.

***

The rumor that many mercenary groups were targeting Vandus territory became visible.

Among the mercenary groups that entered Bagran Kingdom, Hammer Revenge Group sent an official letter to Vandus territory demanding information disclosure.

—Therefore, we mourn the death of our comrades and cannot help but hold Baron Vandus responsible. We also demand the immediate return of the Raoum-class Goliath.

Vandus did not react much to this letter, and Hammer Revenge Group did not seem to expect it either.

The battle on the western front was getting worse day by day, so Bagran royal family was in no position to intervene, and neither were other powerful nobles.

However, since the royal guard sent by the royal family was expected to arrive at the territory soon, they had to finish everything before then.

So Hammer Revenge Group attacked Vandus territory directly with only a minimum of justification.

They brought 50 soldiers and 3 Goliaths.

With such a scale, a weak noble like Baron Vandus would be trembling with fear, but the mercenary group was not very comfortable either.

The mercenary leader Jaden ordered his subordinates to finish quickly.

“Prince Ruad has a limit to his tolerance. We have to get them to surrender as soon as possible.”

No matter how chaotic the country was, there were not many places for a mere mercenary group like them to meddle.

Hammer Revenge Group had only one chance, and they had to retreat quietly after receiving money and Goliath.

That was the line that Bagran royal family implicitly allowed.

They set up a temporary camp at the entrance of the territory and staged a demonstration with three Raoum-class Goliaths.

“Baron Vandus, hear us! Explain immediately how you killed our comrades and stole Raoum-class Goliath! And return Goliath!”

In Vandus territory, soldiers who recovered from their injuries came out and made barricades and waited, but they were not in a mood to expect anything from them.

It was common sense that Goliath could only be countered by Goliath.

There was never a battle where Goliath was not the main force in the last 10 years of war.

Nowadays, Goliath was the measure of combat power and the core of war.

So when three Goliaths were stationed at the entrance of the territory, naturally the traffic was blocked and the people were nervous.

“We only have one Goliath. What are we going to do?”

“No matter how good our lord is, he can’t handle three…”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just bribe them with money? We made a lot from Sardines this winter…”

Of course, the responsibility for this situation lay with the lord.

Leobold rode on the Goliath he had taken from Harpy Claw Group and went out himself.

Jaden’s brow furrowed when he saw one Goliath approaching with big strides.

“Does he not know that their output is equal?”

Of course, that was not possible.

The opponent Baron Vandus was a veteran mercenary who had been rolling outside for 10 years.

He must have had experience riding various Goliaths, so it was incomprehensible that he came out like this.

Recently, there have been some improvements in adding various functions to Goliaths, but that was only for empires like Elvrande and Zium.

The Goliaths owned by Bagran Kingdom or mercenary groups tended to rely on output for performance, and that had little to do with the knight’s skill.

The number of Goliaths being three times meant that the actual power was three times, and it was almost impossible to narrow this gap regardless of the knight’s skill.

Yet he walked so confidently…

“He must have something to rely on. Everyone, watch out for the enemy Goliath’s movements!”

“Captain, I’m worried about that black spear.”

“Shut up and get ready for battle!”

As they were old-fashioned Goliaths, they could not hope for much communication function, and the best they could do was to lift the window slightly and shout.

The movement sound was so loud that it would not be heard properly once they started moving.

On the other hand, the spear that Leobold’s Goliath held was made of living metal.

For some reason, Astera had very little production of living metal using the core of demons, or Plague.

According to Arma’s analysis, it was because the Plague’s evolution was not complete.

“The result of studying Lucia and the fact that we didn’t see any large specimens in Mare suggest that. The core is small, so there is a limit to living metal production.”

In the past Dragon War, there were monsters that were incomparable to now, so maybe Astera’s civilization was regressing.

Anyway, because of that reason, only a few Elven Knights in Elvrande could use living metal as a weapon.

So the mercenaries did not know much about the power of the 7-meter-long black spear that the enemy Goliath held.

The weapons they faced were only swords and spears made of solid iron.

Thud, thud, thud.

Four heavy Goliaths stood facing each other.

Usually, a battle between Goliaths was more like a commoner than a knight.

They were too slow to follow the knight’s movements.

Only Elven Knights or High Knights could respond to the knight’s movements with increased responsiveness, but that was a pie in the sky for mercenaries.

Jaden lifted the window slightly and declared.

“Baron Vandus! You must have heard how you killed our comrades and stole Raoum-class Goliath!”

“We have sent several letters to your territory and now we are warning you directly. Return Goliath immediately and surrender. We do not want any more conflict.”

“How much do you want?”

Strangely enough, Leobold’s voice was heard very well without opening the window.

Jaden was suspicious of that, but he did not show it and shouted.

“We cannot put a price on our comrades’ lives, but we will be satisfied with a thousand gold!”

The income of Baron Vandusry for several months was less than 100 gold, so this was an unreasonable demand.

Jaden also knew that, but he judged that he could afford it by combining the Sardines money and the operating rights of the dark flame mine.

But Leobold had no intention of paying them that money.

“I can’t give you a single bronze. Go back right now.”

“We can’t back down in front of our soldiers as nobles. We’ll show you who will cry blood. Attack them all!”

The attack began with a typical line.

The movement of three Goliaths was also very typical.

Everyone knew that the responsiveness of these low-class Goliaths was obvious.

That’s why the battle between them was decided by output and luck, and the mercenaries, including Jaden, were confident of their absolute victory.

It was a fight they couldn’t possibly lose.

The 50 or so mercenaries who were watching from a good spot expected to get at least 10 gold each for their share.

But their expectations were completely shattered as soon as Baron Vandus’s Goliath started moving.

“What, what’s so fast?”

“Is that really a Raoum-class?”

Baron Vandus’s Raoum-class Goliath ran towards them at twice the speed of the other Goliaths.

The ground cracked under the weight of nearly 100 tons, and the black spear stretched out long.

It was a phenomenon of transform, where living metal changed in an instant.

It was common on Earth, but not in this world at all.

Not only the mercenaries, but also the soldiers hiding behind the barricades were startled.

“What is that?”

“The spear stretched out!”

How about the mercenaries who faced it directly?

The fallen noble saw an illusion of a spear stretching out long.

He realized that it was not an illusion when he felt a severe pain in his abdomen.

The long spear had pierced through both his cockpit and himself.

It was an unbelievable power.

“Thi…”

He tried to say something, but he spat out blood and collapsed.

A Goliath without its master was nothing but a pile of scrap metal doll.

With one gone, Jaden decided to attack more carefully.

He didn’t expect the weapon to stretch out, but he was able to close the distance thanks to the sacrifice of one.

“Draw his attention from the front! I’ll go for his back!”

He spoke in code, but anyone could tell his intention.

As two Goliaths moved erratically and approached, Leobold blocked a sword that came down with his spear.

With a light clang, the sword shattered and half of it flew somewhere.

The opponent was an experienced mercenary, so he tried to retreat back in the gap, but Leobold was faster.

Thud!

The solid chest armor of the Goliath collapsed in an instant.

Leobold stretched out his other arm and broke the armor completely.

The cockpit was safe, but the magic circle was destroyed and the opponent couldn’t move properly.

In that gap, the black spear pierced through the cockpit and killed the mercenary.

Now only one remained, Jaden who jumped from behind.

“Yaaah!”

Jaden clung to Leobold’s Goliath’s back and exerted all his strength.

It was dangerous to keep distance because of the long spear, so he decided to settle it with close combat.

After all, their output was equal, so he hoped that there would be a chance if he rolled around.

But that was his mistake.

Leobold’s Goliath was only sealing its output, not equal at all.

He could release the seal and put a strain on the drive system and magic circle, but it wouldn’t be a big problem for a while.

Squeak-

Jaden saw his Goliath’s arm being forcibly opened and was confused.

“Wha-what is this…”

Even worse, the dark part that was caught by the baron’s Goliath was about to break under tremendous pressure.

Leobold applied force to his hand and smashed his part completely.

Crack-

The dark part came off and Jaden’s Goliath retreated back with one arm missing.

His face was filled with horror, but it wasn’t visible.

“Kneel.”

Leobold finished him off with his spear and Jaden’s Goliath also lost its master and slowly knelt down.

With that, all three Goliaths fell silent.

It was an unbelievable result.

The 50 or so mercenaries who were watching from a good spot realized that something went wrong and tried to sneak away.

They had invested a lot of money in the camp, but they had to survive first, right?

But Carson’s order was faster than them.

“The enemy has lost their Goliaths and their morale! All attack! The lord will reward those who raise their flags!”

He was not a military commander, but he boosted morale by clearly mentioning why soldiers should charge and what rewards they would get.

“Woohoo!”

“Kill them!”

There were not many soldiers, but behind them was Baron Vandus’s Goliath.

The mercenaries started to run away in panic and a one-sided attack followed.

A short time later, Granen’s royal guard and his attendants visited the territory.

The attendants were surprised to see three Raoum-class Goliaths lying at the entrance of the territory.

“Are those Raoum-class Goliaths?”

“Why are there four of them in this territory?”

On the other hand, Granen guessed the situation relatively accurately like a knight.

‘It’s certain that the Raoum-class ones belong to the mercenaries. They must have come to take revenge for losing their dark mine, but they got beaten.’

‘Even though they had a numerical advantage, the baron won one-sidedly. That means his skill is extraordinary.’

But there was something strange.

No matter how skilled he was, he couldn’t show it properly by riding a Raoum-class.

Granen himself had ridden a Raoum-class many times and knew it well.

The mercenaries liked it, but that was because it was easy to maintain and cheap, not because it was good.

A proper knight wouldn’t even consider a Raoum-class as a Goliath.

‘That means he used a trap.’

That was the standard for fighting against Goliaths.

It wouldn’t work against higher classes, but it would for Raoum-class ones.

Granen bowed his head slightly as he saw Baron Vandus approaching him.

Did he smile faintly because he was satisfied with his achievement?

Contrary to his misunderstanding, Leobold was purely happy.

He finally got a talent who could lead the soldiers of his territory.