Dictator From Outer Space

In Astera, it is commonly believed that there are two dimensions.

The reality dimension and the ether dimension.

The former is the world where various life forms of Astera walk and breathe.

It was not much different from Earth, so Arma said that there was not much to analyze about this part.

The planetary system where four celestial bodies were tangled in a chaotic way was certainly interesting, but it was not immediately important.

But he was very curious about the ether dimension.

Because he did not know exactly what ether energy was, or how it worked.

“For example, there is a magic called subspace. This magic is the concept of putting objects in a subspace warehouse, but you can’t completely hide the mass.”

“Doesn’t the mass disappear when you put it in subspace? High knights carry Goliaths in subspace.”

“To be precise, the mass disappears from the reality dimension and moves to the ether dimension. That’s why you can’t board an airship with a Goliath in subspace.”

“Does the airship not float?”

“Yes. The Goliath’s mass is too heavy for the buoyancy of the floatstone. For example, if you take Zigarion, the airship cannot fly because his main body’s mass is in subspace.”

“That’s a problem… What about Lucia?”

“Lucia is not the concept of putting her main body in subspace. She summons her main body from the Settler, so there is no problem at all.”

“It’s similar to the principle of an ether receiver. They are both desperately needed by us.”

He still had no clue, but he hoped that he could figure it out slowly once the research started.

Arma also ordered him to do something that only Leobold could do.

“Master, I would like you to ride a Goliath and have a close combat with a suitable knight.”

“Why? I can get combat data from long range.”

“I want to obtain data from high knights. If I can figure out how ether moves, I might be able to increase your power.”

Leobold was currently a very strange being.

His ether sensitivity, which was the basis, was tremendous, but his usage method was generally poor.

It was like a car with a V12 engine of 6,000cc, but a 4-speed transmission with a terrible torque allowance and RPM limit was attached, making it hard to squeeze out the maximum output.

Of course, this was because he had adjusted his genes and developed his abilities based on fighting Plague in space, which was unavoidable for Astera’s knights or magicians.

According to Arma, there was a unique ether system that only knights could operate.

“They call it an ether heart here. It’s an advanced form of an ether circuit, and magicians have their own system separately. If we study this, we might be able to bring out your true power.”

She would also do her own research with various documents, but she couldn’t get as much data as Leobold did by fighting himself.

So he ended up doing the ridiculous thing of having a one-on-one duel with a knight of Zaium while riding a Goliath.

It would be understandable if it was in his territory, but it was on a plain where no one could see.

‘It would be easier to shoot them with a railgun and drag out the knight.’

There was no choice but to try it if it was a way to awaken his abilities.

Leobold rubbed off the sealing magic circle on his chest.

He couldn’t afford to fight Zaium’s high knight while sealing his ether circuit.

‘It’s harder to fight moderately with this guy.’

The Jagan-class he boarded was fine at first, but compared to Elvrande or Zaium’s Goliath, it was unimaginable garbage.

The output difference was not that big, but there was a huge difference in the drive system and frame that delivered it.

‘It’s similar to the difference between Altema and Zigarion.’

Anyway, when Leobold activated his ether circuit, a little bit of ether not only fully activated the core of Jagan-class, but also overflowed between the frames.

Thanks to that, his Goliath looked like a golden knight.

‘Damn it, if I put in a little more ether, the core will split and still have some left.’

He had no choice but to adjust as much as possible.

Meanwhile, Emil saw the Goliath flashing and lost his mind for a moment, but soon came to his senses.

His job was decided whether or not the Jagan-class did anything strange.

‘To kill the enemy is my mission…’

Especially if it was Vandus Baron, who was the core of this war.

There were many suspicious points such as weapons that changed shape and Goliaths that emitted golden light, but that was something he could interrogate after making them kneel.

He erased his thoughts from his head.

The giant of the Bephar-class Goliath shrank slightly and rushed in explosively with a spear.

‘He’s pretty fast.’

[Master, this way.」

Along with Arma’s message, the trajectory of the spear was displayed in his sight.

The time until the attack hit was also shown precisely, so it was very convenient for Leobold.

‘With Arma’s support, it’s more like a game than a fight.’

All he had to do was focus on the point that appeared in his sight and move the Goliath to block it, so it was a bit embarrassing to call it a fight.

Thud!

The spearhead hit the black spear and Jagan-class Goliath at the same time, and the ground split radially and shockwaves spread around.

“Ether waves have been detected. It is similar to the ether blade that you showed me.”

It was only similar in wavelength, but there was a huge difference in scale.

But one thing was certain.

A knight who was as good as Zaium’s high knight could voluntarily put ether on his weapon.

It was not visible to the eye, but the power was considerable.

Clack!

Weapons and weapons collided, and a full-fledged power struggle began.

Emil couldn’t help but be astonished that he could withstand his attack with a Jagan-class Goliath.

The drive system was shaking, but it wasn’t at its limit.

‘How can he draw out such power with a piece of trash like Jagan…’

What if, what if he said.

If Vandus Baron rode a Bephar-class Goliath and showed his true skills, how strong would he be?

Could he still match him with his weapon like now?

‘Damn it!’

Emil bit his lip until blood came out.

This shouldn’t have happened.

He was Zaium’s high knight and a skilled person who matched Elvrande’s knights.

‘I can’t lose to you!’

As he raised his anger, his ether heart in his body was fully activated.

His whole body was supplied with ether, and his Goliath looked as if it was dyed in gold.

It was much more refined than Leobold’s, and that was exactly what Arma was aiming for.

“Analysis started, Master. Please prolong the combat as much as possible.”

‘That won’t be easy, I think.’

In an instant, a gray spear pierced the space where he was with a terrifying speed.

Leobold judged that he was late and transformed his spear into a shield to block it.

Clang!

The spear bounced off with a sharp sound, but the surface of the shield was not intact either.

Surprisingly, the living metal was damaged.

“He concentrated ether on one point to enhance the destructive power. Amazing.”

‘I wish I could use that too?’

“I need more data, Master.”

He had no choice but to give him the data he wanted.

Leobold took advantage of the gap when Emil’s Goliath adjusted its posture and jumped into his arms.

Their attacks were exchanged several times, and each time the spear made of living metal suffered considerable damage.

It recovered quickly whenever it was damaged, but there was a limit to that too.

Emil’s attack was that strong and fast.

“He uses a similar method to the ether booster to increase the speed of his attack. Really amazing.”

It meant that humans could imitate the mechanism of the Plague.

But Leobold was not in a position to listen to such calm words.

Emil attacked him like crazy.

His ether sensitivity was fine, but his Goliath, which had to handle it, was slowly reaching its limit.

It suffered too much shock in a short time and the drive system was on the verge of breaking down, and several parts of the frame squeaked.

No matter how good the software is, it can’t perform well if the hardware is garbage.

Leobold asked for help in desperation.

‘Don’t just be amazed and help me out.’

“I sent you the operation method of the ether circuit through the biochip. This should help you.”

He didn’t have time to figure out what that was.

The ether circuit appeared clearly in his sight and his right chest hurt.

‘It’s hot…’

The pain that started from his chest spread throughout his body and his spear turned into a sword without his will.

And Leobold witnessed a faint ether being applied to his sword.

‘This is an ether blade.’

It was a pathetic ether compared to the main battle of Pluto, but it was enough to destroy the Goliath in front of him.

He stepped forward toward the spear that stretched out toward him and drew his sword down.

A brilliant golden sword light cut off both the spear and the arm of the Goliath at the same time.

Swoosh―

The spear and arm of the Bephar-class Goliath were neatly severed and fell to the ground.

Emil didn’t realize it at first, but when he saw that his Goliath didn’t move properly, he finally realized that something went wrong.

‘What, what is this?’

He thought there was a line drawn in the air, but his arm flew away.

What kind of attack is this?

He had no time to regain his senses as another attack came in.

Emil saw the sword that rushed toward him change into a hammer shape and whined.

‘How can he have such weapons…’

But he didn’t think he lost because of his weapons.

The Goliath of Baron Vandus had overcome his attack with an absolute disadvantage and finally destroyed the Bephar-class Goliath by applying ether to his sword.

It was an unbelievable thing to happen.

Bang!

With a loud noise, the abdominal armor of the Bephar-class flew back and smashed.

Knight Emil passed out from the shock that hit his whole body.

Leobold finally changed his hammer back into a spear shape and sighed.

“It’s hard to play along. Did you get enough data?”

“A little bit. I tried to figure out the structure of the ether heart, but I couldn’t get there.”

“It won’t happen overnight. I know I can put ether on my sword, so that’s enough.”

There are psychers who have blasters and those who can break walls by putting ether on their fists among them.

But this was the first time he could put ether on a weapon other than his body.

And not on a weapon he held directly, but on a weapon held by a Goliath.

Leobold sent a signal to the airship through his communicator.

The knight from Zaium would send back his Jagan-class Goliath and airship for a reasonable amount of money, but he had no intention of returning the Goliath.

Baron Prozan would be furious, but he didn’t care about that.

“You should shut up if you lose. By the way, did you say I could ride this thing if I erase this magic circle?”

“It’s the magic circle engraved on the right side.”

“Where was the artifact that Lucia gave me…”

He erased the magic circle and boarded the Goliath, and he was satisfied with the overflowing output of the core.

“It’s incomparable to the Jagan-class. I look forward to working with you, Dingo.”

***

Bad news came to the Bagran royal palace.

The airship flew into the Ohmel Viscount’s territory and completely smashed it.

It was hard to understand for those who heard it.

What does an airship have to do with a territory being smashed?

There was no ether cannon on the baron’s airship, and even if there was, it could only exert limited power.

Count Lantis, who was frustrated, urged his aides to find out more details, and then the truth began to emerge.

—Two airships with two Goliaths on board raided the Ohmel Viscount’s territory.

—The death of Viscount Ohmel has been confirmed, and other key bureaucrats and military commanders have become prisoners. Therefore, the Ohmel Viscount’s territory has fallen into the hands of Baron Vandus.

—The vicount’s troops, who learned of this news too late, are wavering whether to attack the Vandus Baron’s territory as planned or retreat.

—The whereabouts of High Knight Emil from Zaium are unknown.

“So, in summary…”

“We lost the war.”

Prince Ruad snorted and Eolin, who couldn’t control his temper and fainted as it was.

Count Lantis crumpled up the document that summarized the situation, but that didn’t make it any better.

“This doesn’t make sense… How can they load Goliaths on an airship?”

“That’s what I’m curious about. Even if they are high knights who can open a space, it would be difficult because of ether interference.”

Even if they hid the Goliath in a space, it didn’t mean that its mass completely disappeared, so it was meaningless to ride an airship.

They either achieved weight reduction or increased buoyancy, but both were unknown methods.

While Prince Ruad was in a good mood, Count Lantis was busy contacting his surroundings frantically.

“Forget about Ohmel for now! Find the High Knight first!”

“The mercenaries are asking me about the future schedule? How should I know! I’m not the commander!”

But to Ruad’s eyes, Count Lantis was the mastermind of this incident.

He could deny it as much as he wanted, but that wouldn’t change anything.

Soon, he received a contact from Prozan, who had heard the news from Zaium.

“What happened to Emil? Is he dead? Or missing?”

“I apologize, my lord. I will find the knight’s whereabouts as soon as possible.”

Count Lantis bowed his head to the prince who looked at him with a cold expression.

“Your Highness, the rude mercenaries are insulting the golden bloodline. We must stop them from taking over the barony, don’t you think?”

“This is a territorial war, and according to the convention, the loser has to give up everything. That place has a good location in the east, but it hasn’t developed for decades. Maybe it will change in Vandus’s hands.”

“That’s an old story. You won’t tolerate this if you know the circumstances of this incident.”

“You will also know the intention of the count who tried to use Zaium’s power to strike Vandus. Do you want that?”

“…”

Count Lantis held his breath.

Come to think of it, he couldn’t tell this to Bagran III.

Which king would accept the interference of another country with a laugh?

It might not affect the princess, but his vigilance was certain and his position was also dangerous.

Above all, his subordinates would not look at him the same way as before.

He put Ohmel in front and backed off, but he actually lost his territory and died.

There was only one way out of this situation.

He bowed his head to Prince Ruad.

“Please help me, Your Highness. Please lend me your hand so that Bagran’s servant can survive.”

“I wish you had said that a little earlier. Anyway, I can’t stop Vandus. I never intervened in the first place.”

“…”

Count Lantis dropped his head silently and Prince Ruad sighed deeply.

“Let’s end it by giving up the barony. It’s a good location in the east, but it hasn’t developed for decades. Maybe it will change in Vandus’s hands.”

“What about Prozan?”

“I’ll try to mediate that. I hope Vandus didn’t kill the High Knight.”

If he did, Prozan wouldn’t sit still.

***

“…”

Zion, who came to Denova, sensed an uneasy atmosphere.

It wasn’t because humans noticed his identity.

‘Lucia’s artifact is really reliable. It hides my huge ether so well…’

He had been watching fairies on the ground for a while, but he didn’t know how he got caught by a scoundrel like Leobold.

Was he naturally playful?

He had heard that fairies were all weird, but it was strange.

Anyway, Zion heard some rude voices while sitting in the chaotic central exchange.

“What? Viscount Ohmel lost? Check again! Ask for a reliable source!”

“The viscount’s death has been confirmed! Currently, two mercenaries belonging to Vandus’s territory have occupied the territory!”

“Two mercenaries occupied the barony? Whose delusion is that?”

“They flew Goliaths on an airship!”

“What kind of nonsense is that!”

The staff were busy collecting information flying around.

The investors were also out of their minds trying to contact everywhere.

The communication devices used in the central exchange today would be considerable.

In the midst of this turmoil, Philip Market gathered his staff and came to Zion.

Zion shook dozens of securities documents with the market’s seal on them.

“The news finally arrived. My investment is 10,000 gold with a higher dividend of 14 times and a leverage of 10 times. You remember that, right?”

“…Of course I remember.”

Philip Market’s voice sounded like metal scraping.

It was understandable that he was troubled by having to spit out 1.4 million gold.

He didn’t pay it himself, but the bankruptcy of hundreds of merchants meant that Denova as a whole would shake.

Philip Market smiled bitterly as if to let it be.

“Give me my money.”

He stretched out his palm and Philip Market looked at it blankly and barely held back his laughter.

Oh, laugh?

“Did you check the documents carefully?”

“Securities documents? Who do you think I am? I checked them all. There’s no problem, so give me my money.”

Zion’s voice rose as Philip Market delivered a decisive blow.

“Did you see any maturity date on them?”

“What date?”

“The date when you pay me back.”

“…There was no such thing?”

“Oh, then I have no choice but to delay the payment. Oh, this doesn’t mean I won’t pay you.”

“…”

That means he’s going to rip him off.

Denova had already failed to trade with Vandus once.

Now the relationship would be completely cut off and the trust would plummet, but it was better than paying 1.4 million gold.

Philip Market muttered with a resigned mind.

“I’ll give you 10,000 gold more than the principal. Please wait patiently for the rest. I’ll pay you someday.”

He disappeared and Zion realized the situation belatedly and his eyes burned with rage.

‘These bastards?’

Blue Dragon Zigarion was truly angry.