76. The Changing Empire (3)
“Tch! They show up now that it’s all over.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. And they’ve still got that smug look on their faces.”
The golden cape draped over the crown prince’s Gigant was downright nauseating. But as the white Gigants kept pouring in, the gathered mech warriors’ jaws dropped lower and lower.
“Wh-what the hell? How many are there?”
“They’re still coming!”
The lead white Gigants had red shoulder guards fitted on one side, followed by ones with black shoulder guards. And finally, blue-shoulder-guarded Gigants brought up the rear.
As hundreds of Gigants rolled in, Bastian sensed something off and spoke up.
“Captain Wayne, we should probably get out of here ASAP.”
“What’re you talking about?”
“Three of the emperor’s Dragon Knight Orders just arrived. That’s way too much for a relief force. And showing up the day after the battle ends, like they were waiting for it? Suspicious as hell.”
The emperor and imperial forces’ main strength lay in their five Dragon Knight Orders. Dispatching three to relieve Westline Fortress meant committing three-fifths of their power.
“And the numbers in each order have grown.”
A standard Dragon Knight Order had 150 3rd-class Gigants and 10 2nd-class ones. Now, each had 200 3rd-class and 15 2nd-class Gigants—an extra five of the latter.
That made a total of 600 3rd-class and 45 2nd-class Gigants here. A massive force.
Even during the Great Wave ten years ago, they’d only sent two orders—half this strength.
And then—
“It’s Rabidus! Rabidus is here too!”
The hulking 1st-class Gigant Rabidus, painted pure white and standing ten meters tall, rolled in, leaving the mech warriors stunned.
“Marquis Bernard Kiper himself? What the hell’s going on?”
Wayne narrowed his eyes at the name.
The Barantia Empire’s imperial house boasted two 1st-class Gigant masters. Emperor Klaus Void was one, and the other was the newly arrived Marquis Bernard Kiper. As the guardian of the capital, he rarely ventured out—and he hadn’t even come here during the Great Wave ten years back.
Yet here he was today.
Curtis returned from scouting outside the fortress. Bastian asked,
“What’d you see?”
“Just like you said, brother. Three hundred maintenance Gigants, hundreds of supply wagons. Plus about three thousand cavalry, over twenty thousand musketeers, and even artillery units.”
“As expected...”
Bastian shot Wayne a panicked look. Wayne gave a wry smile.
“I get what you’re saying. The emperor’s scheming to swallow the entire Great Forest border zone in one go.”
“That’s the vibe. The scale screams long-term prep.”
At least ten years, maybe longer.
The 3rd-class Gigants from the grand territories and regular domains gathered here to block the ant monster horde numbered around 200. Without sending forces to the Estel front, it might’ve hit 500.
Yet the emperor had dispatched 600 3rd-class alone. This wasn’t relief—it reeked of ulterior motives.
“Curtis, tell Brock to seal the secret passage entrance up top right now. Might come in handy later.”
“Got it!”
Curtis dashed off.
The secret passage was an escape route dug in case the ant horde broke through— one end three kilometers east in the barren lands beyond Westline, the other thirty kilometers west into the Great Forest. Wayne could slip into the forest undetected anytime he wanted.
As the imperial forces entered Westline, Wayne led his group to head out.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
But the crown prince’s Gigant, Drake, halted and popped its hatch.
Hiss!
Two 3rd-class Gigants approached, deploying a massive staircase in front. The crown prince descended with haughty arrogance.
“We greet Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
“We greet Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
Everyone pounded a fist to their chest and dropped to one knee.
The crown prince scanned the area, and Marquis Rob Stadem came sprinting from somewhere.
“We greet Crown Prince Jason Void!”
“Grandfather-in-law, you’ve worked hard holding the fortress.”
“What have I done? I merely offered this body to defend it. And this victory is all thanks to His Imperial Majesty and Your Highness. Haha!”
Wayne was dumbfounded. The marquis, who’d hidden inside without lifting a finger, now acted like he’d saved the day. Irritation boiled up.
The crown prince piled on.
“Everyone, you’ve done well! No more worries from now on! Westline Fortress is under my direct command starting today—Jason Void’s!”
“Long live His Imperial Majesty!”
“Long live Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
“Woooaaah!”
The entering imperial troops erupted in cheers, strutting like triumphant generals.
The grand territory mech warriors didn’t appreciate the show, but no one dared challenge the next emperor.
The crown prince is that guy...?>
Wayne clicked his tongue inwardly. He didn’t expect someone worthy of his loyalty—just average would’ve sufficed.
But Jason toured the fortress, whipping up cheers from his soldiers and waving back to flaunt his presence.
“What a disgrace. The empire’s future looks bleak...”
Ronsstock Grand Territory’s former commander Perlong approached and whispered to Wayne.
Wayne just smiled.
“Are you leaving now, Young Lord Wayne?”
“Yeah. Got a lot on my plate.”
“I heard a bit. Reclaiming barren land under Lorenne Territory?”
“Yep. Just managed a small village so far.”
“Mind if I drop by sometime?”
“Of course. Comrades who’ve shared life and death? Always welcome.”
“Haha! Right—we’re comrades.”
Perlong beamed, then glanced at the crown prince and imperials, his face tensing.
“The vibe here feels off.”
Wayne nodded slightly.
“Greed invites disaster.”
“If you need muscle, will you join us?”
“Huh?”
“Just talked with the other grand territory commanders. We’re short-handed now, but if our forces return victorious from Estel, we might need to band together.”
Wayne caught on instantly.
“Hit me up when the time comes.”
“Thank you. With your command skills, we’ve got nothing to fear.”
Perlong was deeply impressed by Wayne’s leadership and how he handled his troops this time.
Wayne’s biggest win? Building ties with the other grand territories’ mech warriors and winning their hearts.
“See you next time.”
As Perlong left, Enok Fortress’s Commander Shuyen and Pike Stein approached.
“The mood’s turning sour...”
They’d noticed the imperials’ moves too, echoing Perlong’s concerns.
“Brother Pike, if shit hits the fan, head straight to my territory. Long haul from here to Dresden.”
Pike stared Wayne down, then—
“I apologize for calling you Adam’s lackey back then!”
“Water under the bridge. Forgotten it already.”
“And thanks to you, I, my squad, and Enok’s soldiers all survived. Belated, but... thank you!”
Pike bowed to Wayne.
The proud man clashed often with Adam, which drove him to the frontlines with his squad. Now, he felt genuine gratitude toward Wayne.
Count Shuyen bowed too.
“On behalf of all Enok Fortress soldiers, thank you.”
Dresden mech warriors appeared out of nowhere, bowing.
“Thank you, Young Lord Wayne!”
And then!
Soldiers and mech warriors nearby swarmed, bowing.
“Thank you!”
“Young Lord Wayne! Thank you!”
“Thank you!”
Wayne raised a hand lightly.
“Thanks for sticking with me to the end!”
Then—
“Young Lord Wayne! Hooray!”
“Hooray!”
“Woooaaah!”
Grand territory mech warriors, soldiers, even Westline’s merchants and locals roared, shaking the fortress in cheers for Wayne.
“What the—? Who’s Wayne to get cheers like that?”
Stunned by the volume dwarfing his own, Crown Prince Jason gaped. Imperial mech warriors and soldiers stared blankly at Wayne.
Even Marquis Bernard Kiper, imperial Gigant master, eyed him closely.
Wayne didn’t need the fanfare, but seeing Dresden and other territories’ warriors bow stirred his chest. He’d done right saving them.
They now owed him their lives.
As soon as the dwarves sealed the secret passage entrance, Wayne hustled back to his territory.
Lorenne forces exited Westline first. Wayne’s troops and dwarves followed.
“Hold up! What’s this?”
Suddenly, an imperial officer guarding the gate blocked the convoy.
Jamie stepped up.
“As you can see, byproducts from the ant monsters we captured.”
“Byproducts?”
The officer peered into a wagon, spotting the queen ant’s S-rank leg segments packed tight.
“Th-this?”
One segment filled a long wagon. Clearly extraordinary, the officer’s eyes widened.
“Hold position. Gotta report to my superior.”
Wayne approached.
“These are our spoils. Why report to your boss? And why make us wait?”
“Didn’t you hear? Starting today, everything entering or leaving Westline gets inspected. And you pay appropriate taxes.”
Wayne tilted his head—this was news.
“Taxes? Who ordered that?”
“His Imperial Majesty, obviously. Don’t wanna pay? Leave the byproducts.”
“What?”
His voice rose, drawing imperial soldiers. With Dragon Knight Order Gigants flanking the gate, things could escalate fast.
Then!
Wayne grinned, slung an arm around the officer, and said,
“You must’ve misseen it! These ain’t monster parts—just wooden tent poles.”
“Huh?”
The officer checked the wagon again. Then—
“Ah! My mistake. You’re clear!”
Wayne’s group passed through unscathed.
Why’s the emperor pulling this stunt now?>
To weaken the grand territories? Or monopolize monster hunts before their forces return from Estel? Wayne pondered the motive. Even the emperor couldn’t handle united grand territories.
That evening at camp, Curtis and the mech warriors asked,
“What happened back there? Calling the queen’s leg ‘wood’ out of nowhere—bribe?”
Wayne chuckled.
“Not a bribe. Something else.”
Absorbing the queen ant’s memories unlocked a quirky yellow Odd ability: infecting a target’s mind with Odd.
Implant yellow Odd in their brain, inject a suggestion, and they’d believe it until the Odd depleted. Then they’d forget everything.
The queen’s evolution for ruling her ant horde. She’d send Odd signals to worker ants, who relayed to princess ants for amplification across the legion. Without signals, princesses assumed her dead and took over.
Odd-less foes couldn’t resist Wayne’s mental infection.
Back at his territory, Wayne soaked in the stream at the canyon base to absorb white Odd first.
Harder to take in than other Odds, he planned to max it here. Half a day later, he’d formed a white Odd Hole in one lung.
Eyes closed, he accelerated Odd flow. Instantly to 100x speed, releasing compressed white Odd around him.
A dense Odd magnetic field formed.
He extended a hand toward a nearby boulder.
Drag! Rumble!
The man-sized rock slid over, then floated up.
A technique exploiting white Odd’s interference and free movement in magnetic fields.
“Damn! That’d yank a person easy.”
His guard knight Blaster shook his head from the water’s edge.
“Still a ways off. We fight people or Gigants?”
Wayne smirked, lowering the rock.
No matter how strong, no human beat monsters barehanded—or Gigants.
Other magic kingdoms proved it. Despite potent magic, individuals couldn’t match Magic Knights. Magic evolved for crafting, piloting, or enhancing them—other spells faded.
But Wayne could strike Gigants with Odd.
He experimented mixing other Odds into white Odd.
Beyond electric attacks, explosions added options: blind foes externally, or detonate on weapon hits to shatter armor or limbs.
Facing the queen ant taught multi-Odd use. He wondered how it’d fare against Gigants or Magic Knights.
Opportunity knocked fast.
Tarun Kingdom crossed Sailon Occupation Zone’s border.
And Kallung Grand Territory’s envoy sought Wayne—the empire’s southernmost domain, swarming with tens of thousands of Sailon refugees.