Iron does not break.
Iron only grows harder.
The Metalum Empire shines in dazzling brilliance.
At the heart of Metalum, Oruka was like one enormous machine.
In Metalum, there was no need for fire, water, or wood.
What the citizens of Metalum wanted was one thing alone: steel.
The city’s structures were solid, built in extremely straight lines.
Not a single building was crooked or curved.
Everything was arranged at precise angles, and not the slightest asymmetry was permitted.
The largest structure in all of Oruka was, without question, Oruma’s citadel.
Nicknamed the “Fortress of Steel,” this citadel stood at the exact center of Oruka.
It could truly be called the heart of the Metalum Empire.
Oruka was a pure white city.
That was because the large, smooth steel plates placed throughout the city reflected the sunlight.
At times, it was a city that shone even brighter than the sun.
The city’s buildings were surrounded by iron walls, and every wall was part of one vast defensive system.
These buildings were also connected to one another, functioning like a gigantic machine that moved organically.
The structures of the Metalum Empire were made of steel, but even they could develop.
Necessary parts were attached, unnecessary parts were dismantled, and they gradually transformed into more efficient structures.
The streets, too, stretched out straight, without a single curve to be found.
Even the roads allowed neither asymmetry nor chaos.
Of course, there was also the reason that straight roads were more efficient than curved ones.
The citizens of Metalum were assembled into existence in this world.
In the beginning, they were all completed in the same form, but as time passed, each came to recognize the parts they needed and the parts they did not, modifying their own bodies as they desired.
Clank, clank, clank…
If there was a flaw to the Metalum Empire, it was that it was extremely noisy.
Even when the citizens merely walked, their feet struck the ground and produced a clamorous sound.
And throughout the city, the sound of citizens hammering themselves with hard objects as they tempered their own bodies could constantly be heard.
“Hey, how’ve you been, friend?”
“Oh, look who it is. It’s been a while—”
Kwaang!
One citizen lifted his thick arm and accidentally struck the back of another citizen’s head standing behind him.
The citizen who had been struck out of nowhere turned around.
“What was that? Watch it.”
“Hmm, I am sorry, but who told you to stand there?”
“Then how about you take one too?”
He brought his hand down on the other’s head.
Kaaang!!
For some reason, a clear, cheerful sound rang out from that citizen’s head.
“Hey, buddy, you only look big on the outside. You’re empty inside, aren’t you?”
“Damn it, don’t touch my head anymore. If it dents, I’ll have to straighten it out again.”
For the citizens of Metalum, training was part of daily life.
That was because the more they tempered themselves, the harder they became.
A hardened body could not only withstand external impact, but also endure for an extremely long time, and even its appearance carried a special texture.
“Ooh, you must’ve worked incredibly hard yesterday too.”
“Heh heh. You can tell I’ve changed, can’t you?”
His steel skin reflected the sunlight with exquisite clarity.
This luster was the result of his ceaseless polishing.
Steel that had not been properly polished lost its sheen.
“Your body reflects everything around you. Even me. I still have a long way to go before I’m like that.”
“Try a little harder. I didn’t rest for even a single moment yesterday.”
To the citizens of the Metalum Empire, the results of training were a source of pride.
They compared their efforts with those of other citizens and competed with one another.
In an open lot in the city, numerous citizens were watching a fight. They bore no ill will toward one another; it was a friendly match held to determine who was stronger.
“Take this!”
One citizen threw a punch at another.
Kaang!
“Whoa, now!”
The citizen struck by the punch took a step back.
“Not bad. Now it’s my turn.”
“I’m ready. Begin.”
“Good!”
This time, it was his turn to throw a punch at his opponent.
Whoosh!
Kwaang!
Kuuung!!
His opponent lost his balance and fell to the ground.
“Urgh, impossible!”
“Yes!”
“Uwooooh!!”
The onlookers watching their fight let out a cheer.
“See? I told you he’d win.”
“Ah, so close. They were almost evenly matched.”
The citizens of the Metalum Empire voluntarily participated in competition.
Thanks to that, their sturdiness naturally rose to a uniformly high standard.
Inside the dazzling citadel, Oruma walked as he sank into thought.
With every step he took, the sound of interlocking gears turning could be heard.
“It is still not enough. Not yet…”
From the citadel, he looked out over the scenery of Oruka.
The view of Oruka as seen from its center formed an extremely regular and symmetrical structure.
“Within this Metalum Empire, order seems to be sufficiently established. Is it time to go beyond now? The world outside is still undeveloped territory. If we were to bring even that place under our control, it would be truly satisfying.”
Oruma rose from his throne.
Whenever his body moved, a sound rang out as though enormous steel gears were meshing and turning.
“The citizens of our Metalum are already growing stronger through endless training. A strong empire, naturally, requires a strong army.”
Oruma summoned Krasso, the representative of the steel assemblers.
Steel assembler was the title given to the workers in charge of construction within the Metalum Empire.
“You called for me, Your Imperial Majesty.”
Oruma gave him an order.
“Raise an army. I will provide metal cores, so construct barracks.”
“As you command, Your Majesty.”
The steel assemblers, including Krasso, used the metal cores to generate and assemble steel plates.
Before long, they had created barracks with perfect symmetry and structure.
Once the barracks were complete, it was time to train soldiers.
Countless citizens of Metalum were mustered inside the barracks.
“We are one. We are steel. We do not shatter. We do not fall!”
The citizens, who had each modified their bodies into different forms, were to be modified again in these barracks.
Because they needed bodies optimized for combat, they abandoned the individuality they had pursued until now.
Thus, all of them were standardized into the same size and form.
The training they had to undergo consisted of maintaining perfect formations, enduring impact, and practicing attack and defense.
Maintaining perfect formations meant that soldiers moved while keeping fixed intervals between one another.
This was because it was believed that moving in orderly fashion to an exact rhythm would maximize the efficiency of combat.
All soldiers had to move according to predetermined patterns, without the slightest disorder.
Impact-endurance training was, if anything, easy for the citizens of Metalum.
The training method was already a sport they mainly enjoyed.
Taking turns striking one another with their fists to temper each other further was a pastime the citizens had practiced countless times even before entering the barracks.
Lastly, attack-and-defense practice was the stage in which they divided into teams and carried out full-scale mock battles.
They were given sharp swords that looked capable of cutting through anything.
However, those swords could inflict no damage at all on their own hard bodies.
They were weapons that exerted their power only against enemies.
Because of that, they were able to conduct training in safe conditions.
The recruits who completed this training became soldiers known as “Metal Infantry.”
More than ten Metal Infantry stood while maintaining the fixed formation they had been trained in.
“All units, left face!”
Agnon, the army commander, gave an order to a unit of Metal Infantry.
The Metal Infantry turned their bodies without the slightest disorder.
“You have all done truly well until now. You are now the proud Metal Infantry of Metalum. But this is not the end. Advance ever farther forward. Show our mighty strength so that no one will dare oppose us!”
“Loyalty!!”
Even the shout of the Metal Infantry was perfect.
Meanwhile, in the citadel, Oruma sat on his throne and looked around at his retainers.
There were Agnon, the army commander; Belkar, the defense technology expert; and Feron, the resource manager.
Oruma began to speak.
“The reason I decided to raise an army is to expand the territory of our Metalum Empire even further. If our territory grows, the amount of metal cores we can produce will also increase, and with those metal cores, we can bring our Metalum closer to completion. Has there been any news from the outside?”
Agnon answered.
“We have obtained information that an empire called Silva is expanding in the region farthest from us. Silva is made of wood, and the army they command is made of trees as well. They seem to have no such thing as order. Therefore, from our perspective, I believe they will be an easy opponent. I wish only to display our power to them as soon as possible.”
“Hmm, trees, is it? Then we need only cut them down with the swords we have honed.”
Next, Belkar spoke in a trembling voice.
“I agree that Silva will be helpless before us. However, they will not allow themselves to be defeated easily either. To the south, there exists an empire of fire called Ignis. While keeping Silva in check, we must also defend our empire from Ignis at the same time. Their flames may melt us. Even polished metal could be rendered powerless in an instant.”
Oruma’s eyes widened.
“Enough of that weakness! We will never melt! We have trained endlessly to maintain our form even against such foes. There can be no defeat at the hands of something like fire, which cannot even keep a fixed shape!”
After thinking for a moment, Belkar answered.
“There is, however, a method. We use water.”
“Water, you say?”
“Yes. Conversely, to the north lies an empire called Aqua. If we help Aqua, I believe Aqua can attack Ignis in our place. Before Ignis approaches our Metalum Empire, we must make contact with Aqua first.”
“Hrm.”
Oruma nodded.
Feron also began to speak.
“I would like to offer an opinion as well. Thanks to Your Majesty, steel is being produced in sufficient quantities even now, but if our territory expands, we will be able to produce even more steel. Therefore, in my humble opinion, it seems approaching Aqua should come first. If we wage war against Silva, will we not suffer losses among our soldiers in the process? Rather than rushing into war immediately, overwhelming them with a decisive difference in military strength will bring us a surer victory.”
“Understood.”
After a brief silence, Oruma continued.
“For now, train even more soldiers. We must establish a defensive line sturdy enough to remain unmoved even by the flames of Ignis. If we then lead a sufficient number of soldiers outside, no one will be able to look down on us.”
The walls of the Metalum Empire were solid.
The Metal Infantry were strong as well.
They, like the other empires, intended to expand their own territory.
However, there was one empire that had been watching all of this.
Now, it was that empire’s turn to move.