Retribution Engine
Akaso
Retribution Engine is a dieselpunk martial-arts progression fantasy where arcane machinery built to birth an army instead gives form to a singular paragon of violence - a creature of pure instinct who steps into a world at war. Egotistical, violent, righteous to a fault, the Conquering One - the Wanderer Unchained - carves through tyrants and warlords across the dieselpunk Imperium. Originally a Royal Road webserial (fiction/42627) explicitly tagged '[Dieselpunk Martial Arts Progression Fantasy]', the series follows the protagonist's relentless body-forging and martial cultivation from the War of Fog through dungeon-like training complexes, sect birth, and empire-shaking breakthroughs. The Kindle Unlimited trilogy (Vol. 1 Rising From the War of Fog, Vol. 2 Marching Into the Jaws of Hell, Vol. 3 Birth of a Sect For the New Era) tracks quantified martial advancement, mech-armor integration, and metaphysical evolution as the engine of war becomes an engine of retribution.
Progression: Dieselpunk martial-arts progression with explicit body-forging, trait evolution, and military rank ladder. The System centers on martial cultivation through Volt, Electroinduction, and Sturmblitz Kunst - quantified stages where the protagonist reforges flesh, traits, and anima/animus. Advancement is not metaphorical: Royal Road volume structure (Vol. 1-3) and chapter titles like 'Traits', 'Metamorphosis', 'Total Limiter Release', 'Apotheosis in the Garden of Flesh', 'Empire of Self/Dragonfire', 'Tribulation Begins', and 'After the Tribulation' mark hierarchical breakthroughs. Supporting progression includes Locust Queen Dungeon training-complex tiers, Necrobeast Elixir impurities, Array Patterns, and Conqueror's Mantle supersession (Kugelblitz Incarnation). Each volume is a rank gate: Vol. 1 War of Fog foundation and mech-armor awakening, Vol. 2 Jaws of Hell dungeon deepening and Hierophant-adjacent trials, Vol. 3 Sect establishment and Sutra mastery ('Formless Destroyer Sutra One: Everything is Violence'). Reddit r/ProgressionFantasy review notes 'Dieselpunk Martial Arts Progression' and Goodreads Vol. 3 subtitle 'Birth of a Sect For the New Era' confirm sect-tier progression as central engine, verified via Royal Road tags 'progression fantasy, martial arts, dieselpunk'.
Royal Road
Goodreads
