Chapter 00064: The Fleet Attacks
# The Fleet Attacks
Chapter 64
Novel: AFK Game: Portal to Another World
Chapter 64: The Fleet Attacks
Lei Lei's mind was racing, her little abacus clacking away so loudly the beads were practically falling out.
She frantically urged Li Chengxi to go to the seaside.
Actually, it didn't have to be the seaside.
As long as they went traveling for fun, even the most cautious person would surely let their guard down and reveal a flaw.
But just as Lei Lei was frantically encouraging Li Chengxi to go on a trip, Li Chengxi suddenly blurted out a question:
"What cuts through the water the fastest?"
"?"
They were just talking about going to the seaside, why did he suddenly come out with a question like that.
It wasn't just her imagination; Lei Lei really felt like she couldn't keep up with Li Chengxi's train of thought anymore.
"Um... it should be a propeller, right?"
"A propeller... propeller... right, I have an idea!"
"Brother Li, you've seemed a bit distracted since just now. Are you alright?"
Lei Lei watched in astonishment as Li Chengxi grabbed his phone, even catching a glimpse of him opening an online shopping app.
"I'm fine, just some random thoughts."
"Then, about the trip to the seaside..."
"Oh, let's just forget it. I have to run the store, so I don't have much time. Besides, I'm not really someone who likes to go out and have fun."
After all, he'd be going alone, which was far too lonely.
Going out to have fun felt almost like social suicide; he'd rather stay home and play games.
"..."
Lei Lei was at a loss for words.
Why was Li Chengxi acting like a lunatic today?
–‐‐——–‐‐——
Demon Lord Calendar, Year 648.
May 1st, night.
Entering May, even the dry, rain-scarce Leon Territory was finally seeing a light drizzle.
The dark clouds were mainly concentrated over the sea, obscuring the vast expanse of stars and moonlight.
Only the occasional thunderclap streaking across the sky would faintly illuminate the oppressive night.
At the seaport of the Leon Territory, soldiers were busily setting up temporary fortifications.
Holing up and defending Leon Stronghold certainly had its advantages, but it was tantamount to handing the initiative to the enemy, allowing them to land with ease.
The margin for error for the defenders and attackers was not equal.
As long as the attackers had enough troops, they could launch countless assaults.
The defenders, however, only needed to make one mistake, and it would all be over.
So, after much deliberation, Viola and the others discussed it and decided to establish a defensive line on the beachhead where landing would be easy.
Since the harbor wasn't deep enough, the warships certainly couldn't dock directly.
When the time came, groups of soldiers would likely be rowing toward the beach in small boats.
This made them excellent targets with nowhere to hide, allowing the defenders to inflict massive casualties on the enemy forces.
Their own forces were already at a numerical disadvantage.
By inflicting casualties as the enemy approached, and then again with a rain of arrows as they jumped from their boats and waded ashore, they could deal a heavy blow to the enemy's morale.
From ancient times to the present, amphibious landings have always been the most difficult type of battle.
In this respect, warfare has never changed.
But then again, the enemy should also be aware of these disadvantages.
Even if their general was an idiot, his advisors would surely have explained the situation clearly.
It was possible for one or two people in the leadership to be idiots, but it was impossible for all of them to be idiots.
Therefore, Viola believed that since the enemy dared to come, they must have a backup plan.
So she had also specifically requisitioned transport like carriages and ox carts from nearby villages and towns.
Once the beachhead position fell, they could quickly use these vehicles to transport the soldiers back to the fortress to continue their defense.
Due to the urgency of the situation and the lack of time, there wasn't much Viola could do.
Otherwise, she would have at least tried to procure a dozen large crossbows to place on the beachhead.
For now, this was the best she could manage.
Of course, aside from her own efforts, Viola had not neglected the request made by the Demon God in the slightest.
The task of setting up the defenses was left to the soldiers and the Royal Guards.
Viola, starting from the morning, had gathered a large number of commoners in the plaza of Leon Stronghold and held a grand ritual.
From explaining the scripture to leading the prayers, she even used divine arts to create sound and light effects.
Viola didn't rest for the entire day.
Other than drinking a little water to soothe her throat, she didn't eat, wholeheartedly presiding over the entire ceremony until the sun went down.
"What's the situation?"
Not long after the ritual ended, Viola rushed to the beachhead to inquire.
"Your Highness, you should get some rest."
"I'm fine, I ate something on the way."
Her years of swordsmanship training kept Viola very healthy.
Even after being up for a whole day, she was not about to collapse.
Seeing that his advice was falling on deaf ears, Zola could only report:
"The defenses are basically complete. However, because we went to intercept the winter wolves earlier, we're running low on oil."
Oil was an extremely rare commodity in this era.
Since the region didn't have rapeseed and didn't know how to extract oil from peanuts, their main source of oil was from animal fats, like whales.
The only plant-based oil was olive oil.
The Leon Territory did not produce olives, so all their olive oil relied on merchants for transport.
But now that the Canyon Path was blocked, merchants naturally couldn't get in.
Their oil supply was dwindling with every use.
Using fire attacks against sailing warships was the most effective tactic.
The lack of oil was indeed a major problem, and the battle ahead would likely be very difficult.
"What's the status of the scout ships?"
"We've requisitioned some fishing boats for reconnaissance, but for safety's sake, they can't venture too far out to sea. We haven't spotted any sign of the enemy yet."
In other words, by the time they were discovered, the enemy would certainly be very close.
Viola steeled herself for a tough fight and asked again:
"Where are Audel and Wendy? I don't see them."
"Miss Audel is on the hillside. She said the view is better there, and she can use magic to see far out onto the sea. Miss Wendy is in the supply area, in charge of inventorying the materials."
"I understand. Tell everyone to be on high alert."
"As you command."
Zola acknowledged, then asked hesitantly:
"Your Highness, the Lord..."
"The Lord gave me no revelation during the ritual. I don't know if He was satisfied with the ceremony. Likewise, I don't know if He will personally intervene. We should prepare for the worst."
Viola seemed fraught with worry, feeling that her direct plea for the god to crush the enemy might have angered the deity.
After all, not even the God of War personally joined the fray to help fight battles.
–‐‐——–‐‐——
"Hasn't it started yet? Don't tell me they're really going to wait until the middle of the night to show up?"
This was completely different from what Viola was worried about.
Not only was Li Chengxi not the least bit displeased, he was actually brimming with excitement.
Although Li Chengxi didn't speak while Viola was conducting the ritual, he was thrilled to see his Faith Points shooting up.
The white dragon incident had cost him a lot of Faith Points, but its aftermath had converted many more people into followers, and his Faith Points had quickly approached three thousand.
And the grand prayer that lasted the entire day had pushed his Faith Points to nearly five thousand.
In the past, when he personally intervened, he would at most spend four or five hundred Faith Points.
In other words, Li Chengxi had never gone into a fight this wealthy before.
No wonder he was so excited and had made ample preparations in advance.
This time, he was determined to make some big news!
But then again, the four-hour time difference between the game and reality was a pain.
Li Chengxi didn't have a habit of staying up late.
It was nighttime on Viola's side, but it was already almost one in the morning for him.
Li Chengxi's eyelids were already starting to droop, and he was relying entirely on Red Bull and chewing gum to stay awake.
He opened the map and could see that the currently explored sea area was just a small patch close to the shore.
He had asked Viola to send out scout ships to spot the enemy fleet in advance, but he hadn't expected the Leon Territory to have nothing but fishing boats.
There was only one fast ship from Sailing Harbor that could travel further out, and the crew on that ship weren't followers, so they couldn't be used to clear the map.
Another half an hour passed as he scrolled through his phone, occasionally glancing at the game screen.
Li Chengxi really couldn't hold on much longer.
But just then, Li Chengxi saw a few pixels moving at the 'edge' of the ocean on the screen.
This immediately jolted him awake, and he hastily zoomed in the camera view.
A vast, pixel-style fleet had just sailed into the explored region...
(End of Chapter)