Chapter 118
Chapter 118
Mad Black Mage's Tower Strategy
Chapter 118
"You let them escape?"
The air in the audience chamber froze like ice.
When the report came in that they had failed to intercept the foreigners' submarine, Lunaria's eyebrows twitched.
The Sea Dragon Tribe guards who had pursued Seo-jin's speedboat hung their heads as if they had no face to show.
"Th-that is..."
They reported the facts to Lunaria exactly as they were.
Speed that surpassed military submarines and piloting skills that bordered on miraculous.
Moreover, as if they knew the underwater terrain inside and out, they had the strange ability to rupture water veins at strategic locations to scatter the pursuit formation.
This wasn't simply a face-saving report. It had been impossible to catch him with just the pursuit team from the beginning.
Crack—
After hearing the report, Lunaria gripped the armrest of her throne with all her strength.
'Something so absurd...'
Even setting aside the piloting skills, how could he know the underwater terrain?
This wasn't a matter to simply overlook.
Perhaps there was even a traitor among their allies.
If they dragged this out, there was no telling what other variables might arise, so they had to strike Atlantis as quickly as possible.
"How are the preparations coming along?"
At Lunaria's question, Haizen, who was standing beside her, bowed his head.
"Smoothly. We've assembled all the forces from the Dragon-Human production facility at the fortress. The total number is 20,000. More than five times Atlantis's entire military strength."
Atlantis, which had been steeped in peace and complacency for a long time, had no combat forces to stand against the Sea Dragon Tribe's invasion.
There were 3,000 security guards responsible for the city's public safety. Adding the royal guard of 500 and about 100 temple knights, that was everything.
Most of even those were rabble who hadn't undergone proper training, so the only useful forces were the royal guard and the knights.
In contrast, their forces numbered 20,000.
10,000 Dragon-Human soldiers carefully crafted over a long period, plus 10,000 warriors selected from the five subordinate tribes and Sea Dragon Tribe guards.
Originally, there should have been several thousand more Dragon-Human soldiers, but they had suffered tremendous losses because of that foreigner.
Even so.
"Our forces are sufficient."
"Yes, more than enough."
They had no means to handle the Dragon-Human soldiers' powerful strength and near-infinite regenerative abilities.
'Moreover, the 10,000 warriors selected from each tribe are also formidable forces.'
These were true warriors who had sharpened their blades of revenge under discrimination and contempt for a long time.
Their very spirit was different from those who had lived soaked in peace within comfortable barriers.
Not only did they outnumber the defending forces by more than five times, but the quality of their troops was also vastly superior.
On top of that.
"Can we count on your support?"
The true force that would decide the outcome of this war was the special forces brought by the foreign businessmen.
The powerful beings called hunting dogs.
At Lunaria's question, Haizen smiled slightly and bowed his head.
"Of course. It will be sufficient if you just pressure them from the front."
The plan was for the Dragon-Human soldiers and anti-royalist tribes to pound the walls while the corporation's hunting dogs crossed the barrier to strike the temple.
Normally, excessive involvement in native affairs would require watching the administrator's mood, but thanks to Supernova and the Nam-gung siblings' participation, they could move freely without any concerns.
This war had become a confrontation between tower climbers rather than a one-sided rampage by climbers against natives.
Francesca had testified that Supernova's power, which had devastated the Dragon-Human production facility, was just luck from using a one-time item.
They couldn't use such methods in this war, so there was no need to worry.
If everything proceeded according to plan, victory was certain.
However.
'I can't let them revive Leviathan.'
Haizen silently twisted his lips.
Unlike Lunaria's grandiose plan, Haizen had no intention of letting that ancient monster revive.
The corporation only wanted the collapse of the existing ruling forces. They didn't want a new absolute power to be born.
If she backed herself with that monster, which was said to rival the administrator, there was no telling how Lunaria might act then.
'Of course, this Sea Dragon woman is probably thinking the same thing.'
If they just revived Leviathan, she was probably planning to eliminate all the foreigners and establish a kingdom of their own.
But he had no intention of letting that happen.
While harboring their own dreams, Lunaria and Haizen completed their war preparations.
"The time has come."
Lunaria nodded briefly and rose from her throne.
***
Meanwhile, Atlantis was also moving busily under the shadow of the approaching war.
High Priestess Leila and the heads of the seven clans began defense preparations in perfect order according to Seo-jin's advice.
Children and the elderly were evacuated to shelters, and Sea Folk who could fight headed to the walls carrying spears and harpoons.
However, anxiety and fear were clearly visible on the faces of those conscripted.
"Wh-what's happening?"
"The Sea Dragon Tribe is attacking!"
"Why are they suddenly doing this?"
"The Sea Dragon Tribe centered a rebellion with five tribes allied together."
"A-a rebellion? Is this a tribal war?"
Tribal wars were legendary events that only appeared in documents from hundreds of years ago.
They never expected to experience this directly themselves.
"H-how can we face the Sea Dragon Tribe..."
"They're biological weapons."
The Sea Dragon Tribe had bodies twice as large as ordinary Sea Folk and were a combat race forged in the harsh outer seas beyond the barrier.
For ordinary Sea Folk who had never held a spear in their lives to fight them was tantamount to suicide.
Then Chief Candra of the Sword Scale clan shouted in a booming voice.
"You damn idiots, what's there to fear with these high walls and the barrier! Even if we die, we Sword Scale will die first, so you all face battle with dignity!"
If there was any tribe that could rival the Sea Dragon Tribe, it was undoubtedly the Sword Scale alone.
Shark Sea Folk and marlin Sea Folk were tribes specialized in combat and hunting, possessing physical strength and combat abilities comparable to the Sea Dragon Tribe.
If they joined forces.
"R-right. They can't possibly climb the walls, can they?"
"Let's just throw harpoons from a distance."
Whether it was an insult or encouragement, the soldiers found comfort in the incomprehensible cry.
Below the walls was also busy with battle preparations.
Chief Cantalone of the Soft Sea clan released thousands of jellyfish to establish a surveillance network monitoring all the waters around Atlantis.
The Spiny Skin and Fish Flower clans also laid traps in the coral reefs and seabed around the city, preparing to block the enemy's advance.
The other clans also utilized their respective specialties to prepare for the coming war.
Nam-gung Rin, who was watching the scene from atop the walls, approached Leila and asked in a small voice.
"I-is this really going to be okay?"
The conscription had been completed on time, but the troops had no combat training at all.
Rather than being proper fighting forces, they were merely filling numbers.
When battle broke out, far from holding their positions, they would all flee in terror.
To this, Leila smiled faintly while looking down at the bustling troops.
"It's fine. They're not combat forces anyway."
"Pardon?"
Even to Nam-gung Rin's questioning, Leila silently looked around at the Sea Folk standing on the walls.
It was exactly as she said.
Though they had been conscripted under the pretext of being combat forces, she didn't expect great fighting power from them.
If she had only considered combat efficiency, she would have put only trained forces on the walls and assigned the rest to supply duties.
But Seo-jin had specifically ordered them to be placed on the walls, and Leila had understood his intention and carried out the command.
Clench—
She looked at the Sea Folk murmuring on the walls and clenched her fist tightly.
'They, and I, have a duty to witness.'
The wave of hatred built up by their arrogance and prejudice.
The long history of discrimination returning as swords and spears—they had a duty to witness it clearly with their own eyes.
Hoooo—
The enemy forces gradually approached from the dark depths.
The rebel army of five tribes led by the Sea Dragons was a monster created by the wrongs they had tried so hard to ignore.
Only after facing this head-on would they finally gain the minimum qualification to be saved by someone.
If they hid behind the walls and didn't face this, even if they were saved for now, the same thing would just repeat again.
Therefore, we stood on the walls for this purpose.
Thus, we are both parties and witnesses.
Though it will be a new history written in blood, we will be witnesses.
Witnesses to the new era that will come.
***
The deepest part of the Temple of Pontos.
The 'Workshop of Creation' where legend says the Sea God Pontos himself once laid the foundation of Atlantis.
Seo-jin spread out the [Tears of Pontos] that Leila had given him and the Behemoth corpse he had obtained before on the altar in the center of the workshop.
The sight of bones and organs several times larger than Seo-jin's torso arranged in the form of strange patterns was truly spectacular.
It was like looking at the Nazca Lines.
"Baduki."
Having laid out the materials well, Seo-jin summoned Baduki and seated him in the center of the altar.
Grr-ruff—
Baduki panting and wagging his tail.
Not knowing what was about to happen, seeing him welcome his master so innocently made Seo-jin feel somewhat bitter.
Hyeon-wol looked at Baduki and asked Seo-jin.
[Are you really going to turn this dog into a giant monster?]
Seo-jin slowly shook his head.
"...That wouldn't be right."
Turning this cute Baduki into a giant monster would be a poor decision.
To begin with, it wasn't a problem that could be solved by slapping materials all over Baduki's body to increase his size.
That way, the power wouldn't be properly transmitted to the giant body, and fuel efficiency would also be poor.
Moreover, if he became too large, it would be difficult to conveniently summon and use him later.
How could one easily handle a monster the size of a mountain?
There would be no suitable space to summon him, and if he ran around everywhere, the surroundings would be completely devastated.
Most importantly, he would never be able to see cute Baduki's appearance again.
Therefore, the method Seo-jin devised was like a powered suit.
Just as a person rides and controls a giant robot, Baduki would enter and control the giant Behemoth's body.
That way, there would be no need to turn cute Baduki into a giant monster.
The body could be stored in inventory after this battle ended.
Power transmission and mana efficiency would also be much more efficient than the method of adding materials to Baduki's body.
"The problem is... whether that can face Leviathan."
Of course, since it would be descending to the 20th floor, its level would fall short of the main body, but Baduki originated from Behemoth's fragment.
In terms of level, he was several stages below that one.
Seo-jin looked at the Tears of Pontos glowing blue on the altar.
'At least I can fill the lacking level with that.'
The Tears of Pontos was an artifact personally bestowed by Pontos, one of the divine positions of Pantheon.
Since Pontos also had legends of defeating Leviathan, combining with Baduki would create a synergistic effect and become strong enough to face Leviathan.
The problem was that he couldn't completely consume it as raw material.
'If the Tears of the Sea God that Lunaria has gets destroyed, I need to create new Tears of the Sea God to replace it.'
So like the time distortion spell book in the [Tears of Siyul] that Seo-jin was currently wearing, he had to provide a slot so the Tears of Pontos could be attached and detached at any time.
'This is extremely difficult.'
It had to be a structure that Baduki could board, while allowing the core material to be attached and detached at any time.
Moreover, he had to weave it so that the black magic controlling the undead and the divine power of the Tears of Pontos wouldn't repel each other.
Either way, it was no easy task.
"Phew."
Seo-jin exhaled deeply, rubbed his face once, then hardened his gaze.
'No, this much isn't even difficult.'
Rather, this was a problem Seo-jin could solve by working hard alone.
Resolving the deep-rooted conflict of this underwater city would be several times more difficult.
'Even if I lead the war to Atlantis's victory, the conflicts between tribes won't be resolved.'
Rather, the five tribes that rebelled would suffer even more extreme discrimination and oppression than before.
So in this war, he had to achieve something more than simple victory.
There was only one way to solve this.
'An external enemy.'
Set up a more powerful and evil external enemy and turn the arrows of anger toward them.
Fortunately, for this particular case, there was a clear enemy.
He had entrusted this matter to Francesca and Nam-gung Cheon.
Seo-jin erased his complicated thoughts and began the manufacturing work in earnest.
"Come forth, Lich King."
The Lich King and his army suddenly emerged from Seo-jin's shadow.
The sight of an ancient monster's corpse and skeleton armies swarming in the sacred temple basement was truly surreal.
'Truly sacrilegious.'
But since this was to save his people, Pontos would understand generously.
Seo-jin stood in the center of the altar like a supervisor and gave orders to the skeletons.
"Good. Then let's start with the 7th cervical vertebra. Move it this way."
Clatter—
The skeleton horde bowed to Seo-jin then approached the pile of bones laid out on the floor.
Thus, Seo-jin began assembling Behemoth's skeleton using his skeleton army.