The Battle of Bellport (2)
"Fiddling with documents. What a pathetic joke. The Espada Kingdom."
Lexion, Admiral of the Imperial Navy, stood at the bow of his ship, the Red Galleon.
His expression, which ought to have been grave given the circumstances of war, was filled with nothing but confidence.
Where his gaze fell, the eastern coast of the Espada Kingdom was slowly revealing itself.
A strait where countless islands were tangled together like a labyrinth.
The currents would surely be treacherous, but that fact mattered little to him.
He had already charted the currents of this zone through numerous territorial incursions. No matter what tricks the Espada Kingdom employed, they could never break his fleet.
The Kingdom was, after all, a nation of no particular account besides its so-called Iron Wall.
"The Iron Wall..."
When one ascended to a certain level, a specific phenomenon would manifest.
Unless one reached the realm of a Sword Master or an Archmage, however, the impact on the world was limited.
But when one attained the realm of the Transcendent, events that greatly influenced the world would occur.
For example, when Asterion, the King of the Magic Kingdom, had ascended to the level of Archmage in the past, it was said that all the mana on the continent had converged upon him in an instant.
And approximately one year ago, on the day the Iron Wall of the Espada Kingdom was born...
A crimson barrier covering the entire Espada Kingdom had risen into the sky.
It was as if it alone would defend against all the world's calamities and attacks.
On that day, not a single raindrop nor a whisper of wind could penetrate the Espada Kingdom.
Even all manner of detection magic and curses that foreign spies had sent toward the kingdom vanished without a trace.
Through that phenomenon, everyone on the continent had instinctively realized that a Sword Master had been born in the Espada Kingdom.
Of course, none of that mattered to Lexion.
"No matter how impenetrable the Iron Wall may be, in the end, as a Master, she must remain confined to the capital."
But he was different.
A top-tier Sword Expert.
He was the most powerful asset that could directly participate in warfare.
"Admiral. We will soon arrive at the entrance to the eastern strait of Espada."
At his adjutant's report, Lexion turned around.
The Imperial fleet filled the eastern sea as far as the eye could see, as if embroidered upon the waters.
No — his fleet followed behind him.
Beholding that majestic presence, a thrill rose from deep within his chest.
'Yes. This is the power of the Empire. This is my power, Lexion's power.'
The face of Lady Aila, who had hidden herself recently, came to mind.
She was the woman he loved.
Her brilliant golden hair, as if woven from threads of sunlight, and her eyes that seemed to hold the blue sea within them.
She had begun to hide herself after they lost the Karon Territory and news of Kelrn and Kraus's deaths reached them.
No doubt she had grown uneasy as the Empire began to falter.
And on top of that, those noble bastards whispering behind his back simply because he was a former pirate, even though he belonged to the Imperial faction.
To wash away all that displeasure and proclaim his superiority to the world and to the Lady, he had chosen this blockade of the eastern strait.
He would squeeze the life out of that nouveau riche kingdom, then lay the mountains of gold, silver, and treasure they would offer, along with their surrender documents, at Lady Aila's feet.
That had been the plan... but...
"Aaagh...! My leg...! My leg...!"
"What in the world is that...!"
"Has a great mage appeared in the Kingdom...!"
"...What is this."
It was the moment they entered the heart of the eastern strait.
Something flew in from all directions and began destroying the Imperial ships.
Sensing a sting of pain, Lexion looked down at his right hand, which was gripping his cutlass.
The index and middle fingers of his right hand, the one holding the cutlass, were gone.
Moreover, his left ear could not hear.
He was certain he had blocked it.
No — he had succeeded in cleaving the first attack. Definitely.
But he could not cleave all ten of the shots that flew at him simultaneously.
—Drip. Drip.
Dark red blood gushed from the severed cross-section of his two lost fingers.
The back of his hand and the left side of his body had turned bright red, as if burned.
This was his body, which should have become harder than steel by channeling his aura.
His reason could not easily accept the fact that cannonballs carrying mere speed — not swordsmanship, not magic — had pierced the aura of a top-tier Expert.
The adjutant behind him had long since perished in the first attack.
"Cannons... Surely our own ships are equipped with them as well..."
Cannons were mounted on his ships too.
Though gunpowder was scarce and they could not use them often.
"But..."
'What in the world is that...!'
Even if they were cannons, it was beyond imagination that such power could be produced.
Moreover, those cannons the enemy was firing were not merely shooting lumps of iron — they were weapons that exploded as well.
Countless cannonballs were falling once more, as if to fill the sky.
"Damn it...!"
The Red Galleon, the pride of Imperial Navy Admiral Lexion, sank beneath the waves.
"Good. It's sunk."
We had concentrated thirty percent of our first strike on the ship carrying Lexion.
It was basic tactics — eliminate the commander, the head of the army, first.
Beyond my field of vision, Lexion's ship was clearly visible, burning as it sank into the sea.
The escort vessels around it were also caught in the explosions, their masts snapped and decks shattered, rocking violently.
'I can't let my guard down yet.'
Lexion was one of the original novel's male leads.
Until I confirmed his death with certainty, I could not afford to relax.
"Seria. Can you see him?"
"I cannot currently sense the enemy commander's mana."
Listening to Seria's report, I was checking the secret weapon I had prepared in advance.
The island we were on sat directly in front of the direction the Imperial fleet was coming from.
Just in case, I had modified the SI-06 together with the Master Blacksmith and installed a one-use beam cannon here.
Though I wasn't sure if we'd actually need to use it.
Thinking that, I surveyed the sea where the battle was raging.
The situation of the Imperial fleet was hell itself.
The ships, clustered closely together, were highly susceptible to fire spreading from the cannon shells.
Furthermore, as the lead ships were destroyed and came to a halt, the trailing vessels behind them could not reduce speed in time and chain-collided into them.
'I can't let them escape.'
The Imperial ships were already trapped in the trap we had laid.
There was no path of retreat.
"Turn the ship around! Turn it around!"
"The escape route is blocked! Aaaagh!"
I watched the sinking Imperial fleet and issued orders through the communication network.
Cannonballs began pouring down once more from all over the islands.
The enemy battle mages' defensive attempts were useless.
If they cast a defense spell, we would simply fire another cannonball.
If they cast reflection or slow magic, we would just detonate the shells remotely using the trigger devices.
'I had even prepared for the Imperial mages attempting an attack.'
But the Imperial mages currently seemed to have no leeway to attack.
Probably because they had never experienced being pushed back this hard before.
The Imperial fleet continued to sink, and the screams of enemy soldiers drowned beneath the sea.
Yet my instincts were warning me that the war was not yet over.
A major character from the original work, sinking and dying pathetically from a few cannon shells?
Of course, this place was now reality, not a novel.
But even so, I did not believe someone at the level of a top-tier Expert would die so easily.
How much time had passed?
As if to prove my ominous premonition correct, a strange wave began to emanate from the middle of the sea.
-KUGUGUGUGUNG!!-
From amidst the wreckage of the sunken ships, Lexion's characteristic indigo mana shot up like a pillar.
The waters of the strait began to surge and rise toward the sky, as if their master had been born.
It was the phenomenon of twisting concepts — the hallmark of a Transcendent, far beyond an Expert.
The humiliation of a crushing defeat, the inferiority complex of a base-born former pirate.
And his obsession with Aila.
All those twisted emotions had finally shattered the wall of transcendence that had been blocking Lexion's path.
'...It doesn't seem complete, though.'
The seawater scattered in all directions as if obeying his command, creating a massive whirlpool.
And at its center.
Upon the wreckage of a burning deck, a blood-soaked Lexion stood with his eyes closed, gripping his sword in his left hand instead of his damaged right hand.
Lexion took no action at all.
Yet everyone on the battlefield could do nothing but watch.
Such was the nature of the Transcendent realm.
The only sound that could be heard was the swallowing of saliva from all around.
And the moment he opened his eyes...
-Woong.
The atmosphere of the eastern coast was crushed, and an oppression so intense that breathing was difficult enveloped the battlefield.
Seria asked in a trembling voice.
"M-my lord... That is..."
"Yes. This is the second time I've witnessed one being born in person."
A Sword Master.
Imperial Navy Admiral Lexion.
The Empire's sixth star had risen.