Chapter 145
Chapter 145
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: First Move
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The night sky over the sea was clear and cool. Beneath the constellations stitching the heavens, Fernandez's greatsword gleamed under the mana lamps.
-Shwaaack!
A vampire attempting to board was sliced to pieces and collapsed. Wights and ghouls surged forward like a tidal wave. On the open sea, the warships were fortresses, and this was a siege unfolding on deck.
"Die, you blood sacks!!"
-Shwick!
The wet, sticky screams of vampires echoed across the ocean. Fernandez planted his blade straight into the deck and caught his breath for a moment. In the distance, he could see Kirhas and Abel locked in combat.
The elf wildprinces were experts in shipboard fighting. The vampires, by contrast, charged in blindly. They overwhelmed with sheer numbers alone, but on this confined battlefield, numbers meant little.
"Is this all they've got?"
Leia gripped her sword hilt, assuming a stance, her eyes gleaming. With a sharp *shing*, light flashed. The vampire lunging at her was bisected and fell. She scanned the surroundings, her sword already sheathed as if it had never been drawn.
"Is this really it? Does this even qualify as an ambush?"
Leia narrowed her eyes at the wight bellowing in rage. It was a hulking monstrosity crudely stitched from bats, ancient beasts, and human corpses.
Its strength and size rivaled a troll's, and without any fear of death, it was even more dangerous than one. But—
-Shing.
Her index finger vanished from the hilt for an instant, and the beast's body split in two. Leia ignored the wight's viscous halves and sought her next foe.
Just a few rotting corpses, a handful of frail vampires, monsters no stronger than trolls. Had they truly dared to target Gaimeirn's Golden Fleet with this paltry force and composition?
-Thoom...
At that moment, Leia's ears perked up. Fernandez glared sharply toward the sound's origin. They shouted in unison.
"Port side! Evasive turn!"
-Kreeee...
The deck mages at the bow, awaiting orders, formed seals in perfect sync. Their preparations made the response swift. All nearby ships scattered as if sliding—
-Shwaaack!
And through the gap, a massive harpoon erupted from beneath the waves. Water sprayed like a waterfall, the rusted projectile—brimming with force—vanishing into the night sky.
"We've got their position!"
Leia scrambled up the ratlines, yanking a signal horn from her belt. She bellowed toward the dispersed warships.
"Flagship bearing, northeast seven o'clock, 300 meters—fire on the sea floor!!"
Elves were long-lived, naturally becoming experts in their roles over time. The combat crews efficiently pressed the siege, while navigators readied broadsides in seconds.
Every task meshed like perfect gears. Soon, ear-shattering cannon fire hammered the sea.
No need for explosive shells. Solid iron shot—pure weight and power—rained down on the depths.
With the barrage, the vampires began to retreat. Four nights had passed since the first assault.
*
"It's a war of attrition, a delaying tactic."
Leia sat on the conference room throne, eyeing the chart. One captain raised his hand.
"Your Majesty, they're hoping to wear us down. Daily night clashes are steadily draining our troops."
"Is there a way to avoid engagement?"
"We can at least preempt them now that we've anticipated their approach."
At night, elf mages established underwater surveillance to detect minion deployments. Franzrit's flagship lurked beyond scrying depths, but once they closed to visible range, the elves could brace for boarding.
After repeated bombardments, the enemy only attempted harpoon strikes at critical moments. Their tactics were shifting from fleet battle to boarding melee. Ambushes only worked as ambushes.
In a fleet gun duel, Leia's Golden Fleet was invincible. North Sea's strongest armada was no empty boast.
"So, we blanket them with fire when they approach?"
"With Maleyrn looming, we can't afford more losses to vampire rabble, Your Majesty."
"Do we have resources to spare, General?"
Leia turned to the finance minister, who slowly shook his head.
"Repeated skirmishes like tonight's—we won't last five more days. We may need to retreat for resupply."
"Unless we're ramming Maleyrn's flagship, we need to bolster firepower. Waste all our shot on vampires? Sound advice."
"Their resources aren't infinite either."
The elves weren't the only ones taking damage from the gunnery. Franzrit's ship count was unknown, but their fire was growing sporadic—last night, just once.
They too were losing vessels or attack assets in the fleet war. Given their massive harpoon launchers, resupply couldn't be easy.
"Their assaults are just probes, Your Majesty. Why not strike Maleyrn before we bleed further?"
A minister ventured cautiously. It seemed wise given the attrition, but...
"Drag them along for a two-front war? That sounds promising. We still lack a way to destroy Serpentking's flagship."
"That's why we recruited that human, isn't it?"
"Exactly. Well, Inquisitor? Your thoughts?"
Leia's eyes sparkled with curiosity. Fernandez met her gaze briefly, then slowly surveyed the ministers and generals.
He sensed resentment, disgust, curiosity. Even outright hostility toward humans. Yet Leia trusted him.
"We must return to port for resupply. But first, I want eyes on Maleyrn's flagship. To judge what preparations I need—and how to destroy it."
"Flee from bats?"
"They're not our immediate threat."
"It's only been a year since their last annihilation. They've rebuilt this force in that time—give them more?"
Ministers murmured; Fernandez frowned. Leia closed her eyes thoughtfully, then slammed the table.
"Think of it this way: they've had only one year. Their offensive isn't like Infermer. Most forces are bloated, sluggish ghouls. They're weakened. This is our sole chance to end Franzrit. Battle mages—enemy position?"
She turned to the robed elder. He formed seals, eyes closing then opening.
"Still heading the same way, Your Majesty."
"Still just one visible ship?"
"Yes, we can't approach closer... but the others are destroyed. They're crawling the seafloor on walker power. Slower than us."
"Primitives."
A court mage elder's familiar tailed their rear. After the second raid, Leia had positioned scouts near their ships.
Closer to Richter was too risky, but the familiar tracked the flagship from afar using walkers for propulsion—literally manpower. Pinpointing was easy; hitting them was the issue.
"Their flagship only surfaces for combat. Their gun range is pathetic... Someone must play bait."
"You'll continue engagements?"
"Franzrit allied with Maleyrn, but they're not coordinating. That's his arrogance, his blunder. We'll crush them, resupply, then face Maleyrn."
Leia answered Fernandez. She eyed the chart. Maleyrn's flagship remained stationary.
"No idea what that bastard's after in the North Sea. But we'll teach him regret. Gentlemen, endure a few more days. Victory feast on me at court."
*
The cabin desk was littered with pens and doodles. Fernandez sat, twirling a quill in thought.
-Knock knock.
"Benefactor, you called?"
The door opened; Kirhas entered. As Fernandez turned, she smiled softly. She approached, eyeing the sprawled papers.
"After last night's fierce battle, rest? Another clash tonight."
"Kirhas, very discreetly. I need you to handle something."
Her eyes shifted at his words. She whispered low.
"Command me."
"The queen and ministers are blinded by vengeance. We need alternative plans."
"Leia's right. Leaving a threat at our rear with the enemy ahead is unwise."
"True. But look at this."
Fernandez trusted Kirhas's tactical eye. Her talent leaned toward field command, blossoming now.
Time for the undefeated Kirhas's strategic vision. He unrolled a massive scroll.
Complex numbers and symbols sprawled—a sort of map.
"Our course, calculated by stars and celestial sphere. We're dead on 290 degrees northwest."
Near-perfect straight line.
"Avoiding pursuit via straight path?"
"No, here. Here. And here. The three raids. See?"
Red dots on the course line; Kirhas spoke slowly.
"They attack whenever we deviate, then flee the same way. The daytime ambushes too..."
"Yes. They're luring us."
"Tell Queen Leia?"
Fernandez shook his head.
"Turn for Maleyrn? They'd love that. Leia's correct—we're at a disadvantage; can't show our backs."
"Then what? They're confident enough for open battle to lure us. Best is... retreat and resupply?"
"See the bigger board, Kirhas."
Fernandez placed a hand on her head, stroking slowly.
"If Franzrit wants delay, Maleyrn's prep nears end. Retreating gives them time. If attrition's their goal, Maleyrn battle's imminent. If a trap, they have full-war confidence."
"Then what? Checkmated?"
All tactics favored the foe. They dominated skirmishes by exchange ratio, yet the elf fleet was the pursued.
"Exactly..."
Gaimeirn's flagship was sorely missed. In Infermer, Franzrit failed to breach it, seeking dragon revival.
Meaning: to utterly dominate Franzrit's sea ambushes, the elf king's ship was key.
But the North Sea's sole elf king vessel—Maleyrn's—was allied with Franzrit.
'Enemy's sole weakness is with the enemy... Feels like being vampirized in Infermer.'
Fernandez eyed the chart anew. Vast sea, lurking foe, unknown threats, impregnable floating fortress.
Like chess: elves missing queen and knight. Foe's pieces double theirs; king perfectly shielded.
Pressure, tension, limited moves—queen dragged by schemes, arrogant generals brimming confidence.
Fernandez licked his lips, smirking. Complex logic puzzle—daunting, but an answer hid somewhere. He loved these.
"Our goal isn't Franzrit."
"But with them tailing, how to tackle Maleyrn?"
"You're right. Queen Leia thinks so too."
Fernandez dotted Maleyrn's marker in the chart's corner. East, not far.
"Queen Leia said in council: someone must be bait..."
True. He stroked Kirhas's hair, pondering. Bait was needed. But not to draw Franzrit...
"Tonight's clash—slip away amid chaos, secure an escape boat."
First move: he wasn't the player, just a piece—a wildcard to expose the enemy king from protection.
One rook could take the king; in the opening, he never fixated on one play.
"Become their most desired bait."
Elf king hunting divinity, heir of the seabed ancient god, and one more: a bearer of divinity.
To draw Maleyrn's gaze, if only briefly.