Chapter 233
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 233
Chapter Title: Directed Explosion and Divine Deluge
Ovin Mavru was certain it lacked explosive power.
But the explosion possessed a clear sense of direction.
'...Wind!'
The flames erupting from the blast did not spread outward in a spherical shape from a single point.
The inferno shot forth sharply, linking up at its edge with the debris of the airship roiling in flames.
The fragments spread wide like tree roots, reaching the entire transport fleet.
The blast's force was so precise it struck even the rearmost transport ships.
Toolbo witnessed the scene and exclaimed,
"S-scientifically speaking, such a coincidence is impossible!"
Which meant it was no coincidence.
Every transport ship caught fire, the blaze spreading through the cabins and widening the holes.
Land was still nowhere in sight.
'Did it wipe them all out?'
Yet because the explosion hadn't concentrated in one spot but fanned out, Laitla could be seen writhing as it plummeted through the sky.
Aruna snarled, readying itself to rampage once more.
To the three apostles, Seong-un commanded,
Even possessing a Greater Domain, he couldn't pour all his power into the heart of enemy territory.
Power gained in Lost World didn't guarantee victory; the farther from his own lands, the more Faith it consumed to wield.
But within his territory, those constraints eased, allowing true miracles.
In fact, while apostles Ovin, Toolbo, and Aruna thwarted the Allied Kingdom's 4th Fleet ambush, such a miracle was unfolding on the 4th Continent frontlines.
Not everyone yet knew of Seong-un's skyborne Greater Domain, so the soldiers there failed to grasp the encroaching thunderheads.
"Thunderclouds at this time of year...?"
The low-hanging clouds parted the no-man's-land between trenches and began dumping rain on the Allied Kingdom positions.
The camp had already received retreat orders, but numerous batteries lingered for delaying actions.
With the Imperial forces close by for the delay tactic, plus nightfall and exhausted troops, command hoped the brief shower would soon pass.
But the torrent, pouring like endless buckets, only intensified and showed no sign of stopping even after an hour.
As water rose to ankle-depth in the trenches, chaos erupted.
Furious officers issued emergency retreats, but the relentless deluge—like nonstop bucket brigade—prevented even command signals from getting through.
Before two hours had elapsed, trench water reached waists, and the sturdy ramparts and supports dissolved into mudslides.
At Dordol's order, the advanced Imperial batteries opened fire.
Counter-battery fire was impossible.
Emplacements were flooded, soldiers' rifles caked in mud amid the panic.
Even at close range, voices drowned out; troops could only flail to escape the sudden flood.
Three hours in, trenches turned to thigh-deep muck too thick to stand in. Those with strength fled rearward, ignoring orders.
From the fully inundated sludge, hands thrust up to snag fleeing ankles; others tripped over protruding gun barrels.
Soldiers struggling to rise collapsed under the unrelenting waves.
The next morning's clear skies saw Imperial engineers laying pontoon bridges over the swamp that had once been those trench lines.
The three apostles had nearly shattered the enemy fleet before Seong-un intervened—because it had drawn so near the 3rd Continent.
By the time Kangjeong No. 3 was ready, he could have offered support, but acting rashly might have wasted the chance to damage Laitla or let the fleet escape.
Above all, having dispatched apostles, he had to trust them.
'That's how you prove faith.'
Of course, Seong-un also needed to conserve his Faith.
After Seong-un obliterated the fleet, Hegemonia recovered the wounded Laitla, ending the Allied Kingdom's raid.
Seong-un then kept pressing the 4th Continent front.
As territory expanded enough to wield the Greater Domain freely, retreating foes found torrential rains, blizzards, and lightning crashing on their tails.
Defenses meant to slow the withdrawal proved useless; the Allied Kingdom abandoned vast war materiel in headlong retreat, heedless of the crumbling line.
Imperial advances accelerated as a result.
This stemmed from the strategy meeting.
Apostles and players alike favored Seong-un's active push on the largest front.
"Nebula, you're more than capable of shoving back the lines now. Even if Hegemonia cedes fronts on purpose, driving the Allied Kingdom from all four continents means our gains outweigh the worst case—even if magic gets sealed and Orzon falls under attack."
Wisdom's assessment.
Seong-un agreed but saw nuances.
"I don't expect Orzon to fall, and magic getting sealed can't happen."
"Fair enough—trust us on that front. We'll hold it. No worries."
Consensus held: if the full Allied Kingdom naval might mobilized, fully blocking landings was impossible.
The 3rd Continent's eastern coast spanned too vast; even defending key routes strained the Empire.
Another challenge loomed.
"The Ronante-Oroban alliance?"
Seong-un queried.
The alliance posed a major threat too.
They'd warred until recently, but now sharing fronts with the Allied Kingdom made them far trickier.
"Sticking to the plan. Issues?"
Wisdom replied; Seong-un shook his head.
"Frankly, I expect that theater to be a snooze."
"Assuming we follow the plan."
Seong-un fretted other matters.
'But perhaps...'
1st Continent's northwestern tip: the expeditionary base at Harn Port.
A recent Imperial foothold born of revolutionary winds.
Not a vast territory despite the "expedition base" label.
Even scraping revolutionaries yielded barely one regiment; the rest waged guerrilla fights within Ronante-Oroban lands.
At least the revolutionary fervor persisted—but the base command atmosphere soured.
Alliance forces marched on Harn.
Harn was no metropolis, but a vital military nexus.
As Allied Kingdom and Ronante-Oroban alliance warred with the Empire, the former chose southern sea lanes while the alliance opted for northern routes to strike.
Allied Kingdom could use 4th Continent ports as supply hubs via south; alliance leveraged the mid-sea Saijin Isles between 3rd and 1st Continents.
That required rail-linked northwestern outpost Harn.
Transports from Harn via Saijin targeted 3rd Continent's western shores—the alliance's axis of attack.
Sea blockade left Harn with scant Imperial aid.
The advancing enemy vanguard: one full division. Ultimately, they'd face the alliance's entire army.
Harn revolutionaries and the pre-blockade Imperial expeditionaries steeled for desperate defense.
At the assembled command, sans warning, two figures entered the control center.
Imperial uniforms, yet unfamiliar faces.
Someone had glimpsed them from afar before.
"...All hands, stand!"
The base commander saluted; the lead ogre returned it.
"You've done well."
"No, Excellency Commander Dordol. But whatever brings apostles here...?"
Pantheon's eighth apostle, Dordol, declared,
"Effective immediately, Apostle Dordol assumes supreme command of Harn expedition base. And... everyone, sit."
No ogre chairs in the command room; the lowest-ranking officer bolted out before Dordol could intervene.
Dordol sighed lightly.
The Satyros behind him—Pantheon's fifth apostle, Keiju—spoke.
"By the Pantheon's will, we defend this expedition base."
"Sir?"
"But defense alone won't suffice."
Dordol picked up.
"We're launching the conquest of the Ronante-Oroban alliance. A preemptive strike, if you will."
"...Sir?"
Dordol pressed on.
"First off: the sea blockade persists—but because the Empire, the Pantheon, wills it so."
"Why, sir?"
"To grant military glory to the Ronante-Oroban alliance... no, the Oroban navy."
The hobgoblin base commander looked baffled.
"I don't follow. Why endure losses just to hand the enemy merits?"
"Don't call it losses. Imperial navy clashed Oroban a few times, lost—and word spread of crushing defeat—but they torched empty, obsolete decoys. Orders here on 1st Continent stressed avoiding battle."
"...True. But even without real damage, ally defeats hit morale."
Dordol explained,
"You know the Ronante-Oroban alliance fuses Ronante and Oroban kingdoms?"
Out-of-left-field, yet the commander nodded.
"Yes. Ronante's inland powerhouse army, Oroban's coastal naval might."
Thus, the alliance boasted 1st Continent's top army and navy—no rivals left, they claimed.
Dordol countered,
"That's their Achilles' heel. Handing them merits exploits it."
The commander still puzzled.
Other staffers too.
Dordol rubbed his temple.
"We'll revisit this later."
A Nix Empire staffer nearby ventured,
"Excellency, reason aside—if the blockade holds, inland advance into Ronante-Oroban proves difficult. We're short one regiment, equipment sorely lacking..."
"I know."
Dordol snapped curtly.
"That's why we came."
Dordol exuded iron confidence.
Two days later, Harn Base annihilated an entire enemy division from the Ronante-Oroban vanguard in battle.
Harn casualties: three minor wounds.