< 149. Malerun of the Thousand Horned Tower (1) >
*
Beyond the horizon. Snowflakes are falling on the vast, serene boundary stretched out there. Unlike the snow pouring onto the land, the snowflakes on the sea vanish into nothingness.
The snowstorm falling on the sea is a poignant metaphor for the mortality of life. To Leia, it was a tribute to the fallen elves. Amid the scattering snowflakes in the rough north wind, a crack appeared, as if stamped out by a mold.
-KWAAAAANG!
Another cannonball tore through the air and embedded itself into Richter’s outer wall. The outer wall was already half-destroyed, and the massive fortress, resembling a tattered rag, was crumbling and scattering. Richter glared at Malerun’s flagship, which was relentlessly firing with its burning red eyes.
Leia watched her crumbling homeland with mixed emotions. Though it was little more than a corpse, a shadow clinging to past glory, it was still the place where she was born and raised.
A homeland she could never return to, a homeland her kin could never rebuild. Leia sighed as she looked at Richter, consumed by madness, hatred, and confusion.
“Too early for sentimentality.”
“Fernandez.”
“Our goal was never Richter, Leia. Draw your sword and prepare the soldiers. The war begins now.”
“Is there a way?”
Leia smiled bitterly as she watched Malerun’s flagship grow larger. Unlike when she had seen it from afar during their naval battles, she now lacked the resources to keep her distance, evade attacks, and fight a prolonged battle.
Her past engagements with Malerun had been one-sided. Malerun barely moved or counterattacked, relying solely on his ship’s overwhelming defenses. Leia’s fleet had repeatedly fired a few warning shots before retreating.
But now, with the wreckage of shattered ships, Richter’s flagship blocking the front, and Malerun’s flagship aggressively advancing from the rear, her fleet was slowly being squeezed.
“If there were no way, I wouldn’t have called him here. Didn’t you promise me something? That you would provide all the resources I needed, just to create a small crack in Malerun’s flagship.”
“Tell me what you need.”
“Kirhas.”
Fernandez spoke softly, his gaze fixed on Malerun’s flagship. Kirhas knelt beside him, bowing her head.
“Have you completed your mission?”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
“Good. Will you follow me?”
“If I am still needed, of course.”
Fernandez stroked her hair once, then drew the King’s Greatsword embedded in the mast and slung it over his back. The two greatswords crossed heavily on his shoulders.
“Lend me the horn. Aim all the ship’s cannons at Malerun’s flagship, and when I give the signal, fire without a moment’s delay.”
“We’ve tried countless times. His physical protection spell is nearly perfect. No cannonball has ever harmed him.”
A massive ship is an excellent target in itself. If you aim and fire correctly, you’re almost guaranteed to hit some part of the flagship’s outer wall. But Leia had no choice but to retreat, having proven through past engagements that Malerun’s protection spell was flawless.
Fernandez took the horn from Leia’s hand and said, “We have enough mages who can cast spell-piercing enchantments on the cannonballs, right?”
“Of course, we’ve tried that too.”
“But I wasn’t there then.”
Fernandez laughed as he looked at Malerun’s flagship. The sound of lifeboats being lowered into the sea echoed.
Fernandez jumped into the lifeboat without looking back. Kirhas followed him. When Abel tried to jump from the bridge, Fernandez shook his head.
“You have something to do here.”
“Are you leaving me behind again? Of course, you can’t.”
“If it were for the same reason as last time, I would have left Kirhas behind too. But this time, there’s truly something you need to do.”
“…Tell me.”
“After this is over and Malerun’s protection spell is destroyed, there will still be a problem. To destroy the Serpent King’s flagship, we need not only to break the protection spell but also to inflict physical damage that can ignore its durability. Cannon fire alone won’t be enough.”
There are three things in the Material World believed to be capable of destroying an elf king’s flagship: the Curse of the Great Demon, dwarven firepower, and Dragon’s Breath.
The last remaining dragon in the Material World smiled sadly upon hearing this.
“If you need me, I’ll do it anytime.”
“Don’t make that face. I’m asking with the future in mind. Don’t go all out, just create a small crack if you can.”
“How could I cling to life? Isn’t everyone risking their lives?”
“This isn’t a battlefield where you need to risk your life, and I want you to care more about your own life.”
Fernandez glanced at Abel’s wide eyes once, then took the helm of the lifeboat. As he cut the rope tied to the flagship, the lifeboat shot forward across the sea, its sails flapping as if they might tear in the rough wind.
*
Kirhas clenched her teeth and gripped the sail rope. Managing the sail, swollen as if it might burst at any moment in the snowstorm, was difficult even for a skilled sailor. One wrong move, and the sail could tear, or they could lose direction and crash into the wreckage of ships or elven warships.
-CREAK.
The mast bent like a bow under the weight of the wind. Blood seeped from Kirhas’s palms, soaking the rope. The wounds didn’t matter, but the blood made the rope slippery, and it kept slipping from her grasp.
‘I’m going to die.’
Death was everywhere. The lifeboat racing forward, the scattered pieces of wreckage, the rapidly approaching elven warships, and the massive silhouette of Malerun’s flagship, looming like a city wall in the snowstorm. Death surrounded them.
‘It doesn’t matter if I die…’
Kirhas squinted and looked at Fernandez, who was steering. Despite the raging snowstorm, Fernandez stood tall, staring straight ahead.
It wasn’t his exceptional steering skills but Diemonica’s overwhelming strength that kept them on course.
It must be the fault. The lifeboat zigzagged through the wreckage as if performing a stunt.
‘If I make a mistake, Your Excellency will be in danger.’
The reason Fernandez brought Kirhas along. It wasn’t just because he needed hands to hold the ropes. It meant she had a role in his plan, and that role wasn’t to lead his lord to death.
Kirhas pulled the ropes with all her might, occasionally letting go to manage the wind. But even at that moment, Fernandez was only staring at Malerun’s flagship.
*
“He’s circling.”
Leia watched Fernandez, who was running at an almost berserk speed. He moved as if brushing past wreckage and warships, skillfully avoiding all threats with minimal movement.
It seemed like he was just riding the wind, but Leia saw a certain pattern in it.
“He’s circling around Malerun’s ship.”
*
-Interesting.
Faijashi whispered. If he had the strength to nod, Fernandez would have agreed more enthusiastically.
But his grip on the wheel was throbbing as if it would break at any moment. In fact, his wrist tendons and muscles had repeatedly torn and reattached. If not for Diemonica’s body and his own divine resilience, his hands would have already burst.
At the same time, Fernandez was watching Malerun’s flagship. He grasped the spells on the ship, avoided the wreckage, and identified Leia’s warships targeting the flagship.
‘North-northeast, 30 guns.’
As he brushed past the warships with the wind, Fernandez crammed into his mind the number and angle of the cannons aimed at him and the positions they would hit. His brain was boiling, his mind seething.
His sharp senses and near-superhuman reaction speed were processing vast amounts of information. Simultaneously, he expanded his thoughts to map out every ship, every cannon, every angle, and even the variables of Malerun’s flagship.
A kind of roadmap was forming. A very specific, three-dimensional map was vividly taking shape in his mind.
-Added a variation to Central Node 3. There are five variable clusters. Even so, the random circuit configurations in each variable cluster create a total of…
‘113 patterns.’
Fernandez thought as he looked at Malerun’s flagship. It was like pulling a single book from a vast library, opening a random page, and guessing the fifth word without looking.
In short, it was impossible. Malerun of the Thousand Spires. One of the greatest mages in the Material World. To physically damage his flagship, one had to simultaneously destroy five layers of protective spells, each changing unpredictably even to the caster.
It was like solving a Rubik’s Cube. A three-dimensional puzzle designed by an exceptional mage, to be solved with both hands tied.
-Piririririk… Bang!
A yellow firework exploded in the distance. It signaled that all cannons were aligned and ready. Fernandez smiled and slowly removed one hand.
-Crack.
As he tried to control the wheel with one hand, his right hand twisted in a strange direction. Fernandez emotionlessly watched his right hand, which was on the verge of being crushed, and with his other hand, he brought a horn to his lips.
*
[North-northwest, Ship 32, Starboard Cannon 3, Fire!]
-Kwaaaaang!
*
Listening to the cannon fire, Fernandez slightly turned the wheel. His lifeboat made a wide semicircle, circling near Malerun’s flagship. As he requested, Leia had enchanted all cannonballs with spell-piercing magic.
The spell-piercing cannonballs struck Malerun’s protective spells. Though no life force was detected in his defenses—
[East-southeast, Ship 2, Port Cannon 5, Fire!]
-Kwaaaaang!!
Before the echo of the first cannon faded, the next one roared across the battlefield. Fernandez kept whispering as he watched Malerun’s flagship.
[Southwest, Ship 12, Starboard Cannon 8, Fire!]
[South-southeast, Ship 7, Port Cannon 1, Fire!]
Spinning, circling the flagship again.
[North-northwest, Ship 31, Starboard Cannons 5, 12, 15, Fire!]
-Kwaaaaang!
Without pause, Fernandez’s commands were relayed to each ship, and the cannons roared. Cannonballs continuously flew, pounding Malerun’s flagship. Though all were shattered mid-air by the protective spells.
-1st variable cluster destroyed. Good. This is fun.
Magic was unusable, and the enemy’s magic was on a relic scale. Direct destruction was impossible, usable resources were extremely limited, and the enemy controlled more than twice his pieces. On an asymmetrical chessboard.
[North-northeast, Ship 3, Cannon 4, Fire!]
-Kwaaaang!
One cannot call only the magic that uses one’s own magic circuits and self-crafted spells ‘magic.’ Magic is the totality of phenomena created through magical power. Even if it’s a crude, physical phenomenon conjured by cannonballs and gunpowder.
No matter how rough and crude the tool, once a master wields it, it becomes a precise and delicate carving knife.
-Kwaaaaang!
Next, and next. The bombardment struck Malerun’s flagship. Skillfully piercing through the ever-changing patterns of his protective spells. Driving spell-piercing wedges into different points each time.
Magic combat fundamentally revolves around spell-counting, dismantling the opponent’s magic. Their spells, phrases, patterns. Driving a wedge into the weakest point to forcibly halt and destroy the spell.
Simply countering the enemy’s magic with opposing magic was too crude and simplistic. The magic combat Fernandez preferred required more refined techniques.
-Kwaaaang!
The sense to seize the perfect timing, the vision to read the flow of magical power, the knowledge to precisely target the weaknesses in circuits and phrases.
In hundreds, perhaps thousands of magic battles over decades. In every life-and-death moment. Faijashi had never once been defeated.
-Kwaaaang!
Amid the swirling snowstorm, Malerun’s spells slowly. Like spiderwebs unraveling. Like an eggshell cracking apart.
-Whoooosh.
The wind carrying the snowstorm swept across the battlefield. Fernandez extended his hand, waving it like a conductor. Bombardment, bombardment, and more bombardment. All precisely striking the weaknesses in the protective spells. With perfect timing and pattern.
-Very, very enjoyable.
Fernandez laughed as he heard Faijashi’s voice. Even in this moment, feeling his boiling brain and overheated arteries.
Dismantling each intricately complex spell that never repeated the same pattern, solving each precise three-dimensional puzzle.
Every moment felt exhilarating. He shook his heated head and burst into laughter.
![[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return](https://i3.wp.com/novelhitam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/TS-Obsessed-Gamer-The-Ultimate-Return2.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return")
