< 145. Commencement >
*
The night sky over the ocean was clear and cool. Under the constellations adorning the sky, Fernandez’s greatsword gleamed with magical light.
-Swoosh!
A vampire attempting to board the ship was sliced apart and fell. Demons and ghouls surged like a tidal wave. On the sea, warships were like fortresses, turning this into a form of siege warfare on the deck.
“Die, you blood pouches!!”
-Slash!
The wet, sticky screams of vampires echoed across the ocean. Fernandez, with his blade planted firmly on the deck, took a moment to catch his breath. In the distance, he could see Kirhas and Abel fighting.
The Elven Wild Princes are experts in shipboard combat. In contrast, the vampires blindly charged forward. Their only advantage was sheer numbers, but in such a confined battlefield, numbers meant little.
“Is this all?”
Leia placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, her eyes glowing. With a sharp sound, light flashed, and the vampire charging at her was cut in half and fell. She sheathed her sword as if she had never drawn it, scanning her surroundings.
“Is this really all? Can this even be called an ambush?”
Leia narrowed her eyes, staring at the roaring demon. It was a grotesque creature, a crude mix of bat, ancient monster, and human corpse.
Its strength and size rivaled that of a troll, and its lack of fear of death made it even more threatening than a troll. But—
-Slice.
The finger on the hilt disappeared for a moment, and the monster’s body was split in two again. Leia ignored the sticky, bisected corpse of the demon and searched for her next opponent.
Just a few rotting corpses, a handful of weak vampires, and a few troll-like monsters. Did they really think they could challenge Guimerin’s Golden Fleet with just this?
-Thud…
At that moment, Leia’s ears perked up. Fernandez also sharply turned his gaze toward the direction of the sound. They both shouted almost simultaneously.
“Port side! Evasive maneuver!”
-Screech…
The shipboard mages, waiting for orders on the deck, all grasped their staves. Thanks to prior preparation, the response was swift. All nearby ships scattered as if sliding away—
-Swoosh!
In the gap, a massive harpoon shot up from beneath the sea. Water droplets scattered like a waterfall, and the powerful, rusty harpoon disappeared into the night sky.
“We’ve located their position!”
Leia quickly climbed up the mast, pulling out a horn from her waist. She shouted toward the scattered warships.
“From the flagship, northeast 7 o’clock, 300 meters, fire toward the seabed!!”
Elves are a long-lived race, and over time, they naturally become experts in their duties. Combat personnel efficiently continued the siege, while navigators prepared for bombardment in an instant.
All tasks meshed together like perfectly interlocking gears. Soon, the deafening roar of cannons echoed as the ship’s guns pounded the sea.
They didn’t need explosive shells filled with gunpowder. Just the weight and force of powerful armor-piercing shells rained down on the seabed.
With the cannon fire, the vampires began to retreat. It was the fourth night since the first attack.
*
“It’s a delaying tactic, a retreat strategy.”
Leia sat on the throne in the conference room, looking at the nautical chart. One of the captains raised his hand.
“Your Majesty, they are hoping we will tire. The daily night skirmishes are gradually wearing down our soldiers.”
“Is there a way to avoid engagement?”
“At least we can intercept them in advance. Now we can prepare for their approach beforehand.”
At night, elven mages set up a surveillance system with minions stationed on the seabed. Although Malerun’s flagship remained hidden deep below, once the enemies came within visible range, the elves could prepare their ships.
After several bombardments toward the seabed, the enemies only attempted bombardment at critical moments. Their tactics were shifting from fleet battles to ship-to-ship melee combat. Ambushes are only effective when they are ambushes.
In fleet bombardment battles, Leia’s Golden Fleet never loses. The reputation of being the strongest fleet in the North Sea is not unfounded.
“So, when they approach, we lay down a barrage?”
“With the battle against Malerun imminent, we cannot afford to lose more soldiers to vampires, Your Majesty.”
“Do we have that many resources, General?”
Leia turned to the Minister of Finance. The minister slowly shook his head.
“If we repeat engagements like today, we won’t last more than five days. We may need to retreat for resupply.”
“If we’re not planning to ram Malerun’s flagship, we need to reinforce our firepower. And in the meantime, waste all our ammunition on vampires? A fine suggestion.”
“Their resources are not infinite either.”
It wasn’t just the elven fleet suffering damage from the bombardments. Although it was unclear how many of Franzrit’s ships remained, their bombardments were becoming less frequent. Last night, there was only one.
They were also losing ships or attack methods in fleet battles. Considering their primary attack method was a massive harpoon launcher, their supplies couldn’t be abundant.
“Their attacks are merely waves. Your Majesty, before our forces are further depleted, what if we strike Malerun directly?”
One of the ministers cautiously spoke. Considering the depletion of troops, it seemed like a wise plan…
“Do you mean to fight on two fronts with them on our tail? Sounds like a very advantageous battle. We still lack the means to destroy the Serpent King’s flagship.”
“Isn’t that why we recruited that human?”
“Indeed. Now, Inquisition Officer. What’s your opinion? What do you think?”
Leia’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. Fernandez met her gaze briefly, then slowly looked around at the ministers and generals.
He sensed resistance, disgust, curiosity, and hostility toward humans. But Leia trusted him.
“We need to return to port for resupply. Before that, I want to see Malerun’s flagship with my own eyes. To judge what preparations I need to make, how to destroy it.”
“Run away from the bats?”
“They are not our immediate enemy.”
“It’s only been a year since their defeat. In just that year, they’ve rebuilt their forces to this extent. Are you suggesting we give them more time?”
As the ministers murmured, Fernandez frowned. Leia closed her eyes for a moment, lost in thought, then slammed the table.
“Think the opposite, for them, it was only a year. Their offensive is not like during the time of Infermur. Most of their forces are just bloated, slow ghouls. They’ve weakened. Now is the only chance to take down Franzrit. Magic squad, where are the enemies?”
Leia turned her head to an old man in a robe. The old man paused, tapped his staff, and closed then opened his eyes.
“They’re still moving in the same direction, Your Majesty.”
“Is it still just one of their ships visible?”
“Yes, we can’t get any closer to them anymore… The other ships have been destroyed, and they’re crawling along the seabed using the power of the Walkers. They’re not faster than us.”
“Savages.”
A minion sent by the palace’s magic squad was tailing their rear. After the second raid, Leia had stationed minions near their ships.
Approaching Richter was too dangerous, but the minion was detecting Richter’s flagship from a distance. They were moving the ship manually. Literally, by manpower. Figuring out their position wasn’t hard. It was just hard to launch an attack that could reach them.
“Their flagship only surfaces during combat. Their cannon range is pathetic… Someone needs to be the bait.”
“Are you suggesting we continue the engagement?”
“Franzrit collaborated with Malerun, but they’re not moving together. That’s his arrogance and fatal flaw. We’ll crush them, resupply, and then engage Malerun.”
Leia responded to Fernandez. She slowly looked at the sea chart. Malerun’s flagship was still standing in the same spot.
“I don’t know what that bastard is aiming for by coming up to the northern sea, but we need to teach them about regret. Men, endure a few more days. The victory party will be held at the palace.”
*
The desk in the cabin was cluttered with writing tools and scribbles. Fernandez sat at the desk, twirling a pen, lost in thought.
-Knock knock.
“Your Excellency, did you call?”
The cabin door opened, and Kirhas entered. As Fernandez turned his head, Kirhas smiled softly. She approached him and looked at the scattered documents in front of him.
“There was a fierce battle all night, wouldn’t it be better to rest? There will be another engagement tonight.”
“Kirhas, very secretly. There’s something you need to do.”
At his words, Kirhas’s eyes changed. She lowered her voice and whispered.
“Give me your orders.”
“Right now, the Queen and the ministers are blindly consumed by vengeance. We need to prepare a different strategy.”
“Leia is right. It’s not good to leave a threat behind while facing the enemy.”
“True. But… look at this.”
Fernandez trusted Kirhas’s tactical insight. Her talent was closer to that of a field commander than a combatant, and her skills were blossoming.
It was time for the undefeated Kirhas’s tactical vision. Fernandez unrolled a large scroll.
A massive… map filled with complex numbers and symbols.
“It’s our sailing route calculated by the positions of constellations and celestial bodies. We’re currently heading straight at 290 degrees northwest.”
They were sailing in an almost ruler-straight line.
“Couldn’t it be that they’re moving in a straight line to avoid pursuit?”
“No, here. Here. And here. Look at these three attacks. Do you see?”
As he pointed to red dots on the long straight line marking their sailing direction, Kirhas slowly opened her mouth.
“They attacked additionally whenever the direction deviated. And then fled back in the same direction. The occasional daytime ambushes were…”
“Exactly. They’re luring us in.”
“Should we inform Queen Leia of this news, Your Excellency?”
At her words, Fernandez shook his head.
“Do you mean to change course and attack Malerun? They’d actually like that. Leia is right. We’re already in a favorable position; we can’t turn our backs on them.”
“Then what should we do? Whatever scheme they’re plotting, they must be confident of winning a full-scale battle to lure us in. Is the best option… to secure supplies by retreating?”
“Think bigger, Kirhas.”
Fernandez placed his hand on Kirhas’s head and slowly stroked it.
“If Franzrit wants a war of attrition, it could mean that what Malerun is preparing is almost done. Retreating would give them more time. If they want a war of exhaustion, it means the battle with Malerun is imminent. If their plan is to lure us into a trap, it means they’re confident in a full-scale battle.”
“Then what should we do? Aren’t we in a deadlock?”
All tactics were working in the enemy’s favor. They were winning with overwhelming exchange ratios in sporadic engagements, but it was the Elven Fleet that was being chased.
“That’s right…”
It was a moment when Guimerin’s flagship was sorely missed. Franzrit couldn’t break through Guimerin’s flagship even during the Infermur incident, trying to resurrect the dragon.
That meant, to completely dominate and overwhelmingly defeat Franzrit, who was ambushing at sea, the Elven King’s flagship was necessary.
But the only Elven King’s flagship in the northern sea, Malerun’s ship, was in an alliance with Franzrit.
‘The enemy’s only weakness lies within the enemy… This feels exactly like when I became a vampire during Infermur.’
Fernandez slowly looked at the sea chart again. The vast sea, lurking enemies, unknown threats, a powerful, impregnable sea fortress.
This scene was like chess. Chess without the queen and knight. In contrast, the enemy’s pieces were more than double, and their king was perfectly protected.
Under pressure and tension, with strategic options extremely limited, being dragged into the enemy’s schemes, with a queen full of confidence and arrogant generals.
Fernandez licked his lips slightly and smiled. Like a complex logic puzzle, it seemed daunting, but somewhere, the answer must be hidden. He liked this kind of puzzle.
“Our goal is not Franzrit.”
“But how can we deal with Malerun while dealing with them?”
“That’s correct. Queen Leia thinks the same.”
Fernandez slowly marked a spot on the corner of the sea chart, where Malerun’s flagship was indicated. East, not far away.
“Queen Leia said something during the meeting. Someone has to be the bait…”
That’s right. Fernandez stroked Kirhas’s hair, lost in thought. Someone has to be the bait. But not to lure Franzrit…
“During tonight’s engagement, secure an escape ship amidst the chaos.”
The opening move of this game is not his, rather, he is just one of the pieces, but merely a wildcard to expose the enemy’s king from protection.
Even a single rook can capture the king, and the moment he makes a move, he never focuses on just one strategy.
“We must become the bait they desire the most.”
The Elven King hunting divinity, the descendant of the old god sleeping beneath the sea, and one more. A being holding divinity.
So that Malerun can spare a moment and turn his gaze.
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