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Sea Catastrophe (1)
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Iron heard the notifications about the Eastern Command being taken down. It was quite shocking news so he was wondering if he should be the one to let the others know. Fortunately, he was able to shake the responsibility off of his shoulders when the other-worlders delivered the news themselves. Soon enough, the news spread to the entire fleet headed towards Ghost Island.
“Did the Eastern Command… really fall?”
“Impossible!”
“Command has been taken down by pirates?”
The Eastern Army was suddenly agitated. They couldn’t decide if they should turn the main fleet around or continue to head towards Ghost Island right now…
The Eastern Commander in charge of the main fleet that was taking the subjugation forces to Ghost Island was left in Command and the officer in charge of the fleet had no authority to turn the fleet around and order around the two commanders, the family heads and the tower masters. In the end, they were stuck in a situation where they couldn’t do things the way they wanted. They were forced to move and advance towards Ghost Island. But the longer they travelled, the more nervous the soldiers felt.
In the end, they were divided into two sides. One side wanted to turn back and one side wanted to advance forward. A fierce fight even broke out between the two. Some argued that there would be a problem with their supply if the Eastern Command was taken over by the enemies. While some argued that the prevention and sealing of the dimensional crack took precedence and that they couldn’t waste the sacrifice of the Eastern Command.
Both of the sides made sense so the officer-in-charge could not decide at all. All they could do was to use the magic communication tool non-stop and try to connect to Command. However, even if they continued to try making contact, no one answered. And just when this fact was about to be used as evidence that the Command had truly gone down…
The magic communication tool lit up. Everyone looked eagerly at the communication tool.
“Who received the message?!”
Everyone turned nervously at the communication tool after hearing Crimson’s question. This was because there was a risk that it was a pirate or a mermaid who answered them.
―This is Captain Daniel Cevaior.
Crimson asked in relief after hearing Daniel’s answer.
“What’s the current situation in Eastern Command?”
—…I will make it brief. The situation is not good right now, sir.
Daniel stopped talking after saying those words. Hearing the sound of the artillery and bombs exploding from afar, it seemed like a fight was still in full swing. Everyone trembled as they gulped nervously waiting for Daniel’s next words.
After a while, Daniel opened his mouth once again.
―The current situation in the Eastern Command is not good. The major buildings and symbols of the Eastern Command had been bombed and burned down. After checking with the other-worlders, it seemed like their ‘system’ is saying that the Eastern Command has fallen…
“We know that.”
Daniel turned silent after hearing Crimson’s words before speaking as if he remembered something.
―Ah! Plenty of other-worlders have arrived here.
Daniel blamed himself for forgetting something important before continuing to speak.
―Then, I’ll inform you of what’s going on. Currently, pirates have flocked to Maricca Port and the entire port has now turned into a battlefield from the skirmishes created by mermaids and criminals.
“The Commander! Is the Commander alright?”
―Yes. He’s currently fighting against a mermaid. The fight is too intense and we still don’t know when it will end.
Daniel’s report brought a bit of relief to the two commanders and the senior officers on the ship.
As long as the strongest person in the East remained alive, there would be no confusion and chaos in the chain of command. Although it would be difficult as of the moment, they knew that he would still be able to subdue the pirates and the other enemies in the end.
“Then, is the port still safe?”
―Yes, sir. However… This will likely lead to a large-scale battle so it would take us quite a long time before we can provide additional support.
Everyone fell silent at Daniel’s words. This only meant one thing. They had to conquer Ghost Island with all their might. Still, they were thankful that they had avoided the worst possible situation. As long as Maricca Port survived, the Command would still be restored.
“Then, should we go back to help?”
―No, sir. The Eastern Army’s rear troops are already coming with the other support forces. And the fleets that are in charge of the other regions are already coming back to Command.
“Time is on our side, then.”
―Yes, sir! So, don’t mind us and continue advancing to the Ghost Island.
Daniel spoke firmly upon hearing Crimson’s words.
“But shouldn’t some fleet still turn around and help you?”
―No, sir. It’s more dangerous for the people advancing to Ghost Island. From what we heard, it’s already… The dimensional gate has already reached the completion stage.
Everyone looked at Daniel suspiciously when he spoke those words.
“You, how did you…?”
―There’s a traitor inside the Command. He was a mermaid half-breed. The information I gave you was something that I personally heard from him.
“Traitor? Inside command?!”
―Yes, sir. It’s information that I have personally heard from the traitor, Mateo Garcia. And after verifying it with various information that we have collected, it is judged to be reliable information.
The naval officers who were in the vicinity rushed towards the communication tool in shock.
“Is that true? Mateo is a traitor?!”
“Are you sure?!”
“Daniel! Answer me! Is Mateo really a traitor?!”
The senior officers urgently questioned Daniel but they couldn’t hear any answer anymore. Instead of an answer, the sounds of fierce battles were heard through the communication tool.
―Bzzt, bzzt, bzzt! Bang! Bang! Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
Everyone looked at the communication tool with wide eyes when they heard explosions. They continuously heard screams, gun shots, cannon shots and bombs for a long time before Daniel’s voice could be heard again.
―…I believe it’s time for me to hang up now. We will contact you once again after Command has been restored.
The communication was cut-off after Daniel left those words. Just the sounds from the communication tool could give them a clear picture of what was currently happening in the port.
“Mateo, that bastard!”
“Traitor… how dare you!”
“You betrayed the Eastern Army!”
The expressions of the officers in charge of the fleet were furious. Crimson understood their anger but he still spoke firmly to not let them forget about the most important thing that they needed to do right now.
“Calm down. This is not the time to be furious.”
Everyone nodded at Crimson’s words.
“Remember the information that Captain Daniel had given us at the risk of his life. We have to go to Ghost Island as soon as possible.”
Jaiden Wicks and the tower masters nodded their heads in agreement to Crimson. They couldn’t waste the valuable information that the Eastern Command had fought so fiercely for. However, the officers in charge still hesitated even after hearing the battle in the Eastern Command.
“All of you, get your grips together!”
The officers in charge of the fleet came back to their senses after Crimson’s loud roar.
“I think it’s already too late.”
A huge energy that pricked the masters’ senses erupted not too far away as soon as Lioner’s words fell. The two commanders couldn’t help but flinch as they raised their hands to the hilt of their swords.
“It’s a good thing that I came. We haven’t even arrived at Ghost Island but it’s already like this…”
The Godly Sword Family Head Terrion Sigurd smiled when he felt the chilling murderous intent.
Even the tower masters felt the energy as they hurriedly went out on deck.
“Emergency! Emergency! Enemy up front!”
“The size!”
“I don’t know. It’s covered with a black fog that seems to be contaminated mana so it’s hard to figure out the exact size!”
The officers immediately took out their telescopes as they looked up front after hearing the soldier’s report.
In just a glance, they could see clumps of black fog with bizarre creatures fleeting here and there through the gaps.
“This… I think our alliance will be the one to go to Ghost Island first.”
Jayden Wicks smiled as he said so as the airship fleet descended slowly as if they were leisurely swimming in the sky. It seemed like he wanted to enter the Ghost Island first by taking the airship and carrying the soldiers of the Eastern Army through the sky.
Crimson, Lioner and the two tower masters frowned at him.
The Western Commander failed to join the defense operation but he sent his main airship fleet.
“Haha! I’ll go first!”
Everyone bit their lips as they watched Jayden Wicks take only his troops.
“I think we should hold hands here but…”
“I think so too.”
“Tch!”
Crimson and Terrion nodded lightly at Lioner’s words. But Terrion’s expression screamed that he did not want to join hands with Lioner. And the same was true for Lioner. Although the two revealed that they were like water and fire and would never get along, they still knew their current situation.
“Okay, okay! We don’t have time for this. Let’s go to our positions and greet our enemies.”
Lioner and Terrion jumped to the ships that carried their main force after hearing Crimson’s words. The two tower masters also disappeared to their own respective ships.
“Everyone, offensive formation!”
As soon as the officers in charge gave the command…
Huge waves began to rise on all sides.
“Mermaids?”
Lioner swung his sword lightly. And just like a lion scratching with its claws and tearing apart its prey, the huge wave collapsed.
However, it would not be considered as a powerful and disastrous magic if it could collapse at just a light swing like that. And just like that, a larger wave was created that moved to swallow the ship.
Then, as if to laugh at Lioner who failed to get rid of the waves in a single blow, Terrion blew away the entire wave with his gigantic sword.
“Unlucky bastard.”
Lioner muttered to himself as he raised his aura. Unlike the simple swing of the sword earlier, Lioner used his Lion Sword Technique to attack.
―Roaaaaar!
The huge wave bursted out from the shockwave of the lion’s roar. The wave even turned towards the opposite direction.
But was it because the sea was the mermaid’s territory? Or was it because of the Sea God’s blessings?
Huge waves were created one after the other.
Terrion and Lioner dealt with the waves while the enemies created a vortex that wound around the entire fleet.
“You’re being too childish.”
Lioner increased his aura even more with an unpleasant look on his face. It seemed like he wanted to cut off the flow of mana that had been artificially controlling the sea. The same was true for Crimson and Terrion. They all increased their aura and swung their swords at the chunks of mana that controlled the flow of the sea.
While the three masters were struggling against the waves and the vortex, disaster began to fall on the ships.
Crack!
A gigantic tentacle wrapped and coiled tightly around a part of the ship.
The navy immediately knew the identity of the monster as soon as they saw the tentacle.
“Kra… Kraken!”
Everyone hurriedly lifted their weapons when a navy shouted loudly with choked breath after seeing the gigantic tentacle. The navies began to fight and strike at the collosal tentacles of the kraken as it wound around their ships.
However, despite the crisis that befell the Northeastern and Central Wizard Tower Alliance’s ship, everyone felt relieved that it was not them. Just as they tried to find the traces of the mermaids after their relief…
Bang!
One of the ships jolted loudly as something pierced through half of the ship.
“Megalodon!”
A huge shark had appeared near the fleet where the Eastern Wizard Tower was located.
Everyone felt confused and flustered at the sudden appearance of the catastrophes of the sea, the kraken and the megalodon. They immediately shot fire magic and bombs at the monsters.
However, the disaster did not end there.
―Ppiyoooo!
“Sea serpent! A sea serpent appeared in the rear!”
Even the Southern Alliance fell into chaos from the sudden emergence of a gigantic sea snake.
In the midst of the chaos that surrounded the Eastern Army and the main fleet, the culprits appeared.
“Mermaids?”
Iron, who was watching the situation with the other Ghosts, muttered as he saw the mermaids appearing in the water.
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Sea Catastrophe (2)
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The mermaids were creating waves. Each and every single one of them were holding a trident as they expressed their powers in the vast sea. It was as if they were proving that they were the supreme race of the sea. As soon as they appeared, the waves turned violent while the sea breeze blew fiercely and targeted the humans.
The sea was no longer on the side of the humans. Everything in the sea attacked the humans as if they were their lifelong enemies. Huge waves, whirlpools and whirlwinds appeared one after the other.
It was quite unbelievable that these were all due to the mermaids’ magic.
“Is this because of the Sea God’s blessing?”
Iron frowned as he grabbed onto the rails of the ship. He looked like he was about to puke from all the shaking.
No matter how strong the mermaids were, it was impossible for them to exert this much power normally. By the looks of it, their powers in the sea were so great that even the three masters were having a hard time dealing with it.
He was certain that they could only do something like this because of the Sea God’s blessing.
There were even huge sea monsters that were classified as the sea catastrophes. They were the sea catastrophes that were created by the mermaids with their endless mana.
It was already too much for the main fleet to handle two of them all at once but their appearance alone had further undermined the confidence of the allied forces.
“Lamias! The Lamia Army has appeared!”
The mermaids were beings that were the same size as humans. The only difference was that their lower bodies were in the form of a fish. However, they were extremely beautiful creatures. On the other hand, the lamias was a race that was larger and far more hideous in terms of appearance. They were a poor race who only resembled part of the mermaids but were more of hideous monsters.
Even the lamias, a race that sought out strength through physical prowess, had come out in addition to the mermaids who were well versed in magic. The lamias immediately climbed on top of the ships and obeyed the orders of the mermaids. Despite hating each other, they still joined forces to defeat their common enemy.
Starting with the lamias, the sea army appeared one after the other.
“Crabmen!”
“Sharkmen have appeared!”
“A giant starfish is breaking the bottom of the ship!”
The sea immediately turned into a huge battlefield after the sea monsters appeared one by one. In addition to dealing with the huge waves and the strong sea breeze, they also had to deal with the sea army.
This was the worst situation for the humans.
In this chaotic situation, Iron and the Ghosts did their best to protect the fleet. They cut and sliced through the huge lamias, the crabmen and even the sharkmen with their sharp noses and teeth.
However, perhaps because they were at sea, the elites of the Empire couldn’t help but struggle as they tried to remain on board the main fleet.
The three masters were busy dealing with the sea magic that was created by the mermaids while the tower masters were busy dealing with the high-leveled monsters, the sea catastrophes. In addition, the main fleet had no other choice but to fight against the numerous sea monsters that flocked to the ships. All they could trust was the airship fleet. However, it seemed like they wanted to crush their hopes completely, as numerous sirens and sea drakes appeared.
“We’ll be wiped out even before we get to Ghost Island.”
The Ghosts’ expressions turned stiff when they heard Iron’s mumbles.
When Iron saw the airship fleet go into battle against the numerous sirens and sea drakes, he judged that there was no solution. If their last hope, the airship fleet, was also blocked, most of them would probably be dead by the time they arrived at Ghost Island. And with just half of their troops, they still had to block the dimensional gate. It was suicide at that point.
The moment the sirens, who were proficient in hallucination and illusion magic, and the sea drakes, who had huge and powerful tails like that of a fish, appeared to block the airship fleet with their mana song and mental attacks, he knew that the situation had turned for the worst.
He hoped that the airship fleet would be able to break through the sirens and sea drakes with their powerful cannons but his hopes were thrown to the wind. In the end, all of the ships of the fleet had been blocked.
But several ships suddenly broke through the waves that the mermaids had created and moved forward.
“That?”
“Aren’t those ships the ones that carry the other-worlders?”
The ships that Lintel and Billie Brandt were looking at were boarded by the other-worlders. Surprisingly enough, they were destroying all the mermaids’ wave attacks with their unique abilities. Even the flow of water seemed to be good for the leading ship. It seemed like there was an existence that could go beyond the mermaids’ control of the sea.
‘It’s Kim Jungtae!’
This phenomenon could only be possible for Kim Jungtae who had an absolute ability in water. However, Kim Jungtae was still weak. It looked like he could barely maintain his own ship. There was also some cluster of subtle lights around the ship that seemed to be pushing away or purifying the contaminated mana.
“Is that why they’re called White Whale?”
Iron mumbled to himself as he watched Kim Jungtae and his guild work. Not all of them could receive the attacks head on and do big things but each and every single one of them were doing their parts properly.
The high-leveled sea catastrophes blocked the Eastern Fleet while the mermaids blocked the masters. In this situation, it seemed like there was no existence that could block the other-worlders’ ship.
But that was just an illusion.
Rumble!
“Shit! There’s a storm right now?!”
Lintel stared blankly at the storm that suddenly appeared and engulfed the other-worlders’ ships.
Countless lightning strikes rained down and stopped Kim Jungtae and the White Whale. In addition, a tornado soared and completely blocked the White Whale’s path.
Strangely enough, the lightning and tornado that the White Whale ship was avoiding felt quite familiar.
“What?”
He was not sure because of the long distance but this strange and stimulating feeling was somewhat similar to his divine power. However, there was a sticky feeling so he did not know what to do.
The strange feeling continued to linger the longer they fought in this battle. And in the end, Iron, after cutting down the crabman in front of him, approached the officer in charge.
“Captain.”
“Yes.”
“Do you think we can go near there?”
The place that Iron pointed at was the place where the White Whale was.
The captain’s expression hardened after being asked to go to a place where lightning and tornadoes were running rampant.
“I know it’s hard. But…”
“Did you feel something?”
“…Yes.”
“Is it related to the divine beast?”
When asked by the captain, Iron just shook his head to tell him that he still wasn’t sure.
The captain pondered for a while before nodding his head heavily. Anyway, the damage to their ship would continue to accumulate if this situation persisted. This was the time for them to do something.
“We’re moving towards White Whale!”
The navies scattered at once after hearing the captain’s roar while Iron and the rest of the Ghosts filled in their vacancies diligently.
The lamias, crabmen and sharkmen that came up on their ship fled one by one when all of the elites at the 5th Stage moved earnestly. This was because they had shown the extent of their strength that they were saving earlier. After all, they weren’t sure about the attacks that the mermaids would pour on them so they still needed to conserve their strength before.
“Did you get that feeling again?”
“I don’t know it well yet.”
Iron shook his head at the smiling Lintel.
“Hmm… But you’re saying that something is over there, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then, let’s go.”
Lintel looked at Carl Gustav when he did not even hesitate to answer Iron. Then, he nodded at him with an expression that clearly showed his trust and belief in Iron. Lintel and the other Ghosts had experienced this with Iron twice already. So, they believed in Iron’s senses as they did their best to drive away the sea army from their ship.
The attention of all the navies of the Eastern Fleet turned to them. They all paused as they looked in surprise at the Northeastern troops when they wholeheartedly believed in every word that Iron had said. They couldn’t believe that the Northeastern troops would believe the words of someone that wasn’t at commander or general level but only a Lieutenant Colonel like Iron. However, considering the peace that Iron had brought to the Northeast, they couldn’t dare to mock them for believing him like that.
Is this because of the strong trust between the forces of the Northeast?
The Eastern navies moved in perfect sync which allowed the Ghosts to reach the area where the White Whale was. The sea army still continued to flock to them but it was high time that they shook them off and moved to the direction of Ghost Island.
Rumble!
Lightning struck down on Iron’s ship as soon as they threw off the lamias and crabmen running on their ship. It looked like something was wary of them. The lightning seemed to tell them that they couldn’t go any further than this point.
It got worse the longer time passed by. And the worse it became, the more Iron flinched. At first glance, one would think that he was just shocked by the lightning strikes but Lintel just smiled at him and asked as if he knew that it wasn’t the case at all.
“Did you get the feeling?”
“Yes.”
Lintel smiled wider when he heard Iron speaking with certainty this time.
“Is this the divine beast’s ability?”
Lintel mumbled to himself as he turned to look at the lightning, tornado and storm that had been pouring down all over the place. Since Iron had felt something, the possibility of this phenomenon being created by the divine beast’s ability was high.
“Will it be a bird again this time?”
“Probably?”
“Hmm… I hope it’s a whale this time though…”
The Ghosts looked at Iron as they each gave their own thoughts. They could see that he was in deep concentration. They were all excited since they knew that Iron always showed something great whenever he had that expression on his face.
Then, a lightning bolt suddenly aimed towards Iron.
Carl Gustav’s expression hardened as he reflexively tried to prevent the attack. But the lightning strike avoided Iron by itself and flew elsewhere. This phenomenon happened continuously. As time went by, the lightning that rained on them began to avoid the ship too. The lightning only struck right next to the ship and even the tornadoes opened up and did not affect the ship.
With this strange phenomenon repeatedly occurring, Iron’s ship began to outrun the White Whale Guild’s ship.
In the area where lightning, storms, tornadoes and whirlpools ran rampant, only the area where Iron’s ship was located did not get struck. It was as if a safe area had been created around their ship.
The main fleet and even the mermaids looked from afar in shock.
“My Sea God… why?”
The mermaids murmured to themselves as they stared at the ship that carried the absent-minded Iron.
Just then, Iron heard the sound of notifications.
― Your ability as the ‘Bird Doctor’ has removed the influence of the ability of the Sea God on the ‘Thunderbird’. You have successfully reached out to the Thunderbird.
― Your ability as the Bird Doctor and your overwhelming affinity with birds has temporarily removed the Sea God’s power and influence over the Thunderbird. However, due to the lack of divine power, only a designated area around the ship could become a stable area that can last for a few days. Please be careful.
― As long as you’re on the ship, the curse of the Sea God that is expressed through the Thunderbird will not work on the ship.
― The ‘Thunderbird’ has fallen for your strange and unknown charm. This charm will grow the closer you get to each other. Please come closer♥
Iron staggered for a moment when he heard the notifications. He couldn’t help but mumble to himself when he heard the unimpressive words towards the end of the notifications.
“…charm?”