ocean-life Chapter 260: First Strike
Chapter 260: First Strike
Chapter 260: First Strike
BOOM—!!
Tuli stared at the enemy before her, slamming her desk in disbelief.
“How could this happen?! How did the enemy get to our doorstep without us knowing?!”
Reports of defeat had been coming one after the other.
The gates of Moon Aether had been breached, and by the time Tuli had rushed her forces to defend it, the immigrant tribes had already vanished. Then came the news of defeat at the Binfredo River.
Tuli had hastily attempted to withdraw her troops to reinforce their position, but she couldn’t just leave Moon Aether in ruins. She had to split her forces, which consequently left her weakened. Just as she was trying to regroup, the unbelievable news that Yoman had fallen reached her ears. She almost couldn’t believe what was happening.
Tuli gritted her teeth. Up until this point, her plans had been flawless. Just a few days—she had thought it would take only a few more days to bring this civil war to a decisive conclusion.
But in that brief time, everything had changed.
“The barbarians have not only defiled the lands of the principality but have completely derailed my plans,” Tuli growled, fuming inwardly.
Karyl MacGovern—the name had reached her too late. If she had known sooner, she wouldn’t have bothered with poison or any other indirect methods; she would have decapitated Fran outright.
Tuli had been convinced that time was her ally—Fran, addicted to the drugs she had supplied, would inevitably destroy himself without her having to lift a finger.
“What happened? Even drugged out of his mind, Fran shouldn’t have made such a mess of things. How could he bring the barbarians into our internal affairs...?!”
Tuli knew about their meeting in Cove, and she was also aware that Karyl had offered to divert the empire’s attention in exchange for support in the civil war. After all, this conflict was something she and Fran had mutually agreed upon to consolidate power.
Wasn’t it just empty boasting...? Does he really hold the emperor’s life in his hands?
When she first heard that, she scoffed. But when the result of that scorn returned to her as the enemy before her eyes, she belatedly regretted the irreversible mistake she had made.
“How is the enemy doing?” she demanded.
Her lieutenant, Cox Butler, who was in charge of defending the White Bunker, pointed at the map with his command stick. “The battles in other regions are still ongoing. The enemy hasn’t fully regrouped yet. We estimate their current numbers to be around thirty thousand.”
Cox continued, “Lord Bonitos commands five thousand troops, and Lady Ruiche has fifteen thousand. The barbarians have around ten thousand. Additionally, there are seven thousand troops advancing from the Binfredo River and four thousand from Yoman toward the White Bunker.
“So the only place that hasn’t fallen yet is Frau Hat,” she muttered, noting the last defensive point still standing.
It was a small consolation amidst the chaos.
“What about the other dukes?” Tuli asked irritably.
“Lord Wilmay and Lord Jacquesau joined the reinforcement effort at Moon Aether, but when the forces were split, they opted to reinforce Frau Hat,” Cox reported, hesitating slightly.
“Reinforce? Nonsense. The fact that both of them led troops there personally tells me all I need to know. They’re probably trying to assess the situation at Moon Aether firsthand,” Tuli sneered.
“Frau Hat is the only place left untouched,” she went on. “They must be looking for an escape route through there, probably heading back to their territories.”
Cox remained silent, offering no response.
“They were useless anyway,” Tuli spat. “In terms of raw power, the situation isn't hopeless.”
Though the Wyvern Squadron had been deployed, the White Bunker still housed forty thousand troops. Even in a direct confrontation, they could hold their own.
“However, Ruiche... It’s a pity I couldn’t bring her to my side. She’s been following Fran since she was a child. But honestly, I didn’t expect her to bring such a large force.” Tuli bit her lip.
She recalled the youngest of the seven dukes, Ruiche, who led a massive army of thirty thousand—far more than Tuli had anticipated.
Ruiche was a special and peculiar presence among the seven siblings of the Lurein Ducal House. Unlike her other brothers, she had always been unusually loyal to Fran, to the point of excessive devotion.
But in the grand scheme of the ducal authority, such behavior wasn’t something that would typically cause concern—except for Tuli, who saw it as a potential excuse to eliminate her.
Whatever the truth may be, it doesn’t matter. Once Fran is captured, I was planning to accuse her of incest or some other crime, kill her, and seize her troops, Tuli thought bitterly.
Now, the very soldiers who should have bolstered her strength were turning their swords against her.
If only I had enticed Ruiche instead of that fool Lachiel...
Tuli shook her head. The battle had involved the Sea King and the Water King, and no matter how powerful the Silverwing Fleet was, facing two ancient beasts was absurd.
Following that defeat, Lachiel’s severed head was all that came back to the White Bunker, the rest of his body lost in the waters off Cove. At this point, assigning blame was pointless.
No, I can’t let Ruiche know about the Wooden Cloud either; it would only complicate things further, she thought.
Although losing Ruiche’s forces was regrettable, it wasn’t a loss she couldn’t bear. Winning the battle was far more important, even if it meant sustaining some damage.
“I never expected Sir Ganeth to be defeated.”
“Any news on him?”
“Nothing yet. Logically, it’s hard to imagine that anyone could defeat one of the five Sword Masters. But I’m sure he's alive.”
“Logically?” Tuli sneered at Cox Butler’s words, her tone cold. “This battlefield has already defied logic. The title of Sword Master isn’t absolute. Even someone like him can be defeated. What’s truly beyond reason is what we're seeing out there.”
At that, everyone turned to look out the window.
“Krrrrrr...!!”
“Kaaaaargh!!”
The wyverns that had once served as their stalwart guardians were now baring their fangs at them, flying menacingly over the fortress.
“Indeed, it’s hard enough to believe that the entire 1st Wyvern Squadron was wiped out and that the wyverns have fallen into Fran’s hands, “Tuli muttered. “Fine, let’s say I accept that. But you must have seen it too... The wyverns have no riders!”
Tuli gritted her teeth, glancing outside as the frantic sounds of her subordinates filled the air.
“Whoa...! Easy! Calm down!” shouted a soldier desperately.
“Why aren't they responding?!” another cried out.
“What’s going on?”
However, the others were in the dark, filled with curiosity and suspicion.
“And don’t worry. The war has already begun.”
“...What?” Ruiche, now surprised, looked back at Karyl, and they exchanged glances.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud...!!
Thud, thud, thud...!!
Along with the thunderous war drums, massive golems emerged one by one from the White Bunker.
Thud...!! Boom...!!
The golems carried massive tower shields on one arm, while the other arm wielded various weapons such as maces and swords.
“Meister!! Prepare for battle!!” The commander’s shout echoed from within the lead golem.
The golems, which hadn’t been conceived solely through magic or alchemy, formed ranks. Uniquely, these golems were directly piloted by operators from inside. As the pilots focused their mana, the golems picked up the pace.
The true marvel of magitech was on full display. The lineup of dozens of golems gave an overwhelming impression on the battlefield.
Then it happened.
“What... What is that?!”
The commander noticed a figure entering his field of vision. However, it had already vanished before he could get a good look, leaving only a faint afterimage behind.
BOOOOOOOM―!!
With a powerful blow, the view inside the golem’s cockpit flashed as sparks flew. The commander’s golem staggered under the impact.
“Ugh?!”
He struggled to regain control, but his vision shifted as the golem was toppled to the ground.
Voom...
Shockingly, dozens of arrows had lodged themselves in the joints of the golem’s knees. The blue arrowheads occasionally emitted a flicker of light and quivered. With a few more flickers, the defensive magic circle inscribed on the golem’s outer shell was nullified and disappeared.
How... How is this possible...?
The commander desperately scanned his surroundings, but the golem’s chest was ripped open before he could realize what was going on.
CRASH...! CRACK...!!
The screen displaying the view from the golem’s magical lenses went dark, and instead, the landscape came into view directly.
“...”
The freezing northern air brushed past his face. Before he could fully feel the chill, the commander found himself staring at the figure from before.
“Ugh... Ugh...!!”
Without hesitation, the woman grabbed the commander by the throat and lifted him from his seat.
“Guh-huh...!!”
The commander stared at her in disbelief, desperately clutching at his tightening throat and kicking his legs in the air as if trying to swim.
“It seems we’re the last to arrive,” said Kinu as he pulled an arrow from the golem’s knee, gazing toward the distant base.
“What are you talking about? The fight hasn’t even started yet. They’re all just watching over there,” Miliana scoffed.
Crunch—!
She tightened her grip around the commander’s throat, and with the sickening crunch of bones and cartilage, the commander went limp.
“The one who strikes first is the one who wins.”
BOOM...!!
Miliana stomped down with all her strength, pouring her mana into the blow. The golem’s armor shattered, and stone fragments scattered in every direction.
Although dozens of golems surrounded her, everything had happened so fast that they were too stunned to counterattack.
Kinu calmly pulled something from his belt as he walked among the golems.
“...!!!”
“...!!!”
The pilots inside the golems were horrified when they saw what Kinu held in his hands—two severed heads.
“Lord Wilmey...!!”
“Even Duke Jacquesau... has been killed...?”
The heads Kinu carried were those of the two dukes who had fled to Frau Hat.
Shing—!
Miliana drew her sword, Gale, from her waist and severed the commander’s head, holding it up as a warning to the others.
“Waaaahhh...!!”
“Yeaaaaaahh...!!”
At that moment, the shouts of soldiers rang out from afar, as if on cue.
Standing tall on the broken golem and unfazed by the enemy before her, Miliana turned to look at Karyl in the distance and shouted, “See that? We’ve dealt the first blow!”