Chapter 205 – The Ocean is … (5)

It was not easy to cross through the rough winter ocean.
That was why the navigators who sailed through the Northern ocean were all experts. The Northern Alliance had only recruited the best of the best of these experts.

However, none of that mattered.

Baaaaaang!

The true ocean of death revealed itself to the navigators who had barely managed to wade through the whirlpools in order to get out of the red fog.

"Maintain your formation! Launch the cannons!"

The soldiers of the Indomitable Alliance finally got back to their senses and started to move. There was fear in their faces.

Tap, tap.
Their comrades' corpses got in their way as they tried to quickly move around, however, they did not have time to notice this issue.

"Uggggggggh-"

There was a soldier on the ground who was poisoned, but not yet dead. His body was stepped on by another soldier, however, the soldier just glanced toward this poisoned soldier before moving on.

He was thinking that he too would die if he took the time to stop to help.

The soldier just continued to move while stepping on corpses.
Some of them had been paying attention to where they were walking until just a moment ago. However, they could no longer do that.

"Move quickly if you don't want to be buried at sea!"

One of the knights shouted toward the soldiers.

"Start rowing if you want to be able to take your friends' corpses back home!"

They needed to survive in order to care for their friends' bodies.
Otherwise, they would all die out here and nobody would be able to find any of their bodies.

It had not been like this when they had first headed out with a fleet of three hundred ships. They thought that they could destroy anything and everything at that point.
However, the result was the opposite. It was their enemy who seemed ready to destroy anything and everything.

"Refill the gunpowder!"
"Where are the archers?!"

The deck was chaotic.
The knights got in formation while the mages started to fire off spells.

Bang. Bang!

Many of the arrows bounced off of the mages' magic shields and knights' shields. One mage from the Paerun Kingdom could not help but swear after seeing the rain of arrows.

"Damn it! When did they prepare such a thing?!"

They could see a fleet of red ships almost comparable to their own in number.

"How could the Roan Kingdom…!"

The Roan Kingdom's proclamation in response to their own was full of confidence, however, the majority of the western continent's kingdoms did not put much attention on the Roan Kingdom.
This was because there had been nothing special about them for decades.
So how could they suddenly have such strong forces?
How could they possess such powerful naval capabilities?

If a single Kingdom had such a immense naval presence, why didn't they dominate the sea?

This mage from the Paerun Kingdom created an even bigger shield with magic as he ordered his subordinates.

"Immediately activate fire or lightning atta-!"

He wanted to tell them to do that.
However, he had to urgently change his command.
He could see fire orbs in the distance.

Tens of magic orbs flew up into the sky at the same time.

'How could the Roan Kingdom put forth such a magic attack?'
The navy, the magic.

The mage used magic on his eyes in order to broaden his viewpoint as he urgently shouted.

"Shields-!"

Tens of fire orbs attacked the ships that had just escaped from the whirlpools.

"Ugh!"

The mage who barely managed to defend with shield magic looked toward the front of the fleet of red ships with his magnified viewpoint. He could see a large number of red ships. Some members of the Mage Brigade were on each of the ships.
The Paerun Kingdom's mage looked toward the robed individuals and was unable to close his dropped jaw.

"…Crazy."

'How does the Roan Kingdom have so many mages? What is going on?'

The mage's gaze shifted.
He could see a robed mage floating up into the air.
However, he was wrong in his assumption, as this was not a mage.

This was someone floating up using a wind Elemental.
The Dark Elf Tasha focused her attention on the voice coming from below her.

"One more time."

Cale gave the order.
Tasha raised up both of her arms. The tens of mages in Mage Brigade 1 cast their magic at the same time.

Crackle, crackle.

Orbs infused with lightning power shot up into the sky. Tasha used the wind to amplify her voice in order to deliver the Military Commander's order.

"Attack."

The orbs shot toward the ships once again.
Cale watched the attack before starting to speak.

"Move the ships."

That order was shared with a few of the red ships via a magic communication device. The Knight Captain who was on one of those red ships took out his sword.

Clang.

The moment the rest of the knights took out their swords in response, the ship moved to stop in front of a mid-sized military ship belonging to the enemy.

Cale's voice reached the Knight Captain's ear through the communication device.

– Slash the enemies' necks.

Tap.
The Knight Captain heard the sound of someone charging forward before him.
He could not stand still after hearing that. He started to speak.

"Follow."

The Knight Captain started to move.

He only needed to give a simple order.
They just had to follow the person in front of them.

The Knight Captain jumped up and landed on the deck of the enemy ship. The other knights followed behind him, some using their physical abilities to jump while others used ladders to climb onto the enemy ship.
They were all moving without any hesitation while looking at a single person's back.

They could see the injured shoulder that was wrapped in bandages.
However, the Roan Kingdom's Royal Knights could see the black aura in the person's other hand.

The first sword master of the Roan Kingdom in a long time.
Choi Han was taking action even though Cale had told him to rest. His blood was boiling. He could not sit still. In the end, Cale ended up giving him permission to act.

'… Do whatever you want. I'm sure you'll take care of yourself. However, just know that I will not take you around with me if you get any more injuries.'

Choi Han knew that Cale meant what he had said.
That was why he remembered this order as he continued to move.

The First Brigade of the Royal Knights followed behind him. Sword masters were known to have reached the apex of the sword. There was nothing for the Roan Kingdom's knights to fear as long as that black aura was in front of them.

Baaaaang!

The black aura destroyed a cabin on the enemy ship.
Cale was standing on the strongest and safest golden ship at a distance as he watched Choi Han destroy the enemy ship.

'That guy really is amazing.'

Cale was thinking that Choi Han definitely deserved to be the main character as he leisurely looked around the battlefield. Choi Han was starting to develop his identity as a hero.

'I can relax a bit now.'

The large golden turtle sculpture was next to him. Cale's red hair stood out on the golden ship, drawing everyone's attention toward him.

There were many nobles on this ship that was the largest and strongest ship in the fleet. The nobles, who needed to get on Cale's good side, could not hide in the cabins, so they put on their strong armors and stood behind him on the deck.

These were the northeast region's nobles who had once followed the southeast region and central region's powers.
They could not say anything while watching what was going on in front of them.

Ships were getting destroyed.
People were dying.

But it was not their ships or their people.

The nobles sighed in relief as their minds became complicated at these new facts that they had just learned about. One of the nobles who had been pushing for the southeast region to take control touched the back of his neck.

'The Roan Kingdom had such a strong navy?!'
The crown prince was said to have prepared the naval base.
Seeing the size and strength of the navy, as well as the Mage Brigade that was sent to assist them, this noble quickly realized why the crown prince would be succeeding the throne.
But there was also another piece of information that shocked them all.

'I didn't know that the Henituse family contributed 1/3 of the funds required to build the naval base!' ( (PR: Only ⅓? I thought it would be more to be honest.) )

The Ubarr territory by the Roan Kingdom's shoreline.
The Roan Kingdom's crown prince.
And the wealthy Henituse territory.

The nobles feared the Henituse territory the most after the partnership was revealed.

"Cough."

The noble heard a quiet voice at that moment. He looked back toward the front.
The person standing in front of him was Cale Henituse.

The northeast region's military commander was wiping his mouth with his sleeve. He could see a bit of blood on the sleeve.

However, the noble could not say anything.

At first, he had felt fear about the Henituse territory.
He was scared of this territory in the corner that had quietly been growing their strength. However, a different emotion other than fear had taken over.

He could hear Cale giving the Mage Brigade an order.

"Activate the shields. Protect the soldiers."

The mages immediately created magic shields in order to protect the soldiers from the enemy mages' attacks.
The enemy was being obliterated without hurting their allies. It was a one-sided battle.

Nobody would have expected that the Roan Kingdom would have dominated the Indomitable Alliance like this.

The nobles who had personally experienced this unexpected situation had a different emotion stirring in their minds. The nobles heard one of the nobles speaking at that moment.

"…The Henituse household was originally the northeast region's Guardian household."

They had forgotten about it because they had been at a time of peace for a long time.

Although the Henituse household was now known as a wealthy household, they were originally known as a martial arts household.
Ever since the Roan Kingdom had been founded in this land, the Henituse household had guarded the entrance to the Forest of Darkness, defending the northeast region and the entire Roan Kingdom underneath.

Marquis Ailan's household was currently known as the greatest martial arts household in the Roan Kingdom.
While the Ailan household had chosen the best land in the Roan Kingdom's southeast region, the Henituse household had chosen to go to this remote corner even though they were a famed household at that time.
They had chosen to go to toward the Forest of Darkness where the strongest monsters were known to roam.

The nobles seemed to realize something at this point.

Their gazes all headed toward Cale's back.
Their hearts were filled with thrill and anticipation now that their fear was gone.

The nobles could see Cale Henituse frowning in the front. He could not even properly clean the blood on his sleeve as he focused on the battlefield in front of him.
However, there was no hesitation as he gave the orders to the soldiers and mages.

He seemed reliable.
At the same time, they felt a sense of regret.

They had gotten on this ship, but it was too late.
The, 'real,' people were not on this strong ship, but on the battlefield. The people who had the qualifications to go down in history were already making history on their own.
This one noble bit down on his lips. He wanted to say something to Cale, but he could only frown as he did not dare to approach Cale.
That was why the noble was suppressing his excitement and remaining quiet. All of the nobles were almost staring at Cale's back.

However, Cale did not feel any of their gazes right now. He started to frown even more.

'I'm hungry.'

He was not bleeding much because he had controlled the Fire of Destruction's fiery thunderbolt, however, he was still hungry. It wasn't like he could just sit down and eat a steak in the middle of the battle. This was making him annoyed.

Cale heard a voice in his mind at that moment.

– Not-as-weak human, we caught the mage.

Cale started to smile.

Raon had captured the old mage.
The healer and the Dragon Catcher were already captured by the father-son duo of Ron and Beacrox.
Raon's voice continued on in his mind.

– But I'm sorry.

'Sorry?'
The corners of Cale's lips that had been going up stopped moving. Raon explained himself in Cale's mind.

– Not-as-weak human, you told me to bring him alive, but he is barely hanging on. He's right about to die. He is still alive. I fed him a potion, but he will still die in about two days.

'Ah, doesn't matter then.'
Cale started to smile again.

– We also captured the magic spearman. He is fine. Let's throw him to sword master Hannah.

Cale was very satisfied.
The magic spearman was the one who had been close to the sword master and fake Holy Maiden, Hannah, when Cale's group had clashed against Arm during the Whales' battle with the mermaids.
The fake Holy Maiden was itching to get her hands on the people who had stabbed her in the back, so she would be very happy if they handed the magic spearman to her.

Cale raised his hand with satisfaction.
The nobles all flinched after seeing him suddenly raise his hand.

However, young lady Amiru, as well as the Dark Elf Tasha, the two people right next to Cale, understood his order. Cale started to speak.

"Prepare for a full assault."

The order for the final attack was delivered to all of the ships.
At that moment, the nobles felt the atmosphere starting to change.

Shaaaaaaaaaaa-

The wind started to blow.
The wind was gathering inside the red fog.

The Mage captain shouted out an order.

"Larocque 7!"

Ooooooong-

The mages all raised their hands up in the air. Numerous smaller strands of mana gathered together into seven orbs.
One of the formations for the former Whipper Kingdom's mages with Rosalyn at the center slowly revealed itself over the ocean.
Furthermore, the royal knights that had been running rampant on enemy ships returned to their own red ship at that moment.

"Fire! Do not give them any openings!"

The soldiers were still shooting endless volleys of arrows at the Indomitable Alliance.

Splash, splash.

The red ships slowly started to retreat.
Ubarr territory's coast.
The Roan Kingdom's navy that had trained alongside the whirlpools that Cale had left behind was much more talented than the northern navigators.

Splash, splash.
The rowing soldiers put more strength into each row.

The ships slowly retreated in formation.
Hundreds of ships all retreated from the poisonous fog at once. It was a grand spectacle to watch. The nobles watching this did not find it odd that they could see all of this clearly even though it was night time.
They did not have time to focus on the fact that it was starting to get brighter.

Cale looked toward the retreated knights and the mages who had prepared their attack. He then heard Raon's voice.

– Finished.

Cale started to speak.

"Attack."

Cale's hand was lowered.
The red fog changed at that moment.

Swooooooosh-
The calm fog started to change.

The red poisonous fog started to roar.
It resembled the snowstorm that covered the lake surrounding the World Tree.

"Ugh!"

The harsh wind made the nobles and soldiers cover their eyes. It felt as if they would be swept up by the poisonous fog at any moment.
It was at that moment. The Mage Captain's quiet voice could be heard through the wind.

"Fire!"

Fire.
It was as if they were firing weapons. The seven orbs of mana in the mages' hands, these orbs of seven different attributes flew toward the red fog and the enemy.

It was the moment the seven orbs touched the poisonous fog tornado.

Boooooooom!

A large explosion occurred.
The entire ocean roared. Even the nobles and soldiers on the golden ship had to hold on because of the shock from the explosion.

"Ugh!"
"Eek! So strong!"

Already unable to see because of the blast, they struggled to stand still once the waves started to roar. They heard people screaming and ships breaking as the explosion continued on.

The enemies were dying.

They all sensed it in their hearts.
The noises started to disappear as the water calmed back down.

"C, commander-nim!"

The nobles slowly raised their heads after hearing young lady Amiru, who was in charge of communications on her mother's behalf, calling for the commander.

The commander.

Did something happen to the commander?
The shocked nobles urgently raised their heads.

They could then see the calm ocean.
At the same time, they could also see Cale, who was looking at young lady Amiru.

"Looks like I kept my promise."

One of the nobles stood up as if he had been possessed after hearing that statement. He staggered a bit because he could had not yet regained his balance, however, he could soon see Cale and the ocean beyond the ship.

Something he had not realized until now finally clicked.
The ocean was getting brighter.

The sun was rising.

The red fog was no longer covering the ocean. All he could see were dead bodies and broken debris. Something caught the soldiers' and nobles' eyes at that moment.
They all looked toward the direction of the rising sun. It was the spot that the rays of the sun were currently focused on.

The archers lowered their bows. The navigators let go of their ropes and the rowers let go of their rows.

Clang.
An archer's arrow fell to the ground.
They heard their leader's voice at that moment.

"Inform the kingdom."

The soldiers slowly started to raise their arms.
They heard their leader, Cale's voice. Cale was looking into the video communication device in young lady Amiru's arms as he continued to speak.

"We are victorious. Inform the kingdom."

We are victorious.
There are no more enemies on the ocean.

The soldiers raised their arms into the air and started to cheer!

"Ahhhhh!"
"Wooooooooooo!"

Relief, joy, and excitement. These shouts that were full of all three of these emotions echoed across the ocean.

We survived and were victorious.
We kept our promise.

The soldiers started to shout these things as well.
The sun rose up in order to welcome the day for the Roan Kingdom.

The red ships started to move once again. They were heading toward the golden ship, they were heading toward Cale Henituse. They all cheered as they gathered around their leader.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]