Chapter 890 890 359 Art_2

Chapter 890: Chapter 359 Art_2 Chapter 890: Chapter 359 Art_2 “`

But this way of dying really was a bit ridiculous.

“Brother, if you can make it back alive, remember to erect a monument for me, inscribed with a line of text.”

“F*ck that bullshit!”

Unable to hold back, Dulietis cursed and turned around to start adjusting his Magic Crystal Cannon.

After all, since I can’t see anyone, does it really matter where I aim to shoot?

If by some chance I manage to hit something, then once I’m in the Goddess’s Divine Kingdom, I’ll have something to boast about.

······

“…Lastly, to gunner number eight of our ship.”

...

“Shift the cannon 50 cubits to the left, elevate the angle by 0.81°, and fire three consecutive shots.”

“With this, the fleet will form seventeen local battle positions, with encirclement and destruction of the enemy’s main force as the primary objective, completing the battle plan.”

“I will follow up with specific strategic implementations and make arrangements accordingly.”

“General, any questions?”

A clever “Illusory Sound Art” was simultaneously conveyed in real-time by several dozen communication device operators.

Even after Laine had finished stating the subsequent arrangements, he still seemed a bit reluctant to stop.

The scene made him think of certain strategy games from future generations.

Except that the one unfolding before his eyes was being played out by real people.

“…None.”

“But Lord Aiven… have you received some sort of divine favor from the Goddess, enabling you to see through the fog of war?”

As soon as he asked, Kemeng regretted it, for he knew his question was somewhat foolish.

Even if this newly arrived Commander really possessed such a treasure, it couldn’t explain the arrangements he had made.

After all, no one could accurately predict where each enemy ship would be at any given second, nor foresee the positions of their own vessels.

The ocean is not like land; here, even a small wave might cause an attack that should have hit to miss its target entirely, ending in failure.

But to say the man in front was just using the entire navy’s life and death for a jest seemed even less plausible.

“It’s not important, General.”

“Very soon, you’ll see the outcome.”

“Oh, by the way, the task of our ship’s gunner is quite crucial, because the target is a future King.”

“Whether or not he’s killed, as long as the shot reaches him, it’s considered a great feat.”

Calculating the time, Laine raised his hand in a gesture of looking into the distance.

However, a thick fog lay before them, and Kemeng also glanced in the same direction, but he saw nothing.

Silently timing the moment, it seemed about time for the attack to begin.

Gradually, light began to streak through the surrounding sea of fog, various colors shining forth.

Kemeng knew what it was: the sight of a Magic Crystal Cannon charging.

At its core, this special weapon was simply a method of firing Elemental Energy extracted from the Magic Net in the most direct and brute-force manner possible, with the advantage being that no Wizard was needed to control it, but there was a whole host of disadvantages.

For instance, the long charging time, and the extremely low energy efficiency, which was evident from the dispersion of light as Elemental Energy escaped in large quantities.

And the cannon couldn’t fire in rapid succession, because a large concentration of Elemental Energy might ignite upon being activated by the Magic Crystal Cannon, resulting in a localized momentary surge of the elements and the complete destruction of everything on the battleship.

There were many more such shortcomings, which was why this weapon was considered to be a defective product.

But whatever the case, in this era of sea warfare where the defense was almost zero, and a hit meant a kill, it was a groundbreaking weapon.

And according to legend, the item atop the Grand Sorceress Hermes’s Tower that could destroy a Deity’s avatar was essentially viewed as an extremely special Magic Crystal Cannon, albeit one that was impossible to mass-produce and required the aid of such a powerful Wizard to use.

However, General Kemeng clearly didn’t have a deep understanding of these things.

“Ten.”

“Hm?”

“Nine.”

“Eight.”

“…”

Lifting his head again, the General watched as the parachuted-in Commander counted down one by one.

Meanwhile, the brightness of the lights and the sound of arrows piercing the air also grew more evident.

Clearly, the Elemental Light leaking from the Magic Crystal Cannons as they charged had also drawn the enemy’s attention, bringing threats upon themselves.

“`

“…”

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One.”

As he counted down to the last number, Laine paused for a moment, then made an onomatopoeic sound.

“Boom—”

In an instant, hundreds of streaks of light illuminated the entire fog-covered sea, each one containing a surge of energy nearly equivalent to a Nine Rings Magic spell.

To true powerhouses, the impact of such a dispersed elemental surge might be less threatening than a casual swing of a Legendary Knight’s sword, but to large mortal constructs, it was an attack akin to Destruction.

No sound came at first, because the wooden hulls of the ships would be pierced instantly upon contact with the elemental deluge.

It wasn’t until a little later that General Kemeng could hear the sounds of seawater pouring into cabins amid the noisy clamor and shouts.

He didn’t know exactly how many enemies had been hit, but undoubtedly, at least a dozen enemy warships had been obliterated by that single strike.

In that moment, the knowledge he had learned in the past seemed to be of no use.

And watching the figure that still gazed into the foggy sea in front of him, Kemeng once again followed the gaze.

“…Hey, what are you looking at?”

Turning around just in time to see this, Laine was a bit puzzled.

With the help of the Sea God, the dense fog was of little consequence to him; he had been considering where to let the ‘waves’ push these ships so that one shot could potentially penetrate two or three vessels.

But the man behind him couldn’t see, so what was he looking at?

“I don’t know.”

In response to Laine’s question, Kemeng first replied, then hesitated for a moment.

After a short while, he slowly added, “But I think…”

“Perhaps, I’m witnessing the true art of War.”

“…”

“Well, if it makes you happy.”

Not knowing what else to say, Laine had not anticipated that this General Kemeng would henceforth strive with renewed vigor to become a master of naval command in the future, inventing many useful tactics.

Even in distant posterity, some would name their children after him, and one of them would become a renowned general, eventually making it into the annals of history.

At this point in time, Laine only hoped that he wouldn’t lead him astray to the point of obsession.

After all, no matter how he thought about it, his maneuvers had little to do with the art of War.

Should he explain?

Hmm… maybe not.

It had already been agreed not to expose Nereus, so it wouldn’t be right for him to go back on his word.

Although reluctant, he had to accept this unwarranted responsibility for now.

“Ah.”

Letting out a slight sigh, and looking at the fog that glimmered with light once more, Laine, as a separate embodiment of humanity, felt he was indeed burdened with many things that others misunderstood.

Even though others might yearn for these things, there was always a difference between seeking them out and being subjected to them.

Shaking his head lightly, Laine continued to observe the current situation on the battlefield.

What he had arranged earlier was just the plan for the first half of the Water Clock’s duration.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t plan longer, but any more would seem too contrived.

Even as the Sea God, it was better to subtly influence the position of the ships rather than to do so blatantly.

Thus, adjusting new attack plans periodically based on the current situation rather than completing everything at once seemed more reasonable.

“…General Kemeng, be ready to continue recording.”

After a while, just as the final gun positions on his flagship began to emit the glow of charged energy, Laine spoke up again.

The target of the flagship’s attack appeared to be the enemy’s Commander, that Prince called Pilos or something.

It would be best if he could be killed, but it didn’t matter if he couldn’t; to Laine, it was a trivial matter.

However, for some reason, after glancing casually at the enemy ships in the mist, Laine had a premonition.

That Prince Pilos was probably not going to die here, and in the distant future, he might even encounter some unexpected things… who knows.

…