Chapter 240: Second Plan
Both Ramin and Aruega Rob stopped for a moment, seeing about ten Goblins appear out of nowhere without any prior notice.
‘Goblins?’
Even though their faces were covered, it was evident from their small stature and pointed ears, similar to those of Elves, that they were Goblins.
However, Ramin couldn’t remember having any Goblin acquaintances, so she had to think for a moment about who they could be. Then, noticing one of the Goblins using sign language, she quickly remembered.
"Ah, you are from Hwee-Kyung's..."
Aruega Rob looked back and forth between Ramin and the group of Goblins.
One of the Goblins translated for the Goblin using sign language.
"'Do you remember our promise to repay the favor for saving Hwee-Kyung at the pantheon?’ the boss says."
"Ah."
Ramin recalled seeing the Goblins at the pantheon during Hwee-Kyung and Sairan's wedding ceremony. She had also heard about them from Hwee-Kyung. They had met at Automation and had developed a connection, and the Goblins protected her.
They considered Ramin having fulfilled their duty to save Hwee-Kyung on their behalf and had boldly reported to Night Sky, earning the right to interfere with the law of causality, a right even the gods respected.
The Goblins all drew their weapons at once. There were scythes, daggers, throwing knives, and small crossbows. They were all assassination weapons.
The Goblin boss, who had not yet drawn a weapon, used sign language before pulling out a longsword as tall as themself.
Their subordinate said, "'I have come to keep that promise,' said the boss."
Aruega Rob said, "So in the end, you are just remnants of the Empire? Let me take care of this rascal first, and then I'll face you."
With that, Aruega charged straight at Ramin. Just then, an arrow shot at Aruega's eye from the opposite side where the Goblins were standing. Aruega had to momentarily pause their advance to avoid it.
'...This is my opening!'
Though the distance between them was one Aruega could have closed in an instant with their physical abilities, it wasn't the same for Ramin. However, Ramin had the power of a chosen one. Extending her sword, she unleashed a bolt of lightning. The lightning, appearing like an extended blade, scraped across the ground and reached Aruega’s feet.
"...!"
Aruega growled, attempting to dodge Ramin’s blade. However, the Goblins were already on the move. A throwing knife embedded itself into Aruega’s foot.
"...This is nothing!"
In the moment when Ramin's lightning and the Goblins, armed with their weapons, surrounded Aruega, Aruega stomped their foot.
Thud!
The ground shook, causing Ramin's body to sway, and the ground sank down.
'Am I falling?'
Ramin tried to maintain her balance by dropping down to the ground and rolling.
A large hole appeared where Aruega had been standing. It was only about the height of a person, but it seemed like one of the many underground tunnels installed inside the Sky Castle.
A Goblin sprung up from the hole, and before they could land on the ground, Aruega leaped up, revealing themself again.
"Annoying little creatures causing a nuisance..."
As Aruega continued speaking, they furrowed their eyebrows fiercely, turned around, and swung their front claws.
The Goblin boss, who had been stabbing Aruega in the back with a sword, flipped backwards, sliding and landing smoothly.
The chief signed something in sign language, and their subordinate translated again.
"'It’s difficult for our weapons to inflict any fatal wounds. Attack when an opportunity comes.' said the chief."
Aruega growled as they looked at the Goblins surrounding themself.
"Goblins, not even enough for a mouthful..."
Ramin spat out a mouthful of blood and walked forward.
The boss followed her and signed something. The subordinates followed behind.
"'Prove it.'" The interpreter said. "...said the chief."
***
Even amidst the hectic situation, with the commanders issuing urgent orders and directly leading on critical matters, Dordol still caught the words of the staff officer clearly.
"...We are starting to see the Rasdasil shoreline."
Dordol turned northwest, toward Rasdasil. Just as the staff officer had said, the Rasdasil shoreline was beginning to come into view. In this battle, seeing the Rasdasil shoreline wasn’t a bad thing. In fact, it was good.
Since the whereabouts of the Union Kingdom were unknown, the fortress at Rasdasil's shore had to be hastily constructed. However, despite being hastily built, the condition of the fortress was excellent. The fortress, which seemed to be hastily made by pouring concrete into a mold, was large and sturdy, even when compared to the old fortresses that the Empire took pride in. Moreover, the fortress was filled with cannons, which had been diligently transported and mounted in preparation for the Empire's airships to join the battlefield.
If they could lure the enemy forces within the firing range of the coastal cannons, they could inflict significant damage on the enemy troops.
'However...'
Despite the fierce battle, the situation was not entirely favorable. They were fighting from a great distance, and each fleet was moving, resulting in a lower accuracy rate for the artillery fire.
Although there weren’t evident signs of direct intervention like the God of War was showing, the gods of the Pantheon were already making partial adjustments. Despite this, they weren’t achieving clear results, which was evidence of the formidable power of the Angry One.
The army under the influence of the Angry One possessed distinct advantages in war. Even cowards, when killing enemies, lost their fear and gained the courage to charge into gunfire, and even the dull-witted became sharper when it came to killing the enemy.
About this, the Empire’s scholars commented that the army of the Angry One became a war machine. Even the gentle, after wearing military uniform of the Union Kingdom and receiving orders, operated functionally as if their consciousness had vanished. Some thought they were hypnotized or enchanted by God. However, that was not really the case.
There was an indescribable power, and no one doubted that it was from a god. Even Dordol occasionally found it difficult to understand how the Empire was holding its ground and now gaining the upper hand in the overall situation against the Union Kingdom.
The Empire had many cowards. Generally, if ten percent of a unit's members died, the unit would begin to lose its functionality. In a squad of ten, if one was wounded, one would need to check the wound, two would need to escort them, and four would need to provide covering fire by taking turns. The remaining members would include unit commander, meaning the last member of the unit would be a freshly trained private, incapable of carrying out the preceding tasks.
The difference was significant when compared to the army of the Angry One, which maintained morale and continued to fight even when twenty percent of the troops were lost, and over thirty percent in decisive battles.
Dordol had accurate statistical data and checked it every time the war researchers updated their tables of statistics. The facts were becoming more accurate and the numbers were steeply rising. Someday, the army of the Angry One could become an army where nine could die, but the tenth would not give up.
Despite these circumstances, the Empire’s army frequently won. Of course, Dordol was well aware that it was Night Sky’s power to create a strategy of avoiding war altogether or ensuring a clear victory, even against an opponent influenced by the Angry One. However, there were parts that this alone couldn’t explain.
There were cowards in the Empire that were unimaginable in the Union Kingdom, but there were also the bravest of the brave. They weren’t born for war, nor blessed by the God of War, yet they accomplished such feats.
'Is there something even the God of War is missing?'
The war researchers debated this fact. Perhaps this war itself was a process of confirming whether, in conducting war, there was a need for something more than just the capability of war machines.
The answer was beyond Dordol, but Dordol naturally leaned toward believing there was something else.
'Our fleet has already entered the firing range of the coastal cannons.'
The Union’s fleet could pause outside the range of the coastal cannons, but Dordol believed they were more likely to charge in without stopping.
'In that case, we will have to fight hard, even if it means sacrificing our fleet.'
The goal of the fleet was to annihilate the enemy transport fleet attempting to land at Rasdasil, so they had to be willing to sustain some damage. The closer the fleets got to each other, the more mutual damage would increase.
The Empire had the support of the coastal cannons, and when considering the information relayed about the airship battles in the sky from Mazdari, the exchange rate was not bad.
‘...But is that enough?’
It was difficult to find flaws in the strategy itself. Since the Empire’s fleet still had a trick up their sleeve, there was a possibility of annihilating the transport fleet provided the Union Kingdom didn't show a significant move.
‘But no one can know what the Angry One has hidden. Is this all? Or...?’
***
In the pantheon in the third conference room, the players seated around a circular table were checking their status windows, giving orders, and informing each other of the situation.
The priests of the Empire were following a central command named the World Watcher, but on the other hand, they were also conveying incomprehensible and detailed instructions directly from the gods or apostles to the nearby commanders.
Such instructions were shared among the players, and they were typically minor things that even the apostles commanding on the field didn’t need to know, but they were orders that could save the unit receiving them.
For example, if the angle of a cannon from one of the Union Kingdom's battleships was adjusted, the players would first confirm it, then identify the point where the shell would land, and order the battleship at risk of being sunk by that cannon fire to move a few tens of meters.
Such manipulation was undoubtedly inefficient considering the amount of Faith points consumed, but it was a necessary micro-control in a battle that must be won.
While everyone was busy, Wisdom, who was lost in thought for a moment, stopped his spinning head.
"Can we stop the landing with this?"
Sung-Woon, who was looking down at the Sky Castle, raised his head.
"Are you curious about what I think?"
"Yes."
"In my opinion..." After a moment of contemplation, Sung-Woon said, "I don’t think it’ll work."
"I thought so."
Lunda, who had been listening quietly, suddenly slammed the table and said, "We're working hard here, so why say something so discouraging?"
"Even if it doesn’t work out, we should still do our best."
"What kind of best are we talking about? Like a school sports team coach telling their team to do their best in the remaining games even though they're sure to be eliminated in the regional preliminaries? Weren't we supposed to be able to stop it?"
"Why is your example so specific?"
"Anyway."
Wisdom interrupted, "I'm also curious about the reason. Hegemonia doesn’t seem to have any other cards up her sleeve. There's no sign of a decisive battle either. Is there a problem on the Sky Castle’s end?"
Sung-Woon shook his head.
"No. The propulsion engines just started...five of them have started spinning. Given the distance, we should be able to stop the Sky Castle before it reaches the shore."
"With that distance, even Large Area: Sky would be able to manifest its full power, and it might even be possible to erase everything on the surface of the Sky Castle."
Among the Large Areas, the three nature domains each possessed powerful miracles. Large Area: Sea held the largest category, while Large Area: Land held the greatest power, but the Large Area: Sky was no lesser than the other two. Especially in terms of the variety and concentration of power, Large Area: Sky undoubtedly stood out.
"That's right."
"Then is there another problem?"
Sung-Woon crossed his arms and replied, "For now, that part is out of our hands."
"Out of our hands?"
"If I explain, you'll understand why it's out of our hands. What I'm worried about is something else."
"Something else?"
Sung-Woon said,
"Hegemonia is hardly using any Faith points."
Lunda asked back, "...Really? Is that so? But how does that matter? Isn't it better for us if she doesn't use her Faith points?"
Sung-Woon ignored Lunda and looked toward Wisdom.
Wisdom said, "Is that so? Is that what Hegemonia is aiming for?"
"You guys always leave me out and act like you know everything. It's annoying."
RD, who was beside them, chuckled.
"You don’t know either, why are you laughing?"
RD’s expression turned gloomy, but they watched Sung-Woon and Wisdom’s conversation with interest.
Sung-Woon waved his hand.
"Everyone knows about it. Since Hegemonia can challenge the Large Area now, if she accumulates Faith points, she can obtain it."
"...Oh."
Lim Chun-Sik, who was interested in the conversation, urgently said, "Hey, wait. So, you’re saying that Hegemonia is trying to obtain Large Area: Land and use it to destroy the Rasdasil Ruins?”
“Yes.”
"No way. How can she gather that much Faith in such a short war?"
"It’s precisely because it’s a short war."
With the one word that Sung-Woon emphasized, Lim Chun-Sik looked stricken.
Hegemonia possessed the Unique Domain: War, which meant she could satisfy her need for Faith resources just by being in war.
Sung-Woon elaborated, "I've calculated it, and it’s possible. It will be tight, but she can manage if they land and fight on land, and if all the apostles appear on the frontline, she will reach enough Faith points. So...Hegemonia has two plans. One is through her own army. The other is to obtain Large Area through the progression of the war, and then create an earthquake to bring down the Rasdasil Ruins."
Eldar carefully said, "Excuse my impudence, but..."
"Say it."
"Even if it’s a Large Area, they would still need to be close to their own territory to exert enough power to destroy the ruins, wouldn't they…?"
Sung-Woon shrugged. "That's probably why they brought it."
"Pardon?"
Sung-Woon replied, "The Sky Castle.”
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