Ch 255
“Stop! Who are you?”
“I came to see the commander of the naval army.”
“……State your business”
As expected. The Byeolcho Special force gained some popularity across the Marching Plains and Minis, but it was a different story on Dike Beach. He also wondered if it was possible for an NPC soldier would recognize his contribution, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
‘Normally, I would have negotiated or even bullied them……. There’s no time to waste right now. Arguing with NPCs like this.’
And Leeha expected this would happen. Leeha pulled out something from his bag.
“I have come under Commander-in-Chief Granville’s command, who is currently at the front lines. My name is Ha Leeha, the captain of the Byeolcho Special force dispatched to Dike Beach as reinforcement. Please tell the Naval Commander right away.”
The thing that came out was a plaque made of brass.
The shape of a giant supporting the planet was engraved on it. There was no way that the NPC guard would not know what this meant.
“Granville…… Commander- Co, co, Commander-in-chief’s seal!”
The expression of the NPC guard, who was vigilant of Leeha, relaxed. And he looked between Leeha’s face and the seal. How could a guy like him have something like this? He made a weird expression.
As Leeha frowned slightly, he imddeiately opened his mouth.
“I, I will guide you right away! Wait- wait a minute!”
Seeing the NPC running in a hurry, Leeha sighed.
“Should I say that it’s because the guards are strict…. Or are my clothes the problem?”
After a moment of examining his shabby clothes, the guard came running to Leeha.
“Come this way.”
Leeha followed him. Was the naval commander not in the tent? They moved to a place near the seashore and a port lined with ships.
“Commander! I brought him!”
“Hmm? Oh, ahh Did uncle Granville- no, did the commander-in-chief send you here?”
He had a thick beard that extended from his sideburns to his chin.
The man looked like that of a drunkard in the port, scratching his chin and looking down, reaching out his hand.
“Uncle Granville……? Uh-.”
When Leeha reached out his hand in the freezing cold, the man grabbed his hand and gave it a tight grip. Leeha could feel the power of his heavy hands as well.
“I am Burke. Even while knowing the navy’s power clearly, he still took all the manpower and wanted us to stop Kraven by ourselves, he’s clearly gone senile.”
“The commander-in-chief-nim has always been like that. Even during mock battles, they really hate us.”
“Puhahaha, it’s because you drank and peed in the tent of the commander-in-chief Granville-nim the day before!”
The admirals of Fibiel, who had a meeting with the Naval Commander Burke, were at least different from the NPCs that Leeha had seen. What even is this? Are they gangsters?
“Excuse me- I am-”
“I know, I know. It’s obvious when you see that they sent only one guy as reinforcements. Where did you come from? Kek, he’s a bit of a jerk. No, still, the smell of gunpowder is so strong that he doesn’t seem to be a newbie…….
Anyway, lets go and talk. Now, how far did you say it is?”
“The say that bastard Drake is all over the place.”
“It’s obviously a demonstration. Once, twice. Where could the main unit be hiding? How many fleets have already suffered like that? At first, there were less than half of our fleet.”
“Geez, we can’t just ignore this and find Drake’s main force, right? If we aim for the 9th fleet, then 1st and 8th fleet will storm the beach.”
“But if we go fight this way, Drake could appear out of nowhere and set our tails on fire.”
“Damn it, that’s why I hate that bastard. They’re like butchers, we can’t do anything by being clever on the sea. Spit! It’s like looking at a baby drown and die.”
Leeha listened to their words carefully. Judging from the words and deeds of the naval commander, and the words of those standing next to him, this was clearly a strategy meeting.
‘This?’
However, what was with the rude tone? No, it can be this way. However, if it’s a strategy meeting, shouldn’t it be possible to recognize the operation?
They were talking non-stop, rubbing and scribbling things on the floor, rubbing them off with their feet, and redrawing them again.
“D-don’t you guys have a map for the war?”
“A Map? Ah, here it is.”
“…This?”
He thought it was graffiti. The drawings scribbled and scrubbed away with their feet. Upon closer inspection, it showed the entire sea from Dike Beach to the Kraven Sea.
‘This is the chart? Doesn’t it need precision above all else? What will they find by drawing it here?’
Leeha could not hide his surprise, but in the meantime, the admirals and naval commander held the strategy meeting as if they were fighting each other.
‘T-there’s no way I am being dragged into like this!’
Getting caught up in their pace, it felt like it would endlessly eat up their time. Leeha decided to tell them what he knew first.
“I have something to say.”
“Huh?”
“I will tell you the current situation and what orders I received when I was dispatched as a reinforcement.”
“Is a lone reinforcement really a reinforcement? Aren’t you closer to a messenger?”
Puhahahaa-!
Was it normal for the admirals to laugh and exchange jokes when the person sent by the commander-in-chief and the naval commander was talking?
Leeha had a dark expression on his face, but the person who was called the naval commander was laughing along with them.
“Kuhahaha, you bastards, be quiet! Cough, okay. Tell us. Uncle Gran- no, what did the commander-in-chief say?”
Phew…….
Leeha thought he was lucky to have a lot of patience. If Kidd had come, they would have had wind holes between their foreheads.
Leeha slowly unraveled the state of affairs of the national war.
The Marching Plains supply lines had suddenly been cut off, the strongest force of Minis will soon attack Fibiel’s main force, and before that, Fibiel’s main force is preparing to launch an all-out attack on the capital of Minis, etc.
“Are you talking about that guy riding a dragon?”
“The Marching Plains supply lines have been intercepted and Kraven’s demonstration and invasion of northern Fibiel? Hoh.”
“Drake must have been hurt a lot, didn’t he? I can’t believe the person who likes to make strategies is a part of someone else’s strategy. Kuhaha.”
“This is nothing to laugh about!”
Burke roared and the admiral’s tumult subsided in an instant.
“……Is it true?”
“Of course. If it wasn’t true, I wouldn’t have come all the way here with this plaque.
The air around the naval commander had been easygoing until now but had changed. The war between Fibiel and Minis was real. They just had to keep the line of defense in check between Fibiel and Kraven
Therefore, the passive attitude of Burke and the admirals was to some extent unavoidable. What about the morale of the soldiers that already knew that they were not the main force?
‘But now that they know that was no longer the case? Their eyes have changed.’
Although the solemnity was still reduced due to his shabby face, at least it was immediately clear why Burke was the naval commander.
“Then there’s no time.”
“Yes. The sun has already risen……. Perhaps they have just begun to advance. It’s an urgent matter. The commander-in-chief told me to stay here for 20 days. In the meantime, I want to end the war. But in my opinion-”
“Only 20 days?”
Burke’s eyebrows twitched.
Leeha looked at the quest window again. One of the success conditions was to block Kraven’s attack here for 20 days.
“Yes.”
However, Leeha did not intend to spend 20 days here. All of this was Minis’ plans, which meant that from Minis’ perspective, Fibiel was so predictable that their main base could’ve been crushed easily.
‘In other words, there must be an army of ‘Plus Alpha’ that was unpredictable in Minis. Commander-in-Chief Granville said that I have 20 days, but I have to clean up this place and go to help the main force before that ends. What kind of persuasion did he need to do in order for them to be aware of this operation?
“Did uncle Granville say that we only have to hold out for 20 days?”
“……Yes. Is there a problem……?”
Fortunately, the naval commander had a camaraderie that matched his position.
He was brazen enough to call one of Fibiel’s war heroes, Fibiel’s Pillar, ‘uncle’.
And Leeha knew. That there is no one in the world faster than a brazen soldier.
“I’m going crazy. Hey! Everyone, get ready to head out! Looks like the old man is on the ropes! Get all the kids on board! The strategy will proceed as previously stated.”
Burke spat on the floor and grabbed his weapon.
“W-what are you talking about commander? And as before- are you talking about melee combat? Then, in the end-“
Asked one of the admirals. Burke yelled as he headed to the ship without looking back.
“Shut up! Don’t you know what that stubborn man meant when he said only 20 days? It’s a call to get rid of that Drake bastard and come to help! If we don’t arrive within 20 days, he will be in danger! If that man goes down, then all of Fibiel will too!”
“Yes?”
“I’ll send the rest over the sea, all aboard!! There reinforcement-kun, get on my ship! Ring the bell!
Let us depart!”
Dang dang dang dang-!
The bells rang in Dike port.
The bell that irritates people’s nerves with high and fast notes. All the personnel around them stretched their backs and moved vigorously as if an electric current flowed through them.
“We are leaaaaaaving-! Let’s depart!”
“Get on, get on!”
“Leave those who are late! Commander-nim’s general mobilization order, run! Run!!”
Seeing the unique discipline of the navy, which was different from the army, Leeha changed his impression of the Dike Beach crew.
Boats were constantly carrying soldiers and supplies, and in an instant, ships on the sea began to pop up. Suddenly, the size of the fleet was established, and the fleets gathered to form a huge formation.
Leeha admired the sight of the large ships changing directions and changing positions using only the wind and a little oar, as if they were ‘parking’.
‘Amazing. I’m so glad I didn’t choose the navy.’
Adjusting the fastening of the sail by wind and unwinding the rope, and using it to catch the wind and move the ship. Leeha was surprised to see a completely different kind of knowledge from what he knew.
Shwaaaa-!
Fibiel’s fleet advanced through the waves, and Leeha was aboard the ship in the front. The first ship of Fibiel’s Navy. The first ship of the first fleet.
It was the ship of Commander Burke’s naval battleship, ‘Sailfish’.
‘If it was compared to the Serpent, it could only be called a tuna, however…’
The name of the ship Kraven’s commander-in-chief and the name of the fleet are both ‘Serpent’. How human was a sailfish compared to a serpent that catches and crushes ships?
“Are you kidding me?”
“W-what?”
“Kek, I don’t know about anything else, but I refuse to lose in terms of speed. Drake’s storm can’t keep up with my ship. It was designed to minimize resistance. Our Fibiel’s special-”
“We only have a small number of guns, captain.”
“This, I am trying to explain something to the land guy, why are you interrupting me?! And for the time being, I told you to call me commander!”
“What do you mean? the captain of the ship is called a captain. Hahaa. If you feel dizzy, please go inside. It’s because it’s difficult to understand the symptoms of motion ‘sickness’.”
The Sailfish’s NPC Navigator has tackled Burke. It certainly didn’t feel like an army if you look at this free-spirited atmosphere.
‘Seems like there’s a separate space to relieve sea sickness. I wish they didn’t implement seasickness in the first place….’ (ed: I know this is supposed to be a gaming fantasy but that sounds like a really bad idea from a gaming dev perspective.)
Leeha nodded while listening to NPC’s ‘ship description’. Then he asked Burke, who was looking at the distant sea.
“Commander.”
“Yes?”
“What is the strategy? Tsk, what’s wrong? You’re just going to sleep.”
“Yes?”
“There’s an army of Kraven in the direction we are heading reeling. It is the ‘nominal main character’ of Kraven’s 1st Fleet to 8th Fleet. If you try to hit these guys, the 9th Fleet, the ‘substantial main hero’ hiding behind the small islands, will pop out and storm like a storm.” I heard it when I got a report from all of Minis.
They heard it when they got the report from all Minis If Fibiel’s first fleet is the command fleet, Kraven’s 9th fleet is the command fleet.
In other words, if it was the 9th fleet of Kraven, it meant that the second storm, the Serpent Fleet led by the Serpent Ship led by drake is riding on.
‘The commander directly directs the dethatched unit. Even with only one fleet……. Should they trust the main unit1? Or you can just use the main battalion as bait, and is your fleet enough?’
It was possible because Naval Power was not determined solely by the number of ships. In fact, Leeha did not know the details, but Fibiel was currently in a situation where more than three fleets, and more than 150 ships, had suffered damage
“Is this all just bait?”
(To be continued…)
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