Chapter 71

Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

---

Amidst the sea and the sky covered by clouds, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written there.

---

Two men were relaxing on the deck, smoking cigarettes.

"Hmm~ A sea voyage is nice, but after being rocked for days, there's nothing to do, and it's really frustrating," one muttered.

"Indeed. During the voyage, with the blessing of the water god, the weather hasn't been rough, and we've had no significant problems, which is fortunate. However, I'm worried that the soldiers might become lax if there's nothing to do."

"That's true. We can't even practice much; our bodies are getting rusty. If possible, I'd like to conduct a drill before the battle."

"I think it would be difficult to do that in enemy territory... Once we reach Pornezia, we'll move immediately and launch a surprise attack from the rear."

"I understand. I was just saying."

He sighed again. They had been on the ship for nearly a week, and there was really nothing to do, so he was at a loss.

The most they could do was discuss the detailed landing operation and subsequent actions with their idle subordinates, as well as how to repel any unexpected enemy actions. However, the strategy had already been decided in their home country, the Garlean Empire. Needless to say, it couldn't be changed easily. If an unforeseen situation arose, it might be changed, but for now, it would remain as is.

"Still, to go to such lengths for a small country like this... It seems like an overreaction, doesn't it?"

This general was not young, but he wasn't an old general either. He had experienced many battles and was well aware of the failure of the previous invasion of Pornezia by the Luminon Kingdom. However, this seemed like an overreaction.

"Indeed. Our emperor can't afford to fail again. The last time, we launched a war against a small country when our nation was already exhausted, and we suffered a defeat. If we fail again, the emperor's prestige will surely fall, and there might be an internal rebellion."

"I know that, but is Pornezia really worth such an effort?"

"They are strong... or rather, they have many capable individuals despite being a small country. First, the Orion family, who defeated our empire last time, and the Corido family, a clan of mages. There are also the winged people near the border with the elves, and the fertile land in the north, which means they have money. This time, we don't have any dragon knights. If the winged people appear, we need to prioritize defeating them. An aerial ambush is unbearable," he analyzed calmly. But then he continued,

"Still, there's no need to go to such lengths. What is the emperor thinking?"

They were land soldiers. They still thought that it would be better to move by land and intimidate Pornezia with a large army rather than take a roundabout route by sea. They would do as ordered, but they had their complaints.

"That's right... Hey? The ships ahead are getting noisy."

"Indeed. I wonder what's happening?"

He called over a nearby sailor.

"Hey! What's going on?"

The sailor immediately saluted.

"Yes! A large area of fog has appeared ahead, and we are currently considering whether to avoid it or wait in a slightly forward position."

"Can we pass through it?"

"It's very dangerous! There's a risk of ships colliding!"

"I see..."

He had heard that such things can happen at sea. Then another soldier came and said,

"General Rude! The captain is calling for you."

(I'm the one? I know nothing about the sea. What does he want with me?) he thought, but there was no reason to refuse, so he said he would go immediately.

He arrived at the captain's cabin.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Thank you for coming all the way here."

"No problem. What's the matter?"

"Yes. To put it simply, we need to discuss whether to avoid the fog or wait in a slightly forward position."

He didn't quite understand.

"I'm not a specialist in the sea. Can you explain in more detail?"

"Yes. There are two patterns for fog at sea: ordinary fog that occurs in the early morning, and fog caused by magic power surging from underground. Since it's midnight, it can't be the former. Therefore, it must be the latter, caused by magic power. Sometimes the sea can turn into a dungeon, but we sent reconnaissance ships a few days ago, and there were no such reports, so it's just fog. However, the problem is that sometimes the source of the fog is concentrated, and if we move around, we might suddenly be enveloped in fog. If we stay here, we can safely wait out the fog, but it will force us to stop for half a day to a day."

"I see... Then let's prioritize safety. There's no need to rush."

The first fleet, which was nearly twice the size of Pornezia's navy, was in the first wave. He wasn't an expert in naval battles, but as a general, he knew the differences between land and sea battles.

In land battles, the priority is: 1) individual strength, 2) numbers, 3) strategy. If there are powerful individuals, the battle can change fundamentally. For example, if there are ten level 7 mages, and you can buy them time to cast their spells, a castle can easily fall. However, such a situation is rare.

But in naval battles, the priority is: 1) numbers, 2) strategy, 3) individual strength. In naval battles, ships don't usually cluster together. Level 7 mages are rarely used, and even if they are, they can only destroy one ship with a long incantation. Even if a ship is set on fire, it doesn't immediately turn to charcoal. It can still move and might collide with your ship while burning. There's even a story about a level 7 mage who split an enemy ship in two with wind magic, but the ship, split in two, still didn't stop and collided with two of the mage's ships, sinking them.

Level 7 mages can't be mass-produced easily. Such valuable individuals wouldn't be placed on ships with no place to run.

The number of Pornezia's navy had been investigated by the empire's spies multiple times. The attack was a complete surprise. It was impossible for the enemy to come up with a strategy and execute it so quickly. They were likely in a panic.

As long as they didn't initiate an attack, there was almost no chance of a battle.

There was no time to waste, but there was no need to rush.

The first wave was instructed to retreat to avoid causing trouble for the second wave. The second wave was mostly landing ships and wouldn't participate in naval battles.

"Understood. I'll order the ships to stop."

He gave the order to his subordinates, and all the ships stopped.

"Still, what bad luck. To be stopped just before reaching Pornezia."

They were almost at Pornezia's territorial waters. It was unfortunate to encounter such rare fog so close.

"No, we've had a smooth journey. We're two days ahead of schedule. Usually, the sea is much rougher, so this is just a minor setback."

There were no sudden storms, no high waves making steering difficult, and no powerful monsters attacking the ship and using the food as a substitute. They had very good luck.

"I see. It seems the water god is blessing us and urging us to invade Pornezia."

He laughed happily.

"Exactly! Hahaha...!"

They laughed together.

Then, in the next moment,

A loud "Whoosh" sound enveloped the area in fog.

"Whoa!!? What, what's happening!? Is it an enemy attack?"

"Please calm down, General! It's just fog. It's probably because we're near the concentrated source of the fog I mentioned earlier."

"I see. So this is... It was the right decision to stay still."

He sighed in relief.

"Yes, it's really good. If we had moved, there was a risk of ships colliding."

He was glad for their good fortune.

"Then, I'll order all the ships to drop anchor and wait."

This time, they would wait seriously. Dropping anchor was the standard response when fog appeared.

For some reason, he felt an ominous feeling, as if something bad was about to happen.

"Is there a possibility that this is part of the enemy's strategy?"

He asked.

"Huh? Hahaha!"

He was laughed at, as if he had said something silly.

He was serious, so he felt annoyed.

"Ah, no, I apologize! But it's impossible. Our plan to come here was kept secret, and even if it had been discovered, it's currently impossible to pinpoint the location where magic power accumulates, even on land, let alone at sea. It must be a coincidence."

The feeling of unease in his heart didn't go away. But, since the expert said so, he had to accept it. So, he nodded in agreement.

While this was happening, all the ships dropped anchor and stopped, though they couldn't see each other.

After a while,

Two loud drum sounds, "Boom! Boom!" turned into rapid drumbeats, "Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom," and in the next moment,

A roar, "Waaaaaah!!" rose from all around.

"What!!? What's happening now!?" he panicked. On land, he would have taken immediate action, but on a ship, he didn't know what to do in such a situation.

But immediately after,

A loud "Boom!" sound was heard.

A moment later, a voice from the allied side echoed,

"Enemy attack—!!"

He realized they had fallen into the enemy's trap.

---

A little earlier,

"The imperial ships have stopped as planned in front of the fog."

The reconnaissance report came in.

"Exactly as planned. They are within range. They are like moths flying into the fire."

The position where the imperial ships stopped was within the range calculated from the MP I provided. We had three possible scenarios for their actions:

1. Stop within range.

2. Move around to the right or left without stopping.

3. Stop at a distance outside the range.

If they had chosen 3, it would have been a brute force approach. We would have had to remove the fog and charge through it, giving the enemy some time to prepare, which would have resulted in more casualties.

"Yes. Then, let's cover them with fog."

This was my moment to shine. I had to remove the magic power blocking mantle to use my magic. Of course, the passive skill of absorbing all magic power would activate, so I had to act quickly. The enemy was lucky to be stopped, giving us time to prepare. First, I moved more than half of the ships in the fog to the outside, opposite the enemy. Then, I moved the front half of the ships to the back of the fog. It was a nerve-wracking task. Medium-sized ships can move with oars, so they could move backward. But the Pornezia navy couldn't see much in the fog, and I couldn't change the thickness of the fog. So, they had to turn slowly and quietly, without making noise or colliding with each other, moving at a snail's pace. The Pornezia navy, as Liza said, was well-trained, and it helped a lot. There were no accidents, and the preparations were completed.

I took a deep breath. I was so nervous that I felt nauseous, dizzy, and had a headache and stomachache. In front of me was a wooden board with a table showing the MP needed to create fog at a distance and the MP needed to create fog with a certain radius. I didn't need to worry about the remaining MP. Of course, I hadn't told them about the four times the amount, so I had four times the leeway.

The problem was that I couldn't use MP properly even when calm. I was worried about making a mistake in the amount of MP to use in this tense situation. Creating fog at the exact designated position was impossible. There would be some margin of error. If the fog was too wide, it would interfere with the plan, and if it was too small, the enemy would notice. At this moment, my actions would determine how many people would die. I thought, "Can't someone else do this for me?" but it was a meaningless thought.

"Lord... Lord Rain!"

"Whoa!!?"

I was startled by the voice.

"What, what is it!? You scared me!"

I was completely caught off guard.

"Ah! S, sorry!"

It was Kou. He shrank back because of my harsh tone.

"Ah, no... sorry. What is it?"

"No, I'm the one who should apologize. Your eyes were bloodshot, and you were breathing heavily, so I thought I should stop you for a moment."

"My eyes were bloodshot?"

"Yes, you were breathing heavily and your eyes looked dangerous."

That's completely like a pervert.

"Usually, you fail in such situations, so I thought it would be better to calm down."

Kou was trying to help.

"I see. Thank you."

I managed to calm down.

By the way, a completely irrelevant thing, but I used to think "flying into the fire" meant "flying into the day." I thought it meant that in summer, there are often flies that are annoying, so it means that when it gets hot, annoying people come out. But it's a completely irrelevant thing.

"Lord Rain, are you still nervous?"

"Ah, I guess. I have the luxury to think about silly things now."

"Ha, don't get too relaxed."

"I know."

I was indeed calmer.

"Alright! Let's do it!"

I said and quickly removed the mantle. It wasn't for show; momentum was important in such situations.

The next moment, the fog was absorbed into me like a vacuum cleaner.

"Dense Fog!" I chanted in my mind.

First, I set the designated position with MP, then the range with MP. It's like turning a slot, if that makes sense.

Thanks to Kou, I was calmer and more relaxed, which helped. I managed to set both within ±200.

It was dark and cloudy at night, so I couldn't see much, but I heard a "Whoosh" sound from a distance.

"Excellent, Lord Rain."

Pritaria said. I couldn't use light magic, but they could use the blindness spell to see the enemy ships faintly.

"Can they see us?"

I was worried.

"From what I can see, they haven't noticed. If they had, it wouldn't be this quiet. I can hear some surprised sounds, but that's all."

Indeed, there was a faint noise from a distance, but it soon became quiet, and then I heard some clanking sounds.

"Did they notice?"

I was worried.

"They're probably dropping anchor. You're quite anxious, aren't you?"

"Haha... a bit."

I tried to cover it up.

"Then, let's move according to the plan. Write down the MP used."

The amount of MP used determines the distance, so I wrote it on parchment and told the captain, and the winged people took it to all the ships to determine the enemy's approximate position.

"Ha, finally over the hump."

"No, it's too early to relax!"

"Ah, sorry."

(I was a bit insensitive...)

I said it out of relief.

But it was only a personal hump, not the entire fleet's.

While this was happening, the warships moved to surround the fog, and all that was left was to send a signal.

"Lord Rain, let's begin the battle for victory!"

"Yes!"

Rain raised his right hand as a signal.

Two loud drum sounds, "Boom! Boom!" turned into rapid drumbeats, "Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom," and with a roar, "Waaaaaah!!" the Pornezia ships disappeared into the fog.

In