Swordmaster's Youngest Son Novel - Chapter 816
Chapter 816
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October 25th, 1805.
Five days have passed since Zipple received a declaration of war from the Red Legend Tribe.
The Vamel Alliance’s stance had been communicated to the entire world, and the only remaining task was to verify whether the Red Legend Tribe would keep their promise.
Naturally, it wasn’t just Zipple, as they were potential targets of the Red Legend Tribe’s invasion, but all the major powers were closely monitoring the situation.
Especially, the Vamel Alliance had divided its infiltration team into five groups to infiltrate the federal territory, according to Zipple’s first-class Magic Towers.
“It’s truly extraordinary,” Mary said.
She, along with Yona and the Tona brothers, were stationed near the first-class Magic Tower of the Listin autonomous district.
“You’re right, Elder Sister. How many warships are there for each first-class Magic Tower? If there are so many warships stationed in all the first-class Magic Towers, their production capacity must be many times greater than during the Evil God War.”
“Even if we estimate conservatively, they must be over a hundred warships. And with around fifty warships stationed at each second-class Magic Tower, their production capacity is beyond any normal comprehension. There must be places like the Sota Desert under the underground shipyards to support that production.”
“Hehe, the lights from the fleets are beautiful, Mary unnie. It feels like looking at a sky full of stars on a starry night.”
“Those are our enemies, Elder Sister Yona. It’s not appropriate to appreciate them like that.”
“What do you mean? Say that again, hehe.”
“Haha, never mind.”
“Yona, Haytona is right.”
“If Mary unnie says so, then I guess it’s true, hehe. Okay, I will see them negatively. When I see them again, I will find them too extravagant and annoying.”
“Sure, sure. You’re a good girl, Yona. And since the Tona brothers are Flagbearers, should you be ignoring them like that in front of others?”
“Yes, I will treat them well!”
The Tona brothers secretly swallowed tears and smiled awkwardly.
Despite becoming heroes of the clan and the world after the Evil God War, their treatment by their siblings hadn’t changed much.
In reality, Yona was just playing mischievous pranks on them, and Mary admired how they didn’t let fame get to their heads and remained humble.
“But seriously, do you think the Red Legend Tribe can easily take down those Magic Towers, Elder Sister? It seems there are countless Magicians from the Spectre Corps and the Phantom Division on par with transcendent beings within the Magic Towers.”
“That’s why we are here to find out. Especially since this first-class Magic Tower is the furthest from residential areas, it’s likely to be their main target. They will attack without any restrictions.”
From the Vamel Alliance’s perspective, the best scenario would be for Zipple to retaliate with equal force after their invasion.
The more significant the losses both sides suffered, the greater the benefits for the Vamel Alliance.
“If Zipple keeps suffering defeats like this, then we might end up changing our enemies, from Zipple to the Red Legend Tribe.”
“That’s possible, but it’s more likely they will suddenly form an alliance at some point. It’s already known that they have allied with the remnants of the Imperial Family, so there’s no law saying they won’t increase their alliances when they are pushed into a corner.”
“Unless the younger one’s brothers are released from Lafrarosa, that scenario seems really difficult. Well, let’s prepare the food for now.”
As the Tona brothers were about to enter the well they had prepared beforehand, Mary suddenly pointed to the sky.
“Stop moving! It seems it’s starting. A dimensional portal has opened in the sky.”
“What the hell is that enormous thing?”
“Heh? It’s beautiful, it feels like watching the Milky Way sinking all at once!”
“But those are our enemies too, Elder Sister Yona.”
The dimensional portal that appeared before them was much larger than anything anyone who had experienced the Red Legend Tribe’s dimensional portals, including Jin, had ever seen before.
At a glance, it seemed that around five hundred warships could easily emerge from the space opening in the sky.
The location was directly above the Listin first-class Magic Tower.
Mary and her group naturally thought that a massive fleet would emerge from that dimensional portal.
Since the Magic Towers were fully operational, they expected an immediate aerial battle to begin.
“What is that?”
However, what emerged from the portal was something so colossal that it couldn’t be simply called a single warship.
“Is that the Air Fortress that Ameris-nim mentioned…?!”
In ancient times, the power of each faction was assessed not by their fleet but by the number of Air Fortresses they possessed.
Among them, the Red Legend Tribe had the most Air Fortresses.
There were a total of six, including the five overseen by the Great Kings of Battle and an exclusive Air Fortress operated by the God of Battle.
One of them was now hovering over the Listin Magic Tower, exhibiting an imposing presence.
Its name was Oos, the Air Fortress operated by the Great King of Battle Gaila of the Usrok Castle.
“It’s not on the level of RAM from the Evil God War, but it’s terrifying… Can’t they easily take care of a first-class Magic Tower with that alone?”
Bang, roar…!
As soon as the Oos Air Fortress appeared, Zipple’s fleet began its bombardment.
A protective barrier formed over the entire Magic Tower, and the Magicians waiting unleashed their mana and performed link magic spells.
Even those known as Transcendants would have to risk their lives to break through with a single breath of such firepower.
Mary and her group lay on the ground, closely observing Zipple’s response.
Although they were 2.5 km away, the heat radiating from the Magic Tower was making the wind scorching.
“The firepower of the first-class Magic Tower is even more exceptional than we expected, Elder Sister.”
“The problem is that it seems to have no effect on that Air Fortress, it seems. Right from the start.”
Tona swallowed his dry saliva and spoke. As he said, the bombardment and magic coming from the Listin Magic Tower were completely ineffective against Oos.
“Full fleet! Increase power to the maximum. The Spectre Corps and Phantom Corps Magicians must disengage from the link magic formation and prepare to infiltrate the enemy ships!”
The Tower Master swung his staff and shouted.
The Spectre Corps and Phantom Corps Magicians followed his orders and mounted the dragons, but as they approached, they only confirmed that the protective shield remained intact.
In other words, the Magic Tower was pouring all its power while the Air Fortress appeared, but it posed no threat to the Red Legend Tribe.
Moreover, Oos hadn’t launched a single attack yet.
It was simply floating there, seemingly flaunting the power gap.
{I will give you a chance to surrender. Those who do not wish to fight, raise your hands and exit the Magic Tower. A white flare will be considered a sign of surrender, so the commanders of each warship must decide to surrender within one minute.}
The voice of the Great King of Battle Gaila echoed throughout the vicinity of the Magic Tower.
{Our Red Legend Tribe always keeps its promises. Those who surrender will be treated as civilians.}
The dragons carrying the Spectre Corps and Phantom Corps Magicians couldn’t properly approach Oos.
Only once, they barely touched the bottom of the protective shield, but the spikes that emerged from it pierced the dragon’s body.
It was evidently impossible to infiltrate Oos using dragons and warships.
It seemed that only individuals with the power to break through the shield alone could infiltrate.
“Tower Master, we need to retreat.”
After returning to the Magic Tower, the Spectre Corps and Phantom Corps Magicians proposed the retreat to the Tower Master.
They realized that with the power of only one first-class Magic Tower, they couldn’t even engage in ‘combat’ with the Air Fortress.
It was like a battle between a small child and an armored knight.
The disparity between the first-class Magic Tower and the Air Fortress was incomparable.
If it had been the Red Fleet that attacked the second-class Magic Tower a while ago, they might have had some chance, but the Air Fortress was something completely different.
The Tower Master immediately accepted the Magicians’ suggestion.
The Magicians who said to retreat were the survivors of the attack on the second-class Magic Tower.
“Damn it…!”
The Tower Master cursed and fired a retreat signal flare. Similar flares were fired from various points of the fleet.
{If you want to live, you should have fired the white flare as I said, you fools.}
Immediately after Gaila’s words, the bottom of Oos opened.
Zipple’s fleet turned around, and the Tower Master, along with the Spectre Corps and Phantom Corps Magicians, were already boarding small ships and taking off.
The only remaining objective for the Listin Magic Tower was to survive and inform their superiors about the Air Fortress’s power.
Gaila had no intention of allowing even that.
“Compatriot Shimat, fire.”
Gaila poured blood into a glass vial as he spoke. He could see the humans fleeing uselessly beyond the bridge.
“Compatriot Gaila, I think it’s better to acquire and analyze something from the Magic Tower instead of completely destroying it.”
“At first glance, it seems like a structure built with inferior technology. Is there really a need to go to such lengths?”
“We have to. Even if it’s inferior technology, there may be elements that can threaten us. What was the price we paid for underestimating Jin Runcandel and the Vamel Alliance?”
“Hmm… Alright, if that’s what Compatriot Shimat wants, then so be it. We will destroy the Magic Tower to a certain extent and retrieve what we need. Everything else must be eradicated. This time, we will only take those who survive the bombardment’s aftermath.”
“Understood!”
A massive red sphere formed at the bottom of Oos.
Just its presence caused the space around the Magic Tower to distort, and some Magicians and dragons were absorbed by the sphere and disappeared without a trace.
As if a watermelon was being broken, the Magic Tower was shattering into pieces.
The shattered fragments were being absorbed into the top of Oos.
Shortly after the Magic Tower was recovered, Oos fired its main cannon, and it wasn’t a simple straight shot.
It was a column-shaped projectile that turned the area into scorched earth, with tentacle-shaped rays emanating from it, covering the fleeing Zipple forces.
The personnel fleeing from the Magic Tower could do nothing but be massacred by the barrage. They didn’t even have a chance to resist.
Observing this scene, Mary and her group couldn’t help but shudder.
“…The Red Legend Tribe probably didn’t just attack this place today. I wonder what the situation is on the other side. But if all the battles are like this, there’s no hope for Zipple.”
The power and devastation that the Oos Air Fortress displayed were impressive and overwhelming.
It made it clear that facing the Red Legend Tribe’s forces head-on would be a daunting task.