Chapter 474: Sea Kraken
Chapter 474: Sea Kraken
As the Dragon Empire's Aerocraft fleet slowly descended, it approached the official docking point near the Wisting City Hall.
Below, a group of people, led by an elderly man, had already been waiting at the docking site.
Among them, Ren recognized a familiar face—the Federal Congressman and Envoy, Special Envoy Treena, who had previously visited the Empire.
Today, she had clearly put some effort into her appearance.
Treena wore a light white silk blouse with a fitted waist and wide sleeves, adorned with intricate lace around the collar and cuffs, exuding understated luxury through its fine craftsmanship and high-quality material.
Her lower half was dressed more simply in a sleek, elastic black hunting pant that accentuated her voluptuous figure.
The entire outfit was both elegant and practical.
However, at this moment, even as a Federal Congressman, she paled slightly in comparison to the elder.
Evidently, this elder was likely the main person in charge of the reception, holding a higher position than Treena.
Ren could sense that this elder, though extraordinary, was not of a particularly high power level, probably at the peak of Knighthood or the Grand Knight tier.
This was one of the differences between the Empire and the Federation.
While the individual's strength was not exceptional, they held the position of the Federation's Vice Speaker, indicating that personal strength was not the sole determinant of status in the Federation.
As the red-robed Mernya stepped off the gangway, the Federal crowd smiled and greeted her warmly.
"Your Highness, Lady Mernya, we welcome you to the Federation. This is our Federation's Vice Speaker, His Excellency Bertrand Ruiz," Treena introduced with a smile.
"Your Highness, Lady Mernya, we welcome you to the Federation," the elder named Bertrand said with a smile.
"Your Excellency Bertrand, it is my honor to visit the Federation," Mernya replied with a nod.
The official diplomatic exchange followed, and Mernya briefly introduced her entourage.
"This is our Dragon Empire's Guardian, His Majesty Reginald."
"Your Majesty Reginald, welcome to the Federation."
"This is our Empire's representative Swordsman, Lord Ren."
"Lord Ren, you are so young."
"Lord Ren, it's good to see you again," said the beautiful woman, Treena, as she gracefully approached.
"Your Excellency Treena, it's been a while. You are as radiant as ever," Ren said with a slight bow.
"Oh? Do you two know each other?"
'Red Queen' Mernya's eyes flashed with surprise, lingering on Ren for a moment.
"Yes, Your Highness, when I visited the Empire, we were attacked by the Corrupt Dragon Agnes. It was Lord Ren who ensured our safety during that incident," Treena explained.
"I see."
After the pleasantries, the Federation's welcoming party escorted the Imperial delegation towards the Wisting City Hall.
Inside, the Number One Banquet Hall was already adorned with flowers, ready for the upcoming welcome ceremony.
As they walked, Ren felt a subtle sense of being watched.
He noticed a pair of eyes in the crowd that seemed to glance at him frequently.
Perhaps this observation was subtle to others, but for him, a Level 4 Dawn Wizard, these repeated gazes were quite noticeable.
So, Ren slightly turned his head and spotted the person.
She was a young woman, quite beautiful, but Ren was certain he had never met her before.
'Perhaps it's because I'm the youngest among the Empire's representatives?'
However, she had been observing him intently since the beginning, which piqued Ren's curiosity.
Interestingly, the faint particles surrounding her were all too familiar to Ren.
She was also a Metal-type Wizard.
'A Metal-type Wizard? Interesting.'
Ren's face showed his contemplation.
Just as the group approached the banquet hall, a man in a Federal military uniform hurried over to Vice Speaker Bertrand's side and whispered something.
Both Ren and the 'Red Queen' Mernya, as well as 'Land Pulse' Reginald, were Dawn Wizards with keen senses, so even without intentionally eavesdropping, they could easily hear what was said.
"Sir, a Sea Kraken has been spotted at sea, heading towards the West Coast city of Oberding at a rapid pace. It's estimated to arrive in half an hour," the officer reported.
"Hmm? Didn't it just attack ten days ago? According to your military's assessment, the Sea Kraken was not expected to launch another attack for at least another week," Vice Speaker Bertrand replied, his eyebrows furrowed.
Judging from his expression, Bertrand seemed to be in a dilemma.
According to diplomatic customs, it was customary to first introduce the Union's culture and customs to the guests, participate in a welcoming banquet to foster familiarity, and then discuss matters of cooperation.
But who could have expected the Sea Kraken to appear at this very moment?
Following the attack habits of the Sea Kraken, it typically wouldn't launch a second attack within half a month after an initial attack.
"Vice Speaker Bertrand, since the Sea Kraken has appeared, let's seize the initiative and grasp the opportunity." At this moment, Mernya, who had already noticed Bertrand's dilemma, took the initiative to speak.
"If the Union is prepared."
"This..." Bertrand was momentarily startled, but quickly understood her meaning.
"Lady Mernya, this is your first visit to the Union, and it would be extremely rude of us."
"But you're right, since they've shown themselves, we must seize the opportunity."
"Then, shall we hold the pre-war meeting at the City Hall now?" Vice Speaker Bertrand was not one to dither, and he quickly made a decision.
"I think we can hold the pre-war meeting on the Aerocraft. What do you think, Lady Mernya?" Mernya smiled and replied.
"You've thought it through, Lady Mernya. If you don't mind, you can ride our Aerocraft, and we can hold the pre-war meeting on it." Bertrand bowed slightly.
"Okay, then I'll trouble you." Mernya nodded.
The group immediately turned and quickly boarded the Aerocraft.
Ren and other important figures like Reginald accompanied the 'Red Queen' Mernya onto the Aerocraft arranged by the Union.
After walking across a long bridge, Ren once again laid eyes on the Union's colossal Aerocraft.
Behind the giant Aerocraft were six medium-sized Aerocrafts, arranged in pairs.
Below these six Aerocrafts, numerous thick steel cables were hanging.
From the high platform where the Aerocraft was docked, Ren looked down at the numerous cables and saw people on the ground busily securing them to three giant devices covered in tarpaulins.
Judging from the shapes revealed by the tarpaulins, these were likely giant Automatons.
This piqued Ren's curiosity, and he took a longer look.
Soon, the Union's Aerocraft fleet and the Imperial Delegation's Aerocraft fleet took off side by side, heading swiftly towards the western coastal city of Oberding.
By this time, Ren had already accompanied the group onto the Union's giant Aerocraft, the 'Mekon' for a meeting.
Since it was a spontaneous decision, there were no nameplates on the meeting table, and Ren casually took a seat. As soon as he sat down, a fragrant breeze wafted from beside him.
The girl who had been observing him earlier seemed to casually sit next to him.
Noticing Ren looking at her, the girl smiled slightly and said, "Greetings, Lord Ren. I'm Rebecca, from the Union's Mechanical Research Institute, and I'm in charge of the Ajax Automaton project."
"Hello, Rebecca."
(Chapter End)
"Of course, this is actually a tactical maneuver aimed at drawing the attention of the Sea Kraken."
"Meanwhile, we hope that the Empire can cut off their retreat and trap the Sea Kraken on the Auberdine Coast, preventing it from escaping back into the ocean."
"Cut off their retreat? That shouldn't be a problem. But to avoid alerting the Sea Kraken to our flanking maneuver, we'll need to take a longer route, which will take about five minutes." Lady Maynia nodded.
"So, can your Ajax Colossal Automaton withstand the Sea Kraken for five minutes?"
The Empire had attempted this pincer strategy before.
But the issue was the Sea Kraken's cunning; once it detected more than three Epic-tier combatants, it would swiftly retreat into the ocean's depths.
The high-ranking officer hesitated, his gaze shifting to Federation Vice-Chancellor Bertron.
Before Bertron could speak, the girl beside Ren stood up and said, "Your Highness, Lady Maynia, the Ajax Colossal Automaton is the pinnacle of our Federation Mechanical Research Institute's current automaton technology. If controlled by a Crystalized Mage, each one can unleash Epic-tier combat power."
"Although it's only the beginning of the Epic tier, I believe three of them should be able to withstand the Sea Kraken for a quarter of an hour."
The speaker was Rebecca, the girl who had sat down next to him.
Ren glanced at her in surprise.
Unexpectedly, this girl had quite the nerve, daring to voice her opinion directly to the Red Queen, Lady Maynia.
Upon hearing Rebecca's words, the Red Queen, Lady Maynia, gave her an appraising look and nodded. "I think you've misunderstood me. I'm not questioning the combat power of the Federation's latest automaton; it's just that it might not be sufficient to deal with the Sea Kraken."
"I have a question: why has the Sea Kraken's activity pattern suddenly changed?" Lady Maynia scanned the crowd and spoke slowly.
At this question, the crowd's expressions changed, and whispers arose.
"Indeed! It's illogical."
"Lady Maynia has hit the nail on the head."
"Could it be..." Some seemed to have an idea.
The Red Queen, Lady Maynia, glanced at Federation Vice-Chancellor Bertron and Councilor Trelana. "I suspect their strength has almost fully recovered."
"What do you mean?" Bertron's heart sank upon hearing Lady Maynia's words.
The crowd's expressions turned solemn.
Everyone knew that the Sea Kraken's displayed combat power was terrifying, but it was estimated to be at the late Epic tier.
If their strength had recovered, they might reach the Epic Peak, an exponential increase in threat!
Moreover, the current tactical plan was designed based on the Sea Kraken's previously demonstrated strength.
In other words, if the Red Queen, Lady Maynia, was correct, and the Sea Kraken's strength had indeed recovered to the Epic Peak, even Rebecca, who had the most confidence in her Ajax Colossal Automata, didn't believe that her three Ajax Colossal Automata could withstand the opponent.
"Of course, this is just my personal judgment."
"I'm saying that perhaps we should prepare more thoroughly."
Upon hearing Lady Maynia's words, Federation Vice-Chancellor Bertron whispered something to Councilor Trelana, then turned to Lady Maynia and said, "Your Highness, Lady Maynia, we have contacted His Majesty Tirio Paul, and time-wise, he should be able to arrive at the Auberdine Coast as scheduled."
Lady Maynia was familiar with Tirio, knowing him as another Epic-tier powerhouse of the Federation.
"Very well, in that case, I have no further concerns."
"Vice-Chancellor, we also need to return to our airships and make some preparations."
"Of course, Lady Maynia, let's proceed with the plan!"
Minutes later, the joint fleet of the Federation and the Empire split, with the Federation's airships flying directly towards the destination city of Auberdine Coast, and the Empire's airships arcing towards the ocean.
Suddenly, the alarm bells rang out on the Imperial airships! "All hands on deck! The Sea Kraken has been spotted!" the lookout shouted.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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