Chapter 475: Engaging the Enemy
Chapter 475: Engaging the Enemy
Several minutes earlier, in a small conference room adjacent to Lady Maynia's cabin.
Ren, Reginald, and Maynia were discussing their battle strategy.
"Your Majesty Reginald, I fear the difficulty of cornering the Sea Kraken may be higher than we anticipated," Ren said.
"My idea is for me and Tassa to take charge of the right wing, while you and your dragon companion, Ted, handle the left," he continued.
Upon hearing this, Reginald's eyes flickered, and he glanced at Ren as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't speak immediately.
"As for the Sea Kraken's minions, Ren, can I leave them to you?" Lady Maynia, the Red Queen, turned to Ren and asked.
Minions?
Ren quickly understood the reason for Maynia's arrangement after a moment's thought.
Previously, Maynia had asked him to avoid using his Dual-Headed Dragon transformation in front of others.
This battle plan seemed to consider his strength even without transforming, allowing him to handle the Sea Kraken's minions alone.
"Of course, no problem," Ren nodded, agreeing readily.
However, at this point, Reginald could no longer hold back.
Although Reginald 'Land Pulse' was much older than Ren, having experienced the Battle of Ferdinand Forest, he highly appreciated Ren's strength and was extremely friendly.
"Your Highness Maynia, in terms of combat power, Sir Ren's abilities surpass even mine. I don't quite understand why you aren't letting him take charge of the left wing," he said.
"Ren doesn't have a dragon companion, which puts him at a disadvantage in the fight against the Sea Kraken," Maynia explained.
Before she could finish, the alarm bells rang out on the airship.
The lookout's voice also reached the small conference room.
Hearing Maynia's explanation, Reginald nodded, but then he realized that this reason didn't hold much ground.
Ren's agility in his dragon form might even surpass that of their dragon knights.
However, seeing that Maynia and Ren were already heading towards the ship's railing, Reginald shook his head and said no more.
The three of them reached the side of the ship and gazed into the distance.
On the far left, a white line slowly emerged on the distant blue sea, like a tide, rapidly rushing towards the Auberdine Coast.
The long coastline seemed to be a dividing line.
On one side lay a continent covered in lush vegetation, while the other side was an endless expanse of azure ocean.
Ren squinted, motionless, as if he had spotted something.
With his eyesight, he could gradually make out the outline of the creature, and the three long necks indicated that it was indeed the Sea Kraken.
The fact that its silhouette was still visible at such a distance hinted at its enormous size.
Seeing the Sea Kraken, Ren clearly remembered that back in Meister, he didn't even have the strength to be a bystander.
He never imagined that he would now have the power to face it head-on.
"Turn right, and let's envelop them from behind," Maynia's crisp voice reached the captain's ears through some form of wizardry, and the Imperial Airfleet began to slowly change course.
Suddenly, Ren's eyebrows furrowed.
After observing it several times, he sensed something amiss.
"Your Highness Maynia, Your Majesty Reginald, I have a feeling that the Sea Kraken's direction of advance isn't towards Auberdine but rather towards those mountains," Ren said, pointing in the direction of the mountain range.
"Hmm?" The two of them focused their attention.
"Sir Ren is right; the Sea Kraken's direction of advance seems odd," Reginald observed for a few more moments before nodding and frowning in thought.
"Indeed, it's odd," Maynia agreed, but she only said a few words before her eyebrows knitted together, also deep in thought.
The Sea Kraken's movement pattern was typically linear.
According to common sense, it should head towards the densely populated city to consume a large number of humans, thereby regaining its strength.
But now, it was moving towards the sparsely populated mountain range, bypassing the major city of Auberdine, which made no sense.
On the side of a medium-sized Federation airship in the rear of the Federation Airfleet.
"Rebecca, was the person sitting next to you during the meeting the Imperial genius, Ren, as the mentor mentioned?" A middle-aged man approached and asked.
This middle-aged man was named Aldo Lee, and like Rebecca, he was an operator of the Ajax Colossal Automaton and a disciple of Helm, the dean of the Federation Mechanical Research Institute.
"Yes," Rebecca nodded, deep in thought.
"Ren is so young; I feel the rumors might be exaggerated..."
Aldo had always harbored romantic intentions towards Rebecca, and upon witnessing Rebecca's keen interest in Ren, whom she had never met before, a natural sense of male competition arose within him.
However, in response to Aldo's question, Rebecca seemed to snap out of her thoughts, but instead of answering directly, she asked, "Aldo, do you know why I sat next to Ren?"
"Why?" Aldo asked, perplexed.
He was certain that Rebecca had never met Ren before, and such initiative was uncharacteristic of a lady or Rebecca's usual demeanor.
Additionally, a genius girl with accomplishments in scientific research would possess a meticulous mind, not prone to meaningless actions, in addition to her natural talents.
This combination of wisdom and beauty was what captivated Aldo's heart.
"Because I wanted to sense his power level," Rebecca replied softly.
Aldo's expression turned to realization, as if everything made sense now.
But the next moment, his curiosity grew, and he immediately asked, "Oh? And what did you find out?"
"Hehe, the result isn't what you'd expect," Rebecca said with a smile.
"Although the information suggests that he's a Crystalized Mage, I don't think that's the case."
"Why not? That's normal. Considering Ren's age, he seems a year or two younger than you."
Aldo smiled politely, as if relieved.
"Even you, a rare genius in the entire Federation, have just become a Crystalized Mage. If he's stronger than you, that's what's strange."
Aldo shared his reasoning, which he believed to be logical, and even gave Rebecca a little praise.
"No, Aldo, I think you misunderstood me," Rebecca shook her head.
Hmm?
Rebecca's words also caught the attention of a bald middle-aged man nearby.
The bald man, around forty years old, had a resolute demeanor and was named Benito Relli.
Unlike Rebecca and Aldo, who were from the Federation Mechanical Research Institute, he was from the Federation Military. He was assigned to this special mission due to his rare Metal-type Mage abilities.
He was well aware of Aldo's pursuit of Rebecca, but he had no intention of interfering.
It wasn't that Rebecca lacked charm, but rather, he was already married and had a lovely daughter.
Therefore, he wasn't particularly interested in their conversation.
However, when Rebecca mentioned the Empire's Ren, he became slightly curious.
"When I sat next to him, I didn't sense any Psi Waves, which is very unusual," Rebecca explained, her face turning slightly serious.
"Even from my mentor, I can sense a faint yet profound Psi Wave," she added.
"How is that possible?" Aldo's smile froze, surprised by her answer.
Benito, too, was taken aback by her words.
"I didn't believe it at first, but the fact is right before us," Rebecca said, deep in thought.
"Wait, could it be that he's carrying a Wizard's Artifact that can conceal Psi Waves?" Aldo suddenly asked, as if a thought had occurred to him.
"Maybe," Rebecca waved her hand, unwilling to continue the conversation.
But at that moment, Benito's gaze shifted towards the sea.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it seems we might have to take action," he said, his eyes fixed on the ocean surface.
Upon Benito's reminder, Rebecca and Aldo immediately stopped their chat and turned their attention to the sea.
In the water, a white line was rapidly approaching the coastline.
"Huh? This direction?"
After a few seconds of observation, Rebecca's eyebrows furrowed, and she glanced at Auberdine's location, immediately sensing something amiss.
Based on the Sea Kraken's current path, it wasn't heading towards the Federation city of Auberdine but rather towards the mountains on the other side.
(Chapter End)
"Furthermore, we can engage in battle without worrying too much about the cannons."
A high-ranking military officer didn't seem to think too much about it, but instead, his face lit up with joy.
"Shouldn't we investigate further?"
"But time seems to be running out."
"According to their speed, at most five minutes, and they'll be able to land on the coast."
". . ."
Although many in the room had doubts, in such a short time, no one could figure out why the Sea Kraken was heading towards that mountain range.
Time ticked by, and as the Sea Kraken came into clear view, the highest-ranking official present, Federal Deputy Speaker Bertrand, thought for a moment and then made a decision:
"Since we can't figure it out, let's intercept them first!"
"Otherwise, we'll miss the opportunity."
"The Empire's air fleet is watching us from over there. I hope you all won't lose face for the Federation."
"Yes, Your Excellency!" Everyone responded in unison.
Although the Federation and the Empire, two colossal powers, had decided to cooperate, internally, they naturally wanted to establish a hierarchy, which required both sides to demonstrate their respective strengths.
Therefore, this operation to surround the Sea Kraken could be seen as a display of their individual capabilities, a show of force.
The Federation's air fleet was responsible for the frontal interception, so the coastline was considered a natural defensive line.
Regardless of the Sea Kraken's destination, according to the plan, they had to stop the enemy on this side of the coastline.
Below the Federation's air fleet, within a massive device.
Aldo, Benito, and Rebecca could be seen entering their respective 'Ajax' colossal automatons.
"Prepare to release the Ajax automatons," the messenger's voice rang out.
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
"Boom!"
The first Ajax plummeted from dozens of meters high in the air, directly into the shallow sea region dozens of meters in front of the coastline.
"Boom!"
Immediately following, the second one.
The third one.
The Empire's air fleet had a clear view of the Federation's actions.
Upon seeing the colossal Ajax automaton, Ren's eyes flashed with surprise.
Judging from the power source, it seemed to be on par with the Destroyer, and although its size was slightly smaller, the difference wasn't significant.
However, the biggest difference seemed to be in the operating mode.
Compared to the Destroyer's highly automated control system, the Ajax automaton in front of them seemed to follow a different approach.
It utilized Crystalized Mages with ultra-high psionic power as operators.
Witnessing this, Ren seemed to understand why the Federation had placed more importance on him.
For colossal metal automatons, high-level Metal Mages were naturally the best operators.
They were even the most suitable craftsmen, or engineer candidates, for repairs.
Not only could they significantly increase the speed and precision of automaton production, but they could also quickly fix ordinary combat damage.
This was especially crucial during frequent battles.
"The Federation's automaton production standards have indeed surpassed ours," Reginald remarked as he watched the scene before him.
Meanwhile, 'Red Queen' Maynia remained silent, still pondering why the Sea Kraken was heading towards the mountains.
As the three Ajax automatons formed a triangular formation, standing in the shallow waters dozens of meters in front of the coastline.
Benito, the Federation operator, took the lead, while Rebecca and Aldo positioned themselves on the left and right.
The approaching Sea Kraken had obviously noticed this situation.
"Roar!"
However, it showed no signs of stopping and instead roared angrily, charging straight ahead.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The first to launch an attack was not the Ajax automatons but the Federation's six medium-sized airships.
The six airships formed a horizontal line, battle formation, and immediately fired at the Sea Kraken.
But the next second, a giant pale blue water membrane appeared on the Sea Kraken, blocking the high-speed incoming shells from outside.
However, the appearance of the water membrane revealed the silhouettes of people on the Sea Kraken's back and behind it.
"Be careful! Benito, there seems to be someone on the Sea Kraken's back, and behind it too!" Rebecca, standing at the side, suddenly exclaimed from within the Ajax automaton's control room.
"What!" Benito's eyes narrowed, but it was too late.
"Bang!"
The leading Ajax automaton, controlled by Benito, was immediately rammed by the charging Sea Kraken and sent flying dozens of meters.
(End of Chapter)
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