Chapter 476: The Federal Sword Sage

Chapter 476: The Federal Sword Sage

Onboard the Federal Gigantic Airship.

In the Captain's Cabin.

Everyone was observing the battlefield through their bronze telescopes, and discussions about the battle raged on.

"Something's wrong! How can the Sea Kraken's attack power be so strong?"

"Yes, Benito's Ajax Colossal Automaton is completely overwhelmed in a direct confrontation."

"During the meeting, Lady Mellanya, the Red Queen's reminder, has come true. The Sea Kraken's strength recovery far exceeds our expectations."

". . ."

"Wait, there seems to be someone on the back of the Sea Kraken! And on the other sea beasts too!" Suddenly, one of the lookouts pointed out.

"What?!"

At that moment, the others realized that above each sea beast, including the Sea Kraken and the smaller sea monsters behind it, there seemed to be a person in black robes controlling them.

"These clothing features... Are they cultists of the Umbra Sea Goddess?"

"How is that possible?"

"Indeed! According to ancient records, there is no known connection between the Sea Kraken and the Umbra Sea Goddess cult, and they even worship different deities. How can this be...?"

". . ."

The captain's cabin was in an uproar. The faces of the high-ranking officers were grim.

It seemed that the Sea Kraken and the Umbra Sea Goddess cult had formed an alliance in some way, making the situation much more complex.

Federal Deputy Speaker Bertrand's expression was particularly unpleasant.

He had just boasted about demonstrating the Federation's strength to the Imperial delegation, but now... Damn it! What are the Federation's intelligence agencies doing?

"Where is Baron Terion Paul?" Deputy Speaker Bertrand took a deep breath to calm himself and asked.

"He'll be here in three minutes," an officer replied promptly.

Hearing that the Baron would arrive in just three minutes, Bertrand's expression eased slightly, and he said, "Okay, quickly contact Benito and the other two automaton operators. Try to hold off the Sea Kraken and the Umbra Sea Goddess cult for three minutes!"

"Deputy Speaker, should we contact the Dragon Empire and ask them to abandon the pincer attack and send their Dragon Knights for support?" a high-ranking officer suggested cautiously after some thought.

"That won't work. The Imperial Airfleet is positioned on the Sea Kraken's flank. If we send the Dragon Knights directly, the enemy will likely retreat towards the ocean."

"Then this encirclement operation will be a complete failure!"

"And the Federation will bear the responsibility for this failed cooperation." Deputy Speaker Bertrand shook his head.

This was the first collaboration between the two parties, and it carried significant implications for their future relationship.

According to the calculations of the Imperial Mechanical Research Institute, the three Ajax Colossal Automatons should have been able to hold off the Sea Kraken for at least fifteen minutes, and there was even a chance to surround and defeat it.

However, unexpected situations kept arising, causing the situation to gradually spiral out of control.

"Once Baron Terion Paul arrives, the situation should stabilize."

Meanwhile, on the Imperial Airfleet.

Lady Mellanya, the Red Queen, was not overly surprised by this scene, perhaps because she had been deep in thought. Instead, she turned to Ren and introduced, "According to ancient records, the Sea Kraken was a favored creature of the ancient sea god, Seraji."

"So, in ancient times, the Sea Kraken was also known as the Son of Seraji."

"Now it seems that with the revival of the Umbra Sea Goddess, the cult has somehow formed an alliance with the Sea Kraken before us."

"It's even possible that the Sea Kraken has been subdued by the Umbra Sea Goddess and has become her favored creature."

"Hmm? The Umbra Sea Goddess?" Ren had a strong impression of the black-robed girl who embodied the goddess.

Including the previous two encounters, this would be the third time if they met again.

To be honest, Ren didn't have a bad impression of her.

Every time the Umbra Sea Goddess appeared, he seemed to gain something valuable.

Additionally, for some reason, perhaps due to his increased strength, when Ren heard about the Umbra Sea Goddess and saw the Sea Kraken, he didn't feel fear but instead felt a surge of eagerness to test his abilities.

Meanwhile, on the coast, an intense battle raged! Although Benito's Ajax Automaton was knocked away instantly, the automaton itself was quite heavy, and the Sea Kraken also paused momentarily after the collision, providing Aldo and Rebecca with an opportunity.

Two Ajax Automatons immediately jumped from the left and right towards the Sea Kraken, each grabbing one of its dragon heads and launching a series of powerful punches, similar to the Steel Heart Advanced Meditation Method's Fifth Tier.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The consecutive heavy punches, although unable to cause severe damage to the tough Sea Kraken, did create an opening.

"Be careful!" Rebecca's face changed as she sensed the energy fluctuations and shouted.

"Don't worry, Rebecca, I..." Just as Aldo was confidently maneuvering the Ajax Automaton to dodge, the black-robed elder on the Sea Kraken's back smiled at him and pointed at Aldo's automaton.

Suddenly, dozens of transparent black water snakes appeared and instantly coiled around the legs of Aldo's automaton, pinning it firmly in place!

Before Aldo could react, a pale blue, powerful breath blasted towards his Ajax automaton.

"Boom!!!"

Aldo's controlled Ajax automaton struggled to cross its arms in front of its chest, but it was immediately blown away, its thick metal arm dented deeply.

"Not good! With this level of spell power and casting speed, the opponent is most likely a Dawn Wizard!" Rebecca's heart raced as she saw the black water snakes entangling Aldo's automaton.

The situation before her was extremely dangerous! Not only was there the Sea Kraken, but also a fourth-tier Dawn Wizard-level high-ranking member of the Sea God Cult, watching from the sidelines.

If her Ajax automaton continued to engage in this battle, it would be like dancing on the tip of a knife, vulnerable to severe damage at any moment!

"Damn it! Where's Benito?"

"Even if it was knocked away, according to the tactical arrangement, it should have already taken its position by now." Rebecca's heart was filled with urgency.

However, perhaps due to underestimating Rebecca and her team, the black-robed elder did not cast another spell after the initial attack.

Instead, after Aldo was knocked away, the left dragon head also lost control and immediately spewed a chilling white frost breath towards Rebecca's side.

"This is Frost Breath!"

Facing the dreaded Frost Breath, which automata feared the most, Rebecca had no choice but to abandon her entanglement with the right dragon head and retreat.

At that moment, Rebecca's peripheral vision caught sight of Benito, who was already surrounded by more than ten massive sea beasts.

Although the auras of these sea beasts didn't seem to have reached the Epic level, they were not far off.

With such a large number, it was no wonder Benito couldn't break through and provide support in a short time.

"Hold on for three more minutes! Baron Terion Paul is on his way," came the command from the control room of the giant airship.

"Three minutes?"

"But in this situation, even one minute seems impossible!" Aldo exclaimed in frustration.

On the Imperial Airfleet.

"Lady Mellanya, the situation on the Federation's side looks a bit dire. Do we need to take action in advance?" Ren couldn't help but ask upon witnessing the scene before him.

The combat power of the Federation's Ajax automata had been mostly revealed.

While the automata's defense and durability were impressive, their offensive capabilities were somewhat lacking, unable to inflict significant damage on the Sea Kraken, whose strength had recovered to a similar level.

Furthermore, the Sea God Cult's heretics were assisting from the sidelines. If the Federation relied solely on these three automata, they might not be able to hold out much longer.

"No, the Federation hasn't contacted us. They should have emergency measures in place, like Baron Terion Paul, who hasn't shown up yet," Lady Mellanya shook her head.

"Also, if we intervene now, and the Sea Kraken flees upon sensing danger, it will become our problem."

Lady Mellanya added another sentence to make her point clearer.

Just as the group was talking, the battle situation on the coastline changed abruptly.

Unrestrained, the Sea Kraken's third dragon head began to spew.

However, this time, it didn't attack any of the Ajax automata but instead breathed towards the sky!

A thick fog instantly spread, like ink dropped into a glass of clear water.

The air around the Sea Kraken became shrouded in dense fog, rapidly expanding to cover several hundred meters and enveloping everything, including the three Ajax automata.

"Quick! Activate the detection device," Rebecca immediately instructed.

Three discs rose above the automata's heads, followed by the sound of an engine starting.

The faint red images of the Sea Kraken and other sea beasts appeared before the trio.

"Be careful, Aldo! The Sea Kraken is to your right!"

Unfortunately, it was too late!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A series of intense collision sounds reverberated.

"Boom!"

A massive metal automaton was flung out, and one of the Ajax automata's right arms was torn off.

Clearly, this Ajax automaton had lost most of its combat effectiveness.

In just one minute, the Federation's Ajax defense line was on the verge of failure.

"Ahhhh!"

There was a psychic connection between the Ajax automata and their operators, and when the automata were severely damaged, the operators experienced intense pain.

Aldo's scream caused Rebecca and Benito's faces to pale.

This time, the voice issuing the command belonged to Federal Deputy Speaker Bertrand himself.

At this moment, inside the federal airship's command cabin, Deputy Speaker Bertrand held a communicator, his expression so grim that it seemed he was about to drip water.

The issue at hand was no longer about intercepting or not; the situation had escalated.

If they continued the interception, Rebecca and Benito would also suffer heavy damage.

In that case, the Federation's reputation would be in tatters.

Even if Baron Terion Paul himself arrived, it would be impossible to resist the Sea Kraken and the Sea God Cult without the assistance of the three Ajax Automatons.

"Retreat ten li!"

"Rear artillery fire!" A series of urgent commands were issued.

As the Ajax Automatons retreated, the Sea Kraken and the sea beasts controlled by the Sea God Cult did not attack Auberdine as expected but continued toward the Fadil Mountains.

This left the federal forces puzzled.

Suddenly, someone exclaimed in surprise:

"Look, it's Baron Terion!"

A silver light flew rapidly from the distant horizon.

On the Imperial Airfleet.

"Huh? That's a Sword Sage!" Ren exclaimed curiously upon seeing the silver light.

"Yes, I've traveled to the Hawk Federation before. Baron Terion is a renowned Sword Sage in the Federation, and his combat strength is formidable," Reginald explained.

On the coast, the silver light quickly approached the Sea Kraken, and the two unharmed Ajax Automatons immediately flanked it from both sides.

"Huh? A Federal Sword Sage?" The black-robed elder on the Sea Kraken's back was taken aback.

He was certain that this operation of the Cult should have been kept secret, with no possibility of any leaks.

But now, after encountering the federal airfleet, to meet the Federal Sword Sage as well was a bit too much of a coincidence.

Could it be that the Federation also had an important operation in this area?

"Deepwater Domain!"

In response to the approaching Federal Sword Sage, numerous pale blue water balls appeared around the Sea Kraken, each about a meter in diameter, hovering within a hundred meters.

"Transcendent Cross Strike!"

With a roar like a fierce tiger, two giant sword shadows, several dozen meters long and in a cross formation, rushed from the sky hundreds of meters away!

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

"Boom!!!"

Instantly, the giant sword shadows collided with the pale blue water balls, and a violent explosion swept through the area!

Before the smoke cleared, a man with golden hair and a beard, standing about two meters and twenty centimeters tall, and exceptionally robust, landed a hundred meters in front of the Sea Kraken, holding a two-handed greatsword.

It was none other than Baron Terion Paul.

Although he had halted the Sea Kraken's advance, his expression was unusually solemn.

Initially, he had planned to take advantage of the surprise attack to unleash his ultimate move and establish a decisive advantage.

But now, it seemed he was in for a tough battle.

Even his ultimate move, the Transcendent Cross Strike, seemed unable to completely break through the Sea Kraken's domain. After piercing through three-fifths of it, the sword's conviction was gradually worn down by the numerous pale blue water balls.

However, Terion's strike was not entirely ineffective, as it made the Sea Kraken and the black-robed elder behind it take the situation more seriously.

For a moment, neither side made a move.

Meanwhile, on the Imperial Airfleet.

"It's about time, Your Majesty Reginald. We should make our move," Lady Maynia said to Reginald beside her.

Then, she turned to Ren and said:

"But, Ren, there's been a change of plans. You stay on the airship for now."

"I have a feeling they might have other tricks up their sleeves."

"You'll know what to do."

"Alright, Lady Maynia," Ren hesitated slightly, then nodded in agreement.

He also sensed that something was amiss.

At this moment, the Imperial Airfleet had reached a position less than ten kilometers behind the Sea Kraken. Obviously, the enemy should have already spotted them, but they showed no signs of retreating.

This defied common sense.

Could it be that they weren't afraid of being attacked from both sides?

He was curious to see what they were relying on.

Responding to the summons, a red and a yellow dragon took off from the rear two airships of the Imperial Airfleet.

Lady Maynia and Reginald quickly mounted their respective dragons and flew rapidly toward the Sea Kraken.

The black-robed elder on the Sea Kraken's back shifted his gaze from the Federal Sword Sage and looked back at the sky with surprise.

"Hmm? Are those Dragon Knights of the Dragon Empire?"

He had always assumed that the enemy was only the Federation, but he hadn't expected the presence of Imperial Dragon Knights.

The black-robed elder's expression darkened, and after a moment of thought, he glanced at the not-too-distant Fadil Mountains and quickly performed a gesture.

Soon, a complex pattern appeared before him, a communication wizard array.

"Initiate the awakening ceremony immediately!" The black-robed elder ordered the communication wizard array.

The response came instantly from the other end of the array.

"Yes, Your Eminence, Vice Pope!"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end