The Deep Sea Empire's governing hall.
The Naga Queen and the Merfolk King sat on the two thrones at the highest point of the hall. Looking down at a six-armed female Naga who had stepped out of the ranks, the Naga Queen said,
"This time, the Second Elder will lead our troops. Let those land-dwelling races who don't know their place learn that our Deep Sea Empire has always been here, and that no power can stand above us!"
The Merfolk King took over. "Does anyone in the Senate have any objections?" As he spoke, he looked toward the left side of the governing hall.
That side was occupied by Merfolk and Naga wearing lavish jewelry, along with a few members of other deep-sea races. They exchanged glances, but none spoke.
The Merfolk King nodded and continued,
"Then, Second Elder, you will lead fifty thousand Shark Warriors, fifty thousand Naga Mages, three thousand Merfolk Knights, one thousand Fishman Mages, one thousand Deep-Sea Behemoths, one hundred thousand Crab Warriors, twenty thousand Giant Whale Warriors, two hundred thousand Naga Warriors, and five hundred thousand Kuo-toa soldiers.
"The Shark Commander will serve as your deputy, and the Giant Octopus Elder as your strategist. With this army of over nine hundred thousand, crush the Northern Borderlands within two months, and give those humans at Twilight Fortress a little suffering while you're at it."
Inside the Main Fortress of Twilight Fortress.
A plump young man with a kindly face was reading a bloodstained intelligence report with great interest. Every so often, a sharp gleam flashed through his perpetually narrowed eyes.
No one would have guessed that this man was Kadrian Blackforest, the famed Shield of Glory of the Kurland United Kingdom, the Unfallen Prince, and the elder brother of the kingdom's ruler.
As the martial pillar of the Kurland United Kingdom, he had been assigned to hold Twilight Fortress against the large-scale invasions launched periodically by the Deep Sea Empire.
Though the people of the Deep Sea Empire were full of disdain for this man, they had to acknowledge the reason they cooperated with him.
Over the past forty years, whether they launched conventional assaults or surprise attacks, this prince had stopped every one of their dozen or so invasions, large and small, outside Twilight Fortress's twelve defensive lines.
Yes, twelve defensive lines. The Deep Sea Empire had never breached even one. Granted, the troops they sent were cannon fodder, but the empire wasn't about to commit its elite forces to cracking that iron bastion.
Left with no choice, the Deep Sea Empire began trading with the prince. Slaves of other races, especially intelligent ones, sold extremely well among human powers.
This prince had single-handedly driven down the price of Sea Folk slaves across the continent. As for where those slaves came from, every invasion by the Deep Sea Empire supplied him with tens or even hundreds of thousands.
Of course, the prince also turned a blind eye to the thousands or tens of thousands of frontline soldiers the Deep Sea Empire abducted whenever it withdrew.
Lendo Tarn, the demigod mage who held the second seat on the Xipu Federal Joint Council, had once said,
"The richest slave trader on this continent is probably Prince Kadrian."
What Kadrian held now was the latest intelligence from the Northern Borderlands. It contained only a few simple words: Northern Borderlands unified. Constantine.
After hearing this information from members of the remnant factions who had fled the Northern Borderlands, Kadrian immediately ordered the extermination of any creature approaching Twilight Fortress. At the same time, he made everyone who had heard the news disappear without a trace.
This information could not get out. At least, not yet. As one of the highest-ranking figures in the Kurland United Kingdom, Kadrian knew perfectly well that this report was a depth charge waiting to explode in the current delicate situation.
Ordinary people did not understand, but the leaders of the major powers knew very well: although the Northern Borderlands had no demigods, its combined number of Legendary fighters and its core forces below that rank rivaled those of any power except the Deep Sea Empire.
If not for its numerous factions, harsh climate, and scarce resources, the major powers would never have left the Northern Borderlands alone.
Yet this very region had been unified in less than a year. Every faction had either submitted or perished. Such a formidable power had suddenly risen like a shadow in the night, unseen and intangible.
No competent politician could fail to grasp what this meant.
Still, Kadrian trusted that his deep-sea trading partners would not sit idly by. All he needed to do was first send this intelligence back to his younger brother, the king, for a decision, while requesting further support. Twilight Fortress had to be reinforced once more.
Inside Steel Main City, Cheng Yu watched the rolling waves far off the Far North Coast through the satellite view. Frowning, he asked the system,
How many of these salted fish have shown up, exactly?
"Not many, not many. Add all the scattered groups together, and it's only a little over nine hundred and twenty thousand." |д･)っ
Nine hundred thousand really isn't much for us right now. Why do I get the feeling you're a little scared? (¬д¬.)
"If I told you these salted fish included three hundred and twenty thousand creatures at Black Iron One-Star or above, with fifty thousand Black Iron Four-Star spellcasting units, one thousand Bronze One-Star spellcasting units, three thousand Bronze One-Star melee units, one thousand Bronze Two-Star melee creatures, plus one Bronze Four-Star spellcasting unit, one Bronze Four-Star melee unit, and one Bronze Five-Star melee unit, would you be a little scared?" |･ω･｀)
What?! (￣口￣)
Are you sure you didn't get that wrong? (￣口￣)
"Forget it. I'll show you their detailed information.
Shark Warriors (Black Iron One-Star): 50,000 Giant Whale Warriors (Black Iron Three-Star): 20,000 Naga Warriors (Black Iron One-Star): 200,000 Naga Mages (Black Iron Four-Star): 50,000 Fishman Knights (Bronze One-Star): 3,000 Fishman Mages (Bronze One-Star): 1,000 Deep-sea monsters (Bronze Two-Star): 1,000 Six-Armed Naga (Bronze Four-Star): 1 Ancient Sharkman (Bronze Four-Star): 1 Ultra-Deep-Sea Giant Octopus (Bronze Five-Star): 1
Hiss... (,,#ﾟДﾟ)
These salted fish are pretty strong after all. Looks like we'll have to take this seriously, assuming we don't use our weapons of mass destruction.
"Yes, and they have the terrain advantage. That will make this battle even tougher for us."
Cheng Yu nodded and asked,
How are our deployments coming along?
"I uploaded all the information on the Deep Sea Empire ages ago. After we decided to mount a strict defense against their invasion, Conductor and the others had a plan ready long ago."
"Based on the troop types listed in the information and their living habits, they concluded that the Deep Sea Empire would launch a full-scale landing at one of three locations."
"The Far North Coast has an eighty-five percent probability."
Cheng Yu frowned.
Why?
"The Far North Coast is one of the few large, gently sloping landing sites in the Northern Borderlands. There are no forests obstructing a long stretch of the inland area, making it the best place to land. There's also the absurdly inflated pride of those salted fish from the Deep Sea Empire."
"Still, we've already produced enough Spatial Jump Gates to connect all the battlefields, so there's no chance of losing a battle because we guessed wrong."
"But there's nothing we can do about the airborne 0-5s. They'll have to rely on their own mobility."
Cheng Yu nodded, then asked,
How have Conductor and the others arranged our forces?
The system brought up the satellite view and explained,
"We've been churning out troops at full capacity these past few days. Excluding the Basic Units, our total ground forces have reached around four million. We have twelve thousand 0-5s, and most of the steel in the Northern Borderlands has gone into them. What can we do? They're our weapons of mass destruction." ╮(﹀_﹀")╭
"We've deployed one and a half million ground troops and ten thousand 0-5s along the Far North Coast."
"The other two locations have one million ground troops and fifteen hundred 0-5s, and eight hundred thousand ground troops and five hundred 0-5s, respectively."
"Four hundred thousand ground troops are scattered across the other minor landing sites."
"The remaining three hundred thousand ground troops are ready to reinforce any battlefield at a moment's notice."
"Finally, all manufacturing plants are holding nothing back and producing troops at full capacity. We're aiming to field another million ground troops before the war begins."
"But after that final production surge, our reserves will be almost exhausted. Conductor and the others suggest getting through this battle first. We can also recycle the scrapped Purgers."
"You're the supreme commander, after all, so the decision is yours this time."
Cheng Yu frowned slightly, then his brow relaxed as he said,
"I trust their judgment. Let's do it."
Meanwhile, looking at the great army before her, the Second Elder felt overwhelming anger. Yes, anger. If she had merely been tasked with dealing with the power that had conquered the Northern Borderlands, she might not have been angry.
But the Naga Queen's orders were to attack Twilight Fortress and deal with that arrogant power along the way. Everyone knew this was a suicide mission, even if her own chances of returning were high.
After all, the Unfallen Prince had received plenty of benefits from their Deep Sea Empire. But this time, whether she went or not, her position would be shaken.
If she went, defeat was certain, and the morale of her faction would suffer. If she refused, she would be publicly defying the orders of the two monarchs. Hah.
The Shark Commander came over and said,
"Perhaps the two monarchs think we've grown too close and simply want to put us in our place."
The Second Elder frowned. She knew. She had always known. She simply hadn't expected the queen to be so blunt about it.
Especially with the Giant Octopus Elder assigned as the adviser for this campaign.
Hah. Does an army of cannon fodder need a strategist? Ridiculous. He's only here to watch me and the Shark Commander.
Seeing the giant octopus approaching from a distance, the Second Elder said to the Shark Commander,
"That octopus is coming. Don't speak with me during the journey unless it's necessary."
The Shark Commander nodded in understanding.
After the enormous octopus came over, he said to the Second Elder with a chuckle,
"Although Her Majesty appointed me as strategist, you are still the commander of this operation, Second Elder. I won't meddle."
The Second Elder smiled as well.
"Then thank you for your trust, Giant Octopus Elder."
Silence fell afterward, each of them absorbed in their own thoughts, until a Merfolk mage reported that the army had finished assembling.
The Second Elder swept her hand forward and commanded,
"Move out! Our destination: the Far North Coast!"
Before you continue