The Battle of Brown Gold Island

The Temple of Light's "Expeditionary Crusaders Fleet".

As dawn broke, numerous dark figures began to sweep across the horizon— Sea Eagle Beast carrying necromancers. The eerie aura emanating from them could be clearly sensed from afar, inspiring a sense of disgust.

The lookout gripped his binoculars tightly, scanning the area repeatedly, but found no trace of the dragon. The fleet then dispatched a squad of spellcasters to take to the skies and attack.

Upon seeing this, the Sea Eagle Beast Squad immediately flapped its wings and retreated, but when the intercepting forces withdrew, they tentatively approached again, much like a couple in love whose relationship is both painful and heartbreaking.

Fleet Commander-in-Chief Marshal Havitron stood on the flagship's bridge, watching this back-and-forth struggle, a strange feeling rising in his heart.

"Strange, where is the legendary Bone King's magical pet that flies so high and fast, appearing and disappearing without a trace?" he murmured.

In the battles against the Final Bone Mad Machines, have we ever seen such a "normal" entanglement, conforming to the traditional concepts of this world?

"Marshal, I suspect those magical pets have been deployed to the Dawn Territory front," an advisor beside him analyzed. "After all, the offensive against the Northern Continent Jurisdiction is the strategic focus of Su Ming's side."

Intelligence indicates that the Dawn Territory war zone is now teeming with the enemy's main forces, including the Star Sand Guard and the Bone Machine Battalion. Dragon King Gelie and Elder Qingfeng have also been spotted, suggesting that an elite dragon force is likely lurking there as well.

With Su Ming's core combat forces all concentrated there, it's understandable that their rear defenses were weak.

"Still no dragon found?" Havitron asked.

"Reporting to the Marshal, nothing!" the lookout shouted.

"Monitor closely, and report immediately upon discovery; there must be no delay!"

"Yes!"

Previously, the Temple of Light had pushed the Gray Ridge goblins to launch a war against the dragons, but their plan to "drive the dogs to devour the wolves" failed. However, as a byproduct, they obtained a large number of improved versions of the Dragon-Breaking Cone from the goblins.

This specially designed anti-dragon weapon has a maximum range of five kilometers, and it is most effective in combat zones with good visibility and no obstructions, such as the sea.

Despite the Dragon-Breaking Cone's flawless performance in simulated target tests, Havitron remained uneasy. He wanted to conduct a real-world test with a real dragon, even if it might expose the Dragon-Breaking Cone's existence.

"Pass on my order to convene a meeting of high-ranking officers," Havitron said.

Following the communications officer's instructions, the ship captains and senior staff quickly gathered in the flagship's command center.

"As you can see, the Final Bone Mad Machines have discovered us." Havitron's gaze swept over the crowd, his voice ringing out, "The enemy is ahead! Tomorrow morning our army will arrive at Brown Gold Island and launch our attack!" He clenched his fist, "All light and glory rest on our shoulders. This battle will surely defeat the enemy!"

"May the Holy Light shine forever! In this battle, we will surely defeat the enemy!" the officers shouted in unison.

The conversation quickly shifted to battlefield situation analysis.

"There are no Dragons among the reconnaissance troops," said a captain in charge of air defense. "My assessment is that the Dragon squadron is likely conserving its strength, planning to launch a surprise attack once our forces approach Brown Gold Island and enter the near-shore combat zone."

Dragon combat requires logistical support, especially during high-intensity battles. They need to land and rest every half hour or so, and have plenty of food and water. Ordinary ships, due to the limitations of their gun barrels and sails, cannot easily allow dragons to land, let alone provide medical treatment after they are injured.

"That's beyond doubt," another officer said, "But tonight, the enemy might launch a night attack on us." He added with concern.

Poor visibility at night has a detrimental effect on both sides in the conflict.

In summary, the dragons, with their smaller numbers, are better positioned to handle this situation. The Light Fleet, with its larger number of combat units and need for close coordination, is far more severely affected. A mishap could easily lead to chaos, and even friendly fire incidents are not uncommon.

Havitron Trang hesitated for a moment, then immediately made a decision. "Tonight, the entire army will be divided into three shifts for duty, with rotations for rest and replenishment, and increased lookout and vigilance!"

"Yes!"

A communications officer entered the council chamber and handed a urgent dispatch to Havitron Trang. The marshal glanced at the few lines of text, and his tense shoulders visibly relaxed.

"The Pansy remains docked at Dawn Territory Port and has not shown any unusual activity!" he announced the good news.

A low cheer rose from the command center, and the officers' faces lit up with joy. This meant that the Legendary warship, invincible and undefeated in this battle, would not be able to arrive in time!

"But this also means that Bone King may have already planned to escape," an advisor cautioned. "If the battle turns against them, Bone King might abandon Brown Gold Island, a key supply base, and lead his remaining forces in retreat."

This is a problem.

While destroying the supply point on Brown Gold Island was significant for the overall battle, killing Bone King was far more valuable, or rather, it was the true decisive victory, more important than any other objective!

"We can arrange a flanking force to outflank the eastern side of Brown Gold Island," an advisor suggested, "Thus cutting off Su Ming's escape route."

"Feasible." Havitron immediately nodded, then glanced at the captains.

The captains of the three fast warships immediately stood up and volunteered to take on the interception mission.

In the ensuing discussion, the time for launching the general offensive was set for 7:00 AM the next morning. Havitron, Havertron announced the end of the meeting, allowing everyone to disperse and carry out pre-battle preparations, such as weapons checks and boosting the morale of the soldiers.

Captain Feimaina of the magic warship deliberately stayed behind, blocking Havitron's path as he left.

"Marshal, what's wrong with the Naga Clan?" she asked in a low voice. "According to the original plan, intercepting Su Ming's escape route was their primary objective!"

"There is indeed a problem." Havitron sighed softly, his expression turning grave. "The specifics are still unclear, but the Naga Clan suffered a surprise attack from Su Ming and have suffered heavy losses, rendering them unable to participate in this operation."

Upon hearing this, Feimaina was not worried at all; on the contrary, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Although we don't know how Su Ming did it, this might not be a bad thing for us," she calmly analyzed. "The Final Bone Mad Machines ' combat strength on Brown Gold Island is already limited, not to mention their tactics rely heavily on expendable ammunition. Su Ming has already devoted a large amount of resources to the raid on the Naga Clan, which means that the forces available to deal with us have become even fewer!"

Marshal Havitron Long showed an approving expression upon hearing this. "Only a limited number of people know this news at the moment." He cautioned Feimaina, "Not everyone has your insightful perspective. If the news gets out, I worry it will affect morale."

"Understood." Feimaina nodded, saying no more.

****

The capital of the Star Empire, City of Radiance, is shrouded in darkness.

A richly decorated carriage stopped in front of the Princess Janet's residence. Princess Janet stepped out of the carriage, her expression showing the weariness of her journey.

The head maid, who had been waiting at the door, immediately stepped forward, bowed, and reported, "Your Highness, a merchant who calls himself Qiaolukesen requests an audience and is waiting in the reception room."

Janet frowned. She had just returned from the Radiant Holy City. During this time, she had been acting as a liaison between the Star Empire and the Temple of Light, relaying countless pieces of intelligence and coordinating various matters.

The two "Spear of Holy Radiance" knight orders also successfully passed through the territory of the Star Empire and arrived in the Northern Continent Jurisdiction.

However, there were also some matters that required her to travel back and forth between the two sides for meetings. This time, it was only because King Xialike summoned her that she hurriedly returned to the capital.

"Knew."

Janet went straight to the reception room and, sure enough, saw a man in business attire waiting respectfully.

"Your Highness!" The merchant immediately rose and bowed, presenting a beautifully crafted gift box with both hands. "This is our guild's latest perfume, specially offered for Your Highness to try. We hope Your Highness will not find it unsuitable."

Janet didn't take the gift box; she simply raised her chin, signaling all the maids beside her to leave. Once only she and a few personal guards remained in the reception room, she slowly walked to the main sofa and sat down, her gaze coldly fixed on the man.

The man's disguise vanished instantly. A glimmer of light revealed fine downy hair on his neck, a pair of ears on his head, and a scarred fox tail that was missing half of its length.

"Your Anrelo greets Quarter Hand Kezhen!" The orc bowed again, but this time with the salute of the Plundering Clock.

He also bowed to the guards beside him, and the guards returned the bow.

"Anrelo," Janet said, not returning the greeting—this was merely a small, relaying Minute Hand— "What instructions does the Clock Hand hand have?"

"My lord, Lord Death Knell wishes to meet with you," Anrelo replied immediately.

A flicker of surprise crossed Janet's eyes, and she quickly pressed for an answer, "When? Where?"

"Lord Death Knell will be nearby in a few days," Anrelo replied. "I will contact you then."

"Very well, my Xialike summons me, and I have some other officials to visit," Janet said. "After I'm done, I'll return to Radiant Holy City. Please tell Lord Death Knell that we can meet at Mist Mountain Bend if it's convenient."

Mist Mountain Bend is one of the roads leading to the Radiant Holy City. Although it is shorter, the road is rugged, so there are few pedestrians.

Anrelo nodded in agreement, then reactivated his disguise, transforming back into the merchant man he had been before, and left.

The maids entered and, seeing the beautifully wrapped gift box on the table, the head maid asked, "Your Highness, should we put this perfume away?"

Janet sniffed it lightly, then immediately gave a look of disgust. "Take it and throw it away. Don't make my place dirty."

"Yes!" A maid immediately picked up the gift box and withdrew.

Recently, the Final Bone Mad Machines has launched a large number of "alchemical fragrances," such as aldehydes and synthetic musk, which are fragrances never seen before in the other world. These fragrances have pure color and aroma, long-lasting fragrance, and almost no impurities. As soon as they were launched, they were quickly sought after and dominated the fragrance market, becoming the mainstream ingredients in various cosmetics and perfumes.

Although the perfume box Anrelo brought stated that it was made with "all-natural" materials and contained no additives from the Final Bone Mad Machines, Janet could tell at a sniff that it was definitely made with such a pure scent!

"From now on, all such supplies will be purchased from the Blue-Eyed Chamber of Commerce," Janet instructed the head maid. "Throw away the rest."

Because they had offended Su Ming and Bay Owl, the Blue-Eyed Chamber of Commerce was excluded from the trade circle of the Final Bone Mad Machines. Therefore, the cosmetics they sold were among the few that had not been "contaminated" by the Final Bone Mad Machines.

The head maid nodded in agreement and quickly went to carry it out.

****

At 6:50 a. m. on the front lines of Brown Gold Island, it was already broad daylight.

The night passed uneventfully; the enemy's dragon forces did not launch a night attack. Although the soldiers on and off the fleet were exhausted, no one complained. Preparations for war are not meant to be "inevitable." If one is negligent and misses the opportunity to be needed, the price to pay will be catastrophic.

Starting at 5:30 a. m., the soldiers got up one after another, ate breakfast, unlocked their weapons, and tested their magical devices, making their final preparations before battle.

The sea breeze is biting today, making it excellent weather for sailing warships to fight.

Havitron stood on the bridge, gazing into the distance. On the horizon, the small outline of Brown Gold Island could already be seen, like a dark red bean.

"Reporting to the Marshal, a large number of giant dragons have taken off from Brown Gold Island!" the lookout urgently reported.

Havitron's expression hardened. "The Flying Beast Forces, attack immediately! Utilize fleet fire support to construct an aerial defense line and prevent the dragon from approaching!"

"Yes!"

As the command was given, a large number of Sea Eagle Beast carrying mages took off in sequence from the flying beast mothership "Beast's Nest" and quickly assembled in the sky above the fleet.

As the newest and only remaining airborne beast mothership of the Temple of Light, the "Beast's Nest" bears the marks of hasty construction. It was only shipped from the shipyard less than a month ago, barely making it into this battle.

"Marshal, reliable intelligence has arrived from the rear: the Pansy is still stationed at Dawn Territory Port!" the adjutant reported, his tone filled with undisguised joy.

"Excellent!" Havitron Trang slammed his hand on the railing and laughed loudly, "Without the Pansy by our side, our army will surely win this battle!"

If that ship were there, their fleet would have had no choice but to flee at the mere sight of it. The Pope was furious that their lavishly built fleet was so easily defeated by the enemy and had become a laughingstock.

On the other hand, the Pope had no choice but to make use of them. Rather than letting the fleet remain to be annihilated by the enemy, it was better to let them seize an opening in the battlefield and fight desperately, perhaps creating a miracle.

Of course, Havitron would never admit to using the term "waste utilization."

A force of one hundred Sea Eagle Beast deployed in a defensive formation around the perimeter. However, the opposing dragon force far surpassed their own in both combat strength and numbers, so they dared not leave the fleet's fire support range.

Before long, the vanguard of twenty giant dragons launched a probing attack. They approached from above, cutting into the battlefield from above, spewing out multicolored dragon breath that crashed down on the warships below.

"Contract your formation! Dragon-Breaking Cone troops, fire a volley immediately!" Havitron shouted sternly.

The Sea Eagle Beast force quickly retreated, clearing their firing range. On the foremost warships, dozens of Dragon-Breaking Cone instantly soared into the air, trailing choking black smoke and spewing flames from their tails, snaking towards the giant dragon in the sky, their speed increasing rapidly.