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A torrent of powerful blue magical bullets rained down on the Kraken’s tentacles. Just like firing a machine gun at a piece of raw meat, it pierced the sea dragon’s legs again and again.

Jeongjae gripped the gun with both hands, channeling all his strength into maintaining fire until his mana could slice the Kraken’s tentacles. Moments later, one of the octopus’s legs couldn’t withstand the onslaught and was completely severed, falling to the side uselessly.

Thus, the sea dragon suffered the tragedy of experiencing the pain of having its legs cut off not once but twice for the first time in its life.

“Even after all this, it still won’t show its head.”

Jeongjae, out of breath and lowering his gun to the floor after stopping fire, remarked. Jenis nodded her head, pursing her lips.

“At this point, it realizes that if it reveals its head, it’s as good as dead. However, if all its legs are severed, it’ll have no choice. Can you shoot again?”

“No way. I’m completely drained right now. Defending the ship is already pushing it.”

As if responding to Jeongjae’s words, the Kraken extended its massive tentacles to attack the side of the ship. Jenis quickly moved the ship sideways to dodge the tentacle’s direct hit on the deck. The Kraken’s tentacle slammed hard against HMS Victory’s armored deck, but the ship didn’t suffer more than a large lurch.

Another rocket soared into the sky. Due to the situation where Jenis couldn’t issue firing commands individually, soldiers besides the gunners decided the timing on their own, and Jenis didn’t seem to object much to that.

However, unfortunately, the ‘Spear of the Sky’ hadn’t shown any significant results since its first hit. It wasn’t so much a matter of aiming skill as it was that fundamentally, the weapon itself had limitations in hitting the ‘Sky Dragon’ in the heavens.

“That weapon, its power is definitely formidable.”

“Once I adjusted the direction a bit, it turned the wyvern into a skewered mess. It seems the weapon from Eramenia has a definite power with its gunpowder. But right now, firing indiscriminately would burden our supplies a bit…”

From Jenis’s perspective, which hadn’t really anticipated aerial combat, there was no felt need to bring a lot of those long, heavy lances onboard. Most of the weapon storage was used for cannonballs and large crossbow bolts.

The ship continued to maintain a proper distance for taunting the Kraken, circling around it, while soldiers busily rushed around the deck, refilling backup arrows around the crossbows that had run out of ammunition. Although the angle and accuracy were ambiguous for use as anti-aircraft weaponry, and their power was uncertain against the Kraken, for the soldiers, the psychological effect of having such weapons was better than having none at all.

“The Kraken seems stronger than most dragons.”

Jeongjae said, recalling his experience of fighting several dragons. Jenis shook her head, refuting Jeongjae’s words.

“Comparing the Kraken underwater to the dragons above Eramenia is simply embarrassing. It’s like saying that a bald eagle crawling on the desert is weaker than a rattlesnake hidden within that desert. This is its home, while we’re fighting in the enemy’s front yard. We must be wise and cautious.”

“I want to clear out the wyverns above us first.”

“I’ll look for a way. Can you use the gravity magic?”

“Against wyverns? Normally, I could, but right now my mana is a bit low.”

“That’s alright. I’ll assist you.”

“In that case, I’ll give it a shot.”

After receiving Jeongjae’s affirmative answer, Jenis immediately spread her wings and gently flew up into the sky. Jenis couldn’t afford to ascend too high. If she got too far from the physical distance, the connection to her staff would naturally weaken.

In other words, if she rose above a certain altitude, Jenis would lose control over the ship, the engine would stop functioning, and the risk of the ship running aground would increase significantly.

Jeongjae realized why Jenis had requested gravity magic only after seeing her fly up. The Grand Mage frowned, raising her hands skyward in exasperation, muttering to herself.

“Hang in there, it’s me. Just a little bit longer, Park Jeongjae!”

Seeing the wyverns in flight, one of them tried to gain altitude to evade Jenis. One of the two managed to escape unharmed, but the other was not so lucky. The dragon, paralyzed by Jeongjae’s concentrated effort, could not dodge the blade of the Eramenia sword swung by Jenis, who had leapt high into the sky.

“The elves’ weapons are the best!”

Jenis shouted with a bizarre battle cry as she accurately sliced through the wyvern’s neck, using her sharp sword and arm strength. Crimson blood gushed from the wyvern’s neck. Instead of avoiding the blood splattering on her face, Jenis took a small glass bottle from her pocket and collected it.

As Jenis landed on the ground while carefully storing the wyvern’s blood in the glass vial, Jeongjae tilted his head.

“You’re not seriously…?”

“What? You thought I wouldn’t prepare for something like this while fighting the Kraken?”

“According to the knowledge you shared with me, I believe it was said that consuming that blood frequently is dangerous.”

“We’ve both seen well with our own eyes why it’s dangerous. Don’t worry; I’ll consume it in a controlled manner.”

Jeongjae shuddered at Jenis’s words. It was identical to what typical drug addicts would say. Of course, Jenis seemed to have made that joke intentionally, wearing an expression that suggested it.

“I absolutely hate that.”

Jeongjae and Jenis witnessed the fate of a ‘Dracula-blooded vampire’ who overdosed on dragon’s blood through the original Dracula himself.

In his pursuit of immense power, the Count of Dracula, who foolishly downed dragon’s blood, ultimately transformed into an ambiguous being caught between a dragon and a vampire at some point.

Jenis speculated that if Dracula had continued to consume more dragon’s blood in that state, he would have become a ‘dragon’ on par with the Dragon Lord, wielding comparable strength. This bloodline of vampire had a powerful disposition to absorb the mana of their opponents. However, the mana flowing in dragon’s blood was so strong that it could suppress a vampire’s nature; excessive feeding could instead lead to a vampire being assimilated into a dragon.

In the end, the Demon King, wary of the addition of powerful forces to the Dragon Lord faction, indirectly purged Dracula by enlisting the help of Jeongjae and Jenis. For one who had been the most formidable demon lord during his life on Earth, this was a rather pathetic ending.

“Of course, I’m joking. I wouldn’t consume such a thing unless in extreme circumstances or a pivotal moment that could change the course of history. Professor, do you think this battle could qualify as a pivotal moment that changes the history of this continent?”

“I concede. That is certainly not an exaggeration. If we capture the Kraken in this battle, humanity will gain the sea. Enemies cannot have the sea. That… that will indeed open many possibilities.”

“Then it’s worth it.”

Jenis gulped down the wyvern’s blood from the glass vial. Jeongjae quickly understood that there was nothing he could do to stop what had already happened. Jenis then extended a hand towards Jeongjae. He immediately figured out what she was asking him for.

“Take aim precisely.”

Jeongjae handed over the scroll of ‘Vanpleet’ to her, issuing instructions as she nodded and accepted the scroll.

“All personnel in the artillery! Leave your positions and move to the deck! I repeat! All personnel at the artillery, leave your positions and come up to the deck! It is dangerous to stay near the cannons. Everyone to the deck!”

Jenis’s voice resonated directly to the first floor inside the hull. Following the Grand Mage’s commands, about twenty soldiers hurried onto the deck. After personally checking their numbers with his fingers, Jeongjae cast a silence spell over his ears.

“Huh? What are you doing?”

Jenis’s question was faintly heard. Jeongjae removed the silence spell from his ears and nodded.

“What do you mean what am I doing? Someone has to use cooling magic. I’m going down to the first floor. The noise below might become so loud that I could rupture my eardrums just from hearing it for a moment.”

“Oh… that makes sense. Yes, we need cooling magic. But if I remember correctly, it also consumes quite a bit of energy just to cool down the cannon that’s using Vanpleet.”

“What am I supposed to do about that? You weren’t planning to just keep firing until the cannon bursts, were you?”

At Jeongjae’s question, Jenis shrugged her shoulders.

“That was the general idea. After all, there are still doors left on the other side. If we need ground support later, we can use those cannons.”

“Use resources sparingly. The Dragon Killer cannon isn’t a cheap weapon. I’m pretty fatigued right now, but I’m not so irresponsible as to sit back while you want to use such a huge cannon for Vanpleet magic.”

“That’s why I like you.”

Jenis smiled sweetly. Jeongjae shook his head, waving his hands.

“I’ll go down, so fire when you’re ready. I’ll respond immediately.”

“Yes, please go wait!”

Jenis started by properly positioning the soldiers who were idly standing around. The problem was the aerial enemies. Jenis instructed to station more than two soldiers at each crossbow to ensure the remaining wyvern couldn’t easily approach the ship without fire.

Once Jenis poured her power into Vanpleet, she wouldn’t be able to focus on steering the ship for a while, which meant that the wyvern’s attack could hit the deck, potentially causing the armored ship to collapse in a ridiculous way.

Unlimited firing of the Spear of the Sky was also permitted. The goal was to fire as many crossbow bolts and Spear of the Sky spells as possible to hinder the wyvern’s approach. While the two mages displayed the taste of death to the Kraken, all soldiers were assigned their own critical tasks.

“If even one thing goes wrong, this ship will sink.”

Jenis said.

“And if this ship sinks, our Empire will lose the war. Remember why I chose you all. And remember what fight we are in. Everyone to your positions! The ship is about to tilt, so brace yourselves!”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Jenis Harker, the Baron of the South, commander of the world’s finest warship, and the Grand Mage of the Magic Tower. The opponent that had brought her the first humiliation stood right before her. The creature that had once made her think, ‘How on earth can I defeat that?’ was now writhing in pain and dying.

Even if she won today, it would not be solely her victory. However, that fact would only illuminate the victory further and showcase her growth.

Jenis Harker threw the scroll into the sky and chanted her spell.

“Who would have thought that there would be any king other than you upon the sea? Who would have imagined there could be a sound stronger than the tentacles of a sea dragon?”

The scroll thrown into the air melted away and vanished.

“Unlimited barrage magic, Vanpleet.”

The sound of cannons erupted. All noise ceased to exist. The environment became one where noise could not exist. A hole appeared in the sea. From a bird’s-eye view, it looked as if a random hole had opened on the ocean surface. The towering water column was majestic enough to support a colossal temple.

After some time, Douglas Koesernis, standing at the forefront of the main fleet, shook his head in disbelief.

“Is that a fight of kings? Or… of gods? How can those moving like that be mere humans like us? How can we compete on the same battlefield as them in the same era?”

The sight of water columns rising higher than a dragon was enough to stifle any ambition Koesernis harbored. One water column even rose so high that it struck a wyvern mid-flight, causing even the draconic creature to stagger in an unexpected anti-air defense.

“Did our side win?”

Koesernis’s lieutenant cautiously asked the Baron. The Baron shook his head.

“I don’t know that. But one thing is certain: as long as they are alive, they are our lords, kings, emperors, and even gods. This is the same war, but at the same time, it is not the same war.”

Koesernis’s words were ambiguous. However, it seemed the meaning was clearly conveyed to his lieutenant.

To anyone looking, that barrage could not be seen as an event occurring on the same battlefield as theirs. Eventually, the bombardment ceased and the sea calmed. Yet, the Kraken stubbornly remained alive, and the battle continued.

 

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