Chapter 183: Conquer The Port City of Tramund
Past midnight at the Tramund lighthouse fortress, imperial soldiers stood watch atop the ramparts, illuminated only by the flicker of torchlight. They kept a constant eye on the city and the sea. One soldier approached his comrade, who happened to be staring out at the moonlit waters.
"Anything moving?" asked the first soldier as he walked up.
"The sea is calm... there’s nothing out there. Besides, why do we even have to watch a quiet, empty ocean anyway?" the second soldier answered, looking annoyed.
"It is what it is. That’s the job," the first soldier replied, leaning against the edge of the battlement.
"Once we get back to the central continent, I’m retiring. I’ll head to a village and start farming... a simple, relaxed life," the second soldier mused.
"Same here... I’ll probably do the same. Maybe even start a family," the first soldier added.
The two soldiers continued their casual chatter for a while. But when the first soldier glanced back toward the sea—"splash"—a splashing sound echoed, and a mermaid appeared, waving at them. He immediately grabbed his friend’s shoulder.
"Hey... look at that... a mermaid," the first soldier said.
"Oh... you’re right. Too bad it’s dark and hard to see," the second soldier replied.
They both watched the mermaid as she continued to wave, but suddenly their eyes widened in horror. Behind her, a massive tsunami was surging toward the fortress, and the mermaid dived back beneath the waves. Panic instantly gripped the two soldiers, who couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
"The bell... ring the bell... hurry!" the second soldier screamed.
"Y-yeah!" the first soldier scrambled to sound the alarm.
But by the time the second soldier turned back around, the wall of water was right in front of him, poised to crash down. His face went ghostly pale, and he lunged for anything he could grab to keep from being swept away. Finally, the tsunami slammed into the fortress, sweeping the entire Orthus Imperial naval fleet toward the harbor of Tramund. The soldier held his breath, desperately trying to withstand the crushing force of the water as it battered him.
After the wave passed, the soldier spat out seawater and slowly stood up. When he looked out at the ocean again, his eyes went wide. Eleven galleons were bearing down on the fortress and the Tramund harbor. In the waters they crossed, ripples broke the surface—the merman army swimming alongside the galleons, heading straight for the fortress.
"Buddy... my retirement plan just went up in smoke... looks like I’ll be retiring to hell instead," the soldier muttered, his entire life flashing before his eyes.
With the Orthus Imperial fleet already pushed into the harbor, the eleven galleons docked at the fortress without encountering any resistance. The demon forces led by Vahn disembarked, and in an instant, every soldier inside the fortress—still struggling to recover from the tsunami—was captured. Meanwhile, the eleven galleons took up broadside positions facing the Tramund harbor, as the merman army continued toward the docks to dismantle the imperial fleet.
Emergency bells began to chime. Orthus Imperial knights and soldiers scrambled to the harbor area to establish a perimeter, but no attack came from the land. Instead, their fleet was neutralized by the merman forces in short order; twenty galleons were reduced to nothing more than drifting, unmanned husks at the harbor’s edge.
As morning approached, specifically at six o’clock, the alarm bells at the three main gates suddenly rang out. The Ateras Kingdom forces attacked from the center, the demon army led by Ard and Rosalind struck from the left, and the Rellios Kingdom forces—including their specialized dragon rider units—charged from the right.
Simultaneously, the merman troops surged up from the harbor alongside the bandit forces led by Vahn. Although the Orthus Imperial forces held the numerical advantage, they were overwhelmed by the surprise assault from an enemy of unknown strength and quickly surrendered, despite brief pockets of bloodshed near the three gates.
Once the city of Tramund was fully conquered, Ard raised his sword in the city square while standing atop Ace the Garuda, who hovered in the air as Rosalind flew nearby on her dragon. Every soldier—human, demon, and merman alike—burst into cheers, signaling their victory.
Thanks to the conquest of Tramund, the Orthus Imperial forces that had previously been attacking the Ateras Kingdom were successfully driven back to their homeland on the central continent. King Leonard of the Ateras Kingdom granted Ard and his army permission to occupy the city and its sea fortress, allowing them to establish a strategic headquarters for their planned invasion of the central continent and the Orthus Empire.
***
Meanwhile, an hour later, the main forces of the Durnhill Kingdom in the southern region—numbering around 15,000 troops—marched out of the capital and established a camp outside as a defensive line, facing the dwarf and giant armies stationed directly before them. Eva, Alexis, Dimitri, and Bhadra held a meeting with Elmer and Grethia.
"Princess Eva, King Gregorius has been captured and is being held by the Fredonia Raven forces. He appeared to be under the control of something, but my men have handled it and his condition is improving. He has no memory of the situation and doesn’t even recall declaring war on the Fredonia Kingdom. After we explained the situation, he was willing to abdicate and hand over the throne to the third prince, Geoffrey," Bhadra said.
"Good. And what about the first prince?" Eva asked.
"The Raven forces have already sent a message to him. We’re just waiting for his reply," Alexis answered.
"Currently, Geoffrey is meeting with King Gregorius, escorted by Mirea, Alicia, and Pyria," Bhadra added.
"Then whose troops are those exiting the capital? My spies in the zeppelins saw them setting up camp in front of the city as a final line of defense," Elmer asked.
"Those are the forces of the nobles who sided with King Gregorius... or rather, the ones controlling him. We are still investigating," Bhadra replied.
"Hmm... that’s possible. So King Gregorius wasn’t actually under the influence of a potion from the Dark Sect back then?" Eva mused.
"He was controlled by a potion from the Dark Sect, but not the original one. It seems several nobles were working with imperial insiders to brew their own version of the potion. They gave the King that half-finished concoction, which is why we were still able to reverse the effects," Bhadra explained.
"I see. Well, let’s wait for word from Prince Nikolai. If those nobles still want to cause trouble, then we’ll have no choice but to crush them," Eva said.
"Understood, Princess Eva," Bhadra replied.
"Ah,"
"What is it, Instructor?" Alexis asked Dimitri.
"I just received word from Baalbel. The port city of Tramund has fallen to Ard. The imperial forces on the northern continent have been driven back to the central continent," Dimitri reported.
"Is that true?" Eva stood up, her face lighting up.
"Yes... according to Baalbel, there were casualties, but they weren’t significant because the imperial troops chose to surrender and head back to the central continent," Dimitri replied.
"Excellent. Let’s finish our business here quickly and plan a joint assault on the Orthus Empire alongside the Ateras Kingdom," Eva said cheerfully.
"Understood, Princess Eva," everyone in the room replied.
***
Meanwhile, in another tent within the camp, Geoffrey—accompanied by Mirea, Alicia, and Pyria—met with King Gregorius. The King looked thin and neglected, his face filled with confusion as if he understood nothing of his surroundings. Mirea explained the current state of the war and the world, followed by Geoffrey, who detailed their future plans regarding the new Liberta Empire that would be established once the Orthus Empire was destroyed and Goddess Ophelia was cast out.
Gregorius listened intently. Although he was frail and clearly unwell, his eyes remained sharp and lucid; however, he spent more time studying the face of his son, Geoffrey. Once Geoffrey finished his explanation, Gregorius spoke.
"So, that is how things stand while I’ve been gone," Gregorius muttered.
"That is correct, Your Majesty," Geoffrey replied.
"Geoffrey, do not call me Your Majesty... but... do not call me Father either, for I am not worthy of the title. What I want to say is... I am sorry. I was forced to give you away to the Bergnister family to protect you," Gregorius said.
"To protect me?" Geoffrey asked, confused.
"Yes. From Julius. My first wife died giving birth to Nikolai, and my third wife—after I executed my second wife for having an affair—also died giving birth to you. That is why I had to protect you. The family of my second wife wanted to kill Nikolai and you so their own kin, Julius, could become king in the future," Gregorius answered.
"Hmm... no wonder Prince Nikolai never got along with Prince Julius since they were children," Mirea murmured.
"Yes, that’s right. You certainly know about that, don’t you, Mirea? You used to play at the palace often because you were Nikolai’s close friend," Gregorius replied.
"That is true, Your Majesty," Mirea replied.
"Hey... I am no longer ’Your Majesty.’ He is. I have decided to appoint you as King to succeed me, Geoffrey. It is not because I do not love Nikolai or that I am overstepping him with this decision, but just ask Mirea what Nikolai is actually like," Gregorius said with a smile.
"Yes... His Majesty is right, Geoffrey. Nikolai never wanted to be king since he was a boy. He preferred adventure. He only became the Crown Prince because he was forced to, and to keep the title from falling into Julius’s hands," Mirea added.
Hearing Gregorius’s words, reinforced by Mirea—who had known Gregorius since she was small—Geoffrey fell into deep thought. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down, closing his eyes.