Chapter 188: The Siege of Vernice
A few moments later, the zeppelin drew closer to the central continent. Ard, using his binoculars, could see the port city of Vernice ahead. He also spotted hosts of angels flying above the city; it seemed the entire population had been evacuated, as they clearly intended to turn Vernice into a battlefield. Ard handed the binoculars to Eva and watched her expression, which was clouded with anxiety as she surveyed the city. Before long, however, her face relaxed when she saw that the streets were empty.
"Thankfully, the citizens aren’t there," Ard said, understanding her concern.
"Yes... I’m truly grateful. No innocent people have to be hurt or lose everything because of this war," Eva replied with relief.
"Alright... let’s go, Eva," Ard said.
"I know... let’s do this, Ard," Eva answered.
The two of them turned around to face Alicia, Milia, Pyria, Mirea, Claudia, Beatrice, Adeline, and Rosalind.
"Time to move out," Ard called.
"Yes," the others replied.
Ard and Eva immediately summoned Ace the Garuda and Greta the Griffin, and the others followed suit, calling forth their own mounts. Alicia and Mirea climbed onto Ace’s back with Ard, while Milia joined Eva. Rosalind took Pyria and Claudia with her, while Adeline and Beatrice mounted Adeline’s pegasus.
"Let’s go," Eva said.
"Understood," the others answered.
Without further delay, they took flight toward Vernice to launch a surprise attack, accompanied by the merman forces diving invisibly beneath the waves. Meanwhile, an Orthus soldier stationed at the harbor outpost looked out toward the sea, on high alert. He could just make out four dots on the horizon flying toward him. Squinting his eyes, he grabbed his binoculars; his face went pale as he identified an armored garuda, an armored griffin, a golden forest dragon, and an armored pegasus. Four legendary summoned beasts were heading straight for his tower.
He lunged for the bell rope to sound the alarm, but suddenly, a blinding light filled the air beside him. When he turned, he saw a massive fireball—evidently launched by a dragon—already at the tower’s doorstep. The soldier threw up his hands to shield his face, which was twisted in terror, and screamed.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
"Blam!"
Naturally, the explosion at the outpost drew the attention of the entire force occupying Vernice. Regiments of knights swarmed toward the harbor while angels took to the sky, only to be met by a volley of fireballs.
"Incoming attack! Activate the barrier!" the angelic commander shouted.
A spherical shield immediately expanded to cover the harbor, cast by hundreds of angelic mages. But suddenly, from the rear of the mages’ formation over the ocean—
"Aaah!"
The shield began to lose its strength as several mages plummeted into the sea. The commander looked down, his eyes widening; below them, merman forces were snatching the angels and dragging them into the depths.
"Fall back! Fall back!" the angelic commander screamed.
They attempted to retreat, but—"Kaaaaak!"—a garuda and a griffin tore through their weakened barrier, followed closely by a green dragon and a pegasus. They launched a relentless assault on the retreating angelic forces. Milia leaped into the water, and her Golden Leviathan grew to a massive size, snapping up the flying angels and swallowing them whole. Alicia and Mirea fought fiercely from Ace’s back, standing alongside Ard. Meanwhile, Eva continued her charge, cutting through the angels as she pressed toward the harbor.
Rosalind and Claudia, riding the giant golden forest dragon, pushed forward behind Eva, while Beatrice and Adeline darted in all directions on their pegasus to scatter the angelic ranks. The merman forces continued to snare the angels and drag them under without pause.
"Retreat! Fall back!" the angelic commander screamed once more.
The angelic host withdrew, though roughly a quarter of their force ended up in the ocean as fish food. Eva, Rosalind, Pyria, and Claudia landed at the harbor and drew their swords, facing a battalion of knights surrounding the docks. But when the knight commander saw Eva, "clang," he dropped his sword and removed his helmet, leaving Eva and her companions stunned. Tears instantly filled the commander’s eyes as he stepped forward slowly and prostrated himself before her.
"Welcome back, Your Highness, Princess Evangeline," the commander said.
Seeing their leader kneel, the knights immediately discarded their spears and swords. The clatter of armor rang out as nearly every knight knelt before Eva and removed their helmets. Almost all of them looked relieved, showing no desire to continue the fight.
"Greetings, Your Highness, Princess Evangeline," the knights shouted softly.
Eva turned to look at Rosalind, Pyria, and Claudia, who appeared just as bewildered as she was, and they all shared a confused shrug. She then looked at the commander before her and walked toward him. She could see the powerful, bearded man’s face streaked with tears; his expression was one of pure relief, like a child finally reuniting with their mother after a long time.
"Rise," Eva said, still puzzled.
The commander stood, followed by his entire unit. He struggled to choke back his sobs, wiping his face with his sleeve.
"Why are you crying, Commander?" Eva asked.
"Please stop the Emperor, Your Highness. We, the people of the Orthus Empire, have no desire for this endless war. We surrender ourselves to you. Please, take me prisoner and release my men. We are only here because we had no choice but to follow the Emperor’s orders," the commander replied.
Eva was speechless, but she felt a surge of rage toward the Emperor—her own brother, Edmund. Suddenly, "tap," a hand rested on Eva’s shoulder from behind. She turned to see Ard standing beside her; he looked at her and gave a firm nod. Eva nodded back, then turned her attention to the commander.
"Very well. Join us! As your Princess, I promise I will put an end to the Emperor’s tyranny in this empire!" Eva shouted.
Her voice reached the ears of the commander and his troops. Their eyes lit up again, filled with relief and a renewed readiness for battle. Without a second thought, the commander dropped to one knee in a formal salute.
"Understood, Your Highness. From this day forward, this legion joins you. We will aid you in your battle," the commander declared.
"Long live Princess Eva!" the knights roared, now donning their helmets once more.
But before Eva could respond to the knights’ cheers, "blaam!" "aaaah!" The rear ranks of the knights were suddenly ambushed by the angelic forces that had escaped from the sea. Everyone immediately raised their weapons and banners, the entire legion of knights bracing for a counterattack. Seeing this, Eva thrust Exelion into the air.
"For the Liberta Empire... forward!" Eva screamed.
"Long live the Liberta Empire... uooooh!" The knights roared, charging headlong into the angelic host, which clearly outnumbered them.
War was now unavoidable. The knights of the Orthus Empire, now the Liberta Empire’s newest legion, fought with a fierce desperation. Soldiers fell, but their morale didn’t waver for a single moment. Soon after, the merman forces, the pirate fleet, and the demon armada made landfall. The brutal demon and pirate warriors scrambled onto the docks and tore into the angels, working alongside the knights to beat back the winged attackers.
The mermen who came ashore with their weapons began picking off the angelic forces with magic and enchanted nets to drag them down, where they were immediately swarmed by whatever troops were nearby. The fighting continued to spread throughout the city; nearly every building in Vernice was burning or in ruins. The commercial district, where residents once shopped and traded, was now nothing but scorched wreckage.
The angelic forces tried to scatter into the corners of the city, but everywhere they turned, they were met by knights, demons, pirates, or mermen. The tide of battle turned instantly, and the angels were pushed back all the way to the city gates.
"Keep the pressure on! Drive them out of this city!" Ard shouted from atop Ace.
"Uoooooh!" The knights, demons, mermen, and pirates roared with newfound fire.
After some time, the angelic forces were successfully driven back. The remaining troops took flight, abandoning the city of Vernice from atop the fortresses. Ard and Eva stood on the ramparts alongside Alicia, Rosalind, Milia, Beatrice, Pyria, Mirea, Claudia, and Adeline, looking down at the interior of the city. Below them, the knights, demons, pirates—who were carrying loot, having taken the opportunity to pillage—and mermen were lined up right in front of the gates. Ard raised Exgrandal and Eva lifted Exelion.
"Uoooooh! For the Liberta Empire!" the entire army roared.
Alicia, Rosalind, Milia, Beatrice, Pyria, Mirea, Claudia, and Adeline, standing behind Ard and Eva as they held their blades high, also raised their weapons, glancing at one another with wide smiles. The city of Vernice had been successfully seized, though its condition was truly pitiful; flames erupted everywhere, burning through the buildings until it looked like a sea of fire behind the walls. This first victory on the central continent for the Liberta Empire would be remembered in the future as the Battle of Vernice: The City of the Sea of Fire.