252. Entry into Mainland
Port Area, Coastal City of Konfir, Holland Barony, Eastern Coastline of Ancrona Empire
“Careful with those newbies!” Captain Newt shouted, the exhaustion evident in his voice as he watched a young squire clumsily stagger across the room, barely balancing several boxes of freshly imported flowers used for low-grade defense spells.
“Yes! Yes, Captain Newt!” the squire gasped, rushing out the door.
The garrison of the Coastal City of Konfir was in a state of barely managed chaos. The air was cool and maritime, but the atmosphere was thick with anxiety and overwork.
“Phew… This is so maddening,” Captain Newt sighed, looking out at the almost deserted training yard. “I mean, what can we do? Lord Konfir received the Imperial decree, along with all the nobles, to volunteer men for the defense of the Capital against the rebelling forces of Prince Landon.”
His Vice Captain walked in, adjusting his sidearm. “I understand the reasoning, sir, but just look at this,” Captain Newt lamented, pointing to the empty training grounds where normally dozens of recruits would be drilling. “Most of our experienced men eagerly requested to join and left immediately, it’s one of the rare chances to gain military merit in the capital.”
“That’s true, but we can manage with the garrison we have,” his Vice Captain replied, attempting to offer reassurance.
Just as he finished speaking, a breathless messenger stumbled into the training grounds, yelling in panicked bursts.
“Emergency! Emergency! The news from the lord has arrived!” he shouted, collapsing to his knees.
“Soldier! What is it? Report!” Captain Newt roared, snapping instantly to attention.
“A territory war has been issued! Lord Konfir just relayed the urgent message to fortify the port and be ready for an invasion!” the soldier gasped out.
“What!?” Captain Newt’s voice cracked. He seized the soldier by the lapel. “By Whom?! Speak clearly!”
“Her Highness Ravenna Solarius! Duchess of Kim Dukedom!” the soldier replied in a desperate rush.
Captain Newt froze, disbelief giving way to cold dread. He knew the rumors of the 'Beast Slayer' and her navy powerness of defeating Imperial Battalions. Before he could issue a single command to rally the few remaining men, another guard came running in from the seaward wall, his voice pitched high with terror.
“Ships on the horizon! Ships on the Horizon!” the guard yelled, pointing frantically toward the sea.
“Captain Newt! Ships flying Kim Dukedom’s flags are already on the horizon! They are moving too fast, sir! They are going to reach the port in a few hours!”
The Vice Captain immediately reacted, his mind snapping into a desperate tactical sequence. “Get to the Mage’s Tower of Konfir and request immediate aid!” he roared at the squire, pointing toward the inland town.
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But the squire, his face pale with dread, remained frozen. “But, but Vice Captain! All the mages were summoned to aid the Western Territories of the Empire by the Imperial Decree!”
“Damn it!” the Vice Captain cursed, slamming his fist against a nearby crate. Time had become their enemy, and the Imperial Court’s panicked requisitions had left the local barony defenseless. He immediately mounted his horse. “I will ride into town and secure mages from the Adventurer’s Guild! Captain Newt!” he yelled across the frantic training yard. “I will rally the local merchants and appeal to them to lend their private guards for the defense!”
Captain Newt nodded curtly, already moving to rally his thin garrison. “It will still be hours before they reach the port, even if they are already on the horizon!” he shouted, forcing the squires and remaining knights into a semblance of a defensive line. “So before they arrive, we will fortify our port walls and stop their advance into the town!”
The men scrambled to obey, the sound of scrambling boots mixing with the creak of hastily moved supplies. “We only need to hold until aid comes from—"
Captain Newt’s command was sliced short. An observer, tumbling down the tower steps with reckless speed, rushed onto the training grounds. “C-Captain! You won’t believe it! The ships are rushing at an abnormal, impossible speed! They are moving faster than the wind! They will be here in minutes, not hours!”
Captain Newt’s face drained of all color, the blood retreating beneath his weathered skin. He stared out at the sea, where the distant plumes of black smoke were visibly surging closer. The impossible velocity defied all known principles of sailing other than ‘magic’.
“Are… are all of those ships magic ships?” he whispered, the question hanging heavy with terror and disbelief. "How in the goddess's name can they have so many!"
Captain Newt snapped out of his daze, the panic giving way to a soldier's desperate, last-ditch resolve. “Damn the mages! Damn the decree!” he roared, his voice thick with adrenaline as he pointed toward the port's dilapidated outer wall. “You! Rally the squires and the greenest recruits! We load the mana-powered culverins on the southern rampart! Forget accuracy, just load them with crystal shrapnel and aim for the hull waterline!”
The few remaining garrison knights, recognizing the finality in his voice, moved with frenzied discipline. They knew the culverins were meant more for deterrent display than sustained combat, as each shot consumed expensive, high-grade flowers. But they were all they had.
"Captain, the nearest culverin is three hour’s haul from the warehouse!" a squire yelled back, fear trembling in his voice.
"Then hitch the horses and pull it until the axles break!" Newt screamed, shoving a pouch of emergency coins into the hands of a junior officer. "You! Ride to the Adventurer's Guild! Forget the Vice Captain! Tell them we need anything, anyone that can hold a weapon and they'll get double the Imperial bounty if they arrive in the next twenty minutes!"
He grabbed his sword, his eyes fixed on the sea. The plumes of smoke were no longer distant. They dominated the horizon. He could now clearly make out the dark, reinforced hulls and the total absence of sails, only the powerful, relentless drive of some kind of unknown dark smoke.
"It's a slaughter," he muttered, watching the powerful fleet cut through the choppy waves. He knew they were carrying the legendary weapons that defeated two whole Imperial battalions. They weren't coming for a siege; they were coming for annihilation.
A final, impossible shriek split the air, louder than the ships noise themselves. The leading ship, a black hull retrofitted for speed, was barely a kilometer from the coast. Captain Newt braced his sword. "Hold the line! Fire anything that moves!"
The coast defenses were pitifully unmanned as the first ship of the Kim Dukedom fleet slammed through the outermost buoys, its powerful form emerging from the sea haze. Captain Newt watched in horror, knowing that their small stock of precious, limited-use spell flowers would stand no chance against the enemy’s relentless unknown bombardment. The invasion had begun.