Dungeon Defense (WN) - Chapter 380

Chapter 380: Encounter of Two Heroes (8)

* * *

A fleet immediately set sail from Genova as soon as it was formed.

‘It would be perfect if we could lure the imperial army to the ocean.......’

The Grand Duke stood on the deck and mocked himself for having such a pointless thought.

The Kingdom of Sardinia may have suffered continuous losses on land, but they remained undisputed masters of the ocean. On the other hand, the Empire had no formidable navy to speak of. How would they lure the imperial army to the ocean if they didn’t even have a way to fight on the ocean?

Genova and La Spezia were only like a hair’s breadth apart. The kingdom’s army sailed without any worries. However, midway through their journey, a commotion erupted from a galley that had been leading the way. The Grand Duke called for an officer and inquired about the situation.

“What is happening?”

“Monsters are attacking, Your Highness.”

“I see. Cooperate with the other ships to repel them.”

It wasn’t uncommon for monsters to attack while at sea. You could basically call it a routine event. Each of the 5-tier galleys, which were the Sardinian Kingdom’s flagships, carried over a hundred combatants onboard. Unless facing an unusually large monster, there was no cause for concern.

The commotion that was expected to die down gradually spread to the other ships. The ship captain looked perplexed as he shouted.

“Your Highness! It’s Poseidon’s Wrath!”

“What......!? This is still the 8th month!”

Poseidon’s Wrath was what the people of Sardinia called a phenomenon where a large number of monsters attacked the sea surface. Monsters were known to migrate in significant numbers around winter, which made seafaring at this time incredibly dangerous. However, it was currently the 8th month. Winter was still far off.

– Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

The sound of bells rang loudly from all around. These bells emitted a specific sound that repelled monsters. The sailors desperately rang the bells, but the monsters showed no signs of backing off. Instead, numerous merfolk and lizardfolk climbed onto the deck.

“Push them back! Push them back into the ocean!”

“Fold the sails!”NewW novels updates at .comn it, why is this happening now!?”

The soldiers cursed out loud as they picked up their spears. They went to the side railings of the ship to stab at the monsters that were trying to climb up. The ship had instantly fallen into chaos.

“We were caught off guard......!”

This large-scale attack was undoubtedly planned by the Empire. The timing was too perfect to call it a coincidence.

The Grand Duke immediately figured out the other party’s plan. Even if they get criticized for mobilizing the Demon Lord Army, the Empire wouldn’t even bat an eye to that accusation. The monsters that were currently attacking the ships had no equipment whatsoever....... Therefore, they were obviously wild monsters.

‘The Empire has no ties with these creatures, and the clash with the kingdom’s forces was merely an encounter with wild monsters.’ This was obviously how the imperial army was going to respond. The Grand Duke groaned.

“La Spezia was bait.”

“Bait, Your Highness?”

“It was a deliberate bait to draw us out. The Empire didn’t fully capture La Spezia but instead pushed it to the brink of collapse. They also anticipated our approach by sea, so they strategically placed these monsters here in advance.......”

Elaborate tactics cannot be employed in naval battles. While they might come into play to some extent when two warships are locked in combat, facing a relentless onslaught of monsters left each ship with no option but to fend for itself.

A galley at the front was powerless against the attack. With its crew and helmsman incapacitated, the ship helplessly drifted into a collision with a neighboring vessel sailing beside it. Although the impact did not cause the other ship to sink, their oars could be damaged if they were unlucky, significantly reducing their maneuverability.

The Grand Duke’s adjutant spoke in a worried tone.

“There are many mercenaries who are not accustomed to fighting at sea....... Your Highness, please allow me to utilize our mages. The damage is getting severe.”

“Not yet. If this was planned by the imperial army, I am sure there is still one more—”

“Kraken!”

Screams of terror filled the sky. A massive octopus leg covered with suction cups surged out from the water. The sharp teeth on each suction cup and the leg size being comparable to an old tree were what made it different from normal octopi.

“Abandon ship! Abandon ship!”

“Uaaahh!”

“Hahh.”

The Grand Duke sat on the ground, utterly drained of energy. Even in a land battle, fighting for three hours straight would be exhausting, but enduring such a grueling battle at sea was even more taxing. He felt completely spent, every fiber of his being drained. They were victorious, but it was a victory filled with only wounds.......

“Your Highness, congratulations on your victory.”

Contrary to the Grand Duke’s gloomy complexion, his adjutant was moved.

“A fleet that managed to come out victorious against the Leviathan—No, a fleet that managed to survive against the Leviathan is unheard of. Your Highness achieved a miracle.”

“......Adjutant, inform La Spezia that there will be no reinforcements.”

The Grand Duke muttered with a heavy heart.

“If a trap like this was prepared, then the Empire’s decision not to capture La Spezia immediately was just another ploy. Heading towards La Spezia now would be like walking straight into their hands. We are returning to Genova immediately.......”

“As you command, Your Highness.”

With the adjutant relaying the order to each vessel, the sailors mustered their remaining strength to unfurl the sails. The intense battle had left many ships with damaged oars, leaving them with no option but to rely on the winds to carry them back to Genova.

“......?”

As each vessel was busily trying to set their sails in motion, a sailor gazed at the distant sea and squinted. Sensing something, they nudged their colleague with their elbow.

“What? Don’t bother me. I already feel dead tired.”

“If you’re dead tired, then I’m already in a grave 10 feet under. Hey, do you see that over there?”

“Huh?”

The other sailor carefully looked in the direction that was being pointed at.

“......It doesn’t look like a monster.”

“That’s because a white monster doesn’t exist. Isn’t that a boat?”

As conversations like this echoed across several other ships, the information rapidly spread from sailor to officer, and then to the ship captains, before finally reaching the Grand Duke himself. The Grand Duke retrieved his telescope and peered through it towards the distant horizon.

“.......”

The Grand Duke’s body froze up, which made his adjutant curious.

“Is something wrong, Your Highness?”

“......They have the kingdom’s flag. It is a fleet from La Spezia.”

The sudden good news made the adjutant rejoice.

“This is good. Their navy must have escaped since La Spezia looked hopeless. We should be able to return to Genova with more ease if we receive their help.”

“Men, prepare for battle.”

“Pardon?”

The Grand Duke lowered his telescope.

“......We received news about La Spezia’s outer walls falling quite a while ago now. There is no way that the ships at the port would be perfectly fine when their outer walls have fallen. Therefore, this means that they have either been hiding somewhere, or their outer walls have not fallen. Either way, this means they tricked us.”

The Grand Duke’s lips trembled in anger.

The edge of the Grand Duke’s mouth twitched.

“Immediately inform the other ships, adjutant. From this moment on, La Spezia is our enemy.......”

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. Dantalian really pulling out the sea monster card. I wonder if this is something the Demon Lord Army can only resort to in the ocean. Could they rely on a similar monster on land? Well, I guess they wouldn’t be able to do it in this war since it’s supposed to be a fight between “human nations”. The sea monsters can be played off as a coincidence since they left no witnesses. Welp, maybe we’ll find out later on when the Demon Lord Army starts to take action again.

In any case, I completely forgot about my reserved troop military training last Thursday, so I got no work done that day. I still have one more training left on Sep 11, so I’m going to be dead on that day as well. I think this might be the last training I’ll ever have to go to? As long as North Korea doesn’t decide to do something that is ????

I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.