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Chapter 168: The Gaze Across the Battlefield

The following morning, Roel woke up to the sound of warning bells.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the gemstones embedded in the walls glowing brightly crimson, causing his heart to clench up. The crimson gemstone represented danger to the Golden Fleet, and the fact that it was lighting up only meant that enemies had appeared.

Roel could hear the sound of footsteps hurrying through the corridor. He quickly leaped to his feet, put on his coat, and rushed out. As soon as he stepped out, he saw Charlotte coming out of the cabin opposite to him.

“Roel, it’s an enemy attack,” said Charlotte with an uneasy frown.

Roel nodded without much expression on his face, but in his heart, he heaved a deep sigh.

Despite everything I tried, it was still impossible to avert danger.

【Countdown to the end of Witness State: 24 hours 47 minutes】

Looking at the countdown on the System, Roel knew that it was impossible for him to circumvent the final battle. With just a day left, there was no way they could stall the enemies till they reached dry land. They had to either win the battle or die at sea.

So, Roel grabbed Charlotte’s hand and rushed to the deck together with her. It was utter chaos along the way; people were rushing about, shouting instructions or conveying the situation to the others.

Once they arrived on the deck, they realized that the crowd were looking eastward, where under the rising sun, a phantom like fleet was appearing on the horizon.

It was a fleet that looked similar to the Golden Fleet, but the insignia on the flag they sailed under had taken on another appearance. The anchor had been replaced by six specks of golden light encircling a golden rose. Without a doubt, the six specks of golen light represented the Six Calamities that Gordon’s faction worshiped as the God’s Envoys.

Roel also soon discovered the reason why this fleet was able to catch up with the Golden Fleet despite their hastened speed—the interference of the Seafolk.

Under the glowing eastern sun, humongous sea monsters with long tentacles were gradually descending back into the waters. Their race had always abhorred strong light, and they would only appear in the dark. Nevertheless, the fact that they had been traveling alongside Gordon’s fleet showed that they had formed an alliance to retrieve the egg.

“Gordon shouldn’t have the ability to communicate with the Seafolk. Why would those gill bastards help him?”

“Gordon’s conservative faction doesn’t have the means to pull it off, but our enemies aren’t just limited to them.”

Isabella was also assessing the enemy fleet approaching from the horizon together with her crewmates a grave look on her face.

“It’s probably the Saints Convocation’s interference.”

Isabella issued an order, and dozens of warships swiftly got into a battle formation to prepare themselves for engagement. Over a hundred Silver Hawks rose into the air to scout out enemy intelligence. At the same time, they also began extending their underwater scan radius to check for approaching Seafolk.

Meanwhile, the captains of Gordon’s fleet had taken control of their rudders to steer their ships in a direction parallel to the Golden Fleet, trying to avoid getting bombarded by the cannons installed on their enemy ships’ bows.

This tense situation continued for over an hour as the distance between both sides gradually pulled close. Both sides were familiar with each other’s tactics and means, so there was no way they would give each other the opportunity to use their powerful main cannons. As a result, the battle would mostly be dominated by close-distance bombardment and close-quarter combat.

Crew members positioned themselves on the masts of the ships as they readied their arrows for the coming engagement. Meanwhile, warriors stood on deck holding their shields in place. Into this precarious moment before the battle came a sudden small burst of light on the SS Saint Mary, delivering a communication request from the flagship of the enemy fleet, SS Saint Martin.

Isabella gazed across the vast sea to observe the white-haired old man in the opposing flagship, and after a moment of contemplation, she decided to accept the communication request.

“It has been a while, Isabella.”

A deep, hoarse voice greeted Isabella through the communication magic tool.

“Isabella, you should know that our clan descends from the proud lineage of the high elves. It is our High Elf Bloodline that brings us honor. Our power stems from the Loyal Origin Attribute that we are born with. The Mother Goddess is the great existence our ancestors have pledged loyalty to, and She is the one who brought our clan to the height of its prosperity. We have to reaffirm our faith in her to return to the previous days of glory we enjoyed!”

A tinge of redness dyed Gordon Sofya’s face as he gazed at the dozens of ships sailing opposite him and exclaimed in agitation.

“History has shown us time and time again that prosperity is transient. Destruction is an inevitable calling of fate. None of us wield the strength to oppose the Mother Goddess and her envoys. As humans, we are far too insignificant in their presence that the only way for us to survive is to submit to the higher beings, submit to the fate we were born with. Only by recovering the loyalty we once lost can we continue to thrive even amidst lurking calamities!”

The old man looked at the sky above with deference in his eyes. The sea turned silent for a moment as the crewmates of the Golden Fleet looked at one another. The cruel reality shoved right into their faces stoked their fears, assassinating their morale.

If they were truly powerless before the almighty gods, choosing to side with them was obviously the logical decision to make. Gordon’s words had severely shaken the resolve of Isabella’s crewmates.

However, Isabella remained unfazed before Gordon’s impassioned speech. She stepped up onto the highest point of the flagship and gazed at the old man from afar.

“Gordon, your eyes are too blinded by the past. Our ancestors might have worshiped the Mother Goddess, but you would do well not to forget that all intelligent races are the children of Sia. If reaffirming our faith can make us stronger, the one we should be pledging loyalty to should be the Genesis Goddess!

“As for your claims that destruction is preordained by fate, don’t make me laugh! For thousands of years, the world has changed hands multiple times, but civilizations continue to rise and thrive. Where has the infallible Mother Goddess you speak of gone to? And whose control are the Six Calamities truly under? Humans might be weak now, but the conclusion is nowhere close to decided yet. For someone who has already chosen to press his head down to the ground in subservience before anything has been decided, what right do you have to speak of the future of humankind?”

Isabella turned around to look at her subordinates from dozens of ships behind her. Her eyes seemed to reflect the making of history, the inception of a new era.

“Do you think we know nothing of the strength of our enemies? No, we’re painfully aware of how powerful they are. We know how dangerous the mission we have chosen to undertake is. However, as the ones who have inherited the most advanced naval technology of humankind, we are an embodiment of human civilization. When humanity is in a precarious position and faces the threat of extinction, we have to step up and guard our civilization. Centuries from now, when our descendants look back in time, they will celebrate our courage and view us as their pride!

“All are equal under the balance of fate, be it humans or gods. So, keep those self-assuming words for yourself, Gordon!”

Isabella’s confident response echoed throughout the fleet, inducing the crewmates to raise their swords up high and cheer loudly. On the distant SS Saint Martin, the white-haired old man’s face turned livid.

“Foolish and ignorant. It looks like there’s no point in conversing with you anymore.”

“My thoughts exactly. I can’t think of anything to say to someone who can turn against his own people after living amongst them for 200 years. I shall send you off with my sword instead!”

Isabella mocked coldly before raising her hand up high to relay her command.

“Men, take aim and fire freely!”

Those words signaled the start of the battle. With the final attempt at reconciliation ending in failure, the two fleets roared out battle cries and began releasing barrages of golden light.

There were attempts to use the main cannons at the bow of the ship too, but the results were lacklustre. None of the captains were fools, so hardly any ships were struck squarely by the main cannons. Nevertheless, the other weapons were still working out properly.

Boom!

Under the bait of the Golden Fleet, Gordon’s fleet was lured into an area where gemstone mines had been planted beforehand. The mines exploded with great force, stirring great waves that rose several meters high, causing the ships of Gordon’s fleet to shake vigorously. Quite a few of their crew members were launched into the sea, and water also began flooding into the ships, causing their speed to drop drastically.

One must know that the Golden Fleet hadn’t held back their attacks for over an hour out of kindness and compassion. In truth, they had been assessing the flow of water currents and wind direction.

Laymen like Roel might think that the sea was all the same, but in the eyes of these veteran sailors, dominating the right water current was like claiming an advantageous position in battle.

The might of the gemstone mines were further augmented by the water currents, putting the Golden Fleet in a greatly advantageous position. At the same time, first mates throughout the fleet began relaying new orders in their respective ships.

“Divers, prepare yourselves!”

Crew members wielding harpoons immediately rushed to the sides of the decks. They channeled their mana, and before Roel’s astonished gaze, small gaps began appearing on their necks, and scales started to cover their bodies.

Gills Formation Spell, Scale Defense Spell, Heat Moderation Spell—these diving-related spells were performed under the orders of the first mates. The buffs from these spells granted ordinary divers strength comparable to that of Scalemen warriors for a short period of time. They would be able to move in the water fluidly, just like fish.

Thousands of seamen swiftly formed a formation as they began swimming toward the ships of the enemy fleet preparing to attack from beneath the water.

Roel gazed into the distance and saw that divers on the enemy fleet were quickly preparing themselves and diving into the water too.

As a result, the divers of both fleets encountered one another underwater and began fighting over control of the water.

Meanwhile, on the surface, the enemy fleet, after surviving the torrential waves, had started to approach the Golden Fleet. The sailors on the ships began to fire their smaller side cannons, causing wooden splinters to fly all over amidst explosions. The archers standing atop the masts also launched their barrage of arrows. Even the warriors on the deck gripped their axes and swords tightly, prepared to charge into battle at any moment.

The deafening explosions, furious waves, and war cries that echoed in the area made Roel tighten his fists. He shot a glance at the Control Room before turning to eye the countdown on his System. Once again, he reaffirmed his goal.

I’ll protect Charlotte and leave the Witness State safely.

With such thoughts in mind, Roel stood at attention nervously by the wall right outside the Control Room. For some reason, even though there was no enemy in the vicinity, his heart wouldn’t stop palpitating from anxiety.

Meanwhile, far in the distance, on one of the enemy ships, a white-robed man opened his eyes, revealing his eerie white irises.

“Found you,” he muttered softly.