CH 241

I don’t know if my father’s strategy will work, but it’s worth a try. I immediately cast a spell.

“Water. Wash them away!”

I create a stream of Water around the enemy fleet at the river estuary, from far away on top of the crow’s nest. My father’s strategy was quite simple. That is, this counts on whether or not my Water magic can wash the fleet out of position.

Destroying it with Earth magic could cause fragments and wreckage to sink and block the river’s mouth. Burning them down with Fire magic is the same effect. If they burn to ashes in an instant, it’s fine, but if it starts burning and then sinks, they’ll block it all the same. So what Father thought was to move that fleet away from there.

They’re probably anchored, or they may be secured in some other way so they don’t move. But those methods are not perfect, either. If they’re all totally on the water, anyway, so long as they’re floating, we can move them somehow.

That’s why I use magic to create a tremendous stream of Water in that area and wash away the enemy fleet. Well, even if I say I’m going to wash them away, it’s the opposite, I’m pulling them out toward me… but I say “Wash them away.” to visualize the intended effect.

If I push it to the lake’s side, it may become troublesome. I don’t know how deep the water in the lake is, but if I push them to a shallow and sink them in an inconvenient place, the wreckage may become a hindrance despite all my efforts. That’s why I pulled it out to this side, towards the sea…well, judging from the current, they were washed away…

I don’t mind either of those things, so I pull the enemy fleet anchored at the river mouth toward the sea by this magical tide. There are also 4 ships in there. As long as I can pull them out to sea, all I have to do now is sink them with my magic.

“They’re moving slowly… but they are quite heavy…” I muttered.

There should be a fairly strong current, but the enemy fleet is barely moving. Well, normally it’s supposed to be able to anchor in place even if the seas are a little rough, but them moving despite being anchored is a big deal in itself…

“Is this a little difficult for you, Lord Caan?” Schwartz asked.

“Mnnn…” I grunted.

I can make the water flow stronger or increase the amount of water I’m manipulating. But if I do too much, the level of the lake will decrease. Of course, if I stop using magic, the sea will flow backward as much as the water level drops. However, if that happens, so much seawater will flow into the lake, and various side effects may occur. 1

Well, I can’t do anything if I worry about that, so I’m prepared for some impact… it’s still true that if things keep going as is, we’re not going anywhere.

The enemy fleet has been swept out of the river mouth, but at this rate, it will take quite some time to get them out to sea. The enemy won’t be standing still until then, so some countermeasures may be taken. I don’t think I have enough free time to watch them leisurely, so I should do something about it.

“Hmm… Ah! How about something like this… Water. Lift them up!” I cried.

“Oooh!” Schwartz cries as he watches through the telescope.

That seemed to work. Right now, I can’t afford to look through the telescope to check myself. As expected, no matter how good my eyes are at this distance, I can’t see things perfectly clearly.

Instead of just sweeping out the enemy fleet with the current, I decided to raise the water level around them and lift up the ships. I thought that if the enemy’s anchors were lifted, they’d struggle to stay in place. If you just raise the water level around the ships and then sweep them away, I can pull them out without increasing the current’s strength.

“You did it! It’s working! As expected of you, Lord Caan!” Schwartz cried. “The enemy fleet has been removed from the river mouth. Let’s carry them a little further out to sea!”

“Right,” I said. “Then our fleet will head there. Fighting at this distance will be a hassle indeed.”

No matter what, it’s too far to fight at this distance. I waited till we were as far away as we could because I thought it would be bad if the enemy started scuttling themselves at the river mouth in anticipation of an attack, but if I succeeded in moving the enemy out of there, there’s no reason to be this far away. Sink the enemy before they can regain their formation.

“Come on, you bastards!” Schwartz yelled. “Take those ships out!”

“Aye!”

As the sailors rushed around, our ship began to move. With this, it looks like we’ll be able to fight the enemy fleet offshore.

The swept-up fleet was so far offshore I could see them now. I didn’t need to hold them up anymore and put them down.

“This time I will blow them away with Earth magic. Please note where they are,” I said.

“Aye-aye,” Schwartz said.

“Earth. Penetrate,” I said.

After explaining to Schwartz, I kill the enemy fleet. It’s important to know where the sunken ships are. It is possible that the mast will sink upright and catch on the bottoms of ships passing over it. It’s fine if the water is deep and the underwater wreckage won’t affect the surroundings, but if it’s shallow and it gets in the way, I’ll have to do something about it later.

I don’t have time to do that right now, but I need to remember the location even if I will be investigating the effects of the sunken ship later.

That’s why we finally made it into the lake after sinking a total of 8 Polsky Navy ships, including 4 ships in the direction of Danzij and 4 ships stationed at the river mouth. If you go east from this estuary…

“You can see it. That’s Koenigsvelg,” Schwartz said.

“So I see…” I said.

As soon as I went to the narrow side of this long and narrow river like a crescent, I could it emptying into a lake. You can see the town just beyond the river. Apparently, that is Koenigsvelg.

“This is terrible…” I said.

This terrain is bad. It would have been nice if the town was completely facing the sea or lake, but not here. Although it is close to the river mouth, the town of Koenigsvelg faces the river and you have to enter that river from the lake, albeit only a short distance. Even if the width and depth of the river are sufficient, it is dangerous to enter a narrow waterway.

“The ships have no choice but to wait in the lake,” Schwartz said. “Even if they get as close as possible when firing naval guns, they can’t directly come alongside the town’s river port because the town is surrounded by enemies.”

He’s exactly right. If you enter the river carelessly, you may be attacked from both banks. Since the town is on the north side of the river that flows from east to west, the enemy laying siege to its land routes must be on the north side. But if such a conspicuous galleon arrives at the town’s port, the enemy will notice it, and of course, they will be on guard.

Even a galleon equipped with a Caan cannon is fragile while docked. Besides, ships are vulnerable to attacks from land. Rivers and straits where ships can’t get close to buildings are targets for coastal artillery, and it’s also risky when you can be attacked from both sides.

“Galleon fleet, please stay here at Lake Vistra,” I said. “You are not to enter the river. Let’s launch some dinghies and send a landing party to Koenigsvelg.”

We can’t put the flagship in danger. On the other hand, the situation won’t improve even if I continue to hold my finger in my mouth. Above all, as long as we don’t know the current situation or the cause of this invasion, it’s essential to get into Koenigsvelg as long as there’s nothing we can do from here.

“First, I will go to Koenigsvelg by myself,” I said.

“Lord Caan! That’s not the same as before!” Schwartz yelled, eyes flying wide open. “It’s unacceptable!”

He’s right. We were still in combat when I landed at Visvy, but after the enemy had been defeated. After showing off my strength and launching such a severe strike, even if enemy combatants remained, they wouldn’t have been that much of a threat.

Compared to that, I haven’t even fought the enemy yet this time. I don’t know the situation in the town and there are many enemies left. At the moment, the information we know is that the town is under siege, so I understand that we can’t let the commander go to such a place. But I have to go.

“I can’t just keep holding my finger in my mouth and watch,” I said. “I need to know the situation over there. Even if the town is under siege and the river port is dangerous, I can do anything about it, so I’m the only one going.”

“I can’t let you go alone, Flora dear,” Mother said. “That’s why Mother is coming with.”

“Mother…………”

My mother came to us while we were holding a strategy meeting, observing Koenigsvelg from Lake Vistra. Up until now, she didn’t show up at the strategy meeting because Mother herself probably wouldn’t have a role, but when it comes to land battles, her position becomes very relevant. However…

“I can’t let you go with, Mother,” I said. “Aren’t you the frontline commander of the land force? No matter how you think about it, it’s strange to let you go to town first when the foot soldiers haven’t landed yet,” I said.

In this war, the chain of command of the Caan and Carruthers Allied Forces has been clearly defined. My father is the commander-in-chief of the entire army. And the admiral of the fleet is me, and the land force commander is my mother.

Since my mother is the land force commander, she must coordinate all ground activities, be an assault landing or arriving at the port of Koenigsvelg. It would be outrageous for me to throw her in harm’s way and enter the town by herself alone.

“Then you’re not going either, Flora dear,” Mother said. “Mother can’t accept you not allowing me to join you.”

“The Galleon Fleet originally had Schwartz, the admiral, and captain of the flagship,” I said. “There is no problem because there is someone who can be entrusted with command should I be gone. However, there is no one who can command the ground forces except you, Mother. You are the land force commander. There’s no way I’ll allow you to leave alone and land by yourself.”

The Caan family’s land forces are mostly Oliver’s corps. So the commander is Oliver, but Oliver can’t take the place of Mother. There is no one in House Carruthers who can take command in place of Mother, either, so she’s not allowed to separate from our ground troops.

“While Maria is away, I will also take on the command of the land forces,” Father said. “Would that be alright?”

“Father! But…” I cried.

And yet… my father said that. He’s not like how he usually is. Father would say that he would wait on the ship until I landed and brought back information. And yet, this time, he’s trying to get my mother to follow after me. Maybe there’s some information I don’t know?

“Father… Mother… isn’t it possible that you’re hiding something?”

Visvy, they allowed me to land alone without saying anything, but this time things are strange. This is like saying there is something up.

“We have proof…” Father said, “but the fact that the Kingdom of Polksy is suddenly going to war against Ploiss means that ‘guy’ is likely moving behind the scenes.”

“That ‘guy’?” I asked.

Neither of my parents seemed to have any proof. But even so, they’re so cautious just because there’s a possibility that ‘guy’ is moving. Even my parents, who are strong like monsters, are normally not so wary of opponents. I understand that much, but… but I can’t believe that there is someone that my parents can be worried about.

“There is a certain hero in the Kingdom of Polsky,” Father said..” Rather, it can be said that Polsky’s current prosperity is all thanks to that ‘guy.’”

“…………”

A hero who carries the prosperity of a country…?

“Mother has basically had to protect the border against the Kingdom of Frasia, so we haven’t fought much with the Kingdom of Polsky as it’s in the east….” Mother said. “But, we have crossed blades a few times.”

“Hey! Wait a minute! Mother, someone managed to ‘cross blades with you a few times’ on the battlefield?!” I yelled.

Impossible. Crossing blades on the battlefield shouldn’t happen when you are seriously trying to kill your opponent. They must have a completely different dimension of power from my special training. Being able to “cross blades a few times” with my mother, who is always seriously coming to kill me, means that he had lived each time to do it again.

I can’t believe it……. even if he barely managed to escape with his life, it would be a miracle if he managed to escape even once against Mother and her serious killing intent. If it happened a few times already, it cannot be dismissed as a miracle. It is a monster with an ability matching hers.

“Indeed,” Father said. “It’s an opponent that even Maria couldn’t kill despite how many times they’ve clashed. There’s no way you won’t miss what this means, do you?”

“–”

I gulp and clear my throat. I don’t know if even the current me can survive when all I can do is run from Mother as she seriously comes to kill me. If it upgrades to an opponent who has beaten her many times… I’m no match, right?

“If you understand that, you can land with Maria. Otherwise, we cannot allow you to leave,” Father said.

“If there is such a monster, Mother cannot leave the fleet…” I said.

“Don’t worry. I’m on this ship,” Father said. “And if we’re far enough out on the water, we won’t be killed so easily.”

“…I understand. Then mother and I will land together,” I said.

There are some parts that I don’t agree with. My father said so, but I’m also worried about the fleet. My father is stronger than me, but I don’t think he’s as strong as Mother. Mother is the real drop in fighting ability here. It might be tough with my father alone on a ship.

But… I think my father’s judgment is correct, putting aside personal feelings and instead thinking of someone who is the overall commander of this war. That’s why I decided to follow Father’s advice and land in Koenigsvelg with Mother.