The Ubarr territory that is located on the Roan Kingdom's northeastern shoreline.
The liege of the Ubarr territory, Popelina Ubarr, looked around while taking in the cold ocean breeze.
Young lady Amiru, her future successor, was cautiously watching her.
Splash, splash.
This was the spot where they could best hear the waves that were crashing against the naval base.
This usually dark and quiet port was still dark, but not quiet today.
Paaaaat!
The teleportation magic circle flashed once more.
Popelina reached her hand out in order to ask for a handshake.
"Welcome, Viscount."
"Ahem, nice to see you again, Ubarr liege." ( Not sure why they are not referencing a title for her. Maybe she doesn't have one? )
The person awkwardly shaking the Ubarr liege's hand was a Viscount who used to be a part of the southeast region's Marquis Ailan's faction.
He was currently trying to blend in with the rest of the group while wearing his armor.
He left Popelina's side and moved to where the other nobles were standing. None of them had bright expressions on their faces. The Viscount didn't even greet the other nobles from the southeast faction as he looked around the naval base.
He then put his hand over his shaking heart.
A person's voice was still echoing in his mind.
'The shield did not break.'
He recalled that intense battle. The Viscount who had watched that battle from his castle office could not help but run over here right away.
That person would come here.
The northeast region's Military Commander, Cale Henituse.
He would be coming here tonight.
The Viscount recalled what Cale Henituse had said as he walked away from the oval table the last time they had met.
'If it is the noble's way to attach themselves to the strong, then you will soon have to decide who you need to attach yourselves to in order to survive.'
He needed to stick to Cale if he wanted to survive. This was his only chance to do that.
His, as well as the other nobles, eyes were all continuously looking around.
They could not hide their shock.
They could barely make things out in the darkness. However, the numerous ships and the soldiers standing in perfect formation let them know just how long they had been training for this battle.
'We've been left behind.'
The nobles realized that they had been left behind and that their strengths were puny in comparison. They also realized that they were not even in that person's eyes. That was why they were here, waiting for the strong to arrive.
The video communication device in young lady Amiru's arms flashed at that moment. She turned toward her mother and started to speak.
"He's coming."
The nobles all became nervous at her statement.
'Is it Cale?'
The teleportation magic circle started to activate.
Ooooooong-
It seemed to be larger than any other time it had been activated. This meant that it was transporting a large number of people.
The nobles standing around could not help but gulp.
Paaaaa- at.
The teleportation magic circle flashed before silhouettes of people appeared on top of it. The Ubarr liege started to speak once they completed their transportation.
"Welcome, Knight Captain-nim and Mage Captain-nim."
The First Brigade of the Royal Knights could be identified by the royal crest on their armors.
And then there was the other group that was being revealed to the world for the first time.
The nobles had heard what the Ubarr liege had said.
Mage Captain.
They could see tens of people wearing robes that were covering their faces.
Mage Brigade 1 was composed of the best of the best mages that crown prince Alberu Crossman had gathered.
The Mage Brigade was revealed for the first time since its creation.
The Mage Captain shook the Ubarr liege's hand.
"Nice to meet you."
The face that was covered by the hood was that of Alberu's aunt, the Dark Elf Tasha, in her human form. She was an Elementalist and not a mage, however, she was still leading the Mage Brigade. However, the Mage Brigade's true leader was Rosalyn.
Tasha was taking the captain's spot instead of Rosalyn because Rosalyn was currently at the Breck Kingdom.
"Will he come soon?"
The Ubarr liege nodded her head at Tasha's question.
Tasha then silently led the Mage Brigade to a side of the room. The Royal Knights stood next to them.
The First Brigade of the Royal Knights was not very talkative. Tasha understood why they were almost speechless right now.
The Mage Brigade naturally had a video communication device on them. She had shown the mages and the knights the battle at the Henituse territory as she led them here.
They had seen that electrifying battle.
It was a battle of existences that even Tasha had never expected to see. That battle between the Dragon Slayer and Cale's group had shaken her up.
Tasha was so worried about the necromancer Mary and the rest of Cale's group that she almost went crazy.
'Although it seems that the knights went crazy for a different reason.'
Tasha peeked toward the Knight Captain. He had a face that looked like he was a stubborn man with a strong sense of responsibility. The Knight Captain who seemed to be in his forties was quietly observing the teleportation magic circle.
The rest of the knights were doing the same thing.
They had seen a sword master.
It had been a long time since the Roan Kingdom last had a sword master. However, a new sword master had suddenly appeared.
He had also been riding on a Bone Dragon.
Tasha understood their, no actually, she understood the thoughts going through the minds of every person who had watched the battle. That was why she quietly waited as well.
Splash, splash.
The teleportation magic circle started to vibrate once more through the noise of the splashing of the waves.
Oooooooooong-
They had been waiting for this.
The nobles turned their gazes that had been on the Royal Knights and the Mage Brigade back toward the teleportation magic circle. The white light flashed as people started to appear one by one.
"Ah."
Someone let out a gasp.
The first person who became visible had one of his shoulders bandaged up. Someone from the crowd let out his identity.
"…Sword master."
They did not even know his name. They saw someone wearing a black robe next to him. People could guess who she was even though she had been invisible throughout the entirety of the last battle.
'That person must be the necromancer.'
They were followed by Ron, who was wearing an assassin's outfit including a mask, Beacrox in a swordsman outfit with a greatsword, and the mixed-blood Dwarf Rat Mueller, who was surrounded by two kittens.
Cale's group was appearing one by one.
And the last to appear was Cale Henituse.
He appeared on top of the magic circle and the crowd gulped.
One of the nobles could not help but mumble.
"… Blood, the blood."
Cale still looked the same as he did at the end of the battle.
Cale was standing there in the same bloodied outfit that he was wearing during the battle earlier in the day. His gaze was looking around at the group.
However, the nobles did not think that Cale looked dirty or shabby. In fact, they felt the pressure of someone who had survived on the battlefield. Furthermore, it helped them realize that the war was just beginning.
It was at that moment.
The Ubarr liege started to speak.
"Salute."
The nobles flinched at her statement.
However, loud voices started to shout from behind them.
The soldiers who had been standing at attention this whole time shouted in unison.
"Choong!" ( The Korean military says choong sung, which means loyalty, when they salute. It is a sign of respect. If you've watched K-dramas like Descendants of the Sun, you may have heard it. I'm thinking, 'choong,' may be used when it's a large group and they say, 'sung,' when the person the group is saluting salutes back (don't take my word on this part though). )
The entire Navy saluted Cale so loudly that the entire shore seemed to shake.
Their salute was toward the northeast region's Military Commander, Cale Henituse.
Their voices shocked the nobles until they heard a different noise.
Click, click.
Sword that shined under the moonlight started to be drawn one by one.
The Knight Captain took out his sword and lifted it up.
The rest of the knights soon followed his actions.
They had moved their swords instead of speaking.
Clang.
The swords pierced the air in a salute.
This was the Knight's Salute.
This was the way they greeted the people they needed to obey.
The mages then started to create small orbs of light and sent them above the nobles and the soldiers.
The dark shores slowly started to light up.
Cale silently watched all of this before slowly starting to speak.
"Now I can see."
He was not using the respectful way of speaking right now.
However, nobody thought that this was awkward. It was so natural that nobody even realized it.
No, they did not have the time to realize it.
"There's a lot of people."
Cale said just one thing while looking at the nobles.
The nobles could clearly see the way Cale was looking at them. They could tell that Cale was looking down on them.
However, the nobles still did not dare to speak.
The strength of Cale's forces was at the level of the crown. In some aspects, it was even stronger than the crown. Furthermore, he was currently a hero.
The entire Roan Kingdom was still buzzing about the battle from earlier in the day. Cale's name was on everyone's lips.
But, most importantly, Cale was giving off a different vibe.
They could feel the aura of a ruler that was worlds apart from what they had felt in the banquet hall. These nobles, who were the most sensitive to who was strong, bowed their heads.
'Funny punks.'
Cale did not pay much attention to the people trying to suck up to him in order to survive as he turned in order to look at the soldiers. Their faces showed nervousness and concern, but also hope.
Cale started to speak.
His low voice reached the hundreds of people standing there.
"Prepare to leave."
That was the beginning.
The atmosphere around the shore quickly changed. They had been expecting this order. Nervousness was on the minds of everyone here. However, Cale was not done speaking.
"Tomorrow night."
He spoke in a calm voice without any hesitation.
"We will obliterate the enemy."
Obliterate.
Kill them all.
That word was etched deep into the minds of the soldiers.
Someone shouted in a loud voice at that moment.
"We will follow your order!"
It was the Knight Captain of the Royal Knights. He raised his sword and placed it over his chest as he shouted. His voice seemed to be full of confidence in his ability to carry out the order. The Ubarr liege motioned as if to respond to his shout, and the soldiers started to shout as well.
"We will follow your order!"
The people on the shore started to quickly move during this dark night. There was a sense of thrill and excitement along with the nervousness.
Obliterate.
They would carry out that order.
Cale's order was echoing in all of their minds.
* * *
Cale was standing on the deck of a ship in a clean outfit the next night as he listened to Ron's report.
His hair was fluttering in the ocean breeze.
"The ships are mainly mid-sized ships, with a total over 300 ships."
The information sent by the Whales were finally reaching Cale's ears. He paid attention to each piece of information.
He would not let his guard down anymore. This battle would be the expression of his will not to do that.
"Originally, there were some ships in shapes that have never been seen before. We suspect that those ships were what they used in order to break through the ice up north."
'They are probably something made by the Dwarves.'
Cale lowered his head.
"Explain."
Mueller seemed so shocked to the point that he would faint before he quickly starting to speak.
"I believe it is a ship made by the Flame Dwarves. I've heard that they are weak when it comes to magic devices, but quite famous for their mechanical devices."
"Weak?"
"To be honest with you, it is closer to that they cannot make them at all."
A Dwarf that could not make magic devices was like an Elf that could not handle an Elemental. That was why Mueller did not look very good as he explained about the Flame Dwarf Tribe. He felt a bit sorry for them. However, Cale was thinking that their sorrows were none of his business.
'I can blast them away with magic.'
If they are terrible with magic, the Magic Brigade could kill them.
However, he thought about the magic scrolls that the helmeted knight and the Bears had in their possession during the battle.
The fact that they had such magic scrolls meant that the enemy's level of magic was strong as well. The reason that the helmeted knight was teleported to the ship was almost certainly because mages and healers were on board.
In that case, he needed to get rid of them too.
Beeeeeep- Beeeeeeep-
"Commander-nim!"
Young lady Amiru ran over to Cale while wearing leather armor. A video communication device was shining red in her arms.
Cale saw a small boat approaching their ship at that moment.
He heard the following noises coming from the boat.
Meeeeeeeow.
Meeeow.
Cale started to smile at the sounds that he had been waiting for.
On and Hong were in Choi Han and Beacrox's arms. The small boat that they were on was heading toward Cale's ship.
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-
The eerie noise of the wind brushed by Cale's ear.
However, he managed to hear young lady Amiru's report as well.
"The enemy ships have passed the third boundary."
This was the third of four total boundaries.
The enemy would soon approach the fourth boundary.
Cale looked down from the deck of this ship that was currently located at the fourth boundary.
– All done.
The masterpiece made by the children averaging nine-years-old.
Shhhhhhh-
The sound of leaves rustling in the air, something that was difficult to hear out in the ocean, could be heard.
That noise started to surround the ocean around the fourth boundary.
Fog.
Fog was covering the ocean.
The only boundary with an actual mark could no longer be seen because of the fog.
This fourth boundary would be an invisible boundary of death for the enemy.
Cale gave the order.
"Get rid of all noise."
The name of this operation was, 'Ghost.'
The entire fleet of the Roan Kingdom's navy started to go quiet, starting from Cale's ship.
Silence filled the ocean.
The ghosts were waiting for the arrival of their enemies.