Chapter 218: Northern Continent vs. Central Continent
Boo!
Bang!
Boom!
The huge enemy fleet released fireballs and lightning in an arc, overcoming the storm and directly hitting our ranks.
Looking closely, I noticed more than two countries in their army.
Many mages lived on the Northern Continent, which meant more mages were on their ships than actual naval weaponry. What made matters worse was that their spells reached a greater distance than gunpowder projectiles.
Meanwhile, our army…
"Here comes another volley!"
"O-oh no!"
"Put the flames out!"
"Aaaaghhh!"
Their surprise attack had thrown our people into chaos.
No one imagined the army of the Northern Continent would break through the typhoon and meet us halfway.
Furthermore, the Holy Mollan Empire wasn't founded on warfare.
I colonized the entire Central Continent through a peaceful method. As a result, the skill level of the soldiers was low, and the knights and commanders lacked combat experience.
But none of it fazed me.
After all, I was a hero with 63 years of experience.
I had been betrayed, agitated, and almost died several times because of the manipulative and deceptive Lanuvel.
"I didn't want to do this because it's not entirely fair, but…"
I had to show the stupid savages of the Fantasy World all the greatness of Master Mollan.
I reformed my vocal cords into those of mermaids and sang.
"Fight~ Fight back~♪ Justice always prevails~♬"
I took the theme song of a cartoon familiar to everyone for inspiring hope in children and remade it to a military song.
Both versions had similar visions anyway: defeating villains with the power of justice.
"I give my love to Sir Hero~♬"
"For the sake of His Majesty's justice~♪"
"My life belongs to you~♪"
"I offer my life to you~♪"
All the mermaids sang together in response.
With the help of my song, I instilled hope in the mermaids. Cheerfully wagging their fins, they rushed into battle.
Bam!
BZZZZ!
Many of their kind died from the explosions of spells and projectiles, but they didn't scream in pain. Not even fatal injuries could stop their melodies.
My song wasn't done yet, after all.
They couldn't retreat.
"Rejoice, people of Mollan~♬ Praise his good name~♬"
"Mollan~♪"
"Mollan~♪"
"Mollan~♪"
Master Mollan gave us courage. How could anyone hope for victory without praising him?
"May his patronage and mercy be with those who are foolish to against his will!"
The mermaids launched a massive counterattack.
They pierced the bottoms of ships with spears, and with ropes used to kidnap sailors, they dragged enemies into the water.
The mermaids were a little confused because of the shallow depth of the sea near the coast, but as soon as they sailed away, the advantage passed into their hands.
In case of danger, they would simply submerge into the depths of the water and strike once more from where they weren't expected to appear.
"H-how can a man sing like us…" The Mermaid Queen was dumbfounded. She had replaced her tail with her legs and was now standing next to me barefoot and in a dress.
"For a student of Master Mollan, this is as easy as pie. The moment I learned the foundations of this technique, the rest proved easy."
"Did you imitate the vocal cords of mermaids?"
"Not imitated, but completely adopted it."
That was the fruits of Master Mollan's teachings.
Due to the fact that all mermaids were female, there were side effects. My Adam's apple disappeared, and my voice became thinner. Regardless, the skill's effect itself was no different from the Mermaid Queen's ability.
All the mermaids obeyed me.
"And what of our extinction…"
"It's a secret."
"The Drug Hero is legendary."
"Be quiet, foolish spirit."
Sitting on my head, the First Spirit immediately began to argue against me.
"You misunderstand me, Drug Hero. The one who has become legendary will never disappear unless he's forgotten. In other words, the more rumors there are about you, the better. After all, if they consider you as a legend, then they will remember you. At that point, even if only one person knows of you, stories about you will sooner or later spread."
"Is that so?"
This old spirit nodded.
"The hero I knew was nothing like you…" Pomeranian uttered carefully.
"Don't compare me to amateurs."
After all, at the age of 1, I already became the emperor of the Northern Continent.
I didn't think I was superior to the rest. However, while still in the womb of a nurse and princess of a fallen state, I already had clear awareness and understanding.
Shouldn't heroes be able to at least do that?
► Confusion: I'm not sure about that…
'Why?'
► Answer: They say that there was another hero who had a case similar to yours. He pretended to be ordinary until the age of 15, but at the age of 20, he became independent and founded his own country. At 25, he destroyed his homeland and became its emperor.
'What about marriage? He probably got married early.'
► Explanation: He was 23 when he first married a princess who ran away from home because she didn't want to have a marriage of convenience. The second time he was wedded…
'You can stop now, Trainee Teacher.'
I didn't want to hear anything about the wedding of those who hadn't adapted to societal life.
Each job had its own role and responsibility.
Princes and princesses born with a golden spoon in their mouths had to somehow repay the locals who could barely make ends meet yet were still forced to pay taxes.
And those who complained that they were born into a royal family or a family of aristocrats not because they wanted to should be sent to the guillotine.
People didn't always want to do what they were currently doing.
The same went for me.
I am a hero!
I couldn't just do whatever I wanted since that would damage my Reputation and Fame.
If I were a farmer, I would personally join the battle and make fertilizers out of enemies.
I am also a victim.
I was abducted into this wild world and was forcibly made into a hero that would volunteer every day.
"To battle! For the glory of the Holy Mollan Empire!" I commanded.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the birth of the Holy Mollan Empire, which I would one day give to my son, was the golden age of the Central Continent.
In just three years, the GDP increased 200 times, and sewers and flush toilets were installed, improving the hygiene of the continent.
Roads were built, thus reviving trade and lessening the travel time of mercenaries and knights to their destinations, hence allowing them to more efficiently kill monsters and other enemies.
As a result of their lives being stabilized, the people of my empire quietly married and gave birth to children.
Although due to the sudden growth of the population, the feudal lords and officials howled from the work that fell on their shoulders.
"For the empire!"
"For family!"
"For His Majesty!"
"For Mollan!"
The soldiers of the Holy Mollan Empire, once discouraged by the surprise attack from the enemy fleet, now screamed with excitement.
I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to flee out of fear, but our current atmosphere didn't allow that.
Can we say this is a man's dignity?
In my eyes, mermaids were just stinky fish, but the locals and heroes saw them as beautiful women.
In other words…
There was no way their pride would allow them to just hide behind the women's backs as they fought bravely.
In the Fantasy World, men were taught never to surrender. Dying in combat to defend his country and family was far more honorable than dying of old age here.
In this world, where terrible monsters could attack at any moment, that was normal.
That was why enslaved warriors here were much more expensive than beauties.
"We seem to be winning," Ssosia smiled, standing next to me.
I laughed.
"Victory was already ours from the very beginning. All we had to focus on was reducing the number of victims they could claim."
I knew the size limit of the Northern Continent's army and formed my army based on that.
Common strategists determined their chances of victory based on the numbers on both sides.
They would bring more soldiers than the opponent and crush them with numbers.
I agreed with that tactic, but only partially so.
Only narrow-minded people would think it was completely right.
If all men were summoned to war, then agriculture and production would stagnate.
More troops required more food and funds for maintenance. They would also be harder to control and command.
Larger numbers weren't always better, especially in long wars like this one.
It would be difficult to capture the Northern Continent in a short period of time.
The climates of the continents, separated by seas, were very different, which meant we would need to give the soldiers time to adapt. Transporting goods also brought forth more factors to consider.
► Surprise: You know so much, cadet Kang Han Soo.
In the 1st round, I worked hard.
Heroes, disguised as mercenaries, directly participated in the battles. The moment it seemed that the battle was lost, they turned the tides of war to their favor.
They would even argue who got the most kills with bright smiles on their faces.
But not me.
It was funny.
The heroes, which were supposed to strike the Demon Lord, took sides and intervened in the war between the countries.
They even made bets!
They didn't think about the wives and children of the soldiers they killed but only flattered their pride or profited from it. They couldn't even care less about the dire consequences of the murders they committed.
So I studied.
When the heroes didn't enter the war, I studied the situation to understand the victor and the defeated, how they won or lost, and what the consequences of their actions were.
If their chance of losing were higher than 90%, I would meet with that side and offer them a peaceful surrender, explaining everything in detail.
Although my companions often interfered with me.
They often said that if they entered the battle, then it would be possible to win.
I thought I'd go crazy. They would often side with the woman who had given birth to thousands of widows in the country just because she didn't want to get married.
The Imperial Princess was a good example of this.
"But I can understand her. In order not to marry such a scoundrel like you, I wouldn't care who becomes a widow there." My wife began to point out my flaws when she heard my complaints.
"Ssosia…"
"Hmph! Hit me if you want! Do it! It'll just serve as proof that you're a lousy husband."
"You keep making a victim out of yourself. I didn't force you to marry me."
"…"
"Do you still have something to say?"
"Hmm. I guess you're right. Thinking about selfish girls who refuse marriages of convenience makes no sense. For the sake of their own happiness, they are prepared to make others unhappy. Husbands must teach them to be logical and rational."
Women's hearts were too fickle…
Even her firm convictions changed so quickly.
"Drug Hero, you won't join the war?"
"I think I've intervened enough by bringing in the mermaids. The number of casualties should be small enough. Those fishes will help both foes and allies that's fallen overboard from drowning."
For their salvation, they 'squeezed them dry' first, but that was better than death.
The savvy soldiers of the Northern Continent deliberately fell into the water. They had already lost the battle anyway, so they decided to save themselves and succumb to ecstasy in the process.
I looked over the scene from the huge ship I was riding.
At that moment, the water was covered with ice.
Although the waves quickly froze, it wasn't severe enough to kill the soldiers and mermaids.
"Help! I'm stuck! I can't get out!"
"W-what is this?!"
Their upper body was stuck in the ice, turning them immobile.
Those underwater were unlucky, but the mermaids gave them artificial respiration, allowing them to survive for the time being.
Of course, it wasn't a natural phenomenon.
Magic.
One designed for a large area.
That was exactly what could turn the tide of war.
I knew of only one person from the Northern Continent who could do this.
"The Sage also joined the battle."
I immediately discarded thoughts of gaining an easy victory.
From a ship hovering in the air with the help of magic, the Sage made a proud declaration.
"Rulers of the Northern Continent! I have come to help you with my knowledge over the abyss of magic! Let us slay the greedy emperor of the Central Continent, and together we will return to the Motherland… Kh?!"
Before he could finish his monologue, he began to bleed.
It seemed that the appearance of ordinary mermaids couldn't affect him, but Ssosia and the Queen of Mermaids were on another league,
His boat, supported by magic, fell into the frozen water.
Bang!
"He hasn't changed…"
But the battle wasn't over yet.
Before it crashed, some people managed to jump off it, all of whom but one I had already met.
Sword Princess, Ice Princess, Saintess C, Mercenary King, Ice Dragon…
They began shouting all at once.
I politely replied. "Shut up. You. Say something."
I couldn't take my eyes off the cute boy in the clothes of a nobleman who stood next to the Sword Princess.
The boy spoke slowly:
"Mom said you killed my father. Therefore, I cannot forgive you."
"That's not true."
After glaring at the Sword Princess for a moment, I looked at the boy again and solemnly declared, "I am your father."