Chapter 1048

1048 New-Type Water Dragon Battleship

Our ship changed course for the Kingdom of Kranzel after pursuit by the Raydoss navy.

However, we ran into an unexpected situation here as well.

『Oh come on! Bulbora is on fire!』

「That’s a Water Dragon Battleship!」

「Woof!」

We came all the way to Bulbora, but Raydoss’s influence spread all the way here too. I could see flames and black smoke covering the entire port and town, so the vast amount of damage to the city was immediately evident.

Seedran and Raydoss ships lined across the sea, bombarding the city with magic blasts.

Moreover, one of the battleships had familiar-looking chains extending into the water in front of it. There should be a water dragon under there.

This wasn’t only Raydoss laying siege to Bulbora, but a joint fleet containing Seedran ships and a Water Dragon Battleship.

「Shit! Change course before they notice us! If north is no good, we have to try the south again!」

「We need to pick a port very carefully…」

Of course, Brunen and his crew made no attempt to fight the fleet. He knew he couldn’t win, and he had no obligation to try.

「…Brunen. Our contract is already over.」

「Don’t tell me…! You plan to leave?」

「I know a lot of people in Bulbora.」

「Woof!」

However, Fran refused to sit back and let it happen. There’s no way she could overlook this situation.

Personally, I’d rather she escaped alongside Brunen though. I honestly wouldn’t mind if he claimed her contract was still in effect.

But Brunen wasn’t the type of man to do that.

「…You know we can’t go with you, right? We need orders from the top to intervene in a war between other nations.」

「I know.」

Brunen shook his head regretfully, understanding Fran’s firm resolution.

「…I wish you luck, Fran.」

「Nn. Thanks. See you again.」

「Yeah!」

「Fran! Until we meet again!」

「Fran! Give them hell for me!」

「Nn!」

Hilt and Colbert looked rather grim. Being forced to run away went against their code of honor, especially for Colbert, since this city was one of his bases of operations.

However, the contract with Brunen meant they were not allowed to abandon the ship. In the end, all they could do was to cheer Fran on.

「You go, girl! Good luck!」

「Thanks for the delicious sea urchin!」

「Hope to see you soon!」

Fran nodded in response to the cheers of the sailors as she straddled Urushi.

「Urushi, full speed. But don’t let them find you.」

「Woof!」

Urushi jumped up to the highest altitude he could reach, before covering himself and Fran with dark magic. Now only those with very high perception would be able to notice anything off.

We took about ten minutes to reach Bulbora’s airspace, moving a bit slower than usual to avoid breaking the spell.

We could see the combined Raydoss-Seedran fleet continuously bombarding the town. The townspeople were packed at the gate on the opposite side of the harbor still trying to evacuate.

The castle, which was supposed to serve as a shelter, was left in ruins from the bombardment. The towers had long since crumbled, with holes covering all the walls. The flames were already spreading throughout the castle, so it’ll be completely useless in a matter of hours.

I believe the current occupants should be nobles unrelated to the former lord, Criston, but I have no clue if they’re okay. Disruption in the chain of command was probably affecting the evacuation.

The adventurers were also fleeing. Maybe they could do something against an enemy on land, but they were powerless to intercept cannon fire from the seas.

I also noticed a few dozen soldiers packed into a guard post next to the main street. I didn’t recognize any of them, but I guess the intention was to buy time for the citizens to escape if any enemies tried to come ashore.

However, several blasts have already hit their building, which will collapse sooner or later.

「We have to stop the bombardment.」

『Yeah, that’s definitely top priority.』

「What’s the plan?」

『Let’s see…』

Sinking over a hundred ships would take way too much time. In that case, we should target the flagship and attempt to disrupt their chain of command.

So our target has already been chosen for us.

『We strike the Water Dragon Battleship with everything we’ve got!』

「Got it!」

They’ve yet to notice us, so we can charge up to the max and unleash our best hit. After sinking the Water Dragon Battleship, we get to work reducing the number of enemies while they’re still confused.

Simple and effective. The only issue is if the Water Dragon Battleship can really be taken out in a single blow.

As expected from the so-called strongest battleships on the seas, they’re loaded with magical tools to strengthen the water dragon. We never even managed to break those defenses last time.

Moreover, the magic power emitted by the battleship far exceeded the one we had seen previously. If it’s an improved version, the armor will be even tougher than before.

「But still, we have to do it.」

『That’s right.』

We just have to believe in our own strength and give it our all. Maybe they’ve gotten stronger, but we’ve grown plenty too.

「We can do it.」

『Yeah!』

「Urushi, you help too!」

「Woof!」

First, Urushi invoked his spell. They produced numerous jet-black spears, which promptly poured down on the Water Dragon Battleship. Any ordinary ship would have gotten turned into swiss cheese.

However, all the spears got blocked by a thin film of light. Rather than the water dragon’s magic, this seems to be a normal ward. Like I had worried, its defenses were tougher than the original version.

That said, we expected them to be able to block Urushi’s first strike. Or rather, the purpose was to attack a wide area and force them to spread their defenses thin.

With the dome-shaped ward still covering the Water Dragon Battleship, Fran and I launched our followup.

「Haaah! Kanna Kamui!」

『Eat this! Multicast Kanna Kamui!』

We decided to use magic instead of a slash because it would have more potential. Of course, Heavenly Judgment and Black Thunder Divine Claw are still extremely powerful attacks.

The problem is the area of effect. If we wanted to use a slash, we can only target either the Water Dragon Battleship or the water dragon itself.

On the other hand, thunder magic has a wide range and can conduct through the water to reach other ships. Basically, it only makes sense to use Inazun over Merzoma with this many enemies.

Bolts of white lightning descended from the heavens, intertwining in midair before striking the Water Dragon Battleship. In addition to synchronizing my timing with Fran, I also calculated the precise spot to strike in order to maximize the damage output.

This was a feat made possible by the Data Processing and Arch-Sorcerer skills I acquired in Gordicia. The single spell cost me over 10,000 mana, but that’s no problem.

It was worth every last point.

The lightning storm writhed like a raging dragon, flashing as it collided with the Water Dragon Battleship’s wards. I could see the wards beginning to collapse.

Almost there!

We poured additional mana into our spell.

「Sink!」

『Oraaah!』