The Water Magician

The next day.

The allied fleet was approaching a difficult sea area.

The continental side was a cliff, making it a region where coordination with ground forces was impossible.

"The crew seems unusually tense."

"Of course. Captain Ra Woo mentioned last night that this is a difficult sea area."

The relatively accustomed Tenth Ship was leading the fleet.

Right behind it was the flagship Rondark, with the Sujay Kingdom Navy, Earl Bashu's fleet, the Bosunta Kingdom Navy, and the Komakyuta Feudal Kingdom Navy following in that order, while the rear was occupied by the Duke Atinjo's Navy.

The ships were reportedly communicating through flag signals, though the two were not well-versed in this and couldn’t understand it well...

"It’s possible they are discussing the elimination of the dangerous swordsman on the Rondark."

"I think it’s more likely they’re discussing the elimination of the dangerous mage on the Rondark."

Ryo and Abel were able to joke like this because they completely trusted the leading Tenth Ship and the Rondark they were on.

At three in the afternoon, it seemed the allied fleet had finally passed the difficult area.

"Though there are many islands ahead and the continental side remains a cliff, there seems to be no danger of grounding."

Captain Gorik of the Rondark explained to the two.

"That’s good to hear."

"It seems even the well-trained crew of the Rondark is quite fatigued."

"They have been on high alert the whole time, after all."

Ryo felt relief, Abel was slightly concerned, and Captain Gorik chuckled.

It was then.

"Ship sighted ahead!"

A crew member shouted from the mast.

Simultaneously, a signal was sent from the leading Tenth Ship to the following ships, including the Rondark.

"According to reports from the Tenth Ship, there’s a high possibility it’s the Darwei fleet."

"How many?"

"Number unknown."

"Understood."

Captain Gorik said this before running to the bow and starting to look through a telescope.

"They’ve made their move."

"After we’ve exhausted ourselves passing through the difficult area, and with no coordination with land forces, they’ve hidden their ship in the shadow of an island ahead. This was calculated quite well."

Neither Ryo nor Abel were panicking.

After all, they were on a ship, and there was nothing they could do.

"Lord Protector Kavui Somaru is with the Tenth Ship, right?"

"Yes. Today, it’s clear the Tenth Ship will lead, and as the commander, he mentioned this morning that he would be on board there."

"Could it be… that he anticipated this ambush…?"

"That’s a possibility…"

There was a chance he hadn’t mentioned it to avoid stirring up anxiety.

After all, it was best if no ambush occurred.

"After all, he is the invincible admiral of the Archipelago Sea Region."

"After hearing from Captain Ra Woo, perhaps he determined that if an ambush were to occur, it would be here. If that’s the case, that’s impressive."

"If Abel is going to conquer the seven seas leading the Kingdom Navy, he needs to be at this level."

"Yeah, I’m good. I’ll leave it to the experts."

"What a lack of ambition..."

Ryo shrugged exaggeratedly, although it was true that if Abel suddenly declared his intention to pursue world domination now, it would be troublesome.

Well, it seemed unlikely.

"Report from the Tenth Ship! Approximately two hundred ships confirmed, flagship of the Kouri princely residence, Faidoshin. The flags raised are the Darwei national flag and the Kouri princely flag."

"Does that mean Prince Kouri himself has come here instead of on land?"

Captain Ra Woo exclaimed in surprise at the report, unintentionally voicing his thoughts.

Ryo and Abel, who had come to the bow and were looking through the telescope, also heard the report and his musings.

"They had previously reported not detecting the Darwei fleet, but somehow the enemy’s leader has boarded and is coming for us."

"The Darwei ships, which have artillery capabilities and high defensive abilities with their barriers, are quite strong. Even though we have Earl Bashu's fleet, most of their ships are other nations' vessels focused on boarding battles, so perhaps they thought it would be easy to take them down."