The Water Magician

Above, the cover of Ryo's Ice Wall Multi-layer Ice 50 Layers is stretched.

Countless icicles rain down upon it.

It was not just a single volley.

Over and over again.

Each time, tens of thousands of icicles fell.

"Like stars... a hundred launch pads? You're raining down ice from launch pads created with alchemy, truly the pinnacle of brute force," Ryo said, impressed.

"However, an ice cover that cannot be broken even by such brute force... And this isn't alchemy, is it? With pure water attribute magic, how can it withstand so much?"

Lord Rowan, still wrapped in frenzy, calmly analyzed Ryo's ice cover.

Just above, the rain of ice and the rebounding ice cover collided without pause, but the two water attribute magicians standing at the bow seemed to be chatting casually.

"More pressure is needed. Your highness, let the fleet commence magic cannon fire."

"Understood. Open fire."

Prince Kouri's command was transmitted to the entire fleet.

At that moment, only Abel noticed a slight change in Ryo's expression.

"Fire!"

The magic cannon fire unleashed from the two hundred ships of the fleet.

Neither Lord Rowan, who called for the bombardment, nor Prince Kouri believed the bombardment would succeed.

However, it was a fact that both the ice wall blocking the fleet and the ice cover protecting the skies were created and maintained by a single magician.

If that is the case, increasing the attack and applying pressure, ultimately leading to mana depletion, is a common tactic in magical combat.

The significance of the fleet's magic cannon fire lies there.

However... what is a common tactic?

That means it can be predicted by the opponent.

In this case, the opponent is Ryo.

"The Dynamic Steam Mine II has been deployed."

Not the usual Dynamic Steam Mine II created through water attribute magic, but the one prepared for the fight against Fan, made through alchemy.

It was slightly modified...

"Induced explosion? No, induced freeze? The moment it hits, it will freeze all the way back to the launch pad."

Ryo's muttering could only be heard by Abel beside him.

Of course, Abel didn't understand the meaning...

But he grasped the situation by witnessing the phenomenon.

The bombardment was executed from the alchemy tools set up for magic cannon fire on the sides of the Kouri fleet.

As it flew a bit, it froze.

From the frozen point... like a fire traveling along a fuse, or gasoline, the entire alchemy tool used for the firing also froze.

Every ship and every cannon that fired.

That scene was visible even from the bow of the flagship Faidoshin, where both fleets collided.

"Impossible..."

That voice belonged to Prince Kouri, perhaps.

"What in the world...?"

That voice belonged to Kavui Somaru, maybe.

"Terrifying..."

That voice belonged to Captain Ra Woo, perhaps.

"Kuha!"

The laugh that escaped involuntarily belonged to Lord Rowan.

"That was alchemy! When firing, my 'Moon' had to deviate from the line of fire... I assumed it couldn't be protected. My, my. When did such a trap get laid?"

"It is an immense honor to receive praise from Lord Rowan, the greatest alchemist in the imperial capital."

Ryo responded refreshingly to Lord Rowan's admiration.

When the trap he set operated perfectly and yielded perfect results, even someone like Ryo would feel joy.

"With this, I have sealed off half of the Darwei fleet's bombardment," Ryo said with a smile.

"Half?"

Abel tilted his head in confusion.

It appeared as though all magic cannon firing alchemy tools on the Darwei ships, except for the flagship Faidoshin that was colliding at the bow, had been destroyed.

"I destroyed those on our side, but the ones on the other side are still intact."

"Oh..."

Indeed, magic cannon firing alchemy tools were installed on both sides of the ship.

All those facing this side were obliterated, but those on the opposite side remained unharmed.

"I don't know if they can be moved, but..."

Ryo wasn't sure exactly how the alchemy tools were set up.

However, if they were like the ones used by Captain Ruyao and his team on the Green Villa Plain... while they might be significantly more powerful than those, it wouldn't be impossible to relocate them with time and manpower.