Two days later, I arrived at the port town that was our destination. The place was surrounded by a large army of guards and soldiers ready to defend the place. There were a bunch of warships ready to be used as well, but they could only transport so many people.
Even from a distance, I could see that many ships still retained wooden hulls reinforced with metal plates, especially ironclads. Their sleek, elongated profiles were designed for increased speed and maneuverability.
It also looked like most warships were equipped with both steam engines and traditional sails. Large masts and rigging dominated their silhouettes, giving them a hybrid look. Ships can alternate between steam power and wind to conserve coal or boost speed. Or so I thought. Perhaps they used the same kind of engine as the trains, the kind that used mana cores and magical implements.
I wondered how they would fare against underwater attacks, but they probably were reinforced to deal with that. Still, considering what I had heard, the human side lost the first few conflicts since they had a hard time counter-attacking.
Putting that aside, the port town was also a mix of wood and stone buildings. The place didn’t look that sturdy, since it was new. It was probably built in the decades after the alliance between the Aquarian kingdom and the Bastion Empire started. A lot of people were coming and going. They were in a hurry preparing for the war. That place had the port at the beach, but there were also houses further inland… this place was also the home of a lot of people.
We got inside the town and I recalled what Cassius told me earlier… it might change according to the flow of battle, but I might have to stay close to the frontline enchanting items while we remain in the town or I might have to head to a ship in order to chase away the underwater warriors.
‘It is hard to imagine how this war will end… a truce? If either side shows any weakness, the other will take advantage of the chaos. I don’t think that the people of the Aquarian kingdom will back down that easily. They either lost someone important in those kidnappings, or they lost a lot of people, enough to make them think that starting a war was acceptable.’
Eventually, the carriage arrived in what appeared to be a large warehouse… there were some guards standing around the place, so I guessed that it was for weapons and other things that they would need for the war.
“Open the warehouse. I brought a crafter that will supply us with the gear that we will need.”
Cassius looked at the guards, and they readily nodded and opened the entrance. It was my cue to leave, apparently.
“There should be a lot of armor and shields there that need enchantment. There should be a lot of mana cores there too. You can use them freely. If we need to change our strategy, I will send an order to you to use other enchantments or gear.”
I nodded and then left the carriage… I was supposed to enchant items against water and ice attacks. Easy enough, but I wondered why I wasn’t supposed to use the mana drain enchantment. Well, that one required three slots, so perhaps there wasn’t much Epic gear there… there was also the fact that hiding one’s best weapon was a common tactic for war.
Regardless, as soon as I appeared in front of the guards, they showed that famous look that I had gotten used to. A mix of suspicion, confusion, and a bit of disgust. I could tell that they didn’t want to use the gear that I would enchant fearing some kind of disease. I didn’t sweat that much as a half-vampire and I cleaned myself when I had the chance at night, so I wasn’t smelly. Their fear was entirely unfounded.
I ignored them and then got inside the warehouse… the place was filled with boxes filled with all kinds of gear. I wondered if that was Cassius’ personal weaponry or if it belonged to the Moredall family. Still, it was clear that the place had hundreds of Ignis coins worth of products.
At first, I believed that the nobility only used dungeons as a way to grow their strength, focusing solely on gaining skills, leveling up, and getting their classes. But now, I could see that this was only part of the picture. The materials found within dungeons were incredibly valuable as well, providing rare resources that were otherwise hard to come by.
These materials could be crafted into powerful weapons, refined into magical potions, or traded for a fortune. Skills and classes were only half of what dungeons offered; the hidden wealth of materials within could be just as significant to those who knew how to use them.
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‘Let’s hope that I will just stay here the whole time and not have to worry about anything.’
I looked for the armor that needed enchantments and for the mana cores as well. I found them close to each other, so it made me wonder if Cassius had sent the message beforehand about me. I wondered who he would have hired if I hadn’t accepted the offer.
‘Oh, boy… this won’t work.’
I thought that I would gain a lot of experience and level up my enchanting skills for the next level, but it looked like this wouldn’t be easy. All the armor I found was off the uncommon rank. They were all mass-produced things, so I shouldn’t have expected more, but… I guessed that a few Terra coins were how much the high ops wanted to invest in the defenses of those bleeding out in the front lines.
Regardless, I had come to enchant items, no matter the conditions, so I began to work on them.
You received 20 experience points.
Iron Armor (Uncommon)
Enchantment Slots 01: Aquatic Resistance (Adept) – Decreases the damage of water-related attacks by forty points.
Defense: 20
Durability: 30/30
It was basically trash in my eyes, but it was something that was giving me experience safely, so I didn’t have to care that much. I continued my work and when I ran out of mana, I began to meditate. While I was doing that, I wondered what would happen if I used the Mana Drain enchantment on defensive gear. It seemed like something fun to test, but I couldn’t just make such experiments with tools that weren’t mine.
… …
While Regulus was working on the warehouse, Cassius finished reading the reports about the start of the conflicts and he couldn’t help but stare at the papers with a dark expression on his face.
“This is really bad…”
Before long, someone knocked on the door and then opened it without waiting for a reply. It was a relatively short and slim soldier, fully armored, who bowed at him before removing their helmets, which showed the face of a young woman who had short black hair and light brown eyes.
“Sir, the preparations are going as scheduled, but it looks like the other ports won’t last as long.”
“Cut the sir nonsense… that is what happens when a strong maritime force decides to focus their attack on a single spot. Stupid bastards… they can’t let the empire advance in peace without doing anything stupid. We should have waited a few more years.”
The woman didn’t say anything. She tried to keep her demeanor neutral, but she also thought along the same lines as Cassius. Because some stupid people had way too many people that they didn’t deserve, now those who were more talented had to work hard to clean the mess.
“What about the other lords?”
“They aren’t planning to take any chances and weaken the defenses of the ports that they are defending. I heard that Lord Rayner is marching south with a large army to help protect the ports, but I am not sure if they will arrive in time.”
“The closest port to their direction is… maybe this won’t be so bad. He has been working a lot in recent years to make up for the blond that he did more than twenty years ago, after all. Still, even if he pulls off, they will only switch their targets. This will be us… either way, we will have to fight in two or in four days in the best-case scenario.”
The woman nodded… the situation was really dire and there wasn’t much that they could do… they had to split their forces to defend all ports, they were clearly in a bad position given that the Aquarian kingdom could attack anywhere with all of their forces.
A single idea began to form in Cassius’ mind… as usual, the Leviathan clan was taking their time joining the war since they were a bunch of crazy people who couldn’t work together. Those who can control those massive monsters rarely think that they need to cooperate with others. Still, that was a good opportunity for them.
“How are things in the warehouse?”
“The guards said that he is working properly.”
“He didn’t try to steal anything? He is either just a kid or perhaps he knows that he is being watched.”
“Couldn’t he just be honorable? If he were that worried or greedy for money, he wouldn’t have refused his offers for so long.”
“I don’t believe that someone honorable would look like that… perhaps we can use his skills to surprise the enemies, but we will have to wait for a bit until his skills improve a bit or the enemies make a stupid move. This might be a bit expensive, after all, but if we pull it off, we will get enough fame that will bring us a lot of money.”
Cassius showed an evil grin while the woman furrowed her eyebrows. It was clear that she didn’t like whatever Cassius was planning, but she knew that in times like this, one needs to do what was necessary to win wars. She was a warrior. She didn’t like underhanded tactics, but between seeing her allies dying and fighting without honor, her choice was easily made.
“What about the situation in the capital?”
“I didn’t hear anything about it. They aren’t making any moves or sending help.”
“I can’t believe the emperor is letting them do that… is he bl-...”
Cassius smacked the table in front of him, making a bunch of pieces of paper fly in all directions. If they weren’t going to help, at least he was sure that they would be there to execute all the heads that were leading the defenses of the coast. Maybe that was their plan all along…
After thinking for a moment, Cassius had another idea… given what had happened so far, the underwater warriors wouldn’t see that coming and if things played out, he wouldn’t have to lose many troops. Another grin spread around his face.
“Prepare some ships to head East… we will help our neighbors in this conflict.”