In the end, I only enchanted armor and shields until night. While I was taking a break to recover my mana, someone suddenly opened the entrance of the warehouse. It was the guy who talked with me when I arrived at the dungeon.
“Mister Cassius decided to change his plans. We received a call for assistance from the nearest port. Our own preparations aren’t completely ready yet, and we need to buy time for that and for reinforcements.”
That wasn’t what he talked about earlier, and this guy wasn’t supposed to be the type who would talk this much with me. Maybe Cassius told him to be nicer… Regardless, it looked like we had to do something tonight, probably under the cover of darkness to surprise the enemies. It made sense.
“All right.”
The captain furrowed his eyebrows when he heard that… to be honest, I didn’t like this since it was the opposite of what we talked about earlier. Still, I changed my mind a bit since I saw Cassius’ carriage heading to the port as well. He was planning to oversee his troops to make things go as planned on this attack. If something were to happen, he was planning to share the same fate.
The fleet in the port town had around thirty warships, but ten of them were getting ready to move at night. Was that because preparing all the others would take it too much? Or perhaps we couldn’t leave the port town without some proper defenses? If my guess was right, this conflict that we were going to intervene in was a big one and it was ongoing.
‘I need more information, but I bet I will be put to work immediately.’
The warships were big enough to fit fifty soldiers and a crew of ten to make the ship work properly. However, the one I got in only had the crew and ten or so guards. While I was thinking of what I should do, Cassius approached.
“This one will be used for support since we have more cannons here and they are of higher quality. However, it is still a good idea to enchant the cannon balls with the flames enchantment.”
“Is it? How are they going to work if monsters of the enemies are underwater?”
“They aren’t ordinary cannonballs. They had a surprise to the enemies inside of them.”
That made me squint my eyes… That was war. People would do anything to win, but I didn’t want to be on the side of people who would use things like chemical weapons. I wondered if I should just use the first chance to escape. I had gotten what I wanted, and while it was difficult to escape in the Ocean, it wouldn’t be impossible… The only downside was that everything would be dark, I would be surrounded by enemies on both sides and then I would be targeted by cannonballs too.
Before long, Cassius guided me to the storage area of the ship and then I found a bunch of boxes there with the cannonballs. I could smell something in the air that wasn’t gunpowder. It was probably what Cassius had mentioned to use against the enemies.
“We will need to surprise the enemies tonight, so you will have to enchant all the cannonballs here. In that box over there, you will find the mana potions to speed things up.”
I went to check the box and confirmed that it was filled with hundreds of mana potions. So, without wasting time, I began to work. I grabbed the cannonballs from a box and then enchanted them one after the other. Once the box was empty, I put them back carefully.
Before long, Cassius left and then only a pair of guards near the stairs that led to the outside were left. They were supposed to watch over me and make sure that I wouldn’t do anything suspicious. I had sensed some eyes while I was in the warehouse, but this time, they were being a lot less subtle.
‘I guess it makes sense that they wouldn’t trust me with their weaponry.’
I drank a mana potion and then felt my mana being filled in a couple of seconds. It seemed that despite being small, their quality was uncommon. They tasted a bit bitter, though.
You received 20 experience points.
You received 20 experience points.
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You received 20 experience points.
I had received quite a bit of experience today already. It was pretty good to be supported like that. Still, I couldn’t let those thoughts cloud my mind.
Before long, I could feel the ship moving, and then the tension increased. Everyone around knew that the future of their forces relied on how they would fare in this surprise attack. Still, something felt off in my head and I couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was for now.
It took a good hour for me to understand what was bothering me. I had read quite a lot of books about tactics at Rayner’s home, but I still lacked the practical knowledge to connect the knowledge fast enough.
‘The real issue is that we are launching a surprise attack on the sea… would that actually work? The people of the Aquarian kingdom probably never expected that this would happen. However, would that be enough to make them drop their guard and not have scouts?’
I had already checked with identification what those cannonballs were supposed to be, but I still couldn’t imagine the strategy fully.
Wildfire Cannonball (Uncommon)
Enchantment Slots: Flames (Adept) - Upon contact, the projectile will explode causing an area of effect fire damage.
Attack: 200
Magic Attack: 100
Durability: 30/30
The only thing that came to mind was that the oil would get on fire and burn for a while. Then again, there are all kinds of oils in a magic world… this could be one very useful against the Aquarians.
I couldn’t read their plans at all and that made me a bit anxious. Perhaps I should put my new toy in action before something happens and I can’t react to it. Still, a bit of faith in Cassius made me hesitate. Perhaps I shouldn’t be so hasty with my decisions. I could change the flow of the battle and made a lot of people search for me as well.
After a couple of hours, I decided to stretch my body a bit and use the excuse to move my legs as well. However, soon the guards stopped me when I tried to go to the deck.
“Mister Cassius is busy talking with the Captain. Is there anything that you want?”
“I just want to talk with him about what I should do when the battle starts and what I will have for dinner as well.”
The guards furrowed their eyebrows at my voice tone and my choice of words as well. They were tense, waiting for the battle while I was considering what I was going to have for supper.
“... Someone will bring something soon.”
It looked like they weren’t planning to leave just one of them to guard me. They were being cautious for whatever reason. Even though if I were planning to do something, it would be better to do it when I wasn’t in the open sea.
I returned to my place and resumed my work. I had assumed that Cassius would keep me informed, but maybe he changed his plans. Not like I could leak it to the enemies.
In the end, they didn’t send anyone with supper and after a couple of hours, I began to hear the sound of cannons in the distance. The guards put their bows in their hands, but it still looked like they were going to keep watching me.
Some guards went down to grab the boxes, but they left in a hurry to load the cannons. If I was going to do that, it had to be now. While I was thinking that, the world suddenly turned… I felt my body turning to the side and then the sound of a large impact echoed in the area.
In the next moment, I fell with my face on the floor of the storage. I got in up in a hurry and got ready to fight, only to see those guards getting as well and they looked even more confused than me.
The ship returned to its original stance and then went to the sides a bit and then, before long, a massive amount of water entered the room.
‘A giant wave hit us?’
The surprise attack failed… that much was clear. Still, it looked like the others had prepared for that. The guards left the place in a hurry. However, soon enough, another massive wave hit the ship and even more water got inside. I used my grappling crossbow to connect to the stairs while the waters and the guards passed by me.
The hook pulled me toward it and then I stabbed the wall with my short sword and then endured the impact of the wave for several seconds. Eventually, I had the chance to go up the stairs and see some people landing on the deck of the warship… I opened my eyes widely when I saw their appearance. They were Tritons.
Tritons had distinctive appearance influenced by their environment. Their skin typically varied in shades of blues, greens, or aquamarine, with a shimmering, slightly scaled texture that reflects light like fish scales, allowing them to blend into underwater surroundings.
Their features were striking, with elongated, webbed fingers and toes to aid in swimming, and small fins along their forearms, calves, and on the side of their heads. Many Tritons also possess gills along their necks or collarbones, enabling them to breathe underwater. Their eyes were large and luminous, in colors like deep sea green, silver, and coral pink, adapted to see in dim underwater light.
Triton hair from a distance looks like it mimics underwater plant life, often appearing as seaweed-like tendrils, vibrant and flowing in shades like silver, teal, or dark green. Some even have bioluminescent strands, especially if they hail from deeper ocean territories. Their overall physique is lithe and streamlined, built for swift, graceful movement through water, while their attire tends to be minimal or crafted from oceanic materials like shells, kelp, or coral, reinforcing their deep connection to the sea.
One of those guys suddenly swung their trident and then destroyed the sails of the ship. That was quite impressive since he did that with a single strike and they were twenty meters away from each other.
I looked around, and I didn’t find any signs of the other guards. I saw the boxes that the guards had brought around, but there were no signs of Cassius and the other guards. Before long, I heard the sound of cannons dangerously close to us.