CHAPTER 816

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October 25, 1805.

Five days have passed since Zipfel received a declaration of war from the Red Plutonian tribe. The position of the Vamel Alliance had been communicated to the whole world, and the only remaining task was to verify whether the Red Plutonian tribe would keep their promise.

Naturally, not only Zipfel, as they were potential targets of the Red Plutonian tribe's invasion, but all the major powers were closely monitoring the situation.

Especially, the Vamel Alliance had divided their infiltration team into five groups to infiltrate the federal territory, in accordance with Zipfel's 1st-class Magic Towers.

"It's truly remarkable," Mary said. She, along with Yona and Tona brothers, was stationed near the 1st-class Magic Tower of the Listin autonomous district.

"You're right, elder sister. Just how many battleships are there for each 1st-class Magic Tower? If there are this many battleships stationed at all 1st-class Magic Towers, their production capacity must be many times greater than during the Evil God War."

"Even if we estimate conservatively, it must be over a hundred battleships. And with around fifty battleships stationed at each 2nd-class Magic Tower, their production capacity is beyond any normal understanding. There must be places like the Sota Desert under the ground shipyards to support such production."

"Hehe, the lights from the fleets are beautiful, Mary unnie. It feels like looking at a sky full of stars on a starry night."

"Those are our enemies, elder sister Yona. It's not appropriate to appreciate them like that."

"What do you mean? Say that again, hehe."

"Haha, never mind."

"Yona, Haytona is right."

"If Mary unnie says so, then I guess it's true, hehe. Okay, I'll see them in a bad way. When I see them again, I'll find them overly flamboyant and annoying."

"Sure, sure. You're such a good girl, Yona. And since Tona brothers are flagbearers, should you ignore them like that in front of others?"

"Yes, I'll treat them well!"

The Tona brothers secretly swallowed tears and smiled awkwardly. Despite becoming heroes of the clan and the world after the Evil God War, their treatment from their siblings hadn't changed much.

In truth, Yona was just playing mischievous pranks on them, and Mary admired how they didn't let the fame get to their heads and remained down-to-earth.

"But seriously, do you think the Red Plutonian tribe can easily take down those magic towers, elder sister? There seem to be countless mages of Spectre corp and ghost division on par with transcendent beings inside the Magic Towers."

"That's why we're here to find out. Especially since this 1st-class Magic Tower is the farthest from residential areas, it's likely to be their primary target. They'll attack without any restraints."

From the perspective of the Vamel Alliance, the best-case scenario would be for Zipfel to retaliate with an equal force after their invasion.

The more significant losses both sides suffered, the greater the benefits for the Vamel Alliance.

"If Zipfel keeps suffering defeats like this, then we might end up changing our enemies, from Zipfel to the Red Plutonian tribe."

"That's possible, but it's more likely that they will suddenly form an alliance at some point. They've already been known to form alliances with the remnants of the imperial family, so there's no law that says they won't increase their alliances when pushed into a corner."

"Unless the youngest's brethren are liberated from Laprarosa, that scenario seems really difficult. Well, let's prepare the meal for now."

As the Tona brothers were about to enter the pit they had prepared in advance, Mary suddenly pointed to the sky.

"Stop moving! It looks like it's starting. A dimensional portal has opened in the sky."

"What on earth is that huge thing?"

"Heh? It's beautiful, it feels like looking at the Milky Way sinking down all at once!"

"But they are also our enemies, elder sister Yona."

The dimensional portal that appeared before them was much larger than what anyone who had experienced the Red Plutonian tribe's dimensional portals, including Jin, had seen before.

At a glance, it seemed that about five hundred battleships could easily emerge from the space opening in the sky.

The location was directly above the 1st-class Magic Tower of Listin.

Mary and her group naturally thought that a massive fleet would come out of that dimensional portal. Since the Magic Towers were fully operational, they expected an immediate aerial battle to commence.

"What is that?"

However, what came out of the portal was something so colossal that it could not be simply called a single battleship.

"Is that the aerial fortress that Ms. Ameris mentioned...!"

In ancient times, the power of each faction was evaluated not by their fleet but by the number of aerial fortresses they possessed.

Among them, the Red Plutonian tribe had the most aerial fortresses. There were a total of six, including the five overseen by the Great Battle Kings and one exclusive aerial fortress operated by the Battle God.

One of them was now looming over the Listin's Magic Tower, exuding an imposing presence. Its name was Oos, the aerial fortress operated by the Great Battle King Gaila of the Usrok Castle.

"It's not on the level of the Evil God's Ram, but it's terrifying... Can't they easily take care of a 1st-class Magic Tower with that alone?"

Bang, roar...!

As soon as the aerial fortress Oos appeared, the Zipfel fleet began its bombardment. A protective barrier formed over the entire Magic tower, and the waiting mages unleashed their mana and performed link magic spells.

Even those known as Transcendents would have to risk their lives to break through with a single breath of such firepower.

Mary and her group lay flat on the ground, closely observing Zipfel's response. Even though they were 2.5km away, the heat radiating from the Magic tower was making the wind scorching hot.

"The 1st-class Magic Tower's firepower is even more exceptional than we expected, elder sister."

"The problem is that it seems to have no effect on that aerial fortress from the looks of it. Already from the beginning."

Tona swallowed his dry spit and spoke. As he said, the bombardment and magic pouring out from the Listin's Magic tower were completely ineffective against Oos.

"Full fleet! Increase the power to the maximum. The mages of Spectre Corps and Ghost corps should disengage from the linkage magic formation and prepare to infiltrate the enemy ships!"

The tower master swung his staff and shouted. The mages of Spectre Corps and Ghost corps followed his orders and mounted the dragons, but as they got closer, they only confirmed that the protective shield was still intact.

In other words, the Magic tower was pouring all its power while the aerial fortress appeared, but it posed no threat to the Red Plutonian tribe at all.

Moreover, Oos had not launched a single attack yet. It was simply floating there, seemingly flaunting the gap in power.

{I will give you a chance to surrender. Those who do not wish to fight, raise your hands and come out of the Magic tower. A white flare signal will be considered a sign of surrender, so the commanders of each battleship must decide to surrender within one minute.}

The voice of Great Battle King Gaila echoed throughout the vicinity of the Magic tower.

{Our Red Plutonian tribe always keeps its promises. Those who surrender will be treated as civilians.}

The dragons carrying the mages of Spectre Corps and Ghost corps were unable to approach Oos properly. Only once, they barely touched the bottom of the protective shield, but the spikes that emerged from it pierced through the dragon's body. It was evidently impossible to infiltrate Oos using dragons and battleships.

It seemed that only individuals with the power to tear through the shield alone could infiltrate.

"Tower Master, we need to retreat."

After returning to the Magic tower, the mages of Spectre Corps and Ghost corps proposed retreat to Tower Master. They realized that with the power of only a 1st-class Magic Tower, they couldn't even engage in 'combat' with the aerial fortress.

It was like a battle between a young child and an armed knight.

The disparity between the 1st-class Magic Tower and the aerial fortress was beyond comparison. If it were the Red Fleet that attacked the 2nd-class Magic Tower a while ago, they might have had some chance, but the aerial fortress was an entirely different thing.

Tower Master immediately accepted the suggestion of the mages. The mages who said to retreat were the survivors of the 2nd-class magic tower attack.

"Damn it...!"

Tower Master cursed and fired a retreat signal flare. Similar flares were fired from various points in the fleet.

{If you want to live, you should have fired the white signal flare as I said, you fools.}

Immediately after Gaila's words, the lower part of Oos opened. The Zipfel fleet turned around, and Tower Master, along with the mages of Spectre Corps and Ghost corps, was already boarding small ships and taking off.

The only remaining goal for the Listin's Magic tower was to survive and report the power of the aerial fortress to the higher-ups.

Gaila had no intention of allowing even that.

"Compatriot Shimat, fire."

Gaila poured blood into a glass jar as he spoke. He could see humans futilely fleeing beyond the bridge.

"Compatriot Gaila, I think it's better to acquire and analyze some of the Magic tower rather than completely destroying it."

"At first glance, it looks like a structure built with inferior technology. Is there really a need to go to such lengths?"

"We have to. Even if it's inferior technology, there may be elements that can threaten us. What was the price we paid for underestimating Jin Runcandel and the Vamel Alliance?"

"Hmm... Alright, if that's what Compatriot Shimat wants, then so be it. Let's destroy the Magic tower to a certain extent and retrieve what we need. Everything else must be eradicated. This time, we'll only take those who survived the bombardment aftermath."

"Understood!"

A massive red sphere formed in the lower part of Oos. Just its presence caused the space around the Magic tower to distort, and some mages and dragons were pulled into the sphere and disappeared without a trace.

Like a watermelon being smashed, the Magic tower was breaking into pieces. The shattered fragments were being absorbed into the upper part of Oos.

Soon after the Magic tower was retrieved, Oos fired its main cannon, and it was not a simple straight shot. It was a column-shaped projectile that turned the area into scorched earth, with tentacle-like beams emanating from it, covering the fleeing Zipfel forces.

The personnel fleeing from the Magic tower could do nothing but be massacred by the barrage. They didn't even have a chance to resist.

Watching this scene, Mary and her group couldn't help but shudder.

"...The Red Plutonian tribe probably didn't only attack this place today. I wonder how the situation is on the other side. But if every battle is like this, there's no hope for Zipfel."

The power and devastation displayed by the aerial fortress Oos were awe-inspiring and overwhelming. It made it clear that facing the Red Plutonian tribe's forces head-on would be a daunting task.

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