TGS - Chapter 180
Chapter 180: The Plan Succeeds
Night had fallen.
A gray-black rat slipped out of Surinia along the base of the wall, sniffing left and right. It was no different from any ordinary rat, and unless one looked very closely, no one would have noticed the small paper tube wrapped around its thin leg—a tube carrying a message that could influence an entire battle.
The distance the Beast God's shadow had to run was much shorter than before.
This was because the Kasnie fleet had already advanced near the City of the Sun God, occupying the closest city with little effort.
Separated by the river, they faced each other from a distance.
Kaimon took the secret message and watched the rat turn and run away, not stopping it.
It was a spiritual animal sent by the Goddess Perseus, one that came and went without a trace. Whenever it was needed, one had only to call, and the rat would emerge from some unknown corner to carry out its mission as a messenger.
Unfurling the paper, he saw Romuer's slightly messy handwriting.
The letter stated that the Solancian army would secretly leave the city the following night to set an ambush on the southern waterway. The entire army would pour out, coordinating by land and water to launch a surprise attack on the Kasnie fleet.
Seeing the simple description, Kaimon's expression darkened.
The reason was simple. He had indeed planned to attack the City of the Sun God from the south, as it was the most suitable route and would yield the best results with the least effort.
But if the enemy had set an ambush on this route in advance, even if it didn't result in heavy losses, the battle would become much trickier.
The Solancian Princess was truly a difficult opponent, to be able to predict Kasnie's next move. A pity she hadn't anticipated that her own side had a devoted son so intent on saving his father.
This, Kaimon found very interesting.
Now, Kaimon no longer had any doubts about Romuer's message.
One reason was that Romuer had recently sent intelligence detailing the transport route for Solancia's provisions. Kaimon, though skeptical, had dispatched troops to intercept the supplies. They had actually succeeded, bringing back two carts of grain.
Compared to the provisions required for a marching army, this amount was but a drop in the bucket. Still, it was the first batch of supplies seized from the Solancian Princess. Its symbolic meaning was what mattered, and it could be shown to the soldiers to boost their morale.
If the Solancian officer hadn't acted decisively, setting fire to the connected supply carts and choosing to destroy everything rather than leave it for the enemy, the Kasnie infantry would surely have seized far more. It was a supply delivery right to their doorstep.
After this, Romuer sent no other messages, but he did demand that Kaimon have Horst write a line or two in the reply to prove that his father was still alive.
The wording was urgent, even a bit disrespectful, which paradoxically put Kaimon at ease. The more Romuer cared for his father's safety, the more reliable his information would be.
So, Kaimon had Horst write words of pleading and gratitude, which he attached to the reply sent to Romuer.
And to Horst's older brother, Taz.
Although Romuer claimed that Taz, like everyone else, didn't care if Horst lived or died, Kaimon believed he had seen through to the truth behind it—
Taz likely wanted to save his younger brother as well, but dared not act openly under the Princess's watchful eye. So, he must have secretly leaked classified information to his nephew, using Romuer as a conduit. Otherwise, how could a powerless former Crown Prince know so much?
Perhaps Kaimon was not an obstinate or self-willed person, nor would he easily trust appearances.
However, until the final act, who could guess whether the scenes playing out before them were mere performance or reality?
Finally, Romuer sent a truly important piece of information.
As the Kasnie fleet approached, security in Surinia tightened, making the rat the only means of passing secret messages. The other spies planted in the city were unreachable, leaving no way to verify the information. Yet Kaimon was already convinced it was true.
Thus, the Kasnie prince urgently convened a military council. After some discussion, they finalized the plan for the following night.
"While the Solancians are out of the city and the defending forces are insufficient—" Kaimon's finger traced the black line representing the river on the map, moving from the city they currently held northward to Surinia.
"We will follow this route and concentrate our attack on this point. Keli, you will lead the infantry regiment south to block the Solancians from reinforcing. The rest of you will attack the city with me."
The Kasnie generals replied in unison: "Yes, Your Highness!"
The following evening, the Kasnie fleet dispatched ten warships to patrol the southern waterway, a feint to deceive the Solancian army and delay their return.
Meanwhile, the main body of the fleet sailed toward Surinia along another tributary.
High ground on the side blocked the view, so the city's defenders probably wouldn't notice until the fleet was right in front of Surinia.
The view suddenly opened up as the fleet entered a vast expanse of water. Here, the river was broad and the current tranquil. Under the moonlight, the water's surface resembled a long, turquoise lake, reflecting the moon and stars.
This was the Yilu River at its most serene and beautiful.
Kasnie had no such river. Its steep mountains were the source of many waterways, but they also cut them into short, rapid streams with significant drops. There were, however, many waterfalls.
But in Kasnie, rivers were never associated with tranquility or grandeur. According to their mythology, every little river and stream had its own god, a vassal to the mountain god. These streams were hurried, cheerful, and reckless—never quiet.
Solancia's Yilu River was different.
This difference had long since shattered the Kasnians' perceptions, and at this moment, they witnessed it truly once again.
Even for those who had no appreciation for beautiful scenery, their gazes couldn't help but linger for a moment on such a sight.
The next instant, everything changed.
Huge, naturally sharp boulders fell from somewhere unknown, smashing violently onto the ships.
Outside Surinia was the largest quarry on the continent.
In other words, it was rich in stone.
If nothing else, the raw materials were plentiful.
No matter how sturdy the ships were, they couldn't defend against boulders enhanced by gravity and momentum, especially since the warships were made of wood.
Relative to the hulls, the boulders were still too small to sink a ship in one hit. But as more and more of them fell, the situation became dire.
The sharp rams, excellent carrying capacity, and maneuverability that the Kasnie warships prided themselves on could not help them evade the stones falling from the sky.
Yes, the warships were deadly, but only on the condition that there were enemies to kill.
On the Yilu River, churned up by the fleet and the boulders, there were no enemy ships to ram.
The archers on board were useless, as no enemy troops could be seen on either bank. Even if there were, they would be beyond the archers' range.
Kaimon watched a nearby warship get smashed to pieces and slowly sink, his eyes inevitably filling with agitated shock and anger.
"Full speed ahead!" he signaled to the ships behind him.
Whatever could hurl such large boulders this far must be massive, cumbersome catapults, which were not easy to move.
Since they appeared here, it meant that Romuer's message was false from the start. The Solancians had already set up an ambush on the high ground—
No matter. As long as they sped through this stretch of water, the Solancians could only watch helplessly. Their fleet was numerous enough to withstand a few moments of losses.
Once they reached the city, it would be the Solancian soldiers facing a desperate situation!
However, things did not go as planned. Just as the oarsmen were rowing with all their might, trying to rush through the waters, ghostly boats drifted out from the shore.
These boats were small and inconspicuous in the darkness. Even if someone noticed them, they would only assume they were small boats left behind by fishermen.
But now, they were laden with flammable materials and charged into the fleet's formation, avoiding the sharp rams by approaching from the side. Although the warships were maneuverable enough to adjust their angle and ram them, the time lag was all that was needed.
Flaming arrows shot through the air, their targets not the warships, but those small boats.
It took almost no time for the sparks to become a raging inferno.
The flames spread from the small boats to the warships. Even with fireproofing measures like coverings of raw cowhide, it was difficult to protect everything. The warships that hadn't been fireproofed were now in peril.
Under the dual threat, the Kasnie soldiers panicked. Men continuously jumped from the sinking warships to escape, while the soldiers on other ships, despite Prince Kaimon's authority and the deterrent of his past cruelties, couldn't suppress their uneasy clamor.
"Retreat! Retreat now!"
Kaimon ordered decisively.
But this stretch of water was too wide.
The waterway they had come from was, by comparison, so narrow. The Kasnie fleet was like fish that had swum into a pot-bellied vase, scrambling to get out of the opening. They even started "infighting"—in the chaos, the warships' rams pierced the hulls of many of their own ships.
Kaimon had never imagined that the Solancian Princess could inflict such heavy losses on the Kasnie fleet without even showing her face.
What made him feel even more powerless was that, even now, Kaimon couldn't be sure whether Romuer had been deceiving him from the start, or if Alyuin had known of Romuer's betrayal and used it to feed him false intelligence.
Few people had ever been able to deceive him, ever since he was a child.
And the goddess, the Goddess Perseus's oracle, how could it also…
The current situation didn't allow him to think too much. Kaimon gritted his teeth and waved his command flag, trying to direct the chaotic fleet.
He almost succeeded.
At the same time, the relentless boulders rained down like a stone storm.
One of the stones went slightly astray. It didn't hit a part of the hull that would cause more damage, but instead struck the decorative Kasnie royal crest, leaving the pattern broken and flattened, looking slightly comical.
More stones followed, and under their relentless efforts, the warship began to capsize.
At the last moment, Kaimon leaped from the ship.
He clenched his jaw, his eyes bloodshot, and hatefully squeezed that name from between his teeth.
"—Alyuin!"
The human warriors did their utmost, unleashing the flames of anger and hatred.
This was a great victory that had been a foregone conclusion since yesterday.
And among the gods, another round of divine battle stirred the waves.
The Sheep God could not fight, but she was clearly a very competent healer. The Sun God, who had been injured in the battle with the Kasnie mountain god, had already recovered. He stood beside Anmila, rubbing his fists, eager to settle the score.
Unfortunately, Adia was too heavily injured. The Goddess of the Mind's divine art that deprived her of her senses could not be undone, so she had to remain in her temple on the floating island, falling into a deep sleep to heal her wounds.
Lotus had asked Emute to pass on a method for her to stay conscious and guide her own healing, but she didn't know if it would be of any use.
In any case, at the scene of the divine battle, it was seven against three.
Although numbers didn't necessarily represent greater strength, even individually, the Solancian gods were as powerful as, or even stronger than, a single Kasnie god.
Logically, the outcome of this divine battle should be as certain as the mortal one.
Yet Lotus felt an indescribable sense of unease.
Gods could not predict the future, but they sometimes had a vague premonition about matters concerning themselves.
Lotus didn't know if her companions felt the same. She tilted her head slightly; every major god beside her wore a solemn expression, clearly not underestimating their enemy.
And opposite the Solancian pantheon, Perseus raised her eyes, her lips curved in her usual smile.
Rocks burst forth, and the howls of beasts echoed through the illusory mountains and rivers of the battlefield space.
The Kasnie pantheon made the first move.
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