TGS - Chapter 182
Chapter 182: Spreading
Surinia City.
Several days had passed since the night of the ambush on the river. The Kasnians, having been dealt a painful blow, had retreated to the city opposite Surinia and were temporarily keeping their gates closed.
The results of this battle were outstanding.
According to the statistics, the warships destroyed accounted for one-third of the total Kasnian fleet. Some Kasnian sailors retreated by boat, while others swam to escape. The Solancian army captured five to six hundred prisoners of war from the water, and the number of those killed in action was countless.
In contrast, Solancia's casualties were minimal. The few sacrifices were soldiers who had launched the fire ships from the shore, killed by archers on the warships that got close to the bank. This was unavoidable.
The spoils of war were not plentiful. Perhaps because the Kasnian prince intended a swift assault on the city, the supplies carried on the warships were not abundant, leaving little of value to plunder.
The best spoils would have been the warships, but unfortunately, to ensure maximum damage, the catapults and fire ships were all aimed at destroying the vessels.
Most of the warships were damaged and sank. Only about ten could be recovered intact. They were mostly the ones blocked at the rear during the scramble to escape into the open water. Their oarsmen and archers abandoned ship and fled, which is how they were captured by the Solancian army.
In addition, the soldiers cleaning up the battlefield rescued one person from the scene.
It was Horst, the fugitive traitor whom the Kasnian prince had used as a threat.
It seemed Horst had originally been tied up in a small cabin on the royal warship.
When the situation suddenly changed, even though Kaimon realized he had been deceived, he had no time to vent his anger on this "hostage." During the retreat, the warship was severely damaged and about to sink. Kaimon hastily abandoned ship, with no time to take Horst with him—or perhaps he never even considered it.
In short, Horst had nearly gone down with the warship.
The reason it was "nearly" was because he was extremely lucky. The plank he was tied to floated on the water's surface, and he wasn't conspicuous among the many unlucky Kasnian soldiers clinging to planks.
Horst tried to use the opportunity to escape. After all, he knew full well that he would be a prisoner whether in Kasnie or Solancia.
Unfortunately, he did not succeed.
At that time, the Solancian soldiers who recognized the traitor escorted Horst before the Princess. Alyuin said with a faint smile, "What an unexpected surprise. Don't you think, Uncle?"
She then had Horst taken to the prison in Surinia City, forbade any visitors, and had him detained as a serious criminal. To this day, several days later, she has not paid him any further attention.
Taz was tactful enough not to ask about the matter, and neither did Romuer, although from his expression these past few days, it was clear he wanted to.
"Horst is terrified of death."
By the pond in the small garden, Alyuin leaned against the smooth, round stones of the bank, meticulously combing the silver-tailed mermaid's hair. It was the same silver as her true form's, with the cool smoothness unique to aquatic creatures. It was naturally straight without any need for care, and felt wonderful to the touch.
Alyuin was in a good mood, but when she mentioned her enemy, her voice couldn't help but take on a faint, mocking tone. "At a time like this, I can't spare the time to take him back to the royal city for trial. Let Horst stay in his cell and stew in his fear."
The long wait while imprisoned alone is far more torturous than any other method.
Lotus quite agreed with this.
Waiting is truly agonizing.
After all, the Solancian pantheon was also about to face a situation of passive waiting.
Ever since the strange premonition on the day of the divine battle, neither Lotus nor any of the other Solancian gods had experienced a similar sensation.
But the matter was still worthy of serious attention.
A few days ago, Lotus's true form and several of her companions had left Solancian territory and traveled to Kasnie's territorial waters, searching for the small island where the gods were said to reside in Kasnian myth and legend.
And just a moment ago, they had finally confirmed—
"The island is gone."
The silver mermaid said, unconsciously tapping her tail. Since her tail fin was completely submerged, the surface of the pond didn't splash, only showing traces of swirling water.
The sacred island of the Kasnian gods could not be perceived, could not be found.
This was very likely the work of Perseus, just like the last time she used her divine power to conceal the tracks of the Sanur army in the Xitings Mountains.
But unlike the previous situation, Lotus could not use things like sea mist or water vapor to indirectly ascertain the island's location, and neither could the other gods who controlled the forces of nature—because the mythical island did not exist in reality to begin with.
It was a product of myth, a fantastical land not anchored to the ocean.
Perseus had turned her hiding place into a completely isolated island.
Beside the River Goddess, the God of Wisdom proposed a possible theory:
"Looking on the bright side, Perseus probably knows her pantheon is doomed to lose and just wants to hide until the war is over."
"So we can't eliminate all the Kasnian gods, influencing the battlefield environment and letting the Kasnian mortals achieve victory on their own?"
On the silver mermaid's side, the Princess also said thoughtfully, "That one wants to turn the tables by relying on mortals?"
It was obvious Alyuin had no favorable impression of the Goddess of the Mind, not even wanting to say her name, referring to her only as "that one."
Lotus also wanted to believe that.
She had absolute faith in the Princess. If Perseus truly didn't intend to participate further in this war, the final result would inevitably be a crushing defeat for Kasnie. And according to the rules of divine war, the losing side would slowly fade away—along with the last of them, Perseus.
However, according to Murphy's Law, no matter how small the possibility of the worst-case scenario, it will always happen.
Plus, there was the standard flag raised when En spoke of the Creator God.
The silver mermaid's upper body leaned back slightly, resting the nape of her neck against Alyuin's palm as she closed her eyes.
"You're worried?"
the Princess asked.
While her consciousness directed her true form and the other gods to return, Lotus raised the silver mermaid's hand, placed it over Alyuin's wrist, and tapped it lightly.
The mermaid incarnation didn't have the red-gold bracelet, so she couldn't perform her habitual thinking gesture. She had to make do with the Princess instead.
"Indeed, I am worried."
Lotus considered for a moment, then decided not to hide the unease in her heart.
Alyuin lowered her gaze. "Whatever that one is doing now, it requires time. Otherwise, she wouldn't have hidden herself away."
"If I conquer Kasnie before she succeeds..."
The Princess's expression was serious. Lotus followed this hypothesis in her thoughts and immediately knew it wouldn't work.
Even if a civilization is defeated, the decline and dissipation of its gods takes time, a point evident from the current state of the Sanur pantheon.
Unless every single Kasnian human was killed—including innocent civilians, the elderly, women, and children, with none left behind—to extinguish the civilization in a short period, Perseus would not be interrupted, regardless of what she was plotting.
Lotus didn't say this outright, only saying, "Go at your own pace."
After a pause, she added half-jokingly, "When it comes to warfare, you are my teacher, Alyu."
A ripple moved through Alyuin's eyes. It felt as if she was about to lower her head for a passionate, lingering kiss, one that might lead to them tumbling into the pond, soaking their clothes.
But she only brushed her lips against the corner of Lotus's mouth, then pulled away and nuzzled her cheek.
"I'm going to handle the reports from the Bananna legion. We have to go out to battle again tomorrow."
Alyuin stood up. Her eyes held a reluctant longing, but her movements were as crisp and decisive as ever as she walked away.
Lotus remained in the pond.
She looked back, a little bewildered, and swished her fish tail.
She left in such a hurry. But it was wartime, after all. Even if she didn't have to appear in every single battle, large or small, she was still very busy. It wasn't easy to squeeze out even this little bit of time to relax.
The mermaid sank completely to the bottom of the pond. Her unfurled tail fin was like gauze, or perhaps snow-white silk, shimmering and glowing in concert with her spreading silver hair.
With the Princess gone, Lotus shifted more of her conscious focus to her true form, letting her shimmering incarnation blow bubbles unconsciously.
Not far from the pond, Alyuin's steps slowed.
She pressed a hand to her chest and sighed.
Getting too intimate wasn't good either.
Suppressing the restlessness was easy, but the discomfort was real.
Let the war come to an end soon. She had to wait until this was all over, and then wait for Lotus's festival to arrive. That would be the most ceremonial time.
For a period of time afterward, Solancia and Kasnie maintained a kind of delicate balance.
After suffering a major defeat, the Kasnian prince acted with greater caution and prudence, taking a more stable and steady approach. He garrisoned his troops in the largest city south of Surinia.
From time to time, soldiers from both sides would run into each other, resulting in small-scale skirmishes. The Kasnian army also tried to advance north in other directions, for example, toward the main city east of the Sun God's city, Yilulaila.
Naturally, they did not succeed. The Lord of Yilulaila, still vigorous in his old age, reacted in time and gave Kasnie no opportunity for a surprise attack.
Upon receiving the news, the Surinian garrison immediately dispatched troops to attack them from the rear. Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, the Kasnian army slipped away quickly. Neither side suffered significant losses.
As for the small-scale skirmishes, there were wins and losses on both sides. It was worth noting, however, that whenever the Solancian Princess was present, the Solancian army was invariably victorious.
She was like an ever-victorious royal banner.
And during this standoff, a new myth began to spread from Akhet.
Tainted by the faint scent of blood, the cavalry troop led by the Princess returned to Surinia City.
The common people stood by the roadside, watching the Princess ride her fine steed toward the city center.
Someone unconsciously began to hum a poem in a low voice, the words somewhat indistinct.
The person standing next to him asked, "What are you humming?"
"A hymn to the Goddess Alyuin."
This person turned pale with shock. "What blasphemy are you speaking? Her Majesty is Her Majesty! How can you casually bestow the title of a god upon her!"
The other person glared back. "How is Her Majesty not a god? Haven't you heard the poems sung by Fansipu? Her Majesty is the reincarnation of the War Goddess, sent specifically to help Solancia through this crisis."
Fansipu was the name of a famous bard.
In all sorts of folktales, bards were talented people with extraordinary abilities. This was not surprising, since most folktales were adapted and spread by them.
In any case, because of this characteristic, the Solancians didn't think there was anything wrong with bards running around spreading new myths during wartime.
What's more, this was a story about Her Majesty the Princess. The common people, reading the battle reports posted by the messengers, would exclaim that Her Majesty was truly worthy of being the favored one of the Goddess Lotus. There were also all sorts of strange rumors, such as the Princess having eaten a golden fig of victory, taken a day trip to the Kingdom of the Gods, or been appointed the heaven-ordained king by the King of the Gods... and so on and so forth, all of them fragmented rumors.
But when bards appeared in various places, singing and playing new stories with vivid detail, and swearing that this was a myth endorsed by the high priests—
These rumors, which embodied the hidden wishes of the people, were henceforth unified and gradually expanded upon.
It was a main god previously unknown to the people.
The god of war and power, reincarnated in the mortal world to face a crisis. Since she was the War Goddess, then Solancia, favored by the gods, would surely stand tall and never fall.
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