Riding the sea breeze, on a clear morning, the ships docked around the military port left the coast one after another.
Thousands of warships were densely packed in the sea, and each ship had hundreds of soldiers.
Supply, patrol, escort... almost all of them moved, leaving no spare energy.
Following a simple and straight line, the Athenian navy went straight all the way.
According to the current progress, it would normally take more than a month to reach the expected location, but it only took half a month to approach the target location.
After all, there is no need for prior reconnaissance, no need to guard against enemy sneak attacks, and no need to move forward on a waterway with a more suitable environment.
Then the straight line between two points is the shortest, and the extra time originally spent is naturally saved.
However, despite the rapid advance, the entire fleet was not happy.
On the contrary, from top to bottom, the entire army was filled with a somewhat pessimistic mood.
Because during the voyage for more than half a month, any soldier with a little common sense realized that something was wrong.
After all, sailing in a straight line on an unfamiliar route like this was something they had never encountered before.
For a time, all kinds of rumors spread among the middle and lower levels of the fleet.
No one likes a leader who is airborne, and even less likes a leader who is airborne and commands without regard for the facts.
These two things will be further magnified in the military. When it comes to matters involving their own lives, no one wants their lives to be treated as a joke of trial and error.
However, no matter how the public opinion spreads, as the core of the discussion, Ryan has never responded.
...
Dongdongdong-
outside the door of the flagship command room, there was a rhythmic knock on the door.
Without raising his head, Ryan said lightly:
"The door is not locked, please come in."
Creak-
the door opened in response, and a middle-aged general in military uniform walked in.
Looking at Ryan who was writing and drawing something at the table, Kemon's expression was a bit complicated.
"Sir Ivan, I came here today to clarify something with you."
"I didn't spread the rumors within the fleet."
"Although I have reservations about your choice, no matter what, as long as you are still the commander trusted by His Majesty, I will never use such despicable means to attack you."
The voice was sonorous and powerful, and the general's tone was very sincere.
But if it were someone else, it would still be difficult to believe what he said.
After all, suspicion always exists, especially for a commander who temporarily takes over the army.
But Ryan can be sure that what the other party said is indeed true.
"I know, General Kemon, I believe in your character."
"Then do you have anything else to say?"
"..."
After a slight silence, the middle-aged general did not expect Ryan's answer to be so straightforward.
He didn't know if Ryan really believed it, but he could only treat it as such now.
"Besides that, I apologize to you for some of my doubts before."
"It turns out that although this is an unverified route, and storms and huge waves are often recorded, we did make it all the way safely."
"Excluding unexpected factors, at least your attainments in meteorology are beyond my expectations."
"We successfully approached the target location you set in advance. This is a mistake in my judgment - but for the other parts, we still need to face them."
"For example, now we don't know where the enemy's main force is, and once we reach the opponent's territorial waters first, our existence will be exposed to others."
According to the various plans that Kemon had made before, Athens' best response was mostly to face the incoming enemy in the sea area it was familiar with.
With the advantage of geographical location and the difference in information, it is possible to block the harassment of the maritime countries.
But now with Ryan's order, the entire fleet went straight in, from the route that was not suitable for ships to sail directly into the enemy's hinterland, and the situation was completely reversed.
Using one's own shortcomings to attack the enemy's strengths was also the biggest factor that Kemon opposed before.
"General, these things are not for you to consider."
"According to my judgment, when we arrive, the main force of the enemy will appear there."
"And what you need to do is to execute my orders at that time."
Ryan spoke lightly, his expression calm and self-assured.
For a moment, Kemon was not sure whether he was really too ignorant to see the slightest clue of how Ryan came to the conclusion.
"It's a coincidence, General Kemon, I also had something to talk to you about today."
"Regarding our military's communication system, I want to make a simple change."
"The specific change method is here, please remember it."
Reaching out and pushing, Ryan pushed what he was just writing to the opposite side.
Kemon took it and looked at it carefully.
Thanks to the trade with Silver Moon City, the fleets of the classical era have established a very advanced communication method, and no longer need to use flags to communicate with each other.
However, as he read through what Ryan had written bit by bit, Kemon's face changed again.
"Is this... a new order?"
"Yes, this will help you receive my orders quickly."
"I have numbered each warship so that when my orders are given, you can respond more quickly."
"But..." Trying his best to organize his words, Kemon took a deep breath.
"Aren't these new instructions a little too 'detailed'?"
"Isn't this good?"
Ryan looked up slightly, seeming a little surprised.
"This is not a question of good or bad... I mean, as the commander of the fleet, you don't really need to care about how many angles a ship deflects, or how fast it moves and how long it moves."
"In fact, you only need to give the formation or the timing of the attack, as for these-"
"General Kemon, in order to annihilate the enemy, this is a necessary preparation."
"As for why you have to do this, you may not understand, but you just need to know how to execute it."
"This shouldn't be difficult, am I right?"
"..."
Bang--
after a long silence, the conversation ended.
With a heavy sound of the door closing, the middle-aged general left the command room.
Just by looking at this document, he could guess what this commander who came from afar would do.
However, Ryan noticed that although he did not hide his anger, the other party finally took away his corrected instructions.
Obviously, Kemon is not a person who will affect his work because of personal feelings.
No matter what, he will execute the orders of his superiors.
"...It's normal not to understand. After all, this is not something a normal person can do."
"So, Lord Nereus, you should be able to ensure the success of our trip, right?"
Ryan shook his head slightly, and didn't care about this little thing.
He just took a conch from the table, which was a token given to him by the god of the sea.
Through it, they can communicate directly to convey Ryan's request.
"Of course."
"When it comes to issues involving Poseidon, I may only be able to help you as much as possible."
"But in this war on earth, on the sea, I can assure you."
"No matter how you fight, Athens will win."
The voice came from the conch, and Nereus' tone was full of admiration.
It was not pretending. In fact, the old man of the sea really felt that he had learned something new.
"Speaking of which, pardon my frankness, before today, I was worried that if this victory was too fake, someone would find out some flaws."
"But now seeing what you did today, it really opened my eyes and I no longer have any doubts."
"Although I don't understand wars in the world, it is possible that you can predict the trend of war in such detail. I think it must be a famous general who can do it."
"In this way, even if you really defeat the enemy, no one will doubt the success of the Athenians."
"Well... you are right, that's right."
In front of the table, after a moment of silence, Ryan nodded slightly.
It is indeed the case. If you don't win something like micro-manipulation, you are a master of micro-manipulation.
But if you win, it is the master who is micro-manipulating.
And no matter who it is, as long as they see the replay of this battle in the future.
Faced with the result of victory, they can only use their wisdom to try to understand Ryan's thinking.
They will try their best to imagine how he accurately judges every step of the enemy's movement in advance, and then sigh at the mystery, and no one dares to say that it is luck or any other reason.
People always judge heroes by results.
"Okay, since His Majesty Poseidon can guarantee it, I will wait for good news."
"In the evening three days later, we will arrive at the center of the sea off Pylos."
Ryan spoke calmly and then extinguished the power lingering on the conch.
The Kingdom of Pylos is one of the largest cities that believe in Poseidon.
And if you want to lure him out, this kingdom is the most direct target of attack.
So the scheduled battlefield is just next to him.
······
In a blink of an eye, three days passed quickly.
Standing on the bow of the flagship, holding an alchemical mirror in his hand.
Ryan seemed to be watching the movement in the distance.
Beside him, General Kemon didn't say a word, just stood there with a cold face.
Three days passed, and the so-called new communication instructions had been passed down, and even the fleet had several rehearsals.
The test was not over until every ship that received the order was able to obey the order.
However, as long as he thought about the content of the test, the middle-aged general could hardly hide his anger.
"This is a war that concerns the safety of Athens, not a joke on paper."
"Goddess, may your power protect me..."
He prayed silently, just like many crew members at this moment.
For the Athenians, praying to their victorious god before the war is a must for everyone.
Crawl -
northwest of the Kingdom of Pylos, the sea area through which an important waterway passes.
The descendants of the sea god established a country and multiplied here, controlling this key trade route.
And today, Antilochus, the son of King Nestor, is standing on the bow of his ship.
Not long ago, news from the continent reached the sea.
Many human kingdoms scattered across the ocean were surprised to find that the Athenians who had defeated them decades ago were now under siege by the enemy.
The oracle from the land of the gods caused war on the continent, and the Athenians may no longer have the energy to pay attention to everything on the sea.
So even though Poseidon did not express any direct attitude towards this, envoys from various countries still gathered in Pylos to discuss how to recover the lost interests of the past.
At the beginning, Nestor was actually not interested in this matter.
The king, who was gradually entering his old age, only wanted to sit back and watch the fights between the kingdoms on land until he returned to the embrace of the gods
. However, as his successor, Antilochus, the prince of Pylos, did not think so.
For hundreds of years, the royal family of Pylos, as the descendants of Poseidon and humans, were born with the ability to control water flow and detect changes in weather and tides.
Even those strange beasts with the blood of the sea god could often be influenced and controlled by them, and this was the foundation for their foothold on the sea.
Inheriting the blood of his father, the prince also possessed such power, and he was even better than his father, with a perception ability on the sea that amazed many gods.
This was an extraordinary talent and a proof of the power of the blood of the gods.
But to the surprise of many people, Antilochus did not seem to be happy about this, and this was indeed the case.
Because in the prince's view, although blood can bring them power, this power from reproduction will only continue to decay.
Only the power that can be truly controlled is real and eternal.
So Antilochus collected knowledge from Silvermoon City and bought a lot of expensive alchemical products.
He sent people to study their principles, even if it cost a lot.
Some people questioned his position because of this, but the prince did not have any intention of repenting.
After all, learning from others' strengths should never be criticized, and the prince was even more disdainful of arguing with them.
The only thing that made him feel embarrassed was that as a country under the traditional belief in gods, it was difficult for Pylos to obtain enough valuable information. What
they could buy were often finished products, but the real principles and techniques were often not learned.
This problem has troubled Antilochus for a long time, and this is also one of the important reasons why he recently advocated attacking Athens.
"Attack and plunder are unnecessary, and killing is not the goal."
"General, remember what I said before."
"This trip, we are not going to attack Athens, but to make them aware of our threat."
"The land of the mainland does not belong to us... Instead of coveting their land, it is better to think about how to obtain enough wealth and knowledge."
"Let the people on the mainland bleed themselves. Compared with Athens, these so-called "friendly forces" are actually our real competitors on the ocean."
The prince reiterated his thoughts. He has said his views many times.
Just to avoid the generals of these kingdoms not understanding his thoughts, he still has to repeat them again and again.
At this moment, countless large and small ships gathered together on the wide sea around.
Most of them are put together by small and medium-sized kingdoms who want to get a piece of the pie, and Antilochus, the prince of Pylos, is their nominal commander.
Of course, the prince is also very clear.
These kingdoms seem to respect Pylos as the leader and recognize their status on the ocean, but in the final analysis, they just want them to attract the hatred of the Athenians in the future.
In addition, if something really happens, I am afraid that not many will obey orders.
The prince had never counted on them. He just wanted to win a victory and get what he needed through negotiation.
As for what would happen next, it had nothing to do with him.
Even in his heart, Antilochus had already made preparations.
When they negotiated with the Athenians in the future, these followers might become abandoned pawns to appease the other side.
As long as the countries on land had not been unified, they would not be a threat to the Kingdom of Pylos.
And Athens now obviously did not have this ability.
"Huh-"
"That's it."
"But speaking of it, how are the priests preparing?"
The prince let out a long breath and stopped thinking about the future. With
his brows slightly furrowed, he looked at a sea surrounded by many ships.
There, an altar transformed from the sea itself was floating there, and hundreds of priests in robes seemed to be singing songs loudly.
The monster with a fish head and a human body was dancing there, as if to please the gods.
Well... the prince himself had doubts about the last point.
Although he was also a descendant of the Sea King, no matter how he thought about it, Antilochus could not see how those strange creatures could please the gods.
"Opportunities wait for no one, but we have waited too long."
"If it weren't for these priests who asked to prepare a ceremony to worship the gods here in order to seek shelter from the sea and storms, we would have set off long ago."
"But after so long, I still don't feel any decline in the will of the gods."
"Instead, the armies of various countries are gathering here more and more."
According to common sense, this sea area is actually not suitable for so many ships to be stationed here.
But because of the priests' request, the prince still agreed.
There has never been a lack of wizards who can manipulate the waves among the Athenians, but at this point, they can't do better than the priests of the Sea God.
So Antilochus just sent out patrols on several nearby routes, and then waited patiently.
But he didn't expect that this wait would take many days.
"General, is there any movement from the Athenians?"
the prince asked.
Although they had the upper hand, Antilochus did not underestimate the enemy.
Especially since they had gathered here recently, they could not relax their observation of the enemy.
"No news."
"Our people observed their movements to go out to sea, but it is difficult for us to follow their whereabouts in the vast ocean."
"Yes."
The prince nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.
It was not a big problem. With the help of the priests of the sea god, Pylos would be difficult to defeat on the sea, let alone be attacked by surprise.
Even at a critical moment, they could try to summon the incarnation of the gods.
Unless these Athenians happened to appear in front of them now and took action while the priests were busy offering sacrifices to the gods, but how could that be possible?
According to the time they left the port, even if it was the shortest route, it would take several days for them to appear here.
Even so, it was still based on the premise that they drove straight in and dared to invade the waters of the Kingdom of Pylos in turn.
So...
"Your Highness... Your Highness?"
"Look, what is that?"
"Hmm?"
The prince's thoughts were interrupted by the adjutant's reminder. His brows frowned slightly, and then relaxed.
"What happened?"
Antilochus looked in the direction pointed by his adjutant.
It was near the northwest, where the legend goes, the Lord of Ocean Currents fought with the enemy in ancient times.
The power of the ancient sea god remained there, creating the endless raging waves. Even though they were descendants of the sea god, the Pylos were unwilling to go near it. Normally, there was no human presence in that sea area, but at this moment, the prince saw a black tide there.
"That is..."
Antilochus was stunned and did not react for a moment.
In his usual impression, there was no human presence there.
However, in just a moment, the prince suddenly came back to his senses.
The blood from the gods surged in his veins, and he jumped onto the flagpole of the ship.
"——Enemy attack! The enemy is in the northwest!"
"Form an array-pay attention to protect the priests!"
There was no time to think about why the enemy came here and how they passed through the battlefield of the old battle of gods.
After loudly reminding the fleet around him, the prince was not too panicked.
The so-called "array" is not a special battle method, but just a dense array commonly used on the sea today.
Later generations called it the Greek formation, but it is actually nothing special. It
's just that although the formation is nothing special, Pylos's warships may not be better than those made by the Athenians using alchemical technology, but Antilochus's mentality is still as stable as a mountain.
As a descendant of the Sea King, he was not willing to regard the power of blood as the only hope, but it did not mean that he would not use his own advantages.
"The priests are not free... Haha, I don't know whether 'astrology' predicted this, or the Athenians used some other means to predict our situation."
"But if you really think that you can defeat us on the sea without the priests, you are wrong."
Unlike on land, perhaps because the God King's control over the sea is not so strong, and the countries on the sea do not believe in Olympus, so Zeus's kingship does not have such a strong influence here.
The result is that extraordinary power will have a greater impact here.
The flow of blood power became more and more intense. The prince stood at the bow, and some invisible power emanated from him.
In the fleet that was somewhat confused because of the sudden discovery of the enemy, there were also responses of blood breath one after another.
Thanks to the source of blood, there are actually many beings with the blood of the Sea King on the entire sea, and many of them are not human.
Although most of them have thin blood, through thousands of years of research, the royal family of Pylos has also invented a way to use this power.
Unlike the nobles on land, they integrate this connection between the same blood in the form of "knights" and are led by "heroes" to launch attacks.
They are more likely to borrow the divine power of the sea king to control the climate, storms, earthquakes, and tsunamis, and create favorable celestial phenomena on the sea to gain an advantage in the war.
At this moment, what Antilochus used was the one they were best at.
On the wide sea, with the resonance of the noble blood in the fleet, a thick fog began to emerge.
The sea surface became rolling, making it difficult for the weapons on the ships to aim steadily.
The thick fog covered the sky and the sun, covering the entire sea area.
When the prince jumped off the rail, a smile appeared on his pale face.
"Although I don't know how these Athenians got here, I'm afraid they made a wrong calculation."
"I know that they have advanced weapons.
"Especially the thing called 'magic crystal cannon' is extremely powerful. Each shot is comparable to the divine arrow shot by a hero, which can penetrate the hull and armor."
"But on such a sea, they have no way to aim; and in such a thick fog, they may not be able to move at all."
The prince was actually very interested in the alchemical equipment in Athens.
Unfortunately, even if it was just an outdated defective product, he still had no place to buy it.
But it doesn't matter. Since he can't buy it, he will grab it. Antilochus doesn't care how to get it.
"It's just that the priests don't have time to take action, otherwise they can drive a large number of sea beasts for my use... That's all, this is enough."
"In this thick fog, even I, who have the blood of the sea god, have limited some of my vision, let alone these Athenians."
"Notify the entire army, no matter how they crossed the sea of the gods, since they have come here, we will treat them well."
"Yes, Your Highness. "
The general, who was the prince's adjutant, bowed slightly upon hearing this, and then took the order and left.
Antilochus was right.
For the kingdoms on the sea, many things were useless to each other.
But for the kingdoms on land... as long as the enemy was not a fierce man like Theseus who could withstand the hurricanes and the harassment of sea beasts and go in and out of the entire fleet, there was nothing to be afraid of.
In the worst case scenario, with the fog stimulated by the power of the sea god's bloodline as a support, they could also judge the situation and advance and retreat freely.
······
Wow—
the banners fluttered in the strong wind.
After a long journey of fear, Kemon finally felt relieved when he sailed out of the treacherous sea.
One second it was peaceful and quiet, and the next second a huge whirlpool suddenly appeared.
A huge space crack appeared without any warning, dividing all the lives passing by into several parts.
After several protests to no avail, General Kemon risked his life and drove the fleet into this battlefield where the ancient Titans fought for supremacy.
But what shocked him was that from beginning to end, those so-called dangers never happened. Any soldier.
Even if the space gap was right on the face, the final result was that it just passed by the cheek without any injury.
At first, Kemon felt that it was luck.
But later, the middle-aged general couldn't help but speculate secretly.
Did the commander sent by the new king carry any treasures left by the goddess or the royal family?
But no matter what, they arrived at their destination safely... But before General Kemon could breathe a sigh of relief, he saw the coalition fleets gathered in the distance, as well as the gradually spreading fog and waves.
"This... They are actually here?"
Unbelievable, Kemon didn't expect to see them here.
But just by looking around, he recognized the flags of several kingdoms.
Incomprehensible, but the fact is so.
However, looking at the covering fog, Kemon's face became solemn again.
"Sir Ivan... Although I don't want to admit it, your judgment is indeed accurate."
"But in fact, I would rather not meet them here."
The Athenians were not unprepared for the special blood secrets of the Ocean Kingdom.
With the high tower in Athens as the core, the famous wizard Hermes had already made arrangements for this.
So if it was in the sea near Athens, they were not without the ability to resist.
With the help of some special alchemical products, they can actually find a way to reduce the impact of the fog and use the power of the high tower to lock the enemy.
But now...
"It doesn't matter."
Waving his hand slightly, holding the conch in his left hand.
Looking at the heavy fog coming in, Ryan said he was not panicking.
How could someone who opened the whole map cheat be afraid of the fog of war?
"Don't panic... General Kemon, everything is under control."
"But it's time."
In order to meet the strong request of the son of the ancient sea god, Ryan could only regretfully attribute all this to his command ability.
There was nothing he could do about it. Since he couldn't say that he had cheated, it could only be that every move of the opponent had already been predicted by him.
"Kemon, listen to my orders."
His expression was calm, as if all he saw were chickens and dogs.
Ryan raised his hand, signaling the general to listen.
"Now... I will make the following arrangements."
The fog was so thick that one could not see one's hand in front of one's face.
Even a low-ranking non-commissioned officer who had just started his extraordinary career could only see the situation on his own ship in such a climate.
The waves around the warship were getting bigger and bigger. Looking around, he could not see the rest of the friendly forces around him.
It was as if his ship was the only one left in the world, sailing in this endless fog.
With both hands on the calibration mirror of the magic crystal cannon, Duliotis still felt an unspeakable fear even though he had been in battle for a long time.
More than 20 years ago, he was just a soldier.
At noon in the middle of the sun, he had also participated in a naval battle with the Kingdom of Pylos and witnessed similar fog.
However, at that time, they had the help of the great wizard Hermes.
Although the vision was still blurry, they could always roughly see the shadows of friendly forces and enemies approaching.
But now it was different. Duliotis knew that they were in an unfamiliar sea area, near the enemy's capital.
And this time, they no longer had the powerful king who could kill the incarnation of the gods.
Whoosh-
whoosh-...
In
the distance, the sound of arrows breaking through the air could be heard faintly, and that was the enemy army testing their position. After all,
although they had the blood of the sea god, it did not mean that the enemy was completely unaffected by the fog.
After all, this was not a fog released by a single person, so naturally no one could be immune to it by their own strength... But listening to the sound of arrows breaking through the air, Duliotis became more and more afraid.
Not only him, but also his deputy.
If the two armies were fighting head-on, they would all be fearless warriors.
But now they were trapped in the fog and had no power to fight back, and the real fear often came from the unknown.
They didn't know where the enemy was, when the danger would come, and what they could do to save the defeat.
At this moment, Duliotis couldn't help but curse this meaningless march in his heart again.
It was so stupid to fight a naval battle in the territorial waters of the descendants of the sea god!
"Duliotis, main gunner Duliotis!"
"The alchemical communicator has received the latest combat order, please execute it immediately!"
The oppressive atmosphere became more and more intense as time went by, but at this moment, a messenger suddenly came trotting in the fog.
Although the Athenian fleet was equipped with an alchemical communicator, which could transmit messages within a certain range through the frequency and amplitude of the magic net string, this high-end creation was obviously only implemented at the "ship" level.
As for the internal transmission and operation, it still had to be conveyed by the messenger.
Especially in this fog that contained extraordinary power, it was especially so.
"Order, what order?"
The sudden order broke the silence, and Duliotis was a little confused.
According to common sense, even if there was an order from the commander, it would at most instruct how the warship they were on should move, or which enemy ship to focus fire on.
As for how to attack, I think it was all their free play.
From ancient times to the present, no army general would refine the command to a three-person combat team.
By analogy, naturally, no one has ever heard of any naval commander conveying orders to a gunner.
But no matter what, Duliotis still took over the wartime order urgently copied by the stenographer.
[To: Gunners of battleships No. 157-3, 157-5, 159-2, and 218-6]
[Within seven standard reloading times after the order is issued, deflect the muzzle to the east -12.15°, west 7.02°, 3.61°, 18.00°, and fire uniformly, three rounds of rapid fire]
[After execution, carry out reloading operations, wait for further instructions, end]
"..."
Duliotis stood there in silence, not knowing what he was reading.
The above parameters are said to be the standards brought back by the great wizard Hermes after studying in Silver Moon City.
Later, in order to better use these imported magic crystal cannons, the gunners also urgently learned relevant knowledge.
Therefore, Duliotis naturally knew what this was talking about, but the problem was that this was clearly the design parameter that they adjusted based on experience after using the alchemical mirror to measure the distance between the two sides.
The real shooting parameters are much more complicated than this, but the instruction only requires adjusting the current direction of the muzzle, which is simple...
His thoughts stopped here, and Duliotis felt that he really couldn't make it up.
It's funny, even when shooting fixed targets during normal training, considering the wind direction, sea conditions, and the degree of ups and downs of one's own ships and enemy ships, it is impossible to guarantee the accurate position.
What is going on now, setting off fireworks?
"Ahem, Duliotis gunner, three standard reload times have passed since receiving the order. Do you think you should start working?"
With two low coughs, the messenger could probably guess what the gunner in front of him was thinking, but he still reminded:
"No matter what, remember to execute the order."
"In fact, the captain also received an order..."
The content is to deviate 1.5° to the left and reduce the speed to 70% of the peak value.
The messenger didn't know what the captain thought of this order, but in the end he obviously chose to execute it.
"...Okay, I got it."
With a grim face, Duliotis felt that his death was really approaching.
However, as a member of Athens, he believed that if he died for the royal family, he would definitely be reborn in the goddess's kingdom after death.
It's just that this way of dying is a little ridiculous.
"Brother, if you can go back alive, remember to erect a monument for me and write a line on it."
"Fuck him!"
Duliotis couldn't help but swear, and turned around and began to debug his magic crystal cannon.
Forget it, I can't see anyone anyway, it doesn't matter where I shoot.
If I'm lucky enough to hit it, and I get to the goddess's kingdom, then I'll have something to brag about.
······
"...Finally, to the eighth gunner of this ship."
"Move the gun position 50 cubits to the left, raise the elevation angle by 0.81°, and fire three rounds in a row."
"At this point, the fleet has formed 17 local combat positions, with the primary goal of encircling and annihilating the enemy's main force to complete the combat plan."
"I will follow up and make arrangements for the specific implementation of the strategy."
"General, do you have any other questions?"
A clever [Phantom Sound Technique] was conveyed in real time by dozens of communicator users at the same time.
Even after finishing the next arrangement, Ryan still felt a little unsatisfied.
This scene reminded him of some strategic games in later generations.
However, this one was played by real people.
"...No more."
"But Lord Ivan... have you received some gift from the goddess to see through the fog of the battlefield?"
As soon as he asked the question, Kemon regretted it, because he knew that his question was a bit stupid.
Even if this airborne commander really had such a treasure, he could not explain the arrangements he made.
After all, no one can accurately predict where each enemy ship will be at a certain minute and second, let alone predict where their own ship is. The ocean is not land. Here, a small wave may cause the attack that was supposed to hit to miss and return in vain.
But it doesn't make sense to say that the person in front of him just wants to make a joke with the life and death of the entire navy.
"It doesn't matter, General."
"You will see the result soon."
"Oh, by the way, the task of the gunner on this ship is quite critical, because the target of his attack is a future king."
"No matter whether he can kill or not, as long as he hits someone, it is a great achievement."
Calculating the time, it has been a while since the first order was issued and executed. Ryan raised his hand and made a long-distance gesture.
However, there was a thick fog in front of him. Kemon also took a look, but he saw nothing.
Silently calculating the time, it seemed that it was almost time for the attack to start.
Some light gradually appeared in the surrounding fog sea, and various colors came out.
Kemon knew what it was. This was the scene when the magic crystal cannon was charging.
This special weapon is essentially to launch the elemental energy extracted from the magic net in the simplest and crudest way. The advantage is that it does not require wizards to control it, but there are many disadvantages.
For example, the charging time is too long, or the energy utilization efficiency is extremely low. Now the dispersion of this light is the manifestation of a large amount of elemental energy leakage.
Another example is that it cannot be fired continuously, otherwise a large amount of high-concentration elemental energy may be ignited by the activated magic crystal cannon, evolving into a local instantaneous elemental tide, directly destroying everything on the warship.
There are many similar problems, which is why this weapon is called a defective product.
But no matter what, in today's naval warfare era where the defense capability is almost zero and a hit means a kill, this is an epoch-making weapon.
And according to legend, on the tower of the great wizard Hermes, the thing that can destroy the incarnation of the gods can actually be regarded as an extremely special magic crystal cannon in essence, but it cannot be mass-produced at all, and it must be assisted by such a powerful wizard to use.
However, Kemon obviously didn't know much about these things.
"Ten."
"Hmm?"
"Nine."
"Eight."
"..."
Raising his head again, the general watched the airborne commander count down bit by bit.
At the same time, the light around and the sound of arrows breaking through the air became more and more obvious.
Obviously, the elemental light leaked when the magic crystal cannon was charged also attracted the attention of the enemy, posing a threat to them.
"..."
"Three."
"Two."
"One."
After counting to the last number, Ryan paused, then spoke an onomatopoeia.
"Bang--"
Hundreds of streams of light illuminated the entire fog sea in an instant, each containing an energy torrent close to a nine-ring witchcraft.
For the real strong, the power of this divergent elemental impact may not be as threatening as the casual sword of the legendary knight, but for large mortal artifacts, this is a destructive attack.
No sound came at first, because the wooden hull would only be penetrated at the moment of contact with the elemental torrent.
It was not until a while later that Kemon heard some sounds of seawater pouring into the cabin from the noisy shouting and shouting.
He didn't know how many enemies were hit, but there was no doubt that at least more than a dozen enemy warships were destroyed by the previous attack.
At this moment, the knowledge learned in the past seemed to be useless.
Looking at the figure in front of him who was still looking at the foggy sea, Kemon followed and looked again.
"...Hey, what are you looking at?"
Ryan was a little surprised when he saw this scene when he turned around.
With the help of the sea god, these thick fogs were of no use to him. He was just looking at where to let the "waves" push these ships to appear next, and it would be best if he could shoot through two or three ships with one shot.
But the guy behind him couldn't see it, so what was he looking at.
"I don't know."
Kemon responded to Ryan's response first, and then hesitated for a while. After a
while, he slowly said: "But I think..."
"Maybe, I'm looking at the real art of war."
"..."
"This... Just make you happy."
Not knowing what to say, Ryan didn't expect that this general named Kemon would work hard from then on, and really become a master of naval command in the future, and invented many useful tactics.
Even in the distant future, someone gave his child the same name, and eventually became a famous general, and finally went down in history.
At this moment, Ryan just hoped that he would not be led too far astray and get stuck in a dead end.
After all, no matter how you think about it, your operation has nothing to do with the art of war.
Should I explain it?
Well... forget it.
This is also for Nereus not to be exposed. It is not easy for him to go back on his word after a long time.
So although helpless, he can only admit that he is the black pot first.
"Alas."
Sighing slightly, looking at the fog that flashed brightly again, as the separated incarnation of humanity, Ryan felt that he was indeed carrying a lot of things that were not understood by others.
Although these things may be very much wanted by others, there is always a difference between active and passive.
Shaking his head gently, Ryan continued to observe the current situation on the battlefield.
What he arranged before was only a plan of less than half a water clock.
It's not that it can't be longer, but it would be a bit deliberate if it was longer. After all,
even if it is a sea god, it is best to affect the position of the ship quietly, rather than doing it so obviously.
So it would be more reasonable to adjust the new attack plan according to the current situation every once in a while instead of completing it in one go.
"...General Kemon, get ready to continue recording."
After a while, until the last gun position he arranged on the ship began to release the charging light, Ryan spoke again.
The target of the flagship seemed to be the enemy commander, the prince of Pyrrhus whose name was unknown.
It would be best if he could be killed, but it didn't matter if he couldn't be killed. For Ryan, it was a small matter.
But for some reason, Ryan had a premonition after taking a casual look at the enemy ship in the fog.
The prince of Pyrrhus might not die here, but in the distant future, he might come into contact with something unexpected... who knows.
...
Highness, be careful——"
Buzz…
tear——!
...
The world in front of him was in chaos, upside down, and shifted left and right.
A heavy buzzing sound came from his ears, and in his daze, Antilochus tried to open his eyes.
However, at this moment, he seemed to be carrying a heavy burden and could hardly move his body.
"..."
"...This is..."
I don't know how long it took, leaning on the deck, the prince finally regained a little ability to move.
He struggled to prop up his body, and then observed the situation around him. There
were sounds of fighting and screams, but no shadow of the enemy could be seen.
One after another, rays of light that penetrated the fog came and went, bringing continuous explosions to the sea.
Even on the flagship where Antilochus was, there were several huge pits and masts that had already been broken.
All the current situations told the prince that the situation on the sea was probably not optimistic at the moment.
"Uh..."
Covering his forehead with his hand, looking at everything in front of him, Antilochus recalled what had just happened.
At that time, he was urgently notifying the fleet formation to continue to disperse in order to avoid the Athenian crystal cannon that was extremely accurate for some reason.
However, at this moment, six powerful energy beams shot out from the Athenian formation, pointing directly at the warship where the prince was.
If there was only one shot, Antilochus would still be able to block it, which is why he dared to come to the front line.
As long as he was not hit by a large number of concentrated fire, his life would be safe.
But obviously, under this precise attack that was like opening the eyes of heaven, the prince had no way to escape.
Fortunately, the power of the descendants of gods comes from their blood, so they can often burst out with extremely powerful potential at the critical moment of life and death.
So at this critical moment, Antilochus still blocked the attack.
But the price was also obvious. He was directly stunned by the huge impact force and only woke up now.
The other soldiers around him at that time might have been shattered to pieces.
"... Adjutant... Yes, adjutant, come to see me!"
Finally sobering up a little, the prince stood up from the deck.
With the blessing of the sea god's blood, he could barely see a distance not far away.
The enemy has not yet launched a real offensive, but their formation has been completely disrupted.
Antilochus didn't know how the Athenians did it, but he knew that if he didn't do something, his kingdom would be ashamed of him.
"--Your Highness, I'm here, you finally woke up!"
As the prince's shout fell, a response came from the distance.
Soon, the adjutant general ran over with a look of surprise.
But Antilochus could see that the other party's clothes were a little tattered and his arms were bleeding.
Obviously, the general was also attacked.
But he probably didn't face such a dangerous situation, so the result was much better.
"Your Highness, after you fainted, I tried to wake you up, but I didn't succeed... In order to protect your safety, I have just ordered to slow down."
"The Athenians' attack is too accurate, but we still have the advantage in numbers, I--"
"--General, listen to me!"
He interrupted, and then his head was dizzy again.
Forced to be alert, Antilochus spoke in a deep voice.
"Now, take our people and retreat."
"What?"
Unbelievable, Pyrrhus' general obviously didn't expect to get this conclusion.
However, the prince just nodded and confirmed his decision.
"Yes... retreat, we don't need to fight anymore."
"The level they have shown now has wiped out our advantage in terms of geographical location. Even if we can win if we continue to fight, the result will only be a miserable victory."
"General, we are here to gain benefits, not to fight to the death."
"What's more, our biggest reliance has never been ourselves, right?"
As a descendant of the sea god, unlike Athena who almost never descended to help Athens in battle, Poseidon was very happy to spread his power and reputation through the descent of the gods.
So Antilochus just nodded, and his adjutant understood what he meant.
"You mean..."
"Notify those priests that we are no longer able to maintain the safety of the scene, and all this is because of the attack of the Athenians."
"How to deal with things is up to them to decide. But no matter what, they will report everything to the gods."
The prince waved his hand, stroking his forehead.
The decision has been made, but there is also a way to retreat.
It's not okay to just retreat to Pylos. It's better to take a detour. Go
north, or go south.
After all, the Athenians would not try to attack their homeland, and they did not come to occupy land.
So Antilochus only needs to find a reason to hide, and then clean up the mess.
"Let's go north...south."
"But that's where the palace of the Sea King is rumored to be, remember to hide...let's go now."
The explosions continued all around. The prince originally wanted to go north instead of accidentally retreating in front of the Sea God.
But for some reason, Antilochus had an inexplicable premonition at this moment that he should go south.
Well...south is south, no big deal.
As a traditional Chaos human, a hater and supporter of fatalism, Antilochus still believes in his intuition.
·······
Trample... Walking in the long corridor of the palace, the old sea god's movements were neither hurried nor slow.
He secretly looked at the furnishings around him, those magnificent ornaments.
This place used to belong to the territory of the ancient sea god, but was later ceded to Poseidon to repay the mistakes made by his sister, the power of the sea.
And as the owner of this place changed, its furnishings also changed greatly.
Those ancient stone sculptures with charm had long disappeared, replaced by various gorgeous costumes.
The pillars cast by the meteorite at the beginning of creation were replaced by white jade, displayed everywhere, and the various mineral deposits that were nurtured since the birth of the concave surface of the earth were also removed from this place.
Nereus could not describe this change as good or bad, but looking at this unfamiliar palace, he could not be happy.
"Your Highness."
"Yeah."
Ah... yes, there are these.
Nodding slightly, Nereus nodded to the guard with a human face and a scorpion body.
The breath of Poseidon's blood was so clearly visible on the other person.
It is conceivable what the second son of Kronos has done in this ancient palace.
But this is his place after all, so Nereus just looked at it and didn't say much.
Tap tap...
Continue forward, push open the last door, and Nereus walks into the inner hall.
As far as the eye can see, the nominal master of the sea is sitting on a chair made of gold.
Swallowing the dark red wine in big gulps, Poseidon's blurred eyes slightly raised as if he heard something.
It was not until he saw the visitor that the Sea King wiped his mouth with a little surprise and forced himself to cheer up.
"Nereus, it's you."
"What are you doing here... Don't tell me first, let me think about it, is there something going on in Olympus?"
"No, that's not right, it's been very quiet there recently, at least for me."
"So those disgusting evil things have appeared again, since Typhon died, there are always some troubles every once in a while."
Poseidon speculated with interest, and he didn't think there would be anything worth his attention recently.
The old sea god just smiled and shook his head.
"Neither. Strictly speaking, it's a matter of the human world."
"The human world?"
His misty eyes narrowed slightly. Under the influence of drunkenness, the sea king released his shielding against certain sounds.
In the past, in order not to hinder his interest, Poseidon didn't listen to the prayers of his believers very much... and the next moment, his face became ugly.
"Sacrifice... ritual... raid?"
"What a bunch of rubbish!"
"Humph, they were touched in front of me during the ceremony of sacrificing me, and as my believers, they still failed miserably in the sea..."
"Nereus, do I still need to deal with such things?!"
"After all, this matter is related to Her Majesty Athena, and similar situations... hehe..."
The old sea god smiled gently and didn't finish.
But Poseidon understood what he meant. Over the years, this old guy didn't get involved in anything related to Olympus.
Every time in the end, he still had to solve it himself.
"Athena... Humph, I get it."
"My smart niece doesn't seem like someone who would take the initiative to come to the sea to cause me trouble."
After thinking for a while, Poseidon found the 'answer'.
Not all actions in the world are arranged by gods. In fact, spontaneous wars by humans actually account for a larger proportion.
Just like this time, through the prayers of believers, Poseidon also knew that this was actually initiated by them.
Is there anything wrong with this matter? There shouldn't be.
If Theseus hadn't existed, the Athenians shouldn't have had a place on the sea.
But there was no problem at the beginning of the matter, but it doesn't mean there is no problem now.
It's okay to provoke a war, but not only can you not win, but you also let the ceremony of sacrificing him be destroyed, which is what he can't tolerate.
The gods of Chaos have killed a whole family because of a show-off more than once.
Then Poseidon naturally has to respond to the destruction of his own sacrifice.
"Okay, Nereus, I know about this."
"Since you are so timid, then stay here, I will handle this matter myself."
He stretched out his hand and held the trident in his hand.
Poseidon shook his head to dispel the drunkenness.
Last time he fought with the human named Theseus, it was just his incarnation of the gods.
With a real artifact in hand, a weapon used for fighting, Poseidon would not lose, but unfortunately, that human also took the shield Aequis that protected the city of Athens.
He had to admit that his trident could not break the shield, and that human was also a bit capable.
However, Athena's artifact was not something that anyone could use. For thousands of years, except for Perseus who lent it due to Zeus's will, only two or three people could lift it.
However, Theseus was dead, and Poseidon didn't think he would meet another one.
What's more, even if someone else could pick it up, it didn't mean that they could exert the same level of power as that human.
Swish -
flew up, and a cruel smile flashed across Poseidon's face.
It's a good exercise to help digestion after drinking.
It just so happened that he could tell those mortals with facts.
Gods can fail countless times, but humans are different.
No matter how powerful that mortal is, if he fails once, all his brilliant achievements will be in vain.
The divine light broke through the sea, rose from the palace in the South China Sea, and headed northeast.
Poseidon knew that in today's human world, it would be impossible for him to reach the waters near the Kingdom of Pylos quickly.
Unless he used the anchor of faith to send down his incarnation from a distance, when he arrived at the scene, the war at sea would probably have ended long ago.
However, even though he knew it would be late, Poseidon did not try to take other solutions.
As for the reason, it was simple.
In the absence of a suitable carrier, if the gods wanted to send down their incarnations only with the help of the ceremonies spontaneously held by believers, it would still be a burdensome act even for him. Moreover,
the incarnations created in this way would still have a big gap in strength, and his own artifacts could not be brought over.
Poseidon was naturally unwilling to spend this price for a group of mortals who were more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish anything.
"If they survive, it's their good luck."
"If they don't survive, then it's the price they pay for their incompetence."
"At most, for the sake of your devout faith, I will make your death more valuable... None of those mortals from Athens will be able to go back."
Stepping on the waves, the blue-haired man holding a trident stood at the head of the tide.
The cold storm set off his cold smile, and Poseidon was in a good mood.
Since the kingdom on the mainland was against Athens according to the will of God, he actually received a letter from Hera.
The Queen of Heaven hoped that he would launch a siege from the sea... But Poseidon didn't intend to be the first to do it.
Finding an opportunity to take back the power of the sea is fine, but attacking Athens and trying to draw out Athena's means? He's not that stupid.
But Hera is not easy to get rid of, so he might as well go today.
Do something to save her from bothering me again.
"Huh... It's really good today." "Just
a little sleepy..."
The huge waves hundreds of meters high rolled under his feet. When the initial excitement passed, the spirit of the sea god on the head of the tide gradually became tired.
Maybe it was because he drank too much wine before, for a moment, Poseidon actually felt a little sleepy.
He looked up and yawned. At this moment, Poseidon regretted why he didn't ride the divine horse with his blood.
If he had it, he would be much more relaxed.
"Hu..."
"Ha..."
"Hu..."
"..."
The sky gradually changed until the bright moon rose in the east.
On the sea tide, Poseidon gradually closed his eyes.
As night fell, the sleepiness brought by the previous drinking became stronger.
After a not difficult struggle, Poseidon finally decided to take a nap to slow down his progress.
Anyway, no matter how you calculate it, his speed is much faster than those humans.
Even if it takes a while at night, it will not hinder his ultimate goal.
"...That's it..."
"Hu——"
"Hu..." "
..."
...
In the night sky, Poseidon fell asleep, only the [Trident of the Sea King] still glowed with a light blue divine light, guarding him by his side.
As a divine weapon that was once born with the trajectory of fate, although it is not as powerful as Zeus's thunder and lightning, it is still of extraordinary significance.
On that day, the god of the sea forged his priesthood of [tsunami] through the hands of the Cyclops.
In a sense, the trident is the proof and medium of Poseidon as a "sea god".
In comparison, [earthquake] and [storm] are not directly related to the sea.
In the years that followed, Poseidon added a certain power gathered from his reproduction of many sea creatures to it.
This made the artifact more powerful and gradually possessed some spirituality.
"Hmm..."
"An artifact with a hazy consciousness... In a sense, it is indeed a good weapon."
"In terms of quality alone, it may be a little better than my flute now."
"Unfortunately, this weapon that is so closely related to him is destined not to be used by me."
As the wings flapped, a light gray airflow fell from the sky.
The gray-haired boy stood in the sky, overlooking the moving tide under his feet.
Thousands of years in the human world seemed like an unknown amount of time to him.
When such a long time had passed, he once thought that he had long forgotten this memory.
Hypnos, the god of sleep, the lord of the third layer of the Nine Hells, is also a legitimate god in the world.
Bathing in the moonlight of the human world again, the appearance of the young god remained the same, but his identity had long been different.
Step... Step...
Walking in the sky, watching the gradually sleeping sea king, Hypnos was not impatient at all.
The power that makes people sleep for a long time radiates in the sky and lands on Poseidon little by little.
In terms of head-on confrontation, Hypnos may not be Poseidon's opponent.
No matter how powerful his divine power is, his divine position is destined to make it difficult for him to defeat the enemy.
But in the field where he is really good at, everything is different.
Even the original God King could not escape the disaster, and Poseidon naturally could not escape.
But Hypnos also knew that this absolute authority also brought him absolute flaws.
"I can make him sleep, but I can't let him get hurt..."
"If I want to attack him, I only have one chance to take the initiative."
"Oh, that's right."
"Even as the God of Sleep, I can't let a person fall asleep when facing life-and-death crisis and pain... If it weren't for the thing that human gave me, I really wouldn't be able to take him away."
With the trident protecting him, Hypnos couldn't touch the sleeping Poseidon without taking action, and naturally couldn't take him away directly. Fortunately, he also got a special help on this trip - a bottle of poison that even he could not help but feel terrified when he saw it.
Hypnos didn't know how such a terrible thing was born. After all, the world of Chaos had never produced a powerful god who controlled poison.
But it didn't matter anymore. He took out the transparent bottle and the god of sleep carefully opened the bottle cap.
There was no sign of leakage. Even without the seal of the bottle cap, the illusory liquid of Handan still did not overflow.
Only the surrounding space shook slightly, as if even it could not withstand this terrible toxicity.
The mouth of the bottle tilted slightly, and the recorder on the waist played a melodious music without wind.
Hypnos noticed that the eyelids of the sea king moved, and then returned to peace.
Obviously, some kind of dangerous premonition stimulated Poseidon's spirit, and even in his sleep, he still felt uneasy. It was
just that under the full force of the god of sleep, he did not wake up after all.
Seeing this scene, Hypnos finally felt relieved.
"Very good..."
He smiled and nodded, and in the sky corresponding to the tide, the young god tilted his right hand for the last time.
The transparent mist was like a wisp of green smoke, judging three times at the mouth of the bottle, and then falling down.
A trace of curiosity flashed in his eyes. Although he did not dare to touch it, Hypnos was also curious.
What kind of effect does this bottle of so-called poison have?
"Sea King... Poseidon, right?"
"Come."
"Let me see what you can do."
According to the monarch he is now loyal to, the Serpent of the Atrium of the Nine Hells, there are several key points he must pay attention to on this trip.
The first is how to defeat Poseidon without attracting attention, and the second is how to prepare for the desperate struggle of the Sea King.
Once he knows that he is defeated, Poseidon is likely to burst out his divine power at all costs and fight to the death.
In this case, the only one who can subdue him again in an instant is the monarch of hell himself.
"But now his aura has been marked by the living God King. As long as he dares to make a move, Zeus will come in an instant."
"And what I need to do is to bring Poseidon back to hell after the explosion."
"Doing this kind of thing in front of a great god, huh, it's really exciting to think about it."
With a smile on his face, the expression of the young god did not change at all.
Just kidding, Hypnos had never been afraid even when facing his creator.
In comparison, what can a living God King count for?
······
"..."
The night was long and there was no sleep.
On the top of Mount Olympus, Zeus was walking in a forest.
Not long ago, the rainbow goddess Iris told him that the goddess of fate who had visited him not long ago went to the human kingdom and then went all the way east.
But after hearing her answer, the God King was not satisfied.
"No initiative at all... I didn't say anything, so you won't do it..."
"Who did she meet, what did she do, what is she going to do... It's ridiculous to travel so far just to kill a mortal."
Zeus sighed, and at this moment, he missed Zephyros a little.
As his most loyal minister, the god of the west wind would not make such a mistake.
He is not without shortcomings, but most of the time, he can understand what Zeus means.
No matter what it is that cannot be said openly due to the position of the king of gods, Zephyros can do it.
In comparison, Iris actually went to protect the goddess of fate who had no fighting power when he said he would secretly "protect" her.
"That is, I can't understand the power of fate. In order to prevent them from knowing what I said, I can't say what I mean even in private..."
His eyes flickered. To this day, Zeus has never really let down his guard against fate.
A god king who doesn't want to defeat fate is not a good god king. Although he has embarked on another path, Zeus will not give up if he can make a breakthrough in other places.
"Well..."
The god king was not in a hurry while thinking while walking.
By now, there was little he couldn't do in the world.
The once distant continent was nothing to him. If Zeus was willing to unleash all his power, as long as his kingship could reach the place, the vast world would be nothing.
But everything was going well at the moment, and he would be able to achieve his wish sooner or later.
So the God King hadn't had the opportunity to use such power for a long time.
The only exception was the two unidentified beings in the abyss...
"Don't let me find a chance..."
"If the existence outside the world enters the world, you will only be regarded as an invader by the laws of the world."
"At that time, I will be able to exert all my power without hindrance, and you will be suppressed by the laws instead."
In Tartarus, he might have lost the initiative accidentally.
But if he went to the outside world, the offense and defense would be different.
With his hands behind his back, the God King admired the moonlight above his head.
Now, he was just waiting for an opportunity.
Wait for Silver Moon City to cause trouble, wait for all the gods to be no match, and then he would take action to subdue everything.
Wait for a conflict to break out between the Poseidon faction and Athens, or even with Silvermoon City. If not, he will try to add fuel to the flames.
Then, if there is a chance, he can involve the underworld, but he has not thought of a way yet.
And in the process in between, if the great divine power behind one party can't help but take action, he can laugh three times, and then with the blessing of the laws of the world, defeat him, or drag him to victory.
"Now that I think about it, I can't wait..."
"I don't know who will be the first to take action?"
The abyss, the spirit world, or the mother earth who has been lurking for a long time but will never give up on making trouble for him?
Zeus doesn't know.
Judging from the god's perception of time, it shouldn't take too long to solve the mystery.