Chapter 223: Leviathan, Prabur’kbal

Jake stood silently on the deck, listening to Mita’s proclamation as her voice continued to echo across the battlefield.

For a moment, he couldn’t help but feel a little moved.

There was something strangely powerful about her words.

They weren’t just empty encouragement shouted before a battle.

Every word was filled with passion, conviction, and an unwavering belief in the people standing behind her.

Even Jake, who had only arrived moments ago and had no connection to the Alliance, could feel his blood stirring from her speech.

’That kid- I mean, that Grand Marshal...’

He looked toward the tiny dwarf standing proudly at the front of the flying ship.

’She’s actually pretty damn good at this.’

He had expected someone holding the title of Grand Marshal to be an intimidating old veteran or some battle-hardened commander with decades of experience.

Instead, it was a tiny dwarf who looked like she should still be in school, carrying a greatsword larger than herself.

Yet somehow, she had just managed to reignite the fighting spirit of an entire fleet.

Jake couldn’t help but smile.

She’s a genius.

His gaze shifted toward the Leviathan.

The ancient beast was still there, its enormous body looming over the ocean like a living disaster.

And the fear was still there.

The difference was that now, nobody was allowing that fear to control them.

And Jake had to admit... that was impressive.

Just then,

As if it had understood Mita’s declaration, the Leviathan suddenly raised its enormous head.

Then—

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRRR!!!

The Leviathan unleashed another deafening roar.

The sound rolled across the ocean like thunder, shaking the ships and making the very air tremble.

At the same time, the water surrounding its colossal body exploded outward, revealing more of the creature that had been hidden beneath the waves.

Jake’s eyes widened slightly as he finally got a clear look at the Leviathan appearance.

Dark, thick scales covered its enormous serpentine body, each one large enough to rival a ship.

Its body stretched across the ocean like an endless black mountain range, with rows of long, jagged spines running down its back and disappearing beneath the waves.

Every slight movement sent enormous waves crashing outward.

Its long neck rose high above the sea before narrowing into a monstrous serpent-like head, crowned with several massive horns.

Its jaws slowly opened, revealing rows upon rows of jagged teeth, each one large enough to tear through a ship with ease.

Then those enormous eyes suddenly shifted and locked onto the tiny figure standing at the front of the flying fleet.

It was staring directly at Mita.

For a brief moment, the Leviathan simply stared at her.

Then its jaws opened even wider.

Jake’s expression changed.

"Something’s coming!"

A crimson light suddenly began gathering deep within the Leviathan’s throat.

The surrounding air warped from the sheer heat and energy radiating from it.

Even from a great distance, Jake could feel the terrifying pressure building.

"Wait—"

Before anyone could react—

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

A massive crimson beam erupted from the Leviathan’s mouth.

It was so enormous that it looked less like an attack and more like a pillar of destruction stretching across the sky.

But then, the Leviathan violently swung its head to the side.

The crimson beam followed.

Like a gigantic sword sweeping across the heavens, it tore through the formation of flying ships.

BOOOOOOM!

One of the ships vanished in an instant as a massive explosion engulfed it.

Then another.

And another.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOOOOOM!!!

The beam swept across the fleet with terrifying speed, slicing through several massive flying ships before they could even attempt to evade.

Explosions erupted across the crimson sky.

Jake’s eyes widened with disbelief.

"...It just wiped out the front line with one attack?"

The crimson beam finally faded, leaving behind a sky filled with smoke and burning fragments of energy.

For a moment, Jake couldn’t see anything through the thick haze.

Then he noticed something strange as the smoke began to disperse.

Jake’s eyes narrowed.

One by one, the silhouettes of the flying ships appeared through the haze.

It was all still intact.

Not a single one had been destroyed.

"What...?"

Jake stared in disbelief and then he noticed it.

A strange, translucent shield of golden light had appeared around the entire formation.

It stretched across the sky like a massive dome, covering every flying ship beneath it.

The crimson beam had carved violently across its surface, causing countless ripples of light to spread through the barrier, but the shield had held.

Not only that, but the ships behind it hadn’t even been scratched.

Just then, Mita’s angry voice suddenly rang out across the deck.

She raised her greatsword and pointed it directly at the Leviathan, her amber eyes burning with fury.

"You think one little beam is enough to scare us?! Come prepare—"

Before she could say anything else, a female voice hurriedly came from behind her.

"Grand Marshal!"

A woman wearing a neatly fitted uniform rushed toward Mita, her glasses nearly slipping off her face as she tried to keep up.

"Please, be careful!"

Mita glanced back at her.

The advisor quickly adjusted her glasses and looked toward the Leviathan with a tense expression.

"The Alliance isn’t what it used to be, Grand Marshal!"

Her voice carried a hint of urgency.

"We may have defeated the Seven Leviathans before, but that was during the First Era! Our current forces are nowhere near the level of the Alliance that existed back then!"

The advisor continued, her eyes fixed on the enormous beast.

"Even though this is only one of Leviathan Prabur’kbal’s twelve heads, we mustn’t underestimate it."

She adjusted her glasses, her expression becoming even more serious.

"Each of its heads possesses enough power to destroy an entire fleet. The fact that we’re only dealing with one head doesn’t mean this will be easy."

"In fact, we should consider ourselves fortunate that the other eleven are still asleep. Do you have any plan, Grand Marshal? We can’t win with brute force with our current firepower."

Mita listened to the advisor without saying a word.

"..."

For a few seconds, she simply stared at the Leviathan.

Then—

A bright smile slowly spread across her face.

"Hahahaha! Plan? Only a coward thinks of one!"

"???"

The advisor’s expression froze.

Even Jake, who had been listening from below with his enhanced senses, couldn’t help but stare at the tiny Grand Marshal in disbelief.

Mita casually rested her greatsword on her shoulder, her amber eyes shining with excitement as she looked toward the enormous Leviathan.

"Besides, what’s there to plan?"

She pointed her sword toward the beast.

"We have an entire fleet, they have one head!"

"Grand Marshal, that is not a valid battle strategy!"

"Hahaha! Of course it is!"

"It absolutely isn’t!"

Mita’s grin only grew wider.

"Then let’s make one!"

She raised her greatsword toward the sky.

"ALL SHIPS!"

Her voice once again boomed across the battlefield.

"Prepare the second barrage!"

The fleet immediately began moving.

Massive flying ships shifted formation while warships below turned their cannons toward the Leviathan once again.

Energy began gathering throughout the fleet, illuminating the battlefield with countless flashes of golden light.

The advisor stared at Mita for several seconds.

"...You really had no plan?"

Mita turned toward her with a completely innocent expression, then proudly raised her chin.

"I was joking with you. Of course I did. I even discussed it with Big Sis Blauer."

"Eh? You did?"

The advisor’s eyes widened in surprise.

If Mita had actually discussed the battle plan with Lord Blauer beforehand, then there had to be something more to this.

But with how sudden the deployment had been, there hadn’t been much time to prepare.

The advisor had been so busy organizing the fleet that she hadn’t even had a chance to ask Mita about the plan.

She quickly adjusted her glasses.

"What is the plan, then?"

Mita proudly pointed her greatsword toward the enormous Leviathan.

"Hit it until it stops moving!"

"That’s not a plan!"

"Haha! It is now!"

The advisor could only stare at Mita in disbelief.

Before she could say anything else, however—

"FIRE!"

The command rang across the battlefield.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

The entire fleet resumed its bombardment.

Hundreds of cannons fired at once, sending countless beams of energy toward the Leviathan.

The sky was once again filled with streaks of light as explosions erupted across the enormous beast’s body.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOOOOOM!!!

Soon, the golden barrier surrounding the fleet rippled violently as the Leviathan retaliated, while the massive flying ships continued moving through the air and firing without pause.

Jake stood among the chaos, staring at Mita with a completely dumbfounded expression.

"...Lord Blauer? Who?"

Vivian, who somehow remained surprisingly calm despite the battlefield exploding around them, turned toward Jake after hearing his words.

"Oh. You don’t know Lord Blauer?"

Jake slowly shook his head.

Vivian blinked before giving him a slightly surprised look.

"She is the Great Island Lord who rules this entire area."

Jake’s expression became slightly more serious.

"Great Island Lord?"

Vivian nodded.

"She is also quite famous and is known by another name."

At those words, Jake gave a curious look.

"And what is that?"

Vivian gazed toward the distant battlefield, where numerous explosions continued to light up the sky.

"The Azure Dragon."