Chapter 169: Someone Backstabs! (23)

「Hmm~ My information isn't very accurate; it's just some vague folk reports~ Hmm! 」

In the underground secret chamber of Crescent Castle, the noble Queen Nana was pressed against the smooth wall by a wild force.

To keep her balance, she had to thrust her body backward with force.

Luosen placed great importance on the information she provided.

「The massive abnormal waves on the sea caused passing ships to sway uncontrollably, as if a gigantic beast were swiftly swimming across the water. This is truly fascinating. 」

The queen nodded: "Strangely, aside from the waves, no other anomalies were detected, and nothing unusual was seen on the sea surface."

「Ah~ take it easy~」

Luosen immediately eased his strength, pondering the queen's words carefully.

「Were the waves moving from east to west? 」

「Uncertain, but judging by the sequence of the abnormal waves, they should have come from the east. 」

She lifted her head, took a deep breath, and said, "Do you think this could be Levinde's fleet?"

「Possibly. Have you sent anyone to investigate? 」

「We investigated, but my people found no abnormal waves. The coastal detection mages and the civilian mages on cargo ships also did not sense any irregular magical aura. 」

「What about pure‑water divination? 」

「Nothing abnormal there either. 」

Luosen fell into thought, prompting the queen to complain again, "Don't push so hard; I can't take it."

That snapped him back: "I feel it could be a fleet empowered with a powerful concealment array, coming from Levinde's direction."

「Levinde's Golden Fleet? 」

「Unclear, maybe, but Levinde likely doesn't possess a concealment array that strong and lasting, right? 」

The queen nodded: "Probably not; Kao's shadow agents stationed in Levinde have found nothing. It seems more like the methods of the Radiant Empire."

The three great kingdoms of the Natural Alliance have long been rivals, constantly watching each other and dispatching numerous spies, giving each a rough grasp of the others' capabilities.

After a pause, the queen said, "Mages of the Radiant Empire excel at manipulating light and shadow, achieving near‑perfect invisibility even in complex settings, and they conceal their magical fluctuations exceptionally well."

「Its latest legion‑grade concealment array, once beyond two kilometers, cannot be detected even by a Sage. 」

Luosen immediately replied, "Such an array is perfect for hiding a naval fleet."

Legion‑grade implies massive joint casting, typically capable of concealing an army of a thousand.

A spell of this scale is as conspicuous as a searchlight in the night.

Ordinary legion concealment arrays can be sensed by a Sage from ten‑plus kilometers away; compressing that to two kilometers is truly impressive.

He continued to speculate, "For the effect to last this long, it's highly probable the Radiant Empire discovered a way to convert cheap energy into noble energy."

The queen gasped, "So it could stay invisible indefinitely? How would one fight on the battlefield then?"

If a thousand‑person legion is pre‑positioned on the battlefield and bursts out at the crucial moment as a surprise force, it would be terrifying.

Luosen laughed, "There's no such thing as perfect invisibility; there will always be flaws. Once a flaw is found, the invisibility becomes merely decorative."

"For example, this wave is a flaw, and it certainly isn't the only one."

Whether ground troops or naval warships, they are all energy‑dissipating bodies that inevitably emit some form of power.

Moreover, in true invisibility under small‑scale casting, his silent crystal barrier combined with the newly acquired Radiant Invisibility Spell yields concealment no worse than the Radiant Empire's Invisibility Spell, even achieving face‑to‑face intangibility.

At that moment, the queen let out a muffled hum, then froze rigidly, like a beast struck by a musket.

She remained like that for a while before returning to normal.

She showed concern: "If it really is a fleet, it might be coming from Weilan; you'll be in big trouble."

Although there's no proof, Luosen has roughly guessed what's happening.

"It should be heading straight for me."

"I reckon the warships are still Levinde's, but they're using the Radiant Empire's invisibility devices; there might even be powerful weapons from the Radiant Empire."

"The motive is simple: the little king of Levinde doesn't want to repay the debt."

Seeing the queen swaying weakly and almost unable to stand, he helped her into the washroom and gently assisted her in cleansing her body:

"I used to think that little king had some tactics, but now I see him as a bottomless‑scrupulous merchant."

Through Maxime, he knows the little king isn't a puppet; he's been steering the political situation.

A series of kingdom affairs were decided by his decree, so the responsibility naturally rests on him.

Since this fellow is so unreliable, once he settles into the dukedom, the first thing will be to deal with him.

The queen worried about Weilan's fate: "Aaron's Lion Fleet's sixty warships are heading north, and now Levinde's ships have joined; I'd guess there are at least ten more."

"Can you cope? Do we need Kao to dispatch a fleet to join the battle?"

Such a fleet size would strain Kao's capacity, let alone the still‑developing Weilan.

Luosen squinted and smiled, "Don't worry, I'm fully prepared."

He isn't about to gamble Kao's cards lightly, because the queen's authority also has limits and must be used cautiously.

The frost‑kissed rose was washed clean, looking exquisitely delicate; he bowed his head and gave it a kiss, causing the latter to blush shyly.

"After the great war, I'll take Your Majesty to Weilan's Thus: Bai Tian E Bao, so we can meet often."

Thus: Bai Tian E Bao was the castle left by the Count of Monte County.

Don't let the shoddy county seat of Monte, Mondania, fool you; the elegance of Thus: Bai Tian E Bao is only slightly inferior to Dawn Castle, and its footprint far exceeds it.

It is said the original Count of Monte poured over eight million Ogre gold coins into this castle, constructing it with utmost extravagance.

Nearby lies Swan Lake, a naturally formed massive lake over twenty li in length and width, one of Weilan's most famous scenic spots. Now all this naturally becomes cheap for Luosen.

The queen really doesn't mind where she lives; her focus has always been on Kao's royal family, but being closer to Luosen is always a good thing.

"Does the Duke think I can still ascend to Six Rings?"

"Of course."

"Oh? But I feel my magical power hasn't progressed in years. I also studied your cultivation notes, and found they're basically useless to me."

Luosen laughed: "Don't rush, there's still plenty of time."

"I will invest heavily in Weilan to build an enormous magic academy, and within the academy set up a Magic Method Center dedicated to researching ways to break through the magical barrier."

"I believe that by gathering the wisdom of countless genius mages, we will surely find a way to surpass the magical power ladder."

The queen shuddered slightly: "Duke, aren't you worried that having high-circle mages everywhere will weaken your own power?"

Luosen gave a light smile: "Just having magical power doesn't make you a high-circle mage."

His greatest reliance has never been magical power, but Laifu.

"Moreover, only when there are many high-circle mages can we truly advance magic and find the path for humanity to become divine."

The queen instantly felt ashamed: "What the Duke says is true; I actually forgot the Duke's true ideal."

After being affectionate for a while, Luosen left the queen's residence.

First, contact the Overseas Intelligence Bureau, using the clues provided by the queen as a basis, and carefully search for the 'disappeared' fleet on the sea.

That search lasted two days and two nights.

Late at night two days later, Luosen, still at the White Sturgeon Island Magic Method Center, received a message sent back by the Overseas Intelligence Bureau.

The director of the Overseas Intelligence Bureau is the mage Stonard.

He has a personality that loves to stir things up, feeling that there's no challenge left inside Weilan, so he proactively went to gather overseas intelligence.

He reported: "Sir, based on the deep-sea fishman mage's underwater observations and the pure-water divination results of the sirens, combined, ten Black Stone ironclad warships have arrived."

"The estimated average displacement is 4000 tons, length 70 meters, width 10 meters, average speed about 28 kilometers per hour, maximum speed unknown."

"To avoid alerting the enemy, the fishman mages and siren scouts dare not get too close, so we cannot determine what weapons they carry."

Luosen secretly felt lucky: "International politics is truly treacherous. No matter how nice the words sound, they're just empty talk; in the end, you still have to prove yourself on the battlefield."

As for the Radiant Empire's covert support, Luosen guessed it might not be specifically targeting him, but rather an opportunity to test the battlefield performance of a brand-new magic weapon.

When a great power develops something new, it definitely wants to put it on the battlefield to check its performance.

"What weapon are they testing?"

After thinking it over, Luosen realized there was only one possibility: anti-aircraft weapons specifically designed to strike aircraft.

Because the aircraft he built slightly surpass the era, they are truly capable of threatening the Radiant Empire.

Naturally, the enemy would think of countermeasures.

"How would the enemy counter?"

He lacked information on the Radiant Empire at hand,

but Kao often dealt with the Radiant Empire and had plenty of relevant data.

After borrowing Kao's data and pondering carefully, Luosen finally had a clue.

"I'll just make some targeted defenses."

As for whether it will be effective, I don't know; we'll have to find out by testing it on the battlefield.

This is also an inevitable occurrence when states clash, like feeling in the dark; unless you actually fight, no one knows who is stronger.

Therefore, all countries desperately hide their own strengths while desperately probing the enemy's strengths, all to increase certainty on the battlefield.

"Fortunately, my biggest trump card this time isn't aircraft; otherwise, there might really be trouble."

He asked again: "Where are these warships currently located?"

"They are currently anchored in a remote sea area south of the middle section of the Lustrous Gold Strait; it seems they are waiting for the Lion Fleet, intending to act together."

Luosen asked again: "What is the latest situation of the Lion Fleet?"

"15 Black Stone warships, 50 traditional sailing warships."

"Among those traditional sailing warships, there are 20 vessels of 2000-ton giants, the rest also exceed 1000 tons, averaging 40 cannons each, for a total of 2000 cannons."

"The Black Stone warships have a displacement of about 4300 tons, length 73 meters, hull made of steel, each equipped with 60 so-called Lion cannons, capable of firing 3 kilometers."

"It is said its maximum speed can reach 40 kilometers per hour, considerably faster than the Black Stone warships coming from the Levinde direction."

"Besides that, Aaron also temporarily requisitioned many cargo ships to transport troops, each capable of carrying 1500 warriors. Once the fleet wins at sea, at least 40 transport ships will head north, delivering the 60,000-strong Lion Legion to Weilan's main island."

Luosen listened carefully, then compared it to his own fleet.

"10 high-speed Black Stone warships, 40 ships that have just been fitted with Black Stone cannons but haven't completed combat training, with very limited ammunition—a battered storm fleet."

"Even without a sneak attack from the Levinde fleet, it still falls far short of Aaron's fleet."

"This is to crush me before I even get started!"

"If we truly engage in a gunnery duel with the enemy at sea, the Weilan fleet has no chance of victory; it will surely suffer a crushing defeat, and the entire fleet will end up at the bottom of the sea as coffins."

"But the ancestors of Earth, through their rich war history, told Luosen that warfare requires flexibility; when you can't compete in one dimension, you should open a new track."

"Moreover, one must use one's own strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses."

After hanging up the communication with Stonard, Luosen took out the supply report from the White Sturgeon Island arsenal.

"As he read, the corners of his mouth involuntarily curled up: 'Hehehe~~ Since you've sent warships all the way here, I won't be polite—I'll gladly take them all.'"

(End of chapter)