134. Invincible Battleship

One hundred and sixty invincible warships of the Empire set sail. The sheer destructive power of the hundreds of giant ballistae mounted along their sides was enough to chill any onlooker’s heart.

The Death Empire’s primary harbor was located in close proximity to the Doma Empire, having been established by dredging channels from the latter. It did not take long for these invincible warships to reach the offshore waters of the Doma Empire.

The first naval engagement broke out quickly. Although it was still early, the enemy, fearing their retreat might be cut off, had deployed a large number of picket ships in the open sea in addition to those docked in the harbor. However, these vessels were no match for the behemoths of the Death Empire. Despite having only one hundred and sixty ships, the Death Empire’s fleet possessed combat capabilities that far surpassed those of the enemy.

The moment the two forces met, over twenty enemy ships were set ablaze by a barrage of dense attacks and sent to the bottom of the sea. In contrast, the Death Empire’s massive warships suffered no casualties, save for a few minor dents from arrows and javelins lodged in their hulls. The enemy had tried to launch fire-tipped javelins, but the invincible warships’ range was far superior; they initiated their strikes well before the enemy could get close, leaving few of the fire javelins to even reach their targets, let alone start any fires.

After destroying over fifty of the enemy’s picket ships, the invincible warships formed a line and pressed forward. The enemy’s plan to encircle them died in the cradle. Any enemy ship attempting to flank the line was quickly blasted to the seabed by the warships guarding the wings. This division of forces only resulted in even greater losses for the enemy.

Seeing the ships anchored in the harbor beginning to emerge, the commander of the invincible warships ordered a retreat. The enemy vessels could never match the speed of the Death Empire’s behemoths, so there was nothing to fear; they could simply wait for the enemy to let their guard down and return later.

The enemy watched helplessly as the invincible warships withdrew, not daring to give chase. In a single encounter, over a hundred ships had been sunk, with countless casualties. Although they possessed several times the number of ships as their opponent, the disparity in striking power and range was far too vast.

Upon returning to base after nightfall, Mo Fei received news of the victory, yet he was clearly dissatisfied with the monotonous nature of the attacks. After much thought, he reached a decision: starting tomorrow, each warship would be assigned ten mages capable of casting instantaneous fireballs. If there were not enough, they would simply have to make do—but ten mages per ship was the target.

The sixteen hundred selected mages boarded the invincible warships, each carrying a supply of magical fruit. Mo Fei’s parting words to the commanders brought them a sense of comfort: "At all costs, ensure the safety of these mages."

With the addition of the mages, the results improved significantly. The giant ballistae on the invincible warships were now primarily tasked with targeting enemy combatants on deck. Often, a single fireball from an Orcish mage was enough to sink or ignite an enemy ship. At the very least, it would leave the vessel trailing black smoke, limping back to the harbor in a desperate attempt to survive. Many of these fireballs ignited troop transport ships, causing even greater losses.

The enemy ships had mediocre defensive capabilities. Once the mages realized this, they began to stand openly on the decks, hurling fireballs the moment an enemy ship entered their range. It was a far cry from their previous encounter against the seven original Death Empire warships, where their own ships were nearly sunk before they could even finish their incantations.

These enemy soldiers, from who knows where, finally tasted the bitterness of being on the receiving end of an assault. Previously, they had relied on their superior numbers to overwhelm others, who would flee at the mere sight of them. Now, facing the invincible warships, they found their fire-arrows and javelins completely useless. They were reduced to passive targets—they couldn't outrun the enemy, and to attack was nothing more than a death sentence.

The enemy fleet fell into utter chaos. Had it not been for Mo Fei’s standing order to keep the enemy in a state of constant fear, the commanders of the invincible warships would have loved to blast every last one of those enemy ships to the bottom of the sea.

The following day, after returning to the Imperial harbor to resupply, the invincible warships encountered the enemy fleet once more. To their surprise, the enemy ships did not flee as they had the day before; instead, they formed a straight line and charged directly toward the invincible warships.

"Look at their formation; they intend to ram us!" the commander observed. "Open the distance and fire!"

Volleys of ballista bolts were unleashed, and the screams of enemy soldiers preparing for battle echoed across the decks. The bolts fell short of the mages, who waited until the enemy ships entered their effective range. Any ship that managed to break through the hail of arrows was met with a rain of fireballs the moment it entered the mages' range, shattering them instantly. The enemy’s strategy had failed.

Mo Fei had issued a strict order: sink two hundred ships a day. Once that quota was met, they were to withdraw. He knew that if he destroyed their fleet entirely at once, the two million enemy troops on land would likely launch a desperate, suicidal counterattack. Although the Empire’s forces had grown to 1.5 million after reinforcements, they had lost nearly a million men in the previous two grueling battles. While most of the casualties were from the former Imperial coalition, the Death Empire had also lost over 300,000 Berserkers, Dwarven crossbowmen, and Elven archers to wounds or death. Mo Fei did not want to engage in a war of attrition; that was not the mark of a true commander.

On land, Mo Fei ordered Kane to lead the cavalry and ballista carts in periodic strikes to slowly wear down the enemy and prevent them from receiving any supplies. At sea, the invincible warships were to sink two hundred ships daily. By coordinating these efforts, he would break the enemy’s spirit before wiping them out entirely.

Mo Fei had made up his mind: not a single one of these invaders would leave alive.

The invincible warships faithfully executed Mo Fei’s orders, while Kane harried the enemy like a cat chasing mice, driving them back until they retreated into the capital of the Doma Empire. Only then did Kane withdraw his cavalry to focus on mopping up the enemy’s perimeter forces. The soldiers left behind who had not participated in the earlier battles found themselves in a miserable position. Under the relentless, hit-and-run tactics of Kane’s iron cavalry, they were exhausted and overwhelmed. Gradually, all perimeter forces were cleared, with the exception of the route connecting to the Doma Empire’s harbor. The enemy lost tens of thousands of men in the periphery alone.

Enemy morale plummeted to an all-time low. Having enjoyed smooth sailing during their conquest, they never expected to hit such a massive wall on this continent. Not only had they lost countless men and generals, but now even retreating had become a luxury.

Rumors spread among the enemy ranks about the disastrous naval situation. They had no desire to fight anymore; they only longed to escape this hellish continent. They had swept across countless lands, where enemies would always flee before their might, but now, having walked the night for so long, they had finally met their ghosts.

In terms of combat effectiveness, these enemy soldiers—who relied purely on their numbers to swarm opponents—were barely stronger than the soldiers of the Tianyuan Empire, and they were incomparable to the Berserkers. On the battlefield, a single Berserker could often handle several of them at once. The decisive battle beneath the walls of the Jinshi Empire proved this: had they not relied on their superior numbers, they would never have dared to surround Kane’s cavalry. When the Jinshi Empire’s citizens joined the fray, the enemy forces immediately crumbled. It was clear they won solely through sheer volume.

Suddenly facing such a vast sea of enemies, the invaders were terrified. They had used the same tactic of overwhelming numbers to destroy several small coastal empires upon their arrival, refusing surrender and slaughtering all who capitulated.

Now, retribution had arrived. They refused to accept the enemy’s surrender, and they assumed the pursuing forces would never accept theirs. Thus, too afraid to fight and unable to flee, they were trapped.

As for the invincible warships, under the command of the Dwarf General, they slowly edged closer to the harbor. This was a tactic the General had learned from Mo Fei: to apply immense pressure and show the enemy that the sea was not their domain. Even with countless ships, they were no match for a mere hundred-odd warships. The psychological pressure alone left the enemy troops guarding the harbor in a state of constant terror.

The ships lacked better weapons, and Mo Fei’s enchanted ballista bolts, while effective, were in short supply and had long since run out. Otherwise, they could have set the densely packed harbor ablaze, which would have been immensely satisfying. However, one had to listen to the boss; if they destroyed all the ships the enemy relied on for escape, the pressure on the brothers on land would increase significantly.

Upon returning, Mo Fei learned of their progress and ordered them to cease fire. Kane’s clearing of the perimeter had already put significant pressure on the enemy’s land forces; excessive pressure at sea might trigger an unnecessary, desperate rebound. Now, the invincible warships only needed to keep a distance from the coast of the Aima Empire and wait to strike once the enemy began boarding their ships. It was time to relax.

The enemy at the harbor went several days without seeing the massive invincible warships and were overjoyed, truly believing the fleet would not return. Little did they know that the warships were waiting just out of sight, ready to show them the true wrath of the Sea Dragon King.

With the invincible warships positioned, Mo Fei ordered his main force to press forward, maintaining a specific distance. Over a million Imperial troops were now concentrated within the Doma Empire, postured for a final showdown. They were close enough to the Aima Empire’s capital to threaten the enemy, yet left them enough time to retreat to the harbor and begin boarding.

Mo Fei had already dispatched Kane’s 200,000 cavalry to clear the various small empires occupied by the enemy along the coast. Following the counsel of Elder Oufu, Mo Fei focused on reclaiming these territories. The six small empires near the Death Empire had already been liberated by his newly formed army. The territories near the Doma Empire were officially incorporated into its map, while the Jinshi Empire reclaimed the three neighboring states. The royal families of those empires had been slaughtered by the invaders, so when Mo Fei’s army reclaimed them, the Jinshi Empire simply sent officials to take over administration.

The Death Empire now incorporated six of these small, contiguous states. As the Death Empire’s army advanced, the enemy retreated, and the Death Empire successfully annexed these reclaimed lands, becoming a coastal empire itself.