Chapter 450: Meteor From Heaven!

Chapter 450: A Meteorite Descends from the Heavens!

Because Neo was currently bedridden in the traveling palace, Karen stood as the highest-ranking official of the Church of Order's observation delegation.

From an outsider’s perspective, a leader so young taking a dog on a leash and carrying a cat onto a battlefield was the very definition of frivolity and disrespect.

Adu, the captain of the escort ship, held the exact same opinion, though he was not quite as blunt as the commander-in-chief, choosing instead to approach Karen on his own initiative.

"I have partitioned half of my command room for you and your subordinates to observe the battle. I will do everything in my power to ensure your safety while maintaining the defense of the flagship."

"Thank you, Captain."

Karen and his companions arrived at their designated area. The "partitioning" of the command room did not mean drawing a chalk line across the floor.

The command room occupied the fourth floor, while Karen’s group was stationed on the third. Though divided by levels, Karen’s area possessed everything available to the room above, including a tactical sand table and a communication receiver.

In other words, Karen enjoyed the same access to information as the command room upstairs, though he possessed no authority to command.

Furthermore, Karen noticed that fine wines and an abundance of food had been prepared in advance. It seemed Captain Adu hoped he and his people would content themselves with eating, drinking, watching, and listening, functioning purely as a sacred, "untouchable" encumbrance to be humored.

Karen felt no sense of discrimination; putting himself in the man's shoes, he would have done the exact same thing.

Pu'er leapt onto the sand table, pacing across it to observe. It knew nothing of waging war, but much like its fondness for eating fish, it was an instinct driven entirely by lineage.

Kevin, meanwhile, propped himself against the edge of the sand table, his balding canine head glancing left and right. From time to time, he thrust a paw into the sand table's projection to bat at it, as though exploring a new toy.

Anse, Karen's security captain, wore a look of disgust. She turned and went to stand guard at the door, choosing to keep it out of sight and out of mind.

Motta walked in carrying refreshments. Seeing the cat and dog playing with the sand table, he sighed inwardly but kept his composure, warmly offering a drink to Karen.

In truth, if the people of the Lunar Goddess Church knew the true identities of this particular cat and dog, they would hardly view it as a sign of disrespect. Instead, they would treat them with absolute sincerity as honored guests, or even as "advisors."

Karen would not have needlessly inherited such a reputational blunder, though he did not particularly care either way.

"Captain Karen, if you find it dull in here, you may step out here to enjoy the scenery." Motta opened an adjacent door, revealing an observation deck equipped with long-range mirrors.

"Very well, thank you."

Karen quietly sipped his drink. Roughly half an hour later, the hull began to shift.

The expedition had officially begun.

Simultaneously, the sand table began to display more information regarding their own forces.

First, counting the symbols of the warships upon the sea, there appeared to be one hundred and eighty vessels, though of varying classes. The flagship was the largest, flanked by thirty escort ships—including the one Karen currently occupied. Eight served as direct tenders to the flagship, while the remainder deployed along the flanks.

The other warships were smaller, though to ordinary eyes, they were still gargantuan beasts.

From the observation deck, Karen could also see several supply ships trailing behind the flagship, strings of dried mangoes hanging out to cure upon them.

Aside from the vessels upon the surface, dense clusters of dots swarmed beneath the waves, likely sea beasts controlled by the Lunar Goddess Church. Within the clouds above, avian beasts and aerial platforms soared through the skies.

In short, the forces of sea, land, and air were fully assembled.

Motta smiled and said, "Captain Karen, I will be just outside. If you require anything, you may call for me directly."

"Understood, thank you."

Once Motta stepped out, Karen glanced at Memphis. Memphis raised his hand, casting an isolation barrier over the area where the group stood.

Karen spoke, "I am quite curious about one thing. What is the scale of our Church of Order's navy?"

Bart spoke up, "Captain, during our church’s recent war with Samsara, the navy was never deployed. Throughout history, our navy has never possessed a true presence, nor has it left behind any classic engagements. I believe our church has a navy, and a sizeable one at that, but our greatest trump card remains the Knights."

Memphis hesitated for a moment before speaking up, "Before the 'First Day War,' it had been far too long since a large-scale war erupted between orthodox churches... Our navy has been constantly building and stockpiling forces, please rest assured on this point."

"Do you know something?" Bart asked Memphis curiously.

Memphis nodded and said, "The creation and development of any engine of war cannot be separated from the collaborative coordination of multiple departments. The department I was previously in participated in research for project planning every year. It might have only been a certain component, or perhaps just details of a formation array, but it was clear that warship configurations existed."

Eisly laughed, "Does that mean the Church of Samsara was simply too weak to force our church to use its full strength?"

Muri nodded and said, "Because the timing of the war was chosen exceptionally well. No one had fought a war in a very long time, and our church used the messenger space of the Pamires Church as a springboard to teleport the Knights directly before the various holy lands of the Church of Samsara, so the battle concluded very quickly. Furthermore, as far as I know, our church captured most of Samsara's two main fleets."

Karen asked, "Where did this news come from?"

Muri replied, "I heard it from my uncle. He is the captain of the personal guard for a relevant official."

The "Benda" family had served as captains of the guard for successive Great Priests, but they did not exclusively handle the security of the Great Priest alone.

Karen said, "I have read all the proposals and the final treaty from the meeting between Order and Samsara on Dark Moon Island. I recall no specific clauses regarding those two main fleets."

Eisly said, "Captain, then it simply wasn't discussed openly. It must have been kept by us as spoils of war."

Karen shook his head and said, "According to your logic, wouldn't the reverse be true as well?"

Muri said, "The situation at the time was likely that those two main fleets happened to be docked at the harbor of the holy land. Our Knights advanced into the holy land too quickly, directly blocking any possibility of retreat for Samsara's main fleets.

However, the commanders of both main fleets chose to commit suicide along with their trusted subordinates, refusing to surrender to our Knights.

When my uncle spoke of this matter, he also spoke of them as adversaries worthy of respect."

Alfred looked at Karen and asked, "Young Master, are you worried that the Church of Samsara still possesses other forces?"

"It is still too early to worry about that." Karen took a sip of water. "The current direction of the offensive is the Venros Archipelago. Once this place is taken, we can directly press toward the Sea of the Dead.

Although Motta and the others told me, and advertised to the outside world, that they intend to fight into the Sea of the Dead and land at Samsara Valley to wipe out the Church of Samsara in one fell swoop, I do not believe the Lunar Goddess Church truly intends to carry the war to that stage.

Well, I admit, I do not understand how to fight a war..."

Everyone laughed, and the cat and dog laughed as well.

In truth, none of them understood, and even the three from the Knights had not yet reached the level of commanders.

Karen suppressed his smile and said, "But we can attempt to stand from the perspective of our church, to see what actions would maximize our interests.

Saying this,

Karen set down his water cup:

"As the most powerful church, what I desire most is for the other orthodox churches with profound heritages to consume each other. Furthermore, the balance must be adjusted; an all-out annexation and expansion cannot be allowed to occur.

The most beautiful scenario is for both sides to beat each other's brains out while clutching our legs and calling us father."

Hearing Karen's words, everyone fell somewhat silent.

Blanche spoke up, "Our church did indeed sign treaties with both of them. Now that the Lunar Goddess Church is in a position of strength, will our church aid Samsara?"

Bart asked in confusion, "How would we help?"

Mars agreed, "In this stage of the war, our church likely will not participate. I believe the other orthodox churches will not choose sides so quickly either, but at present, Samsara's strength is indeed very weak."

Karen stretched, "War is a continuation of politics, but we cannot entirely copy this doctrine either, because war possesses a strong degree of uncertainty. Who knows? Let us watch the subsequent developments."

The fleet was advancing in a "V-formation," moving very quickly. During this time, Karen went to the observation deck to look out. Because the warship had activated its protective barrier, there was no howling wind rushing against his face, but watching the waves churned up after the warship passed and using the distant seagulls as a temporary reference, describing it as lightning fast was not an exaggeration at all.

The seemingly clumsy and heavy warships upon the vast sea looked as though they possessed vitality, like spirits active upon the surface of the water.

Four medium-sized vessels appeared ahead, several immense sails hoisted upon each ship. No, they were not sails, but specially crafted formation sails.

Karen remembered that within the standard equipment of the Black Prison Castle, Mars possessed such an engine of war, but compared to the ones atop those ships, it truly looked like a child's toy.

Equipping himself with the gear of a Black Prison Castle required him to rack his brains, saving and scraping for money everywhere. Now, looking at the scale of an orthodox church... This was no mere fleet; in Karen's eyes, it was a massive raft built out of points coupons.

An individual's meager wealth was simply not worth mentioning before the true scale of a church's undertaking. In the eyes of the church, the coupons they issued were probably just high-quality paper.

Karen took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He could not allow himself to sink into this decadent emotion of squandering self-improvement, for the Church of Order did not belong to his family. Once the matters here concluded and he returned to his own life, he would still have to earn coupons when he needed to.

"Captain, the battlefield teleportation is about to begin. To be safe, we should return to the cabin," Mars reminded him.

My shallow ignorance is laid bare; I truly believed we would sail directly into the fray, yet it turns out we must endure a battlefield teleportation. Cullen made no effort to conceal his lack of knowledge in certain matters, and obediently followed Mars back into the cabin.

Four array-ships formed a single file, each unleashing a golden radiance that, anchored by the vessels, conjured a yellow barrier across the sea like a waterfall standing upright upon the deep.

The flagship issued the command: [Attach].

Before Cullen could fathom the meaning of the word, he felt a sudden jolting beneath him, as if some gargantuan mass had slammed into the hull, hoisting the ship significantly higher.

Were the sea beasts fastening themselves to the warships?

Peering through the porthole at the heavens above, Cullen discovered the flying beasts of the sky had likewise bound themselves to the aerial vessels.

The flagship issued another command: [Traverse].

"Thump, thump, thump." A knock preceded Mota opening the door himself, addressing Cullen and the others within: "I have brought men to clear the refreshments and tableware. Please find your seats now, fasten your safety belts, and open the porthole shutters.

"We are about to encounter a void countercurrent; the hull will pitch, but pray do not fret, for this is entirely normal."

Everyone heeded his words and sought their seats; soon enough, this escort vessel plunged through the yellow waterfall alongside the flagship.

The world outside the porthole instantly dissolved into gray, entering a void of nothingness, followed immediately by a violent shuddering—a turbulence so fierce in magnitude it could easily send an unprepared soul bouncing toward the ceiling.

Nor was it a fleeting passage; Cullen took note that it lasted a full ten minutes.

It was only due to the internal defense arrays and external protective shields of these warships that they endured; any ordinary great ship would have splintered into pieces long ago.

As for the beasts, they chose to "attach" precisely to borrow the protection of these engines of war, for even with their formidable hides, it was difficult to survive such a crude and rudimentary teleportation alone.

Even if they managed to pass through, they would emerge grievously maimed, utterly unfit for combat.

As for humans... Cullen felt that unless one possessed a constitution like Muri or Ventura capable of weathering such a transit, the vast majority of clergymen who dared enter directly would emerge as nothing more than a slurry of flesh.

The traversal concluded, and the flagship commanded: [Rapid Regroup].

"Phew..."

Smoothing her hair, Aisly lamented with a sigh, "I used to think the crude array at the smuggling town was torturous enough, but now I suddenly find it was exceedingly gentle."

Memphis spoke up: "Constructing the coordinates for a teleportation array is not difficult; the challenge lies in maintaining stability and isolating the spatial storms outside. What is used on the battlefield is a very simplistic coordinate transit, relying entirely on the sheer durability of the warships and flying vessels to lower the cost. Moreover, the danger here is not merely the shaking; it involves a total loss of orientation. Even those of exceptional physical strength can easily lose themselves here. Only the positioning arrays within the vessels can continuously calibrate the true heading to guide us out."

Memphis paused before continuing, "History records a time when a main fleet of the Sea God Cult became utterly lost during a battlefield teleportation. The result was a vast expanse of warship wreckage and broken corpses floating across two major seas. The suspected cause was a catastrophic failure in that fleet's internal positioning arrays—an event hailed as the most disastrous shipwreck in recorded history."

"Even a fleet of the Sea God Cult could suffer such a mishap?" Aisly inquired curiously. "Should they not be intimately familiar with the ocean?"

Mars replied, "The ocean is the ocean, space is space, and arrays are arrays. I can only say the people of the Sea God Cult might be rather adept at swimming, but they are hardly array masters."

"Fine, fine, I take your point," Aisly conceded, raising a hand to signal her understanding. "But I still find it rather intriguing. My father's institute studies sea beasts, many of whose lineages can be traced back to the era of the Sea God Cult. More than once, my father has told me how difficult it is to comprehend why a cult with such immense heritage would fall to its current state."

Cullen and Pu'er both instinctively cast a glance toward the large golden retriever lying there, intently observing the sand table. The golden retriever, seemingly oblivious to their stares, continued to peer at the layout.

Then, Cullen and Pu'er exchanged a knowing look.

As the mastermind behind the fracturing of the Sea God Cult, it would certainly be wrong to shift all the blame onto Kevin's head, but if one were to parcel it out, there would inevitably be a share left over. The foolish dog was currently feigning ignorance, so it was undoubtedly its doing.

One could not help but wonder if the Sea God ever regretted provoking such a mad dog all for the sake of a lover—a hound that bit into the Sea God himself and the Cult without pause, until he miraculously ascended to godhood.

Cullen opened the door and stepped out onto the observation deck. The seawater here was visibly darker than before, and the sky had shifted from mid-morning to dusk; clearly, the fleet had reached an entirely different sea.

In that case, the Luna Cult's desire to seize the Wenross Holy Land of Samsara must be for the purpose of establishing teleportation coordinates there, so they could launch a direct assault on the Sea of the Dead when the campaign commenced.

Muri emerged, taking a deep breath.

Cullen spoke, "Do you get the feeling that the missions we take as a Whip of Order squad are somewhat trivial compared to the spectacle before us?"

"What do you think, Captain?"

"I am asking you."

"I do not think so. Every place has its own scenery, and only after seeing different sights do we learn to cherish what is before our eyes."

"That rolls off the tongue rather smoothly, doesn't it?"

"A line of dialogue from the male lead in the movie *The Maranid*."

"A romance film?"

"Yes, it takes place on a cruise ship."

"The ending?"

"The ship the male and female leads were aboard sank."

"Muri."

"Yes, Captain?"

"I told you to watch more movies so you could understand them, not so you could memorize lines. If you truly grasped my meaning, you would not utter such ill-omened words at a time like this."

"My apologies, Captain. I am a bit slow on the uptake; in truth, I realized it the moment the words left my mouth."

Cullen reached out and patted Muri's shoulder: "I admire the grandeur of this scene, but I loathe the sensation it brings, for here, I am made to feel small and weak, as though my destiny is beyond my control. If forced to choose, I still prefer executing missions in York City. When facing an adversary there, gripping the sword in my hand at least allows me to strive for my own fate.

"Rather than here, where heaven knows if a meteor might crash down and directly—"

"Captain, I believe you should not speak such ill-omened words right now."

"Haha, how could it be so precise? We have only just entered this sea, it hasn't even begun—"

Suddenly, the heavens blazed with light.

The two raised their heads to find a string of meteors descending from the canopy of the sky—no, it was a volley of colossal, burning meteorites, growing larger and larger within their vision!

Cullen: "..."

—

More tonight.