Chapter 548: Naval Battle

Ronen paid little heed to the war on the front lines, confident that unless Flame-Wing itself intervened, the legendary knight Rydal could conquer any city or fortress without issue.

There was no rival among the enemy capable of matching him; with Rydal alone, no amount of chivalric orders or fortified walls could stand in his way.

It was an undeniable truth that the upper limit of martial power on the Orlant continent was fixed, unlike the Crescent Continent, where the numbers of human and foreign powerhouses were virtually equal.

In truth, had Rydal exerted a bit more effort, the pace of conquest would surely have quickened, but doing so would limit the usefulness of the knights and soldiers beneath him.

Without experiencing true slaughter, the efficacy of the Blazing Battle Array could not be tempered, which would ultimately leave them at a disadvantage upon entering the battlefields of the Crescent Continent in the future.

After handing down his instructions, Ronen made a trip to the eastern front, consuming over twenty-nine thousand energy essences to elevate Maken's strength to the Blazing Sun rank (19000/20000).

Maken had originally possessed only Gold aptitude, and Ronen had used a total of fourteen thousand energy essences before this to raise his aptitude to the Blazing Sun rank, a consumption that was not overly excessive.

Now, with Maken's late-stage Blazing Sun strength, he possessed enough power to crush anyone in the Principality of Vera; with him, Rulance, Melonika, and Petro on the eastern front, there was clearly no issue regarding top-tier combat power.

As for the size of the army, with the addition of the Ushany Territory and the kingdom's major and minor nobility, the Marquisate was not inferior to the Principality of Vera, making the total occupation of the territory and the destruction of all enemy resistance merely a matter of time.

Across the Screaming Sea, a merchant ship sliced through the waves.

This was the vessel upon which Count Alfonso was fleeing Screaming Island with his grandson, Facundo.

At this moment, Alfonso leaned against the mast, gazing out over the surface of the sea.

Ever since learning that his son, Maren, had died at Ronen's hands, the grief of a white-haired man sending off his black-haired child had never faded from his face.

"Grandfather, what are you looking at?"

Facundo walked out, sporting dark circles under his eyes; the mental stress combined with the discomfort of the voyage had prevented him from resting well.

"We will be able to cross this sea before evening; once we leave the Screaming Sea, we will be safe."

The Screaming Sea had originally belonged to the Fleming family, but unfortunately, Torrent Island to the northwest sat like a nail, shattering the order of this ocean.

Though the sea was vast, stretching out as if without end, he remained somewhat worried about being intercepted.

"Do not worry, Grandfather. The ocean is so vast, and that Ronen only has one pair of eyes; how could he possibly find us? Besides, we are riding in an ordinary merchant ship."

Alfonso was about to nod in agreement, but his eyes suddenly froze as three ships clearly appeared on the sea ahead, sailing directly toward their position.

At the same time, two ships appeared from each of the other three directions, forming an unmistakable encirclement.

"This..."

Facundo broke into a cold sweat, his hands and feet turning icy.

This scene was even more obvious than the time Ronen had first entered the Screaming Sea and faced assassination; anyone could tell at a glance that these ships were coming for them.

He could not understand where the other party had obtained the information.

"Grandfather, what do we do?"

Facundo's voice carried a hint of trembling, his eyes filled with helplessness and fear.

Count Alfonso gripped the mast tightly, a resolute expression surfacing on his aged face; his years of weathering storms allowed him to maintain his composure even when facing crisis.

"Do not be afraid, child. Your grandfather is a Master Mage; unless the opponent also has a Master Mage, these warships are nothing more than a single spell away from destruction."

Whoosh—

Karlos's figure swept across the sky above, the midday sun casting its massive body as a colossal shadow onto the merchant ship below.

Alfonso snapped his head up, his heart sinking violently.

"It's... it's Ronen's giant dragon!"

Facundo's voice carried a crying tone, "He is here, he wants to kill us!"

Alfonso had long heard that Ronen possessed a giant dragon, but because he spent the entire year in the Kingdom of Tricia, he had never seen it.

Seeing it today, it was indeed terrifying.

Karlos opened its bloody maw, and just like last time, manipulated frost power to condense an ice arrow seven to eight meters long.

"Such violent elemental fluctuations..."

Alfonso's expression changed drastically, knowing that this dragon was casting a spell.

Immediately, he dared not delay, quickly sketching out spell lines.

Seven or eight seconds later, vast water elements condensed in the sky above, forming a massive frost scythe.

"Water Severing Technique!"

The massive scythe swung violently, the surging water elements transforming into an extremely fine and thin blade of water that sliced toward the sky, its range of impact reaching an astonishing thirty-odd meters, severing the high sails and masts of the ship.

Boom!

The magic of the man and the dragon collided in midair.

Alfonso's magic was incredibly sharp, slicing the ice arrow directly in half, the water blade continuing forward to strike Karlos's massive body.

However, the residual force possessed little power, failing to leave even a trace upon the dragon scales.

Looking back at Karlos's ice arrow, although it had been sliced open, it still exploded into countless fragments of ice.

These ice fragments, still carrying non-negligible force, inflicted a violent impact upon the merchant ship below, instantly piercing the deck as several innocent crew members shrieked and fell into pools of blood.

However, immediately following this, a warm light enveloped the wounded.

"The Duke of Conquest does not wish to harm the

Carlos hovered in midair, ready to strike—had it not been for Elron’s insistence on testing the opponent’s strength alone, he would have attacked already.

“Light attribute… still lacking, after all.”

Alfonso’s lips curled into a faint smile. If he could break past Elron and the dragon, there was still hope of escaping today.

“Secret technique—Fengshui Tornado!”

With a surge of spiritual power and magic, Alfonso unleashed his will. Towering waves erupted from the sea, then were seized by invisible winds, instantly rising hundreds of meters high.

“Hahaha! Normally I’d need to gather water myself for this move—but here, on the ocean, water is endless!”

Alfonso roared with laughter as colossal waves exploded outward, churning the entire sea into chaos.

“Look out!”

Even Karada and the others, watching from afar, felt the danger radiating from the attack. They shouted warnings, urging every crew member to brace for impact. Captains and sailors scrambled to stabilize their ships, fighting to keep them from capsizing.

Elron shimmered with radiant light, using Light Bursts to fend off the surging waters while maneuvering his flying carpet higher.

Even Carlos found himself engulfed by the sudden, overwhelming technique.

“Go!”

The markings on Alfonso’s back flared to life, sprouting massive wings. He grabbed Facundo and, seizing the moment of chaos, darted between the waves at blinding speed, fleeing the battlefield.

He never intended this move to kill—only to escape.

“Boom!”

But they hadn’t gone far when a foot slammed into Alfonso’s side.

The force sent him crashing toward the sea surface, and Facundo flew from his grasp.

“Who is it?”

Alfonso hovered above the waves, eyes scanning upward in alarm.

“Count Alfonso—it’s an honor to meet you at last.”

Ronin slowly descended from the sky, landing before him. “And where, exactly, do you think you’re running?” (End of Chapter)