Chapter 1371: Meeting After the Battle
For the soldiers of the Gaoling Kingdom stationed at Greta Fortress, today’s experience would likely become one of the most unbelievable and bizarre memories of their entire lives—falling “meteor showers” from the sky, heavy artillery barrages that instantly shattered the tide of mutants, torrential storms sweeping across the plains, and alien warriors descending from the tempest onto the battlefield…
Of course, among those alien warriors were some who, mid-fight, suddenly fell from the sky and got stuck on the fortress walls and towers…
“Hey, high-altitude drops always come with risks. Who can really predict the weather up there? We can only create a suitable environment for airborne deployment, but we can’t control every air current perfectly,” a sea witch with long sea-blue hair said casually from atop the fortress wall, patting the shoulder of a nearby soldier as she explained why she’d fallen outside the battlefield. “When I jumped down, I aimed to land right next to a small group of mutants who’d somehow survived the bombardment. But halfway down, a gust of wind hit me hard. I’d already shifted form by then, so I couldn’t adjust my trajectory in time—next thing I knew, bam! I landed right at your feet.”
The soldier she was patting looked no older than seventeen or eighteen, his face tight with nervousness. Clutching his weapon tightly, he couldn’t help but stare at this “alien ally” before him. Despite her strange, snake-like tail, her upper body was that of a beautiful woman, which made the young man visibly shy and awkward. “Th-then you’re not hurt? I saw you fall pretty hard—half your body was embedded in the wall… Are you really okay?”
“I’m fine! I shifted form as I fell, so it’s not that easy to get hurt,” the blue-haired sea witch said cheerfully, patting her chest. “Besides, this isn’t even the worst. Once, my sisters and I went surfing near the sea cliffs, and a huge wave smashed me against the rocks—I was totally shattered on the spot. Of course, the others weren’t much better off either…”
The young soldier was at a loss. This topic was way beyond anything he’d ever talked about before. He forced a smile, trying to keep his expression from looking too strange. “…That sounds pretty intense.”
“Eh, it’s nothing. We hold a ‘Sudden Death Creativity Contest’ every year, and my record isn’t even that impressive. General Vanessa often says I’m creative but lack showmanship—especially that kind of explosive power hidden beneath calmness or something. Honestly, I don’t get it. Art’s not my thing,” the sea witch waved her hand dismissively, then added with a hint of regret, “The worst part this time was falling outside the battle zone. I’m definitely going to get teased for it later—fought a whole battle and didn’t even land a single hit on the enemy…”
The young soldier was speechless. Clearly, the sea witch’s lifestyle and habits were still way too alien for a normal human to grasp.
Fortunately, the awkward moment didn’t last long. The carefree sea witch suddenly seemed to sense something, looking up toward the outside of Greta Fortress. Then she turned around. “Ah, looks like my superior is coming. Should be here any minute now—I gotta go. We’ll chat again when there’s a chance. Talking with you’s been pretty fun…”
Without waiting for a response, she flicked her tail and swiftly flew off, leaving the young soldier standing there dumbfounded, staring after her retreating figure. After a while, an older soldier nearby came over and nudged him with an elbow. “Hey, she’s gone and you’re still staring? Did you get stunned or what?”
The young soldier snapped out of it but only managed a weird expression, mouth opening and closing as if unsure what to say. His comrade grinned mischievously. “Look at you… Well, I guess it’s understandable. Even though she’s a different species, that lady was pretty gorgeous. What’s the deal? First time you’ve talked so much with a pretty girl? How do you feel?”
“…My parents would never believe what their son ended up talking about with a lady like that,” the young soldier said awkwardly. “I should’ve asked her name, though…”
These brief, unexpected exchanges were just small episodes within Greta Fortress. Meanwhile, King Audris had no spare energy to ponder what long-term impact this contact between the deep-sea race and the land kingdoms might bring. After holding the line all winter, the two reinforcements from the northern Cecil Empire and the deep-sea sea witch kingdom were his top priority.
On an upper platform of Greta Fortress, Audris and Crown Prince Lorin stood at the edge with several trusted commanders. They wiped bloodstains from their armor, but the scent of battle still seemed to seep from their clothes. Suddenly, a buzzing sound came from the sky. They looked up in unison to see a silver-gray dragonrider aircraft accompanied by three massive red dragons—the latter clearly serving as an escort squad.
Lorin muttered softly, “…Two years ago, dragons were still just legends.”
“Two years ago, we thought that great wall would stand for centuries more,” Audris shook his head, watching the aircraft and dragons slowly descend. “This world is changing too fast.”
The aircraft landed smoothly in the center of the platform. The three dragons, surrounded by a shimmering magical glow, transformed into humanoid forms and dropped from midair—an altitude that would have surely broken any normal human’s bones—landing beside the dragonrider. Among them, a woman with fiery red hair stepped forward, seemingly about to help a gray-haired general emerging from the aircraft. The general waved her off and nimbly jumped to the ground, moving with the agility of a young man.
Then another figure emerged from the aircraft’s cabin—a tall, beautiful woman with sky-blue hair. Unlike Byron, who had disembarked with flair, she carefully held onto a handrail as she stepped down a slanted ramp, adjusting her stance as if still unaccustomed to walking on land.
Audris and Lorin approached. The strong, one-eyed king immediately recognized Byron—even though they’d never met, Audris had seen his face in some propaganda materials. “General Byron, thank you very much for your timely aid. The entire southern front can finally breathe easier. And this is…?”
His gaze fell on the red-haired dragon woman and the blue-haired lady. Though he had some guesses, he refrained from making assumptions.
“Athrena, commander of the Third Expeditionary Force of the Holy Dragon Principality, and liaison officer for the alliance,” the red-haired dragon woman nodded. “I lead a dragonborn unit attached to General Byron’s expedition fleet. We’ll be assisting in maintaining air superiority on the southern front for the foreseeable future.”
“Vanessa, Deep Sea Warlord, sent by Queen Petia, the Ocean Sovereign, to lead the Antavien Expeditionary Force in support of the alliance,” the blue-haired woman spoke next. Her voice was soft yet resonant, each syllable carrying a strange rhythm—a hallmark of many sea witches speaking the common human tongue (except those with heavy accents). “Currently, communication between the Loren continent and Antavien is cut off, so I have full authority over all alliance operations on this battlefield.”
“Oh! I remember now,” Lorin said, having been stealing glances at the blue-haired woman since earlier, feeling her face was familiar. “The face that appeared in the clouds before… that was you?”
“Yes, that was me,” Vanessa smiled warmly, her gentle demeanor belying the fierce warrior she was on the battlefield. “The situation was urgent. I saw your defenses about to collapse, and with no way to communicate, the Winter’s Wrath had to immediately bombard the battlefield. I had no choice but to use the simplest, most direct method to contact you. Luckily, humans are quick learners—you actually understood my expression…”
You actually understood her expression?! The rest of them thought. Did these deep-sea creatures really just plaster an eighteen-kilometer-wide face in the sky as a giant emoji for the troops below?!
Everyone present—except Vanessa herself—found this utterly bizarre. But the well-mannered prince and the king, burdened with their duties, swallowed their bewilderment. Only Byron, unburdened by such concerns, couldn’t help but mutter, “Honestly, I’m used to your sea witch antics, but you can’t be this weird…”
“Didn’t turn out so bad,” Vanessa said nonchalantly. “Next time, I might just add some words too…”
Audris was at a loss for how to steer the conversation. He’d been king half his life and never witnessed such strange dialogue—especially between the commanders of two expeditionary forces. Fortunately, Athrena cut in, pulling the topic back on track. “Let’s save the details for later. We have serious matters to discuss. Your Majesty, we need a place to talk.”
“Of course,” Audris nodded immediately. “The fortress has a reception hall prepared, along with a welcome dinner. Though conditions are tough, the Gaoling Kingdom’s cuisine and berry wine should help ease your travel fatigue.”
Byron immediately stepped forward. “Then let’s not waste time. We can talk over dinner.”
The group headed toward the reception hall. Audris and several officers led the way, while Lorin lagged a few steps behind, walking alongside the expedition commanders. Though the young prince tried hard to maintain proper decorum, his occasional shifts in attention didn’t escape Vanessa’s keen perception. She glanced back at Lorin, curious. “You have something to say?”
“Uh…” Lorin hesitated, glancing at his father ahead, then awkwardly said, “Sorry, I don’t mean to offend, but… I always thought sea witches moved with long snake or fish tails. I didn’t expect you to… well, walk on two legs like us.”
“Space is tight inside the aircraft, and I can’t spread my tail, so I temporarily shift to legs,” Vanessa replied casually. “Thanks for reminding me—I almost forgot.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than the lower half of the sea witch general’s body suddenly exploded with a loud “boom,” scattering into countless droplets of water. In the next instant, those droplets coalesced into a long, sinuous serpent tail. She swayed from side to side, a satisfied smile spreading across her face. “Much steadier this time. I was wondering why I kept feeling like I was tipping forward when I walked.”
Lorin: “…”
Audris, who had turned around at the noise: “…”
When it comes to establishing communication with the deep-sea races, it seems the people of the Gaoling Kingdom still have a long way to go…
…
Amber burst excitedly into Gawain’s study, bringing him some fantastic news. “We’ve received real-time updates from the southern front! Byron’s forces have successfully crossed into Gaoling territory and repaired a magic network hub that had been occupied by the Aberrant Legion. Our communications with the south are fully restored!”
Gawain immediately set down the document in his hands, unable to hide the joy on his face. “That’s excellent! They finally made it—how’s the situation over there?”
Amber’s cheeks flushed as she eagerly recounted the details. “When they arrived, the main force of Aberrants from the Ogure tribe was launching a full-scale assault on Greta Fortress. I heard that if they’d been any later, Gaoling’s outer defenses would have collapsed. Luckily, the Winter’s Fury’s artillery support and the sea witch landing troops arrived just in time.” She babbled on, as if she had witnessed it all firsthand. “Byron, General Aslarena, and General Vanessa have already gone to meet with the Gaoling king at Greta Fortress. The comms channel is open, so any updates will come through immediately… Oh, and here—this came through with the restored connection. I made a copy for you.”
As she spoke, Amber pulled a small, palm-sized blue crystal tablet from her pocket and handed it to Gawain. He examined it and recognized it as a universal storage crystal—a standardized data medium replacing the old hand-crafted recording crystals made by mages. These crystals were commonly used in magic network terminals, wetware interfaces, and large computing nodes. Though still expensive and mostly limited to imperial government and military use, they had begun to spread into civilian hands since last year thanks to increased production and technological advances.
“This is the frontline battle record,” Amber explained casually as Gawain slid the crystal into the slot of the nearby magic network terminal. “Some footage was recorded on the Winter’s Fury, some was taken directly by Aslarena from the air, and there are also post-battle aerial overviews.”
As she spoke, the terminal hummed to life, projecting a holographic display above the desk. Both Gawain and Amber’s eyes were drawn to the vivid scene.
The southern battlefield lay in ruins—Gaoling’s defensive lines shattered, the Winter’s Fury’s firepower covering the field, storms and dark clouds swirling overhead, thunder rolling and lightning flashing.
A blend of modern artistry from Cecil and the battlefield wisdom of the sea witches.
“…Old Zongzi, this is just too uncanny…” Gawain muttered.
“To be fair, it really is,” Amber agreed.
(Time for some book recommendations! First up is “I Can Magically Modify Black Tech” by Liangcha Zhujio, a sci-fi story about seeking survival in an apocalyptic world. The premise is pretty creative—the protagonist transmigrates, displacing the original body owner, but only learns about the impending apocalypse through a message left behind.
The second is “Otherworld Conquest Manual” by Newbie Fisherman, which I’ve recommended before. It’s a multi-character, otherworld development story, so I won’t say much more.
In short, both are highly recommended.)
(End of chapter)