Chapter 808
Episode 201: The Invasion Begins (Part 1)
Before the War of the Dread Gods erupted, Ziphl had shut down all the magic towers except for the First-Class Tower. Meanwhile, fleets and troops were dispatched across the federation’s territories, and new magic towers were constructed according to updated classifications.
The Second-Class Tower that the Akmyung tribe invaded this time was mid-tier—defended by roughly fifty ships and about a thousand mages.
The flagship was an Arcadia-class vessel from Ziphl’s home fleet, the Fifth Fleet, and the tower’s master was an eight-star mage not originally from Ziphl. Yet, alongside them were two squads each of Wraith Corps and Phantom Units, whose combat power rivaled or even surpassed the tower master’s. Not quite elite, but certainly more than just regular forces.
And it took only thirty minutes for the Akmyung tribe to utterly raze the Second-Class Tower.
Though the attack was completely unexpected, the Lamatan magic tower couldn’t even mount a proper defense before being reduced to smoldering ruins.
“…So the fleet’s strength was that vastly different?” Veradin muttered. The land where the Second-Class Tower once stood was now a total wasteland. Scattered blackened bone fragments hinted at the brutal intensity of the Akmyung bombardment.
Only two survivors remained from the assault—both from Satrin’s Phantom Unit.
“That’s correct, Lord. Suddenly, a massive dimensional gate opened in the sky, and over a hundred Akmyung ships appeared. Their fleet’s capabilities far exceeded ours. Most of our fleet couldn’t even launch properly, but even if we had been prepared, the outcome would have differed only in the length of the battle, not the result,” one of the surviving Phantoms explained, bowing his head.
“Was their fleet stronger than the one Jin faced?”
“Yes… We couldn’t confirm since the Akmyung barely disembarked, but their commander seemed to be someone other than Rakiman Hog.”
“What made you think that?”
“The fleet’s insignia was different.”
“Is that all? They didn’t even issue a declaration of war or explain why they attacked?”
“Not a single word. The moment the dimensional gate opened, they began firing. The first salvo destroyed the tower’s upper section, killing the tower master. I took command and tried to respond immediately, but… we were powerless.”
Truly, the Akmyung tribe had carried out a silent, one-sided massacre before vanishing in an instant—much like the chaos that engulfed Dipus and Joshua just before the War of the Dread Gods.
Such an assault required large-scale instantaneous teleportation.
However, unlike before, the Akmyung inflicted no harm on civilians. They focused solely on destroying the magic tower and withdrew.
“I originally wanted to meet and negotiate, but since they struck first like this, fighting is the only option. I get the feeling they’ve already allied with others. We’re tangled up with some madmen. Why attack us? Surely it’s not just to show off their strength.”
“After the tower was destroyed, ropes were lowered from their ships. We saw them capturing the strongest mages who survived the bombardment. We almost got caught ourselves.”
“They probably don’t intend to use prisoners. If they did, they would have targeted the tower master or other key figures first, and stated their demands before leaving.”
Veradin recalled what Sanna had recently told him.
“Besides, the priestess said some ancient underground races feed on the blood of other lifeforms. That’s probably the Akmyung. The destroyed branch of the Kinzel beastmen had almost no corpses left—they must have taken them all to harvest their blood.”
Veradin sighed deeply, shaking his head.
“I’m sorry.”
The Phantoms bowed their heads.
“It’s not your fault. In fact, surviving to report the scale and strength of the attackers is commendable. If you want anything, speak to the governor.”
Veradin dismissed the Phantoms and exchanged glances with the officers.
“I never imagined we’d be attacked like this—not by Runkandel or Kinzel, but by some other force. And so soon after you became governor. This is a blow to our prestige.”
“The family’s prestige was ruined long ago by Jin, so that doesn’t matter. The real problem isn’t pride or the damage we’ve suffered, but that we couldn’t respond at all to their assault, Wraith Captain. They harvested without any losses, so they’ll keep raiding the federation like this.”
“All regions will need to maintain a constant state of emergency for the time being. Even so, the disparity between fleets is worrying.”
“As long as we detect their strikes and can send reinforcements in time, we can hold out. We survived thirty minutes unprepared; fully ready, we should last at least two hours.”
“I doubt the Akmyung’s spatial teleportation is without limits, my lord. They can’t always deploy over a hundred ships for every raid. If they attack smaller areas, we’ll have more time to respond.”
“I agree, Ronil. We need to deploy the experimental small, high-speed ships across all regions first. So wherever they strike, we can alert headquarters immediately.”
Due to the lingering spiritual energy left by Gliek, all ground portals remain closed. Aside from a select few capable of spatial leaps or ultra-long-range communication, Ziphl’s high-speed ships are currently the fastest means of travel in the mortal realm.
“From this moment, we are at war with the Akmyung. Our intelligence is limited, so we’ll face unfavorable battles for now. The most urgent task is to locate their base.”
“I will order that at least one Akmyung be captured alive during each engagement, even if it costs lives.”
“Do so, brother. Capturing even one is more valuable than losing another tower. And don’t cover up today’s events. The defeat was too devastating to hide.”
If the Demonstone were intact, they might have been able to erase this humiliation from history, but now that’s impossible.
“What should we do?”
“Jin, publish an article suggesting collusion between the Balmel Alliance and the Akmyung.”
“Understood.”
“It’s obvious propaganda, but the key is to make the public recognize that this new threat—the Akmyung arriving in the mortal realm—originated from Jin. Hurry. It’s better if the article comes out before the Akmyung attack Runkandel or the Balmel Alliance.”
“Yes, my lord. Since the Akmyung deliberately avoided civilian casualties this time, it aligns somewhat with the Balmel Alliance’s methods. I’ll focus the article on that.”
“But it’s strange, my lord. According to the Phantom Unit’s report, the Akmyung seem to have some grudge against Jin. So why attack us first? If they had struck the Garden of Blades or Tikan, or the fortresses of Huepester and the Empire, they could have inflicted much greater damage.”
Octavia nodded at Ronil’s words. Veradin’s eyes narrowed.
“Fear.”
“…My lord?”
“I have a hunch they fear Jin. Just recently, at Kinzel’s third branch, a single Jin nearly wiped out a fleet and a commander-level Akmyung. They attacked us first and spared civilians because, for now, they don’t want to provoke Jin.”
Veradin turned and strode toward Kojek.
“Let’s make sure everyone knows who the truly fearsome opponent is.”
“Veradin will definitely spread the story that we awakened the Akmyung. That Runkandel not only created the Dread Gods but is now colluding with underground forces to threaten the mortal realm. Judging by his recent propaganda efforts, I’m certain of it.”
Jin had accurately predicted Veradin’s move.
“Damaging our reputation is your specialty, but Ziphl’s been unusually active in propaganda lately. Didn’t you say you’d stop caring about that? I feel like there’s more behind this than just justifying the war.”
“You’re right, Lord Quikantel. I just realized this might be groundwork for future historical revisionism—shifting blame for the mortal realm’s threats onto me. The more people believe it, the easier it will be to manipulate history.”
“Wow… chills, Lord Jin. That makes sense. But we have Valeria, so we’ll be fine!”
“It’s just a suspicion, Enya. For now, the more pressing issue is Ziphl and the Akmyung’s next moves. They hit Ziphl this time, but next could be us or the Empire. We have Mot, communication devices, and the Red Owl, so we can respond faster than Ziphl, but our fleets are lacking. We can’t deploy fully prepared fleets everywhere like Ziphl.”
The underground shipyard in the Sword Emperor’s territory was still incomplete.
“We haven’t finished mass-producing the Ielo ships yet, either. Our magic knight units aren’t deployed across all regions. So first, we need to speed up production of communication devices and supply them to key bases and fortresses. That way, if the Akmyung strike, Nana or other superhumans can be summoned for support at any time.”
In other words, what Runkandel and the Balmel Alliance needed most was time.
[Jin, their movements are unusual. Whether they’re remnants of the royal family or someone they’ve made deals with, these people clearly know the Akmyung well. They’re supplying exactly what the Akmyung need to regain their strength: the blood of the gifted, and information about the mortal realm.]
“Ameris, didn’t you say before that the Akmyung have technology to resurrect fallen warriors so they can fight again?”
[That’s right. The Jeokmyeong tribe uses the spirit cores of fallen warriors to create immortal soldiers—biological weapons. Why do you ask all of a sudden?]
A dark thought stabbed at Jin’s mind.
‘If the remnants of the royal family really did make a deal… then the greatest prize they could have gained from the Jeokmyeong tribe is the technology to turn Temar’s body into a weapon.’
Jin shook his head, keeping the thought to himself.
“It’s nothing. Just a passing thought. For now, I’ll return to my clan to review troop deployments and then come back. If anything urgent comes up, please contact me immediately.”
“Understood, Your Highness.”
As Jin mounted the crimson owl and headed toward the Garden of Swords, the Jeokmyeong tribe was once again opening a dimensional gate above Inse’s skies—an invasion route into the empire, right over Dante’s watch.