Chapter 204: Shaka's Resoluteness, Roger's Arrangement
Prince Dolf, the fourth prince, was extremely fortunate. Shaka timely broke through the Black Shark Fortress and directly arrived with a large army for support. At the same time, he also brought the crucial coral embryo necessary for establishing the advance base.
These unique entities merely require one to two minutes to grow to a sufficient size, and in conjunction with mature planktivorous predators, they form an autonomously expanding production base.
As for whether to take the risk of saving Dolf's life, Shaka, being a close relative present in the scene, makes the decision.
Given the temperament of my younger brother, as long as there is even a glimmer of hope, he would not passively resign himself to fate. Therefore, if he is conscious, he would undoubtedly choose to attempt it. I respect his decision.
This is the royal lineage, and the other people present dare not refute it. They watched as Shaka personally planted a young base coral entity onto the life vine that was sustaining Dolf's last breath of life.
Then, this base coral entity, without the need for planktivorous predators, directly absorbs the abundant life essence from the vine along with the nuclear radiation, initiating rapid growth.
Roger couldn't help but frown as he inquired of Lydia, who had been floating by his side, "Madam, with such indiscriminate absorption, won't it become distorted?"
That is nuclear radiation! Look at the deformities that it made on Dolf's body!
Rest assured, my little treasure is not so fragile. These weapons of Frankenstein are merely a form of energy damage. He possesses proteins within his body that can absorb this type of energy.
Lydia responded with confidence.
Just like chloroplasts absorb sunlight to synthesize organic compounds, base corals can also produce proteins that can absorb nuclear radiation, using their energy to aid in their own growth.
Due to the complete absorption of radiation energy, there is naturally no excessive radiation that would harm the core areas.
This is why I can digest anything, break down anything, so there's no need to fear accidentally ingesting toxic substances!
Base corals, which are products of numerous modifications by Lydia, have incorporated genes from countless powerful organisms. Therefore, it is not surprising that they can utilize nuclear energy without any issues.
Here, the magicians of the secret magical society have set up a series of devices, and Lydia begins to remotely modulate the base corals, which have grown to the height of a small mountain.
Then it continues to expand, completely devouring Dall's mutated body, with his tissues and flesh melting into the structure of the base coral.
This scene made many people instinctively look away. Little Joey was nestled in Roger's arms, letting out a gentle sigh.
Finding peace in death was originally the best outcome, but due to Dall's choice, if Lydia's plan were to fail, Dall would be left with no trace of his remains.
As a steadfast commander who defended the front-line fortress until the very last moment, such an ending seems rather unfair to him.
Shak kept his gaze fixed on the base coral, as it closed tightly and rapidly flourished under the provision of the planktonic predators.
However, it didn't produce a hatching pouch. According to Lydia's secretive claim, she was exerting control over this base coral to eradicate the assimilated mutated genes and cells, which may take approximately a day to yield results.
This coral cannot move for a day, otherwise it will wither directly due to divine poisoning. Dall will have no hope left. So, you all have no problem, right?
Lydia knew that the maritime nation had suffered a major defeat, so she was deeply concerned that if the Naga were to rise again, they would not be able to withstand this devastated land.
Roger confidently asserted, "Rest assured, we were originally planning to establish a blockade here, making it an impassable barrier for the Naga who dare intrude into maritime territory!"
Shak nodded vigorously, expressing his support for Roger's statement.
The matter concerning Dall for the time being has reached a temporary conclusion. Prince Shak, radiating a vigorous and resplendent aura, clandestinely approached Roger with a request to enter into a treaty.
Regardless of whether he becomes the future Sea Emperor or if Dall, after his recovery, awakens, the maritime nation will be an ally of the Green Vines Empire.
With the premise of not compromising the basic livelihood of the maritime nation's people, the maritime nation and the Green Vines Empire will synchronize their offensive and defensive efforts, open markets, and refrain from actively imposing tariffs on goods.
In a certain sense, it implies a form of vassalage, and in more contemporary terms, it could be referred to as a semi-colonial state.
This is the ideal blueprint that the empire originally envisioned, but Shak proactively voiced it, and his demand was only one:
He hopes that none of the expeditionary force that passes through the Black Shark Fortress will return alive to the territory of the Naga.
They have received word that the ruthless and indiscriminate massacre in the city has already begun. The ordinary people of the maritime nation have no chance of escaping from the regular army equipped with various mounts and magical means. There is no one to protect them, and they have all become playthings under the iron hooves of the enemy.
Roger pondered briefly and agreed to Shak's request.
Although he had initially not intended to execute Nicole in this battle, her actions had indeed exceeded Roger's expectations, making it impossible for her to return to Naga territory. There is another possible course of action - to take her to the Green Vines Empire, perhaps?
After both parties signed the magical contract witnessed by Yuanhai, Roger also began to have candid and open discussions with Shak, disclosing more information and discussing the upcoming battles.
First and foremost, Roger explicitly informed Shak that in Nicole's possession, there are two strains of tyrant bacteria even more dreadful than the embroider ball bacteria, strategic-level weapons with destructive power tenfold greater.
The process of quantifiable change leads to qualitative transformation. Even though this world possesses magic equivalent to that level, the preparation required is immensely burdensome, and the defensive challenge remains extraordinarily daunting.
Therefore, the outcome is that the maritime nation collectively resists without any means to counter the devastating five million-ton tyrant bacteria, especially in a military field scenario.
Therefore, the Naga are prepared to utilize those two tyrant bacteria as a deterrent. After establishing defensive fortifications at the landing point, they will then detonate the inevitable blockade that the maritime nation will construct, achieving substantial occupation of the landing point.
Otherwise, occupying a piece of territory and trapping the Saintess there is an unacceptable outcome for the Naga. Sooner or later, they will not be able to endure it.
However, if such a corridor is established, it would effectively split the territory of the maritime nation into two disconnected parts, causing a significant decrease in the already declining imperial power's control over the ocean.
By that time, the Naga will employ a method of gradually enticing and assimilating the nobility and vassals of this side. The complete downfall of the maritime nation will be imminent.
After capturing the Black Shark Fortress, the coordinates of those two tyrant bacteria shifted, indicating Nicole's intentions, just as Roger had anticipated.
After the unpredictable trump card, the elusive agent Collins, Nicole no longer had any tricks up her sleeve beyond Roger's calculations.
Therefore, with the maritime nation joining forces with the empire at this stage of the battle, the empire side can fight with a free hand. As a result, Roger's battle layout on this side is actually better arranged than before.
...
...
The Naga Expeditionary Force is currently in a state of ecstatic revelry.
The longing for the land, the hatred towards the elven race who drove them into the sea, the reverence and adoration for the sea god, all made this victory particularly meaningful.
Saintess Nicole issued the order for the city's slaughter, dispersing her subordinates, she and the military commanders rushed to the coastline at the fastest speed.
They needed to search for a suitable location, swiftly forge a semi-permanent fortress, defend it, regroup, and then reopen the path to return to the Naga.
At this moment, the campaign to establish a beachhead can be considered fully accomplished.
Although the Nagas don't possess biologically modified creatures like the Base Coral, which can rapidly generate dense jungles and produce bio-fish schools, they have survived underwater for tens of thousands of years and inherited the magical civilization of the elven race that encompasses Druidic production, enabling them to swiftly establish temporary fortresses.
That is a seed of the Dark Tree, obtained from the contamination of interdimensional magic through research conducted by the ancestral Nagas, preserved within the ancient repository of the Naga Queen, originating from the World Tree of the elven realm.
The majority of the army behind them had already scattered across the plains, launching frenzied attacks on surrounding villages, plundering the wealth of the maritime nation, wantonly unleashing the dark side of human nature, brandishing slaughter blades against ordinary civilians, and violating any woman with even a hint of attractiveness.
Ultimately, what is more important, the face or the legs? Faced with the captivating allure of mermaids and fish-like beauties, the Nagas were also entangled in aesthetic perplexity.
Regarding such a completely dehumanized army, not even Nico, for the time being, could restrain them. She could only abandon the majority of the troops and, together with the military commanders, seek a place nearby with advantageous terrain for defensive purposes. In advance, they planted the seeds of the Dark Tree.
Of course, although it is called a tree, in reality, it has already adapted to the underwater environment. On its own, it appears like a gigantic sea anemone, waving its colorful tentacles.
In just two hours, the Dark Tree grew to over a hundred meters in height, and simultaneously bore fruits beneath its towering canopy.
These fruits ripened rapidly and upon falling to the ground, gave birth to a new species of tree that shares the same lineage as the Dark Tree, but bears sharp thorns on its branches.
They are called Dark Guardians, a distinctive variation of the typical elfin tree species. When confronted with enemies, they can launch the seeds from their bodies, and once fully matured, their power is equivalent to that of a heavy crossbow.
These are the subjects devoted to guarding the Dark Tree.
However, the swift development of these elven tree species comes at the cost of rapid desolation of the land, as other plants and animals have their vitality ruthlessly plundered.
At the same time, a large number of druids and other spellcasters continuously supply magic, and even vitality, to the Dark Tree.
Not only the Dark Tree, but even the legitimate Tree of Life exhibits such somewhat eerie scenes during its growth process, albeit with potentially more visually pleasing effects.
The elves of this world, despite possessing slender and graceful bodies, are not the elegant and traditional race depicted in stories.
On the contrary, the elven race is characterized by arrogance, haughtiness, cruelty, and coldness. They often possess extraordinary talents and show no mercy towards outsiders.
The elven race commonly harbors the most fanatical beliefs. However, due to this fanaticism, their beliefs are prone to distortion and may lead them to seek refuge in the domain of other deities. Subsequently, they may misconstrue their own racial characteristics, believing that their obsession can directly alter their appearance.
To some extent, the elven race serves as an excellent source of divine power for faith. Many of the flocks tended by the Seven Gods in various worlds consist of elves. If reproduction speed is prioritized, they can interbreed with humans to produce half-elves.
Even twisted elves such as the naga and dark elves remain intensely devout to the deities they believe in.
After planting the Tree of Darkness, the commanders of the expeditionary force all breathed a sigh of relief. Nicole then entered the oceanic temple, carried by a colossal turtle, to offer her prayers.
Other commanders, on the other hand, employed magical communication to live stream the footage of their landing on the mainland to their families, relatives, and even the Naga Queen.
This is an immensely historically significant scene, which, logically speaking, should have been carried out by the current commander, Nicole, followed by the Naga Queen taking credit for it.
This devout follower of hers, is more eager to share the good news with her divine entity. Let her subordinates flatter the Queen.
At this moment, the overall sentiment of the Naga expeditionary force is quite buoyant.
Once the Black Shark Fortress is conquered, does the maritime nation have any means of turning the tide?
Even if the maritime nation could gather a large army to launch an attack against them, they also possess strategic weapons. As long as they can defend against this wave, time will be on their side!
Although the Naga commanders at this moment have not joined the ranks of city massacre, their minds are fervent.
They are acutely aware of how utterly terrifying the sudden fall of a fortress can be for the morale of the maritime nation.
Conquering a fortress is one thing, but to be completely wiped off the map like this, without any apparent reason, it's possible that the maritime nation may not even find another leader brave enough to stand against them!
The time spent on the journey, the time spent planting trees, each step has consumed a significant amount of time, and night gradually descends upon the underwater realm.
Although this place is mostly dim, the luminescent deep-sea creatures that provide illumination seem to also sense the changes in the sun, signifying the underwater realm's transition between day and night.
There are already soldiers who have returned to the camp of the Tree of Darkness after the city massacre, but there are still more indulging in the revelry of victory.
Nicole's city massacre order is set to be executed before dawn tomorrow, which means there will undoubtedly be those who race against time, savoring every last second.
The exhilarated Nagas failed to notice that, while they were indulging in the fruits of victory, a formidable army had already disintegrated, infiltrating the vast territories between the Black Shark Fortress and the Tree of Darkness with a resolute determination to annihilate them.
The Naga army came for a city massacre, while the navy's army fought to save their people within their own territory, the intelligence of both sides were simply not on the same level.
The citizens of the maritime nation, upon spotting the majestic mermaid banners, will willingly come forward, seeking solace and offering valuable intelligence, thus guiding the naval forces to encircle and vanquish the wicked and ruthless Nagas.
Shak and his troops, this time around, carried with them the latest improved fruits of Base Coral: ossified weaponry.
Weapons have consistently been a major weakness for the underwater races. The Naga tribe, despite receiving support from the Terra Kingdom through numerous transactions, could only manage to arm their elite forces and a substantial number of secondary troops with traditional ossified and coral weaponry.
These weapons are not necessarily inferior to metal. If they are made from the bones of certain large marine creatures with specific areas of hardness and usability, they can surpass metals.
However, these particular bones are also rare items, so most ossified weapons tend to lack durability and sharpness.
The Empire didn't provide metal weapons support to the maritime nation. However, after Lydia regained her enthusiasm for work, she improved Base Coral based on the excellent ossified weapon samples provided by the maritime nation.
Therefore, inside those hatching capsules, in addition to self-destructive fish, different models of ossified weapons would also emerge.
They may not be considered top-tier items or even possess magical attributes, but they are at least comparable to high-quality ground-troop weaponry.
Hence, the ordinary soldiers of the maritime nation, alongside the frontline troops of the Naga, finally achieved the same level of weapon equipment.
With their new equipment, the soldiers of the maritime nation, wielding the advantage of intelligence, carry within them the resentment of their invaded homeland as they search the world over for those Naga who revel in blissful oblivion.
This is a one-sided massacre.
It is nothing but a righteous massacre, targeting the Naga soldiers who harm innocent civilians!
The Naga quickly discovered the unit that was hunting them down and thus began to gather and assemble in order to resist the scattered pursuit by the maritime nation.
Naturally, the forces of the maritime nation were also uniting.
Upon learning this news, Nicole realized that the persistent shadow trailing behind them was none other than Shaq and his troops, exhibiting an impatient expression. "Is this the maritime nation's final mobile force?"
A sovereign amanita mushroom emerged, moving towards the assembling Naga troops, converging towards the Tree of Darkness.
And so, boom!
