Second World

Chapter 1708 1708. Border River

At the joint border between the Shylvan Region, Lanoskh Region, and the Liguritudum Realm, a wide river divided the two border regions with the great territory of Liguritudum. The allied armies of Themisphere, Sangrod, and the few remaining troops of Hydrurond camped at the riverside opposite the Liguritudum Realm.

They had arrived one day ago but they just stood by the riverside.

The reason they didnʼt cross was the presence of some ships lining the opposite sides. These ships were the ones Kaghast sent to guard the border river while the Liguritudum Armada chased the Palgrost Armada. These ships consisted of 12 galleons and 3 galleasses.

If the allied armies insisted on crossing the border river, these few ships wouldnʼt be able to prevent them from reaching the other shores. However, they could cause heavy casualties on the allied sides.

Natives below rare elite grade could drown. They wouldnʼt be able to cross the river safely in this situation. Even the rare elites would still suffer if they got bombarded by the cannon fires while crossing. Some soldiers had flying abilities but the number was not enough to take over the ships. Many would perish from the shipsʼ ranged attacks before they set foot on those ships.

Hence, they just stood by and waited for the others to arrive.

Arther had returned to the Themisphere army waiting by this river. He had a super rare steed which let him catch up with the army when they were still midway here.

The Sangrod army was positioned at the rear during the march, so they were the first to notice Artherʼs arrival. Vanessa was extremely surprised when she saw Arther riding over. She didnʼt waste time to go pestering Arther about how he escaped death. Arther chose to be silent. He didnʼt tell Vanessa about the Revival Pool that had saved his life.

Outsiders could easily find out about the Revival Pool if they visited Thehemburgh, but Arther was not a busybody. He was not sure if Jack was okay with him telling others about the revival pool, so he kept silent.

He faked annoyance from Vanessaʼs insistent pestering. But deep inside, he didnʼt mind.

Emris was also heading here but he still needed a few days to arrive.

In the afternoon of the second day since they arrived, they heard the rhythmic thumping sounds from afar. As those thumping sounds became louder, those who were more sensitive could feel the earth shiver following the thumps.

Not long after, they saw the mobile fortress come through the forested terrain of the Shylvan Region. Because of its huge body, some of the trees were knocked over.

Following the mobile fortress were the combined troops from the second Themisphere army, Verremor army, and Aurebor army. As they got together, their massive army filled up the river bank. They numbered around 3,700,000 troops.

Those were only the number of native soldiers. The players following the armies numbered more than two million. These were the players who survived the battle in Hydrurond and Aurebor as well as those who returned after they died. Not everyone returned, but a good number did.

There were an additional 500,000 troops from Sangrod who followed Emperor Horatio. He was still on his way since he departed rather late. There were also Palgrostʼs land troops who followed Thelgrun and boarded Palgrost Armadaʼs transport ships. Some of the transport ships were destroyed during the recent battle on the inner sea, but a decent number survived.

With such a massive number, everyone was confident about the result of this campaign. Masterʼs days as the Liguritudumʼs ruler were numbered.

The Liguritudumʼs ships that guarded the river also seemed restless after seeing the massive armies. They no longer lined up the opposing shore to block the enemies from crossing. They sailed a bit to the side. They were not willing to use their ships as barricades, but they would surely open fire when the enemies started crossing. They had no choice but to let the enemies cross considering the enemiesʼ number but they would reduce the enemyʼs number as best as they could.

On the shore of the allied forces, Jack and the other leaders of the armies were standing by the river as they studied the situation.

”Now that everyone is here, there is no need to be afraid of those ships. Letʼs rush over and crush them!!” Bowler declared.

Everyone turned to him.

”Be quiet, you! King Jack has not yet issued the order, itʼs not your turn to speak,” Giant Steve scolded.

”But how long are we going to wait still?” The Man complained. ”If no one is doing anything, I and my boys will volunteer to be the ones who cross first.”

”I agree with that brute,” Manager Steelhand said.

The Man was about to lunge at Steelhand but Bowler held him back.

”We players can breathe underwater,” Manager Steelhand continued. ”Those ships wouldnʼt be able to stop us. We could even swim to the ships and attack by boarding them.”

”Donʼt act smart if you donʼt know things,” Peniel scolded Steelhand. ”Regions between countries are inhabited by strong monsters. This is what prevents low-level natives and outworlders from safely crossing the borders between countries. Some of these borders are more extreme than others. This border river is one of them. You can only safely cross if you use a ship. If you try to cross by swimming, you will be assailed by many monsters above level 60 on the surface. At the bottom, which is not that deep, you can even encounter monsters above level 80. You will lose many men before you get to the other side.”

”Hahaha, hear that? You, smartass!” The Man laughed. He was happy Steelhand got ridiculed.

”So how? We canʼt just wait around and twiddle our thumbs here,” Manager Steelhand said. He pretended he didnʼt hear The Man.

”What about your country guardians?” Kill Order asked. ”Those dragons should make short works of those ships.”

”It is still one day before the cooldown is over,” Jack replied.

”How about all of us mythical grade who can fly led other fliers to attack the ships?” Samuhn suggested. ”With our number here, we should be able to take them down. We might lose some men but that is better than continuing to wait.”

They all turned to Jack to see what he would say about this suggestion.