Chapter 116: Yongyongmon, Rollin' Out!

“The front line is retreating again! We have been fighting while minimizing casualties, but the results are poor. Out of 32 strongholds, we have lost two on the outer perimeter. On top of that… a significant portion of our defensive fleet has been destroyed.”

Spirit Summoner Barron continued his report.

“Is that so?”

Contrary to Barron’s expectations, Karlstein’s response was utterly calm.

“We cannot decipher their current strategy. They seem to be using large-scale spatial jumps to strike our strongholds… Naturally, we are on the alert for these jumps, but they are getting past our radars and leaving us helpless.”

“Well, well…”

Their relentless ability to resurrect no matter how many times they were killed, combined with spatial jumps, was infuriating.

Even after finishing his report, Barron could not shake off his unease.

Aren’t we in danger? How can he be so composed? What in the world is Oradge thinking?

“Hmm.”

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Karlstein lightly tapped his fingers on his office desk. His next words took Barron off guard.

“They underestimated us.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Hmm…”

Barron could not fathom the Oradge’s thoughts. Nevertheless, Karlstein continued to contemplate, projecting a holographic map.

The map displayed the three factions—each with their own base of operations—expanding their territories, represented by different colors.

The ratio of occupied territory was 4:1:2.

The Galactic Empire was 4, the Sephiroth was 1, and the Kaiju was 2.

The Empire’s expansion was overwhelmingly rapid. The Kaiju had the numbers to match, but even they could not keep up with the pace.

Karlstein scratched his chin, studying the map divided into three factions.

To this point, expanding strongholds had been like a game of Go. All three factions had tried to avoid direct combat as much as possible during expansion, but depending on the situation, gaining territory could pressure the opposing side or block their advance.

“I suppose it’s finally reached saturation?”

The resources of World had not shown any signs of depletion yet. However, as territory was limited, the rapid expansion of the three factions was nearing its limit in terms of available land.

“I expected this, but it’s sooner than I thought.”

This indicated that all three factions had committed themselves to expansion with all their might.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Karlstein’s thoughts accelerated with the rhythm of his tapping.

“We’ve mainly pressured the Sephiroth so far.”

Why? Because they were troublesome. Putting aside their ability to resurrect, their spatial jumps were unbearably irksome.

And the Kaiju shared this sentiment. Karlstein had intentionally avoided direct conflict with the Kaiju faction, focusing on containing the Sephiroth’s expansion. Yet, their blade was undoubtedly also pointed at the Sephiroth.

Perhaps it could be said that the Galactic Empire had formed a tactical alliance with their biggest main enemy, the Kaiju.

“Though of course, we set up this situation.”

In areas where their advance paths overlapped, the Galactic Empire had made every effort to shepherd the Kaiju towards the Sephiroth. Thus, the Sephiroth inevitably faced pressure from multiple fronts.

They did not have the weakest territorial ratio for nothing. From their perspective, they were under concentrated attack.

“Yet they decided to hit us first…”

Karlstein felt they had been underestimated—greatly so.

“Hmm.”

Did we push them too hard?

“There’s no way they struck at both factions.”

Do they want to eliminate us first? I would’ve preferred them to deal with the Kaiju first…

Karlstein exhaled.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

“The enemy surely wants us gone as soon as possible. However…”

Tactics and strategy traditionally involve establishing your base in areas your opponent wishes to avoid.

“We need to extend the front line.”

“What?”

“Order a retreat, but delay it as much as possible to stretch the front line. That alone will likely suffice to throw them off.”

“…”

“Imbeciles. They should have targeted the Kaiju first.”

The longer the front line extended, the greater the sense of pressure. There was no need to rush a response. The Empire just had to retreat slowly, stretch the front line, and conserve their forces.

“If it were just the two of us, we could clash head-on, but…”

Currently, it was a three-way battle. Wasting Imperial forces unnecessarily could allow others to benefit.

“There’s no need to act first.”

“Uh… According to the retreat manual… the losses in battleships will be considerable.”

Barron could not hide his unrest.

“Ah?”

The battleships. Right. I suppose they all look like the same ships to him.

“I can easily give up unmanned ships.”

For strategic victory, that level of military expenditure was not an issue.

Tap.

Karlstein pushed off the desk and stood up.

“It seems you still don’t understand what it means to represent the Galactic Empire.”

“Sir?”

“Planetary-scale wars won’t even scratch the surface of the Empire. Losing some unmanned battleships…”

That’s nothing to us.

If it was not a matter of special resources or Ether, the Galactic Empire could afford to sacrifice unmanned battleships at any time. They were but mere hunks of metal.

In fact, time was the resource that mattered—time to train personnel, build ships, and supply materials.

So long as there was time, the Galactic Empire could produce nearly infinite unmanned vessels. They were hardly worth measuring in terms of the ratio of engagement.

“I-is that so?”

Karlstein simply laughed.

“Yes. And the stronghold we need to target is here.”

“Here…? Is that not where the fighting is ongoing?”

“Correct. That’s where the Kaiju and Sephiroth are engaged in a battle for control.”

It was a high ground battle of sorts. When the Kaiju attempted to break through, the Sephiroth would defend desperately.

This strategic point was of immense importance to the Sephiroth. Most likely, the scale of the battle would not be small.

Barron was speechless.

Invading that location so suddenly? Shouldn’t we be preparing against an attack right now?

Regardless, Karlstein’s voice was unwavering.

“That’s right. Our task is to attack, not defend. We can concede some ground to the Sephiroth. They won’t be able to hold it anyway, especially with their level of infrastructure we’ve confirmed so far.”

“That is…”

It was true. The Sephiroth had built large silver tree structures and established strongholds, but their speed was, naturally, incomparable to the Galactic Empire’s.

“Send that punk over.”

“That punk…?”

“The one who’s getting cocky just because he’s ranked a little high.”

“Ah…”

“Tell him to earn his keep.”

“…Understood.”

Barron broke out in a cold sweat.

The punk

Karlstein referred to was a being created by combining the body of the strongest dragon alive with the terrifying technology of the Galactic Empire. Yet Karlstein treated him so lightly.

But then Barron realized something.

Oh, this man is a monster too huh.

Karlstein’s ordinary laughter was deceptive at times. But thinking about it, the Oradge was even more monstrous than a dragon.

***“Heheheh.”

“My, aren’t you overly excited?”

“Of course I am. We’ve limited the use of Ether until now.”

A red-haired child puffed air from his nostrils. His companion, an archmage elf, shook her head.

“War is like a monster that constantly grows to break the opponent’s strategy. Unless there is significant gain to be had, the strategically correct decision is to avoid exposing our technology and forces.”

“It’s not that I don’t get it. Oradge didn’t make the wrong call. I was just frustrated. I’m geared up with the greatest—er, latest weapons, actually. And I can’t even use them!”

“…We were all subject to the Ether limitation, after all.”

“But didn’t you guys get permission to let loose and go wild sometimes?”

The archmage elf’s blonde hair swished, a subtle scent of grass filling the air.

“That is because my situation differs from yours.”

“But well, since we’ve got the go-ahead now…”

Yongyong chuckled.

“This might be Full Metal Wardragon’s time to shine! Gahahah!”

“…It is like you changed personalities.”

“Heheh.”

Red-haired Yongyong and the archmage elf were using stealth magic and various equipment to observe the battlefield from the air, undetected by anyone.

Their combination was quite effective in that sense. The archmage provided support, while the dragon served as both a frontline fighter and long-range bomber.

-KIEEEGH!

-Grrur.

[Die!]

KABOOM!

The battle between the Sephiroth forces and the Kaiju horde raged on.

“I don’t see the wooden ships that were reported. I hear they can jump through space freely?”

“It is because all the observed wooden ships were targeting us.”

“Hmm.”

Due to a long fine-tuning phase for his enhancements, Yongyong hadn’t had the chance to properly observe the Sephiroth in a while.

“I guess this is my revenge battle…”

Before his enhancement, Yongyong could only watch the Sephiroth from afar. At best, he could slightly support his allies with magic.

Magic was ineffective against the Sephiroth, and their combat power was formidable.

Back then, their intimidating presence had made it hard for him to even move.

“Ether is so remarkable.”

“I agree.”

Yongyong clenched and unclenched his fist with an excited face. He felt immense power.

“Just by mixing a little Ether, the power of magic amplifies to an undeniably significant degree.”

“And the most important effect would be that it actually works against them.”

“Anyway, we should stop chit-chatting.”

PZZT-

BBBBANG-

BOOOM- CRACK-

“Ha ha. Is it time then?”

Yongyong was ready to release his polymorphed form.

“YongyongTV’s back!”

He roared, instantly transforming back into a gigantic metal dragon.

Yongyong’s massive body gleamed. Every inch, from his scales and wings to his internal organs, was plated with the Galactic Empire’s finest alloy in a way that preserved his original shape as closely as possible.

WOOONG!

The archmage elf quickly put distance between herself and Yongyong.

“Atmospheric adjustment. Refraction adjustment. Presence…”

All the while, she cast various support magic to prevent their stealth from being broken—the energy gathering in the dragon’s mouth was terrifying enough to make one’s hair stand on end.

DING-

ㄴo! yongyong bish wasnt ded?

ㄴare you back dragon mfer!

ㄴWhy’re you so late! I thought I was gonna die holding my breath for you!

ㄴayo wut dis? u showing off dragon breath right off the bat?

ㄴIsn’t this a battlefield??

ㄴwohh, he shootin, he shootin! he going for da big one!

ㄴgo! Yongyongmon!

The Community users instantly understood the situation as soon as the stream turned on.

ㄴoshet! whats that?

ㄴlmao Yongyong looks badass amirite?

ㄴbro got a proper makeover.

ㄴAAAAAAAH! ITS DRAGON BREATH! DODGE!

ㄴholy shit! are u shitting me?

Even through the stream, they could feel the atmosphere screaming and space warping.

“This is beyond my limit! Stealth is breaking! Switching to shield now! Prepare for impact!”

WOOONG!

Even for the archmage elf, it was impossible to hide such a tremendous buildup of energy.

CRASH!

PZZZZZT!

The stealth magic broke, and the form of the giant dragon descended upon the battlefield between the Sephiroth and the Kaiju.

WOOONG!

[W-what the?!]

[What is that?!]

[Impossible…]

-KIEEEEGH!

-Karrr.

-KRGH KRRGH!

The sudden emergence of the metallic dragon, coupled with the immense energy accumulated in its maw, plunged the entire area into pandemonium.

“Bahahahah! Say hi to 1.4 million power Dragon Breath!”

Yongyong’s Breath engulfed the entire battlefield.

[Take cover!!]

[Request immediate reinforcement…!]

[Deploy a barrier! Activate the Spatial Distortion Field!]

[N-no! This can’t be deflected!]

In the midst of the Sephiroth forces’ panic, a colossal explosion erupted on the battlefield.