On the inner sea that separated the Daflue region and the Liguritudum Realm, two armadas were keeping a distance from one another. One was moving toward the other armada, while the other armada was moving away. They moved at a casual speed. Neither were in a hurry.
The armada that was doing the chasing had a larger number. They had a total of 215 ships. These ships were comprised of 5 men-of-war, 20 galleons, 36 galleasses, 42 carracks, 38 frigates, and 74 caravels.
The armada that was being chased was roughly half the adversary's size. They were comprised of 1 man-of-war, 11 galleons, 22 galleasses, 19 carracks, 26 frigates, 33 caravels, and 10 gigantic transport vessels. They totaled 119 ships. However, the ships in this armada had slightly different appearances. Their hulls were covered in metal, giving them a tougher look.
The larger armada was the Liguritudum armada while the smaller one was the Palgrost armada
One of the five men-of-war in the chasing armada was Liguritudum armada's flagship. This flagship was also the largest among the five. On this flagship, a native ethereal stood on the upper deck of the ship's bow. This native ethereal was the leader of the armada. His name was Kaghast. He was a level 80 mythical grade.
He never joined the previous wars despite his high level and grade because he had made it clear to Master when Master assumed the Liguritudum throne that he would only lead the armada. He wouldn't join any other campaign that didn't involve the armada. Master let him be because otherwise, Kaghast would have resigned like most of the high marshalls.
Beside Kaghast were World Maker's big shots. Gridhacker, GraphicZ, and Soundeffect. After getting killed by Jack and losing the Hydrurond throne, Gridhacker revived back in Liguritudum. Master ordered him to join the armada that was sailing out to block Palgrost armada at the time.
"They just keep on evading us. What is the point of coming to our doorstep without the intention to fight?" Soundeffect complained. He was getting bored of the days when nothing happened. "I heard the enemy force invading Aurebor was already sieging Lorethion. Does anyone know how the battle is going?"
"It was already over. The enemy won," Gridhacker informed.
"Damn! That doesn't sound good. How come it's us who are on the back foot? We are supposed to conquer this world!"
"There is no use complaining," Gridhacker said to him. "It doesn't matter even if the enemy wins the war. As long as Master gets all the divine treasures, we will still win."
"But the last divine treasure is with the Themisphere king, isn't it? We will have to beat the enemy army to get to that guy."
"Not to mention that guy himself is a monster," GraphicZ said.
Gridhacker didn't deny. The memory of Jack in lightning form, destroying the throne and killing him, was still fresh in his mind.
"So, now that they are done with Aurebor, they will be coming for us soon," Soundeffect said.
"I heard there is already another army heading toward us from Hydrurond," GraphicZ added.
"Then what are we doing playing cat-and-mouse with those dwarven cowards here? If they don't want to fight, just leave them be. We should turn back and guard the river at the border to at least reduce the enemy army crossing into our territory."
"We can't let those transport ships dock at our shore," Gridhacker said, indicating the ten transport vessels within Palgrost Armada. "Those ships carried Palgrost's land troops. If they enter our territory, we will have two fronts to worry about. Don't worry about the border river. We've already sent a few ships back to guard that river,"
"That's right," Kaghast said. He had been listening to the three. "Once we vanquish the enemy armada here, we will join those ships."
"How do we vanquish them? They keep on avoiding us," Soundeffect argued. "When we increased our speed, they did the same. I hate to say it but even though they have a smaller armada, Palgrost's ships are better. Our ships can't match their maximum speed. We won't be able to catch them if they keep on evading us. They will soon reach the outer sea. What are we going to do? Follow them out?"
"They have better ships but we are more accustomed to this inner sea," Kaghast said. "They won't be able to evade us today."
"Do you have a plan?" Gridhacker asked. He could hear the confidence in Kaghast's tone.
"It is going to rain soon," Kaghast replied.
"How do you know?" GraphicZ asked.
"A good sailor has a good nose for the weather," Kaghast answered.
Via message, Gridhacker told GraphicZ, "He has a talent called Weather Prediction."
"The rain will be a heavy one, with a storm. It will limit their visibility," Kaghast added.
"It will also limit ours," Gridhacker said.
Kaghast smiled at the remark. "Like I said, we are more accustomed to this inner sea."
*
In the Palgrost armada, the lone man-of-war was the flagship. On this flagship was Thelgrun. Viking and Helga Flameforge stood beside him. They were looking at their rear at the pursuing enemies. They had to be vigilant and adjust their speed when the enemy increased theirs.
When they sailed out, they intended to land on Liguritudum's southern shores and let the land units disembark from the transport vessels, but the Liguritudum Armada was quick to spot them. Following John's instruction, they avoided a battle. They had been constantly evading the Liguritudum Armada since then.
"Why do we have to keep on evading them?" A dwarf officer behind the three asked. He was a level 80 rare elite dwarf named Mamunic Rockguard. He was the person in charge of the naval base in the Daflue region where Palgrost ships were moored. In this campaign, he served as Thelgrun's right-hand man.
"Are you questioning our president's order?" Helga admonished.
"I wouldn't dare," Mamunir apologized, but his expression didn't show that he was sorry. "I simply didn't understand our course of action. The enemy might have more ships, but our ships are faster. Our guns' range is longer. I don't see the need to avoid them."
"I appreciate your confidence, Mamunir," Thelgrun said. "But blind confidence can lead to disaster. Compared to our armada, the enemy is more experienced sailing this sea. We can't underestimate them."
"So, are we going to just evade them like this?" Mamunir asked.
"We are not evading them. We are luring them," Viking said.
"Luring them? To where?" Mamunir asked.
"You will find out soon," Thelgrun said to Mamunir. He then turned to Viking and asked, "It should be today, isn't it?"
Viking nodded.
At that time, a thunder was heard.
"What luck. It seems like a storm is coming. It has to be today out of all the days." Thelgrun said.
"It shouldn't affect our plan," Viking said. "We just have to keep a straight line and make sure the enemy stays on us."
Thelgrun turned to Mamunir. "Warn the ones on the crow's nests to pay attention to the enemy ships. Make sure we are not caught off-guard during the storm."
Mamunir didn't understand what plan the two were talking about, but he didn't try to pry. Despite his dissatisfaction with their evasion tactic, he was an obedient officer. He went away to carry out Thelgrun's order and warned the lookouts on the crow's nests.
"It shouldn't be long now," Viking said.
