Chapter 79: | 079 | Inciting Incident
"Argh!" Captain Stolz yelped out in pain and immediately fell to the ground with a thud. Laplace stood from behind and smirked smugly as though she handled some pest. The reserved Magus in the Everlasting Sun swiftly surrounded her with Theodore leading them.
All of them had their grimoires opened, though it was hard to hide their anxious expressions from the dragoness. After all, they had met with the dragoness before, and things didn't end well for their fleet.
Even though most of them were a lot weaker than before than they were now. The terror of the dragoness seeped itself deep into their heart.
Meanwhile, War Master Theodore was surprised. He didn't expect the dragoness to grow even stronger. And what bothered him the most was the electricity that sometimes escaped her body.
"Electricity? How could you control it? Fire is your element dragoness! What have you done!?" Theodore yelled at the dragoness with a dumbfounded expression.
His terror was understandable. Something or someone strong that could grow stronger? That was a greater threat than a weak foe with great potential. It was something they needed to be extinguished.
Otherwise, humanity's dominance will be in question!
"Oh, you mean this?" With a flick of her fingers, electricity crackled in the air and crashed to the nearby Magus. Obviously, the electric current scattered along their shields, which cracked upon contact.
"How have you gained such power!?" Theodore uttered in shock as the more Laplace displayed her new electrostatic abilities, the more astounded he became.
"That's a secret, of course… You think I'm gonna tell you, Theodore?" Laplace smiled before her golden irises gleamed with radiance. "You know."
"You'll pay for what you did to the stone-faced."
The electrostatic force around the air got stronger as cracks of lightning escaped the body of the dragoness. Various Magus in the Everlasting Sun prepared several defensive spells against the impending attack of the dragoness.
War Master Theodore also activated his runic defensive spells scattered throughout the Everlasting Sun along with various offensive spells against the dragoness. He had already prepared himself for battle, so it was a matter of activating it.
The deck of the Everlasting Sun was tense. The dragoness and the other side prepared themselves for battle. But it soon changed when something sounded out in the tense standoff.
"Laplace, the Fleet Admiral wants you to stop." The aloof voice of Charlotte pierced from the runic communicator in the unmoving Captain Stolz's hand.
Hearing the words of the Vice Admiral, the electrostatic surrounding the dragoness calmed down. She stood quietly on the floor with a pout while replying to the stone-faced girl in the runic communicator.
"Stone-faced girl, Isn't this the perfect time to decimate them? If we take care of them now, we won't have anyone bothering us anymore." Unexpectedly, the problem dragon had a somewhat good idea.
"Well, that does sound sensible…" Quite surprisingly, the Vice Admiral wasn't against the idea of decimating their enemies before they could make trouble for the United Navy.
"But the Fleet Admiral has another idea in mind. Return back." With the clear orders of the Vice Admiral, the dragoness could only sigh in disappointment while sorrowfully glancing at the group of Magus.
"Theodore, you're pretty lucky at this moment. But who knows what will happen in the future if you dare to stand before me." Laplace gazed down at the War Master with an arrogant expression before disappearing from the spot.
Silence soon shrouded the decks of Everlasting Sun, but the aloof voice of Charlotte sounded out from the runic communicator once again.
"It seems that our dragoness has brought you a lot of trouble."
The caring words of the Vice Admiral sounded arrogant to the ones inside the Everlasting Sun. The fact that their enemy managed to get into the deck and attack their captain without much of a problem was something that would etch itself into their hearts.
Most of them had their eyebrows furrowed and immediately surrounded the captain. Meanwhile, War Master Theodore stood beside the runic communicator and took it away from the hands of the captain.
"The Fleet of Principatus Humanum wouldn't take this lying. This is your last chance to accept our demands without punishment." With a squinted eye, the War Master gave his final warning.
A battle won without fighting was the greatest victory of all. A surrendering enemy was better than a determined one. That was the philosophy that propelled War Master Theodore into his current state.
"I believe we have made our stance clear, War Master. The United Navy will continue to be independent and free onward into the future. No matter how much you threaten us, we will not buckle." Charlotte replied with an indifferent tone.
"You must not underestimate the power of the Sovereigns. A single one of them can turn this sea upside down. Even your dragoness stands no chance against them." What Theodore said was the truth.
The Sovereigns were like the apex of Maguskind. Their magicraft bordered the realms of the divine as though they were manipulating reality itself.
One of them can split the seas with one spell and collapse the heavens if they desire to do so.
"A group of Magus that are like gods? How interesting… They must be the apex of humanity's authority and power over this world. But it seems that they are far from enough." The Vice Admiral's words resounded throughout the decks of the battleship.
"Otherwise, they should have conquered the world by now. There are many races other than humanity, thriving in this world. Perhaps, they have individuals that rival these so-called Sovereigns."
"If this is true, that means they aren't as all-power and all-mighty as they consider themselves to be. Though… They might be the closest."
"According to your words, the Sovereigns are a group of the strongest Magus in this world. But despite being under one banner, none seemed to bother the circumstances outside of Europa and continued to stay in it."
"What do you think that means? It sounds pretty simple. They don't trust one another in their so-called countries. Basic distrust between rulers that fakes unity for authority." Her voice was akin to a mocking one.
"Are you underestimating their power? They might not be the strongest, but a pest like you is something they can easily splat in their spare time." Theodore uttered through the runic communicator as he was beginning to be pissed off.
"Oh, no, no… You seem to be misunderstanding something, War Master." The teasing voice continued as though the so-called aloof Vice Admiral wasn't bothered by the increasing anger of the War Master.
"I am not underestimating any of you. We might be a pest to you and your Sovereigns, but a cockroach can survive a nuclear blast if needed." In the Combat Information Center, Charlotte smirked while Laplace seemed smug beside her.
"What I'm trying to say is that… Don't underestimate us."
"We might get defeated, but your so-called dominion will lose all of its limbs as a result."
"After all, we are the United Navy."
Before War Master Theodore could continue hearing the words of the Vice Admiral, a Magus called out for him and pointed at the horizon.
"War Master Theodore! A fleet of warships are heading towards us!"