Chapter 81: The Dark Elf’s Secret Weapon
May 22, 306 Yamato Calendar.
At this time, after all the wars in the eastern continent had been settled, the Black Elven Empire was on the verge of one of the biggest crises since its founding.
They were once strong.
Their magic infantry is the strongest on the continent. Their magic barrage could blast away any army, and even if they were numerically inferior, they could push back with their firepower.
There is no race on the eastern continent that surpasses the dark elves in magical technology. Even in the magic industry, they are one step ahead of humans and beastkin.
The military, economy, and technology.
The Black Elven Empire was the most powerful country on the eastern continent.
With a total population of 100 million, it had made a name for itself as one of the largest countries on the continent.
But that is already a thing of the past. As it stands now, they are like a cornered fox.
The beastkin of the west is still not a threat.
They seem to have gotten somewhat stronger by learning new strategies, but if the numbers are the same, the elves are still stronger.
Furthermore, the population of beastkin is about 10 million, whereas dark elves are ten times that.
If the dark elves get serious, they can easily crush them.
At least it won’t be a huge threat to them.
Although they have failed to invade once, “At the end of the day, they are nothing more than beasts of an inferior race. It’s way too soon for them to pick a fight with the great elves,” they said, there was enough leeway on the front lines to be able to snicker at the idea.
But the problem is somewhere else.
The pressure is increasing day by day. Moreover, the sense of crisis among the dark elves was reaching its limit.
The pressure that they feel.
The main cause was the Yamato Empire, a country that came from across the sea.
From the perspective of the dark elves, this country is like a powerful demon lord that can obliterate them.
They are a different kind of humans. They ride on an unimaginably huge steel ship and freely manipulate various weapons using dangerous objects such as gunpowder.
It is, indeed, the embodiment of fear.
Although they have almost never engaged in direct combat, they thoroughly understand the performance of the weapons that Yamato has supplied to various countries.
Even the dark elves, who considered themselves a superior race, feel defeated when faced with said technology… No, they don’t want to admit defeat, so they reluctantly have to accept a draw.
Moreover, technical skills are not the only thing that they excels.
Their leader, Eryutheia, waged a brilliant siege in the Battle of Pudding Highlands, annihilating the Eastern Front Army of the Black Elf Army despite being outnumbered.
It seems that not only their technology is superior, but their military commander is also excellent and flawless.
And even more.
Although the Yamato Empire alone is a big enough problem, the human faction is gradually strengthened by the weapons supplied by that country.
First of all, the United Kingdom of Albatross in the east.
The musket-armed infantry possessed firepower on par with the magic infantry of the dark elves, and they also had field artillery, something the elves didn’t have.
The previous Battle of Gahara Gate was won due to Luna’s betrayal, but… In reality, their combat capabilities are about equal. If they fight them head-on, it’s uncertain who’s going to win.
There is no doubt that the elves have lost their military superiority in land warfare.
The naval battle is also desperate.
They have a new fleet of warships made of steel, which renders the fire magic the dark elves specialize in ineffective. What’s more, they’ve been continuously firing cannons and there’s no hope of winning with the existing galley ships.
Far from being at an advantage, they are downright at a disadvantage. There is no doubt that the control of the sea has been completely taken away by the human side.
If you look to the north…
The hostile barbarian country known as the Great Moruro Empire has now ceased to exist, and the people under the Yamato Empire have been emigrating one after another.
Apparently, the Yamato Empire has overthrown the barbarian country.
Like those of Porlant and many others.
The people who are newly settled in that land have all just immigrated, so their combat ability is not that high, but… Surprisingly, the Yamato Imperial Army remains there to provide protection.
These guys are bad news.
The elves who went for reconnaissance all say the same thing.
Apparently, they’re controlling something like a flying monster in the sky and a crawling iron beast on the ground.
Especially the flying monsters in the sky known as Rudens or Rudel are terrifying, and it is rumored that if you encounter them, you won’t be able to return alive.
It’s hard to imagine that they could launch an attack against such a group of monsters and win.
The United Kingdom of Albatross has become significantly stronger and is now on par with their own, and that monstrous country has invaded the north.
The only one who is weak is the beastkin in the west, but that’s no consolation at all when the others are like this.
They will almost certainly be crushed from the north and east if things continue as they are. Furthermore, in that moment of distraction, the beastkin might also strike.
If that happens… The future of the dark elf race will completely cease to exist.
At this time, the dark elves were genuinely afraid that they would perish.
Therefore, in order to survive, they had to find a new way to gain peace of mind.
On the sea in the southern part of the Black Elven Empire.
There was a large sailing ship floating there.
The size is about 1,000 tons. It’s an unusually large ship for a ship in this world that doesn’t make many large ships, but… Apart from that, it’s a normal sailing ship, and there’s nothing particularly about it.
However, this ship is their trump card to break through this situation where the elves are surrounded.
“The new frozen ship ‘Celsius’… We’ll take this ship across the sea.”
“There was supposed to be an elf country across the sea. If we don’t find this, we have no future.”
The elderly dark elf, the captain of the Celsius, looks up at the ship’s mast with expectant eyes, while the still-young first officer continues.
Frozen Ship ‘Celsius’.
It is a hope created by the dark elves, who do not have the ability to build ships large enough to cross the ocean, in order to search for an elven country across the sea.
……However, the truth is they don’t know whether there is an elf country across the sea.
However, they believe that it exists because they would be troubled if it did not exist.
“Alright, let’s get everyone on board. ――Activating ‘Freezing Magic!'”
“――’Freezing Magic’ activated!”
From the outside, the frozen ship Celsius looks like an ordinary sailing ship, but the inside is anything but ordinary.
Along with the pale magic light, the hull is gradually being covered by ice.
Yes, this ship has a massive magical circuit within it. No, it would be accurate to describe the ship itself as a container for a magic circuit.
“It was difficult to immediately develop a ship capable of crossing the open sea, but… By covering the body of the ship with ice, the strength of the hull is forcibly increased. A brilliant idea befitting the superior race of elves!”
What can be done with this magic circuit is ‘Freezing Magic’.
By using a large amount of magical power, it’s possible to cover the ship’s hull with several meters of thick ice.
In order to overcome this situation where they are surrounded by hostile countries, they want to cross the sea and find allies.
However, the construction of the large, sturdy vessels required for this purpose is difficult with the current technical skills of the dark elves. In that case, let’s use magic to cover the ship with a thick layer of ice to increase hull strength.
It’s an idea that wouldn’t even occur to anyone who isn’t an elf excelling in magic.
In fact, even with the magical prowess of the dark elves, it was not easy to realize such an outlandish plan.
Powerful magic, in turn, consumes large amounts of magical power.
Even though dark elves are excellent at magic, it’s still difficult for them to cast a large-scale siege spell that can freeze an entire ship.
No matter how hard an individual tries, it’s probably impossible to activate.
With the number of people on the ship, even with all 300 people on board, the maximum operating time is estimated to be about 10 minutes.
That is all it takes for the magic power to bottom out and the freezing magic cannot be activated.
It’s not like it’s impossible, but it’s not practical for actual use.
Whether it is a human or an elf, there is a limit to the magical power that can be used by an individual.
But, however…
“Our magic technology is the best in the world, nothing is impossible!”
“That’s right! The new technology we have created, the human fuel ‘Mana’, has excellent performance. With this, we can deal with this magic power consumption!”
The human fuel―― Mana is the new technology they created to solve this problem.
This is a kind of sacrificial technology.
The idea is to extract the soul from the human body and convert it into a highly concentrated chunk of magic power.
This mass of magical power, which is only produced by sacrificing life, possesses a substantial amount of magic.
The life of an intelligent life form with magical powers, such as a human or an elf, is essential for its creation, and from a humanitarian point of view, it is not possible to manufacture it… But, it’s a product that turns out to be.
However, in this world without human rights.
The dark elves invaded human territories and used the captured prisoners to generate mana. Furthermore, it seems they are also planning to make human farms in order to continuously obtain mana in the future.
Anyway.
They prepared a large amount of magical power equivalent to the lives of about 400 people, which would allow them to sail for about a month for every single ship.
Thanks to the inhumane but superior magical technology of the elves, four Celsius-class frozen ships had been built, including the first Celsius ship, and all of them were already in service.
The construction cost is over 100 times that of existing elf galleys, and its operating cost is enormous, requiring 400 sacrifices for each voyage.
It is said to have had a significant impact on the finances of the Black Elven Empire, but it can’t be helped.
Because this ship is an ‘Ark’ that they are betting on for the survival of their country. It’s worth making, no matter how much money it takes.
The problem is, after this.
The water surrounding the Black Elven Empire―― no, all the surrounding water around the eastern continent is under the control of the Yamato Empire. Naturally, the battleships of the Yamato Empire were conducting patrol activities.
They must cross the sea without being found by them.
=====
A little supplementary explanation: Celsius-class Frozen Ship.
Specifications:
Standing displacement: 1000 tons, when freezing magic is activated, about 10,000 tons
Armor thickness: A thick ice equivalent of an armored steel plate 100mm thick or more, with regenerative abilities.
Speed: Surprisingly slow
Cruising range: About one month
Crew: 300
They want to cross the sea, but they have never built a ship strong enough to cross the ocean… An elf suggested, “Wouldn’t the existing ship become sturdy if it’s covered with a chunk of ice?” The ship was built with that idea in mind.
Although it is essentially a ship, it looks like an iceberg when it’s covered with several meters of ice during freezing.
There are four ships of the same type.
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