The Final Boss Has Returned 160

Chapter 160

If Lawless Port was the largest port city in the east and Neverfreeze Port was the largest in the north, then the largest port city in the south was undoubtedly Southwest.

As befitting the largest port and coastal city in the south, Shin Jeong-hyeok had installed numerous coastal strongholds, coastal artillery, and various anti-landing measures, including defensive facilities, in Southwest.

Even though the Iron Blood Alliance’s naval power was the strongest in Ard World, even the formidable Iron Blood Alliance navy would have to shed a considerable amount of blood during a landing. The coastal defense line established at Southwest Port was so formidable that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it an “impenetrable defense.”

Therefore, the users remaining as the defense force of Southwest Port weren’t particularly worried, even though they had received intelligence that the grand fleet led by Drakan was heading south.

“Surely, he wouldn’t be crazy enough to attempt a landing here, would he?”

“He’ll go somewhere else.”

The defense line of Southwest Port, which was comparable to a fortress equipped with the best defense systems, if it were a castle!

The users remaining as the defense force thought that no matter how capable Drakan was, he would choose a different coastal city instead of Southwest Port, where the defense line was thoroughly established, as long as he had any sense. Their thinking was quite reasonable.

Due to Shin Jeong-hyeok’s orders, the defense facilities of the coastal cities had been significantly reinforced, but there were definitely cities with relatively weak defenses, and they believed that Drakan would target those ports.

Of course, Southwest was the largest port city in the south, so occupying it would bring enormous strategic advantages.

However, that didn’t mean it was a city worth breaking through the tight, impenetrable defenses and suffering massive casualties in the first battle.

In any case, with such a reasonable judgment, Royce, the branch manager of Simseong Iron Stars’ Southwest branch and the overall defense commander of Southwest Port, was loosely controlling his subordinate guild members.

As it happened, Southwest Port had a typical Mediterranean climate, boasting a warm climate similar to a resort and a splendid landscape, making it an environment where guild members could easily relax.

At that moment, as the users were chatting and gazing at the emerald sea teeming with people……

Black shapes began to appear beyond the horizon.

“Uh, what’s that?”

The first to discover the shapes was a user in charge of long-distance surveillance from the lighthouse.

The user, who was acting as the lighthouse keeper, immediately brought his telescope to his eye, and a surprising sight unfolded beyond the lens.

Beyond the beautiful emerald sea of the south, massive warships appeared all at once, as if to cover the horizon.

And in the middle of them, a flag fluttered with the Iron Blood Alliance’s symbol, a black cogwheel with a red skull engraved on it.

Drakan.

The Iron Blood Alliance fleet led by him had finally arrived in the south.

“Drakan?”

Drakan appeared off the coast of Southwest Port!

It was a fact that was hard to believe even after seeing it, but the user acting as the lighthouse keeper calmly sent a whisper to Royce, the Southwest branch manager and overall defense commander.

“Branch Manager Royce-nim!”

[What’s going on?]

“Drakan has appeared!”

Drakan!

He appeared!

Upon hearing those words, Royce, who was leisurely sunbathing in the city hall garden, jumped up from his sunbed.

“What? Drakan appeared?”

Drakan.

Why on earth did he come here?

[It’s true. Right now, Drakan’s fleet is approaching Southwest Port.]

After hearing the lighthouse keeper’s words, a smile spread across Royce’s lips.

It seemed that Drakan’s arrival at the port was indeed true, but Royce was confident.

The formidable defense line of Southwest Port!

He was confident that he could conduct a delaying action with that defense line and hold out until Vice Chairman Shin Jeong-hyeok and the reinforcements arrived!

Royce had already heard that the troops that had headed to the Great Forest were returning.

If he could successfully carry out the delaying action and tie down Drakan’s forces at the port until the reinforcements arrived, he might be able to aim for a higher position within the guild after this war ended in victory.

For example, an executive position in Simseong Iron Stars.

With that thought in mind, Royce immediately sent a whisper to Axe King Paul.

[Guild Master Paul-nim, this is Royce. Drakan has appeared at Southwest Port. I will hold him back with all my might until you arrive here with the army.]

And Royce’s whisper immediately reached the ears of Axe King Paul, who was in the midst of returning.

Upon hearing Royce’s whisper, Paul smiled.

Although the Iron Axe Guild and the Shooting Star Guild had been merged through the financial power of the Simseong Group, that didn’t mean that the years of rivalry between the two guilds in the south had completely disappeared.

On the contrary, because they were rival guilds, the Iron Stars Guild was effectively divided into two organizations.

Since the two guilds, which could never have become one without capitalism, had been merged, naturally, the factions were divided into two, and the competition and checks between the factions were fierce.

And the same was true for Over-Rankers Axe King Paul and Assassination King Layla.

However, that didn’t mean that one of the two factions had gained an advantage.

Because of that, when the two guilds merged and were reborn as Simseong Iron Stars, neither Layla nor Paul became the sole guild master; instead, it ended in an ambiguous form of co-guild masters.

And both Layla and Paul were dissatisfied with their current position as co-guild masters and harbored the desire to become the sole guild master.

In such a situation, Drakan’s appearance at Southwest Port was a golden opportunity for Paul, a lifeline from heaven.

‘I didn’t expect him to come to Southwest, but I’m glad he did. Drakan, he must have come here thinking of the strategic value of Southwest, but he doesn’t seem to have considered how tight the defenses are. He doesn’t deserve the title of Overlord.’

Paul denigrated Drakan, saying he didn’t deserve the nickname of Overlord, but from another perspective, it was a big chance for him.

Royce was a member of the former Iron Axe Guild and belonged to his faction.

Therefore, if he successfully completed the defense and delaying action at Southwest Port and finished off Drakan there, the credit for this war would undoubtedly go to none other than Axe King Paul himself.

Paul imagined himself as the sole guild master of the Iron Stars Guild and said to Vice Chairman Shin Jeong-hyeok with a smile.

“Boss.”

“What is it?”

“Drakan has appeared at Southwest Port. My subordinate is the branch manager there, and he says he’ll hold a delaying action until we arrive, so don’t worry.”

“What?”

Shin Jeong-hyeok’s face hardened upon hearing Paul’s words.

Drakan.

He had just heard the news that the target of this war had finally appeared in the south.

But soon, realizing where Drakan had appeared, a smile spread across Shin Jeong-hyeok’s lips.

“It seems he’s blinded by the strategic value of Southwest. Anyway, we’re heading to Southwest Port. We’ll kill Drakan there.”

At Shin Jeong-hyeok’s short and powerful words, the Iron Stars’ army began to head towards Southwest in unison.

At that moment, as the southern forces were gathering……

Southwest Port had already completed its defensive preparations.

The coastal artillery opened fire, and the muzzles of the cannons were aimed at the enemy fleet.

In addition, mages were preparing for magic bombardment, traps and landing obstacles were set up along the coast, and wyvern units and ballistae were ready to engage in aerial combat with the enemy wyverns that had arrived with the aircraft carriers.

And countless soldiers hidden in the trenches were also on standby.

‘Just come. I’ll crush you all.’

As Royce was smiling while looking at the port, which was in a state of thorough preparedness……

In the distance, Drakan spoke quietly from the Steelwing, which was floating off the coast of Southwest Port.

“Launch the flying battleships.”

At Drakan’s short command, the sides of some of the numerous warships lined up on the horizon opened, and soon mechanical devices popped out and started to emit hot air.

Along with that, the ‘flying battleships’ that were mixed in with the fleet began to rise from the sea into the sky.

“Wh-what’s that?”

The users of Southwest Port and the overall defense commander, Royce, were all shocked as they watched the spectacle.

“The ships…… are flying in the sky?”

That’s right.

The ships were literally flying in the sky.

Flying battleships.

One of the legacies of the ancient magic civilization that had been restored from the Sky Shipyard in the Floating Castle Voltaha, following the airships.

An all-weather magic weapon that could traverse both the sea and the sky, and the secret weapon that Drakan had prepared for the landing operation, had finally revealed itself.

[Oh lol the ships are flying in the sky lol]

[Wow;; Crazy…… Ah lol]

[Hey, all those serious guys who were criticizing Drakan-nim for charging in earlier, come out lol]

[Ah lol this war is so much fun lol I should have gone too lol]

[Flying battleships are real?]

And naturally, all of this was being broadcast live on all channels, including the official Drakan channel and game broadcasting stations, so the users who saw this were all shocked.

The existence of airships was now familiar.

Not only the Iron Blood Alliance, but other users who had changed their class to Magic Engineer were also attempting to design them, and there were also a few airships built by large guilds, so it could be said that it was a relatively well-known concept.

However, flying battleships were not.

The users were all in an uproar at the sight of the flying battleships rising directly from the sea into the sky, but Royce couldn’t just sit back and relax.

Warships flying in the sky!

What in the world was this nonsense!

Royce, who was momentarily frozen at the sight of the warships defying common sense by flying in the sky, quickly regained his composure.

If he lost his mind like this, a tragedy could really occur where Southwest Port would easily fall into the enemy’s hands.

And that meant Royce’s own downfall.

With that thought in mind, Royce came to his senses and shouted.

“Wh-what are you doing? A-attack! Attack them!”

“B-but Branch Manager-nim, h-how can we attack that?”

In response to Royce’s question, the adjutant looked up blankly at the flying battleship squadron soaring through the sky and said.

“Deploy the wyvern units, fire the ballistae, and cast magic! Shoot them all down!”

Royce shouted at the adjutant again and gave the order, and just as the adjutant, who finally came to his senses, was about to relay the order to the entire defense force……

The bottom of the flying battleships opened, and magic bombs began to rain down on Southwest Port.

Thus, the Southwest landing operation finally began with Drakan’s preemptive strike.