In large-scale battles and wars, there was a concept known as momentum. It was an important aspect in this situation as it could affect the war between the two sides in a great way.
Momentum became the main drive for war and it began when the two sides met and ended with one side's victory when they managed to achieve their goals in battle or war.
Of course, variables existed that could tilt the momentum of war to one’s side and that was why the leader in the war and battle often wanted stable intel to go their way so that they could get an overview of the entire theater.
Then they needed their war machines to go against the other side’s, clashing and engaging in small skirmishes before deciding on further moves, whether to analyze the enemy’s move or take the initiative to take advantage of one’s opening.
Dian, Leif, Ghylea, Chikara and Frie were all overseeing all aspects of the mobilization of the civilization. This time, the Elves and the Glings were not included in the Star Battle. Instead, they were to safeguard the civilization from the threat from the wilderness, specifically the Sovereign Beasts and the Thearch Nymphs.
It was mainly the humans and the dwarves who would participate. The undead could not be deployed because they still did not acclimate to the sea environment.
This caused Dian to realize that he was severely lacking in naval capability but he still believed that the transcendents that were sent would be the cause of the tipping of the momentum.
The early phase of the Star Battle commenced, where the two sides were gauging each other’s capabilities.
Dian focused more on the carcasses of the giant beasts that came to his planet. He knew that the race he had to face was living and thriving in the sea.
“Merfolk.” Dian said with clarity. From the clues he had in the giant beasts that the other side had sent, it was clear that the giant beasts were merely cannon fodder and more would come.
“Do you actually have a countermeasure against them?” Chikara felt that Dian’s core race was still lacking in naval combat and actually having to face merfolk would surely be challenging.
“We can only rely on the transcendents. They are our strongest attack while the fleet will serve as the strongest defense. A simple arrangement but their cooperation needs to be observed further since the data we have is only for small skirmishes.” Dian quickly procured some past performances of the transcendents in the sea along with the ship.
“Hah, another hard battle is underway yet you are still relaxed.” Chikara could not help but comment on that.
“I just trust that they can do that much. It is good that my core race is not reliant on any other race. That means they can get the victory even without them.” Dian said while completing his set of commands.
As for the ships on the sea, they were starting to get supplies to maintain and reloading the shells for firing the cannon. The Cerulean Defense Force managed to get a supply line to the area near the Rift.
Almost all the naval powers began to come in droves to the Rift, increasing their chance to not only repel the incoming enemy but also form a strike fleet that could go deeper into the enemy territory.
The second thing that arrived by the route the supply line took was the transcendents. It took three days to establish a safe route but once that was done, they could properly fight in the Star Battle.
Most of the large ships used miniature controllable nuclear fusion as their source of energy so they rarely needed refueling. But the ammunition was still a thing to load so the supply line became an important lifeline for them to attack.
The momentum was created when the supply line was established, as the ships finally could enter the battle. Then they crossed the Rift, reaching the other side as the large ships and aircraft carriers also came.
Then another fight began with the incoming giant beasts as well as the merfolk. The merfolk’s appearance was actually a half man-half fish, with their lower body being that of a fish while their upper body looked almost similar to a human.
They excelled in moving in the seawater and a school of them was swimming toward the ships.
“Something is coming underwater! It is quite a number, prepare for battle!” a transcendent on the ship quickly went to the deck to prepare while reminding the rest of the crew.
Then the giant beasts suddenly came to the surface while bringing with them the merfolk. The transcendents attacked the giant beasts along with the merfolk quickly and managed to get rid of some of the enemies.
Blood spilled into the sea, making it tainted with red color and the merfolk did not expect that the transcendents were that strong.
As more of their number dwindled, a flicker of fear finally appeared on the merfolk’s eyes but the transcendents were not satisfied with killing the giant beasts and some merfolk; they wanted more so that the threat the merfolk posed could be reduced.
“Stall them!” a merfolk with a pearl necklace ordered the other merfolk to come forward while he channeled his transcendent energy to the sea, causing the current to shift slightly.
The merfolk soldiers came forward but were quickly eliminated by the transcendent on board. They were either cut down or being corroded by the undead element. Either way, their end were so pitiful.
“Please make it! Whirlpool!” the merfolk commander was finally able to create a swirl of whirlpool at the location, causing some ships to change their position while the transcendent found their footing unstable.
Then there was a shot and the merfolk commander’s head was blasted. It was not because he was weak but rather because he put everything into creating the whirlpool that his defense was basically none against the sniper shot.
Then the whirlpool slowly dissipated and the sea current returned to normal.
“Fortunately, I shot the one who I presume to be the leader. If not, then the ships will have to withstand the current.” An ordinary sailor with a sniper rifle heaved while standing outside the bridge and aiming the muzzle downward.
“Good shot!” his friend tapped him in the shoulder.
“We need to report the capabilities of this particular race. They can control the seawater.” The sniper said while returning to the bridge.
As for the transcendents, they were enjoying the fruit of labor. Some extracted the remaining life energy from the corpses while others absorbed the multiplied undead element.
Intelligence spread from the frontline, having witnessed the power of the other race. Soon, they needed a plan to at least restrain the enemy’s capability of controlling the current of seawater.
One thing for sure was that they could note the ones who tried to control the current quite easily since the defense of the perpetrator was basically zero. But this was still not comprehensive enough that the headquarters regarded this as the first important intel against the merfolk race.
With that, the momentum was built and then they created the first floating base right in front of the Rift on the other side.
This actually took time and half a month had passed for the construction of the first floating base.
It could anchor dozens of ships as well as the man who would inhabit the base, both for the supplies or the security. They had faced seven other assaults from the merfolk and they repelled the assault every time.
The construction was fast because they applied the newest construction method and device, creating a highly durable floating base.
It even had a dome shield, protecting it from outside attack while providing those inside with much Ether to enjoy.
“We have established ourselves in the Rift on the enemy side. We need to quickly find their bases and eliminate them. If they understand the situation, they should retreat when the favor does not side with them. But if they insisted on staying, you can do whatever to them.” Long Wu said to the transcendent army in front of him.
With their robust body due to the Body Refining Technique as well as transcendent energy, they could dive into the sea and attack the merfolk base down in the sea floor.
This was the most reliable way of attacking. As for the ships, they would serve as a defense as well as support. Their cannon could target those on the surface to force them to dive while the transcendents dealt with the submerged merfolk.
That was how they had cleared the nearby area. But as far as they went, there was no sight of land. This made the civilization refer to the other side of the Rift as waterworld.
How could they not? They did not even find a small island, much less a continent so far in their exploration.
But the battle between the two sides was still ongoing, causing both sides’ momentum to build up. The merfolk had lost the first moment to increase their momentum but could still resist the advance by placing traps of water current near their bases.
The humans and the dwarves were trying to get their tactics to counter the current that was clearly not on their side, while the transcendents had to be careful moving to attack.
Combat underwater was different than the battle on land. That was why they needed to accustom themselves to the situation before they became a strike group.
Fortunately, time allowed them to get used to the underwater movement and battle. Additionally, they had managed to get through several skirmishes when they attacked the merfolk bases or when the merfolk launched an attack.
This caused the understanding of each other to increase. But both sides’ momentum was still rising and the final result was still unknown.
Then the first indirect attack came in the form of a big wave that came to the area near the Rift on the merfolk’s planet side.
Even the captains of the ships and the sailors knew that these were no natural waves but artificial ones. It caused the waves as high as ten meters to come and caused some damage to the floating base. As for the ships, they moved desperately to remain floating above the sea.
Then wave after wave was incoming, and they needed to stop these waves from forming. That was why several cargo ships were deployed, filled with transcendents ready to attack.
“We need to backtrack the direction of the waves coming to be able to know the source. After that, attack whatever is causing the big waves.” Long Wu briefed before moving along with the ships and forming a strike group.
On the other hand, there was also a strike group heading in another direction.
“The merfolk can control the waves and currents of the sea. That is why the waves came to the floating base. We are one of the few strike groups that will be dealing with the sources of the waves.” The leader of this strike group, consisting of transcendents, was actually the first time being a leader.
“We'd better be prepared for their fortified defense.” Ame said.
“Yeah. That too. We need to be able to eliminate them without taking casualties.” Tatsumi nodded while looking in the direction where the bow was pointing.
This was not the first time he led a group, since he often had gone to the wilderness to search for resources to reach a higher realm and consolidate his power.
He was a leader of the strike group because of his capabilities while Ame became the vice leader.
Tatsumi then looked at his wristwatch which was a new device that Charlene had given to him. It was a multipurpose monitor or MM for short. It could track his location, search for information from the internet, provided that there was a connection as well as monitor his physical body.
‘This device can also slightly feel the surrounding weather. But the most important function it has is actually the body monitor. It can gauge the health of the wearer.’ Tatsumi thought as he raised his hand and got a closer look at the screen, where it showed his current body situation.
“Leader, we are going to fight the merfolk this time, right?” someone familiar came to him from behind.
For the strike group, it was indeed the first time they got to engage the merfolk. But they had trained to fight underwater, so they were prepared.
“They are the ones who can control the waves and currents of the sea so of course it’s going to be them. What, are you nervous?” Tatsumi talked back.
“No. It is just that we are going further than our scouts so I am afraid that…”
“It would turn out to be a lure to bait us out?” Tatsumi completed the sentence.
“Yes.”
“Remember this. In front of absolute strength, schemes don’t hold a candle at all. Furthermore, using it means that they are actually on edge. They're going to reveal their depths which we can use to gather more intelligence against them.” Tatsumi replied, fully confident that their strength was far above the merfolk.
‘They still used the giant sea beasts as a fodder which means that they are still at the stage of relying on the beasts to attack. If they reached the next stage, then the sea will be much more dangerous.’ Tatsumi thought as his eyes glittered, looking at the distant horizon.
After some time passed, the sent-out strike groups finally met with the source of the waves that threatened the floating base.
It turned into an engagement from both sides as they clashed. Sadly, the transcendents were far stronger than the merfolk who had gained their transcendent energy. It was mostly a one-sided massacre and the merfolk who had escaped were filled with dread.
The merfolk actually misjudged their enemy’s capability. Seeing the ships and cannons firing their shells indicated that their enemy excelled at technology and thus assumed that their transcendent capability was lacking.
That mistake cost them dearly as they quickly relayed the latest intelligence to their headquarters but it cost them dozens of their sea shaman.
As for the human and dwarf transcendents, they took what was needed and returned to the floating base to get their necessary resources by exchanging military merit.
“That’s quite a good way of handling a weapon, I should say.” Tatsumi remembered the details of his battle against the merfolk. He cleaned his bloodied blade because it could spray everywhere which was not how he wanted it to.
The merfolk had a cold weapon from a staff, nunchaku and even trident. That was their mastery of weapons that Tatsumi had seen so far.
As for transcendent skills, manipulating waves and sea currents was something he had witnessed and now tried to emulate.
“Please be careful when you are experimenting with unknown skills.” Ame advised.
Tatsumi drew a formation circle with his hand which could govern part of nature, before he connected it with the seawater, creating a small undercurrent. The energy cost was small but it could be because what he controlled was a small part of the seawater.
Then he wanted to create a wave three meters tall and the energy consumption increased by a considerable margin. But he successfully created one that the sailors and the captain took notice of.
“This is actually the demonstration of recreating the enemy’s skill.” Ame had to explain to the others about the event, otherwise they would assume that they were attacked.
Hearing that, even the captain was stunned.
‘You can recreate the enemy’s skill? That’s going to be hard, right?’
The captain knew that, as a transcendent, recreating an enemy’s skill was slightly easier than creating a skill out of nowhere. But the difficulty was still there and the fact that someone could do that made him realize that there were better people out there.
“Huu…” Tatsumi stopped channeling the formation circle with his Ether and the waves receded. But through this experiment, he could at least prepare a counter for the merfolk skill.
That was the first step of defeating the enemy in the Star Battle.
By understanding the enemy’s skill, they could look for a way to slowly expose the weakness of the merfolk and then completely understand their hierarchy in the military as well as their government.
‘Unbelievable. Even though I know this is going to be the result but really talent decides the lower limit.’ Chi You commented as he gained feedback from everything that Tatsumi had done.
‘Perhaps what the civilization needed is someone with talent like his to break through to a higher realm and a new understanding.’ Goto added.
‘Furthermore, he is sharing his results with other people, causing the knowledge to be spread. It can be said that he is the source of the understanding for the knowledge he shared.’ Kudungga knew the crux of the issue.
They were often called the forefather of modern humanity due to their earlier role in the civilization and the Star Battle so they were connected to many who studied their ideas and knowledge. They could see that Tatsumi was also preparing the network for his benefit.
They sighed as knowing that would truly help him later when he died.
What they were sure about was that the momentum of the battle was with them to ride. The merfolk missed the chance to deal with them, even got their skills replicated and used against them.
After another skirmish, the merfolk realized with incredulous sight and information that their skill to control waves and currents was replicated by their enemy, causing the advantage that was previously in their hand to be evened out.
Worse, they felt a life-corroding element from some of the strike group from their enemy, causing the merfolk to be in anguish and suffering that even their transcendent energy could only temporarily suppress but not eradicate.