That night, five divisions of the Proatine Imperial Army left the barracks and began advancing toward the border.

They were deployed to lay the foundation for Hansen's grand plan.

“How’s the situation looking?” Siegfried asked the Guardians.

— There are no major movements from the Marchioni Imperial Army. They are marching toward the border, but based on their formation, they do not appear to be preparing for any ambush against our forces.

“Good. Report at once if anything seems off.”

— Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.

The Proatine Empire clearly held the upper hand in terms of strategy.

They had a satellite, after all.

The Proatine Imperial Army was basically fighting this war with map hack enabled. They were watching the entire continent in real time, so they could see the movements of the Marchioni Imperial Army.

With the satellite, they could identify the most vulnerable points in the Marchioni Imperial Army’s defensive lines and break through them.

Just as Hansen planned, the ones who would have the honor of dealing the first blow were the rebel forces.

— Ah, the rebel forces have begun moving. The Marchioni Imperial Army’s troops are also moving in response to the rebel forces’ movements.

“Excellent.”

As soon as Siegfried gathered information on the movements of the Marchioni Imperial Army, he contacted the five divisions and ordered them to attack and break through the Marchioni Empire’s border.

Then, he entered a warp gate with Hamchi and moved to the Piaro River.

Waiting for him were Lionbreath and Nanuqsa, each leading their respective warriors.

Hundreds of pirate ships from the Green Isles were also waiting for Siegfried. The Piaro River was the largest river running across the entire continent, and it was practically no different from the sea.

Controlling the Piaro River was extremely important, as the one controlling the river essentially controlled all logistics through it.

If the Proatine Imperial Navy had control over the Piaro River, then they could block the Marchioni Empire’s transport ships from providing supplies to the frontlines.

‘Things are looking good here, too.’ Siegfried smiled as he looked at his massive naval fleet.

Nearly three thousand large battleships, light warships, and speedboats were floating on the Piaro River.

The terrifying sea monsters inhabiting the Green Isles were quietly waiting beneath the water as well, lurking under the shadows of the ships.

The naval force that the Proatine Imperial Navy had deployed for this war was the most powerful naval force the world had ever seen. Even if the Marchioni Empire were to bring all its ships, it would find it difficult to amass a force as big as this one.

Thus, the Proatine Empire was practically guaranteed to hold supremacy over the Piaro River.

Moreover, with Siegfried present, the battle for naval supremacy was practically won. Now, the only question was how much damage the Proatine Empire would inflict on the Marchioni Empire’s naval bases.

“Welcome!”

The King of the Nords, Lionbreath, greeted Siegfried.

“Hello, brother,” Siegfried replied with a nod.

“It’s an honor to fight alongside my younger brother in the glorious battle up ahead.”

“The honor is mine, brother. Hahaha!”

Lionbreath was one of the people that Siegfried felt comfortable with.

They had known each other for a very long time now, so Siegfried felt at ease whenever he was fighting alongside him.

“Shall we go then?”

“Yes, brother.”

“By the way...” Lionbreath muttered. Then, he looked around before whispering, “Thanks for letting me be the naval vanguard. I would’ve been annoyed if that gloomy fellow over there led the charge.”

The gloomy fellow that Lionbreath referred to was none other than Nanuqsa.

“What did you just say, you muscle-brained whale?” Nanuqsa growled.

He was a warrior who broke through the wall and stepped into the realm of Master, so his sense of hearing was far more sensitive than others.

“Muscle-brained whale? Why? Are you jealous, you scrawny anchovy?”

“So you think you can win one-on-one against me? You’re a pathetic fool who couldn’t even step into the realm of Masters.”

“You fucking—”

Lionbreath charged at Nanuqsa and threw a punch with his full weight.

Bam!

Nanuqsa was caught off guard and ate the punch right in the face, but he immediately retaliated by throwing a knee strike straight at Lionbreath’s abdomen.

“You threw the first punch. Don’t cry later.”

With that, a brawl between the two barbarian tribes began.

“You bastards!”

“Let’s finish this today!”

“Bring it on, losers!”

Starting from Lionbreath and Nanuqsa, the Nordic Marines and the Blanc Warriors lunged at each other, starting a full-on brawl.

Siegfried covered his face with his hands and groaned, “Ughh... Fighting again, as always.”

How was it possible that the Nordic Tribe and Blanc Clan would fight whenever they met?

They ought to have grown tired of brawling with each other by now, yet they would keep brawling every single time they met.

“Come on, let’s go. Move out! All fleets, move out!” Siegfried shouted the command with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

“As you command, Your Imperial Majesty!”

The Proatine Empire’s navy set sail. There wasn't any majestic send-off ceremony.

Despite being the most powerful naval force the world had ever seen, their grand send-off was ruined by the brawl among themselves.

‘Honestly... I’ll have to put those two on the opposite ends of the continent once this war is over,’ Siegfried grumbled inwardly.

The Nordic Tribe and the Blanc Clan were clearly not supposed to meet each other in the first place.

***

A few hours later, the Proatine Imperial Navy swiftly advanced along the blood-red waters of the Piaro River. The river on the side of the Marchioni Empire was stained red by the calamity unleashed by Siegfried.

Soon enough, the naval base of the Marchioni Empire came into sight.

“Enemy patrol ships spotted ahead!”

The Proatine Imperial Navy ran into the patrol ships that had been scouting around the Marchioni Empire’s naval base.

However, they did not engage the patrol ships.

Splash! Splash! Splash!

Before the patrol ships could even react, massive tentacles burst out from beneath the water and wrapped around the ships.

Splash!

Then, the tentacles dragged the patrol ships into the waters with immense force.

Splaaash!

One of the sea monsters from the Green Isles sank the patrol ships.

“...”

The sailors of the Proatine Imperial Navy were speechless at the sight. Even though it was the enemy, watching them vanish without a trace like that sent chills down their spines.

The sea monsters were absolutely terrifying creatures in the waters that even their allies shuddered in fear.

However, their fear lasted only for a moment.

‘I’m glad they’re on our side. If they had been our enemies then...’

‘The Marchioni Empire is completely screwed now.’

‘There’s no way we can lose with that thing on our side.’

‘Victory is ours!’

The morale of the sailors surged after realizing that the sea monsters were on their side.

Seeing that morale had peaked, Siegfried pointed at the Marchioni Empire’s naval base and shouted, “All fleets! Chaaarge!”

The Proatine Imperial Navy’s fleet got into position before charging forward at full speed.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Moments later, the warships and batteries in the naval base unleashed a barrage of artillery fire.

The Marchioni Empire was not caught completely unprepared, as they had expected the Proatine Empire to attempt to dominate the Piaro River. Unfortunately, they were only half-prepared, as the fleets floating on the surface of the waters were not their only enemies.

The Proatine Imperial Navy possessed the Aqua Runners, vessels that could zip across the surface of the waters. In addition, sea monsters lurked beneath the surface of the waters.

“Kyaaaah!”

“Kikiki!”

The terrifying sea creatures surged up at once, unleashing a brutal ambush on the Marchioni Empire’s vessels.

“A-Aaack!”

“M-Monsters! Sea monsters!”

“We’re sinking! Abandon ship! Abandon ship!”

The sudden ambush caught the Marchioni Empire’s fleet completely off guard, throwing them into chaos.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Meanwhile, the Proatine fleet unleashed relentless bombardments with devastating accuracy.

Thanks to the sea monsters binding the enemy vessels. Their tough bodies resisted friendly bombardment, so it did not matter whether they were in the line of fire or not. Thus, the enemy vessels were more than oversized targets held in place.

“Ceasefire!”

At Lionbreath’s command, the Proatine fleet stopped firing its cannons.

His face was covered in bruises, and his nose was broken after the fistfight with Nanuqsa earlier, but his injuries did not stop him from carrying out his duties.

“Deploy the Aqua Runners!”

Hundreds of speedboats carrying Nordic Marines and Blanc Warriors cut through the waters at terrifying speed, heading straight toward the enemy vessels.

A few seconds later, the enemy vessels were boarded.

“Uwaaagh!”

“Aaaack!”

“H-Help!”

“Spare me! Please!”

The sailors of the Marchioni Empire were mercilessly slaughtered by the Nordic Marines and Blanc Warriors.

The ambush from the sea monsters had thrown them into disarray, and they were caught off guard when their ships were boarded. In mere minutes, the Marchioni Empire’s vessels were captured.

On top of that, the devastating bombardment from earlier had already sunk nearly half of the ships stationed near the naval base.

A complete massacre.

It was the most humiliating, disgraceful, and utterly crushing defeat in the history of the Marchioni Empire.

“Let’s go, Hamchi.”

“Kyuuu!”

While the naval battle raged, Siegfried spread his wings and soared into the air.

Whoosh!

Then, he dropped down alone, landing straight into the Marchioni naval base.

“...!”

The Marchioni sailors and marines preparing for the enemies to land jumped in shock when they saw Siegfried.

There was no way they wouldn't know Siegfried.

Siegfried had fought valiantly in numerous wars. At this point, every single person on the continent knew who he was—the Lord of the Battlefield, the Hero Emperor who saved the world, and a Grandmaster.

These were some of his titles, and every single one of them was a testament to his status as a formidable warrior.

Unfortunately for the sailors, meeting him as an enemy meant only one thing.

Death...

To face Siegfried on the battlefield was a death sentence.

Sssseuu...!

A thick green fog spread out from Siegfried, engulfing the entire naval base.

“Gahk!”

“Ghhhk...!”

One by one, the Marchioni sailors and marines collapsed to the floor.

No matter how powerful they were, there was no way they could endure the radioactive energy pouring out from Siegfried.

***

Hansen and Siegfried’s plan to send five divisions into the Marchioni Empire’s territory proved to be an ingenious strategy. The Marchioni Empire was caught off guard and struggled to deal with them.

Meanwhile, Emperor Stuttgart was inside a secret facility located beneath the imperial palace.

His eyes were fixed on three cylindrical tanks that were filled with potion.

Aside from the potions, each tank had a person inside it.

These people were none other than individuals who had ascended to the realm of Grandmaster.

In the left tank was the Archmage, Daode Tianzun, in the right tank was the Sword Emperor, Betelgeuse, and in the middle tank was the Lord of Destruction, who was believed to have gone missing decades ago.

There were originally four known Grandmasters on the continent, but one had perished in battle against Siegfried, so there were only three remaining. All three Grandmasters of the continent were gathered here.

“Awaken.” Emperor Stuttgart commanded while staring at the Grandmasters slumbering within the tanks.

At his command, the three Grandmasters opened their eyes.

Plop! Plop!

Shwaaaa!

The potion filling their tanks poured out, draining rapidly.

The three Grandmasters stepped out of the tanks and dropped to one knee before Emperor Stuttgart.

“We greet our master.”

“We greet our master.”

“We greet our master.”

All three Grandmasters called the emperor "master."