Last Ruler Of The Empty Throne-Chapter 144: Battle against sea creatures I

The military and the mayor’s faction were not entirely separate within the camp. That distance proved vital and useful as they had formed the first line of defense within thirty minutes.

The full force of the military was brought out.

Armored Reconnaissance Vehicles, a wheeled vehicle with a 105mm rifled cannon, with high mobility, which was excellent for hit-and-run or flanking sea monsters inland. Olifant Mk2 Main Battle Tank, an upgraded Centurion tank with modern fire control and a 105mm gun, and South Africa’s heaviest armored vehicle.

Infantry Fighting Vehicles, Tanks, Fighter drones, nothing was spared.

With the battle-experienced and trained soldiers in formation of thousands, holding their weapons in their hands with the thought of defending their nations, and at the head of it all was Brigadier-General Jul Randel.

General Randel was a one-star general in command of the southernmost district of Overberg. Before the Fall, he had command over 10,000 military personnel. He had the power to move against any terrorist group in the district, or anyone he deemed a terrorist, and it was well within his rights.

However, after the fall, he had to dispatch a lot of his soldiers to save anyone they could, bringing their number to just barely 7,000.

Standing at almost 2 meters in height with black hair and a full beard, General Randel watched the approaching sea creatures with a sour expression.

At this moment, as all of them stood together, this was what the mayor had meant when he spoke of taking responsibility. They were basically meat shield to understand the full situation, and he couldn’t do anything about it, likewise, he couldn’t think about it so much. He had a job before him.

Their defense plan was quite simple. Tanks for breakfast, soldiers as brunch, grenade launchers and machine guns for lunch, drone strikes as dessert, and large-scale bombings for dinner.

As the first wave of sea creatures approached—

"Fire!"

The first shot rang out. An unranked sea creature dropped.

From level 2 to level 24, they came in swarms, charging forward without fear or hesitation. As more creatures appeared, more shots followed. Bullets filled the air. Explosions rocked the coastline.

But the sea creatures didn’t flinch. They cared nothing for their fallen. It felt like they were begging to die beneath the attacks of the soldiers, and they were happily granted that wish.

Occasionally, First-Realm Sea creatures appeared, requiring more concentrated firepower. Even then, they were tough to bring down.

...

Ptui... Ptui...

Like a grim joke, the assault continued long into the next day, and the soldiers held the line, never stopping, never retreating; they only followed that singular order passed the day prior, fire.

The corpses of sea creatures had now piled so high that they formed natural ramps, letting more climb over and push forward. It seemed like a good thing as they had killed a lot of them, however, the soldiers were finding it difficult to attack.

Meanwhile, using this time, Mayor Joshua Randel had gathered all his evolvers around the camp to camp behind the front lines, forming the second line of defense. Using that time, he had also ordered the retreat of all survivors, towards the gate of the camp.

Despite sharing a surname, he and Jul were not related. But when they fought—coordinated, relentless—you’d think they were blood brothers. However, this recent happening just proved they couldn’t possibly be brothers.

The mayor had also acted swiftly during the Fall.

With his political power as a mayor, he quickly rallied followers from his cabinet, saved civilians, and rose to become a strong level 45 evolver. Using his newfound power, he created a well-defended camp and allied with Jul.

In one of the tents, Robin, Laura, and Victor sat in silence.

Around them, other evolvers trembled, prayed, or panicked. After all, most of them had only fought against zombies or monsters in small batches.

But not these three.

After all, this was just basically war, right?

Since when was this the issue for these three? They had even been among the frontlines in those wars. This was no different.

The military’s ammo would run out soon. Then it would be their turn.

And they could sense it. Even without leaving the tent.

By the second day, the ground trembled with every blast. More First Realm creatures arrived. Some began manipulating water, waves, and wind, throwing defensive formations into chaos.

Regular weapons began to fail. The military had to rely more heavily on tanks, grenade launchers, and other heavy artillery. Still, it wasn’t enough.

They were shocked at this development.

Usually, the tanks alone would do the job, but it kept failing them, leading to the soldiers dying by the dozens.

But these were trained soldiers—loyal, brave, and experienced. They held the line, screaming commands, boosting morale, clinging to any shred of hope despite their disadvantage.

Then—

BOOM...

Robin, Laura, and Victor showed a different expression from before and looked at each other.

A Second Realm had arrived.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

The tankers, grenade launchers, and drones continuously attacked this 2-meter light pink jelly-looking creature; however, before they could make an impact, they all evaporated in lightning smokes.

The jelly creature then struck back with long electrified tendrils, lashing across the battlefield, disintegrating everything it touched.

"AHHH—!"

"Gahh—!"

"What is that thing?!"

"We’re finished!"

This was the military’s first encounter with a Second Realm monster—and it showed. Their weapons were useless. And this one was only Level 52.

"We can’t lose the military," Laura said.

Victor and Robin nodded.

Among their camp’s evolvers, they had only been able to instill discipline. They still weren’t able to train them in physical combat. They needed them, and as much as they could have.

The political feud between the mayor and the military meant nothing now.

They stepped out of the tent and headed for the command station.

Inside the larger command tent, evolvers above Level 35 gathered around screens, monitoring the situation via drone feeds.

Laura was let in after a quick check.

"Mayor," she said, bowing respectfully.

"Ah, you..." the mayor said, smiling. "Come, come." He gestured for her to sit.

Jealous eyes followed her.

Who didn’t know she was just a level 12 girl who found herself lucky to be here; however, they couldn’t just call it lucky.

It was difficult, very difficult, no, extremely difficult to reach a top position in just a day, so they knew she was just that talented.

"Mayor, I think we should attack now," Laura said.

"Now?" he asked in surprise. "But they haven’t fallen."

"They can’t hold much longer," she replied. "We’ll still need the military after this."

The mayor narrowed his eyes. Laura was speaking like an innocent person. With how talented she was, he didn’t think she wasn’t aware of their feud against the military.

"Laura, is it? Don’t worry. They’ll be able to hold out," said a Level 42 noblewoman behind a fan, smiling coolly.

"No, they won’t. That creature is a Second Realm. If one of them is doing that much damage, what happens when more arrive?"

A Level 40 man laughed mockingly. "Right... And how do you plan to stop them?"

Before anyone else could add to the ridicule—

BOOOOM!

Explosions shook the entire camp.

Everyone rushed out and saw them.

Four towering monsters—Second Realm Sea serpents and alligators. There was no longer any momentum as they tore through the front line, shattering the seven-thousand-strong army’s formation.

A path opened. And through it, low-ranked sea creatures poured in, rushing toward the second line of defense.

"Heavens..." one man whispered, frozen in fear.

"EVERYONE, ATTACK!" the mayor roared, unsheathing his saber.

In a flash, he appeared before a creature and cleaved it in half. Then, another, dead in a single strike. Flames ignited along his blade. Each swing reduced monsters to ash.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? ATTACK!"

ATTACK...

Following his flow and momentum, the evolvers snapped them out of it and followed behind the mayor, and began attacking the sea creatures.

Soon, the sky lit up with explosions, fire, and screaming energy.

RUMBLE...

Then, a deep, thunderous sound echoed through the skies. Curiosity stopped the battle around to see what was going on, even the sea creatures stopped to look up.

Crackle... Crackle...

Dark clouds twisted above. Blue lightning gathered.

BOOOOM... BOOOOM...

Twin lightning bolts slammed down with heavy force, obliterating the defenseless jelly creature and everything within 20 meters of it.

When the light faded, nothing remained. Not even ashes.

All eyes turned to the source of the attack.

Wide-eyed. Silent.

"Ehh... You...?" the mayor whispered.

He hadn’t expected it. Never in his 54 years of life. Laura.

Standing at the edge of the battlefield—

Laura.

A crown shimmered on her head, and her body crackled with lightning.

She wasn’t Level 12 anymore.