Chapter 437 -437-The All-Out Offensive
The merchant guilds wanted to profit from the price differences created by the tax-offset system, so they began frantically transporting all kinds of supplies to John.
For a time, John found himself overflowing with materials.
He was no longer short of anything.
As for occupying two cities of the Lather Kingdom, John had already anticipated this outcome.
But he was never the kind of person who would sit around passively and wait for the enemy to retaliate.
His next siege plan had already been prepared.
John publicly announced that he was declaring war on the Lather Kingdom.
His next target would be Radiant Moon City, one of the three most important cities in the kingdom.
He even declared that ten percent of his medium-sized warships would sail toward Radiant Moon City.
The announcement immediately threw the entire Lather Kingdom into panic.
Large numbers of Naval Corps forces set out at once, heading toward Radiant Moon City to reinforce its defenses.
What they did not know was that this was exactly what John wanted.
A diversion.
Once John received confirmation that the majority of the Lather Kingdom’s Naval Corps had been transferred toward Radiant Moon City, he immediately issued another order.
Thirty percent of his medium and large warships, together with all of his small assault boats, were to head toward another city—
Darkreef City.
Radiant Moon City had merely been the target John deliberately announced to the public.
Its true purpose was to draw away the main forces of the Lather Kingdom’s Naval Corps.
Radiant Moon City, Esca City, and the royal capital were the three most important cities in the entire Lather Kingdom.
Esca City had already fallen into John’s hands.
That meant the Lather Kingdom absolutely could not afford to lose Radiant Moon City as well.
Even if they suspected that John was trying to lure them away from somewhere else, there was nothing they could do.
Several hundred of John’s large warships were already sailing openly toward Radiant Moon City.
If the kingdom failed to respond, John might simply turn the feint into a real attack and seize the city outright.
So even if they guessed that John had another plan, they still could not afford to scatter their main forces across other cities.
Their only choice was to concentrate their defenses at Radiant Moon City.
After all, Radiant Moon City was far more important than a place like Darkreef City.
It was also worth mentioning that Hilt was the one responsible for the operation around Radiant Moon City.
John, meanwhile, personally led the assault on Darkreef City.
That was what made John terrifying.
He was always able to seize control of the rhythm and initiative of the battlefield.
Even if you understood his plan...
even if you saw through his true objective...
even if you recognized the trap he had prepared for you...
you still had no choice but to step into it.
That had been the case at Cloudspire Harbor.
And now it was happening again with Radiant Moon City and Darkreef City.
...
John’s enormous fleet arrived outside Darkreef City.
The commander of Darkreef City had never personally experienced the battle for Cloudspire Harbor.
Although he knew the situation was serious, he had no idea just how disastrous it could become.
Countless small assault boats charged forward.
They easily penetrated Darkreef City’s artillery barrage before using suicide attacks to destroy its destroyer squadron.
Then the medium and large warships advanced together.
They saturated the harbor with cannon fire.
The pirates eliminated the harbor guards, advanced to the city itself, unloaded artillery from their ships, surrounded the city, and bombarded it continuously for several hours.
It was almost a perfect recreation of the battle for Cloudspire Harbor.
Darkreef City fell smoothly into John’s hands.
"While the main fleet of the Lather Kingdom is pinned down at Radiant Moon City..."
"We’ll take as many cities as we possibly can."
John studied the map and placed his finger on the next target.
The Lather Kingdom only had a few dozen cities in total.
If he swallowed them one by one, sooner or later the entire kingdom would belong to him.
Then he would march into the royal capital, obtain the Conqueror’s Proof...
and advance to the next round.
...
Outside Radiant Moon City, defenses were exceptionally tight.
The Lather Kingdom had divided its main Naval Corps fleet into two defensive layers.
Near the outer waters, two battleships led more than a hundred destroyers in formation.
Closer to the harbor, several hundred additional destroyers stood ready for battle.
Even on land, more than ten thousand elite soldiers guarded the city.
The Lather Kingdom had practically sealed Radiant Moon City from every direction.
And opposite the Naval Corps...
stood the King’s Edge Pirates.
A force that ruled the pirate populations of both the Lather Kingdom and the Leiper Kingdom.
An organization commanding one million men.
An undefeated pirate power that had already captured two cities of the Lather Kingdom.
And most intimidating of all...
a special fleet composed of nine battleships.
Those nine battleships alone exerted enormous pressure on the defenders.
And behind them were several hundred medium and large warships.
Of course, everyone knew that the King’s Edge Pirates, the undisputed rulers of the pirate world, could not possibly have brought only this much strength.
Their remaining forces had to be hidden elsewhere.
The commanders of the Lather Kingdom’s Naval Corps had already wondered where the rest of John’s pirate fleet had gone.
They could almost certainly guess that those other warships had been sent to attack additional cities.
But so what?
Were they supposed to abandon Radiant Moon City, the most important city in the kingdom after the royal capital, just to rescue a collection of less important cities?
And even if they decided to send reinforcements...
which city were they supposed to save?
Splitting their forces was also a major military taboo.
So even though they knew the King’s Edge Pirates were almost certainly dividing their forces to attack elsewhere...
they still had no way to respond.
The feeling of being completely manipulated was indescribably frustrating.
But it was also perfectly consistent with the King’s Edge Pirates’ usual style.
That was how they had always fought.
When you were stronger than them, they somehow found your weakness and defeated you.
But the moment you fell even slightly behind...
you were forced to follow their battlefield rhythm.
You were forced to be led around by the nose.
You were forced to walk into their traps willingly.
And there was absolutely nothing you could do about it.
As long as John did not personally attack the royal capital...
the main force of the Lather Kingdom’s Naval Corps would remain nailed in place at Radiant Moon City.
...
After capturing Darkreef City...
John rested only briefly before continuing his offensive against the other cities.
In just seven short days...
John captured dozens of cities across the Lather Kingdom.
Then he spent an entire month rapidly expanding his military strength and ship production.
Tens of thousands of small assault boats.
Thousands of medium-sized warships.
Hundreds of large warships.
By now, John commanded an army of two million men.
And his stockpile of resources was almost limitless.
Meanwhile, the Lather Kingdom had been reduced to only a handful of cities.
Radiant Moon City.
The royal capital.
And perhaps one or two others.
The kingdom was barely clinging to survival.
John sent additional ships and manpower to reinforce Hilt.
Then...
he personally led his main fleet straight toward the royal capital of the Lather Kingdom.
The royal capital still possessed a powerful Naval Corps force.
Several hundred destroyers.
Thousands of cannons.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
And a city that was practically a fortress.
According to what John had learned...
throughout the entire history of the Lather Kingdom, no one had ever successfully breached the royal capital from the outside.
That alone was enough to show how terrifying its defenses were.
If Cloudspire Harbor’s defensive strength was rated as 1...
then Radiant Moon City would be a 5.
And the royal capital...
was a 10.
Its defenses were ten times more difficult to overcome than Cloudspire Harbor’s!
By this point, John’s fleet had already surrounded all the waters around the royal capital.
Standing atop the observation tower of his warship, John raised his monocular telescope and looked toward the capital of the Lather Kingdom.
The city was truly magnificent.
Its total area was roughly ten times that of Cloudspire Harbor.
Its walls rose more than three meters high, while buildings towering more than fifty meters into the air could be seen everywhere.
Each one possessed its own unique architectural style.