Although Raiden imagined that the cannonball shooters would eventually hit their own allies, that never happened... the projectiles still only targeted their real targets with pinpoint accuracy, even amidst the chaos and darkness of the night.

At first, Raiden could easily see the warriors of the village advance through the port town, but soon he saw them stopping ahead and then slowly being forced back. Some of them began to fall down after being attacked and they weren’t moving at all.

"Not good," Raiden thought while looking around. "The balance of the battle is breaking."

The enemies were way too eager to fight. They seemed ready for a long battle as well, which was weird considering their usual tactics. Iri was moving around while staying closer to her father to heal the people that she could and avoid their deaths, but she could only do so much.

"Come with me," Lenore said.

Raiden was surprised to hear that. He was even more surprised when the leader of the village approached the wounded warriors and made them drink some potions or apply some medicine to their wounds to stop their bleeding.

"Be my eyes if something happens," Lenore declared.

That was a bit too much, and it wasn’t like he could just look at a cannonball and stop it with his eyes in that situation... Still, Raiden followed her others. At first, Raiden wondered what he should do, but he didn’t hesitate in using his fortune. There was no point in holding back now. He would rather stand down as a suspicious individual than let his mother be hurt.

Raiden - Lv 29 (0/2900)

HP: 500/500

MP: 500/500

STA: 450/450

Strength: 65

Vitality: 50

Endurance: 45

Magic: 45

Spirit: 50

Wisdom: 50

Dexterity: 56

Quickness: 56

Perception: 50

Fortune: 13.200

Skills: Money is Power (MAX), Lightning Spear Lv 21,

Magic:

Passive: Pickpocketing Lv 01, Sword Mastery Lv 01, Spear Mastery Lv 28, Alchemy Lv 07, Martial Arts Lv 01, Aura Force Lv 44

Raiden felt his body overflowing with power all of a sudden, and then he felt a lot more confident as well. Still, he didn’t let that get to his head and just kept his focus on the surroundings.

All of a sudden, a cannonball hit a nearby building. As the strike thundered through the air, chaos erupted in its wake. Splinters of wood and chunks of stone were sent flying toward Raiden and his mother, who had been tending to the wounded nearby.

Without hesitation, he lunged forward with his spear held firmly in hand. Time seemed to slow as he executed a swift and precise maneuver, swinging the spear in a wide arc. The weapon, an extension of his focus and skill, became a blur of motion, intercepting each incoming shard and debris with calculated strikes.

Wood fragments shattered against the sturdy haft of the spear, while stones were deflected with sharp, controlled thrusts. Raiden’s movements were fluid yet decisive, creating a protective barrier around his mother amidst the swirling storm of destruction. His actions were not just defensive; they were a testament to his unwavering resolve to shield her from harm.

As the last piece of debris fell harmlessly to the ground, Raiden stood, breathing slightly but with a sense of accomplishment. His mother, momentarily startled but unscathed, turned to him with a mix of relief and pride, grateful for his swift action that had ensured her safety amidst the chaos of battle.

"Not bad... when did you become this skilled?" Lenore asked. "Well, this can wait. Don’t exert yourself. Things will become interesting now."

Raiden had no idea what his mother meant by that, but soon he learned it. Some warriors stepped back while breathing heavily and covered in sweat and then grabbed two potions from their pockets and drank them at the same time.

Raiden’s first idea was that those were some dopping drugs made to improve the fighting ability of the warriors, but he didn’t see any of that happen. They just suddenly felt a lot less tired. Those who had stopped using Aura Force suddenly activated again and then charged with all their might toward the enemies.

"They must be that..." Raiden thought. "MP and STA potions."

The tide of the battle changed once again as the warriors of the village found their second wind. Even the wounded didn’t hesitate to charge toward the enemies. Leading the charge, Raiden saw his father cleaving through the enemies, swinging his sword from one side to the other and splitting them in half.

"Wow... this is pretty brutal," Raiden thought.

Even if Harth was strong, his sword shouldn’t be able to cleave through bones, flesh, and blood with that much ease after being used over and over again. Raiden could only assume that his father was using a technique to enhance his weapon as well.

In any case, the enemies didn’t have the chance to have a third wind, so soon, some of the ships in the distance began to move away from the coast. Despite seeing that, the enemies in the port town didn’t despair... they didn’t even try to jump in the ocean and swim. They were planning to fight until the last man... that made them very dangerous.

Still, it wasn’t a problem for Raiden, who was only covering for the wounded and those tending them. The battle didn’t last long, but the remaining enemies caused a lot of trouble. Even when only a handful of them were alive, they kept fighting, trying to take down as many of them as possible... thanks to it, close to two hundred warriors of the village had been killed, and other two hundred had some serious wounds like missing a limb.

"We didn’t have the chance to sink a single one of their ships..." Raiden thought when the final warrior sheathed their weapon.

Close to two one thousand enemies were killed that night and while that was supposed to be heavy blow on their side, they didn’t act like that was the case. Raiden felt like he still needed more information to know why, but he had a few ideas.

The enemies likely had specific strategic objectives on land that were critical to their overall naval campaign. These objectives could have included securing supply routes, capturing key strategic locations, or neutralizing local resistance that could threaten their naval operations.

Their unwavering resolve and refusal to retreat despite heavy casualties could also be a form of psychological warfare. By demonstrating their willingness to fight to the last man, they may have sought to intimidate and demoralize the defenders, weakening their will to resist.

Finally, the fact that they had a lot of ships posed a more troublesome threat than dozens of their own soldiers. It made sense... Still, Raiden soon learned of the truth. Two days later, they received the news that the enemies had take over one of the port towns in the west and were using it as a base.