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About half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and at last all preparations were complete.

“Fall in!”

I called out to the assembled soldiers of the Demon Lord’s Army and the sailors of Belrüsa.

“From this point on, we begin the joint operation between the Demon Lord’s Army and the Belrüsa Navy. The procedure is exactly as trained, so there’s nothing special left to say. It’s neither a difficult mission nor a suicidal one. Just do it the way you practiced.”

Since the enemy’s actual strength is unknown, it is not, in truth, such a simple operation.
But everyone is wound up tight with tension, so all I can do is try to lighten the mood.

“The enemy is just a big octopus. It’s no match for our Octopus-Beating Fleet. And if it comes down to it, we’ve got about three trump cards.”

That’s a lie. We only have one.
That said, it’s an extra-large trump card, so I’m confident we won’t lose.

“Even in the worst case, if all our trump cards fail, we can transfer everyone onto the five military ships and withdraw from the area. Don’t sweat the details—focus on hunting the octopus.”

Apparently the wind and current stop around the island octopus, but galley ships can move even without wind, which makes them convenient.

“This will also be the Demon Lord’s Army’s first joint operation with humans. Let’s show them our valor.”
“Ooooo!”

The centaur soldiers beat on their quivers and roared.

“Woof woof woof woof!”

Apparently fired up by rivalry, the dogfolk began barking.
All right—let’s set sail.

“Parker, I’m counting on you.”

This time, the Demon Lord’s Army is handling the rowers for the five galley ships. Human rowers might panic in the middle of battle, and it would be a problem if our vital power source did that.
So Parker will be summoning skeletal rowers.
The usually cheerful skeleton mage now chants in a grim voice, calling the dead from the underworld.

“From the dark gates of Gewenna, come forth, my friends.”

Space warps with a squelch, and large numbers of skeletons pour out from all directions. Judging by their clothing, they seem to be sailors who died in Belrüsa.

“I shall grant you another chance to row out upon the open sea. Now, board our ships.”

Following Parker’s voice, the skeletal sailors clatter their bones as they climb aboard the galley ships.

The Belrüsa soldiers stare at the eerie sight while backing away.

“A-amazing…”
“So this is the magic of the Demon Lord’s Army…”

Parker’s ability is among the very best even within the Demon Lord’s Army.
Having finished his work, Parker wipes his brow theatrically and speaks in his usual flippant tone.

“Man, quite the bone-breaking task.”
“Yeah, I see. Thanks.”
“Get it? Coz I’m all bones!”

I ignore his stupid joke.

“Vampire unit, take command of the skeletons on each ship.”

I borrowed about ten vampire necromancers from Marlene. Since they’re from Gomoviroa’s school, they’re my junior disciples.
Two of them will be stationed on each ship, relaying the captain’s orders to the skeletons. With the skeletons moving in perfect unison, flawless ship handling should be possible.

“Well, that’s all fine and dandy, but you.”
“What is it?”
“Why are you here personally, senior Marlene?”

At that, Marlene—wearing a Belrüsa-style dress—smiles brightly.

“Aw, what’s wrong with it? The vampire governors can handle Bernehainen’s administration. And I heard you were up to something interesting, Veit, so I came to watch.”
“This isn’t a show you can just come to watch.”

Does everyone think I’m some kind of entertainer?
Well, whatever. Let’s just get going.
If we dally, who knows how many more people will show up.

I chose the newest and finest of the five military ships as the flagship. Or rather, Garsche kept insisting, “Make this one the flagship.”
Since the flagship usually stays in a safe position, he probably wanted to preserve the new ship as much as possible.
Personally, I’m not entirely sure it will go so smoothly.

“Welcome aboard the fleet flagship Friedenrichter, Admiral.”

Garsche, now dressed exactly like a pirate captain, flashes a grin.
By the way, the ship’s name was something I demanded as a condition of the exchange.

“Leave navigation and boarding actions to me and my men. You just relax and command things like you’re in an office on land.”
“Thanks. Leave beating the octopus b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲ to us.”
“Heh, I’m looking forward to it.”

The combined fleet of the Demon Lord’s Army and the Belrüsa forces totals eleven ships.
The flagship military ship Friedenrichter, fitted with a single catapult.
Ships two through five are also military ships, serving as carriers for centaur troops and as rescue vessels.
Then there are six armed merchant ships converted from trading vessels, providing fire support with their mounted large crossbows.
Since the galley ships need to carry rowers and combatants, they can only load minimal supplies. Spare provisions are assigned to the armed merchant ships.

The fleet turns east and enters the route toward the neighboring fishing city of Lotzo.
It should be about time for the rendezvous.
As I’m thinking that, a Belrüsa lookout shouts right on cue.

“Admiral Veit! Mermaids ahead!”
“Oh, here they come.”

Mermaids flicker into view among the waves—about twenty of them.
Looks like they made it.

“Veit, there aren’t many of us, but we came to help.”
“Please let us assist in any way we can.”

The ones greeting us are young mermaids.
The sailors eye them with great interest as the girls wave cheerfully.

“Wow, real mermaids!”
“They’re all beauties…”
“This is my first time seeing actual mermaids…”

Garsche barks at the noisy subordinates without turning around.

“You idiots! Don’t be gawking during a voyage! If you like the mermaid ladies that much, then show them how brave you are!”
“Y-yes, sir!”

I thought he might be a hardass, but Garsche is sneaking glances at the mermaids himself. Seems he’s weak to pretty women too.
You’re not very honest, old man.

Thanks to Parker’s persuasion, the mermaids successfully join up, so I immediately integrate them into the command structure.
Their role is underwater surveillance.
If we’re ambushed from directly below by the “Demonic Sea,” we’d have no countermeasures. As long as that’s prevented, this operation should succeed.
They’re also tasked with rescuing anyone who falls overboard. Mermaid lifeguards, in other words.
…Even if someone “accidentally” falls in on purpose, I can’t really blame them.

Fortunately, the wind and current seem favorable. The military ships advance with the skeletons rowing in orderly fashion, while the armed merchant ships spread their sails and ride the wind.
Watching the situation, I issue orders to the fleet.

“Spread the armed merchant ships out moderately and have them keep watch. The military ships can double as rescue vessels. We can’t afford to have them sunk first.”

Even including the crossbow teams, the sailing ships only carry about forty to fifty crew each. Even if all six armed merchant ships were sunk, as long as the military ships are intact, we can recover everyone.
We can always send some of the skeletal rowers back to the underworld and seat survivors in their places.

Several hours pass after the early-morning departure. It’s now early afternoon. We take turns eating simple meals, letting the waves and sea breeze wash over our minds.
The South Quiet Sea is an inland sea surrounded by land, with gentle waves. It reminds me of riding a ferry in the Seto Inland Sea. It’s perfect for calming oneself before battle.
…Or so I’d like to say, but quite a few demons get seasick, so I stay busy treating them with anti-nausea magic.
I’m not a ship’s doctor, you know.

Before long, a lookout shouts.

“Admiral Veit! Fog ahead!”

Peering through a spyglass, I see a heavy fog hanging over the sea. That must be it.
By the sailors’ estimation, the fog is unnaturally small in scale. Around it, the wind blows normally, and the outer edges of the fog are being pushed aside.
Once inside, sailing ships won’t be able to move. But we still have some distance. Time to prepare for battle.

“All hands, prepare for combat!”

Belrüsa signal flags indicating battle readiness are raised on the flagship, and at the same time, the Demon Lord’s Army fires signal flares announcing enemy contact.
Inside the military ships, everything becomes hectic at once.

Filnier, spear in hand, rallies the centaur troops.

“This is the first time in centaur history that we’ll fight while running across the open sea! We’ll never get an honor like this again! Let’s do our best!”
“Ooooo!”

As always, they’re noisy before battle, but their morale seems high.
The centaur unit will probably suffer the greatest losses, but I hope as many of them as possible return alive.
Praying for their safety, I give the order to advance.

“Let’s do this! All military ships, charge in! Armed merchant ships, deploy upwind of the fog and await the signal! Operation start!”
“We’ll show you Belrüsa’s pride!”
“Let’s do it! Ancestor spirits, grant victory to the Demon Lord’s Army!”
“AWOOOOO!!”

Humans and demons alike shout in unison as the five military ships plunge into the fog.