First Light of a New Age

Chapter 82: The Great War Begins

In The Ocean Near The Principality Of Musten, Entry To The Ocean Of Musten, Capital Port City Of Musten, Near A Landing Beach Head.

1st Year of God, Friday, 1st Week, Month Of Moses.

A week had passed since the neutral nations' escalation. Troops had already gathered at the borders, and navies set sail towards their adversaries. Despite the Tarxan Coalition’s numerical superiority, the Iron Kingdom didn't lost any hope. Rather than retreat, they took the initiative and immediately targeted their nearest enemy, which was the Principality of Musten, another Elven kingdom much like Tarxa, inhabited largely by elves.

Just weeks ago, Musten had been neutral. However, after a series of coordinated assassinations wiped out many of its aristocrats in a single day, they immediately mobilized for war against the Iron Kingdom, who was the only sole aggressor in the Third Civilization Zone, as they believed.

The Iron Kingdom, however, had anticipated this. They expected Musten’s eventual involvement and, without waiting for an official declaration of war, the Iron Kingdom was already one step against them.

The Iron Kingdom already sent a large contingent of soldiers into the Musten’s borders, and a fleet of ironclad warships set sail to raid Musten’s capital port. Their goal was to quickly eliminated the threat near their border, rally the other Dwarven nations to join them, and use the swift victory to boost their soldiers' morale. A crushing blow would also cripple the confidence of the Tarxan Coalition, making them more vulnerable.

For an entire week, the Iron Kingdom’s fleet, composed of numerous ironclads, sailed steadily toward the ocean of Musten. When they arrived, they immediately formed a naval blockade around the capital port.

News of the Iron Kingdom’s arrival shocked the Prince of Musten with his face ashen as he learned of the powerful fleet outside his city. Thankfully, Musten’s own naval ships had already formed a defensive formation. The battle will be tough as the Principality uses wooden ships of the lines and not ironclad ships.

Still, they were prepared to face ironclad ships, but as they observed the approaching fleet, what they saw made them lose all hope.

These were no ordinary ironclads. The vessels were made entirely of metal, adamantite, no less, a magical material that struck fear into the hearts of those who recognized it. And their design was alien. There were no sails. Instead, large chimneys spewed thick smoke into the air and propelled the massive ships forward.

The citizens of the port stared in awe, baffled by the sheer size and power of the ironclads. They wondered how such behemoths moved, though it would be some time before they uncovered the secrets behind the Iron Kingdom’s technological marvels.

The Principality’s only option now was to send a Land Dragon messenger to another port far from the capital. Inside that port lies a small contingent of ships of the line remained stationed, and the hope was that they could escape the blockade and alert the Tarxan Coalition. If successful, the coalition might break the Iron Kingdom's stranglehold on the capital’s port.

But for now, Musten had no choice but to hold off the Iron Kingdom’s naval forces as long as possible.

Unfortunately for the Principality, more dire news arrived from the Principality’s outskirts. The Iron Kingdom’s land forces had already crossed their borders, something Musten had nearly forgotten in the middle of the naval crisis. Though their shared border with the Iron Kingdom was small, it was large enough for an invasion force to slip through.

Now that the Iron Kingdom land forces had already entered the borders, that means villages were already being razed, and it would be only a matter of days before these forces reached the capital.