n

n

n

n

"Your excellency. The Primates and their crew should be arriving at Baymard anytime now.

"

nEh?

nK's eyes lit up in glee.

nWith all the chaos happening here, he almost forgot about that.

nPerfect!

nIf his men could conquer Baymard, he would gather all the surviving temple members and make Baymard their new Base of operations.

nThe name Baymard would cease to exist, as they would rename it the Empire of Dragmus, after the temple.

nK couldn't help smiling broadly when he thought of this piece of good bees amidst this rainy period.

nIt was really true that even if one door were closed, the heavens would always open another.

nSigh... The heavens sure worked in mysterious ways.

n.

nThe aide who broke the news felt a little helpless about the situation.

n

"Your excellency. I think this Baymard might have gotten a little stronger while we were busy.

nFrom the newspaper this morning, it's said that sometime this past August, they made something called Hot Air Balloons, which can make people fly.

"

nWhat?!!!

nA contraption that could make one fly?

nK was so shocked that he quickly stood up in surprise.

nThis! This!... If they had this, then wouldn't a lot of things be solved faster?

n

"Your excellency, it's said that they only use those things for entertainment and tours.

nThe messenger who brought me this particular newspaper also had the privilege of getting on the flying balloons in August.

nFrom what he said, those Baymardians didn't even think of using these balloons for battles.

nIt appears that they're still overly confident with their support from Carona.

nEven at that, I'm still afraid that they might use these balloons to rain arrows on us from above when our men attack them.

"

nK nodded in understanding but still felt like they would win the battle.

nFor one, this is not the first time his men had to fight against opponents at higher elevations.

nThere were times when they had attacked an enemy base that was situated high up a cliff.

nThe enemy had his men rain arrows way down towards them.

nBut with their shields and their formations, they still won the battle vigorously.

nProvided his men ideally strategies everything, they might turn their disadvantage into an advantage instead.

n.

nOne thing to note was that while those in the balloons had the advantage of attacking them as they liked... This was also bad because it placed them in the spotlight.

nIf his men were smart, they should shield themselves properly and take refuge in a few tall buildings.

nIn fact, the taller the building, the better.

nAt that point, they could target a few Hot air balloons from way up there and send arrows to burst the balloons.

nThat was technically the only way they could take down those balloons.

nBecause while those in the balloons could shoot with ease downwards, it was near impossible for those below to shoot any arrows that would be able to reach those above... unless the hot air balloons were at a reasonable distance.

nTake, for example, the case where enemies were approaching a tall towering Stonewall.

nThose above the stone wall could shoot the enemies below with ease.

nBut the arrows shot from those below might never make it up the castle wall to hit those above.

nHuman strength alone couldn't do it unless they had some mechanism that assisted them in doing so.

nToo bad, nothing of that nature had turned up in the Pyno continent yet.

nUnbeknownst to him, far away in Morgany, a famous inventor had just created the first siege weapon within this month of November.

nIt was a Ballista... a Siege contraction in the form of a giant Crossbow.

n.

nAnyway, K thought that provided they took cover and acted smartly, they should be able to get rid of the hot air balloons.

n

n

nAnd if the worst came to the worst, they could just grab and use several Baymardians as body shields.

nIt was no secret that these Baymardians valued and created for themselves.

nSo taking a few hostages would always ensure the job got done.

nThe people were Baymard's weakness.

nIn fact, K even thought it was a little too easy.

nWithout the Caronians there to rush over, what was there for them to fear?

nK's analogy on Hot air balloons was somewhat true.

nProvided an enemy could stand on very tall buildings like snipers, they should be able to shoot some Hot air balloons down.

nBut this was assuming that the hot air balloons would attack with arrows.

nIf they were using arrows, the soldiers in the balloons would have to fly a little closer at a height similar to those on city walls.

nThey would do this to ensure that those who got hit were the enemies and not the civilians.

nAll this was if they were using arrows.

nBut with sniper rifles and bullets, please!

nThey didn't need this.

nThey could fly as high as they liked, maybe even 50 stories high and aimed with ease.

nJust like how some assassin could enter the tallest hotel buildings and aim at those below, those on the hot air balloons didn't need to fly lower to make their shots.

nSo unless the enemy had similar weapons to them, this wouldn't work.

n

"I think you forget how trained our men are.

nThese Baymardians wouldn't be able to do a single thing against them.

nWe have sent over 150,000 men to Baymard.

nSo, do you think they would still have a chance?

"

nThe aide closed his mouth and felt that what K said did make a lot of sense.

nProvided they weren't going against the Pirate organization or those from Morgany, everyone else was a small fry or at least on their level.

nK was even more enthusiastic about the battle after seeing the image of the hot air balloon in the newspaper.

nIf they successfully conquered Baymard, then wouldn't these balloons belong to him?

nAnd so, just like that, K and his men started making plans for their new base.

n.

nMeanwhile, Back in Baymard, Landon choked on his meal in shock after hearing the system's notification.

n~Ding.

nNew Side-Mission issued.

nNote: With the emergence of The First Siege Weapon, the host is expected to complete this mission before leaving Baymard by the end of the year.

n

n