The First Magic World War

Charles knew that the newly formed Westwind Knighthood, although also including a group of Transcendents, such as those candidates for the Evil God, as well as General Duma and a few members of the Lasaro Cardenas Port city council, was internally unstable. The majority of people did not have a high regard for the team, especially General Duma and those city council members, who were downright full of grievances. They were the ones who had left the city to surrender and as a result...

What kind of treatment had Charles given them?

He hadn't just tied them up!

He also subsequently stripped them of all power and threw them into the army to fight alongside the troops?

Had it not been for concerns about personal safety and the well-being of their families, they would certainly have protested.

He likewise knew that victory could resolve all problems!

First, Charles swept through the towns near Lasaro Cardenas Port.

In just a few days, he had overrun seven or eight small towns, expanding the Westwind Knighthood to over three thousand members.

When Charles was prepared to attack another port city in the Black Gulum region, an unexpected message reached him, making it somewhat difficult to accept...

Out of the seven major cities in the Black Gulum region, three chose to surrender without a fight.

Hmm, at the same time, there was another piece of news. The three cities that did not intend to surrender had formed a City-State Military Alliance, ready to withstand Charles's attack. These three cities each had High-Level Transcendents in charge, believing themselves unafraid of Charles, the outsider.

Indeed, the alliance formed by the three cities to resist him, an outsider, was something that Charles could understand! However, the choice of the other three cities to surrender was beyond his comprehension.

He hadn't shown himself to be particularly dominating!

Neither did he have powerful talents at his disposal, with most of the officers in his team coming from either Missouri or Lasaro Cardenas Port.

Why would three cities have surrendered then?

Although Charles was puzzled, his actions were swift. He led the Westwind Knighthood to take full control of the surrendering cities, and in each city, he conscripted a group of young and sturdy people to join the Westwind Knighthood. Despite his somewhat proficient governmental tactics, without enough assistance, it would take time to assimilate the three cities, not allowing for further military action.

Although the other three cities had formed an alliance, the thought of deploying their forces speedily was simply impossible. They needed to hold several meetings to discuss various matters: how many personnel each would contribute, how much material support, how to divide the spoils of war afterwards, and who would command the operations—all questions that required resolution!

After the two military factions had formed a standoff, a brief peace emerged, with no one making any aggressive moves, and neither side even declaring war!

The City-State Military Alliance spent over ten days in meetings, solving various issues, and by the time their Allied Army finally mobilized, Ysamiel Isemeren had appeared with the Ghost Fleet in the waters off Lasaro Cardenas Port.

The appearance of this Ghost Fleet struck terror into the residents of Lasaro Cardenas Port to the point of being incomparable!

A fleet composed of more than nine hundred Ghost Ships had the capacity to sweep through nearly all the coastal cities of the New Continent, except for those few super-large cities with Sacred-level powers at their helm. Ordinary cities had no chance of withstanding a single blow.

Each Ghost Ship had at least dozens of Ghost Crew members, with the vast majority having over a hundred. Even if it came to land combat, they could easily form a Ghost Army exceeding one hundred thousand.

The residents of Lasaro Cardenas Port felt as though the "Undead Calamity" had come, signaling the end days of Lasaro Cardenas Port, and they began preparing to flee.

At this time, Charles "resolutely" stepped forward, extensively proclaiming that there was no need to fear this fleet! He could protect the people of Lasaro Cardenas Port. To demonstrate his confidence in protecting everyone, he announced his willingness to purchase, at "fair prices," the real estate of the residents who were preparing to flee!

Charles's move, while it did gain him slightly increased trust from a very small part of the population, did not much help the greater situation and did not halt the tide of residents fleeing Lasaro Cardenas Port.

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However, the majority of the evacuating residents did choose, before leaving, to sell their immovable property to Charles, who indeed kept his word and purchased the real estate.

This major transaction satisfied almost everyone!

The news of the Ghost Fleet appearing off the coast of Lasaro Cardenas Port soon spread to nearby areas through the fleeing populace, and the City-State Military Alliance got wind of it almost immediately—that a nearly thousand-strong Ghost Fleet was about to attack Lasaro Cardenas Port. Presented with this "terrifying" news, they immediately halted their offensive.

The military leaders of the three cities promptly called a meeting, but how could such a matter be resolved by a meeting?

Isemeren "very considerately" waited until the residents of Lasaro Cardenas Port had mostly fled before slowly sailing into the port.

Charles led the warriors of the Westwind Knights to the ramparts of the port, adopting a posture ready to fight to the death.

The inhabitants of the New Continent, accustomed to being toyed with by the Evil God, weren't as panicked as one might expect. Although it was impossible not to be afraid, they at least were able to follow Charles's defensive orders.

With over nine hundred Ghost Ships, even without the ancient magic Ghost Warships, their presence was still as menacing as a demon, with an aura threatening to devour all living beings.

General Duma, looking upon the Ghost Fleet, was sweating bullets, and couldn't help suggesting to Charles, "You should flee! There's no way we can counter such a powerful Evil God!"

"If we stay, it's nothing more than a death sentence."

"If you can lead the town's people to safety, I am willing to cover your retreat."

Duma's words surprised Charles, who smiled and said, "You're a good man, but not a good commander!"

He added to himself, "Actually, neither am I."

"We can surely win this battle!"

"Please trust me."

Duma had no idea that the Ghost Fleet belonged to Charles; he didn't believe Charles's "lies." However, Charles still chose to meet the battle rather than flee and didn't prevent anyone from leaving, even willing to shell out a considerable sum to buy property... This earned Duma's respect.

Duma sighed and thought, "Well, I might as well fight this battle with the ghosts alongside him. In the end, when the time comes, I'll escape, and that should be enough to have done right by him."

"Psh, I tried to surrender and leave the city, and he had me tied up."

"No matter what I do, I've done right by him."

As Duma was psyching himself up, he saw Charles suddenly clap his hands and several Transcendents worked together to move a few huge rocks and stack them together. Charles leaped onto the platform made of these boulders and yelled towards the Ghost Fleet at sea, "I am the chosen one! Warriors from the sea! Submit to me and offer your loyalty!"

Over ninety percent of the new members of the Westwind Knighthood looked at him as if he were a madman!

But the next second, they saw countless Ghost Crew members emerge on deck, kneeling on one knee toward Charles Mecklen atop the rock pile, letting out a roar, and offering their "loyalty."

In that very second!

All the New Continent members of the Westwind Knighthood were so shocked they couldn't recover, and a seed of fear was forcibly planted deep in their souls.

Decades later, this scene was captured by a painter in an oil painting that would be handed down through generations, worth nearly a thousand Gold Aegeus—Charles Lording Over Black Golum!

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