The seafolk army was the largest force in the entire ocean, numbering in the billions. They had been able to mobilize such large numbers into the ocean due to the fact that their entire military force was naturally submarine due to obvious reasons. When they deployed their numbers, they had anticipated that they would be the most dominant player in the Great Void Ocean and get access to the largest amount of negatron matter.

They hadn't anticipated being proven wrong.

"Adopt defensive formation alpha!" The commander of the Alfinian battalion roared as his warriors adhered to his command.

The battalion spread into several different layers in concentric rings around their mining territory. The outermost layer was actually composed of the most powerful pathwalkers of the Water Path. These were warriors who could take on Martial Sages and could even best them within the depths of the water.

The inner concentric rings of warriors were composed of weaker pathwalkers.

Each layer served as a filter that would target the most powerful enemies that they were able to engage and fight, allowing the weaker enemies to pass through, so that each segment of the army could contribute by taking on enemies that they were able to.

The distance between the concentric rings was to ensure that the stronger pathwalkers and monsters didn't inflict damage on the weaker ones, making sure each layer of the battalion could partake in the problem.

Most civilizations and polities adopted a similar military formation regardless of path. It was simply not feasible to have Sage-level assets fighting in the same place as Apprentice-level assets.

The commander of the army stood at the very forefront of the northern front of their mining base, leading the most powerful warriors in his battalion.

His upper body was bare, covered in grizzled scars that ran across his torso, while a hydrophobic fabric fashioned the lower half of his body. In his hands was a trishul, a spear with three prongs, an artifact forged by none other than the dwarf sages of the Bournvyrne Kingdom.

He gazed deep into the darkness as ears pricked, listening to the notes of the tumultuous waters roaring in his ears.

His eyes sharpened. "Here it comes."

From within the depths of the darkness, the silhouette of a giant wall of sea monsters emerged, charging towards the seafolks at an alarming rate.

"Commence long-range siege!"

BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM!!!

RUMBLE!!!

The world shook as powerful sonic blasts coursed through the ocean, ravaging the wave of monsters that approached them. Out of all the forces in the world, the Alfina Kingdom was definitely the most equipped with aquatic siege attacks.

Unfortunately for them, however, the opponents they were dealing with far too powerful to be downed by mere siege attacks.

"Incoming!" The commander roared as a leviathan emerged from the depths, charging towards them with great power and speed.

BOOOOOOOOOOOMM!!!

RUMBLE!

The commander gritted his teeth as he intercepted the attack, desperately tussling with the powerful monster. The other pathwalkers found themselves facing quasi-Transcendent bloops, hydras, and charybdises that threatened to consume them whole with prejudice.

The pathwalkers realized with chills that they were outnumbered by a much greater margin than they could have imagined. For each of them, there were easily more than a dozen quasi-Transcendent beasts and monsters all but ready to consume them alive.

"ROOOAAARRRRRR!"

Their ferocious cries filled the waters, spreading fear across the seafolk who fully beheld the sheer scale of the monsters and beasts that swept across their territory.

"Don't let them pass through!"

"Protect our mining base!"

"We will not surrender the seas to these evil creatures!"

BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM!!!

RUMBLE!!!

A devastating war erupted between the Alfinian Army and the sea monsters of the Great Nam Ocean that had migrated to the Great Void Ocean. The pathwalkers held on better than virtually any of the other forces in the Great Void Ocean, who struggled to hold on due to not being equipped for all-out submarine war.

And yet, even they struggled.

"Rgh… Arghh!" The commander screamed in pain as four krakens grabbed a hold of each of his limbs, shackling him in place as countless smaller sea monsters began nibbling at him, consuming at his flesh, causing him to bleed out.

"RARRRGHH!" He bellowed with a maddening intensity, barely managing to break free from the kraken tentacles that locked on him, before unleashing a destructive onslaught of attacks that swept across the ocean floor.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!!!

A destructive attack he unleashed struck the sea monsters of the ocean with tremendous force, pushing back the monsters as he panted heavily, the gills on his neck opening and closing at a frequent rate.

"You're strong."

From the depths of the monsters emerged a lone figure.

One that even the commander recognized, despite being cut off from the surface.

"…Protector of Panama," the commander gritted his teeth. "Why do you attack us? We did nothing to you. We avoided attacking your mining operations, did we not?"

Rui's pitch-black eyes bore deep into the Alfinian commander's, sending chills down his spine.

The sheer amount of power that Rui radiated was beyond anything he had ever felt in person. His Martial Embodiment was both comforting and yet horrifying, sweeping him with an endless amount of Water that seemed to blend with the water of the ocean seamlessly even as it paralyzed the pathwalkers who beheld him.

What surprised him was how at ease Rui seemed to be at the bottom of the ocean. As a surface-dweller, he shouldn't have been that comfortable in an environment as different as the bottom of the ocean was.

"You abstained from attacking us out of weakness," Rui replied, approaching the wounded commander. "Not out of principle. If you had the power that I did, you would have wiped everybody out. You did wipe out countless commercial and private mining outfits, did you not? Why did you attack them when they didn't do anything to you?"

The commander's expression grew grim as his eyes sharpened ferociously, bearing deep into Rui's. "You will not get away with this. We are the Alfinian Kingdom! Rulers of the seas! Feel our righteous wrath!"

He charged towards Rui, thrusting his trishul towards Rui's abdomen.

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