[Book 2] That time I got reincarnated as a slime,no, a DRAGON?

CH-59

Shinsha's POV

As I continue to watch the cannons firing, I can see ships sinking in the distance. A few of our own ships have also sunk, but Jeb and Alicia are controlling their troops quite well. But, quite well won't cut it. Even with reinforcements included, we are still less in number than them.

Without something to completely change the tide of the war, it will be difficult to make any progress.

"Hikari, we will have to use it. It will take some time, so it's better to start now." I speak up.
"Very well. I will prepare the sea dragon. You all enter the vessel first." Hikari said as she sent one of the aides to prepare the sea dragon.

Well, we weren't just wasting time in these last few days. Though there is no way we can make a submarine, with Liscia's help, I was able to remake one new vessel from the wreckage of the few ships we had lost.

It is large enough to hold about a thousand soldiers and can stay underwater just like a submarine. The only problem is that it cannot move. I wasn't able to recreate an engine. Even though I had a blueprint ready, the parts were not there. And even if they were, there is no guarantee that we would be able to make an usable engine in such a short time. So, we decided that the sea dragon would pull the vessel to the shore.

Once ashore, I will begin the second phase.

"Let's go, princess." Liscia said as she motioned for me to stand up. I stood up and went towards the vessel. As expected, being completely underwater like this is not only amazing, but scary as well.

"Take care of everything here Hikari, I am leaving." I tell Hikari before leaving, To which Hikari nods.

As I get inside the vessel, I could see the sea dragon in front of us and the Kraken behind. Kraken, though powerful, loses his advantage if he gets close to land and shallow waters. As such, it will be much more efficient to deal with the opponent ships. That only leaves the land artillery. Though Liscia already destroyed a lot of them, not all have been destroyed.

I look around the cramped space inside the vessel. This is a makeshift vessel, so it is far from satisfying basic standards and safety protocol, but regardless, it should hold on. If worst comes to worse, I can always support with magic along with Liscia.

We swiftly made our way towards the shore without being noticed. Looks like they never expected us to do the same thing as them and move underwater.

Once we were close enough to the shore, I opened the hatch and we quickly made our way to land without being seen. Once we were on the land, we quickly took note of the location of the artilleries and destroyed without much resistance. The guards stationed there were no match in front of Tempest's soldiers.

We destroyed all the artilleries except one. We tort- *ahem* -asked one of the operators on how to use it and then proceeded to use it to attack enemy ships. Getting caught between me and Hikari, they fell quickly. Within three hours we had taken over the port city of Malteau. Most of the common people had already evacuated. The soldiers that remained behind were either killed or captured.

The next day...

Throughout the night, we were busy accommodating our soldiers. Father should be sending someone over to tell me how to proceed next. Hikari wanted to completely take over the city, but I decided against it. Even though there is no army left, since stray soldiers or citizens might still attack. It's better for our soldiers to rest and rejuvenate for now, so we decided to spend the night closer to the shore.

Now as the Sun rose, Diablo was standing outside the camp.

"It is a pleasure to see you, princess." He said with a bow.
"Yes. Did father send a message?" I ask.
"Hai. Rimuru-sama said that you are free to take whatever actions you deem necessary. But be cautious, since this might very well be future territory, so unnecessary bloodshed might lead to trouble down the road."

"So father is giving me free reign, huh? Very well. What about you?"

"I am to observe and help only in cases of emergency. Please proceed however you would have if I wasn't here." Diablo said with a boe.

"Very well." I say as Diablo bowed and disappeared. I then proceeded to get up and change my clothes. Unlike before, my clothes were not something a person would wear in a battlefield. They were high quality casual clothes, easy to move in but providing little to no defense.

"Let's go Liscia." I say to Liscia who was waiting outside my room.
"As you say, princess." Liscia said as she followed.

Last night, I had used magic sense over the entire city. Most of the inhabitants of the city has already fled, the only ones left were some children. There were about thirty children in the Eastern district. As we entered from the Western district, we didn't come across them.

From the way they moved, they seemed to be orphans. They would enter random houses and leave with something in their hands, presumably food or clothes. So, today I decided to go to the Eastern district. Just as I was about to exit, I met Alicia.

"Princess, where are you going?" She asked me.
"The Eastern district."

"Without any guards?"
"I have Liscia."

"... Fine. If somebody can harm either of you, then there is no way since random guards would help, but still, Please be safe."

"I will." I smile to reassure her, but she only sighs. How rude! But I pay her no mind and move through the streets, finally reaching the Eastern district. All the streets were empty. Except for some rodents scurrying here and there, there was a deathly silence. But as soon as I reached the Eastern district, I could feel eyes on me from afar.

The closer I got to the centre of the district, more were the eyes on me. I could even hear them talking.

"They look rich. They might be some nobles."  A girl said to a boy while hiding in an alley.

"True. But from the news we heard, they are most likely invaders due to which the city is deserted."
"What do we do?"
"She looked like someone who had an important position."
"So? You think she will listen to brats like us?"
"She might not. But what else can we do? The younger ones are happy that we have so much food now, but that won't last. The food will get spoilt. What will we do then? We will starve to death."
"So? What's your plan?"

"I will ask for some territory. We can give them information. In return we will ask for a small part of the city to live in."
"Have you gone crazy? What will we do-"
"*Shush* Just trust me on this. If they don't listen to me. Run away with everyone. You all might survive if you make it to the village. It is a few days walk away so try to take some food with you." The boy said as he came out of the alley. I was moving around randomly while listening to the two talk. Looks like those two are the leaders of this group of orphans.

"Hello Miss." The boy said while trying to act polite. He looked barely 10, yet the he was skinny, the clothes he wore were old and torn.

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I hope you guys like it.