Summoning Poseidon: A New America

Chapter 12: Battle of the Sea of Altaras

"But..."

"I am a failure of a king, allowing only my own family to leave... But, as a parent, I simply want my daughter to be safe. Lumiess. I beg you, do as I say," king Taara XIV.

Lumies could no longer argue with her father.

"Your vessel, disguised as a merchant ship, will leave the capital before the war starts. Of course, your most loyal attendants will be following you. You will ride the southern currents and go to Rodenius. If the opportunity arises, seek asylum in the new United States. Whatever happens, keep your identity hidden. If we lose, do not drag others into this war. Even if the newly formes United States seems strong, they are newly formed. It might be a death sentence for them."

"...Yes, father."

That night, Princess Lumiess boarded what looked like a merchant ship in what looked like civilian clothing and left Le Brias.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Le Brias Naval Base, Le Brias, Kingdom of Altaras

Admiral Bordo inspected his fleet one last time before he set sail. The king didn't fully realise this, but the Altaras Royal Navy stood absolutely no chance against the Imperial Navy. That much is clear.

His fleet consisted of antiquated warships sold of by the Parpaldian Navy. While they are powerful enough to wipe out any other barbarian navy, they were very obsolete compared to the newest warships of the Imperial Navy.

Under his command is 22 ships: 4 armored battleships(wooden hull with iron armor slapped onto it), 3 armored frigates, 1 ship of the line, 5 screw frigates, 1 screw corvette, 2 screw gunboats and 6 paddle wheel gunboats.

Admiral Bordo knew that based on the Imperial Navy's arrogance, there was a high likelyhood that they would send just slightly more ships to defeat his ships. They do enjoy a tech edge after all.

He sighed. All he could do is wait until a wyvern spots the Parpaldian fleet. Only then can he set sail to intercept.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Central Calendar August 7, 1639

Air above Parpaldian fleet, northwest of Le Brias

Rilog and his squadron flew over the ships of the first division. Even being above the ships, the Imperial Navy looked majestic.

Rilog still remembered the day when the steam aircraft was introduced. Most pilots had just lost their wyvern lords to the great wyvern plague of 1629 and weren't so keen to swap to a mechanical monstrosity of an aircraft, especially not one as hard to maintain as the Bloodforge BF-01. Being ugly and having a stacked wing and a rearward facing propellor, the canvas and wood construction of the aircraft didn't exactly reassure him.

That was until he was trained to fly one. Despite being slower than a wyvern lord, it had some advantages over it. If the machine worked, it was an absolute joy to fly. They weren't proud creatures like the wyvern lords and were easier to control for a beginner. Likewise, their extremely short landing distance(due to reversable thrust), made it suitable for carriers.

It wasn't as if these aircraft had no downsides either. The biggest downside is one faced by all mechanical machinery: breakdowns. Indeed, they had to haul along technicians and spare parts simply to make sure they don't lose too many aircraft due to breakdowns. The second being the lack of close-air-support capability. These aircraft couldn't carry much bombs, and even if they could, it wasn't as powerful as a wyvern lord's fireball blast.