ASAHI NO NISHISEI - Rising Sun Goes West (1)

Battle of Iloa Sea 2

February 26, 2026

Iloa Sea, Off the coast of Seiren Island

The sight of a total of 35 ships of the Japan-US Joint Fleet sailing from the Seiren Kingdom is truly majestic. From the rear, three JMSDF amphibious assault ships, which are used to operate the F-35Bs and various helicopters, and the fighter destroyer Akagi proceed in front of them. On either side of the flagship were two helicopter destroyers, the Izumo and Kaga, carrying the JGSDF's AH-64D Apache Longbows, the soon-to-be-retired AH-1S Cobras, and its successor, the AH-1Z Vipers. Ahead of them, 29 escort ships, as well as American cruisers and destroyers, were moving through the sea in two lines. Also standing by along the coast of Zion were Japanese and American transport and supply ships that were not participating in this sortie.

Bridge, Flagship Akagi

Soon, the enemy fleet was about to appear beyond the horizon. Looking through the binoculars from the bridge, Rear Admiral Hasegawa gave the order to each ship.

"When the distance to the front of the enemy fleet is less than 10 kilometers, we will launch a gun attack."

As in the previous battle off the coast of the Rovania Kingdom, this battle was to be a one-sided, continuous bombardment using the ships' guns from a distance far out of range for the enemy to destroy the swarm of enemy ships. However, at that moment, a surprising message came from the communications operator of the CDC.

"...Transmission from Asahi, they've suddenly heard an unusual bubbling sound ahead!"

"What!?"

A strange sound has been heard on the passive sonar of the destroyer Asahi. The bubbling sound could be bubbles generated by cavitation or something like that. This meant that the enemy might be in possession of underwater weapons.

"Enemy weapon!?"

"We don't know, sir! There are three in number and the distance is unknown!"

The mere sound of bubbles does not tell them what they are. It is very unlikely that submarines exist, given the level of technology in this world, but this is a different world where magic exists, so it is no surprise that anything could have happened.

"Dammit, I never expected we will have to use anti-submarine missiles..."

The JMSDF's escort ships, as well as the US Navy's cruisers and destroyers, were poised for battle against the Altian Empire's forces, focusing on anti-ship combat with warships and anti-air combat with dragon riders. Therefore, the VLS of each ship are mainly loaded with surface-to-air missiles such as the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) and the SM-2 Standard Missile. This did not mean that there were no anti-submarine missiles, but the crew of each ship, including Hasegawa, could not hide their agitation at the unexpected situation.

"There are three enemies, huh... Alright, Asahi, Shiranui, and Fuyuzuki, prepare for anti-submarine combat!"

Faced with an imminent situation, Hasegawa gave the order to prepare to attack the unidentified submarine object.

"To confirm the effectiveness of the attack, remove two fighters from the battlefield."

"Understood! Sending the order immediately," a member of the CDC replies.

After that, the CDC's communications operator who received the order notified the two fighters to temporarily leave the battlefield in order to confirm the effectiveness of the anti-submarine attack. After receiving the order from the flagship, the two F-35Cs turned their noses toward the front of the Altian fleet, where the unidentified submarine objects have appeared, and flew away from the combat airspace where the dogfight with the dragons was taking place.