One week later.
Esthirant Capital,
Palpadia Navy Headquarters Port
Emperor Ludius attended the departure of the battle fleet to the kingdom of Altarus, where the command ships and some others departed from the military port in Esthirant. Emperor Ludius deliberately carried out the private departure of the fleet in order to boost the morale of the soldiers, which had recently been dropping due to the defeat in the battle against the kingdom of Altarus a while ago. Before releasing the fleet, Emperor Ludius held a closed meeting to discuss the fleet's readiness to be dispatched.
"Your Majesty, all troops and ships are ready to depart. The weather report says that for 2 weeks the weather has been very good, so we expect no interruption in the journey from Palpadia Empire to Altarus Kingdom, even though the fleet won't depart at the same time." Alde reported.
"Have all the preparations of the troops been completed as expected?" asked Emperor Ludius.
"Yes majesty. In the end, we were able to dispatch 270 modern warships and 47 ships from the mothball fleet for the main fleet. While the two decoy fleets each have 105 ships from the mothball fleet and 50 modern ships. We were able to repair more mothball fleet vessels than we anticipated due to the participation of commercial docking facilities in the city of Duro and other cities." replied Alde.
"Report Emperor. As he suspected from field observations, we found that the morale of the soldiers and sailors of the troops to be dispatched was not as high as at the time of their previous departure. Therefore, we have tried to increase their fighting spirit, and a speech from your majesty will certainly boost their morale even more." Admiral Arkeon, the commander of the fleet sent to the kingdom of Altarus, spoke up.
"Hmm, I've prepared a speech that will definitely raise the fighting spirit of our soldiers." Emperor Ludius said. "How is our intelligence on the enemy?"
"Report Emperor. It's hard for us to get intelligence from the kingdom of Altarus because our agents there are either immobilized or have been arrested. However, from the traders' information, it seems that many of their flying machines were victims in the past battle. There were also many wyverns who were killed. But only a few of their ships were victims of the last battle. We therefore expect that their air power is reduced quite a lot, but their naval power is hardly reduced." answered an intelligence officer. "We also received reports from our spies in the Principality of Qua Toyne and the Kingdom of Quila that the two countries sent two warships each. It is estimated that the warship is far more advanced than that of the Altarus empire. However, we have found no troop movements in the Principality of Qua Toyne and the Kingdom of Quila, and no troop transports have been dispatched. Therefore, we ensure that no troops are sent by the Principality of Qua Toyne and the Kingdom of Quila except for the troops on the ships sent to the kingdom of Altarus. We estimate there are only a few hundred troops on board those ships."
"Hmm, the countries that don't know where they belong. Cut off diplomatic relations with the two countries." said Emperor Ludius. "How about the military strength of the Myto Empire?"
"We were unable to obtain any information regarding the Myto Empire's power being seconded to the Altarus empire. They used a military base that was separate from the Altarus royal base, and it was remote enough that it was difficult for someone to reach the military base. The guard is also quite tight. But in the last battle, the Myto Empire's forces were also fighting. It seems that the ones who were fighting were their flying machines. We don't know if they have other combat equipment like ships in the kingdom of Altarus."
"Hmm, even though they have a higher level of technology than us, we can still win with the number of our soldiers and weapons, which will definitely be much larger. They couldn't possibly put out a much larger army than the Principality of Qua Toyne and the Kingdom of Quila did. Even though they put five times more equipment and troops than the Principality of Qua Toyne and Kingdom of Quila in the kingdom of Altarus, we can still win through superiority in numbers," said Emperor Ludius.
"That's right, Your Majesty, now we are dispatching more ships, so even though they have an advantage in quality, we can still beat them in sheer number." said Alde.
"Is there no movement of troops from other countries to help the kingdom of Altarus? For example, from the Kingdom of Fenn." Emperor Ludius asked.
"We did not find any movement of military assets from countries that have security and diplomatic agreements with the Myto Empire and the kingdom of Altarus. Therefore, we can confirm that only the Principality of Qua Toyne and the Kingdom of Quila will provide assistance to the kingdom of Altarus." the intelligence officer replied.
"That's good then. It seems that they still feel shy about the strength of our country. But immediately order our diplomats in those countries to issue a warning against them interfering in our country's affairs with the Altarus and Myto Empires." Emperor Ludius said
"Yes, sire. We immediately ordered our diplomats in these countries to carry out your majesty's orders." Kyos said.
"How are our preparations for arming the auxiliary warship?" asked Emperor Ludius.
"Report king. We have successfully completed armament upgrades for 189 ships, and we are in the process of upgrading another 166 ships. We estimate that we can arm 500 ships in one month. That strength should be enough to replace ships destroyed in the past battle and possible casualties in later engagements. "We hope to begin replacing those ships with modern warships within a year." replies Alde.
"Good, it seems preparations are almost complete. We might be able to launch raids on other countries on the Philades continent. I hope that after taking over the kingdom of Altarus, we can take control of the Kingdom of Fenn as planned while enduring the attacks from the Myto Empire, and at the end of the year I order to start attacking the Myto Empire. After that, no one can stand against us taking over the continents of Philades and Rodenius as the first step to taking over the world. Hahahahahaha." Emperor Ludius said.
After continuing the conversation for some time to discuss troop readiness, Emperor Ludius then walked towards the podium in the field to give an impassioned speech to all the assembled troops and crews. Through that fiery speech, Emperor Ludius managed to boost their morale, so confidence in the troops about to be dispatched was extremely high.The speech was also relayed through manacomm to various places where troops and ships would depart for the kingdom of Altarus.
After the completion of the troop discharge ceremony, all troops and crew members went straight to their respective ships, and within a few hours they started sailing towards the rendezvous point. They waited for ships departing from other places there and departed together towards the kingdom of Altarus. On the way to the kingdom of Altarus, the ships of the Palpadia Empire have divided themselves into three parts according to a predetermined strategy.
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Two days later
In the middle of the sea between the capital Esthirant and the capital Le Brias
Rendezveus point
Palpadia's F Class Battleship, Dios Flagship of Main Naval Force of Operation 'Thunder 2'.
After a day of waiting, warships from the Palpadia Empire that had departed from ports outside of Esthirant's capital began to arrive at the rendezvous point. They are still waiting for at least one more day until all the ships that will depart for the Altarus kingdom can gather at the rendezvous point.
Admiral Arkaon the leader of the operation 'Thunder 2' is studying sea charts near the capital of the kingdom of Altarus, Le Brias. Arkaon thinks about the weather conditions, which are predicted to be very good for the past 2 weeks. The weather was actually a double-edged sword, whereby they could sail safely, but so did the enemy, and what was worse, the enemy was also able to easily find their fleet. Even though they actually came to conquer the enemy's fleet, if their fleet was found and the enemy was willing to attack, that was a desirable thing. But if the opposite happens, then they can circle around chasing the enemy fleet and wasting their energy and time, while they can be supported by their forces on the mainland. Not to mention that if that happened, it would mess up the attack's timetable.
Because of that concern, Admiral Arkaon wanted them to immediately leave for the kingdom of Altarus. This was done to save time so that there would be more time if they had to chase the enemy fleet.
"How much longer can the other ships assemble?" asked Admiral Arkaon
"Our ships still need at least another 34 hours to be able to gather at the rendezvous point, sir." replied an officer.
"Hmm, can the time be reduced? Can they increase their speed?" asked Arkeon.
"They are already sailing at almost the highest cruising speed, sir. If they were ordered to increase their speed to full speed, it would save at least 10 hours of time." replied the officer.
"Order them to increase their speed to full speed. Slower ships, increase flank speed." Admiral Arkeon orders.
"Yes sir." the officer said as he gave the order to the communications officer to spread the news to all ships.
"Order the ships that are already with us, including our ship, to start moving at a speed of 3 knots. Let the other ships catch us." Arkeon places further orders.
"Yes, sir." replied the officer.
"I'm worried that because of the difference in strength between our strength and theirs, they will try to fight using hit-and-run tactics, so that in the end our strength will weaken and our time will run out." Admiral Arkeon said.
"If that happens, perhaps we need to take a stand in order to threaten the important targets of the kingdom of Altarus and force them to do battle with us." said XO, giving advice.
"That's right. If they use the hit-and-run tactic, then we will go straight to Le Brias and carry out a shore bombardment of the city and harbor there. It will get their attention." the Admiral Arkeon said.
"They won't let us bombard Le Brias, sir, they have to defend Le Brias." XO said
"That's when we'll destroy them all in one fell swoop." Admiral Arkeon said. "We'll use one of the decoy fleets to fool them into thinking we're only sending a few ships. Thus they will try to attack with full force. Then we will attack them, and the other decoy fleet can be used as a reserve fleet, securing the rear of our fleet."
"Nice plan, sir. I think we can make a decisive battle and defeat them in one battle." XO said.
"Not in one battle, because we will try to fight according to the plan made by the fleet command first. If they dodge and try a hit and run tactic after the first battle, then we will carry out our plan." Admiral Arkeon said.
"Yes sir." XO said
"Basically, it's how we can quickly and decisively defeat the Altarus royal fleet. We must be able to reduce casualties in order to conserve strength for later war with the Myto Empire and conquest of the Philades and Rodinius continents."Admiral Arkeon said.
"Can we just attack Le Brias when we're done with the sea battle? Can we at least take the harbor from Le Brias? This way, it will be easier for our troops to attack because we already control the port," XO inquired.
"No, we don't have many troops with us. What we might do is bombard Le Brias, make them try to defend it, and gather their troops in Le Brias. Our troops can land in other, less-defended places, so they can invade more easily. We will be decoys to them." Admiral Arkeon said.
"Very good plan, sir. I became very confident that we could win easily. Indeed, we must think in order to limit the number of casualties on our side." XO said.
They continued to discuss preparing a good attack plan while they waited for other ships to meet their fleet.
---oOo---
Le Brias, Kingdom of Altarus
King Office
King Taara the 14th is working on looking at the documents that must be studied to make a decision on the issues contained therein. Even though the documents had been screened in stages, there were quite a lot of them, so that King Taara the 14th had to spend at least 1–2 hours every day to do it.
Someone unexpectedly knocked on his office door. King Taara the 14th allowed the man to enter his office. A large and heavy door was opened by the two bodyguards who were outside the study of King Taara the 14th, and a staff member who, from his uniform, looked to be part of the intelligence unit, entered King Taara the 14th's study.
"Reports." Said King Taara the 14th.
"Yes, your majesty. We got information from the Myto Empire in the form of aerial photographs and also tracking results showing that warships from the Palpadia Empire sailed again and gathered around 370 km from Palpadia's capital, Esthirant. Currently, there are still many of them who have not reached that rendezvous point. It is expected that all ships that have departed will be able to gather at the rendezvous point within one day. We are counting that there are more than 600 ships that will assemble." said an officer from the intelligence service.
"Immediately summon the military leadership and related parties to discuss this Palpadia Empire attack!!!" said King Taara the 14th.
"Yes, your majesty." replied the officer.
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30 minutes later.
King Office
Almost all military dignitaries are currently gathered in King Taara the 14th's study.They were summoned suddenly due to intelligence regarding a possible attack from the Palpadia Empire.
"What are we going to face this time?" said a military adviser.
The intelligence officer who had previously reported the intelligence information repeated the explanation of the information he got from the Myto Empire regarding the possibility of an attack from the Palpadia Empire.
"We have also detected abnormal activity from many ports in the Palpadia Empire, where many troops have started to prepare and gather at various ports. It seems they are preparing a military force for a ground attack." After explaining the initial information on the movements of the Palpadia Empire's warships, the intelligence officer said. "We also detected many warships that started sailing, but they only sailed on the coast. It seemed they were part of an attempt to deceive the observers so that the movements of the ships about to attack were camouflaged by the movements of all the warships. But we can tell the ships apart by their trajectories. Ships that become decoys only sail on the coast, while ships that are going to war sail out into the middle of the ocean and head for the rendezvous point. We can only see this because we have aerial photographic information provided by Myto Empire. They also provide trajectory information for every ship that sails."
"Every ship that sails? How did they manage to analyze so many ships sailing in such a short time?" asked an admiral.
"We don't know about it, but an officer from the Principality of Qua Toyne said that the calculations could be done using a device called a computer. The Principality of Qua Toyne also has that tool, though it's not as good as what the Myto Empire has. It seems that in the future we will also have to get it." said the intelligence officer.
"That's for the future. Anyway, how can we deal with this. We still have a few days before they reach the kingdom of Altarus." said King Taara the 14th.
"It seems from the information report, namely that the ground troop carrier ships still haven't departed, that they wish to defeat our fleet before they deploy the ground forces. Therefore, it looks like we should concentrate our strength on defeating that battle fleet from the Palpadia Empire." said the admiral who asked earlier.
"That's right, we don't need to spare our ships to secure our shores. We must concentrate the power of our fleet to defeat the enemy forces." said the military adviser.
"Fine, but it looks like we'll need to stay close to our coasts so our warplanes and wyverns can provide effective support. Any other opinions?" asked King Taara the 14th.
"Is it possible for us to use the ships belonging to the Principality of Qua Toyne and the Kingdom of Quila to strengthen our fleet?" asked another admiral.
"No way, the treaty with the Principality of Qua Toyne and the Kingdom of Quila only specifies them as a defensive force. They have confirmed this many times to our diplomats in their respective countries." said King Taara the 14th.
"What about Myto Empire's ships? Didn't they promise a more active role?" asked the first admiral.
"It's true that they promised a more active role, but I don't know if they will join in on the attack on the Palpadia Empire's navy." answered King Taara the 14th. "Maybe we can ask them that. Immediately request a representative from Myto Empire to the palace."
"Yes, my king." a soldier responded.
"If they can participate in the war, then victory will surely be on our side, and without us suffering many casualties." The first admiral said.
"We have to wait for the arrival of the representative from Myto Empire and clarity on that. Only then can we strategize to defeat them quickly and with the fewest casualties on our side. " said King Taara the 14th.
So they waited for the arrival of representatives from the Myto Empire.
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Almost 1 hour later.
The arrival of the deputy ambassador from Myto Empire to King Taara the 14th's office was what all the meeting participants had been waiting for, they had previously been forced to take a break from the meeting to await the arrival of representatives from Myto Empire.
"Greetings, Your Majesty, King Taara the 14th. Greetings from Myto Empire too." Said the Myto empire's deputy ambassador."May I know, why we were summoned by the king?"
"First of all, thank you for the representative's arrival in such a short time. We are grateful for the intelligence information that Myto Empire has provided us." said King Taara the 14th.
"However, because there will be a war between the Altarus kingdom and the Palpadia Empire, we request that the Myto Empire's military forces be able to actively participate in the upcoming battle."
"Based on the order from Governor Ira, we will indeed play an active role in the upcoming battle. This is also due to the declaration of war that the Palpadia Empire gave to the Myto Empire." The deputy ambassador of the Myto Empire said. "Our ships and airspeeders will be participating in the upcoming battle."
"We are very happy to hear that and are very grateful to the Myto Empire for its assistance to the Altarus Empire." said King Taara the 14th.
"The Myto Empire plans to use two destroyers and two patrol boats to join the battle against the Palpadia Empire. Of course the ships will be supported by all the airspeeders we have." The deputy ambassador of the Myto Empire said.
"With the power of those four ships, how many of the Palpadia Empire's ships can be dealt with?" asked King Taara the 14th.
"Actually, with only the strength of the four ships, we can face hundreds of ships from your Majesty's Palpadia Empire." answered the deputy ambassador of the Myto Empire.
That statement caused everyone in the room to go into shock. Was that statement just boasting on Myto Empire's part? This is what many people present in the room think. But on the other hand, they had no doubts that the level of technology in the Myto Empire was far above that of the Altarus empire.
"Alright, we hope we can defeat the Palpadia Empire's invasion of the Altarus kingdom in the shortest possible time and with the fewest casualties with the Myto Empire's direct assistance." said King Taara the 14th.
The conversation continued, but most of it was simply pleasantries between countries, where the kingdom of Altarus was in a position under the Myto Empire, very dependent on the security of his country with the Myto Empire, and thus King Taara the 14th felt he had an obligation to make the Myto Empire feel happy, which is manifested by properly hosting representatives from the Myto Empire.
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Ocean, 50 km from Le Brias
Kingdom of Altarus protected ship "Charii", the flagship of Kingdom of Altarus Navy.
Admiral Bordo in command.
Admiral Bordo looked around him. Unlike his old ship, "Cafton" which displayed professionalism, this ship symbolized inexperience. The crew was still very inexperienced, they only understood using the equipment on board well. Although the Cosmos-class protected ship is technologically far superior to the ancient ship "Cafton," Admiral Bordo remains skeptical of its abilities due to the inexperience of his crew.
To overcome the inexperience of the crew, some of the experienced crew from the old warships were transferred to the newly arrived battleships from the Myto Empire. However, unlike the ship's crew, who had been trained in Myto Empire, the experienced crew were still unable to understand and operate the ship's various sophisticated equipment. Therefore, new ships, including "Charii" are always in training mode. They would practice until the moment the battle occurred.
Currently, Admiral Bordo was walking on the deck of the ship, watching the crew members who were busy practicing. Most train to gain experience, and some practice to get to know ship equipment. Suddenly a runner came toward him.
"Sir, we have news from the fleet command." the runner said while handing over a piece of paper.
Admiral Bordo immediately read the paper. In that paper, there is only 1 line of words: "Palpadia Empire attack immenent. Details to follow."
"Gather senior officers in the meeting room!" commanded Admiral Bordo. "So, it begins again."