Holy Mirishial Empire, Port Town, Cartalpas.
The Imperial Cultural Center.
"Zeroth Fleet is engaged in battle!" said a staff member who had just entered the dining hall in front of the three ambassadors from the Mu Empire, Myto Empire, and HME.
"What? Who are they fighting with?" asked Shiwaf.
"At the time of receiving this news, it is not yet known. But it seems to be Gra Valkas." The staff said.
"They have already attacked Cartalpas! Western Island is close to Cartalpas!" said Shiwaf.
Ambassador Mugei took out a small communication device. It was a simple walkie-talkie that allowed him to communicate with his staff in the room.
"Order our fleet to assist the HME's 0th Magic Fleet on Western Island!" Mugei ordered his staff through the walkie-talkie.
"Mr. Ambassador, may we station our aircraft carrier near your fleet while our fleet is away? We don't have enough military assets here to protect our carriers." Mugei asked Gravit.
"Of course you may, sir." Gravit said as he opened his comms to report the matter.
Ambassador Mugei ordered a number of things through his walkie-talkie, while Ambassador Shiwaf also spoke with his staff.
---oOo---
A few tens of minutes before that
Central World, Holy Mirishial Empire.
Western islands.
0th Magic Fleet
Mirishial's 0th magic fleet was currently out training in the Western Islands that is a part of Magdola Archipalago near Cartalpas. In some parts of these waters, visibility was very bad. There were three magic warships, two armored cruisers, three magic gunboats, and eight other accompanying ships—a fleet of sixteen. This was the grand fleet said to have no equal in this world, and they made great efforts to maintain their high standards through training exercises that closely resembled live combat. But actually, this exercise was the reason for stationing the 0th fleet near Cartalpas in an effort to protect Cartalpas.
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Inside the control center of the flagship of the 0th Magic Fleet...
"Huh?" said the magic detector operator, who noticed many human-level signals coming from the ocean and quickly closing in on their location.
If these were Mu's mechanical ships, that would explain why stronger signals didn't appear on the magic detector. With all those signals gathered together and moving at high speeds, he was convinced that this was some kind of attack. He quickly called it in to his superiors.
"Objects on the detector! From the north, closing in fast, I think they're Mu's mechanical ships! Twenty-seven knots, sixty kilometers away, my guess based on the signals is two warships, three heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, five smaller ships—a total of twelve enemy ships approaching our fleet! Ah, now they've accelerated to twenty-nine knots!!!" the magic detector operator reports to the XO.
"What did you say?! Twenty-nine knots?! Mu shouldn't be able to reach that speed... meaning... is it Gra Valkas? All hands, man, battle stations! All hands, battle stations! An unknown fleet is approaching! This is not a drill!!! I repeat: This is NOT a drill!!!" said the XO while pressing the battlestation klaxon button.
The Holy Mirishial Empire's 0th magic fleet, lauded as the strongest fleet in the world, hurried to prepare for hostilities with an unknown group.
Above decks, the warning alarm wailed in the middle of the fleet's training. They had detected an unknown fleet closing in on their position, so everyone hurried to prepare for combat.
"The unknown fleet is accelerating, they're now traveling at 30.5 knots." The magic detector operator said. "No magic power was detected in the sky."
"Support has been requested from our air force currently stationed on the islands. We can only rely on forces already here, but their forces have been reinforced with quite a few aircraft since yesterday. They'll arrive over the fleet in fifteen minutes." Said the XO
Reports came in one after another to Fleet Commander Ultema on board the 0th Fleet's flagship, the Mithril-class battleship Eckes. He turned to speak to the ship's captain, Infere, standing next to him.
"What do you think?" asked Ultema to Captain Infere.
It was a curt question, which held the meaning, just give it to me straight.
"Yes, sir. We believe that this fleet of unknown origins belongs to the Gra Valkas Empire. While there are only two warships, they're traveling at 30.5 knots, a speed we had trouble believing from the report. Clearly, they are much stronger than Mu. On our side, we have three newly-produced warships, ones that are not at all worse than Mu's mechanically-driven ships. If there is one point of concern, it's that if the enemy also has mechanical aircraft, then a vehicle like that with only a single person on board will not appear on the magic detector until it gets very close, which is troubling. We are at a disadvantage when the enemy's planes can easily communicate with their fleet." Infere said
On the horizon (unlike Earth's, Corouscant's, or Myto's, the distance to the horizon was greater than 19 km), they could already see clouds of smoke coming from the enemy's ships.
"Look at them, spewing all that garbage into the air—not even a speck of elegance. How pitiful. Those barbarians from outside the civilized areas defeated Leifor, and now they've grown overconfident. It's one thing to beat their chests in front of other countries in a show of strength, it's another to launch a surprise attack on the strongest country in the world, the Holy Mirishial Empire... not only that, but they're attacking the Zeroth Magic Fleet, where we have all the most advanced ships; they're really asking for it. We may even trounce them untouched. Sink all of their ships, they can all be shark bait!!!" said the XO.
"Commander, don't forget our briefing before leaving. We've been warned of some of the things we've gotten from the Mu Empire. Weapons that travel under the surface of the water, called torpedoes, and they focus more on fighter bombing than fleet action." Infere said.
"Right, even though we have much more advanced ships, our air defenses are limited. If enemy fighters attack with torpedoes and bombs, we could suffer damage. Hopefully, the magic-reinforced armor can defend against torpedoes. Order lookouts to be on the lookout for torpedoes!" Ultema ordered.
"We must quickly clear the enemy fleet before their fighters arrive, if that happens, then it makes our hands full." XO said
Fleet Commander Ultema blazed with determination to face the unknown fleet.
---oOo---
50 km over from HME 0th Magic Fleet
Gra Valkas Empire
Imperial Judgment Force
In order to launch an attack on the self-proclaimed "strongest in the world," the Holy Mirishial Empire's 0th Magic Fleet, the Gra Valkas Empire's judgment force traveled south. Having cut the distance to the enemy fleet down to 50 km, morale was flying high. There were two high-speed battleships, three heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and five destroyers—a total of twelve ships ripping through the seas, swaths of dark black smoke belching out of their funnels, aiming straight for their victims. As a group, they blew through the water at 30.5 knots (56 km/h), an incredible speed that would floor any native resident of this world.
Within the flagship, the galaxy-class battleship Betel, Fleet Commander Artemis, and Captain Beegel stood side by side, conversing.
"The enemy severely outnumbers us. Can we win?" asked Captain Beegel
"We're picking a fight with the so-called 'strongest fleet in the world.' Based on our intelligence, our ships will not fall behind in terms of firepower. With only this much military strength, after we crush them, there will be nothing else in this world that could possibly match up to us. Despite them being our first opponents here and knowing I have no basis for such a statement, that is still how I truly feel." Answer Artemis "You may be right; the Grade Atlastar, though it may be our empire's greatest warship, was able to single-handedly demolish an entire enemy country, one known as a 'superpower' in this world. Lightning could strike again with us. Well, we also shouldn't let our guards down, but..."
"Report!!!" the radar operator called out, ending the discussion. "Anti-air radar has detected enemy aircraft coming from the islands—85 in total! They're heading for our fleet. They'll be arriving in the fleet's airspace in seventeen minutes!"
"Prepare for anti-air combat! All destroyers are to take the lead! Prepare to launch torpedoes at the enemy fleet when we have reached the optimum range to launch torpedoes!!!" ordered Artemis.
The destroyers began to generate even thicker smoke as they raced to the front of the formation. On the previously-quiet ocean, the surroundings underwent a complete change as the Gra Valkan ships raced across the surface, black smoke trailing and engines roaring. The judgment force charged forward like raging bulls, aiming right at HME's 0th Fleet.
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HME's air fleet
Rapidly approaching Gra Valkas Judgement Fleet
Squad Captain Omega, on board a multipurpose aircraft, was nervous. The prevailing mindset in the HME was that anti-ship warfare was to be conducted primarily with large cannons, so they'd been taught that they could not engage warships or attempt to sink them while piloting aircraft. There had never been a case in all of history where an aircraft successfully sank a magic ship (although there were examples in the past of ships-of-the-line without anti-air measures being sunk by aircraft); at best, all their attacks could do was provide ancillary support—that was what Omega believed. Therefore, he focused solely on getting off a single attack on the enemy's ships.
The multipurpose Beta-2s stationed on the islands suddenly dropped from the air to begin their bombing run, while the Alpha-3s made air cover for the Beta-2s. For the HME, who had no rivals on their level, they believed this would be enough to repulse them.
"Take this! You'll regret picking a fight with the Holy Mirishial Empire!!!" Omega bellowed.
The Beta-2's magical light discharge-type compressed air engine let out a shrill noise as it soared in the skies over the enemy fleet at 410 km/h before, at once, all twenty-five planes turned and dove at a 50° angle, their bellies holding 520 kg of magic explosives ready to fall on their targets.
Beads of light began flying up into the air from the enemy ships.
"Anti-air bullets of light, huh?" Omega said. "Squadron, watch out for anti-air bullets of light!"
The number of light bullets steadily increased until they could no longer be considered harmless. Suddenly, a burst of black smoke blossomed from the plane diving right in front of him.
"It exploded?!" said Omega in astonishment.
He passed the friendly aircraft, which was riddled with holes, its wings in tatters. It went into a tailspin. From what he could make out of the fuselage as it fell, the cockpit was dyed completely red.
"That's impossible! Those bullets can cause explosions just by closing on our fighter!!!" someone shouted through the manacomm.
The sheer number of light bullets had grown mercilessly, and they rushed at the Beta-2s all at once. They weren't closing in on the enemy fleet at all; those ships, right before their eyes, felt so, so far away. A friendly plane fell, then another.
"Dammit! There's too many light bullets!!!" said another pilot before his fighter was destroyed by AA fire.
A rain of light was pelting them. The number of planes decreased; 80% of them made it through to the bombing point. Finally, they were at the right altitude to release their bombs.
"Drop!!!" said Omega.
They aimed for the largest targets, enemy battleships and cruisers, and let go of their explosive cargo. Somehow, after completing their mission, the surviving planes' noses abruptly pulled up, and they withdrew from the battlefield together with their air cover, Alpha-3 fighters.
HYUUUuuu......!!!
The whistle of the bombs pierced through the stage of war, falling right at the ship below. The Gra Valkan warships turned to their left and attempted to evade. The bombs hit the surface of the ocean, letting out their destructive force underwater. The pressure broke through the air, creating gigantic pillars of water. Black smoke also began spilling from the enemy ships.
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0th Magic Fleet Flagship
"Bombing report. Three enemy ships hit, five planes lost." XO Report
The enemy ships continued to advance despite being on fire.
"It does not appear to have been damaged enough to be incapacitated." Captain Infere said this while looking through his binoculars.
"As we thought, aircraft cannot sink warships," the fleet commander muttered to himself, eyeing the Gra Valkan fleet suspiciously. "Captain, they've put their smaller ships in front, what are they playing at? Smaller ships naturally only get smaller caliber cannons, what could they possibly do?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe they're trying to draw our fire." Infere said. "Or are they going to launch their weapons? Torpedoes?"
"Could be. Order the lookout to keep an eye out for torpedoes." Ultema said. "Gunboats and other target smaller ships in front!"
"The enemy will be in firing range momentarily." XO said.
The cannons on the Mirishial battleships Eckes, Gulliver, and Variant, all pointed diagonally upwards, began to move. The main guns rotated solemnly, aiming at the enemy ships, locking in place once they were in position.
"Distance to enemy ships: thirty-four kilometers. They are within maximum range of the main guns." XO said
"Battleship, begin simultaneous firing once they're within thirty kilometers." Ultema ordered.
"Other ships fire when the enemy comes into effective firing range."
"Yes, sir!" said the XO.
The naval battle between the 0th Magic Fleet and the fleet belonging to the Gra Valkas Empire's Judgment Force was about to kick off.
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Gra Valkas Empire, Imperial Judgment Force
Fleet Commander Artemis glared out at the ocean. The enemy force's bombing attack had hit their flagship, dampening the soldiers' spirits. The good news was that they hit the hardest part of the ship, and only the uppermost structure was destroyed, which was considered minor damage. Its combat capabilities would not be affected. However, two of their cruisers were also hit by bombs. One cruiser's aft turret was hit by a bomb, making it inoperable, but fortunately it did not penetrate to the magazine. The other cruiser was hit by a bomb in the center. Efforts are on going to prevent the fire from exploding the torpedoes stored nearby.
"First off, let's show off the range of the empire's weapons. Ready the main guns! Begin firing in sequence once they're in range!" Artemis ordered.
The battleship Betel had a 45-caliber, 35.6-barrel double-gun installed in the front of the ship, which boasted a maximum range of 35,450 meters. It was raised to the highest possible firing angle of 43°.
"FIRE---!!!" said Artemis.
The battleships Bethel and Geas began firing. Giant clouds of black smoke formed as giant cannonballs launched into the air, the recoil causing the ships to rock on the water.
"Impact in one minute and thirteen seconds!" the ship's observer called out. "...Five, four, three, two, one... now!"
Four massive columns of water sprouted into the air near a Mirishial warship.
"No direct hits, adjust the angle of fire." XO said.
The imperial judgment force had fired its first salvo on the Holy Mirishial Empire.
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0th Magic Fleet
Out of nowhere, the light of ignition sparked from the enemy ships, evidence that they had fired their main guns. They were still 32 kilometers away.
"Wh-! What the hell! They're firing at this distance?!" said the XO on the Flagship.
"They're still out of the effective range of our furthest-reaching cannons!" said the Infere captain.
"Magic support! Reinforce armor!!!" snapped Ultima.
The warship was enveloped in a faint light. About 100 meters away from the ship, they saw gigantic pillars of water grow from the sea. The size of the pillars spoke to the destructive power of the cannonfire. However, the points of impact appeared to be quite scattered.
"Their aim's pretty rough. Release the reinforcement! Ready the main guns!!!" commanded Ultima.
"Yes sir! Prepping the main guns!" replied the XO. "Begin fueling—seventy-two percent explosive, twenty-eight percent fire. Start up the shell's magic circuit."
"Magic circuit activation is complete." The XO said it a moment later. "The spell circuit is currently filling at a ratio of eighty-two to sixteen, explosive to fire. Magic power is fueling at seventy, eighty, ninety, one hundred percent. Shell fueling is complete."
"Main gun fuse circuit, initiating fueling... seventy, eighty, ninety, one hundred percent. Main gun fuse circuit fueling complete." The XO said it a moment later. "Main gun, firing preparations complete. Range calculations based on the magic detector are complete. Setting the angle of elevation at thirty-one degrees, adjusting left to twenty-two degrees. Probability of a direct hit on the first volley with three targets is twenty-three percent between eighteen shells. Ten seconds before firing, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, fire!!!"
The three most advanced Mirishial warships fired their shells, accompanied by thunderous explosions. These shells, bestowed with explosive magic, boasted the most firepower in the world. Cloaked in blue light, they jetted up into the sky like rockets. Drawing a smooth parabola in the air, they flew forward 30 kilometers to bring destruction down on their target.
The enemy attempted evasive maneuvers.
"Eight seconds to impact, six, five, four, three, two, one, now!!!" said the lookout officer.
The detonation spell activated, releasing all that stored magic power; they could feel the shockwave. A pillar of water rose up near the enemy ships.
"No direct hits, lowering the angle of elevation four degrees, readjusting left to twenty-seven degrees. Magic power fueling for the next shell is complete. Main gun fuse circuit is fueling at eighty, ninety, one hundred percent. Main gun fuse circuit fueling is complete. The probability of a direct hit has increased by forty-two percent, seven seconds until firing, five, four, three, two, one, fire!!!" said the XO.
Having finished reloading faster than the enemy, Mirishial's magic ships fired their main guns again.
Fleet Commander Ultema stared, unblinking, at the ocean, his heart in his mouth. While the magic shells were still in the air, the enemy's ships let off puffs of smoke. It appeared their mechanical ships had just fired their main guns as well.
"Enemy fire is incoming!!!" said a lookout.
"Damn! Magic support! Reinforce armor again!!!" ordered Ultema.
The warship was once again covered with a pale light.
"Miss!!!" Ultema cried, almost like a prayer.
The waters near the enemy ships once again exploded in violent splashes. Following the shockwave from a hit from one of the shells, flames lit up one of the ships.
"We have a direct hit!!!" said an observer.
The enemy ship that was hit let off a big explosion, then quickly began to lose speed.
"Their engines must have taken damage. After their shells flew past us, we're pursuing them!!!" said captain Infere.
They believed that cannon shells weren't liable to hit them so easily, but no one ever knew what would happen on the battlefield, so the mood was still fraught with nervous tension. Suddenly, 500 meters to their left, a giant column of water appeared near the Gold-class battleship Variant, and along with it there was a fierce fire and black smoke mixed in.
"Battleship Variant has been hit! We think they were damaged near their waterline!!!" said the XO.
The Variant was taking on a lot of water from the hole in its side, and its speed began to slow down.
"Dammit! Even with their armor reinforced, they still took damage! The enemy's firepower is even on par with our most advanced magic cannon firepower, it seems." Cursed Ultema.
The two fleets were now only 16 kilometers apart. The two fleets began to move in a near-parallel circle so that all the guns on the ships of both fleets could fire. Currently, the Judgement Fleet is still at 45 degrees relative to the 0th magic Fleet.
Suddenly, all the gunboats and support ships in 0th Fleet were also firing at the destroyer in front.
In a few seconds, many spashed formed around the Gra Valkas destroyer. 2 of the 5 destroyers were emitting flames and smoke, a sign that they were hit by fire from the 0th Magic Fleet.
"The enemy's small ships are changing direction! They seem to be withdrawing."
"What?! Those little ships may not be useful in battle, but why are they changing course now? Weren't they supposed to draw our fire?" Ultema asked Captain Infere.
However, suddenly Ultema remembered the briefing given.
"Lookout, make sure those small ships don't fire anything into the water! Cruisers, fire on those small ships!" Ultema ordered.
"Yes, sir." The XO said.
"Focus our attacks on that slow ship! Finish it off!!!" Ultema ordered then.
"Those little ships are launching something into the water!" said the lookout.
"Damm, my guess was right, they're launching torpedoes!" Track those torpedoes. All fleets increase speed to flank! Turn to port 10 degrees." Ultema said.
On the destroyer line of the Judgment Fleet, one of the destroyers that had been under fire exploded due to an internal explosion. The volume of fire on the destroyers of Gra Valkas was getting higher and higher, and although they were eventually able to get out of the effective range of the gunboats and other small ships of the 0th Fleet, there were only two of them.
Mirishial's 0th Magic Fleet kept up the pressure on the damaged ship of Gra Valkas's judgment force, the battleship Geas. The two fleets' shooting match continued. After taking twelve hits from battleship guns and seven from heavy cruiser guns, the Geas sank with a flashy explosion.
"Enemy ship sunk!!!" said captain Infere.
Cheers went up at the announcement.
"The enemy fleet is turning around! They seem to be withdrawing." The XO said.
An officer gave a tally of the battle:
Enemy ships sunk: battleship - 1, heavy cruiser - 1, small ship - 3
Heavy damage: heavy cruiser - 1
Moderate damage: light cruiser - 1
Minor damage: numerous
Holy Mirishial Empire
Ships sunk: auxiliary ship (small) - 1
Heavy damage: battleship - 1, heavy cruiser - 1, magic ship - 1
Moderate damage: magic ship - 1
Minor damage: numerous
But the battle was still not over.
"Watch out for those torpedoes! All ships initiate evasive maneuvers!" said Ultema.
Visible among their ships were lines on the surface of the water, marking torpedoes launched by Gra Valkas' destroyers. The ships of the 0th Fleet swerved at high speed to avoid the lines. But the damaged and leaking battleship Valiant at the waterline was unable to maneuver quickly.
The streaks plunged straight into the Variant, and a huge explosion of water went up at its side. Many torpedoes launched by the Gra Valkas Empire's destroyers all hit the Variant, blowing holes into the bottom of the ship and quickly consigning it to the ocean floor.
"Those... Those bastards!!!" said Ultema. "They'll... They'll pay for this!!!"
Fleet Commander Ultema's record was now stained with the humiliation of losing a ship.
"!!! We're detecting something else! Numerous machine-type aircraft are converging on the fleet! There... are... two hundred of them!!! They're already only fifty kilometers away!!!" said a lookout.
They looked up to the sky. They could see black dots peppering the blue sky, slowly going up in number.
"Prepare anti-air measures! Shoot them down!!!" said Ultema. "Call the ar cover!!!"
The Holy Mirishial Empire's 0th Magic Fleet hurriedly readied their anti-air weaponry...
---oOo---
Gra Valkas Empire, Imperial Judgment Force
"They were just supposed to be reconnaissance in force, but they sure got their asses handed to them. When we get back, I'll have a hell of a report to write up," Fleet Commander Artemis grimaced.
"I'm not sure what you're talking about, but, even knowing this is another world, the one who ordered us to face off with the strongest force in the world with only this much was Commander Myrkaenes. Furthermore, we were ordered to use these outdated warships. Everyone was against it, but the commander wanted to know what we could do even with this handicap. He was repeatedly advised that we would not have sufficient military strength. Fleet Commander, none of the fault lies with you." Captain Beegel said
"Hmm, you're right, my apologies, Captain. Next, the Imperial Navy Eastern Fleet will be sending out their carriers to engage. If what we saw was the extent of their capabilities, that Mirishial fleet won't stand a chance." Artemis said.
Flying in from the north, the Gra Valkas Empire Imperial Navy Eastern Fleet sent their carriers' primary attack squadron of 200 combat aircraft to eliminate the Holy Mirishial Empire's 0th Magic Fleet.