Principality of Qua Toyne, Capital

Lotus Garden

September 1st, 1639

"That concludes the report on Usea's battle against the Lourian fleet."

Officer Brywhal, as the observer in the Usean fleet, was invited to the meeting to give his report on the capabilities of the Useans.

"What in the ASE is this? You were invited here to give a report on the battle, not vomit out a pile of fantasy horseshit! Are you telling us that eight ships of the Usean navy sank all five thousand warships of the Kingdom of Louria? That they wiped out a 300-strong wyvern force? All with no casualties and only some paint scratches? Do you expect any of us to believe that? I don't want to accuse a well-accomplished naval officer such as yourself of coming to an important government meeting and deliberately lying, but at least make your report believable!" shouted Defense Minister Kalstvel.

Kanata allowed the defense minister's rant, then turned back to Brywhal. "Observational Officer Brywhal, your response?"

"Yes, Prime Minister Sir! I believe Kalstvel was correct with his 'What in the ASE is this?'! From what I saw, the Useans used some weapons that resembled weapons described in texts about the ancient sorcerous empire, particularly their light arrows, capable of tracking targets."

Foreign Minister Matara wailed. "To think I made contact with our greatest enemy and never realized! We are doomed!"

"Matara, calm down! If Usea really was the ancient sorcerous empire, we would have been conquered and enslaved long ago! This resemblance could even be a blessing, perhaps allowing them to fight on similar terms with the empire when it inevitably returns," Kanata wisely replied.

"Ah, that is true…I apologize for the outburst," Matara said as he flushed red in embarrassment.

"Brywhal, please continue."

"Yes. The Usean ships could sink one ship per shot with their 'cruisers' and 'destroyers', and multiple per shot with their 'battleships'. Their cruisers and destroyers could fire at over 60 shots per minute, while battleships fired at 3 shots per minute from their main guns and 40 per minute with their secondary guns. According to the captain of the ship I was on, they also had short-range weapons called 'CIWS' that could fire small shells at 5000 rounds per minute and when they used them, the CIWS shredded the enemy ships and wyverns. Their steel dragons, or 'aircraft', carried explosive objects and more light arrows and also sprayed light bullets, shredding Lourian ships with each pass."

"Okay, perhaps that is true and we can find traces of their battle or have them show their capabilities to us as well, but what of their casualties? You claimed they suffered no damage other than paint scratches from arrows. Is this a joke?"

"Defense Minister Sir, you may visit the port and see for yourself. Otherwise, you can ask the Useans for something called a 'video', which will show you how the battle played out."

Kanata tilted his head. "Alright, we will ask them for this 'video'. Next, what are their plans from here on out?"

Yagou spoke up. "The Useans have requested the construction of a temporary base near Ejei in the Daidar Plains. They await permission for construction. They also wish to expand the port of Maihark and establish a permanent naval base there as well."

"Very well, they have permission to proceed with their projects."

Parpaldia Empire

"What the ASE? The transmission from the observer got cut!" A man exclaimed.

"What were those sounds? I could hear explosions and thunder, but the other sounds, a strange zipping sound, and the screech…as if the sky itself was being torn apart!"

"Should we attempt to reestablish contact?"

"Judging from the sounds, Varhal was almost certainly killed when the transmission cut. We should analyze the messages he sent instead."

"Of course, sir. The first message he sent was a description of a single ship that appeared. It was metal, about 200 meters long, with various tubes, spires, and lights scattered over it. It was fast, faster than any of our ships, even with the Tears of the Wind God."

"How do they move then?"

"It reportedly possesses no sails. The description seems to match the appearance of Mu's mechanical ships."

"Judging from the length, it seems like a Muan battleship, maybe a longer version. What of the vessel's armament?"

"A single turret, with two large cannons. A single shot from one cannon reportedly sank one ship."

"If I recall correctly, Mu's battleships also had one front turret with two guns each. Did any other ships appear?"

"Yes, sir, but the third message is rather difficult to believe. 6 more ships appeared, all of them very large, ranging from 150 meters to 300 meters long. Two of the ships boasted enormous cannons, with six arranged in two turrets, as well as smaller guns arranged across the whole vessel. The others appeared to be armed similarly to the first. Shortly afterward, they launched light arrows at Lourian wyverns, fired their cannons rapidly, and whips of light shot out, decimating the wyvern force."

"So their few cannons are because they are very destructive and can fire accurately and rapidly. The light arrows and whips of light sound interesting. Are there any more details regarding them?"

"The light arrows seemed to be tracking the wyverns, following them even after evasive maneuvers. The whips of light were orange-red, accompanied by the zipping sound heard earlier."

"How did the rest of the battle progress then?"

"Varhal claimed that the enormous cannons could destroy multiple ships in one shot, and the ships launched more light arrows at the Lourian fleet. The last message he sent reported aircraft, which flew with blistering speed, followed by the sky-splitting screech."

"Do you think Mu is waging a proxy war on us and testing new weapons?"

"I am not sure. Some reported weapons appeared to be Muan but others bore resemblance to Mirishial weapons. The aircraft had no propellers and instead had some sort of light engine in the back for propulsion."

The other man sighed. "Alright then. Do you know which nation this fleet originated from?"

"They called themselves the Eurasian Navy. I believe that the full name of their country is the Unified States of Eastern Eurasia, more commonly known as Usea."

"What do we know of them?"

"Not much other than merchant's hearsay. Some of them in Qua Toyne heard locals talking about Usea being a giant continent a few thousand kilometers to the east. Apparently, the land is as big as the Philades continent and boasts a population of 271 million. They have also noted that Qua Toyne has rapidly developed upon making contact with that country. My merchant friend was able to get his hands on some high-quality products that were sent from Usea. Not much is known about Usea's civilization level."

"You jest. If such a land existed, we would have found it, pillaged its riches ages ago, and enslaved its population of barbarians if that were true!"

"Well, I found it difficult to believe as well. But their products certainly exist. Take a look at this 'pen', a writing utensil that I purchased from my friend. It's much easier to use than quill and ink."

"Hmm, it is of good quality. Alright, we will inform His Majesty of this 'Usea' that appeared near Rodenius and that large metal warships belonging to them were sighted, but avoid mentioning details of Varhal's communications and what you heard regarding Usea. I don't want to get fired over the…fantastical information he sent us."

Meanwhile, back in Usea, in Uzhhorod, Ukraine, new military facilities and a port were being constructed. A shipyard was also in construction, with a priority to construct improved Sovremenny II-class destroyers as soon as the smaller, faster-to-construct slipways were up and running, as the missiles the Udaloy IIIs focused on were overkill for most of the technology in the world. Gunboats were cheaper to supply with ammunition and the Sovremennys still retained missile armament.

Additionally, an 8-gun ASAT and ultra-long-range bombardment railgun system, named Stonehenge, 200 kilometers west of Moscow, fired against an actual target for the first time. Each railgun accelerated 700mm shells to insane speeds and was capable of firing a variety of shells. The indescribably large amount of energy required meant that each gun was powered by seven nuclear reactors. The complex is heavily defended by an array of SAMs. It had begun construction in 2027 and was completed in 2031, with problems within the system being ironed out in 2032, and successfully test-fired in 2033 against old Usean satellites.

Shortly after the transfer to the New World, unknown satellites were detected in orbit, with a few having orbits that passed over Usean land. It was quickly determined that no nation currently on the New World possessed the ability to do satellite launches (the Holy Mirishial Empire and two unknown nations to the south and far-west potentially possessed the technology to do so, but no launchpads were found), so it was agreed that the ASAT system would be trialed against satellites that overflew the Usean continent (as they could justify the shoot down by claiming that they were potentially spying satellites should any nation complain). One of Stonehenge's guns began to raise its barrel, guided by computers tracking the satellite. The rails in the massive barrel powered up before the railgun fired, a large shockwave pulsing through the air. The solid projectile shot up into space at nearly Mach 38, shattering the magic shield protecting the satellite and punching a hole through it, traveling much too quickly to vaporize such a light target. The destabilized satellite rapidly fell out of orbit, landing somewhere in the New Baltic Sea, where a Eurasian Navy destroyer retrieved the remains.

Kingdom of Louria, capital Jin Hark

September 2nd, 1639

Hark Louria shivered in bed. His vast navy was gone, annihilated in a single battle against an unknown force. And 300 of his prized wyverns were gone too, lost in the same battle. The last clear communication received from the fleet was a request for wyvern reinforcements against the enemy flagship. Afterward, the only communications were incoherent reports of arrows of light that followed the wyverns' maneuvers, unseen exploding projectiles, whips of light, weapons that sank ships with one shot, and dragons made of steel.

What kind of sorcery gave ships the ability to destroy ships with single shots and consecutively with little delay? The light arrows also sounded suspiciously like those from the ancient sorcerous empire. Did the enemy discover magic from the ancient empire? Or heavens forbid, that they were the empire?! He didn't know.

Louria's strength had always been its ability to outnumber its enemies rather than the quality of its forces, but naval and aerial battles required both quantity and quality. Perhaps the ground invasion force could still succeed…