Chapter 52
Destruction of the Zeroth Fleet
Central World, Holy Milishial Empire, Western Island, Zeroth Fleet, 19th April 1527 / 228
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."
"No magic power detected in the sky."
"Support has been requested from our air force currently stationed in the islands. We can only rely on forces already here, so just twenty-five friendly aircraft. They'll arrive over the fleet in fifteen minutes."
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?"
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."
On the horizon, which has a distance of over fifty kilometers, 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. Another is to launch a surprise attack on the strongest country in the world, the Holy Milishial 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, and they can all be shark bait!"
Fleet Commander Ultema blazed with determination to face the unknown fleet.
The 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. Reducing the distance to the enemy fleet down to 50 km, the morale of the crew 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?"
"We're picking a fight with the so-called 'strongest fleet in the world.' Based on our intel, 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."
"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, twenty-five 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! Launch torpedoes at the enemy fleet!"
The destroyers began to generate even more thick smoke as they raced to the front of the formation. The surroundings underwent a complete change on the previously quiet ocean 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 Mirishial's 0th Fleet.
The Celestina Empire, Radar-class Prowler, Arcus, 40km Above the Battlefield
"Looks like Fletcher is going to deploy their torpedoes soon."
Looking at the battlefield through a holo-table, Faira analyzed the situation, including the armaments of the Nova-class Destroyer, a ship that took Fletcher-class Destroyer's specification.
"Ma'am. We got aircraft coming to the battlefield. The number is twenty-five."
"Astrid report that the Gra Valkas Empire's aircraft is about to sortie. They will launch as soon as the initial engagement ends. We've confirmed the presence of at least five Aircraft Carrier."
"Fifty-four planes in average, huh…? Interesting."
"What are we going to do if they decide to attack the Cartalpas?"
"They say that Seraphic Ocean is sufficient to handle it."
"Is that so?"
The crew continues to discuss while watching the battlefield.
Underneath the clear blue sky, three of Mirishial's elegant, beautiful warships cut through the waves as they moved forward. They each sported three pairs of magic cannons in the front, all proudly pointed at the distant horizon. These ships' bridges jutted out into the sky, showing off their design projecting beauty and strength.
"Our air force, the Beta-2s, will arrive in the enemy's airspace soon. Furthermore, they have not detected any enemy aircraft. As soon as they're in position, we will commence the attack."
Squad Captain Omega, on board a multipurpose aircraft, was nervous. The Holy Mirishial Empire's prevailing mindset 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. 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. For the Holy Mirishial Empire, 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 Milishial 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 then dove at a 50° angle, their bellies holding 520 kg of magic explosives ready to fall on their targets.
"Huh?"
Beads of light began flying up into the air from the enemy ships.
"Anti-air bullets of light, huh."
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.
BOOM! BOOM!
"W-what!?"
When the black flower blossomed, taking out several Beta-2 before escaping the bombardment point. The proximity fuze fired by the Gra Valkas Empire's anti-air gun is plummeting a squadron of Beta-2 aircraft.
"I-it exploded before it can reach us!?"
Some of his colleagues fell down, with the cockpit painted in red. Once they reach the designated altitude, the surviving aircraft drop the bomb.
"Drop!"
The Beta-2 pilots are dropping their bombs, aiming for the biggest target, the Battleship. It performs some evasive maneuvers to evade, while the Beta-2 pilots abruptly raise the nose and withdraw from the battlefield.
Hyuuuuu~~
The whistle of the bombs pierced through the stage of the war, falling right at the ship below. The Gra Valkan warship turned to its left and attempted to evade. The bombs hit the surface of the ocean, letting out their destructive force underwater. The pressure broke through to the air, creating gigantic pillars of water. Black smoke also began spilling from the enemy ship.
"Bombing report. One enemy ship hit, five planes lost."
The enemy ship continued to advance despite being on fire.
"It does not appear to have been damaged enough to be incapacitated."
Fleet Commander Ultema only watches as the battle went through his expectation.
"The enemy ship will soon enter our cannon's range."
"Prepare for fire on my command."
"Yes, sir."
Looking at the front, he felt suspicious of why the smaller ships are taking point.
"Why their smaller ship is advancing ahead of those battleships?"
"Maybe to draw our fire to them. They have smaller guns, which does not pose a threat to us."
"Then ignore that ship. Our focus is the enemy battleship. As soon as they enter thirty-kilometer range, we will fire simultaneously."
"Yes, sir."
Gra Valkas 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.
"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!"
The battleship Betel had a 45 caliber, 35.6 cm-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—!"
The battleships Betel 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, adjusting the angle of fire."
The imperial judgment force had fired its first salvo on the Holy Mirishial Empire.
Holy Milishial Empire, Zeroth 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?!"
"They're still out of range of our furthest-reaching cannons!"
"Magic support! Reinforce armor!"
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 cannon fire. However, the points of impact appeared to be quite scattered.
"Their aim's pretty rough. Release the reinforcement! Ready the main guns!"
"Yes sir! Prepping main guns!"
"Begin fueling—seventy-two percent explosive, twenty-eight percent fire. Start up the shell's magic circuit."
"Magic circuit activation complete."
"The spell circuit is currently filling at a ratio of eighty-two to sixteen, explosive to fire. Magic power 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."
"Main gun, firing preparations complete. Range calculations based on the magic detector complete. Setting 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, 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!"
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 angle of elevation four degrees, readjusting left to twenty-seven degrees. Magic power fueling for the next shell is complete. Main gun fuse circuit fueling at eighty, ninety, one hundred percent. Main gun fuse circuit fueling complete. Probability of a direct hit has increased by forty-two percent, seven seconds until firing, five, four, three, two, one, fire!"
Mirishial's magic ships fired their main guns again after reloading the next shell faster than the enemy.
"How do you like that?!"
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 incoming!"
"Damn! Magic support! Reinforce armor again!"
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 hit!"
"Ooohh!"
The Gra Valkan Battleship lit up a fire, but it shows no sign of backing down. However, they soon later face one of the bad news. A Gold-class Battleship Valiant was hit by the shell near the waterline, causing the water to flood in. The pillars of water emerge around it, causing the ship to shake.
"One of our ships is hit!"
"Dammit! Even with our armor reinforced, it seems they were able to deal damage on our ship."
When the distance between the fleet reaches ten kilometers, the Gra Valkan Destroyers are withdrawing.
"The enemy's small ship is changing course! They seem to be withdrawing."
"What are they doing? Aren't they supposed to draw our fire?" Admiral Ultema asks Captain Infere about Gra Valkas' movements.
"I have no idea about that either, admiral. I've never seen the tactics like that."
The shootout continues, and after a while, the enemy fleets are withdrawing. While Valiant is taking damage, the gun is still operational.
"I want a damage report."
"Yes, sir."
Celestina Empire, Above the Battlefield, Radar-class Prowler, Arcus
Commander Faira detects torpedoes are approaching from the Gra Valkan Destroyers. It seems the Holy Milishial Empire does not notice it as they stop firing when the Gra Valkas Navy are withdrawing.
"This confirms that they don't have a submarine, let alone torpedoes."
Looking at the list, the Holy Milishial Navy lost a small ship, a Gold-class Battleship suffers moderate damage, which is Valiant, and the rest did not get damaged. The Gra Valkas Empire Navy lost a cruiser and two destroyers, while the Battleship Geas is heavily damaged.
"Ma'am. Torpedo is heading straight for Valiant."
"They didn't notice it?"
"Seems they didn't notice it."
It would seem that even the strongest country in the world did not know the concept of underwater sonar, sensor, and attacks. If the Sea Dragon does exist, they should have equipped it with sonar to detect its presence. Without wasting time, she reports to Alicia.
"Ma'am. It seems they do not have torpedoes nor any arsenals related to the submarines."
"Copy that. It would seem Parkaon is also vulnerable to submarines. If they deploy the Marine Fortress Parkaon, then a few submarines will do the trick to destroy it."
"Copy."
"Ma'am! They already sortie their aircraft!"
Alicia, hearing the report, grins.
"Their fleet is done for…"
Alicia will only pray for the Zeroth Fleet's destruction.
The Holy Milishial Empire, Zeroth Fleet
The tense ease down for a while, but a lookout spot something that looks like a white streak at the surface.
"We've detected an anomaly in the ocean! Something is heading towards us!"
The streaks are heading to the moderately damaged battleship, Valiant. At the observer's yell, everyone is looking at Valiant before the streaks hit it, and the water rises as soon as the Gra Valkas Torpedoes are hitting it. The water intake is so much that the Valiant quickly succumbed to the ocean.
"They… They will pay for this!"
"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!"
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!"
The Holy Mirishial Empire's 0th Magic Fleet hurriedly readied their anti-air weaponry.
Gra Valkas 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 faults lies with you."
"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 wouldn't stand a chance."
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.
The Holy Milishial Empire, Zeroth Fleet
"How many air covers do we have?"
"Eleven, at least."
Hearing that number, Fleet Commander Ultema only lamenting as he watches the Gra Valkas Aircraft are coming to attack them while the Navy is withdrawing.
"If only we bring Alpha-3 here…"
Alpha-3 is the newest and superior fighter, capable of boasting up to 470km/h. Little did he know that it wouldn't be able to match the Gra Valkas Empire's Air Fleet.
Air Battle
Flight Captain Omega is rallying his men, attempting to slow down as many Gra Valkan Aircrafts as possible. He saw forty aircraft are breaking formation, perking his curiosity.
"W-what!?"
Looking at the shape of the aircraft, judging by the wings and design itself, Omega expects the enemy aircraft was made for air superiority.
"We have to stop them! Everyone, raise the altitude! We will do a hit and run against them!"
"Roger!"
The Beta-2 raises the altitude, and when they are reaching ten kilometers from contact, they start diving. In front of them, they also saw the Gra Valkas bomber start diving, much to Omega's pleasure that he can shoot them down, or so he thought.
"W-why I can't close the distance!"
Even with the doppler effect, the Beta-2 Aircraft are unable to catch up with Sirius Bomber Aircraft who also dives the Zeroth Fleet.
Zeroth Fleet, Flagship Eckes
"Anti-air magic light cannon automatic spell chant complete, fueling at seventy, eighty, ninety, one hundred percent, rapid-fire configuration complete! Spell composition is fourteen explosive, sixty-five wind, twenty-one fire. Anti-air magic light cannon firing preparations are complete!"
A number of cylindrical objects were pointing up into the air on the Mithril-class battleship Eckes. Their mouths glowed a faint red from the little spherical grains that were being sucked up into the barrels.
"Commence anti-air attacks!"
"Fire anti-air cannons!"
Every ship in the 0th Magic Fleet began firing small, fast balls of light into the air. A glowing carpet of light rose up to meet the Gra Valkas Empire's diving bombers. However, while it may have looked like an extraordinary counterattack because the diving planes were so fast, not many of them were actually hitting.
"It doesn't appear to be very effective."
Fleet Commander Ultema observed the barrage impatiently. The noise from the Gra Valkan dive bombers' engines and propellers merged to create an extreme, high-pitched Doppler sound effect, which inspired an involuntary fear.
"Incoming enemy fire!"
Streams of tracer ammunition flowed from the falling aircraft at the battleship. The sound of metal on metal permeated the air as the machine gun bullets bounced off the ship's thick armor.
HYUUUuuu…
"They're bombing us! We're right under them!"
"Hard to starboard!"
The battleship's course slowly changed. It looked like they would avoid a direct hit.
HYUUUuuu…
HYUUUuuu…
HYUUUuuu…
More bombs fell.
"They're still bombing! We can't avoid this one! It's gonna hit us!" the lookout reported with a shriek.
"All hands, brace for impact!"
There was a blinding flash on top of the Eckes. The bomb unleashed all of its compressed firepower, a violent explosion of searing flame, causing the surrounding sea to shake from sheer force. The large battleship rocked back and forth.
"Damage in the rear! A fire has broken out!"
"Put out that fire!"
The Eckes's bulky armor on the rear end of the ship caused the 250 kg Gra Valkan explosive to erupt on contact. The shockwave swept violently across the top of the ship, causing damage to its superstructure.
"The anti-air magic light cannons in the rear have taken heavy damage! The barrels on our secondary armaments are bent; they're unusable!"
Another bomb that landed in the water nearby exploded, causing an enormous pillar of water to erupt into the air.
Their pain is not done as the attack did not affect just Eckes but the entire Zeroth Fleet as well.
A column of flame flared up over the ocean along with the resounding boom of an explosion. Inside the ship, reports on the fleet's status and damage to their own ship continued pouring in.
"The port side anti-air cannon has been damaged! The distance measurement device is broken!"
"Battleship Culliver has been hit. A fire has broken out!"
"Light cruiser Silver has been hit. They've been severely damaged!"
For Fleet Commander Ultema, all the reports pointed at the 0th Magic Fleet's situation worsening minute by minute.
"…This is not good."
Ultema turned to speak to Captain Infere. "Some of our ships have taken too much damage. While none of the battleships have been sunk yet, I cannot say our current situation is promising. Regardless of the fact that these are not Milishial's waters, our biggest problem is that we cannot request air cover. The Fourth and Fifth Fleets are already on their way here, but there's no way they'll make it in time for the real fight."
Suddenly, an operator detects enemy aircraft.
"New contact! Enemy aircraft! Fly extremely low! Thirty-Five Port Side! Eighty-two of Them!"
"Prepare for Anti-Air combat!"
The crew quickly prepares for the anti-air combat.
Gra Valkas Empire, Rigel-class Torpedo Bomber
The Gra Valkas Empire's Rigel torpedo bombers skimmed a tight 20 meters above sea level at a speed of 370 km/h. The 82 aircraft each carried an 800 kg torpedo. Their mission was to annihilate the fleet extolled as the world's strongest, the Holy Mirishial Empire's 0th Magic Fleet. High up in the sky, the Antares carrier-based fighter planes had already shot down all of the enemy planes, and the enemy fleet was already smoking from the multiple bombings. While it was possible to drop the torpedoes outside the range of the enemy battleships' anti-air coverage, in order to guarantee they hit, it was necessary to be much closer, so everyone in the wing was quite nervous.
"Thirty seconds until we reach the torpedo drop point!"
The enemy anti-air fire was now going to be aimed at them; they could tell since the ship started to turn. Fear and death were inextricably connected, and Squad Leader Paschim was determined to return alive. Inside the plane, the star-shaped engine roared, making it vibrate so hard that anyone calling it a smooth ride would immediately be called a liar.
"Twenty seconds!"
Anti-air projectiles were now flying towards them. There was a lot of it, especially considering that there were no tracers, but it appeared they wouldn't explode after missing their targets like Gra Valkan proximity fuzes did either. However, they did burst on contact, and one plane had already been shot down.
The fact that this world had a country capable of shooting down one of the Imperial Navy's aircraft actually startled him immensely, but when it came to the actual battle, the difference between the two countries' military capabilities was just too much, and Gra Valkas had the upper hand.
They were constantly fed instructions via radio. "…Four, three, two, one, drop!"
Forty of the Rigel torpedo bombers successfully dropped their payloads. Because the wing was so large, that turned into an amazing number of torpedo trails. Having lost 800 kg cargo that was carried throughout the flight, the plane suddenly felt a lot lighter. Squad Leader Paschim was able to escape Mirishial's anti-air net and retreat out of their range.
The Holy Milishial Empire, Zeroth Fleet Flagship, Eckes
"What the hell are they playing at? Suddenly tossing their loads and fly away like that?"
Captain Infere only wondered what are they doing, but Fleet Admiral Ultema remembers something that also happens at Valiant.
"Unidentified object detected! It's heading towards us, a thousand meters away!"
They saw a white line heading towards the flagship, and Ultema remembers the same moment when the torpedo hit Valiant before it succumbed to the ocean.
"Reinforce armor, quickly!"
"Armor reinforcing!"
A pale of light is covering the Eckes, but he knew that it was inevitable. Looking up at the sky, he saw Squad Captain Omega and the remaining Beta-2's had been wiped out by Antares Fighter.
When the torpedo strikes, it rips the hull open, and the water starts to flood in.
"Gh! Activate magic pump for counter-flooding!"
The pump was activated, but the water intake outpaces the pumped out, prompting Eckes to slowly list to the port side.
"We need to evacuate! If we keep staying like this, it will ignite the magic magazine chamber!"
"Everyone, go! Abandon ship!"
"But, what about you, Admiral!?"
"The fault lies with me! Report to the Runepolis that the Zeroth Fleet has been destroyed!"
The crew quickly evacuate as not only does the flagship Eckes suffer the torpedo attack, but the remaining Zeroth Fleet warship also receives the same fate. One by one, the Zeroth Fleet succumbs to the ocean until there is nothing left.
The Gra Valkas Empire Navy continue their assault on the airbase at the Western Islands, annihilating it before withdrawing.
On this battle of Magdola, the entire warship of the Zeroth Fleet sunk. The Gra Valkas Empire only lost one heavy cruiser, one destroyer, and one aircraft.
The Holy Milishial Empire, Imperial Capital Runepolis
Riage, the Head of Foreign Affairs, was baffled. The 11-country leadership conference had kicked off in the port town of Cartalpas, and it would last for a number of days. To start, there would be working-level diplomatic meetings for a few days, then the various foreign affairs leaders would formally act upon the results of those meetings at a high-level assembly that would take up the final two days. On the first day, the diplomat representing the Gra Valkas Empire arrogantly provoked all the other attendees and delivered an outrageous ultimatum before retiring. However, what amused him was that the diplomat representing the Gra Valkas Empire receives an ultimatum from the Celestina Empire whether to withdraw the statement or the Grade Atlastar will be "gravely injured" by Celestina.
"With Riage's arrival, we shall start the emergency meeting," the head of the military said.
Each person was given a handout, and a projector-like device was turned on. Upon receiving the handout, Riage glanced through it, his eyes widening at one of the unbelievable things mentioned within. The person operating the projector began to speak.
"I shall provide an overview. Early this morning, the Zeroth Magic Fleet, which was out training near the western islands of Magdola, communicated that it was being attacked by a naval and air fleet of unknown origins. We then lost all contact with them. In addition, an air force base on those same islands also reported that it was under attack before all contact was lost. Only a detachment of the army acting as a defense force for the islands remained, and they reported that, to our disbelief, the Zeroth Magic Fleet was eradicated by a combined enemy naval and aerial assault, and an aerial assault destroyed the air base. Upon analyzing the enemy force's flag, we have judged that this act was perpetrated by the Gra Valkas Empire."
Everyone in attendance was silent, in shock.
"Hold on a minute. Are you saying the Zeroth Magic Fleet was eradicated? While their numbers may have been few, they should have been made up of only elites. When fighting against equal numbers, they are the best in the world. No matter how powerful the Gra Valkas Empire is, no matter how massive their forces, to say they were 'eradicated'… Can this really be true?"
Lacking any outside information, Riage cut off the explanation with a question. As someone who always listened until the very end of what anyone had to say, the fact that he actually interrupted someone to make an inquiry spoke to how very unbelievable this report was.
"This is most likely all true. The most plausible explanation for our loss is that the enemy vastly outnumbered us, and because this battle took place near the western islands, the fleet lacked air support. Those are the possibilities being investigated, but that is not a topic of discussion for this meeting. Based on the army detachment's report, after they took out our fleet, they attacked our air base with cannon fire, destroyed it, then headed east."
"East! East, you say?! They… They wouldn't!"
"Yes, as you've surmised, they're either heading for our capital of Runepolis, or for the leadership conference in Cartalpas."
Once again, the room was stunned silent.
"What defensive measures do we have in place?"
"The Fourth and Fifth Fleets had been heading out to supplement the defense of the western islands, but we've recalled them to defend the capital. That means we have the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Fleets for capital defense, which should essentially be impregnable. The problem is the port town of Cartalpas; right now, the First, Second, and Third Fleets have been deployed to the east, arranged around Cartalpas, but… considering how close the western islands are, it's very possible that the enemy could reach Cartalpas before our forces do. Right now, the only protection the port has is eight local light cruiser-class ships. We can send the combat version of the Floating Ship of the Heavens in advance, but the fleets may not make it in time. Because the leadership conference is currently in progress there, we would like to call on the Head of Foreign Affairs and ask for his opinion."
There was a short pause.
"Stop… Stop joking around! We are the Holy Mirishial Empire, the world's strongest—there are no enemies worth our attention! We are staking our pride on the defense of the leadership conference while it's in session; even if we're being attacked by barbarians and may not make it in time, there's no way we can say to the guests 'Oh, you'd better evacuate'! If we were to do that, it would ruin our image, both for other superpowers and in the eyes of the countries outside the civilized areas; they would lose all respect for us! For the sake of maintaining our imperial identity and prosperity, we always need to project strength! If we want to inform the other countries about what happened, then just tell them we were ambushed by a large fleet and incurred losses. Learning this information would align them all against the Gra Valkas Empire. Leave out how we attacked them and suffered losses; that would just make us seem weaker than Gra Valkas."
The Director of Imperial Defense raised his hand.
"Mister Riage, you are correct, our Zeroth Magic Fleet being destroyed was outside of our imagination and is an embarrassment. However, Gra Valkas is powerful. Though they are barbarians, they are also an opponent that I fully recognize cannot be underestimated. The way things are developing, there is a very high chance that the leadership conference will be disrupted. In the worst case, if all of the foreign affairs ministers were to be killed, those countries will lose all trust in our capabilities as soon as they ask why we were unable to foresee an attack until after they had gotten so close. In short, everyone believes that with our power, there's no possible way we couldn't detect such an attack. They would more likely believe that we purposely allowed the attack to occur. To be quite honest, I believe we should postpone the conference and urge all attendees to escape immediately."
"You are being too naïve, Mister Director. If we were to do that, we would immediately lose all credibility. If the fleets won't be in time, what about that ancient weapon, the Naval Fortress Parkaon? If we used that, no matter how big a fleet Gra Valkas throws at us, we'll easily wipe them all out, right?"
The head of national defense stayed silent, sweat forming on his forehead.
"The Ancient Weapon Parcaon is one-of-a-kind, a superweapon from the ancient sorcerous empire that's only to be used when there is a crisis threatening the existence of the empire. However, we've only been able to verify about half of its functions; there are still many weapons in it that we know nothing about. In other words, we're unable to release its full power. That said, if it's something on the level of the Gra Valkas Empire's fleet, it should still be able to obliterate them. We need His Excellency's approval, though; we cannot override protocol for something on this level. Parkaon is our only trump card against the ancient sorcerous empire. If we were to activate it now and it got damaged, we wouldn't be able to repair it."
The meeting continued into the night. The next evening, the countries attending the leadership conference were relayed the following information:
A large fleet from the Gra Valkas Empire was en route to the conference.
Because this was a surprise attack, based on where Mirishial's forces were currently located, there was a chance that some of the enemy's fleet could slip through unimpeded.
To prevent the worst-case scenario, all countries are invited to temporarily evacuate from the port town of Cartalpas to the eastern city of Kan Braun.
The Celestina Empire, Classified Meeting with Mu and Eimor at Cartalpas
"Let's start the meeting."
Shina opens the meeting by handing reports to Mu and Eimor. Both officials read the report and they were sweaty.
"Yesterday, the Gra Valkas Empire manages to crush the Zeroth Fleet, the strongest fleet in the world. Our intel confirms that they are heading towards Port Town Cartalpas."
"W-what!?"
"That's impossible!"
The diplomats are talking to each other, as they were afraid that the Gra Valkas Empire was targeting them.
"We will provide security if all of you wish to withdraw from the conference. But, I will doubt that the Holy Milishial Officials will send actual news."
"How did you get this report?"
"We've got eyes in the sky, so this information is accurate."
"We have pride here! We must take arms against them!"
"Don't be stupid, Eimor. Your wind dragon won't stand a chance against their Antares Fighter. Their speed eclipses your speed, not to mention their firepower can kill your Wind Dragon."
"That's bullshit!"
"Maybe if you can convince him, you can deploy it."
The diplomat looks at Armada, as when he emits his magic power to where the Eimorish dragon folk trembles. They tremble enough to make them prostrate before him.
"H-hail Lord Primordial!"
"So you have some knowledge about them…"
"Y-yes, Madam… We've been told by our ancestors that… If we met a Primordial that was friendly with a nation, we should bow ourselves to his friend as well."
"Hmph… Let's back to the topic. If the conference decides to take up arms, we will be the vanguard. All of you must stay behind our destroyers. We will take care of everything, and all of you just need to run. Because when the Gra Valkas attacks the Cartalpas, the conference is already over."
Mu and Eimor got no choice but to comply with Shina's demand. Once the meeting ends, they are preparing for the worst-case scenario envisioned by Shina.