Chapter 62
Battle of Ardennes Sea
The Celestina Empire, Flauvel Combat Fleet, flagship Aegis Wing, One Hour before the cyclone hits the fleet
"Ma'am. When can we advance the ship? It will be an hour before the cyclone hits our position."
An officer asks Rangdris about her plan in fighting the Gra Valkas Empire. The crew aboard Valkyrie-class Cruiser, Aegis Wing, also wonder the same thing. Randgris looks at the map displayed by the holo table, observing the situation.
"We will move under the cyclone. Since the Gra Valkas Empire's fleet outnumbers us, and if we drag the fight long enough, we will lose some of our fighters by the natural phenomenon such as thunder."
Even though the Valkyries are the champions of the sky, cyclones and thunderstorms are their natural enemy. Like aircraft, flying inside the cyclone and thunderstorm can destroy the aircraft and kill anyone on board. Even though the Valkyrie has lighting resistance, they can't withstand natural lighting strikes.
"Besides, we have the Undines ready to assist us sailing in the ocean. With their assistance, we will know where our ship will go with less problem."
Ever since the end of the Third Interstellar War, the Undines and Valkyries are now complementing each other to fill their respective roles. The Undines will handle the ocean while the Valkyries handle the airspace. For Celestina, they're the backbone and the ace of the sea and the sky.
Ever since Celestina has developed into the Empire, where it has the power to dominate the other nations at St. Celestina Planet, it's not a surprise when the Main Council leaves them be. Furthermore, Randgris can hone her skill further after Reynes reassign her to lead the Battle Group Scharlwarltz at Celestina when he and Shina are unavailable to command.
Randgris wishes to restart her career, with Reynes immediately sent her to the Celestina Royal Military Academy at the Territory of Rawley. As for right now, she serves as the Vice-Admiral of the Celestina Empire and takes command of the Battle Group Scharlwartlz as Field Commander.
Ninety Minutes Later
"All LSF-4 are airborne, Ma'am! They're now traversing through the surface of the sea."
"Good. Follow Lapis and other Undines through the ocean. Have the weapons ready for combat."
"Yes, Ma'am!"
On the sea, Lieutenant Lapis is navigating the ocean along with her unit. Ishiene is currently keeping an eye on the Gra Valkas Empire's Battle Group 88th, where the fleet is now heading towards the Holy Milishial Empire. Along with her is a Regiment-size Undines from the 2nd "Ocean Crystal" Division.
The 1st Valkyrie DESRON is getting a hard time breaking through the ocean. No ships ever dare to set sail under this weather; even the Container ship must lay anchor or fill the water ballast for extra weight to withstand the cyclone if they didn't have Undines guide them. Following the route provided by Lapis and the mermaids, Randgris and her combat fleet continue to traverse through the storm.
"Cyclone rating?"
"Category three, ma'am."
"Stay at fifty kilometers per hour. The engine must remain at such power. Tell the research unit to collect data from this cyclone."
"Right away."
Another crew makes a report, "Water Ballast is at seventy percent, Ma'am."
"Excellent." Randgris continue to follow Captain Lapis Lazuli's path to meet with the Gra Valkas Imperial Navy.
Battling the 52nd Ishtam Fleet is going to be challenging with the cyclone. World War II technologies do not have weather trackers, as the aircraft must set out to scout for the weather and report to the fleet for any weather changes. In a world that has magical power, Celestina already expects that there could be a magician that was capable of generating a cyclone or thunderstorms, or perhaps a creature that always brings such weather.
Cobra Cyclone and Sanriku Cyclone are examples of the might of nature. Randgris may expect the Gra Valkas Battle Group Ishtam to sail through the storm only to prove their superiority against the Celestina Empire. The rest of the Flauvel Combat Fleet will stay out of the cyclone to prevent damage to the carrier.
The Celestina Empire, 8th Valkyrie Wing Squadron, LSF-4
The magicians are operating the LSF-4 and armed with a variety of weapons that can perform elemental combinations. Hailstorm, Gauss Gun, Flamethrower Siege, Volcano, Shredder, Shockwave, Levitator, Crushers, Imploder, any weapon that can give the enemy ailments are installed on the LSF-4, with options limited to two weapons at a time.
The Commander of the 8th Valkyrie Wing Squadron, Commander Sarah Velstia, has Hailstorm and Gauss Gun equipped at her wings. The Hailstorm will freeze the warship, while the Gauss Gun will shatter it to pieces.
She's an excellent pilot and has an S rating at magic augmentation. Entrusted to command the 8th Valkyrie Wing Squadron, this is her first battle using a new LSF-4 that Celestina designed to support magicians in using a magic-based weapon. The 8th Valkyrie Wing Squadron pilots are exclusively females, as they're mainly Valkyries who enjoy machinery and magic.
"Alright, ladies! Let's have some party today!"
"Yeah!"
Another pilot reports in, "Ma'am! The Gra Valkas Fleet is eighty kilometers ahead! They can't send their aircrafts airborne!"
"Excellent. Let's crush them!"
The 8th Valkyrie Squadron advances towards the Gra Valkas Empire's fleet.
The Gra Valkas Empire, 52nd Ishtam Battle Group
Fleet Commander Maynard starts to realize that the cyclone prevents his Air Force to fly. There are many phenomena around the New World that has a lot of things to study, such as Magnetic Storm and extreme weather such as this cyclone. Celestina already has their Frozen Bracelet damaged from the Magnetic Storm, and right now, Celestina would gather all the information about the weather on the sea, such as a cyclone.
Since there is no counter or a way to deal with a Magnetic Storm, every starship that flies inside the atmosphere must avoid it at all costs. For the case of the cyclone, the solution lies on the mermaid or Undines. The mermaids will guide a path for them to break through the storm with minimum damage. Since the mermaids know the ocean like the back of their hands, traversing through the storm is their specialty.
"Damn it! We shouldn't have decided to engage them in the middle of the storm if we knew that the ship is staying inside this cyclone!"
"Sir, they maintain their distances. They're closing in, but somehow, they also move away from us."
"Damn it…!"
Maynard regrets his decision as his fleet is now caught in the cyclone. Had he decide to stay out from the cyclone earlier, he won't bring his fleet into trouble.
"Do we have the carrier escorted out from the storm?"
"N-negative, sir! The carriers are also caught in the storm!"
"Grrr…!"
A lookout spot something is approaching them. "Sir! We got incoming aircraft! The number is twenty!"
"What!? Did they fly high to be consumed by this storm!?"
"N-no, sir! They fly low, and their speed is estimated to be around two hundred kilometers per hour."
"What the hell?! How's that even possible! Prepare for the Anti-Air Combat!"
The crew rushes out amidst the deteriorating situation on the Northern Mu Sea. The alarm rang to warn of an incoming attack.
The Celestina Empire, 8th Valkyrie Wing Squadron
"Battle position, everyone! Let's sunk those cruisers first!"
The 8th Valkyrie Wing Squadron glide through the sea, and as soon as they found their target, they unleash their weapons.
"Fire!"
Unleashing their weapons, the Gra Valkas Empire will face one of the powerful magician Air Wing in the Celestina Empire.
"Let's see if you like this!" The Hailstorm was fired relentlessly to the ship's turret, freezing it once it received several shots from the Hailstorm. Sarah Velstia fires her Gauss Gun to the frozen turret, and the turret immediately shatters to pieces.
Some of the pilots use different weapons, such as Flamethrower and Frost Barrage, Frost Barrage and Levitator, and Fury Cannon and Freeze Ray. The Flamethrower and Frost Barrage create a Thermal Shock, reducing the integrity of the turret and the warship's hull significantly, making it very brittle and easy to destroy. The Frost Barrage and Levitator enable the frost effect to spread rapidly to other ship sections, known as Cryo Blast. Sarah Velstia's loadout allows her to make Shatter combination damage by freezing the target and blast it with her Gauss Gun, shattering the enemy's weapon and a part of the hull in the process.
"Anti-Air Network! Their accuracy may be a bit off because of the high wave. Watch yourself!"
Although there were only twenty aircraft, the Gra Valkas Empire is taking a hard time shooting one of the LSF-4. The aircraft takes evasive maneuvers to avoid anti-aircraft fire. Since LSF-4 has more maneuverability during reserve power mode, it has more room to evade, unlike the aircraft the pilots usually use.
"Commander Faira here. Cyclone has entered category five, and the 1st Valkyrie DESRON advance to battle has been delayed further by the sudden change of the storm."
"Affirmative, Commander! We will do what we can here!"
The cyclone increased from category three to category five, making the Undines advance slows down further. The 1st Valkyrie DESRON is following Lieutenant Lapis's unit while the 8th Wing is engaging. However, they could not find an alternate route to the battle immediately after the way ahead seals off because of the high wave and the sudden increase of cyclone category.
The Gra Valkas Empire, Ishtam Battle Group
"Holy shit! What the hell was that!?"
"What the fuck!? How did enemy aircraft can dodge our anti-air battery so easily?"
"We've never seen a fighter like that before!"
The Anti-Aircraft guns fire their guns relentlessly to the 8th Valkyrie Wing Squadron, but none of any AA Batteries hit it. They saw two destroyers got frozen and tearing themselves apart as soon as a fighter is firing its gun at the frozen destroyer, sinking it.
"This is Cruiser Raveshaw! We need to abandon the battle! Our ship starts to get overheat from these attacks!"
"Destroyer Plower will withdraw! Our armor integrity is very low!"
"Aaaah! Hot! Hot! Watch the-!"
BOOOM!
"We lost Cruiser Sarajevo and Destroyer Gutwrecker!"
"Sir! The wind is getting stronger! Our crew can't fire accurately at those fighters!"
Chaos erupted at the Gra Valkas Empire's ranks. Not only do they have to deal with Celestina's Fighters, but they also have to find a way to escape from the storm.
Fleet Commander Maynard yells at them, "Any of you try to abandon the battle; I will put you down myself when we get through this! Nobody is allowed to abandon the battle! We will withdraw until we are out from the storm!"
"Sir! Two of our Carriers' hangars are flooding! The ships are listing, and the water ballast can't keep up with it! The tide is too high to handle!"
"Seal all the hatch that leads to the deck!"
"The wind is too strong, sir! They can't close the blast door!"
"Report from the Carrier Constellation, the elevator is jammed, and they are taking in the water! The hangar section is flooding, and the crews are being swept away by the water! The deck is slowly taking in the water! The sea is getting rough, and their fleet is escaping the storm!"
Two of the Gra Valkas Carriers are unable to maneuver in time. As a result, their ship began to list to the port side, and the water intake exceeds its maximum beam.
Carrier Constellation
The situation at the Carrier Constellation is far worse than the initial report. The crews are struggling to lighten the materials by disposing some of the bombs and torpedoes to the sea in order to escape the beam maximum depth limit, unaware that their actions will bring them to the worse.
"Empty the ballast! Prioritize in counter-flooding the ship!"
"We can't let the ship sunk! Seal off all the access to the ship!"
"Emergency report from the engineering section! The water has breached the air ducts, and some sections start to flooding!"
"Seal off the engineering area! Don't let any water goes to it!"
"Sir! We're very close to the eye!"
"What was that!?"
"The aircrafts! The restraints can't hold those fighters and bombers at the top! We need to loose the restraint!"
"Don't loose it, you idiot! We won't have any fighter to sortie when we're out of the storm! We have to find a way to escape from here!"
The Carrier Constellation and other carriers are struggling to maintain their balance. Soon, the high wave that goes as high as twenty meters hits the carrier, listing the ship to starboard side up to seventy degrees. The crews are being thrown around by the ocean's might as some flight crew fell to the sea.
"There's another wave!"
"Evasive maneuvers! Hard starboard!"
But, when another wave struck the Constellation, massive water enters the hangar and eventually floods most of the sections that left the door open, while the area closed by the blast door was unaffected. The Aircraft Carrier braves through the wave, but the helmsman did not switch the course in time as the ship fell starboard to the ocean.
"Abandon ship! Abandon ship!"
"Shut the engine! Shut the engine!"
"How do those fighters continue to fly under such weather!? They shouldn't be eligible to fly like that!"
Panic screams across the Gra Valkas Navy's entire ranks aboard the Constellation. The crew equips themselves with the life jacket that has enough buoyancy to keep them afloat on the sea.
Back in their homeland, they never face a storm as intense as this day. The highest cyclone category they face is at category three, which category is enough to keep the aircraft operational during combat. But what they're facing now is category five, and for the first time in battle, they also witness Celestina's fighters are able to maintain their fighting condition under the intense weather. The crew that succeeds in escaping Constellation witnesses as the aircraft carrier succumbs to the ocean.
Battleship Meisa
"Sir… We lost the Constellation."
"H-how's that possible!?" Fleet Commander Maynard can't hide his frustration when the Carrier Constellation sunk because of the bad weather. "Pull out! Pull out! We need to get away from here!"
"Sir! Our fleet can't make their escape! The Celestina Aircrafts continue to sink our warship one after another, and they have no sign of backing down!"
"Additional report from our submarines! They can't launch torpedoes because of the wave disruption!"
"Goddamn it! Fuck you, Celestina! I'll make sure you will pay for this humiliation!"
1st Valkyrie DESRON
Lieutenant Lapis continues to navigate through the ocean, and since the cyclone had entered category five fifteen minutes ago, the frontal assault option becomes very limited.
"Ma'am. We're already at the missile striking distance." A bridge crew reports to Randgris once the missile is inside the effective striking distance.
"Steer us away from the storm first; then we will launch the assault once the sea and wind get calm." Randgris continues to monitor the weather as the battle progress.
"Aye aye."
Sailing through the storm is also a disadvantage from the Combat Fleet Flauvel. They can't get effective range when it comes to direct nor indirect weaponry. Launching missiles is not a viable option since the winds can blow it away from the original course. Magnetic Accelerator Cannon has to adjust its firing angle, while the Plasma Cannon requires more heat to encase the plasma ball for protection.
The distance between the 1st Valkyrie DESRON and Istham Battle Group was already at a hundred kilometers. The ship has been going through left and right since the fleet entered the cyclone, following the mermaids through the ocean to prevent the warships from getting capsized by the high waves.
8th Valkyrie Wing Squadron
"Another one sunk!"
"Incoming high waves!"
The LSF-4 pilots quickly jump their fighters upwards when the high wave is coming for them. The warships can't fire their guns accurately due to strong wind. The proximity fuze did not affect the Fighter much since the hull was coated with the energy shielding, allowing the LSF-4 to resist more firepower. Additionally, the energy shielding features a nature blockade; thanks to the advancement and advice from the Embellia Kingdom, seawater can't damage the aircraft's hull.
The 8th Valkyrie Wing Squadron continues to dwindle the Gra Valkas Imperial Navy's number from one hundred and forty warships to seventy-five warships. When the cyclone reduces to category two, the 1st Valkyrie DESRON is sixty kilometers away from the Ishtam Battle Group. The damage dealt from the 8th Valkyrie Wing Squadron is astounding, considering they can stay in the fight for around four hours after the battle starts. Yet, it obliterates sixty-five warships with a single Squadron under the cyclone category five without any casualties.
"The wind starts to die down, and they are about to launch the aircraft soon." Sarah reminds her units not to overextend the fight. They've been in flight for five hours, and they have to withdraw unless they're authorized to take flight.
Commander Faira Desirae looks at the cyclone as it moves north, away from the battlefield. "8th Valkyrie Wing Squadron, you're clear to use Flight Mode. I repeat, you're clear to use Flight Mode. The cyclone will dissipate in thirty minutes, and your position is at category two. You're clear to take off!"
"Finally!" Sarah and other pilots quickly switch to the Flight Mode. The entire LSF-4 quickly takes off from the ocean and resumes the engagement as soon as Faira gives them the update about the weather. Unlike the battle at Reserve Mode when the flight capabilities are limited to the surface, this time, the 8th Valkyrie Wing Squadron can unleash their true power. This action surprises the Gra Valkas Empire, as the Celestina Empire possesses a Fighter that can fight inside the storm and take flight when the storm starts to dissipate.
They score an additional eight kills for the enemy warships during the flight, and the terror is far from over.
Battleship Meisa
"What the fuck!? Are those fighters taking off?!"
"What kind of country we're dealing with!?" Maynard and the other bridge crew witness the sudden change of Celestina's LSF-4 that can take off from the ocean surface as soon as the typhoon is no longer affecting their fleet.
"Keep firing! Keep firing! Don't let them gain air supremacy!" The officers yell as the anti-aircraft fire commence once more to suppress the 8th Valkyrie Wing Squadron. However, their flight speed was too fast to catch up.
"Inform the headquarters! We can't proceed to attack Otaheit and Mykal!"
A radio operator reports the battle on the beach, "Sir! News from our Bombardment unit! The transport ship has been destroyed! The infantries are trapped on the beach!"
"W-what?!"
A lookout spot two LSF-4 are launching an attack on his battleship, "Sir! They're aiming at us!"
"Fire! Fire! Fire!"
Relentless guns continue to fire towards the duo LSF-4, but the Celestina Fighters are popping something underneath it and land on the ship's deck.
"What is this?"
As some of the crew curious about Celestina's intention, suddenly, a bullet pierces through Battleship Meisa from port side to starboard side, piercing another Battleship that was right at the trajectory route.
"Curse you, Celestina!" Maynard departs from this world when the ship explodes violently from a single MAC shot.
1st Valkyrie DESRON
"Battleship Meisa and another battleship are confirmed destroyed." An Ensign reports the destruction of Battleship Meisa.
"Let's finish the rest and make sure only two destroyers are left alive to take care of those survivors. Anyone they left behind, we will take it." Randgris issue the order to finish the battle as the sea start to gets calm again.
"Yes, Ma'am."
The LSF-4 withdraws once their task is complete, while the 1st Valkyrie DESRON and the 1st Undine Recon Company destroy every warship they can find. The submarines are also included for destruction, as Lapis and 1st Undine Recon unit are crushing every last of the submarines by rigging the bow section of the torpedo launch with explosives, destroying the submarines at the bow section when they are launching the torpedoes. The submarines that did not fire the torpedoes, Lapis blow the upper hatch, drowning the entire crew inside.
Star-class Destroyer, Bright Two Eyes
Captain Runera, the Captain of the Bright Two Eyes, fell in despair when he witnessed the Celestina Empire's power for the first time. The entire Ishtam Battle Group, all warships, save for two destroyers, are obliterated mercilessly.
"This can't be…. This can't be…!" Witnessing the horror in front of his eyes paralyzes him as the crew struggles to rescue any survivor they can find while fleeing to the west. "Let's get out of here!" The ship's crew rescues 120 personnel, and they are in a terrible state when the Bright Two Eyes rescue them. Almost all of them are traumatic after what happened during the battle inside the storm. None expect it will end like this, as it tarnishes the entire fleet with just twenty LSF-4 aircraft fighters that were never seen before in their lifetime.
Two Hours Later, 2000 Hours
At that time, Bright Two Eyes and Bright Seven Eyes are sailing west, withdrawing from the battlefield. Captain Runera receives an incoming transmission from the land.
"Captain! We got radio contact from the land!"
"Patch it through!"
Lieutenant General Huffington opens the channel, "This is Lieutenant General Huffington. Our entire warships and Attack Transports are destroyed before the sun is down, and we're trapped on the beach. We need an immediate evacuation! How fast you can reach us?!"
The reports of requesting immediate evacuation brought fear to Runera's mind again. He didn't want to evacuate them, knowing that his ship was already full of survivors and can't take more passengers.
"T-This is Captain Runera, Captain of the Star-class Destroyer, Bright Two Eyes! To hell I want to go there to the beaches! We're running away because they obliterate almost the entire Battle Group! The Commander is also dead!"
"W-What?! How many ships survive?!"
"Bright Two Eyes and Bright Seven Eyes! Both of our warships are already packed up with survivors from the battle this evening! They attack us in the middle of the cyclone! I can't get to you, Bright Two Eyes out."
Captain Runera decides to forsake them, as he knew that he would bring his crew into oblivion if he approaches the beach to evacuate the survivor of the 10th Corps.
1st Valkyrie DESRON, Near Mu Northern Beach
"Soon, we'll be in the range of the enemy's 10th Corps position."
Randgris looks at the holo table as she looks at the Gra Valkas Empire's 10th Corps personnel. "Send two Plasma-class Destroyer. Open fire if they resist, support the 5th Cadet Battalion."
"What do we do for them?"
"Make them surrender with minimum casualties."
"Understood."
The rest of the Combat Fleet Flauvel succeeds in regrouping after the cyclone is over. Now, they're guarding the Northern Sea.
Commander Faira Desirae gives them an update from Alue. "Alue has fallen, and the Wild Dog Mercenary Unit will commence their ambush tomorrow morning."
"Thank you for the intel, Commander." Randgris sighs as she wondered why Mu officials are so stupid, knowing that the Gra Valkas Empire's Army size is already a dire threat for them. "Maybe this is a "knock-knock, wrecking crew in session" method to wake them up." Looking at the holo table again, she also affirms the battle update as the remaining infantry at the 10th Corps surrendered.
"Don't engage the 88th Battle Group. Our main objective is to keep Northern Mu's sea secure."
"Yes, Ma'am."
After the process of the extraction of the prisoners, Combat Flauvel Fleet returns to Otaheit to resupply. Today's battle left a series of stories about the floating aircraft that can fight on the surface and in the air. Battle Group Ishtam lost all warships, except for two Destroyers. News about Celestina's combat capabilities inside the storm demoralizes the Gra Valkas Empire's Navy.