Chapter 439: Chapter 438: The Undercurrents of Golden Bay (Part 2) Chapter 439: Chapter 438: The Undercurrents of Golden Bay (Part 2) “`
The Blade of the Divine pierced through the heavens, bringing forth the origins of civilization and war.
Order is not merely about obedience; rebellion and struggle are equally integral.
At the forefront was the Kingdom of the Holy Church's most renowned Level One Battleship, which also served as the flagship of the First Fleet–the Divine Blessing. It measured 80 meters in length and 35 meters in width, and its overall appearance resembled a flat, slightly concave dagger suspended in the air.
The silver-white hull was lined with a total of 140 Magitech Cannons on both sides, but that wasn't the focal point. The most distinctive feature of the Divine Blessing was its protruding bow ram. Unlike other magic-powered floating warships, although it was the flagship, the Divine Blessing was known for its close combat. Its bow was essentially a flat blade, and during battle, the ship's most common maneuver was to charge directly at enemy warships and plunge its bow into the enemy's hull like a dagger, followed by Paladins boarding for hand-to-hand combat.
This warship was also somewhat legendary within the Kingdom of the Holy Church. Its initial construction concept was mainly because at that time, the Holy Church's magitech shipbuilding technology was relatively backward and couldn't compete with other nations' magitech warships in terms of long-range firepower. However, conversely, due to the Goddess's blessing, the defensive strength of the Holy Church's warships was generally very high.
In this situation, facing the threat of magitech fleets from other nations, the Kingdom of the Holy Church simply took the opposite approach, completely abandoning the advantage of aerial long-range firepower and focusing their strength on the defense and speed of their warships, enabling them to charge directly into the enemy fleet formation as soon as the battle began, then to engage in bayonet fighting.
At that time, the Holy Church had built fifteen such warships, but by the end of the war, only three remained relatively intact, and later two were retired. Only the Divine Blessing, after being refitted, joined the First Fleet as the flagship. It symbolized the Goddess's protection and the blade representing the Deity's wrath, as well as the Holy Church's relentless will.
The Sword of Divine Protection, advance without retreat.
Following close behind the Divine Blessing were thirty Holy Shield Class Magitech Battleships, each measuring around 40 meters in length, the most common type of main battle warship in the continent. Compared to the Divine Blessing at the front, these Holy Shield Class Battleships looked more like silver leaves. Each of these main battle warships had 80 Magitech Cannons, and the Holy Church's warships focused on agility, with divine protection to enhance defense, and thus their tactics were more about maneuverability and swift movements.
At the moment, this fleet appeared like a flock of white birds, elegantly and lightly steering towards the direction of the port.
“They're here!!”
Seeing this sight, Ogrande couldn't help but get excited. Being from the Kingdom of the Holy Church, the sight of such a vast fleet appearing before her filled Ogrande with pride and excitement.
“Boom—-! Boom—-!!”
However, just at that moment, as if to disrupt the wonderful atmosphere, a boisterous sound of war drums began to ring out. Hearing the sound of the war drums, Ogrande couldn't help frowning, then she turned her head to look, and the Young Lady's expression changed abruptly.
She saw that alongside the First Fleet, another fleet had also arrived. Their hulls were entirely red, and without needing to look at the rough-style hulls, the depiction of a fierce red Giant Dragon on the sails was enough to indicate the origin of these warships.
The Flame Dragon Ship of the Kingdom of Flame's Seventh Fleet.
In contrast to the Holy Church's grandeur and elegance, the warships of the Kingdom of Flame had a completely different style. The bows of their ships were all invariably roaring Giant Dragons, coupled with the distinctive dual-wing sails of the Kingdom of Flame's warships. From a distance, these warships seemed like living red Giant Dragons.
“`
And the largest among them was the flagship of the Seventh Fleet, the Flame Dragon Ship. It was nearly the same length as the Divine Blessing but completely opposite in design philosophy; this warship was equipped with a total of two hundred magitech cannons. Its concept was to completely tear any enemy in sight into shreds. And indeed, there were scarcely any warships that could withstand a barrage from the Flame Dragon Ship.
Of course, perhaps only the Divine Blessing could stand against it.
For a moment, the air became subtly charged as the fleets of the Kingdom of the Holy Church and the Kingdom of Flame slowly advanced toward the airfield, gradually forming a standoff. This scene had all the representatives of the various powers staring wide-eyed, at a loss for words. Both Grand Knight Astor and Lieutenant General John maintained smiles, as if completely unaware of the tension before them, simply quietly watching each other.
Oh… this is really troublesome…
As Ogrande observed the scene before her, she broke out into a sweat. She could see both fleets moving concurrently toward the port, and neither showed the slightest intention of backing down. Clearly, although both sides still maintained a friendly atmosphere on the surface, the intent to vie for superiority had become apparent at this moment.
Not only that…
“Look, what's that?”
Just as both were about to enter the waterway, suddenly, a noble standing in front of the glass window pointed outside and started shouting. At this time, everyone was surprised to discover that there was another fleet right behind the Kingdom of Flame's fleet!
The number of warships in this fleet was nearly the same as the previous two fleets, but its flagship was exceptionally eye-catching.
Because it was enormous!
From a distance, the warship looked to be one hundred fifty meters long, which was amongst the largest warships known!
Of course, judging by its speed, its size might render it somewhat less agile, but one could not deny the immense shock it brought to anyone witnessing such a gargantuan vessel cruising the skies.
As to which nation this warship belonged–all that was needed was a glance at the scales and gold coin insignia painted on it to know the answer.
“This is the latest warship developed in a joint research endeavor with the Caron Kingdom,” Lieutenant General John chimed in with a timely smile.
“We call it the Forward Ship… Unstoppable, capable of crushing any enemy that stands in its way. How about it? A fitting name, don't you think?”
Those damn nouveau riche!
Hearing Lieutenant General John speak, Ogrande let out a soft snort. Was being wealthy truly so extraordinary? Could money justify doing whatever one wanted? Damn it… that's why I can't stand the smugness of those fat cats from Caron!
Of course, strictly speaking, this warship also had many flaws in Ogrande's eyes, such as being too large, which made it an easy target, or too slow to enable agile attacks. If she wanted to, she could have criticized every shortcoming, including the warship's tacky gold exterior.
But helpless against their own nature, humans are visual creatures; the simple fact that the Forward's size dwarfed the Divine Blessing was enough to irk anyone.
In any case, size was always an important aspect.
“Really, I am sorry for making you all laugh,”
General John's smile didn't falter, and he even gave an apologetic wave of his hand.
“To be honest, we didn't plan on showcasing this warship, seeing as it's so bulky and slow, not an ideal warship by any standards. But Caron insisted we use this warship for the test, so we brought it along… Ah, please don't mind it…”
Hearing this, Ogrande was quite annoyed and wished she could punch this bastard in the face. But that she couldn't, and meanwhile, the massive warship was already coming into the channel under the escort of the Kingdom of Flame's fleet–it was clear it aimed to beat the Kingdom of the Holy Church's fleet to the port!
Although this was merely a matter of pride, it involved the face of three nations. But surprisingly, at this moment, the Holy Church's First Fleet unexpectedly slowed down and broadened their formation… What did this mean? Could it be they intended to yield, right before everyone's eyes?
Thinking this, Ogrande couldn't help but glance at Grand Knight Astor beside her, only to see the Grand Knight still smiling and squinting his eyes, seemingly indifferent. Although Ogrande wanted to say something, at the same time, suddenly, several flashes of light streaked before her eyes.
Was the First Fleet firing?
While contemplating this unreliable thought, Ogrande hurriedly looked towards the source of the flash, and then the girl was slightly taken aback.
She saw streaks of white light beams falling from the sky like meteors, landing in an empty space ahead of the First Fleet, and then quickly expanding to form arrays.
This was… Space Transfer Arrays, could it be…!
At this thought, Ogrande's eyes widened in surprise. In her memory, on the entire continent, only one power possessed a fleet capable of space transfer!
That was… the Heavens' Eye Guard of the Magitech Nation!
“Huh——–”
With the magic radiance flickering, dozens of warships appeared before everyone's eyes. Unlike the modified models of the other three nations, the Magitech Nation's mages still used the most ancient Magitech Warship design–three decks with 85 Magitech Cannons as their standard blueprint, which hadn't changed in decades.
But this didn't mean the Magitech Nation's warships were antiquated. Thanks to their excellent alchemy and magic skills, the Magitech Nation's warships, although standard in design, each fulfilled completely different roles. Moreover, the mage's enhancement magic on the Magitech Ships allowed the Magitech Nation's fleet to remain one of the most influential presences above the skies of the continent.
And this time, within the Magitech Nation's fleet, a brand new warship was also revealed.
“That is…”
Seeing the warship that stood out amongst the fleet of the Magitech Nation, many were shocked. If the warships of the Holy Church, the Kingdom of Flame, and the Land of Wealth were still somewhat resembling a “warship,” then the Magitech Nation's warship was better described not as a warship but a small circular floating island. Surrounding this floating island were six Mage Towers–but that wasn't the most important part.
What mattered was that around the perimeter of this floating island, one could clearly see docks for mooring Magitech Warships!
“This…”
“Hehehe.”
Observing the expression of General John beside him, Grand Knight Astor chuckled.
“I apologize for the spectacle, General John. To tell you the truth, the Kingdom of the Holy Church does not wish to dominate any seas; we just hope to protect our territory. That's why we partnered with the Magitech Nation to develop this airborne dock… Well, I admit, it's technically not a warship. It's merely there to provide supplies and mooring for other Magitech Warships…”
Listening to Grand Knight Astor's “explanation,” General John's expression remained unchanged, but a chill flashed in his eyes. He wasn't a fool. Even though the Grand Knight claimed it wasn't a warship, and indeed it didn't look like one, General John knew the appearance of this “warship” made the Kingdom of the Holy Church a significant threat to them.
For it solved a very important issue–that of logistical supply for long-voyage fleets!!
As the commander of the Seventh Fleet of the Kingdom of Flame, who controlled most of the Endless Sea, Lieutenant General John was of course aware of the importance of logistics; even they could only ensure supplies for the oceanic fleet by building docks and mooring within existing civilized areas.
But a mobile “supply ship” capable of mooring Magitech Warships was a different matter entirely! Even if it wasn't fast, its ability to move meant that the Kingdom of the Holy Church could place this “supply ship” anywhere, instead of being limited by supply range like they were. This made the Kingdom of the Holy Church's fleet movements that much harder to predict.
Damn, those Magitech Nation mages… I knew they were troublesome!
However…
Thinking this, Lieutenant General John's eyes flickered with a cold light.
If this was the case, it was time to show them the will of the Kingdom of Flame!
Chapter end
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