CH 200

Schwartz couldn’t stop sweating. Is the thing before him that looks like a beautiful young lady truly human? He can’t help but think otherwise.

Schwartz has been a sailor since he was young. From his rank-and-file days, until he reached a certain officer’s position, he would have had most of his experience with the sea and ships. He now prides himself on being an admiral of sorts. He thinks he is still relatively young and keeping up with the cutting edge of the times.

However… even Schwartz had not yet established the tactics and operations for this new ship and the new weapons installed on it. Ship maneuvering drills and fleet actions could be undertaken like before. However, it is impossible to command enough to fully master these new weapons.

No, he thought that until he saw it done in this naval battle today. He thought he knew everything. Until he sees someone who can use this new technology to their fullest potential…

He’s grateful to his Lord for hiring Schwartz, after he lost his ship and had nowhere to go, and for giving him a ship to command once more. However, even though she was his Lord, he never doubted his superiority when it came to the sea and ships. He did not fully support this operation, either.

He thought that the strategy his Lord thought up was somehow unreasonable. He thought it was his job to compensate when it failed. And yet…

In this naval battle, Schwartz would have approached the southbound pirates from the west side and then use this giant ship to ram them. For ships that didn’t sink, this one could also turn south, keep pace, and fire the new ship-mounted guns. After that, they’ll sink or capture three pirate ships as they sail alongside and outnumber them in vessels and crew. After that, all of the fleets will challenge the pirate ships remaining in Visvy in a decisive battle.

However, the strategy decided by his Lord was too reckless. No, considering the common sense and paradigm of naval battle so far, it was a reckless strategy. Without ramming or even coming alongside, they will fire at each other in a counter-advance battle, then reverse only the fleet-footed caravel ships to pursue the stragglers. The remaining Galleon fleet headed straight for Visvy. Schwartz thought it was a very reckless move.

He certainly knew the power of the new weapon, the Caan Cannon. No, he thought he knew. But he was skeptical about how much damage it could do on a live target. In the first place, he thought it would be a bad idea to throw away the advantage of numbers and divide the fleet. He thought that no matter how fast the caravels were, it would take a long time to turn around and pursue them. And now, he finds…….

The enemy’s leading ship is already listing. If she leans that far, she will no longer be able to avoid sinking. And the 2nd and 3rd ships, both their hulls and their decks were in disrepair. They haven’t sunk yet, but the damage is so bad that they could sink. And even if you can avoid sinking, there is no way to escape from the Caravel Fleet after it turned around and began pursuit.

It’s horrific… he didn’t understand how to use this new fleet and its new weapons. How does Schwartz compare to this young lady? She is only 15 years old and though she is his Lord, she claims to have no experience in naval combat, yet she perfectly understands how to use all these new capabilities. Old-fashioned ships and old tactics have all become obsolete, in the face of strategies they could not have thought of or believed possible.

It’s impossible. She’s not human. This is an avatar of War itself. He can’t describe it in a cliched word like “genius.” The Darling of this Era, the Golden Child, no words are enough. She’s terrifying. Paralyzingly terrifying. But at the same time, Schwartz was trembling with excitement. He was so lucky to have met such a Lord…

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In the years to come, the House Caan Merchant Fleet will be known throughout the world. And Schwartz was able to serve such a wonderful Lord, who had entrusted him with the world’s most advanced fleet. Then he will learn how to use this fleet and new weapons in this battle.

His Lord is showing it before his eyes. How to use these, how to operate them, and how to craft strategies with them.

At this time, Schwartz and the crew of the House Caan Merchant Fleet found absolute loyalty to their Lord for the first time, after this they would sail to the ends of the world for her.

The Hollant Kingdom pirates remaining in Visvy sent off 3 of their comrade’s ships, believing they could take care of themselves. They were under the impression that Ploiss couldn’t send ships to Goslant Island, as it was within Kamaal Alliance’s sphere of influence. However, soon after the 3 ships set sail, a roaring sound like thunder could be heard in the distance, and a commotion broke out shortly.

“What was that sound?” a pirate asked.

“It’s different from thunder… I’ve never heard anything like it before,” another said.

The pirates had an ominous feeling from the continuous roaring noises in the distance and rushed to set sail though their ships were not meant to do so.

“Hurry up! Launch the ships! Launch anything that’s ready to sail!” the pirates said.

All the pirates were working furiously to launch, but everything was delayed. They weren’t ready to set sail yet, but something appeared outside the bay. After this, came the demons who would unleash a hellish tragedy upon them…

“Captain! Look at that!”

“Wha…?! What is that giant ship…?”

It was a huge ship that they had never seen before, coming out of the shadow of the island’s south. And there are 4 of them. Furthermore, despite being such giant ships, they were fast. It was so fast that even though it was several times larger than their ships, there was almost no difference in speed.

“Whose flag are they flying?”

“What’s it look like?!”

“A tricolor flag with an eagle! I’ve never seen that one before!”

“Hurry up! Get out of the bay! Keep up that pace!”

Their affiliation and purpose are unknown. The only thing they do know is that if they stay in the bay as they are, they might be attacked unilaterally. It is a disgrace for a sailor to be caught off-guard while on land. There is no choice but to sail and get out before the entrance to the bay is blocked. It wasn’t the time to say, “When we’re ready.”

“Woah! They’re already at the exit!”

4 gigantic ships of unknown affiliation came out from the island’s shadow and quickly blocked the bay’s entrance. But pirates don’t stop. The ships raise anchors and set sail one after another.

“What are they trying to do?”

However, the fleet that seemed to be blocking the exit was slowing down with their bows toward the bay. This is like asking them to slam their rams into their hulls on their way out.

“Heh…! They don’t give a shit! You want holes in your guts so badly, we’ll give them to you! Just keep sailing forward!”

Even ships that are many times larger than theirs will sink as soon as a large hole is opened in the bottoms of their hulls. It doesn’t matter how many sailors are on board if they are rammed and sunk. But… the bad feeling doesn’t go away. On the contrary, the bad feeling is getting stronger and stronger.

“What are those black tubes?”

Suddenly… they were curious about the black tubes peeking out of the windows of the blockading ships. The next moment…

Don! Don! Don! Do-do-do-don!

All at once, the black cylinders spewed fire and round bullets flew with roars. The moment the pirate captain saw it, he realized what his ominous premonition was about. And it was too late. At the same time as the captain felt a strong sense that he was going to die, he was turned into minced meat and left this world.

“Woah! What the hell was that?!”

“Rudder! Take the rudder!”

“No, the helm! Take the helm!”

Round bullets fly one after another, hitting, and opening holes in the hull. In the face of unreasonably overwhelming violence, their friends die without any means to protect themselves. The cannonballs that flew like rain never stopped, and the five pirate ships were flooding one after another, slowing their speed sharply.

But! The 5th ship sailed last and was fortunately in the shadow of another ship, so was not seriously damaged. Of course, she got shot. However, even a wooden ship won’t sink so easily with just a few hits from a small-caliber Caan Cannon that isn’t using high explosive ammo.

“Yes! We can get through! South! Head south!”

The Spiegel sailed at the end of the line, hid behind the ship in front of it until the last minute, and approached the bay’s exit while avoiding the enemy attacks. From there, she jumped out at full speed and headed south. Enemy ships are coming from the south and heading north. It seemed that such huge ships wouldn’t be fast enough to chase the southbound Spiegel.

As Schwartz led the operation from the fleet’s flagship, Santa Maria, and headed the bombardment as the northernmost lead vessel, he found himself wanting to click his tongue in frustration. One of the enemy pirate ships had escaped through a gap in the blocked bay entrance. 4 galleons were not enough to completely block its length.

It’s trying to go south while galleon ships are lined up facing north. He doesn’t think they’ll be able to catch up with them if they were running south. Even though the galleon is faster than her hull is large, there’s not enough speed difference to catch up with a pirate ship that’s suffered little damage and hasn’t listed like the rest.

If they go south, you’ll find the Caravel Fleet that just fought off the coast of Goslant Island. If they’re lucky, they can only hope that the Caravel Fleet will notice and capture her.

“As expected, we weren’t able to suppress all targets…” Schwartz said.

“No, I’m not going to let them escape,” Floto replied. “Let’s make that ship a sacrifice, to discourage the other ships’ fighting spirits.”

Schwartz can’t understand his Lord’s words. But the confusion lasted only for a moment. Floto jumped up and jumped onto the crow’s nest in one bound. And then…

“Earth…”

When Floto raised her hand, something like a gigantic rock mass appeared. And with her words, long and narrow rock with a sharp tip was formed.

“Penetrate.”

Just casually yet gracefully, she gently raised and moved her hand forward. That’s all. With just that, the huge rock floating overhead shot out at tremendous speed and hit the pirate ship that broke through the blockade and sailed out into the open sea. And the moment the rock hits…

DOGO-OOHHNNN!

There was a loud roar and a shockwave.

“Uoooohhh!”

Even from this distance, the gigantic galleon ship violently shook from the impact and the waves. A huge water column rose up where the pirate ship was struck, and after it disappeared, the pirate ship disappeared with it. Scattered pieces of wood were floating around

“I can’t believe it… what power…”

“A ship of that size, shattered into pieces with a single magic shot!?”

Everyone was dumbfounded. What they had was nothing. They thought these new ships and their weapons were terrifying, but in the face of this “True Avatar of Destruction,” they were just leaves floating on the ocean.

At this moment, all the remaining pirates lost their fighting spirit. They were able to see the spectacle from inside the bay. Even the round cannonballs that were flying right now were too much to handle, and now no one thought there was no point in resisting in the face of that.

The Battle of Goslant Island and the Battle of Visvy Bay ended in overwhelming victories for the Caan Merchant Fleet. They had incapacitated and forced the surrender of all 8 pirate ships without losing a single sailor, let alone having their ships damaged.

The Caravel Fleet had been dealing with the remaining pirate ships that had tried to flee the Battle of Goslant Island, captured the relatively lightly damaged Windhond as it ran at the rear of the fleet, and then rendezvoused at Visvy.

Of the 5 pirate ships that fought in Visvy Bay, the 4 that remained there were still floating when the pirates surrendered. There were, however, 2 ships whose sinking was only a matter of time, after the pirates surrendered, they were towed out of the bay by galleons and sank where they wouldn’t impede sailing.

One of the remaining 2 ships was also severely damaged and did not seem to be long for the world, so they went offshore under their power and were scuttled. Only one ship, the Endlacht, remained.

“The other 2 ships were badly damaged and sank,” a caravel ship messenger said. “The remaining pirates who fell into the sea are now on board the captured ships.”

Floto silently nodded while listening.

“Well done,” she said. “There may still be enemies. Only 1 caravel will enter the bay and the rest will continue to block the bay exit. I will land in Visvy on a dinghy.”

“That’s dangerous!” Schwartz yelled. “Are you going ashore yourself, Admiral?”

The opposition around her was immediate. There may still be remnants of pirates lurking on land. Even if there were no more pirates, Visvy’s residents and soldiers could still attack. They can’t let the Admiral of the Fleet go to such a place.

“Oh my? Then you believe I need an escort, Schwartz?” Floto asked, chuckling.

“Ah… you’ve got a point… I don’t think the young lady needs an escort…” Schwartz said.

He remembered the spell earlier and shook his head.