CH 208

The people who had gathered at the port to watch the ceremony were astonished. The silhouettes of the ship had been visible far away and were approaching in an instant. The fleets, led by giant ships that they had never seen before, are advancing without a single line of confusion.

“Hey! They’re going to hit us!”

The spectators were frightened by the fact that the four leading ships were so huge that they almost thought they were going to crash into the harbor.

“It’s a crash!”

The ship is heading straight into the harbor. The moment they thought there would be an impact…

“Ooh!”

“Amazing!”

The fleet had 5 ships along 4 lines, turning left and right 2 lines at a time just before they crashed into the harbor. The movements and the timing are all perfect. It’s not possible without a high degree of skill to take such flawless fleet action while being so close to the harbor, you think you’d crash into it if you made a mistake. Because Lubek is a port city, they could feel the ferocity of this fleet even more clearly.

A caravel ship was approaching from the center, following the fleets that had now divided into 2 separate line formations, left and right. Those who were watching from the front could see that the 5th line was running behind the middle of the 4 leading lines. But when viewed from any angle other than straight on, it looks as if a ship suddenly appeared from behind the split fleets.

“Ooh~~!”

Cheers and applause erupted at the movement of the fleet, it was so beautiful. And the caravel that was running in the middle rear was towing two ships.

“Ah! That ship!”

“It’s all busted and broken…”

Seeing the ship being towed by the caravel, the people of Lubek immediately recognized what it was. A pirate ship, no, a warship of the Royal Navy of Hollant, that had come to the waters near Lubek and blocked the sea not long ago.

The 2 pirate ships being towed had been given temporary repairs, but they were still in tatters. It is vividly shown how fierce the battle was fought to capture these 2 ships.

The caravel also turned and the 2 pirate ships being towed stopped where they could be seen by the audience at Lubek. Seeing that, they let out even more cheers. It’s proof that the pirate ships that were plaguing them had been subjugated. There is no one here who would not be pleased with that.

“Everyone, as you can see, the House Caan Merchant Fleet discovered 8 pirate ships dispatched by the Royal Navy of Hollant in Visvy, Goslant Island, sank 6 in battle, and captured the remaining 2, and we have also liberated Goslant Island that had been occupied by pirates!”

“8 of them!?”

“I was sure there were 5 ships, but it turns out there were 8…”

“Did this fleet just call itself the House Caan Merchant Fleet? Sure, there’s a lot of them, but were they able to fight 8 pirate ships?”

Standing on a stage set up in the harbor, the citizens of Lubek whispered while listening to the announcers explaining the situation. Sea battles are familiar to the citizens of Lubek, they were all peoples of the sea. From that common sense, if there were 8 pirate ships attacking Lubek, defeating them would not be that easy. It is not difficult to imagine that there would have been a considerable number of casualties among the allies as the pirate ships were in such a state of disrepair.

“I understand your doubts and worries. Then let us show you. The power of the House Caan Merchant Fleet!”

After declaring that, the caravel ship towed only 1 pirate ship and went out to sea. One of the gigantic new ships that had never been seen before followed it from the split line formations near the harbor.

From the perspective of the citizens of Lubek watching from the harbor, a pirate ship is on the right side, and a gigantic ship on the left side, both facing Lubek. And…….

“Now then, please take a look! The power of the ‘Caan Cannon,’ the pride of the House Caan Merchant Fleet!”

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

A loud roar suddenly resounded as if those words were the signal. Pillars of fire and smoke rose from the gigantic ship, visible even from the harbor.

“Wow! That big ship exploded!”

“It’s an emergency!”

The first people to see it thought that the allied super-huge ship suddenly burst into flames and exploded. However, if you take a closer look, you will gradually realize that this is not the case.

“No! Look there!”

“The pirate ship!”

A column of water rises around the pirate ship, and the pirate ship itself has a hole in its hull. That was some kind of attack by the super-huge ship. And even though they were that far apart, their unilateral attacks were demonstrating the power that far surpassed conventional wisdom.

There have been times in the past when the crew would fire arrows and wield crossbows before coming alongside to board. It is a natural idea to inflict even a little damage on the opponent before coming to their deck. But what is happening right now is nothing like that. Some kind of attack with overwhelming destructive power is unilaterally defeating the pirate ship.

“Oh! It’s already listing!”

“The mast is broken! It’s done for!”

In the blink of an eye… the allied ship sank the pirate ship in an impossibly one-sided fight. Of course, if the enemy ship had sailors on board, they would probably respond with first aid. You may think that it is easy to sink because it is uninhabited now. But it’s not a matter of having enough sailors on board.

It’s too overwhelming. Too much destructive power. It was an unbelievable spectacle that overturned common sense for the citizens of Lubek, their lives, and livelihoods on the sea.

In front of the Council Hall… both the chairman and the councilors were at a loss for words. A deafening roar. Pillars of fire and smoke. And a unilateral long-range attack outside of common sense.

Impossible. Indeed, as Floto von Caan explained, even 8 pirate ships could be sunk with ease. That power overturns the common sense of the world. It’s a demonic vessel that shouldn’t exist.

“This… this is…”

The House Caan Merchant Fleet?… They couldn’t finish the sentence.

“It would be a nuisance if there was a sunken ship in such a location,” Floto said. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to just leave it there to sink as is.”

“………… Huh?”

They don’t understand what Floto von Caan said. It’s true that if she says it’s a nuisance, it might be a nuisance, but it’s common for sinking ships to be found far out at sea. It’s not a significant problem. Above all, it is a hopeless matter, with nothing that could be done to fix it.

If various conditions are met, there may be cases where it can be pulled up or removed from its resting place. But in most cases, the technology of this world can’t help it. Just leave it to its fate.

It’s listed considerably, and it’s already in a situation where it can’t avoid sinking. It’s impossible to move it now. You have no choice but to let it disappear beneath the water as it was. That’s what it should be…

“Earth…”

And the moment Floto von Caan whispered that, the councilors thought that an enormous amount of magical power swirled around, so much so that even the council members, who were merchants who could not use magic and had little knowledge of the art, could clearly sense it…

“Hii!”

“Wha–What is this!?”

Before they knew it, a huge chunk of rock was floating above the hand raised by Floto von Caan. Its shape is pointed and elongated.

“Penetrate.”

Just gracefully, in a cool voice as if composing a poem, the floating giant rock flew at an impossible speed to the sinking pirate ship and hit it.

DOH-PAHNN!!

A terrible sound roars and a water column rises.

“Kya!”

“Woah!”

A column of water that rose far offshore rushed toward the harbor like a tsunami. The crowd that had gathered at the harbor began to flee in confusion. But they didn’t need to.

“Wind,” Floto said.

Once again, Floto von Caan muttered so, and the tsunami that was approaching the port crashed into something as if it were blocked by an invisible wall and dispersed there.

The audience, who had been on the verge of panic even though the guides said not to worry, once again cheered loudly. It was also understood as a demonstration.

After the water column and tsunami disappeared, the sinking pirate ship was nowhere to be seen. No matter how much you say it was already hopelessly sinking, there was no way it would suddenly disappear so quickly. And there are scattered pieces of wood floating around where the pirate ship was. It only means one thing:

“You… you’ve got to be joking…”

“With that one shot just now?”

“Oh… aaah…”

All the crowd could tell was that something huge had been shot out of nowhere. Now everyone’s focus is concentrated from the port to the sea, and no one is looking at the Council Hall behind them. But everyone there saw it. They wonder if what they just saw now was the fate that befell the pirate ships…

Most of the councilors stare with trembling bodies while their faces turn pale. There was nothing but an elegant young lady standing there with a lovely face that hadn’t changed at all. But it’s just too terrifying.

After doing all that, she never changed her expression. For this person, things like that are as natural as breathing.

Normally, releasing that much magic consumes a large amount of magical power. If that happens, any great wizard would be exhausted and unable to move. She’s inhuman to stay calm. She is a demon. If the ships that lined up over there were the ships of the demons, then the woman who led them was the Demon King herself.

“Next, please look over there,” Floto said.

“…… Huh?”

Floto pointed at the Dierbe River this time, there were many unfamiliar ships floating on the river. Compared to the caravel ships and other larger ships, medium-sized ships were coming from the sea up the estuary and then down from the river.

The structure of the ship is something they had never seen before. A flat plate-like object is placed on the low hull. Some ships have shields on the top to protect them from arrows, but even so, the top is flat and slightly stepped on both sides, making it look like a road or a bridge. The ships began to behave strangely.

“Wha…”

“Tha-That can’t be!”

When those ships are lined up vertically, the upper boards align neatly with each other. It was as if a bridge had been built over the river as boats with shields on them lined up from one end of the river to the other.

“That is a bridging ship made by remodeling a medium-sized ship,” Floto said.” As you can see, with that you can quickly cross a river. Such maneuvers are important in military operations. However, as you can see, House Caan’s ships are equipped with Caan cannons to protect the surrounding area, and can quickly build bridges regardless of threats.”

While she was explaining that, a cavalry corps began to cross over the bridge that had just been built. The infantry follows behind them. They’re crossing slowly because they’re just marching now, but if it’s a war, they’ll be crossing much faster.

Historically, rivers have played a major role in defense. It was overwhelmingly superior defense even if using a river as a shield had some downsides. And yet, if this bridging ship were to build a crossing anywhere in a blink of an eye, you wouldn’t know where you would be attacked. They don’t know where the bridgehead will be constructed. If the enemy crosses the river this way, then you can’t defend yourself.

“This time the pirates just happened to blockade the sea, but the next time it won’t only be a sea blockade,” Floto said. “If I were the general, I would blockade the land and completely dry up the target. But please don’t worry. As you can see, our Caan Knights can cross the river anytime and anywhere and rush to the town of Lubek.”

Trembling… they can’t stop trembling. What the hell is this creature, in the form of a young girl saying all this with the same calm expression as before? This is like…

“Yo-You’re threatening to take Lubek away by force from us!” Ferdinand cried involuntarily. “The Free City of Lubek has the Kingdom’s guarantee for freedom and independence!”

“Chairman…”

That’s the truth. This is like a demonstration. A navy that can deal with the pirates who blockaded Lubek and rendered it helpless. And an army that can quickly cross rivers anytime, anywhere. The Dierbe River is no longer a wall to protect Lubek, but an obstacle blocking Lubek’s escape routes.

At any time, whatever the day, for any reason, at any whim, if Floto felt like it, Lubek would be attacked immediately. No, it’s still good if they were being attacked. Land and sea routes could be completely blocked and they’ll be left to dry up and starve to death in a total siege.

If you attack directly, it will cause problems. However, it is not impossible for nobles to block land and sea routes for whatever reason. And most will raise their voices in suffering and submit to House Caan before they completely run out of supplies and start starving.

“This… don’t think you’re just going to get away with this!” Ferdinand yelled. “This is no act of demonstration! This a threat! For you to do this to is… hii!”

He gasped as he saw the figure with the shape of a girl, a smile on her face but the mask was slipping.