"Your Majesty," a knight in shining armor knelt before King Alfonso.

"Stand up, Sir Franx, and tell me of this strange tidings."

The knight stood up and began to report to his king, "Your Majesty, one of our Pegasus Knights has detected a strange, flying object that looks like a flying sword southwest of Panthera. It was about the size of a Yellow Roc but is capable of flying thrice as fast as a Pegasus. Upon further investigation by the Ivory Wings, the flying sword seems to hail from an archipelago that suddenly appeared in the middle of Leviathan Sea."

Suddenly, another knight hurried and knelt before the king as he reported an urgent news.

"Pardon my insolence, Your Majesty. I have urgent tidings. The Ebony Wings have detected a large ship escorted by five smaller ones fifty leagues Southwest of Panthera. They don't look like to be made of wood and have no sails."

"What!?" Legatus Franx exclaimed as King Alfonso VII remained calm and collected.

"Knights," King Alfonso VII commanded his soldiers, "rally the Ivory and Ebony Wings as well as our armada. Prepare to engage the unknown fleets if they turn out to be hostile but do not do so until they make their intention clear. Understood?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," the two knights stood firm as they beat their chests with their closed fists before leaving from the King's presence. No sooner, the King was left alone on his throne as he contemplated the situation.

"A new country has suddenly appeared before us. What does this mean? Are they a gift or a scourge from the gods?"

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A few hours had passed since the report of an unknown fleet reached the Nada Kingdom's military hierarchy. The Ebony and Ivory Wings scrambled as the Royal Fleet sailed towards the Kingdom's maritime border.

Optio Aera, being part of the Ivory Wings, was sent along with her sisters-in-arms to intercept a possible threat to her motherland. Her heartbeat rate increased as she felt nervous of the upcoming encounter. Aera maybe a prodigy, but she never actually faced an enemy army. She had fought bandits and pirates that plagued the Kingdom of Nada, but she never yet participated in any battle between organized armies. However, her heart and determination is that of steel. She will defend her country to the bitter end. She held her lance tightly, preparing for the upcoming onslaught, while her allies readied their swords, spears, axes, tomes, bows and arrows as they expected the arrival of a possibly hostile fleet.

From the horizon, small objects were seen from afar. Eventually, the objects grew larger as they came nearer to Nada's Royal Fleet. When the objects got so close, they decreased their speed as if they already noticed Nada's own fleet. It was then evident what kind of force Nada's fleet were about to engage.

"So huge..." Optio Aera watched in awe as she witnessed the arrival of what it seemed to be an ash-colored capital ship. It was 115 meters long and seemed to have strange poles and devices attached to it. The ship had no sails or oars but it was swifter than most, if not all, ships in the known world. It had a single, bicolored flag waving above, with equal bands of royal blue and scarlet. The flag had a white triangle at its hoist adorned by three yellow stars and an eight-pointed sun.

The ship was intimidating despite the lack of adornment found in most capital ships, but it seemed to have no intention of engaging into battle. There were strange lights blinking around the ship while its crew stood on its deck, waving hands and giving signals to them.

"Legatus Franx, the unknown fleet seems to request audience," Aera reported as she remained vigilant.

"Do not engage the unknown fleet without my orders," Legatus Franx commanded as he stood on the deck of Nada Kingdom's capital ship, 'Queen Sarah's Revenge'.

Peeking through his spyglass, Legatus Franx examined the unknown ship. He was amazed of the ship's size but was rather unimpressed of its aesthetics.

"The fleet is neither of our allies nor of our enemies. It could be a trade envoy from a new country. We will send an inspection party instead to make sure of their intentions. Do not do anything provocative but remain cautious and vigilant if they turn out to be hostile. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir!"

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Queen Sarah's Revenge slowly cruised nearer towards the ashen ironclad. While it was one of the largest ships in Nada Kingdom, it was only about 2/3 the size of the mysterious ship. A gangway ladder was lowered between the two ships as delegates between the two parties prepared to meet each other.

Legatus Franx climbed up the ladder as his retainers remained vigilant against any treachery that may fall upon their leader. Knowing that they were treading on unfamiliar ground (or deck, as in this case), Legatus Franx carefully see to it that he and his troops would not brashly act and provoke the newcomers. To his surprise, the foreigners welcomed him rather amicably.

"I am Legatus Franx of Queen Sarah's Revenge of the Royal Fleet of Nada Kingdom," the military leader said as he mustered his courage, "This location is adjacent to the territorial waters of Nada Kingdom. If you proceed beyond here, you will enter within our Kingdom's domain. Please tell us your ship's nationality and state the purpose of your incursion."

The crew of the unknown ship were dumbfounded as the commander of the other party spoke in a familiar language.

"Did he just speak in English?"

"I guess so...."

"Excuse our manners. I am Raphael Tesoro, a diplomat from the Federal Republic of the Philippines. Our country wishes to initiate a diplomatic relation with yours. Kingdom of Nada, I believe?"

"I see you are your country's envoy," Legatus Franx said, "Very well, I will report your intention to His Majesty. However, I would like to ask a question. One of our Pegasus Knights have encountered a flying object that looked like a flying sword. Is it one of your troops?"

"Yes. It is one of our F-50As, and our country formally apologizes for causing such unnecessary alarm to your citizens. However, we can guarantee that we have no ill intention against your country."

Legatus Franx studied the Philippine Diplomat's words and body language. He cannot detect any guile or mischief from the official, but he perceived a tone of urgency and desperation from him.

"Very well. However, you must wait for a while as I must report your intentions to the Royal Family and the magistrates."

"Um... May we know how many days do we have to wait?"

"Days? No. We can communicate at long distances with our Echo Crystals. You'll have to wait for minutes at most."

"I see. Thank you very much, Sir Franx."

The Philippine diplomat fell into deep thought as he analyzed the situation, feeling a sense of deja vu.

"This is weird. Why does this situation feels a bit too familiar? Perhaps I read to much Japanese Light Novels..."