“So, how’s the instruction from the Great Emperor?”

Foreign Affairs official Hess was somewhat at loss after observing Shiela capturing the entire Wyvern Lords Squadron that was appeared to conduct a punitive strike during the Military Festival. They had somehow got involved in an international dispute… but it is also enabled Celestina to make a proper assessment of how the Papaldia Empire behave.

“No problem. Rather, we were able to prepare ourselves if things goes like this. But, we can’t move leisurely since we lack information about this world.”

Luciana’s comment makes Hess only reply with a sigh. But, it was what Celestina wanted, since they have to know how to deal with the country that was claimed as a superpower. After Celestina was acknowledged as a superpower at their home planet, St. Celestina, now they have a goal to change the doctrine and the concept of how treating a country that was not a superpower either at the civilized area or outside civilized area, simply as a barbarian country in this world.

To understand the mechanism further, Alicia already discussed this matter with Emperor Hillem, in which he agrees that he wants to see how a superpower behaves. This action will sacrifice one of Selarong’s town, as Celestina already plan the Operation: Sweet Dreams in case the Papaldia Empire decides to launch an invasion. This information is only limited to the Main Council and High Command.

Under this situation, Shiela’s arrival is actually benefiting them. Not only it prevents Celestina’s company to show off their technologies, but it also allows Shiela to capture all the Wyvern Lords to custody along with their riders.

But, since they’ve made a Papaldia Empire as their opponent, they’ve already planned the next step. Alicia wants the Zealot Strike Force to infiltrate and capture as many Wyvern as possible due to rumor that the Papaldia Empire is breeding an advanced species of Wyvern Lord, known as Wyvern Overlord. Fortunately, Jill and Silvano already arranges it so there was no problem for Celestina to infiltrate the Dragon Rider Squadron.

Before things settled down, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs canvassed the area and determined the following:

According to the Kingdom of Selarong and other military officers from other countries attend the festival, the attacking force was confirmed to be from the Papaldia Empire, this matches the intelligence from Silvano who works at the 3rd A country located 700km North-west of the Rodenius Continent. The belonged to the Third Civilization and were considered one of five’s superpowers. The squadron belonged to Papaldia are so-called “Imperial Oversight Army,” and they were dispatched by the 3rd Foreign Affairs Department, which deals with countries outside of the civilized area. This confirms that they have conducted a punitive strike and they have a reason to attack during Military Festival. The reason is to assert their authority over all the countries in attendance, which confirms this world may practice a gunboat diplomacy on a large scale. A report from Arcus indicates that there was a fleet of twenty-four ships located 200km west of Selarong with a speed of 15 knots. To make matter worse, Selarong’s fleet was already moving to intercept it and their distances are around 75km away from contact. Golden Lion has been dispatched but they were unable to assist Selarong’s fleet in time.

A confrontation was imminent. The evening, although they already had a schedule for the conference with Selarong, they contacted Selarong’s department of diplomacy to set up an urgent meeting, intending to obtain more intelligence from the diplomacy side.

A group of officials from Celestina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs waited in a guest room. While the Kingdom of Selarong wasn’t rich, the guest room for diplomats was elegant without being gaudy; it was overall a very pleasant room. After a short time, Captain Johann came to greet them.

“Honored guests of Celestina. Please allow me to express appreciation on behalf of the Kingdom of Selarong. During the ambush earlier, your forces were able to capture the entire Wyvern Lords without any resistances,” the knight captain lauded solemnly with his head bowed low.

“You can thank the Main Council later, they’ve already expecting the Papaldia Empire’s Wyvern Lord Squadron’s arrival and enact this plan. Grand Duchess Alicia wanted it captured so she can study it.”

The delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shifted their credits to the Main Council since this was their plan to capture the Wyvern Lords. The Kingdom of Selarong was chomping at a bit to become an ally of Celestina, but due to these circumstances, they need to reorganize the plan thoroughly.

“Before we can open diplomatic talks further… we’d like to discuss more pressing matters. Your country is currently in a state of war, is it not? This situation makes us needs to reorganize every plan we’ve made to ensure that we can still open the diplomatic negotiation door under these circumstances. We will head back to the Empire to discuss this matter with Emperor Hillem to review this incident. Once the decision was made, we will contact you again.”

The officials are ordered to withdraw as soon as possible despite the Papaldia Fleet will arrive at Selarong at least in 12 hours.

“I understand. We all await your reply with eagerness. However, I want to tell you a story. The invading forces that your troops captured weren’t simply from Third Civilization, they belonged to a superpower, the Papaldia Empire. They demanded to be gifted a piece of land from our country, and we refused. That was their only impetus to attack us. That’s what kind of country they are.

In the past, there was another country like ours that Papaldia punished with their military. Papaldia ambushed their dragon riders and massacred them. They then invaded and conquered that country. Anyone who defied Papaldia was executed, everyone else was enslaved and sold off to other countries. The entire royal family, including those who had royal blood, was skewered and left to rot in front of the royal castle.

The Papaldia Empire is not only strong but also arrogant and prideful. I hope you keep this in mind.”

“Will do. Thank you for the information.”

With the testament obtained, Celestina now can devise a plan to subjugate the Papaldia Empire. But first, they will let the Empire make the first move.

On the Gowok harbor, the view of all the warships from all the countries outside the civilized are anchored there was magnificent. However, Celestina’s fleet wasn’t there. Countries outside the civilized didn’t have harbor depth to accommodate their escort ships, so the Ministry of Foreign Affairs uses Road Runner to shuttle back and forth. On the harbor, Sacchito, Luciana, and Aegina are staring at the harbor, wondering what will happen next. He could ask Shina about it, but he doesn’t want to do so since she was one of the Grand Advisor.

They bowed to Sachi once they arrived at the harbor.

“Your Majesty….”

People at the harbor looked at the boats and the twins with shining eyes and waves their hands. Some of the kids are also approaching Luciana and Aegina.

“Dad! It’s the boat that eluded the attack and the Twin girls that can cut the ship!”

Hearing that, Sacchito, Luciana, and Aegina only smiling at them. They waves back while the Twin Valkyrie gently pat each of the kids head. It was the first time they had been received so warmly. Sacchito walks to the kids as he wants to ask them something.

“What do you want to become when you grown up?”

“I want to become like these ladies!”

“Do you have a will to protect your country?”

“Yes, I will!”

“Then, when we’re still here, come to Qua-Toyne Principality. Hone your skills, train your senses. Come as an adventurer in that country. If you can make achievements that caught our eye, you could be trained by us personally.”

“Really?!”

Nodding, the kids returned to their family, motivated to become like them.

“I guess it was the right choice for you to accept that challenge, Luciana.”

“Yes, my dear.”

Once the diplomats are on board, the Road Runner crew starts the engine.

“Start the engine!!”

The engine starts running but before they can leave, Sacchito stops them when he notice something wasn’t right.

“Stop! Stop!!”

“What is it, Your Majesty? Is something… oh no…”

Looking at the sparks emits from the energy shield generator, it turns out the generator was damaged after receiving a direct hit from the fire blast earlier.

“Send it to Zaid immediately for repairs. How’s the engine?”

“Engine still works fine, sir. But…”

When the technician examines the damage, the shield generator and the power supply to recharge the shield turns out was severely damaged.

“It seems the heat knock it out.”

“Alright, then. Inform Feena to make an upgrade to Tier 9 for speed boat, that goes to all commercial ships as well to resist at least three direct hits from fire blast.”

“Yes sir!”

Road Runner suffers damage at energy shield generator and power supply. It can be transported back to Celestina on its own, but the ship can now be exposed to any attack because shielding is down and cannot be recharged.

West of Selarong Kingdom, 150km west of the sea, Ocean Crystal 2nd Division

Undine scout from Ocean Crystal 2nd Division is monitoring the Papaldia Fleet and Selarong Fleet.

“Update on intel.”

“Golden Lion is not going to make it in time for interception!! The Selarong’s Fleet already went ahead; ETA is 3 hours for Golden Lion to arrive while the contact between Selarong and Papaldia Empire will be on sight at 75 minutes!”

“Damn it!”

The mermaid Undines had already received their orders. They are not allowed to assist Selarong’s Fleet until the Security treaty is made. Currently, Celestina’s Fleet expands their patrol to the Rodenius Continent. Rodenius Defense Fleet was formed following the Defense Pact of Rodenius that was ratified on 15th August 1523 by the Celestina Empire, Qua-Toyne Principality, Gahara Kingdom, Tibetain Principality, and Quila Kingdom. Now, they will just need to wait until the Civil War on the Louria Kingdom ends before they can decide to join the defense pact or not. The flagship is Scharlwarltz-class Superheavy Battleship, escorted by 4 Vanguard-class Battleship, 10 Valkyrie-class Medium Cruiser, 6 Halcyon-class Light Missile Cruiser, 8 pairs of Magnetic-class and Plasma-class Destroyer, and 5 Guardian-class Aircraft Carrier. The Kingdom of Embellia deploys the 8th Corps Ocean Dragoon to participate in the patrol and to protect the trading route between Celestina Empire and Rodenius Continent.

They have to maintain their low profile since they will be deployed when the Papaldia Empire officially declares war on Celestina. They could sink the Imperial Oversight Army’s Eastern Fleet with just three of them, but it will cause a huge mess upon both countries’ ranks.

“Inform the command that the clash will start in one hour!”

“Copy that.”

“Recon unit, this is Ishiene. A company-sized unit is heading to your position. We will conduct a search and rescue once the battle between Selarong Navy and Papaldia Empire Oversight Army’s Fleet ended. Rescue them silently.”

“Yes, Ma’am!”

Selarong Navy

The fourteen ships in the Selarong Navy, under the direct control of the palace, were patrolling the waters about 150km west of the kingdom because of the imminent war with the Papaldia Empire. The crew was comprised of elites from the Kingdom of Selarong. The less-experienced crew were left out of this patrol mission and allowed to attend the Military Festival.

The navy consisted of wooden ships relying on the inefficiency of sails in order to move. If it was necessary to move while fighting, they could use oars for rowing the ship. These ships were equipped with wooden shields, set up as regular intervals for protection against fire arrows, and three ballistae for attacking ship hulls. They also had a pot of oil for their own fire arrows. The Navy’s flagship was bigger than all the other ships, and it had cannon installed on the bow.

Commander Rejo, who led the fleet, was staring at the western horizon.

“Commander, I wonder if Papaldia is really coming…”

“They already sent their wyvern lords ahead to our country… they will come!”

“…Can we win?”

“Hm… even against a superpower, we just have to fight. Don’t forget, we’re all elites. Furthermore…”

The commander pointed at the flagship cannon. “Look at that beauty! It’s a magical weapon used in the civilized area! It can fire a cannon shell up to a kilometer, and it rips through the ships like paper. That’s what we have on our side!” he said to the captain.

He couldn’t be anxious in front of his subordinates. However, the commander was aware that the superpowers had ‘gunboats’ that are capable of destroying the ships wholesale. This was classified information. In all likelihood, the gunboats were just like this one, Selarong’s strongest ship, Danu, equipped with these magical cannons in the civilized areas while the superpowers had fleets of them.

The gears in Commander Rejo’s head were turning.

(Is it possible for us to defeat them…?)

“Enemy spotted!! 22 ships!!” Yelled lookout from atop of mast. They were finally here!

They could see the shadows of the ships on the horizon. The ship they observed through a telescope was far bigger and more advanced than the palace navy’s ships. It had a mast that balanced both form and function, and it used wind created with magic to propel the ship much faster than Selarong’s ships. The enemy fleet slowly grew as they approached from the horizon, even in Commander Rejo’s eyes, they were elegant, beautiful, and powerful. From how smoothly each of them moved, it was clear how refined their ships were.

“All hands, man battle stations!!”

The crew all moved about in a rush.

“…They’re approaching faster than I expected… Kh…! Ready the first shot! We’ll lead off with our most powerful attack, then charge right into them while continuing to fire with the magic cannon!”

“Everyone, prepare for battle! Form up with Danu at the front; we’ll plunge right in as a giant line!”

…We’re counting on you… Navy Commander Rejo prayed to their sole magic cannon.

In Celestina’s point of view, Selarong’s cannon was equal to 18-pounder long cannon. If looking at Papaldia’s cannon, they were equal to 36-pounder long cannon. The mermaids receive an update from Arcus.

“Golden Lion will arrive in two hours!”

“Battle is about to break out, Ma’am!”

“This is at least we can do. We’ll stop them before they can reach Selarong!”

“Copy!”

When they dive, they saw a company dispatched from the 2nd Ocean Crystal Division to extract any survivors arrived on the scene. Their job is to retrieve as many bodies as they can so they can be brought back to the homeland for proper burial. If there are survivors, they will immediately escort them back for treatment.

“We’ve spotted some ships, their flag belongs to… Selarong’s army,” came the report to Papaldia’s Admiral Pioiotus.

“Selarong, huh… Since we’ve lost contact with the wyvern lord squadron, keep in mind that they might have some kind of new weapon!” Pioiouts shouted out. “You must not treat them as simple barbarians! Show as much ardor as you would when faced with another superpower’s fleet! Crush them with all of our power!!”

The fleet sped up and headed towards Selarong’s Navy.

Selarong’s Navy

“We’ll be soon within two kilometers of the enemy fleet,” came the report.

“One more kilometer and we’re within firing range of their gunboats…” said Commander Rejo. Sweat began to form on his brow. “Maximum speed!! Deploy oars!!”

All ships brought out their oars. Using a drum to establish a rhythm, they all began to row the oars. The Selarong Navy accelerated forward.

“The enemy ships are turning!”

The entire Papaldia fleet turned their ships, revealing their sides to Selarong Navy.

“What are they trying to do?!”

Commander Rejo wracked his brain to discern their intent behind their movements.

Pssssshhh… The enemy ships became covered in smoke.

BOBOBOBOBOOM… A bit later, a burst of noise reverberated over the ocean.

“It… it can’t be!!! Magic cannon fire?!”

That wasn’t possible! Magic cannons from the civilized area had a range of 1 km, and they were currently 2 km away, far outside the cannon range. What’s more, the Danu only had a single cannon at a bow, yet the enemy had… many more installed on each ship.

WOOMshh, WOOMshh, WOOMshh…

Wherever cannon shells fell, big pillars of water streamed up into the air.

Argh… Don’t hit us!! Commander Rejo prayed to the gods.

BOOM…KRAKOW!!

A ship sailing behind the Danu was hit by a cannon shell. The shell exploded, knocking over the ship’s pot oil, which spread all over and caught fire, quickly immolating the entire ship. Selarong’s elite sailors, with all their training, their sword skills obtained through hellish effort, waiting for further training by the Twin Valkyries should they return, were not burning and roll around in terror. Some are immediately jumped into the ocean which their bodies immediately go into the ocean as Celestina’s Undine put them to sleep before equipping rebreather and taking them underwater.

“This can’t be happening!!!”

One after another, the ship in Selarong’s Navy succumbed to cannon fire. Many of them went up in flames.

“I need to distract them, just a little!! Fire the magic cannon!!”

The cannon at the bow of the Danu roared as it fires the cannon shell. An instant later, the Danu was hit by an enemy’s shell, which exploded and opened up a giant hole in the deck.

“So this is a superpower…!!!”

The number of gunboats, the number of cannons on each ship, the range and power of their cannons, and the speed of their ships; everything was an order of magnitude higher than their own ships. Commander Rejo finally realized the truth. He never imagined that there was this big of a gap. He thought “superpowers” were only called that due to the size of their countries within the civilized area. However, reality proved to be far different. Not just their size, but also their quality and the level of their technology, everything far surpassed the other countries in the civilized area. Knowing that, they probably couldn’t have defeated even just a lone enemy ship.

Commander Rejo’s consciousness was lost forever at the same time the fire burning the Danu reached the ship’s magazine.

“Inform the command that the Selarong’s Navy has been destroyed.”

“Ten-four. What’s the status of the survivors?”

“Only less than 50 can be rescued. We will take as many dead bodies as we could for burial on their homeland.”

“Roger that. Arcus will remain on station. Golden Lion?”

“One hour to contact.”

“Roger.”

With their job done, the Company tasked to rescue survivors are withdrawing except for the Undine scouts where they are also replaced by the new unit from the same Division. They will keep an eye on the fleet and to make sure the Oversight Army Fleets are repelled.

“The fourteen ships in Selarong’s navy have all been sunk. We have zero casualties and no damage or loss of equipment.”

……

“…Maybe I was being too paranoid…”

“They’re just barbarians, after all. They fired only one shot from their cannon; they had one that’s common in the civilized area, but rather old-fashioned compared to our cannons. The shell completely missed our fleet.”

“Indeed… Set course for the capital of Selarong, Gowok!!!”

The fleet, without losing a single ship or even receiving a single wound, headed for their next target.

In the meantime, Golden Lion will be in position at one hour. Although they made their moves too late, this is at least they can do to repel the Papaldia Empire’s warship.