Chapter 104: The Scullflow Offshore Naval Battle, Part 2
The Londeria home fleet and the Kussainer fleet advanced at maximum speed towards their enemy.
The distance between them narrowed down to 30km, and finally, they got close enough to visually spot each other.
“Admiral Nelson, we have a visual on the elf fleet. The distance is 30,000, on the horizon ahead.”
“Oh, so that’s the elf’s ship. As I heard, the hull is white. Is this the so-called frozen ship I’ve heard about in rumors? It’s bigger than I thought.”
Through the telescope, Nelson witnessed a gigantic ship with a white ice hull weighing 20,000 tons. It is the flagship of the Kussainer fleet, Khoroshiy Lenin.
“…No, it’s really enormous. Isn’t it on par with the Yamato battleship?”
On seeing the elf ship for the first time, Nelson felt a sense of anxiety.
Yes, that ship was far larger than he had imagined. Its total length is nearly 200 meters, and in terms of size, it is not significantly inferior to the battleships of the Yamato Empire.
The size of the main gun mounted on it appears to be almost the same as that of the Yamato Empire.
“The number is… eight ships. The four large ships in the front are likely equivalent to the battleship class of the Yamato Empire. As for that smaller one in the rear, it might be considered a cruiser, don’t you think?”
“That appears to be the case. So, Horation, what do you think after seeing that fleet?”
“I don’t know. In terms of numbers, our fleet has the advantage with 40 ships, but…”
Horation seems to be reluctant to speak.
40 vs 8.
Normally, such a difference in numbers would not even be considered a match. But, however, the enemy is so huge that a 3,000-ton first-class warship looks like a small frigate.
Cold sweat ran down on Nelson’s forehead.
According to information from the Yamato Empire, he heard, “The elf’s frozen ship has quite a high performance”, but… Seeing is believing, as they say.
After seeing it with his own eyes and experiencing its capabilities firsthand, Nelson’s intuition as a man of the sea finally began to sound the alarm bells, “This is not good.”
Even with an advantage in numbers, he cannot foresee an overwhelming victory. No, rather, he even have a bad feeling that meeting on the battlefield will not lead to anything good.
However, Nelson cannot afford to retreat.
Behind him lies the homeland he must protect, and he is leading the glorious Royal Navy to defend it.
“What, don’t be afraid. The enemy is just a big target. If enemy ships are spotted, there is only one thing to do charge. Let’s go, Horation.”
“As always, sir.”
Nelson issued his trademark charge order.
The sailors who followed him also said, “What’s the big deal about frozen ships? This is a battleship made of steel, you know? Let me show you which is stronger, iron or ice,” and they took their battle stations.
And then, with skillful maneuvering, the fleet was swiftly transitioned into a single-column battle formation.
The Kussiner fleet, on the other hand, was also counterattacked in a single-column formation with four battleship-class Basileus-class ships in the lead and four cruiser-class Graf-class ships in the rear.
They initiated a head-on battle.
The distance separating the two fleets is decreasing, which is within the effective range of the Kussainer fleet’s main guns.
The beginning of the battle is signaled by the flagship Khoroshiy Lenin, the flagship that leads the Kussainer fleet.
“Distance from enemy ships: 7,000! Commander Kussainer, the main cannon is ready to be aimed.”
“O-okay, open fire! Show them the power of the elves!”
Kussainer’s voice stutters because he’s nervous about his first actual battle. Despite their lack of skill, the officers and sailors faithfully carry out his orders.
Their target is the first-class warship, the Queen Elizabeth, which leads the Londeria’s fleet and charges straight into the Elfusia’s fleet.
“Front main gun, number 1 and number 2, prepare to fire!”
“Roger that, number one, number two, prepare to fire. Start extracting mana for firing from the mana tank for the front magic bullet! Hurry up with the magic conversion, too!”
“Mana extraction… Completed, followed by the completion of magical power conversion. Begin charging the magic circle inside the turret with magical power.”
“Magic power charging at 60… 80… 100 percent. The main gun is ready to fire!”
“Alright, open fire!”
The turret moves with a heavy driving sound, and once the aim is set, shining bullets of light―― the magic bullets are fired all at once from the main gun.
The number of bullets is four.
The two fleets are advancing toward each other, consequently, due to this positioning, the rear main guns cannot be used, so they fire magic shells from the two twin-mounted cannons at the front, for a total of 4 guns.
And the result is… It was a fateful blow that not only Nelson who suffered damage, but even Kussainer who fired it, did not expect.
The magical projectile follows a parabolic path and travels a distance of 7,000 meters before finally being drawn into the target.
A ship in the battle line is hit and sinks with a huge explosion.
Nelson watched it from the deck of the Queen Elizabeth, which was unscathed.
“E-enemy ship bombardment! The first-class warship the Londerium, which was sailing behind our ship, was sunk with a single blow! Admiral Nelson, this is…”
“I can’t believe it. The distance was still more than 7,000 meters, right? What an incredible range, what incredible destructive power. This is a steel warship, dammit!?”
The ship that was sunk was the first-class warship, the Londerium, which was advancing behind the flagship Queen Elizabeth.
The Khoroshiy Lenin bombardment was aimed at the flagship Queen Elizabeth, but… It seems that due to insufficient skill and accuracy, they missed the intended target by a wide margin, and the shot seems to have directly hit another ship that was proceeding behind the target.
Of course, this hit is not a result of skill.
From the Londeria side, it can be said that it was just bad luck, and from the Elfusia side, it could be said that it was simply good luck.
That being said, once it hits the target, luck doesn’t matter.
With a power comparable to a 20cm artillery shell, the magic bullet that was fired from the Khoroshiy Lenin, easily penetrated the barely armored hull of the Londerium, even though it was made of steel, and hit the ammunition depot deep inside the ship.
It detonated a massive amount of gunpowder, instantly sinking a 3,000-ton first-class ship of the line to the bottom of the sea.
The first-class steel warship that was the pride of the Londeria Navy. The elves’ new weapon pulverizes that ship with a single hit from outside of firing range.
“Unbelievable. In this situation, no matter how many of us…”
Nelson finally understands that his fleet is on the brink of destruction in the face of this destructive force.
And he’s not the only one who understands that.
“O-Oy, Londerium is…The first-class warship… It sank in less than five minutes…”
“The elves’ ship is a monster!”
The sailors tremble with fear as they realize they are in a crisis situation.
They understood that in front of the Kussainer fleet, they were nothing more than prey.
To put it simply, shortly thereafter, the Londeria fleet began their retreat towards southern Londeria. ‘Running away with their tail tucked away’ is probably the most accurate way to describe what happened.
If they escaped to the south, they might be able to receive support from the Yamato Empire, and with this as their last hope, they began to flee from the enemy fleet.
And it was the first decision made by Nelson, who had never before chosen any other option than a charge.
However, this retreat is not an easy matter. The Kussainer fleet consists of motorized ships, while the Londeria fleet is made up of sailing ships.
Naturally, the Kussainer fleet is superior in speed.
Despite trying desperately to escape, the Kussainer fleet’s superior speed makes it impossible to get away, resulting in each ship being crushed one by one.
The battle lasted for several hours and finally…
“Admiral Nelson, the third-class ship of the line, Sumer, has been sunk. With this, our ship is the only one left.”
“I see…”
Nelson slumped on the deck of the Queen Elizabeth, the last remaining ship of the Londeria fleet.
There is no hope left for him anymore. He has lost everything.
Soon after, the Queen Elizabeth was hit by a concentrated fire from a total of eight ships of the Kussainer fleet and was sunk. As a result, the fleet of 40 sailing ships belonging to the Londeria were destroyed.
The Scullflow Offshore Naval Battle concluded with the brilliant victory of the Kussainer fleet.
And after eliminating the naval forces of the kingdom of Londeria in this naval battle, the Elfusia army began the landing operation on the Londerian mainland, unhindered by anyone.
The name of the operation is “Sivuch”. In ancient elvish, it means sea lion.
A total of over 100,000 soldiers from over 1,000 transport ships landed simultaneously in northern Londeria. It is the beginning of the largest-scale ground battle in Londeria’s history.
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