Volume 9 Chapter 1 Part 8

The Nord fleet was approaching the Fantasia Union’s at full speed. Their ships grew larger by the minute, and soon their shapes could be discerned perfectly by the naked eye.

Nord ships are called the longboats because of their length and the fact that they have a particularly high bow. On the bow of the ship were carvings of dragons, wolves, and beautiful women. Inside of every longboat was a ladder that made it possible for the one rowing it to easily get even into a ship with a particularly high deck. Near the bow of the ship, Norse warriors armed with axes and swords crowded together like a horde of bloodthirsty beasts.

The Nord tactic is to board the enemy’s ship and engage the bewildered and confused enemies in a close-quarters combat. Those who boarded the longboats are all daredevil berserker warriors, and their number is nearly three times that of the Fantasia Union.

It’s no wonder everyone thought they couldn’t win against them in a naval battle.

「But this is not a ship. It’s a castle… 」

Alexis muttered to himself.

That is exactly the strategy that Kato devised.

The Nord ships were approaching the sailing ships that had gathered in a ring formation. Pretty soon, they’re going to be within reach of the arrows released from the bows.

「Let them out! 」

Alexis raised the scepter in his hand. When he saw that, Kato on the mast quickly hoisted the fourth flag. A large gong was then struck repeatedly, making a deep, low sound.

At that signal, small boats darted out one after another like lion dogs, passing through the gaps between the sailboats lined up in a ring formation. The oarsmen skillfully steered them as they approached the Nord longboats. Then, they proceeded to attacks the Nord warriors inside of them with their bows and light crossbows. Then they moved away from the longboats and approached them again to launch another series of attacks, and this strategy continued from a while.

Those under Alexis’ direct command had been given the power coming from his Banner, 「Tercio」. Those who receive the power of this Banner will be granted a collective consciousness, which in turn enables them to cooperate with one another closely like never before. Whether it’s complex formations or tactics, they can execute them all accurately and without any delay.

The Norse warriors readied their swords, axes, and shields in preparation for battle once they boarded the enemy’s ship. The only projectiles in their possession were the throwing axes they could take with themselves to the longboats. Needless to say, the distance that a thrown axe can cover could not possibly rival that of an arrow from a bow or a crossbow bolt.

The shooters from the Fantasia Union aimed at the unsuspecting Norse rowers. Although they had large shields erected on the bow of his ship, the Nords were not prepared for a flank attack. Rowers who couldn’t carry shields with them then become easy targets.

At the same time, archers lined up on the side of the sailing ship and fired arrows at the enemy all at once.
After there were no more friendly boats around them oars came out from the sides of the ten ironclad ships, and they slowly began to move. This is to approach the ring formation and support their allies.

The decks of the ironclad ships are higher than the decks of the sailing ships that formed the ring formation. In addition, they all had a turret installed on their decks with a build in ballista.

The things that were fired from these balistas were not the regular bolts, but rather the special iron bullets or iron balls. Both of these things can easily penetrate the side of an enemy ship and punch a hole in the bottom of the ship. Of course, if such a projectile were to hit a regular person, then of course there would be nothing left of them.

The ten ironclad ships were each equipped with six ballistas, and they were all directed towards the approaching Nord ships.

「Fire! 」

Alexis swung his scepter towards the approaching enemies.

The string that had been wound up and tightened around the ballista was released, and a fist-sized iron ball was shot out with tremendous force. It pierced the wind with a sharp sound akin to that of a bell, and flew towards the enemy ship with unstoppable force.
As soon as the bullet landed, there was a roar as if something had exploded, and the wood of the longboat was shattered, scattering pieces of human flesh into the air along with it. The longboats that were hit by several shots from the ballistas at the same time broke into pieces, and the Norse warriors on board of them were thrown into the sea one by one, either dead on the spot or on the verge of death.

In terms of power, they were definitely not on the same level as the stone cannon what was a part of the equipment of 「The Palace of the Sea 」that belonged to the Immoral Queen of Haman at one point, but the power of the ballistas mounted on iron-clad ships was still terrifying. The string winds up quickly, and it takes less than a minute to load the next bullet. The sailors of the ironclad ships were also well trained in using it, even though it was their first time fighting.

(Did you predict that this battle would one day come, and that’s why you bought so many ironclad ships, father?)

That’s what Alexis was thinking right now.

His late father, Silvestre Ducet, was described as a gentle but old man. After he acquired ten ironclad ships from the Mages Association as a reward for his title, he remember him laughing about the fact that these ships were so slow that he might just end up regretting their purchase altogether. Come to think of it, it was probably also his father who was responsible for the popularization of the name 「Invincible Ship」.

His father had an excellent memory and remembered everything he talked about with others in great detail, but when it comes to this Invincible Ship, he always repeated the same story to everyone, and people were always saying that it was most likely because he must’ve been so frustrated.

Indeed, in a naval battle, a slow ship is a best way to find yourself in an early grave. This is because they cannot approach the enemy fast enough to make an actual contribution in battle. But now that the enemy was attacking them… no, because Eric the Ocean King has blindly sent all of his forces at them at once, it was a different story entirely.

Erik, who had assembled a large fleet, thought that there’s no way that the Nords could ever lose a naval battle. However, he did not know the firepower of ironclad ships.
Iron-clad ships are warships that cannot fight other ships under regular conditions. However, when the conditions for them to be able to participate in battle have been met, it turns out that they are truly worthy of the name 「Invincible Ships」.

The approaching Nord longboats were being destroyed one by one by the ballista’s ferocious fire. Even if some of them managed to sneak through the shots and approach the sailing ships that had formed a ring formation, it would not be easy to board them, since arrows continued to rain down from the sailing ships, and long spears were being fired at the longboats, all the while the small boats were cris-crossing around the entire battlefield, creating even more disturbances.

The sea, which had been calm until just now, was now filled with angry voices and screams, as well as the sound of horns and musical instruments. Alexis couldn’t help but close his eyes. If possible, he would like to cover his ears too. However, in his mind, a scene of a battlefield that was not supposed to exist appeared in his mind, whenever he was trying to do that, and it refused to leave him.

This is not what he envisioned for this battle, but whenever he was forced to fight, he couldn’t stop thinking about that one hellscape that he himself once created on canvas.

* * *

「What the fuck is wrong with this battle?! 」

Erik felt a sense of dread as he watched the battle from the rear of the fleet. The enemy’s sailing ships lined up in a ring formation that looked just like a castle wall, and the huge ironclad ship inside it was a true fortress. On the other hand, the small boats running at high speed looked like light cavalry.

「Isn’t this like a siege? 」

Not one of his aides ever heard of a naval battle like this.

The sun was approaching the horizon, and the sea was turning golden. It was obvious that the Nords were clearly at a disadvantage here… no, that’s not the case.