NOVEL WEB vol. 4 chapter 10 - Shiphandling to Shake the Pursuer with Caution
“Damn it! We can’t catch them—what speed is that!!”
“How many ships!? I can see at least six of them!”
“Hoist the sails! Oi, don’t slack those ropes, you bastards!! Move it!”
“Numbers Six and Seven, brace hard!! Catch the wind! Haul, haul!!”
The crew of the patrol frigate was in an uproar. Though it prided itself on being a swift, agile sailing warship, chasing down powered vessels was impossible.
Even with a tailwind it would be difficult, and now the wind was especially unfavorable.
And watching that commotion intently was a winged insect clinging to the ship’s gunwale.
“Quite a racket.”
“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. In these conditions they will not notice bot infiltration. This is a valuable opportunity to collect voices from the field.”
One of the frequently appearing patrol craft had been infiltrated with spy-bots deployed from the submersible Orca. The stream of video and audio data from it was now under review.
“Sailing vessels have inherent speed limits.
If the wind is bad, naturally speed cannot be expected, and without wind they cannot move at all.
To resolve this, paddle-wheel steamers were developed, and now a shift to screw propulsion is underway.
However, at the local operating level, sailing ships are still mainstream.
It seems to me their technological development is making sudden leaps.
That said, it’s not so unnaturally discontinuous as to be impossible.”
“Ah, right, you mentioned that before. And in the end, that line of investigation still hasn’t advanced, has it?”
“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. My apologies.
As the locations of the research institutes are unknown, intelligence collection has not advanced.
They are most likely concealed in remote regions.
Repeated acquisition of aerial photographs might enable analysis, but as of this moment it is unclear.”
“…It feels off. For their level of civilization, it’s unnatural to devote so much effort to counterintelligence.”
Meanwhile, the patrol vessel, giving up on the chase, was falling further and further behind.
“Due to magic-fantasy influence, mysterious leaps in technology appear here and there.
The stagnation of coal use stems from fuelstone.
What is puzzling is that electrical technology has advanced to a certain degree.
It appears as if they attempted to create the lightbulb from the outset, which suggests another leap.
More likely, basic research is being conducted elsewhere.”
“Yeah… too limited to be just another alien incursion like us. Needs further observation.”
“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. Investigation will continue.”
The naval headquarters at each port city, notified by carrier birds from the coastal patrol craft, had fallen into chaos.
A fleet that was obviously powered, sailing without raising any sails. Even at a distance it was clear: revolving turrets with large barrels, multiple protrusions of unknown purpose.
No crew visible on the decks, yet traveling at astounding speed, maintaining formation. The vessels ignored the patrol craft completely, following a course that skirted along the Lepuitari Kingdom’s coast. A foreign fleet the likes of which had never before been encountered.
Naturally, the command centers relayed the alert at once. Carrier birds were expensive, but the speed of information was worth more than gold.
Messages were released toward the coastal naval bases and the Navy’s Supreme Command in the capital Moar. Alchemically processed carrier birds could cover up to 800 kilometers a day. Within half a day, headquarters would have the reports.
But the problem—
“They’re too fast… By my estimate, several times faster than us.”
“Colonel, that would mean even faster than our paddle-wheel steamers.”
The Lafreto Sea was relatively calm that day, not conditions for maximum speed. Even so, the patrol craft captain reported the unidentified fleet was simply too fast.
“Hard to say without a direct comparison… Relay a carrier bird with the follow-up reports as soon as they arrive. They don’t seem to be showing signs of attack for now, but if they’ve sailed straight past us, then it’s possible they already know the capital’s location.”
“…Yes sir. Understood.”
Carmora Naval Port. The Lepuitari Kingdom’s westernmost port, tasked with guarding the Carmora Strait. It operated a massive lighthouse and hosted numerous warships.
It was difficult to imagine an unknown fleet deliberately ignoring such a port. Even if the harbor wasn’t visible, the lighthouse certainly was.
And if they ignored the patrol craft as well, that could only mean Lepuitari’s strength was being underestimated.
“Still, if they were truly invading, they wouldn’t bypass this port either… Leaving it behind means they’d be pincered for sure. To invade, they’d have to reduce the outer ports first.”
Even so, a strike straight for the capital was not bad strategy either. It was entirely possible the fleet was only an advance squadron, with a main body following.
In any case, judgment would rest with central command. The only preparations this port could make were to ready the ships to sail at a moment’s notice.
“If the order comes, it’ll be as early as tomorrow. Prepare.”
“Yes sir.”
As a matter of course, Ringo was monitoring the situation at each naval port while overseeing the operation’s progress.
Carrier birds were dispersing across the country via communication hubs established in each city. Compared to the United Kingdom of Aphrasia, their speed of transmission was astounding.
Leaving aside the problem of comparison, this communication method was the backbone of the Lepuitari Kingdom. The leadership, military, and major merchant guilds all made use of it.
Bills of exchange were in circulation, and national banking operations were developing. Lepuitari was now on the cusp of a rapid march into modernity.
Because the direction of development leaned toward science, it was also easy for Ringo to forecast. At this pace of development, primitive information-processing devices would likely emerge within 200 years.
Well—by then, The Tree would be long gone from this star system.
“Commander Sis-ter, reporting. In 30 minutes, the capital Moar’s great lighthouse will enter the flagship Panas’s visual range. …From here, control transfers to the local Strategic AI. The flagship Panas and its eight accompanying Hedgehog-Class Destroyers, with all embarked Android Communicators, will fall under the authority of the Strategic AI aboard Panas.”
“Understood. I authorize commencement of the operation. Assign priority operational authority to the Panas Strategic AI. Olive, issue the order.”
“Authorization confirmed. From: Fleet Commander Olive. To: Strategic AI aboard Panas. Order to commence operation. Authority you-have transfer control.”
“Response received from local Strategic AI. Authority transfer confirmed complete.”
“Notification from local Strategic AI. Commencing operations. All Android Communicators online. Moving to designated stations. All weapons systems online.”
“Tactical link operational, stable. Microwave power reception status green. Increasing supply to combat output levels.”
“Requesting link with infiltration-net AI. Link established. Requesting authority transfer for high-altitude surveillance drones. Request granted. Drone control for 013 through 019 transferred successfully.”
“Threat-level calculation support request. Request approved. Forwarding data link request to Ringo.”
“Data link established. Beginning download of baseline data.”
Receiving the request from the local Strategic AI, Ringo began data analysis.
The baseline data was from high-altitude surveillance drones.
Ships in port, surrounding warships, coastal artillery, infantry forces. Added to this, the information being collected by spy-bot networks. Combined, these provided force estimates and threat assessments for the Lepuitari Kingdom capital Moar.
“First-stage calculations complete. Data upload finished. Second-stage calculations will complete in 72 seconds.”
“Response from local Strategic AI. No impediment to operation progress.”
“After completion of second-stage calculations, terminating threat-level support. Determined no further support needed at this time.”
“Roger. Message to local Strategic AI. Reply received. Redistributing processing resources.”
Before long, the Paraiso fleet broke through Moar’s defensive perimeter.
As ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) expected, the alert of the approaching fleet had not yet been fully disseminated, and Lepuitari’s response was sluggish.
Maintaining their ring formation, the fleet pressed in. Merchant ships hastily yielded course. No one dared approach vessels that were so clearly warships.
The fleet, making fine course adjustments to avoid colliding with other ships, continued straight for the harbor entrance.