Episode 24: Battleship, Fire. Counterattack Initiated
“Enemy ship, running parallel.”
Two hours had passed since then.
The pirate ship maintained a distance of about 1km, and began running parallel to the flagship ＜Paraiso＞ and the other two ships in a single file formation. They seemed to be waving signal flags frantically, but naturally, I couldn’t understand what they meant.
“I wonder what that is.”
“Judging from the situation, I believe they are urging us to surrender.”
We continued to watch the flagmen’s dance for about five minutes.
“…Enemy ship, firing.”
A slight shockwave was visible on the display. ＜Ringo＞ marked the launched Cannon Shell.
“Mark. Initial velocity 382m/s. No damage.”
Approximately three seconds later, the Cannon Shell impacted the sea surface and exploded with a shock. A pillar of water rose.
“…That’s quite powerful, isn’t it?”
“It’s an explosive Cannon Shell. It’s powerful, but the hit rate seems poor. I couldn’t measure it accurately due to resolution issues, but the dispersion range is quite wide.”
＜Ringo＞ measured the Cannon barrel from the video and calculated the approximate accuracy of the enemy Cannon from the point where the Cannon Shell landed. Whether it was a coincidence or not, it seemed to have landed far from where the Cannon barrel was aimed.
“If that Cannon Shell were to hit below the waterline and explode properly, there’s a possibility the hull could break.”
“…That’s terrible.”
“Yes, Ma’am. However, with an initial velocity of about 400m/s, it’s possible to intercept with the 20mm Autocannon.”
“…So there’s no problem.”
Currently, even the simple integrated tactical system mounted on the Light Trade Sailship (LST) class has the performance to intercept missiles exceeding Mach speed. With ＜Ringo＞’s complete backup added here, even though there is some distance, Cannon Shells flying at speeds slightly faster than the speed of sound were no threat at all.
“Shall we return fire?”
“Hmm… I wonder. Should we aim deliberately far away? If we’re going to collect combat data, it would be better to provoke them.”
“Yes. Then, we will fire, aiming at about 300m in front of them.”
Following ＜Ringo＞’s instructions, the bow Turret of LST-1 ＜Paraiso＞ immediately locked onto the target and fired. The Cannon Shell impacted the target sea surface in about one second. Due to the underwater projectile effect, it traveled straight about 30m below the surface, and the fuse activated, detonating.
In the video, a huge pillar of water erupted.
“Impact point within the margin of error. No problem.”
The deck of the pirate ship suddenly became noisy. Several people could be seen pointing at us and shouting, as if they hadn’t expected us to fire back.
“Now, how will they react?”
“It’s unlikely they’ll run away.”
The enemy pirate ship is very large. It’s larger than three Light Trade Sailships (LST) lined up. If anything, it’s longer than the large transport ship currently under construction. Considering this world, it’s no exaggeration to call it a super-large Battleship. Naturally, they probably aren’t considering losing in combat.
“Enemy ship, changing course. It seems to be approaching us.”
“I wonder if they intend to come within Cannon range. If they’re pirates, they probably won’t aim to sink us…”
Their goal should be to threaten us with Cannons, make us stop, and steal our cargo and crew. Sinking us would gain them nothing and would only waste Cannon Shells.
However, if they decide that their pride has been hurt, there is a high possibility that they will aim to sink us.
“It is estimated that it will take about 1 hour to reach the enemy ship’s expected effective range.”
“Hmm, they fired.”
Even if it wasn’t a simultaneous volley, many of the enemy ship’s broadside Cannons fired.
“Target, 8 Cannons. Mark. No damage.”
The fired Cannon Shells landed one after another. All of them fell quite short. We are still far from their effective range.
“Prepare for anti-aircraft combat. If they get within 300m, interception may not be in time. Shall we sink them?”
“Hmm… Even if we capture them, dealing with the prisoners would be a pain…”
Sinking them would be easy.
If we could hit them directly below the waterline with just one or two shots, they would sink in an instant. They probably don’t have watertight compartments properly installed, and I don’t think they can perform damage control. If a hole is opened, they will have no choice but to sink.
However, if we sink them, we won’t get anything. We can obtain combat data, but frankly, I’m not feeling much attraction to that anymore.
“With that size, we can’t tow it either, and getting some spoils after investigating the interior is about all we can hope for.”
From the looks of it, they are equipped with something like lifeboats. We could stuff the crew members into them and throw them out. Since it’s an area where we can see the shore if we go a little further, they might be saved if they’re lucky.
“I see. Let’s destroy the rudder and the mast and make them surrender.”
“Yes, Ma’am. Understood. Shall we execute it immediately?”
“…Hmm. Let’s do a rehearsal of the interception system. Let’s get within 500m and start intercepting Cannon Shells.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
With ＜Ringo＞’s maneuvering, we slightly turned our course towards the enemy ship. The sailing speed is almost the same. We are gradually closing the distance with the enemy ship.
“Enemy ship fired. Mark. No damage.”
The trajectory of the Cannon Shells fired again was instantly analyzed, and the impact point was displayed. Only one shot seems like it will be a near miss, but there is no particular problem, so we do not change course.
The Cannon Shells landed and exploded. A pillar of water rose due to the Cannon Shells that fell near LST-3. The three LST-class ships pushed forward, breaking through it.
“Enemy ship fired. Mark. Very close, or direct hit. Intercept.”
Simultaneously with the mark, the two 20mm Autocannons of LST-3 opened Fire. 3,000 rounds per minute were fired from the bow and stern, respectively.
“Interception successful.”
In the air, the Cannon Shell, shot through by dozens of bullets, exploded.
“…Failed to neutralize, the explosive detonated. I cannot estimate the type of explosive the enemy is using.”
“Can you tell what kind of explosive it is?”
“Yes. It is possible to infer to some extent from the characteristics of the explosion, the type of smoke, etc. Enemy ship fired. Mark. No damage.”
＜Ringo＞ slowed down the moment the Cannon Shell exploded on the monitor so that it would be easy for her to understand. A video was played showing the rain of 20mm Autocannon bullets approaching the round Cannon Shell from front to back, and then hitting it directly. The bullets passed through one after another, as if cutting it in half vertically.
“Enemy ship fired. Mark. No damage. Like this, the Cannon Shell itself seems to be quite fragile. However, it does not explode immediately after the bullets pass through. Mark, no damage, mark, no damage. It seems that the enemy ship’s firing is not being conducted with coordinated fire, so I will not report after this.”
“Roger that. Intercept appropriately. …Hmm, the explosion happens quite a bit later.”
“Yes. Moreover, it seems to explode simultaneously, not each of the upper and lower Cannon Shells separately. At least, with the equipment loaded on the 1st Trade Fleet, the time lag is synchronized at a level that cannot be observed.”
In the video, the Cannon Shell collapses and then explodes. At that time, no noticeable smoke-like substance is observed, and it appears that the explosion occurs as is.
“It may not be using gunpowder as a raw material, as we know it.”
“Hmm… In that case, is it that magic or something?”
“The possibility cannot be denied.”
The three ships advance through the rising pillars of water. Soon, the distance to the enemy ship will be 500m.
While accurately intercepting the occasional near misses, ＜Ringo＞ continued to analyze the enemy Cannon Shells.
“It seems that even the 150mm Smoothbore Cannon’s Cannon Shells can intercept them.”
The bow Cannon of LST-1 fired, and the launched Cannon Shell hit the enemy Cannon Shell directly. Because the enemy’s Cannon Shell is too soft, our Cannon Shell penetrates it as is. After a beat, the enemy Cannon Shell exploded.
“…It seems faster to seize it and investigate it. Enemy ship, distance 500m. Commence Cannon battle.”
The combat objective is to neutralize and seize the enemy ship. If possible, we want to recover metal resources. If possible, we also want to elucidate the enemy ship’s power and Cannon Shell functions. If so, we should aim for its legs and brain.
The Cannon Shells fired simultaneously from the four 150mm Smoothbore Cannons reached the target in one second. They hit the base of the four masts directly and exploded. Furthermore, one of the 20mm Autocannons rained Cannon Shells on the base of the mast, breaking it. The other Autocannon destroyed the rear paddle wheel. The upper part of the water wheel was carefully scraped off so as not to damage the internal mechanism as much as possible.