Episode 35: Naval Bombardment, Full Firepower
Cargo was being piled up one after another on the pier. Burly men hauled carts, carrying them into the warehouses without pause.
“Kombu to Warehouse 12! Ah, sardines to Warehouse 15! Take the water to Warehouse 2!”
“Hurry, hurry! There’s a line forming! If we finish carrying everything today, there’s a bonus! Come on, hurry!”
The second transport ship entered Telek Port City a week after the first ship’s departure. The merchant guild leader, Kullavia Telek, was understandably surprised by this speed, but when told that the ship had set sail on the premise that an agreement would be reached, there was no room for argument. And the sheer amount of food, water, and farming tools it carried caused his face to twitch.
“You guys are really… unbelievable…”
“Cooperation, appreciated.”
The leader of the second convoy, ＜Paraiso 2＞, was named Zehn, and her appearance was almost indistinguishable from Zwei. Since ＜Ringo＞ was operating her, the contents were the same.
To differentiate Zwei and Zehn slightly, her speech was controlled to emphasize individual words, but her expressions were made richer. ＜Ringo＞ was working hard every day to make her feel more human. As for Zwei, she was given the personality of being serious and rigid.
“Have you had basic discussions with Zwei, the convoy leader?”
“Yes. …Do you know how much we’ve discussed, what kind of contract we’ve made?”
“I have an idea. ＜Paraiso 1＞ passed by us. We exchanged some information using signal flags. If anything is different from what I expect, please tell me immediately.”
“I see… Understood.”
＜Ringo＞ knew from the bots’ reconnaissance that the previous agenda had been discussed and approved within the merchant guild. However, it would be strange if she knew the details, so ＜Ringo＞ pretended not to know the situation in Telek Port City.
“Have you made contact with the refugees?”
“Yes. I went immediately after that. Fortunately, I was able to meet with their representatives.”
It was fortunate for ＜The Tree＞ that the refugees were still organized. If it had been a few weeks later, it might have been doubtful, but it could be considered that they had made it in time. Telek Port City had provided food, and a simple contract had been successfully concluded regarding military service and agricultural work.
“It’s not enough for everyone, but we provided some food… Kombu and water. Well, consider it an advance payment. I think we’ve definitely earned their gratitude.”
“I see. If so. We can earn even more gratitude.”
“…Hmm? Farming tools?”
To understand the situation in and around Telek Port City, ＜Ringo＞ constantly had multiple Solar-Powered Reconnaissance Aircraft (Swift) patrolling. They had confirmed that bandits were approaching the refugee camp.
“I will disclose a little. We possess ＜Clairvoyance＞.”
“………? Clairvoyance…?”
“Warning!”
Zehn shouted. At the same time, the destroyer Charlie began to sound an alarm at high volume. A short, sharp alarm that made those who heard it feel a sense of crisis echoed through the port.
“Hey, what’s going on all of a sudden!”
“Warning. Commencing Naval Bombardment. Warning. Commencing Naval Bombardment.”
“Naval Bombardment!? Hey, Zehn-san, you…!”
“Kullavia Telek-dono, a bandit gang is approaching the refugees. We will now Zistroi them.”
“What!? W-wait…!”
Thoom!
Charlie’s No. 1 turret spat out a Cannon Shell towards the group approaching the refugee camp. The Cannon Shell, flying in an arc, would hit its target in about 15 seconds.
“They fired…! They fired, hey! What! Where!”
“…Target vicinity. Impact. Confirmed.”
Amidst the blaring alarms, Kullavia Telek rushed up to Zehn in a fluster. The destroyer had suddenly opened fire, and the people in the port were in confusion.
“Full Firepower.”
Having finished observing the impact, ＜Ringo＞ began a continuous firing of the destroyer Charlie’s three main Cannons. The 150mm Smoothbore Cannons, with a firing rate of 45 rounds per minute, began to spit out Cannon Shells one after another.
“…!”
Kullavia Telek’s eyes widened as much as possible as he watched the scene. He was probably shocked by the unexpectedly high rate of fire. That feeling was predictable. It was completely different in structure from the Cannons that were loaded with gunpowder and Cannon Shells by hand and then fired. With automatic ammunition feeding, it could fire continuously until it ran out of ammunition or the barrel life was exhausted. It was probably a much more powerful Cannon than lining up 100 existing Cannons.
“Target Zistroi.”
In a matter of less than a minute, ＜Ringo＞ stopped firing when each Smoothbore Cannon had fired about 40 rounds. Observation by the Solar-Powered Reconnaissance Aircraft (Clairvoyance) confirmed that most of the approaching bandit gang had been crushed.
“Our ship, Charlie, has Zistroi the bandit gang that was approaching the refugees with its Cannon fire. We have confirmed that they have repeatedly committed looting in the past, so it is not a misfire. …Is it okay to call a group that repeats such looting a bandit gang?”
“A…a, yes… That’s right, a bandit gang…”
“Understood. I recommend sending an envoy to the refugees immediately. They shouldn’t understand what happened.”
“…!”
The merchant guild leader hurriedly began giving instructions to the people around him. These actions probably demonstrated his competence. The halted unloading was restarted, and Telek Port City, while still in a noisy atmosphere, returned to its original work.
“…”
Through Zehn’s eyes and ears, ＜Ringo＞ checked the surroundings. Since she didn’t intend to show too much superhuman ability, each Communicator Doll was basically acting only on the information they could acquire. This time it was an emergency, so she had acted like the eyes of God, but well, it would be fine if they misunderstood it as magic or something. Anyway, the existence of the Solar-Powered Reconnaissance Aircraft (Swift)… or rather, the patrol network using Swift, needed to be disclosed. It was a good opportunity.
As for the bandit gang, the location of their hideout had also been confirmed. Since it was outside the range of the main Cannon, she would have to ask for manpower to suppress it.
This time, all of the bandits who attacked were either dead or incapacitated. She would adjust the situation so that they could be suppressed after repeating this several times and reducing their strength.
◇◇◇◇
After that, she conveyed that they were conducting wide-area surveillance using Solar-Powered Reconnaissance Aircraft (Swift) (although she said it was due to hidden skills), and that they would intercept any enemy attacks at their discretion. For the time being, the bandit gang would be the target. Even if other forces invaded, they could be detected at a fairly early stage, so they would identify friend or foe before attacking. Since no air power had been confirmed so far, there was plenty of time.
In addition, the war potential of Telek Port City was reconfirmed.
Perhaps because they thought it would be meaningless to hide it at this point, the number of soldiers reported was almost the same as the number grasped by the bot group, so she decided to trust them.
What was interesting was the type of soldier called “Magic Warrior.” Apparently, they were soldiers who fought using magic. Magic was an unknown destructive force that was activated by chanting spells and uttering magic names. She had actually been shown it, but it was a truly unscientific and unrealistic skill in which a Fireball appeared in the air, flew off on its own, and exploded and scattered Fire when it hit its target. She would like to study it, but unfortunately, she didn’t have enough equipment or personnel. She decided to put it on hold until the situation calmed down.
There seemed to be several types of magic, but for the time being, this “Fireball” magic was the only one that could be used in actual combat. All of the soldiers called Magic Warriors could use this. The power seemed to depend on the individual’s skill, but it seemed possible to carry out a somewhat controlled attack. Long-range attacks consisted of this “Fireball” and shooting by archers.
She considered providing guns, but decided that it was too early and decided to supply a large quantity of arrows with uniform quality. She could have handed over the finished products, but she didn’t need to take away their jobs, so she manufactured the arrowheads, shafts, and fletching separately and left the assembly to them. For example, by having the refugees do it, it could be treated as compensation for the food supply.
Fortunately, the arrowhead material is Iron, and the shaft and fletching can be made of Cellulose, which should ensure sufficient power. I arranged for it to be loaded onto the next transport ship. As for the bow, I could supply it under the guise of a prototype. A compound bow with sights attached should be usable to some extent even by amateurs. A crossbow would also be good, but considering the potential for technology leakage, I’ve decided it’s best not to release it for a while. If technological innovation progresses too rapidly, it becomes difficult to maintain balance.
And so, ＜Ringo＞ steadily advanced her control over Telek Port City.