“Damn it! We can’t catch up, what speed is that!!”
“How many are coming!? There are at least six that I can see!”
“Set the sails! Hey, don’t loosen the ropes, you bastards!! Come on!”
“Number 6 and 7, pull hard!! Catch the wind! Pull, pull!!”
The crew of the patrol boat were in an uproar. It was a frigate sailing ship that prided itself on its speed and agility, but even so, it was impossible to catch up with a powered ship.
Even with a tailwind, it would be difficult, but right now the wind direction was particularly bad.
And watching the commotion intently was a gnat clinging to the ship’s side.
“Quite a commotion.”
“Yes, Ma’am. At this rate, they won’t notice the Spybot’s intrusion. It’s a valuable opportunity to gather on-site information.”
Using the Submersible (Orca), a Spybot had been sent to one of the patrol boats that appeared frequently. Currently, they were in the process of viewing the video and audio information being transmitted from it.
“Sailing ships have their limits.
If the wind direction is bad, you can’t expect speed, and if there’s no wind at all, you can’t even move.
Paddle Steamers were developed to solve this, and now there’s a shift to screws.
However, sailing ships are still the mainstream at the field level.
It seems that the way technology is developing is a bit of a leap.
However, it’s not so isolated as to be unnatural.”
“Ah, you mentioned something like that. In the end, the investigation into that area hasn’t progressed, has it?”
“No, Ma’am. I apologize.
The location of the research institute is unclear, so information gathering has not progressed.
It’s probably hidden in the frontier.
We might be able to analyze it if we take aerial photographs a few more times, but it’s unknown at this time.”
“…It feels strange. As far as the level of civilization goes, it’s unnatural to put so much effort into counterintelligence.”
Even as they were having this conversation, the patrol boat, having given up on catching up, was getting further and further away.
“Due to the influence of Magic (Fantasy), mysterious technological leaps are occurring in places.
The stagnation of coal use is probably due to Burnstone.
What’s puzzling is that the technological development related to electricity has progressed to some extent.
It seems like they’re trying to make light bulbs from the start, so it seems like there’s a leap.
It’s more likely that basic technology research is being conducted elsewhere.”
“I see… It’s too limited for there to be foreign objects like us, so we should keep an eye on it.”
“Yes, Ma’am. We will continue to investigate.”
Each naval port headquarters, having received a message from the coastal patrol boat via Message Bird, was in great confusion.
A fleet that was clearly powered, sailing without sails. Even from a distance, they could see rotating turrets, large cannons, and multiple protrusions of unknown purpose.
There were no crew members on deck, but it was traveling surprisingly fast and maintaining formation. It was a foreign fleet that they had never encountered before. It was taking a route that circled around the coast of the Repuytari Kingdom without even looking at their patrol boats.
Naturally, the headquarters immediately relayed the information. Message Birds were expensive, but the speed of information transmission was worth more than money.
They were releasing birds towards the coastal naval ports and the naval headquarters in the capital, Moor. The alchemically treated Message Birds could travel up to 800km per day at most. They would be able to deliver the information to headquarters in half a day.
But the problem was.
“Their speed is too fast… I estimate it’s several times faster than ours.”
“Colonel. If that’s the case, they might be faster than our Paddle Steamers.”
The Lafret Sea was relatively calm at the moment, so they weren’t getting their top speed. But even so, the patrol boat captain reported that the speed of this unidentified fleet was too fast.
“We won’t know that until we actually race them… As soon as we receive further information, send out Message Birds immediately. They don’t seem to be showing any signs of attacking at the moment, but the fact that they passed us by means they may know the location of the capital.”
“That’s… understood, sir.”
Naval Port Calmora. It was the westernmost port of the Repuytari Kingdom, and a military base with the role of monitoring the Calmora Strait in front of it. It also operated a huge lighthouse, and many warships were docked there.
It was hard to believe that an unknown fleet would deliberately ignore this port. Even if they couldn’t see the port, they should be able to see the lighthouse.
In the first place, if they didn’t even look at the patrol boats, it was certain that they were underestimating their power.
“However, if it were a military invasion, they wouldn’t pass by here either… If we’re left alone, we’ll definitely be pincered. If they were going to attack, they would definitely crush the outer ports first.”
However, it wasn’t a wrong tactic to try to seize the capital first. There was a good chance that that fleet was an advance party, and the main force was approaching from behind.
In any case, the central headquarters would be the ones to make the decision. All this naval port could do was prepare the ships so that they could set sail immediately.
“If we’re lucky, we’ll get the order to sortie tomorrow. Be prepared.”
“Understood.”
As if it were natural, ＜Ringo＞ was monitoring the situation at each naval port and watching the progress of the operation.
Passing through the communication bases set up in each city, Message Birds were scattering to various locations. Compared to the Afrasia United Kingdom, the speed of transmission was amazing.
The problem of comparing the wrong targets aside, this means of communication was the backbone supporting the Repuytari Kingdom. The leaders and the military, of course, but even major trading companies in the private sector were using it.
Using bills of exchange, national banking operations were also developing. The Repuytari Kingdom would be rapidly advancing towards modernization from here.
Because technological development was leaning towards science, it was easy for ＜Ringo＞ to predict. At this rate of development, rudimentary information processing devices would appear within the next 200 years.
Well, in 200 years, ＜The Tree＞ will have flown out of the star system.
“Report to Commander (Onee-chan). In 30 minutes, the Great Lighthouse of the capital Moor will enter the visible range of the flagship Panas… From here, we will shift to control by the Local Strategic AI. The flagship Panas, and the following eight Hedgehog-class ships, each equipped with Doll Machines (Communicators), will be under the command of the Strategic AI on the Panas.”
“Understood. I authorize the operation. I grant priority authority related to the operation to the Strategic AI on the Panas. Olive, give the order.”
“Authorization confirmed. From: Fleet Commander Olive. To: Strategic AI on the Panas. I order the start of the operation. You have control.”
“Acknowledgement received from Local Strategic AI. Authority transfer confirmed.”
“Notification from Local Strategic AI. Operation start. All Doll Machines (Communicators) online. Commencing movement to designated positions. All armaments online.”
“Tactical link operational status, good. Microwave power reception status, green. Increasing power supply to combat output.”
“Requesting link with Spy Network Management AI. Link established. Requesting transfer of authority for high-altitude surveillance drones. Request approved. Drone control authority from 013 to 019 has been successfully transferred.”
“Threat level calculation support request. Request approved. Transferring data link request to ＜Ringo＞.”
“Data link established. Starting download of basic data.”
In response to the request from the Local Strategic AI, ＜Ringo＞ began data analysis.
The basic data was the data received from the high-altitude surveillance drones.
The ships docked in the port, the surrounding warships, the land-based cannons, and the infantry forces. Furthermore, by synthesizing information from the Spybot network being collected, the war potential of the Repuytari Kingdom’s capital, Moor, was calculated, and a Threat Level Assessment was carried out.
“Primary calculation complete. Data upload. Completed. Secondary calculation will be completed in 72 seconds.”
“Acknowledgement received from Local Strategic AI. No hindrance to operation progress.”
“After the secondary calculation is complete, we will end Threat Level Assessment support. We have determined that support is not necessary at this time.”
“Understood. Communicating to Local Strategic AI. Acknowledgment response. Reallocating calculation resources.”
Eventually, the ＜Paraiso＞ fleet broke through the警戒線 of the capital Moor.
As expected, information about the fleet’s approach had not been fully shared yet, and the Repuytari Kingdom’s reaction was slow.
The merchant ships hurriedly gave way to the fleet that was breaking in while maintaining a circular formation. No one with any courage would dare to approach a ship that was clearly a warship.
The fleet continued to navigate towards the front of the port, carefully correcting its course so as not to come into contact with other ships.