Water Magician-Chapter 664 : Line of Battle

Chapter 0664 Line of Battle

Translator: Jay_Forestieri

Editor: Tseirp

The next day.

The allied fleet had entered a difficult stretch of sea.

The continental side was a sheer cliff, and this was a zone where coordination with land forces was impossible.

“The crew is more tense than usual.”

“Rightly so. Captain La Wu said last night, it’s a tricky passage.”

At the head of the fleet steamed the relatively experienced Tenth Ship.

Directly behind it rode the flagship Lone Dark, carrying the two of them, and after that came the navy of the Suje Kingdom, the fleet of Count Bashu, the Bosuntar nation’s navy, the Komakyuta Principality navy, and finally the navy of the Atinjo Navy at the rear.

Between the ships, flags were being waved and detailed signals exchanged.

Of course, the two of them didn’t know the details—so they couldn’t make heads or tails of it...

“They might be discussing whether to remove a dangerous swordsman aboard the Lone Dark.”

“I think it’s more like removing a dangerous magician aboard the Lone Dark.”

That Ryo and Abel could trade such silly guesses without worry was because they trusted the lead Tenth Ship and the Lone Dark completely.

At three in the afternoon, the allied fleet finally seemed to have cleared the hazard.

“There are still many islands ahead, and the continent side is still a cliff face, but there’s no longer the danger of grounding.”

Captain Gorick of the Lone Dark explained to the two of them.

“That’s a relief.”

“The crew of the Lone Dark is seasoned, but they’re pretty exhausted.”

“They’ve been on edge the whole time.”

Ryo breathed out in relief, Abel looked a little worried, and Captain Gorick gave a wry smile.

It was then.

“Ship sighted ahead!”

A crewman cried from the mast.

At the same time, the Tenth Ship sent the message by flag to the following vessels, including the Lone Dark.

“According to the Tenth Ship’s report, it’s likely a Darwei fleet.”

“How many?”

“Unknown.”

“Understood.”

Captain Gorick said that, then ran to the bow and lifted his spyglass.

“They chose this spot to strike.”

“We’ve just passed the hazard, fatigue is at its peak, and we can’t coordinate with land. They must have hidden ships in the shadows of the islands ahead—pretty calculated.”

Neither Ryo nor Abel showed panic.

After all, they were on a ship; there was nothing they could do from there.

“Lord Protector Kabui Somar is on the Tenth Ship, right?”

“Yes. He said this morning that, since the Tenth Ship would clearly be leading today, he—the commander—would be aboard her.”

“Do you think... he guessed this ambush...?”

“Possibly...”

He might have deliberately not told Ryo and Abel to avoid stirring up anxiety.

If there had been no ambush, that would have been best of all.

“After all, he’s the ever-victorious admiral in the archipelago region.”

“Listening to Captain La Wu, he must have judged this would be the ambush point. If so, impressive.”

“Abel, if you’re going to lead the kingdom’s navy and conquer the seven seas, you’ll have to be this sharp.”

“Yeah~. I’ll leave that to the professionals.”

“What a lack of ambition...”

Ryo shrugged theatrically, but the truth was that if Abel suddenly got fired up and declared world conquest, it would be inconvenient.

Still, that didn’t seem likely.

“Report from the Tenth Ship! Fleet size approximately two hundred—confirmed flagship Feidoshin of the Kouri royal fleet. The flags raised are the Darwei national flag and the banner of Prince Kouri.”

“Prince Kouri himself has come out? Here, not on land?”

Startled by the report, the thought slipped from the mouth of Captain La Wu.

The report and that muttered remark reached the ears of the two— who had come up to the bow and were watching with naked eyes— Ryo and Abel.

“They said they hadn’t detected the Darwei fleet, but before we knew it, the enemy commander had boarded and came to strike us first.”

“The Darwei ships, with artillery capability and strong defensive <barriers>, are frankly powerful. Even though we have Count Bashu’s fleet here, most of the other ships are built for boarding fights; perhaps the Darwei judged them easy prey.”

“In other words... they don’t want to talk?”

“Exactly— because they don’t want to negotiate, they waited in a place where it’s hard to contact the emperor on land.”

Abel answered in a bitter tone.

“Kouri fleet, deploying left and right!”

A shout came down from the mast like a roar.

“The high-speed bombardment ship that fired on the Tenth Ship earlier—they fired from the broadside, right?”

“Yeah. From the ship’s side.”

Abel nodded at Ryo’s confirmation.

On Earth, when cannons were mounted on sailing ships and ended boarding-era combat, one of the high points of that era was the Battle of Trafalgar.

Admiral Nelson, leading the British Royal Navy, utterly crushed the French navy at Trafalgar.

As a result, Napoleon gave up on seizing Britain by force and turned to the continental blockade, attempting to force Britain into submission economically.

But when Russia broke that blockade and sent supplies to Britain, Napoleon launched the Russian campaign to punish them... and was disastrously defeated, beginning Napoleon’s downfall.

At Trafalgar, the ‘ship of the line’ played a central role.

These ships mounted dozens of cannons along their sides—the broadsides.

So when the ship presented its flank to the enemy, it could fire many guns.

Thus, ships formed lines to fight... hence ‘ship of the line’.

If one considers the Darwei ships as carrying alchemy devices that perform magic bombardment instead of cannon, their basic employment would also be that of ships of the line.

“This is...”

No sooner had Ryo spoken than,

Twenty magic bombardments were launched from the forward Kouri fleet.

“They have long range!”

It was Abel who shouted.

The bombardment from the high-speed ship they’d experienced before would not yet have reached them at that distance...

But...

All the attacks were deflected.

By a wall of ice.

“Ryo?”

“No greeting of ‘good day’ and suddenly a bombardment... how un-gentlemanly!”

“What is that—”

Ryo had cast <Ice Wall> in front of the Tenth Ship and deflected the bombardment.

“If there are two hundred ships but only twenty shots, it means only the vessels equipped with long-range alchemy devices fired.”

“I see.”

Ryo thought for a moment and then spoke to Captain Gorick, who stood at the bow of the same Lone Dark.

“Captain, I’m going to the Tenth Ship.”

“Understood.”

Captain Gorick answered Ryo’s words without the slightest delay.

He must have thought it the right move as well.

“Let’s go, Abel.”

“Got it.”

Ryo used <Water Jet Thrusters> and Abel leapt with his ‘Flight Ring’—together they flew and landed on the deck of the foremost Tenth Ship.

“It was Duke Rondo who made that defense just now, right?”

The questioner who asked with certainty was the fleet commander, the Suje Kingdom Lord Protector Kabui Somar.

“Yes. Twenty or so bombardments would probably be repelled by the Tenth Ship’s own <barrier>, but to be safe—”

Ryo said this while looking at Captain La Wu standing beside Kabui Somar.

Captain La Wu nodded in agreement.

Naturally, a <barrier> was deployed ahead of the Tenth Ship.

“It’s unpleasant for sailors to just be sitting there taking hits.”

Kabui Somar grinned.

“In our country, we call it a celebratory cannon return.”

Captain La Wu replied with a grin as well.

Then he shouted an order in a roar:

“Lin Shin, fire the four bow-guns!”

By that command, four streams of fire raced from the bow toward the Kouri fleet.

For reference, Lin Shin is the public vessel combat commander of the Tenth Ship.

“Our range is long too.”

Ryo was surprised by the range.

“Our public vessels carry the latest equipment.”

Captain La Wu laughed.

The four magic bombardments reached the Kouri fleet.

They reached it, but...

“They were deflected.”

“Hmm.”

Ryo could not help but say that, and Captain La Wu tilted his head.

“Captain?”

Seeing that, Kabui Somar called out.

“No, being deflected is expected, but the way they were deflected is strange.”

“Strange how?”

“It feels like they were deflected by something other than the <barriers> the Darwei ships carry.”

Captain La Wu answered.

Kabui Somar said nothing in response.

As is natural, even during such an exchange of fire, the allied fleet pressed forward.

Because the Kouri fleet had deployed left and right and not moved south, and because the allied fleet was advancing, the distance between the two sides was steadily shrinking.

In other words, they were not only moving into range of long-range guns but into the range of all two hundred ships.

“There is no hope for us in an artillery duel to begin with.”

Kabui Somar said that plainly.

Captain La Wu nodded.

Aside from the Tenth Ship, the allied fleet only had the ten ships of Count Bashu’s fleet that could match the Darwei ships.

The rest were foreign vessels suited for boarding warfare.

“If they opened fire without warning, that means they don’t intend to negotiate. Then there is only one thing to do.”

After looking at Captain La Wu and Ryo, Kabui Somar said,

“We ram.”

Continue here for the next chapter early on Patreon!