“Cromwell’s puppet, huh…” Bowood whispered coldly to himself.
“Yes we do have the new cannon model, but if we fire from maximum range, they won’t hit.”
“But I bear his Excellency’s task of letting off those soldiers safely in Tristain. We can’t have the soldiers scared. Their morale will drop.”
I don't think it's the soldiers that are scared… Bowood thought.
Ignoring Johnston, he issued a new command. No law governs the sky, after all.
“Prepare the left cannons.”
“Yes sir! Prepare the left cannons!”
The sailors on the deck started to load the cannons with gunpowder and shells.
A thunderous roar could be heard from the Tristain fleet, which was aimed at the skies. Tristain was returning the cannon salute.
The battle plan had commenced.
During that moment, Bowood had turned into a soldier. The political details, his human feelings, the cowardice and foul play of this operation were all forgotten. As the captain of the Lexington fleet of The Republic of the Holy Albion, he proceeded to rapidly issue orders.
The crew of the old Hobart ship trailing at the end of the fleet had finished their preparations, and started to evacuate via the boats they had made levitate with the “Fly” spell.
A startling scene unfolded before La Ramée’s eyes. The ship trailing at the end… the oldest and one of the smallest ships had started to go up in flames.
“What? A fire? Was it an accident?” whispered Fevisu (フェヴィス)
The next instant, another startling thing occurred. The ship that was engulfed by flames and exploded in the air.
The Albion ship was reduced to ruins and came crashing down to the ground.
“W-What is this? Did the fire reach the ammunition storage?”
The Mercator was in an uproar.
“Calm down! Calm down!” Fevisu (フェヴィス) yelled at the sailors.
A signal flag was seen from the Lexington. A sailor started reading the signals with a telescope.
“From the Lexington fleet captain. Explain the meaning behind sinking Hobart.”
“Sinking? What is he saying?! It exploded by itself!”
La Ramée was panicking.
“Send a reply. ‘The fire from my ship was a response to your salute. The salvo didn’t contain any live shells’”
A reply was sent promptly by the Lexington.
“Your ship's attack used live ammunition. We shall return your intent of war.”
“What nonsense!”
La Ramée’s cry was drowned by the bombardment from the Lexington.
Impact. The mast of the Mercator broke off and a few holes had been made in the deck.
“How can their cannons reach from such a distance?!” said a surprised Fevisu (フェヴィス) on the shaking deck.
“Send a message! ‘Cease fire, we have no intent of war’”
The Lexington replied with a barrage of cannon shells.
Impact. The ship was shaking and fires had started here and there.
Like a shriek, Mercator’s message repeated over and over.
“We repeat! Cease fire! We have no intent of war!”
The Lexington’s fire showed no signs of stopping.
Impact. La Ramée’s body was sent flying out of Fevisu’s (フェヴィス) sight.
The shock of the impact had thrown Fevisu (フェヴィス) onto the floor. He suddenly realized that the attack was all planned. They never had any intention of a “good-willed visit” at all. They had all been deceived by Albion.
The ship started to go up in flames and the injured sailors groaned in pain. Shaking his head while standing up, Fevisu (フェヴィス) yelled, “The commander in chief is dead! The flagship captain will now take control of the fleet! Damage report! Full speed ahead! Prepare the right cannons!”
“So they’ve finally realized.” Said Wardes, who was standing next to Bowood, as he leisurely watched the Tristain fleet. Wardes also believed the commander in chief, Johnston, didn't deserve the title and would be unable to do anything. Wardes was in effect, the commanding officer.
“Seems like it, Viscount. However, it seems we will win soon enough.”
The Albion fleet, which had superior mobility, had already taken action to suppress the full on charge of the Tristain fleet.
The Albion fleet kept a fixed distance, and continued firing their cannons. Their fleet numbered twice that of Tristain’s and in addition they had the huge Lexington, which had the new cannon model. There was no contest in firepower.
As if they were tormenting the Tristain fleet, the Albion fleet continued their fire. The Mercator, which was already on fire, had started to slant. In an instant, the Mercator exploded with a deafening roar. None of the ships in the Tristain fleet were undamaged. The fleet was thrown into chaos with the loss of the flagship.
Destroying them was only a matter of time now. Ships could be seen flying their white flags already.
On the Lexington, cries of “Long live Albion! Long live the holy king Cromwell!” could be heard. Bowood knitted his eyebrows. During the days of the Royal Air force, no one used to say things like “Long live so and so” during battle. Even the commander in chief, Johnston had joined in.
“Captain, a new page in history has begun.” Said Wardes
As if mourning for his enemies, who didn’t even have a chance to cry out in pain, Bowood whispered, “No, only a war has begun.”
Soon after the news that the entire Tristain fleet in La Rochelle had been wiped out arrived, a declaration of war was issued by Albion. It blamed Tristain for breaking the non-aggression treaty by attacking their fleet without reason, and stated “As an act of self-defense, The Holy Republic of Albion shall declare war on the kingdom of Tristain.”
The palace, which had been busily occupied with Henrietta’s departure for Germania, was thrown into a state of confusion from the turn of events.
The generals, cabinet ministers and other officials immediately held a meeting. But the meeting was little more than a disordered ramble. Opinions that they should inquire Albion about the circumstances of the events, or that they should dispatch messengers requesting aid were thrown about.
Sitting in the meeting’s seat of honor was a shocked Henrietta. She was wearing her beautiful wedding dress that had just been finished. She had originally planned to head to Germania by carriage after the dress had been finished.
She was like a blooming flower in the meeting room. But no one had even noticed.
“Albion states that our fleet attacked them first! However our fleet says they only did a cannon salute.”
“Accidents can cause misunderstandings.”
“Let’s hold a meeting in Albion to sort this out! Perhaps there is still a chance to mend this misunderstanding!”
While the powerful nobles stated their opinions, the Cardinal Mazarini nodded.
“Right. Dispatch a special envoy to Albion. We will approach this cautiously, before it turns into a total war over a mere misunderstanding.”
At that moment, an urgent report arrived.
The messenger carrying the letter from the carrier owl, rushed into the meeting room.
“It’s an urgent report! After landing, the Albion fleet has started capturing land!”
“Where did they land?”
“The outskirts of La Rochelle! It seems like in the field of Tarbes!”
In the garden of her parents' house, Siesta hugged her young siblings, watching the skies with an uneasy face. An explosion had been heard not long before in the direction of La Rochelle. Surprised, she went out to the garden and saw the dreadful scene in the sky. Numerous ships were on fire and sinking, crashing onto the mountain’s surface and dropping into the middle of the forest.