A Gift Upon Meeting

Sailing on the high seas can be a very tedious experience, though it may initially seem novel or even surprising.

For example, people who have only lived inland have never imagined that ocean waves can sometimes be so spectacular or even terrifying. They might hold onto the gunwale of a boat and gaze at the endless horizon where the sea and sky meet, marveling at the beauty and wonder of this world.

Everything new is beautiful, intoxicating, and capable of turning one into a poet.

For example, a new car, a new friend of the opposite sex, and some new experiences.

But soon, this novelty will turn into boredom, because nothing will change, and the sight of a hard-boiled egg rolling back and forth on a plate with the waves can even make you irritable—that restless egg makes you want to smash it on the table with a hammer so it won't roll anymore!

Sailing at sea can become more boring, tedious, and tedious than people imagine.

After the initial period, the soldiers' emotions and mindset stabilized, thanks in large part to the priests who would often talk to soldiers who seemed emotionally unstable.

This approach can help soldiers overcome feelings of frustration, irritability, and confusion.

At this moment, a naval soldier is writing in his diary, something that seems to be a particular hobby for naval personnel and sailors.

People can always find out how much a sailor wrote in their diary from shipwrecks or other places, but they never hear of army soldiers being particularly fond of writing diaries.

Because when army soldiers are bored, they can do whatever they want, even leave the base to find some girls, but at sea, there isn't much for them to do except write in their diaries or clean the decks that have already been wiped.

Just as the naval soldier was writing down his hopes for the future, he suddenly heard a whistling sound, sharp and piercing, like the sound of a boiling boiler. Then the ship shook violently, and in that instant, he was thrown to one side and rolled to the ground.

The battle alarm sounded instantly; they were under attack!

"Report the damage..." The Captain stood in the command room, looking at the various screens on the screen. The soldiers who were reporting were behind him. Apart from the known green dots on the screen, there were no green dots in front of him.

These rubbish!

The Captain's expression was grim. Every year, the military allocates funds to some military and technology companies to research new products. Some of these products are indeed useful, but others... are completely worthless, such as Wireless Radio Positioning System.

There is no doubt that the other side is maintaining radio silence, and this is almost three days earlier than their initial calculations for engagement, indicating that the other side must have sped up their pace.

"The stern was hit by artillery fire, and the stern deck was breached. We are currently carrying out emergency repairs..."

The Captain listened to this information he could no longer change and shook his head. "They're positioning the artillery fire to warp the fleet behind them..."

The operators in the command center did not act immediately, but instead warned, "This will expose our coordinates, Captain."

The Federal is researching Wireless Radio Positioning System, and Gefra is also researching the same system. Moreover, their research results are clearly superior to those of the Federal. After all, they place greater emphasis on naval development than the Federal. In order to maintain their dominance over the world's seas, they must ensure that they do not lag behind others, at least in terms of technology.

Previously, they had maintained intermittent silence during their journeys, making contact every forty-five minutes. Now, if they turned on their radios, they would immediately expose their coordinates to the other party's display screen.

During this period, if a ship exposes its position at sea, it will certainly not be met by airplanes or torpedoes.

Currently, no aircraft can participate in anti-ship combat, and torpedoes are only valuable at close range; beyond that, it's a gamble. But there is something that doesn't have so many concerns.

This time, the enemy did not test fire just one shell. Judging from the impact points observed around the area, there were at least six shells. They were "doing homework," providing reliable data for the battleships behind them.

If they were to be completely exposed at this point, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Execute the order!" The Captain's hand was already on his sidearm at his waist. If the operators tried to refuse, he would shoot them immediately and replace them with another batch.

Knowing they couldn't change anything, the operators immediately began operating the system. In an instant, radio waves began to transmit outwards, reaching the fleet behind the destroyer across the Sea Surface, but also being detected by the enemy ship that had just appeared within their line of sight.

The Captain straightened his collar, took off his naval Wide-brimmed Hat, tidied his hair, and put it back on. "Power engines to maximum for evasive action. Inform all crew members to prepare to seek cover and extinguish the fire..."

After he finished speaking, he looked through his binoculars at the fleet that had already appeared in the distance. He hadn't expected the enemy to arrive so quickly. Indeed, these "invincible navies" that dominated the seas should not be underestimated.

At that very moment, whether it was an illusion or something else, the Captain saw some clouds in the sky not far away seem to accelerate slightly. Before he could even say anything, the first salvo came.

No words can describe the feeling; at least the oppressive feeling brought about by the salvo from two battleships was like the moment before a sudden storm.

The air seemed to freeze, and people's reaction speed was completely halted! He saw the shells, but he couldn't say a word or give any orders, as if something was choking him.

He had never experienced such a feeling, so helpless and insignificant.

The next instant, the destroyer where the Captain was located was suddenly pushed backward by some strange force, and the ship sank into the water. The surrounding Sea Surface rose suddenly, and the soldiers who were repairing the ship at the stern were instantly thrown up by the seawater that rushed in. But as the ship rose again, they were swept away by the seawater.

A huge column of smoke rose rapidly, followed by the depot's explosion. In just one second, a massive fire destroyed the destroyer. It didn't even have a chance to catch its breath before it broke in two from the rear and sank.

At this moment, one after another tan balloons rapidly rose from the Federal Navy warships behind it. Indeed, the Federal's instruments were not as reliable as the human eye.

On each of these rapid-ascent balloons was an observer who used binoculars to observe the situation in the distance and reported to the Captain's cabin via corded telephone.

These things... to be honest, are much better than those Wireless Radio Positioning System.

In the eyes of the observers, the fifteen ships coming towards them were divided into three parts, moving diagonally like an "eight" with an extra leg. Then they saw what the Captain, who had almost died, had seen last.

The giant ships shuddered violently, and the clouds in the sky instantly filled with black cannonballs. The second salvo was much faster than expected! This was perhaps the reason why Gefra could dominate the seas; they possessed rich experience, excellent tactics and execution capabilities, and sailors who were so outstanding that they inspired envy! Of course, the Captain of the Gefra Royal Navy's Saint Knight battleship was indeed filled with an arrogant smile, as if taking down a small boat with the first salvo was nothing to be proud of.

Besides these things, there was also some curiosity on his face. "These Federal people only have an advantage in some clever tricks, but those balloons are still valuable."

He immediately understood the balloon's special feature: it could help people observe farther places more quickly and effectively.

The Sea Surface is not a flat surface, allowing them to spot the enemy earlier than the Federal. This is partly due to their surprise attack and partly because they have better observation positions. Even seeing the enemy just half a minute earlier is enough for them to prepare for a shelling.

If they could also raise these balloons, they would undoubtedly be able to bombard their opponents from a greater distance.

Thinking of this, the Captain of the battleship Guardian Knight couldn't help but think of the project that Gefra was secretly researching. They planned to develop a disposable fixed-wing aircraft that could take off at sea as an outpost for observation before the war.

The project is already halfway complete, and the developers are said to have ensured that these water-based aircraft can take off in lakes and some fast-flowing rivers. It may not be long before they are able to fly over the ocean.

With this in mind, the Captain felt even more at ease, and he even had a female Second Lieutenant bring him coffee and dessert.

"An easy battle!" he commented, sipping the rich coffee in his silver cup. "Once they lose a few more warships, they'll probably be leaving in tears..."

This was his definition of the naval battle: no one had ever been able to defeat the invincible Royal Navy —not the previous enemies, not even the Federal! He was unaware that this naval battle would not be won so easily. They were in a hurry to reach the waters near the Amelia Region, but those on the other side of the sea had prepared to die at sea before they even arrived.

Further downstream from the Federal fleet, submarines floating on the Sea Surface began to sink, each crew member having written their will before setting sail.

Due to certain design and technological limitations, each submarine carries a limited number of torpedoes.

Besides the torpedoes already loaded into the launch tubes, they only have a handful of other torpedoes in reserve. If they run out of torpedoes and still can't change the situation, they will launch a suicidal attack, using submarines to ram those ships.

To ensure the plan would work, all submarines would carry a torpedo, which would be launched at the moment of impact, sinking to the bottom of the sea along with the enemy ship.

I've caught a cold.