On January 17, 1790 by the standard calendar of the Galentea Continent, a patrol fleet dispatched from one of the Invincible Fleet's sub-fleets to patrol the Sorrow Sea was ambushed by the
On the night of January 20, the Northern Sea Fleet, under the command of Admiral Sembawood, launched a surprise attack on Erniba Port, a harbor belonging to the Commercial Alliance. They burned not only nearly five hundred merchant vessels and warships of various sizes docked in the port, but also caught the Invincible Fleet's Third Sub-Fleet in the carnage—it had been on a southward patrol escorting reinforcements. They had never dreamed they would be attacked in their own port. Most of the Third Sub-Fleet's crew and sailors had gone ashore to seek entertainment, and by the time the harbor was ablaze with towering flames, it was already too late to turn the tide.
Even Sembawood himself couldn't have imagined his luck would be so good. When he saw the Invincible Fleet's two famous Sepnium dreadnoughts reduced to two massive, blazing infernos, every member of the Northern Sea Fleet was grinning from ear to ear. All they could do was speed up the ammunition supply and aim to hit and sink as many ships as possible...
By then, the entire port had been consumed by the raging inferno. When Sembawood received a report that the bronze cannons, having fired red-hot iron cannonballs, needed half an hour of cooling time before they could resume firing, he issued a dangerous order: the fleet was to close in on the burning docks, using the catapults mounted on their prows to hurl clay pots filled with fire oil onto the ships and dock structures that had not yet been completely consumed. The goal was to accelerate and intensify the burning, ensuring that not a single repairable ship or usable dock facility remained for the Commercial Alliance.
Sembawood's orders were carried out to the letter. The great fire at Erniba Port raged for two days and three nights, reducing the entire port to ashes. To make matters worse, during those two days and three nights there was no snowfall and the sky remained clear—it was rare fair weather for winter, ideal for sailing, and the wind blew steadily toward the interior. Those who had escaped the flames could only watch helplessly as Erniba Port was burned to bare ground. The fire was so vast that they gave up any attempt to extinguish it and could only stand at a distance, weeping as they watched the port burn...
Known in the military history of the Galentea Continent as the Fire Attack on Erniba Port, this battle not only thrust the previously obscure Northern Sea Fleet into worldwide fame, but also elevated its admiral, Sembawood, into a brilliant rising star of military command. By contrast, the Commercial Alliance's losses were enormous. Erniba Port had been burned to the ground, and although fewer than ten thousand personnel perished, it was precisely those survivors who burdened the Commercial Alliance with countless additional troubles and expenses.
First, the Invincible Fleet's Third Sub-Fleet had all of its warships destroyed in the most frustrating manner imaginable. Members of a fleet that had always roamed the seas unchallenged now had to rely on their own two feet to make the long trek back to
Finally, the residents of Erniba Port had lost all of their daily necessities and personal belongings, and they refused to leave. For the sake of these sixty to seventy thousand residents, the Commercial Alliance would have to mobilize relief supplies and manpower to help them build shelter and stay warm through the winter and the rainy season in March. A rough estimate placed the losses from the Northern Sea Fleet's burning of Erniba Port at no less than twenty million gold fordes for the Commercial Alliance...
Had the Norton Family's Northern Sea Fleet not intervened, the Commercial Alliance would have been fully confident in using its vast manpower, material resources, financial strength, and military forces to defeat or annihilate the Andinak Kingdom coalition led by the
But the news that arrived at the start of the new year left the Commercial Alliance high command in Morant City restless and on edge. First, a patrol fleet went missing, and then word came that Erniba Port had been burned to the ground. While they were scrambling to hold emergency meetings on the aftermath of Erniba Port and rushing to gather food and supplies for the relief columns marching through the heavy snow toward Morant City, the news coming from the sea left every last member of the Commercial Alliance leadership burning with rage...
After burning Erniba Port, the Northern Sea Fleet under Admiral Semba Wood launched interception operations across the waters between Erniba Port and Hidden Gold Bay—a full day and night's sailing distance. Every merchant ship and cargo vessel heading for Hidden Gold Bay, whether belonging to the Commercial Alliance or another nation, was intercepted and commandeered. Those who refused to comply were immediately destroyed on the open seas, while those who submitted were grouped under the escort of several thunderstrike warships and directed toward Xilowas Island...
In short, the Commercial Alliance's sea lane to the southern continent had been severed by the Northern Sea Fleet, inflicting enormous losses on the Alliance once again. Many of the merchant and cargo ships sailing during winter carried military supplies and provisions urgently needed by Morant City, but now those military supplies and provisions had all become war spoils for the Norton Family. This was nothing short of pulling the firewood out from under the pot, leaving every member of the Commercial Alliance high command burning with anxiety.
The sea route had always been the Commercial Alliance's most critical supply corridor. Now that the sea route was cut off, supplying the four hundred thousand troops on the front lines by land would not only mean a long journey and serious delays, but the cost of overland transport would skyrocket. Out of every hundred jin of grain shipped to Morant City, if thirty-odd jin arrived, it would already count as efficient.
They had to recapture control of the sea route immediately! The Commercial Alliance high command reached this resolution at once. But when the order was relayed to the Invincible Fleet, everyone discovered they faced an exceedingly awkward predicament—the Invincible Fleet lacked sufficient forces...
Well, the First Sub-Fleet was wintering in the Qigeda Kingdom to the south of the continent, at the request of their ally, to protect Qigeda's coastal regions from raids by Roman Empire pirate fleets. The Second Sub-Fleet was stationed in the Chikede Trading Company territory—the former Ulubaha Duchy—where pirate activity was at its most rampant. Nearly all the southern provincial reinforcements and supplies heading for the front lines embarked from there, so security could not be neglected.
The Third Sub-Fleet's warships had docked at Erniba Port during their return voyage to Hidden Gold Bay, only to be burned clean by the Norton Family's Northern Sea Fleet. Now the fleet's personnel were mostly intact, but the ships were gone... The Fourth Sub-Fleet was garrisoned at Hidden Gold Bay, but one of its patrol fleets had vanished. The most likely explanation was that it too had fallen to the Northern Sea Fleet.
Now the problem arose: if the Northern Sea Fleet had the capability to annihilate a patrol fleet, how many forces should the Fourth Sub-Fleet commit from Hidden Gold Bay to deal with them? A sub-fleet could be divided into four patrol fleets. With one patrol fleet already destroyed, the Fourth Sub-Fleet was left with only three patrol fleets' worth of strength. If the entire force sortied, Hidden Gold Bay would be left completely defenseless—but leaving behind a single patrol fleet was no better than leaving none. The patrol fleet that had been destroyed was proof enough of that. Yet if two patrol fleets remained, the sortie force would be nothing more than delivering itself to the enemy's doorstep.
This simple arithmetic left the Invincible Fleet's commanders and the Commercial Alliance high command caught in a dilemma. Combined with the brutal winter sea conditions and the widespread refusal-to-fight mentality among fleet personnel, the Fourth Sub-Fleet's departure kept getting postponed. But by February, due to delays in overland message transmission, the Chikede Trading Company territory kept sending merchant ships loaded with military supplies and provisions toward Morant City. The repeated news of these merchant and cargo vessels being seized by the Northern Sea Fleet finally forced the Fourth Sub-Fleet to make up its mind—to sortie from Hidden Gold Bay and seek a decisive battle with the Northern Sea Fleet.
The Fourth Sub-Fleet reorganized the composition of all its warships. This time, every large and medium armed warship would sortie, while the two Sepnim-class dreadnoughts and the hundred and sixty-odd small fast ramming warships belonging to the Fourth Sub-Fleet would remain at Hidden Gold Bay to guard the home front. For those two Sepnim-class dreadnoughts and the small fast ramming warships, the rough winter seas were simply unsuitable for sailing. They would be better off holding position at Hidden Gold Bay, where even if the enemy broke through, there would still be fighting strength to push back. Perhaps they could even use this to set a trap—luring the Northern Sea Fleet into attacking Hidden Gold Bay, while the sortie fleet flanked and enveloped them to wipe out the enemy in one stroke.
This was the second clash between the Invincible Fleet and the Northern Sea Fleet. The Fourth Sub-Fleet was fortunate; after sailing for a day and a night, they encountered a convoy of over thirty large ocean-going merchant ships and medium armed merchant vessels being escorted by the Northern Sea Fleet towards the Shilovas Islands. The escort consisted of four of the Northern Sea's thunderbolt warships and four large armed warships.
The Fourth Sub-Fleet had sortied with thirty-nine large armed warships. On twenty-eight of these, a hundred-strong naval assault squad was embarked. Additionally, a Sword Saint from the Invincible Fleet was stationed aboard the flagship. They had also brought eighty-three medium fast armed warships. One could say that virtually all the Fourth Sub-Fleet's large and medium warships had committed to this sortie.
The Fourth Sub-Fleet commander divided the hundred-plus large and medium armed warships into four waves, spaced three thousand meters apart, using carrier sea-swallows for communication. The fleet's high command had long since learned from the sailors of merchant ships that escaped the Northern Sea's pursuit that the enemy had dispatched only twenty-odd warships. They split their own force into four waves out of concern that a single, massive fleet formation might spook the Northern Sea Fleet into fleeing, making pursuit far more difficult.
The sky today was a uniform grey, with icy snowflakes drifting down. The lookout's vision from the masthead was severely limited. Therefore, when the Northern Sea Fleet's escort convoy and the Fourth Sub-Fleet literally ran headlong into each other, the opposing sides were less than four hundred sea codes apart...
Upon seeing the Invincible Fleet coming to their rescue, the merchant convoy being forcibly escorted to the Shilovas Islands immediately erupted into chaos. Ignoring the threat of being sunk by the thunderbolt warships, they turned and charged desperately towards the Fourth Sub-Fleet's formation. At this moment, the captains of the four escorting thunderbolt warships made a grave error. They did not take the twenty-some enemy warships charging directly at them seriously; instead, they opened fire on the fleeing merchant ships. Instantly, the battlefield descended into a roiling, chaotic mess.
For the warships in the Fourth Sub-Fleet's first wave launching their charge, the merchant vessels darting wildly across the battlefield added countless troubles. Not only did they disrupt their formation, but the need to dodge these ships scattered their charging line completely. This resulted in heavy casualties and losses when they first made contact with the four thunderbolt warships of the Northern Sea Fleet.
The commander of this initial wave did not view the four thunderbolt warships with particular concern. Eager for a decisive opening blow, he directly ordered all his warships under his command to surge forward.
The thunderbolt warships delivered a devastating slap with their four rounds of bombardment. Three of the four leading large armed warships of the Invincible Fleet were shattered into broken wooden frames by the fire, visibly sinking into the sea at a pace the naked eye could follow. The fourth large armed warship had slightly better luck; although its mast was broken and it was spinning in circles, it was not in immediate danger of sinking.
However, due to the extremely close range, the ten or so medium armed warships flanking to the left and right had already arrived and engaged the Northern Sea Fleet's four large armed warships. These four armed warships did not carry bronze cannons. Their long-range attack weapons were still the older-style flying fire bombs, large steel crossbows, and torsion stone-throwers. Smoke and fire blanketed the sea surface, with fireballs and rocks flying back and forth in a spectacular, deafening exchange. Before long, two of the Northern Sea Fleet's large armed warships were ablaze with towering flames...
"Enemy ships! The Invincible Fleet has reinforcements! Range: six hundred sea codes!" the lookout on the thunderbolt warship's mast screamed himself hoarse. He did have a single-barreled telescope, granting him a much wider view, but the sky was simply too overcast, and with the falling snow, by the time he spotted the second wave of the Fourth Sub-Fleet's warships, it was already somewhat too late.
Just then, the thunderous roar of cannon fire erupted from behind — it was Sembawood arriving with twelve thunderbolt warships to their rescue. The first wave of the Fourth Sub-Fleet was swiftly crushed, with only six medium fast-armed warships managing to turn tail and flee when they saw which way the wind was blowing. However, three of the Northern Sea Fleet's four large armed warships had also been destroyed, with over two hundred crew members killed or wounded.
"Charge forward! Destroy the enemy ahead!" Sembawood pointed at the thirty-odd large and medium armed warships of the Invincible Fleet in front of them and issued his command. But soon, the lookout in the mast gave him two pieces of bad news.
"Enemy warships spotted to port! Around thirty of them! Range: seven hundred sea codes!"
"Enemy warships spotted to starboard! Also around thirty! Range: six hundred sea codes!"
It was a trap!
"Full speed ahead, keep pushing forward! At fifty meters from the fleet ahead, veer left, open fire, and break through the blockade!" Sembawood made his decision without hesitation.
The Northern Sea Fleet's desperate charge had not been entirely unexpected by the Fourth Sub-Fleet. The only thing they hadn't anticipated was just how devastatingly fierce the Northern Sea Fleet's cannon fire would be. Every interception warship that stood in the path of the charge was shattered one after another under the barrage, screams and cries for help blending together across the sea surface in a ghastly chorus.
But the two thunderbolt warships at the very rear of the Northern Sea Fleet and the sole remaining large armed warship had been cut off by the remaining ships of the Fourth Sub-Fleet's second wave. Worst of all, the Sword Saint stationed on the flagship had leapt aboard one of the thunderbolt warships and begun a blood-soaked massacre — the crew on the thunderbolt warship were no match for him at all.
Numerous enemy naval boarding parties had also swarmed onto the other thunderbolt warship and the large armed warship. The sounds of fierce combat and agonized screams rang out without cease, then quickly fell silent. Barring any miracles, it was all but certain that these three warships would fall into enemy hands.
"About-face! New objective — our two thunderbolt warships and our large armed warship! Norton Family warships must not fall into enemy hands!" Sembawood issued yet another order that no one had seen coming.
The Northern Sea Fleet's countermaneuver likewise caught the Fourth Sub-Fleet completely off guard. Not only did the two thunderbolt warships and the one large armed warship they had just seized get sunk, but an even heavier blow fell when the Sword Saint, who had single-handedly captured one of the thunderbolt warships, was caught by Sembawood's about-face while standing at the bow of the vessel, parading his victory. The first volley of grapeshot coverage directly blasted him into a bloody mess, his shattered corpse toppling from the bow into the sea and staining a large patch of the water red...
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