I Pioneered Scientific Magic - Chapter 369 (Patreon)

Chapter 369: Can't Catch, Can't Hit, Can't Outrun... Is This Also Considered Battle?

In the west of the Kingdom of Hadralata, upon the endless Sea of Mist, a powerful divine light surged, swiftly dispersing the thick mist that surrounded the area.

Flags fluttered into view amidst the mist, followed by the massive masts and hulls of a fleet of ships!

This was the Empire's expedition fleet, each ship a state-of-the-art sail-powered warship, over 70 meters in length, resembling terrifying beasts slicing through the waves.

However, despite the grandeur of this fleet, it appeared remarkably disheveled. Some rear warships were heavily damaged, with flames even licking at their sails.

In the next moment, accompanied by the thunderous roar of cannon fire, hundreds of head-sized cannonballs shot out from the mist, targeting the entire fleet!

While these cannons seemed wildly inaccurate, most landed on the sea surface, some even hundreds of meters away from the targets, creating water columns without any real impact.

But with the sheer volume of cannon fire, even if only one in thirty hit its mark, it posed a tremendous threat...

Amidst the faint chanting on the sea, invisible divine shields enveloped each sail-powered warship, defending against the barrage of cannonballs.

Casting such widespread divine spells proved quite challenging for these priests and bishops.

More critically, attacks of this nature recurred every ten minutes, offering them no respite or chance to recover.

A warship at the rear of the fleet took five consecutive cannon hits. The divine shield covering the ship instantly ruptured, and priests aboard the sail-powered warship, under the intense backlash, spat blood, helplessly witnessing colossal cannonballs pounding holes into the deck and hull.

One of these projectiles was imbued with explosive magic, causing an immediate blast upon impact, flames and smoke billowing as the massive ship, trembling and swaying, capsized into the depths... Shrill screams echoed incessantly as soldiers and priests aboard had no choice but to leap into the sea, struggling to swim toward the nearest vessel for safety.

"These cursed followers of the dark, minions of the malevolent deity, they should be cast into the depths of hell, consumed by the unending inferno!" exclaimed Archbishop Sireid, infuriated, aboard the colossal flagship at the center of the fleet. The faces of the other bishops around him mirrored extreme displeasure.

Half a month ago, they were tasked to lead the Empire's First Fleet, intending to set sail and directly assault the base of those wizards, a group that had plagued the Holy Church for years, lurking in the mist and occasionally harassing people like rodents.

But to their surprise, while en route, their fleet coincidentally encountered another fleet belonging to the wizards. Judging by their direction, it seemed they were heading to aid the Kingdom of Hadralata... Their numbers were less than a third of theirs!

This was an unexpected windfall, bringing immense joy to the bishops. They swiftly moved to intercept, planning to swiftly obliterate this wizard fleet, intending to ease pressure on the kingdom's battlefield.

However, once the real battle ensued, they discovered that the enemy wasn't as feeble as imagined, presenting a solid challenge.

As soon as the skirmish began, the sharp cannon fire left a profound impression on Sireid and his cohorts. The sheer quantity and potency far surpassed what their ships' oil hurlers could match, even with the bolstering of divine magic.

These weapons were reportedly new developments by the wizards, and since specific intelligence was still being gathered, they were caught completely off guard.

What irked Sireid the most was that when the First Fleet decided to weather the cannon bombardment and forcefully approach for a boarding action, the wizard fleet turned and fled, showing no inclination for direct confrontation. They even continued firing cannons while retreating.

Approximating their range to be over a kilometer, compared to their fleet's oil hurlers, which, even with divine enhancement, could only reach five hundred meters, the remaining five hundred meters might as well have been an abyss. It took the fleet several hours and the loss of over thirty warships to realize they could never bridge this distance.

The enemy's exhibited speed wasn't their maximum, merely creating an illusion that they could be caught if the pursuit was faster, continuously dwindling the fleet's numbers.

Upon realizing this, under the command of the chief judge, the fleet abandoned the chase, altering course to proceed toward the land of the wizards.

Yet, akin to crafty and shameless jackals, the wizard ships turned back, trailing behind them at a safe distance. Leveraging their speed and range advantage, they incessantly harassed the fleet, destroying dozens of ships in succession...

Only then did Sireid and his company realize they were trapped in a dilemma where they couldn't catch, couldn't hit, and couldn't outrun their adversaries, akin to floating targets on the sea, helplessly enduring round after round of cannonfire...

Utterly frustrated!

Some of the more hot-tempered bishops even fainted from sheer exasperation!

Sireid attempted to utilize his flight abilities as an archbishop to approach and attack the ships directly. However, their flying speed couldn't match that of the steel behemoths, and upon nearing a distance of two hundred meters, they faced attacks from dozens of magical crystal cannons. One archbishop nearly perished in an explosion, forcing them to slink back in defeat.

Amidst the relentless gunfire, after this round of onslaught, two more warships erupted in flames and sank into the depths, while the wizard fleet finally emerged from the mist.

A rough count estimated about a hundred ships, all without sails, yet hurtling across the sea at a speed surpassing their sail-powered warships by several folds!

Most striking were the four colossal warships leading the formation! Each surpassed a hundred meters in length and stood over thirty meters tall, crafted entirely from metal, likely weighing hundreds, if not thousands, of tons, resembling mobile fortresses upon the sea...

Sireid couldn't fathom the extent of wizardry required to propel these steel behemoths at such speeds across the ocean!

Watching the menacing gun barrels of the steel behemoths adjusting, readying for the next volley, Sireid urgently turned to the chief judge, speaking anxiously.

"Lord Joshua, can we act now?"

Continuing this way, the Imperial fleet would only be worn down under the relentless cannonfire, unable even to graze the enemy's shadow!

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