I Pioneered Scientific Magic - Chapter 370 (Patreon)

Chapter 370: Battle Upon the Sea of Mist!

Amidst Sirid's urgent inquiries, Judge Joshua, clad in a golden-purple robe, remained silent. It was the timely intervention of the Archbishop that spoke up.

"I speculate their detection range is approximately one and a half kilometers... As they haven't altered course yet, it indicates they might not have noticed our arrangements."

The wizard fleet's ability to harass the Empire's ships in the Sea of Mist relied not only on their vessels' speed and attack range but primarily on their seemingly unique capability to locate targets through the mist.

Though the fog on the sea had significantly reduced recently, visibility remained at about three to four hundred meters. The mist still possessed a shielding effect, rendering enemy ships invisible unless the wizards continuously used magic to disperse the fog.

"It's about time. Let's act!" Joshua nodded, raising the wand in his hand, sending out an unseen surge of magic across the sea...

Meanwhile, a kilometer away on the steel behemoth, Teek manipulated the cannons on the deck, accurately hitting a sailboat, watching it overturn and sink amidst the flames, feeling utterly satisfied.

"Hit again! That felt good!"

Aurora wore a slight smile on her face, acknowledging that this battle was remarkably comfortable.

In terms of both the number of ships and elite forces, they were at a significant disadvantage. The Empire's fleet boasted over three hundred vessels, with more than ten Archbishops present; the enemy forces likely numbered over ninety thousand!

The Holy Church's grand display of force had an obvious goal: to obliterate the entire wizard territory!

However, fate had led them into this confrontation, proving somewhat fortunate. The majority of the council's power had been devoted to the kingdom's war. If these individuals set foot in the coastal city, unimaginable destruction would follow!

Even if the remaining wizards managed to drive the invading army away, it would come at an incredibly heavy cost...

Possibly resulting in the entire wizarding realm's collapse!

Hence, without hesitation, Aurora halted the plan to aid the kingdom, dispatching three ships to relay information to the council while the rest focused on thwarting the Empire's fleet.

At the moment of this decision, Aurora had braced herself for heavy losses to buy time for the wizarding territory's defense. Yet, Teek and the others' naval command surpassed her expectations.

Typically, naval battles involved several rounds of crystal cannon bombardment followed by boarding or using the advantage of a ship's size to crush the enemy directly.

However, Lynn's handbook on naval warfare presented a novel strategy!

The steel ships, powered by internal combustion engines, boasted over three times the speed of sailboats and had an attack range of up to a kilometer. Coupled with the mist's cover, they could remain beyond the enemy's striking distance, slowly consuming the enemy's vitality, effortlessly manipulating foes whose numerical strength far surpassed theirs.

Should those powerful Archbishops dare to attack separately, they'd face hundreds of cannons, dozens of crystal cannons, and a throng of righteous wizards!

No matter how formidable the adversaries were, they couldn't withstand such an assault!

"Who would've thought naval battles could be fought like this!" Aurora exclaimed.

"These ships have already lost half their numbers. Pursue like this, and we'll decimate them within a day!" Teek gloated.

He discerned that the Empire's fleet intended to forcefully enter the wizarding territory under the cannon fire. But they were still far from their destination; given the sailboats' pitiful speed, it would take at least three days.

It was a foolish fantasy!

However, after Teek's words, Aurora's expression shifted. Her gaze swept towards the distant sailboat fleet as she murmured softly, "This isn't right!"

"What's wrong, Lady Aurora?" Teek asked, perplexed.

"It's the number of ships! They don't add up!" Aurora's tone grew grave. Using amplification magic, she loudly commanded, "Everyone, change course immediately!"

She distinctly remembered the Empire's expedition fleet having around three hundred sailboats, yet now, only slightly over a hundred remained!

Although they had pursued for hours, firing thousands of shells, under the protection of those priests and bishops' magic, they shouldn't have inflicted such significant damage on the entire fleet! Not to mention, during this pursuit, the Holy Church's priests had initially used magic extensively, draining their resources. Subsequently, to conserve energy, they hadn't bothered dispelling the mist. And now, suddenly, they resumed its use. There was undoubtedly something amiss!

Just as Aurora sensed something wrong, the fleeing Empire fleet abruptly changed direction. Massive sailboats on the sea surface turned, creating ripples...

"Wind, wind!"

Accompanied by furious roars, the radiance of magic enveloped each ship. Their speed dramatically increased by more than fifty percent in a short time!

While such speed wasn't impressive against their modern warships, Aurora's expression turned incredibly solemn. She faintly sensed intense magical fluctuations about a mile and a half away on their left and right sides.

But they didn't need to sense it anymore. Those two fleets had crossed the mist barrier and entered their view, forming a triangular encirclement around their fleet's center.

Teek instantly grasped the situation. The reason for the enemy's lack of retaliation and not dispelling the mist was to relax their vigilance and secretly separate a portion of their fleet. Now, it resulted in a pincer movement!

How dare they?

Teek's face revealed shock. This was the Sea of Mist!

Once too far, separated from the fleet, lacking guidance from the main ship, these isolated ships might completely lose their way in the foggy sea!

But regardless, the Empire's fleet charged towards them. At a kilometer's distance, not too near, not too far, Aurora had to command the fleet to break out towards the least numbered enemy side.

The cannons roared again, this time without restraint. The gunners hardly stopped firing; however, the priests and bishops on the sailboats were all frustrated, finally presented with a chance to counterattack. Each of them exerted their full strength, using magic to ward off the cannon barrage...

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