TFA2 7.3 - Swift Attack
Five kilometers south of Battle Group B's outer perimeter, 32 unit corvettes from Buriek Navy's sailed from east to west in one long line. Three kilometers on their right, corvettes from Battle Group B's mirrored their maneuver, one corvette for one corvette.
The area was not blanketed by thick fog, and the moon shone brightly in the sky full of flickering stars. Therefore, each side could clearly see the silhouette of opposing corvette.
In general, Buriek Navy and Makai Navy used similar corvettes. It had a length of 120 meters with a width of 16 meters. The most important part was made of metal, while the rest was made of wood.
The shape was similar to a modern cargo ship on earth. The bridge was in the rear and the war strategy room was right below it, without a window. Every compartment in the hull was not equipped with a pumping or sealing system to prevent flooding. While the upper deck in front of the bridge was flat and became a station for footbowman or ballista crew.
The corvette was powered by two engines that used fuel blocks and had a top speed of 20 knots. But the engines were only used to move the ship. The lighting system had to rely on oil lamps, while crystal communicator and crystal sensor used separate power sources.
At the bridge of corvette Ragar-01, Admiral Errez looked at the laptop's screen operated by Lieutenant Chester. It displayed the Battle Group B's night landing attempt.
'From this small tool, I can observe every corner of Combat Zone in real time. What a fabulous tool,' Admiral Errez muttered in admiration.
In addition to crystal communicator and crystal sensor, every Buriek's corvette in the Oplan Black in The Night was also equipped with a portable network centric operated by IDG's personnel, as a means to introduce the essence of modern naval battle to Buriek Navy.
Then, Lieutenant Chester reported, "Sir Admiral, Castle Lagra just sent us an order to attack."
In an instant, a smile bloomed in Admiral Errez lips. "Let's execute it then. Maintain our formation as we approach our mirrors."
"Roger."
Admiral Errez's order was immediately carried out. A moment later, Buriek's corvette's line shifted to the north little by little. In response, 32 unit corvettes from Battle Group B shifted their line to the south.
"Lower our speed to 8 knots and armed the deck," Admiral Errez ordered.
"Aye Sir," Ragar-01's Captain replied firmly.
A moment later, Lieutenant Chester showed Admiral Errez the second maneuver executed by Battle Group B's element. "Sir, another 32 units of opposing corvettes try to flank our left from rear."
"They intend to clamp us from two sides. Let them complete their maneuver."
"Copy that."
Time kept flowing and as Admiral Errez predicted, in less than 20 minutes each Buriek's corvette had been flanked by two opposing corvettes. One on the left and one on the right at a distance of 2 km, and they slowly approached to reach the effective range of footbow and ballista.
At the same time, Admiral Errez smiled cunningly, then he ordered, "Launch the salvo."
"Aye Sir."
---
Usually, Buriek's corvette was armed with 40 footbowmen or 8 ballista crews. But in the Oplan Black in the Night, every corvette was armed with 8 Molotov Catapult on each side.
Actually, the Molotov Catapult's crew deployed in Buriek's corvettes still hadn't finished their training. At the same time, aiming from a deck that went up and down over the waves was not easy. Moreover, the spotter had to work without the assistance of a computer-controlled fire control system. Therefore, an instructor from GCG was assigned to be a spotter for each Molotov Catapult Battery in every corvette.
At the left deck of Ragar-01, Corporal Styr observed the opposing corvette using a high-power night vision scope and made a calculation. Then he calmly ordered, "Set for a launch, elevation at 75°, power at 90%, cold fire."
Without Delay, Molotov Catapult's Crew set their catapult and placed a Molotov cocktail without lit it on.
"Catapult-01, ready to launch."
"Catapult-02, ready to launch."
. . . .
. . . .
"Catapult-08, ready to launch."
"Send it."
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swo-swo-swoosh!!!
Eight molotov cocktails flew and formed a high arc, but only one landed in the targeted corvette and produced a fire outburst. Then, the sailors in the targeted corvette easily extinguished the flame. Even so, Corporal Styr was not disappointed.
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"Set for a launch, elevation at 70°, power at 90%, cold fire."
"Catapult-01, ready to launch."
"Catapult-02, ready to launch."
. . . .
. . . .
"Catapult-08, ready to launch."
"Send it."
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swo-swo-swoosh!!!
"Again!"
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swo-swo-swoosh!!!
. . .
. . .
"Again!"
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swo-swo-swoosh!!!
To overcome the decrease in accuracy, Corporal Styr increase the volume of salvo. Fortunately, Molotov cocktails were cheap and the supply was abundantly available.
After eight rapid salvos, the opposing corvette on the left side of Ragar-01 finally turned into a giant bonfire, while the opposing corvette on the right side needed 10 salvos.
As for other opposing corvettes, some needed a fewer salvo while some others needed more. But in general, they were eliminated before reaching the effective range of footbow or ballista. And so, their retaliate salvo of fire arrows and ballista landed in the sea and didn't become a threat.
From Ragar-01's bridge, Admiral Errez observed the final results of the battle via aerial reconnaissance. After nodding in awe, he then turned his gaze toward Lieutenant Chester.
"64 units opposing corvettes in less than four minutes and we don't suffer any loss. This is not a naval battle but one-sided slaughter."
"Aye Sir," Letnan Chester calmly replied.
"Lieutenant, do we have other order from Castle Lagra?"
"No, Sir. We had to retreat. There is a lot of stuff that we must study from tonight versus contact."
"We will retreat then."
"Aye Sir."
Retreat order was immediately issued. A moment later, almost at the same time 32 units Buriek's corvettes made a sharp turn to the south and sped up at max, leaving behind 64 floating bonfires that formed two long lines.
'We will meet them again and sink more warship,' Admiral Errez muttered inwardly
Actually, Admiral Errez was slightly disappointed. Deep down in his heart, he still wanted to burn a number of opposing warships. Fortunately, he knew how to hold back and followed the battle plan faithfully.
Also, when facing Makai Navy, usually Buriek Navy could only rely on swimmers who targeted their supply ships. Buriek Rider was indeed able to face Makai Rider head-on despite losing in numbers. But unfortunately, to this day Buriek Navy still could not overcome the advantage in the number of warships maintained by Makai Navy.
And so, achieving a perfect score after facing Makai Navy in a head-on battle could slightly soothe Admiral Errez's deep hatred towards Makai Navy.
---
Through aerial reconnaissance, Nate observed Battle Group B's movement. In the south perimeter they consolidated, but did not pursue the retreating Buriek's corvettes.
In the north perimeter they conducted a search and rescue using small boats, but it was a half-baked operation. Too many people failed to be rescued and drowned. Most of them were slave children. They were making a splash for a moment, then drowned, and disappeared.
'What will Vex do if he is in this situation?' Nate wondered as he tried to strengthen his resolve.
This was the first time he ordered an attack while overriding the precaution for collateral damage, and the after taste was so awful. He was also sure that for some time he would not be able to meet a child face to face or hear their laugh.
'Lesser evil to prevent greater disaster.' Nate deeply sighed as he continued, 'I really hope I still have that belief.'
Then, a Major from IDG woke Nate from his pondering. "Sir, Rolling Panda captured footage that a huge number of messengers were sent from a cruiser Geko-01, just before the night landing was launched."
"Major, do you suspect that Prince Portho and Duke Fogel are in this cruiser?"
"Yes, I do, Sir."
"Do you have any suggestions in mind?"
The Major nodded before replying, "Rolling Panda have a pair of GBU-16 in its internal bay, let's drop one of them on Geko-01."
"How sure are you that if we kill Prince Portho and Duke Fogel right now, then the rest of Battle Group B will retreat?"
"Around 70%, Sir. The nobles behind Battle Group B will lose their cause for the throne."
"No, the possibility will be lower than that. As long as Makai Royal City is safe and sound, there is a high chance that remnant of Battle Group B will join the other Prince." Seeing the disappointment on the Major before him, Nate immediately asked, "Major, what is our objective tonight?”
"Capturing high-ranking officers and extract Prince Portho’s location, and deplete Battle Group B's combat strength."
"Do you know why we limit our objective only to locate Prince Portho?"
"Because we still haven't decided the next move."
"Actually, General O'Neill, Viscount Rattel, and Viscount Issel already agree that we should eliminate one or two princes, but we will not do it in hurry."
"Sir?" In an instant, a big question mark filled the Major's forehead.
"The point is not just to eliminate Prince Portho, but what kind of effect we desire from his death." Nate paused for a moment before continuing, "In the offensive on Makai Royal City, we will kill one of the princes to show them that for us a prince's life means nothing.
And so, we hope nobles and royal families in Makai Royal City will understand that their lives had less value."
"And if they still don't understand, Sir?"
"In that case, we will teach them the consequences of messing around with the wrong guys. As for now, form a team to observe Geko-01 on a 24/7 basis and confirm your suspicion with our high-ranking captive."
"Aye, Sir."
The Major then went back to his station, while Nate returned his attention to display table. A moment later, the search and rescue was ended. Battle Group B's elements then retreated into a healthy distance far from the coastline. Meanwhile, a few hundred survivors were washed up to the shore
Without delay Nate gave an order to a staff officer, "Captain, send one of Vanguard Squadron to sweep the shore. Capture who surrender, kill who resist, and help the slaves as best as they can."
"Sir." The Captain replied firmly, and then swiftly carried out the order.
*****