The American In Another World
Chapter 37: Lying Waiting
Centris Island, Altaras Strait
A mysterious fog surrounds an island in the middle of the Altaras Strait, obscuring all views of heavy military activity across the island. Assuming that the Americans obtained their information from the sky, the Parpaldians decided to create an inexpensive but effective protection that could hide their plans. While they are right that Americans gather intelligence from above, they are unaware that visual observation is not the only way to gather information.
——
Carrier Strike Group 5, Altaras Strait
"Master, we've got a lot of contacts at bay, hiding behind the terrain," said a radar operator while pointing to the screen.
Admiral Hawthorne and Captain Vaughn reviewed data submitted by UAVs flying over the Parmaldian base, analyzing emerging points along the island's coastline. Performing a rough mental calculation, they saw nearly a hundred contacts waiting, hiding inside a crescent-shaped bay. The high cliffs protected the ship from cannon fire, but not from aerial weapons.
"That's an incredible death trap" Hawthorne mused.
Vaughn nodded. “Meriam they can do real work on our armor. If only we had a warship.”.
“Unfortunately, the re-activation of Iowa will not be completed until around December. Our only option is to attack them from above.” he rubs his chin. “Hmm, we need more intel; we need to know what we are targeting.”
“Master,” suggestion Vaughn, “We have RHIB and smaller drones we can send for target identification.”
Hawthorne tilted his head, thinking about his plan before he replied, “Alright. Have our team do reconnaissance from the sea; the drone should have enough range and service life to survey the whole bay.”
——
Centris Island
A figure stood on top of the hastily arranged command structure as he studied the assembly of his fleet. Inhaling the salty sea breeze, he turned his head to the side to see the group of mages continuously producing more mist. He sighed and walked to his manacomm station, the equipment sweeping his short black beard as he spoke. “Admiral Balus, trap already installed. Our ship is waiting, ready to shoot anyone who dares to enter. Barrel explosives are also ready to light.”
“Good work, Commander Mitan. I doubt they will send their big ships to the bay, so feel free to light the barrels whenever you see a worthy target. I'll leave this decision at your discretion.
"Thank you, Admiral," he said hesitantly. “However, I still feel... bad; guilty, even.” He paused for a moment as he built up the courage to continue. “This tactic does not match the nature of the Parpaldian Kingdom. With respect, Admiral, we should be the ones to launch an attack against them, not create a defense trap.”
“I understand your concerns, Commander. Trust me, I feel the same way. The purpose of war is to win. We will achieve victory by any means, or at the very least, make their victory bleed and fight as hard as possible. We are facing not a barbarian country, but a powerful country similar to those like Mu, or even the Mirishial Holy Empire. Therefore, we must change our strategy to combat — which I regretfully acknowledge — powers stronger than us. Obey Your duties, Commander, and you will reap the benefits.
The reason the admiral echoed within the Mitan as he slowly looked at its logic. “Understanding, Admiral. I will do as requested of the Emperor. Glory to the Parpaldian Empire!”
——
While the Parpaldian commander spoke at his manacomm, several drones buzzed undetected. Shaped like a miniature helicopter, this device penetrates the mist, its figure is indistinguishable from birds due to poor visibility in the area. They hovered over the base, marking buildings and guard towers. Direct feed from all the drones was sent back to Enterprise, where most of the command staff gathered for talks.
"Close to that port" Admiral Hawthorne ordered, looking at the fourth video feed. He wondered why the port was so small compared to the size of the fleet on radar. If this base was meant to house a fleet for counter-attacks - as he initially thought - then this small port would not be enough. He guessed another purpose for this base.
As the drone approached the port, it became clear that the structure in question was not a port at all - it was just something built to resemble a port. American commando personnel were surprised; this tactic only emerged after World War 1 and the start of aerial reconnaissance. The fact that the Parpaldians built a decoy base despite having a fog cover should then imply that they have awareness of the advanced data collection capabilities of the United States. They know that Americans can see very well, but do not know the extent of this ability. So, they hid their bait with fog.
“It also seems that there is a large number of magic gems stored here,” said the drone operator, showing an increase in infrared and exotic radiation emanating from the port structure.
“Interesting...” said Hawthorne, as if he had finally solved a difficult equation.
"Find something, sir?" ask Vaughn.
All eyes were on the esteemed admiral as he prepared the lecture. “Parpaldian has a magic radar; we know this as a fact. Presumably, they operate on the assumption that we also have a magic radar. They must have drawn this conclusion from the previous battle we had against the Lourian Kingdom. Then, if they had knowledge of our maps, they would know that only aerial photos could produce such accuracy.”
Everyone is thinking about security at the major trading ports of the United States. It is impossible to review, let alone set strict limits on every product sold, especially in a country that upholds freedom like the US. A simple map could escape the boundaries of the American border easily. From this little article, a big conclusion can be drawn.
Hawthorne continued, “With the knowledge that we have a 'madar' and have an aircraft for aerial reconnaissance, they set up a base on Centris Island. Because of the strategic importance of this piece of land, they knew that we would scout this area in the end. They also know that if the previous assumption is correct, we will see tremendous magical energy on our hypothetical madar. However, we will not be able to see their fleet as it only reads the magic gem in the middle.
As Hawthorne spoke, he displayed his idea on the table below, adjusting the pieces of the fleet if necessary. “We will be interested in this energy reading, and any ships we will send to investigate will also face their waiting fleet. After all, we will not fall into this trap because we have accurate missiles and air power, but the fact that they set this trap in the first place means that we have to reevaluate our assumptions and knowledge of the Parpaldian Kingdom. We can no longer assume that they are arrogant enough to go against us head-on. We must now assume that they are willing to fight dirty, and do whatever it takes to survive.”
——
An unreasonable nervousness struck Commander Mitan as he waited for reports from scouts and 'fishing boats' he had placed around the island. An hour before his conversation with Admiral Balus, he received a warning that the American fleet was heading to the island. Based on their trajectory and speed back then, they should have already arrived. Where're they?
With a hundred row ships and even a few wyvern lord carriers at his disposal, he felt confident in his ability to defeat at least a few enemy ships. However, a voice of doubt filled his mind. What if they never enter the bay? The premonition of death continues to fester and grow, like a cancerous tumor. Finally, he was completely engulfed by this unreasonable and unwarranted fear, as if his stomach was screaming at him to escape.
With his heart pounding, he succumbed to fear and set up his command post deep within the island forest. Only then could he calm down and carry out his duties as a commander. She found it quite interesting how her relief came soon, wondering why so.
The question was answered as soon as it was asked. Lines of light appeared in the sky, shining brightly through the mist. At first, she recognizes them as signal beacons from her witches, but then she realizes that this is absurd; her unit is ordered to use manacomms. The light immediately became brighter, curving downward like an arrow. A sudden realization caused his heart to fall; he felt the agony and pain of knowing his men would die without even having a chance to fight back. However, the selfish part of him causes these feelings to subside, replacing him with relief - relief that he and his command staff have been out of harm's way.
He could only watch with helpless pity as a light arrow struck his ship, first targeting the wyvern aircraft carrier and human warfare. With an explosive force similar to a meteor strike, the targeted ship was vaporized while the nearby ship was sunk by the resulting shockwave force. His ship tried to get away from the approaching light arrow, but the projectile attacked too fast. Even if they had enough time to react, the compact ship formation had sentenced them to death.
They all expected a quick and easy kill when the enemy fleet was funneled into the bay. They did not expect this; they did not expect an attack from the sky. With hysteria caused by panic and dying breath, the Parpaldians wondered how the light arrows could penetrate through the thick layer of fog and find their target. The astonishing revelations of their defensive uselessness were recorded by the Parpaldian tacticians and passed back to Esthirant.
"Admiral, please send us a new order!" Mitan pleaded, not knowing what to do in this situation.
Unfortunately, even the great Admiral Balus did not know what to do. “Just make sure that you lure Americans into the bay. I'll leave the details to you, ”he said before disconnecting completely.
“... The admiral? Hello?" Mitan fiddled with manacomm desperately, hoping to contact the Naval Headquarters once again. To his dismay, nothing happened. "Suck!" He slammed his fist into the table beside him, surprising his subordinates. "What am I doing…?"
The first two shots of the light arrows had destroyed most of his heavy ships and damaged most of the survivors. Without the firepower of the larger ship, he doubted he could even sink a single ship. Therefore, he had two options: he could make his ship maintain their position, hoping that the enemy would no longer have a light arrow to fire; or he can get out of the bay and attack the enemy in a last-ditch effort to get damage.
While he was considering his options, he realized that no further explosions had occurred. He spoke to himself calmly, “Did they really take out all their light arrows? No. Based on the battle report from Louria they should have more of these weapons. In that case, it means they are waiting for our next move!”
"What order do I have to get out, sir?" A manacomm technician spoke.
"I ..." he paused for a moment, considering the new factors. Admiral Balus and the Naval Headquarters seemed to have already left his unit, so he could not rely on reinforcements. Knowing the prudence of Americans, they would not enter the bay to finish the work, perhaps even choosing to starve his unit, if they did not plan on using more light arrows. Clearly, Mitan found himself in a hopeless situation - a situation where there was no right move. There was no right move, he thought, except for one. Taking a deep breath, he made a decision. At the very least, some of his men might be able to see their families again.
——
With a curious expression, Hawthorne observed the only contact on the radar as it left the boundary of the island. "Resistance with fire" he said. "Let's see the visuals of this ship."
A drone flew towards the now motionless ship, which stopped right in front of the bay entrance. Within minutes, the drone was close enough for visual confirmation. "White flag?" Vaughn asked with a hint of surprise in his voice.
"It certainly looks like that" Hawthorne said, crossing his arms. He then turned towards the drone operator. “Drone has a loudspeaker system, right?”
The operator nodded, "Yes, sir." He hands over the headset, which Hawthorne immediately retrieves.
Adjusting the microphone, he waited for the drone to be within audible distance. “Parpaldian ship observance, your surrender flag has been verified. Please point the rest of your fleet out of the bay and prepare to board.
A few minutes later, the radar signature conglomeration started coming out regularly. Hawthorne let out a sigh of relief, pleased that the battle was resolved by itself in a relatively easy manner. He was also pleased that he did not need to issue more missiles or deploy his planes to take down the Parpaldian fleet.
“So the famous Philades conquerors really gave up..” murmured Hawthorne.
"Master, we were told to steer our fleet out of the entrance while the Parmaldians released their mines" Captain Vaughn said, relaying a message from the boarding team.
"So so. Lieutenant Jameson,” he nodded towards the young officer, gesturing to send out orders to the entire fleet. After seeing the lieutenant grabbing his equipment, he turned to look towards the sea. “Mine, yes?”
"Right, sir," said Vaughn, standing beside him.
“Hmph-deep. I just hope these Parpaldians aren't too desperate. Desperation will make everything fall apart. A messy situation might push us too far. And who knows how hard we'll snap, especially now that no other country is holding us back.”