The foggy sea at dawn is cold.
However, the sailors of the Dreadnought could not properly feel the cold.
Because a thick tension that made even the cold forgotten pressed down heavily on the crew quarters.
"...So, we're going to face mages now, right?"
'Mages'
Monsters who summon storms with a gesture and blow ships away with a snap of their fingers.
To charge at such monsters without a single magic user.
For ordinary sailors, there was no way they could picture a victory.
"Can we really beat mages with this?"
Of course, the sailors did not underestimate this ship.
The sight of this ship during training was worthy of its name, Dreadnought, a ship that knew no fear.
When they first faced the giant steel monster, the Dreadnought.
When the departing Dreadnought let out a majestic Ship's Horn that resonated in their hearts.
And when it sailed, crushing the rough waves of the South with overwhelming size.
They realized once again that this ship was a monster incomparable to ordinary sailing ships.
It was just... that the presence of the race called 'mages' was too great.
Sailor Hans had once seen a High-Rank Mage's magic demonstration.
When a bearded mage lightly stamped his foot, a sailing ship exploded without any warning.
The exploded sailing ship sank on the spot without leaving a single piece of debris.
Could this steel monster withstand such an attack?
To be honest, Hans was not sure.
Nevertheless, the reason he volunteered for this operation was simple.
"Because Lord Kyle Leopold surely has a plan."
To Hans, and to the sailors who followed him, Kyle Leopold was close to a god.
Ten years of working in a factory every day. What saved their fate, which should have been spent as factory parts for life, was Lord Kyle Leopold's 'Labor Standards Act'.
"Right, we owe him a debt of gratitude."
Beside Hans, a fellow sailor supported him.
His comrade Alex, missing one arm, was originally someone who could not survive in the South.
There were many people to work in the South. A worker who lost an arm to a machine malfunction could simply be thrown onto the street and a new employee hired.
What would happen after that was obvious.
Alex would be unable to work, suffer from aftereffects, and die, and his wife and daughter, who lived on the money he earned, would be sold to a brothel.
What saved his family from such a future was the Labor Standards Act.
Thanks to the Industrial Accident Compensation Law based on the Labor Standards Act, Hans was able to receive enough compensation to live with his family.
"So even if I die, I'll die with him."
"Me too."
"Same here."
They said that and looked at the Dreadnought's naval guns.
The giant naval guns, larger than a house, somehow looked more reassuring.
***
"It's a relief that morale seems high."
The voices of the sailors I heard while coming up to the bridge were much brighter than expected.
It was a relief. Low morale would not help much before a battle.
"Of course, it seems like it will be a one-sided beating."
No matter how great a mage is, they are ultimately human. It is impossible for human eyes to accurately hit a moving ship from 7 kilometers away.
But this side aims at a fixed target, the fortress, using precise mechanical devices.
There are three mages stationed on that side.
This side can use eight naval guns simultaneously.
A mage's magic reuse time averages 3 minutes, but a battleship's main gun reload time averages 30 seconds.
Even thinking simply, it is a fight that cannot be lost.
After all, the Dreadnought itself was the counter to coastal fortresses.
You allowed the Dreadnought to come all the way to the coastal fortress?
Then you get hit, obviously.
Modern warfare is about getting hit if you don't know.
"Starboard lookout reporting! Bearing 0-7-0, Sarsen Fortress sighted at 10 km ahead!"
I heard the lookout and raised my binoculars.
As the fog cleared, the coastline of Sarsen began to appear to the right of the bridge.
A narrow path on a sheer cliff, and a thick fortress firmly blocking its front came into view.
It was certainly a place worthy of being called a natural fortress.
A narrow passage where large-scale troop deployment is impossible. Fortress spires designed for easy concentration of firepower. And the powerful mages waiting there.
In the 'original work', it was a place that would become a breakwater to stop the wave of Red Workers arising in the South, but...
"All hands, battle stations!"
Not in this world.
I had no intention of following the original work.
Watch the South I raised fall because of men blinded by skirts?
That can never happen.
"Engine room, both engines full ahead!"
"Both engines full ahead!"
The Chief Engineer repeats my order and turns the engines. The 20,000-ton steel that had been quietly sailing through the fog awakens.
As the engines begin full operation, the bridge trembles faintly. That tremor, combined with the tension just before battle, created a strange silence.
It was Adjutant Lucilla who broke that silence.
"Lord Kyle, did you not accept the negotiation proposal offered by the County of Sarsen?"
"Yes, I didn't."
Battle is battle, and negotiation is negotiation.
No matter how hostile they were, they are nominally part of the same Empire, so I cannot just smash the fortress and move on.
The negotiation tomorrow was absolutely necessary in the process of reaffirming the Sarsen-Lutetia Agreement.
"Is it okay to attack the day before negotiations?"
So I could understand why Lucilla asked that.
The common diplomatic method in this romance fantasy world is negotiation -> negotiation failure -> war.
But... that is only a method used when both sides' military power is equal.
When our side's military level is superior, we can use a diplomatic method deeply rooted in Earth's history.
"Have you ever heard of gunboat diplomacy?"
"Gunboat... diplomacy, you mean?"
There is a saying that war is an extension of politics.
That means war is also merely a tool of politics.
"And I am simply trying to use that tool."
Everyone knows that Count Sarsen will not demolish that fortress or abolish the toll.
It's obvious we would go through the boring and pedantic process of dialogue -> dialogue failure -> war, right?
So, why not just have the war first?
Naval gun fire -> negotiation -> negotiation success
What a clean and simple method.
"That is not diplomacy, is it?"
"It's fine. Count Sarsen crossed the line first."
From the moment they planted a fortress in front of the passage and extorted money, they have nothing to say.
If the other party had been reasonable, I wouldn't have used such extreme methods.
Watching the Sarsen Fortress draw closer, I asked.
"Gunnery Officer, have you finished calculating the firing data?"
"Almost done! We can fire within 30 seconds!"
Turning my gaze out the window, I saw the giant main gun turret aiming at the fortress.
The giant 305 mm naval gun simply stared quietly at its prey like a beast before a hunt.
Around that time, a response also came from the fortress.
"Magic reaction from the enemy fortress! The mages are weaving a defensive magic circle!"
Perhaps the other side also recognized our presence, as a giant magic circle rose above the fortress.
The blue magic circle woven by three High-Rank Mages instantly covered the fortress like a dome.
The time it took was only 30 seconds.
Just as the officers' expressions hardened at the overwhelming size and casting speed of the magic—
The Gunnery Officer's voice echoed through the tense bridge.
"Firing preparation complete!"
Everyone on the bridge swallowed dryly and looked at the naval guns.
Could our naval guns pierce the sturdy fortress?
Could an ordinary human really defeat a mage?
Such worry was visible in everyone's eyes.
I couldn't harden my expression too in this situation, so I deliberately ordered in a loud voice.
"First shell, fire!"
Kugugugung-!
With a roar as if heaven and earth were collapsing, pitch-black gun smoke billowed up.
The fierce shockwave from the naval gun shattered the waves and tore the water surface to shreds. The ruined water surface caved in and rippled as if collapsing.
At the same time, a violent recoil struck the ship.
"Kuh!?"
Of course, the officers could not be fine either.
Even though they were wearing earplugs, quite a few officers were startled and staggered.
Even in that state, everyone's gaze remained fixed on the fortress.
"Time to impact, 5, 4, 3, 2... 1!"
The first thing seen was light.
Crimson flashes burst out in succession. Flames flashed like lightning, and thick smoke billowed up.
Before that overwhelming violence, the barrier spread by mere mages was meaningless.
"Impact confirmed! First shell, hit!"
Before the lookout's report even finished, the defensive magic circle shattered completely.
The blue dome smoothly disappeared from the top, and the fortress's fresh outer wall was revealed as it was.
As if trying to repair the broken magic circle, strokes of the magic circle appeared in the sky a few times, but...
"Second shell, loaded!"
It was impossible from the start for mere mages to catch up with the reloading of naval guns made of mechanical devices.
"Fire!"
Immediately after, the eight naval guns lined up in a row breathed fire once again.