Aquiten is the gateway into Forbin, the capital of the West.
The river that cuts through the heart of Forbin meets the sea in the Aquiten region. In other words, if Aquiten is breached, a straight road to the capital of the West opens.
It is the capital's leash and lifeline. The moment this place is blocked, Forbin, the capital of the West, will suffocate and die.
Therefore, the Aquiten Fortress is more solid and sturdy than any other fortress in the West.
The triple walls built toward the sea average 10 meters thick.
It was an immense thickness that would not even be scratched by primitive siege weapons like catapults, let alone gunpowder weapons like cannons.
On top of that, there were five 7th-Rank Mages stationed there. Two 8th-Rank Mages.
Even if it were besieged, there was no problem.
The Wyvern Knight Order stationed inside the fortress could freely move in and out even while besieged, throwing the enemy into confusion.
Thus, Aquiten Fortress is often evaluated as one of the Empire's strongest fortresses.
So Louis Armand, Lord of Aquiten, saw this situation as a crisis he could endure.
It was because he had not yet properly recognized the existence of the fleet.
He had roughly heard how remarkable their 'cannon' weapon was, but if they fought on the plains, he was confident in his side as well.
After all, he believed the firepower of the mages could inflict enough damage on the enemy artillery.
"Unleash the Scorched Earth Tactic! Sweep away every civilian house outside the fortress and burn all the crops! Make it so they cannot obtain any supplies outside the fortress!"
Hold out until reinforcements come from the Imperial Center.
And, in the meantime, ensure the enemy cannot obtain any supplies.
Because the Southern Army advanced at such a rapid pace, the 'Scorched Earth Tactic' was also carried out hastily, and acts close to plunder were committed against the people outside the fortress... but that was not something he cared about.
After all, the survival of the West was far more important than the lives of commoners.
That the public sentiment of the West was shattered in the process was a bonus.
Anyway, Aquiten succeeded in preparing for a long war. By stripping the people, they gathered enough resources to last at least 1 year.
[ You, Louis, must know better than anyone how important Forbin is. Risk your life and defend it. Reinforcements from the center will arrive within a few weeks. ]
Louis, Lord of Aquiten, replied thus to the letter from Forbin.
[ I, Louis Armand, am in Aquiten. Not a single enemy will pass through this place. ]
That time was the day the Aquiten siege began, during the day.
It was around when the Dreadnought entered a distance of 50km from Aquiten.
***
A battleship's naval guns are not very precise things.
To put it more clearly, they are not weapons that can destroy only the exact point you want.
The purpose of a battleship is scorched earth.
Its overwhelming firepower was meant to obliterate the surroundings along with the target.
Until now, that had not been a problem.
After all, Sarsen Fortress was a military fortress with almost no civilians stationed there.
Sarsen Fortress was a thoroughly military installation. Since it was built to block roads and extort tolls, there was no problem with smashing it to pieces.
The battle at Arcal Plain was the same.
The Canyon had been collapsed to separate the Conscripts from the elite troops.
It did not matter if the area where the elite troops had gathered was bombarded.
But... Aquiten was different.
It was a port city right in front of Forbin, the capital of the West. If compared to a city in my past life, it had a relationship with Forbin similar to that between Seoul and Incheon. The only difference was that Aquiten's share and importance in the West were far greater than Incheon's.
Naturally, Aquiten had an enormous population. Even in this era between the Middle Ages and early modern times, its population reached 30,000.
They could not simply bombard such a large city with naval guns.
After all, our goal was to annex the West.
If, as with Sarsen Fortress, the entire center of Aquiten were blown away and all 30,000 residents were annihilated, public sentiment would be ruined as well.
Dreadnought actually had enough firepower to destroy the entire Aquiten Fortress, along with the Magic Tower, if it fired carelessly. That made the crew even more cautious.
And to destroy only the Magic Tower where the mages were stationed...
"So we have to close in on the enemy and fire direct shots."
From the reports received through the Crystal Orb, I could sense the hesitation among the crew on the bridge.
Thinking about it, their concerns were understandable. After all, Dreadnought had yet to win a 'head-on' fight against mages.
It was only natural for them to feel uneasy when facing mages.
Of course, for me, who knew the combat record of Dreadnought-class battleships in the world war, it was not much of a concern.
"There is no need to worry."
Was I worried about losing a fight against mages?
Not particularly.
Why was a battleship called a battleship rather than a gunboat or an ironclad warship?
Because a battleship was neither a vessel equipped only with cannons nor one equipped only with armor plates.
It was a vessel built solely for combat, equipped with giant naval guns and thick armor.
Standing at the very front of the naval fleet and engaging enemy battleships in close-range exchanges of fire was the very reason for the Dreadnought-class battleship's existence.
Therefore, a battleship was fundamentally designed to counter defenses. In other words, it could withstand fire from its own type of naval guns.
This meant that even the 305mm Naval Gun, which tore apart fortresses and melted knights, could not pierce a battleship's armor.
Furthermore, according to the interrogation of captured Western Army officers, the enemy fortress had only four 7th-Rank Mages and two 8th-Rank Mages in total.
Moreover, coastal mages had only ever dealt with ships that had weak durability, so they had focused their magic on area attacks with poor penetration.
In terms of shells, their magic was equivalent to high-explosive shells rather than armor-piercing shells.
If compared to a game, it was a low-damage area attack.
Magic of that level?
Even basic armor could withstand it.
"So make sure to teach the enemy clearly why this ship is called Dreadnought."
Dreadnought.
Literally, it means fearing nothing.
It was time to make it clear why this ship feared nothing.
***
May 18. 5:03 PM.
In front of Aquiten, the bridge of Dreadnought, which had been stationary in the open sea, began to bustle with activity.
Officers hurried to their positions, and sailors who had been resting moved to their assigned stations. As the giant Magic engine pulsed, the ship trembled faintly.
It looked as though a giant creature were awakening from a deep sleep.
The captain of Dreadnought, who had been watching the scene from the combat bridge, looked around and gave an order.
"Everyone, did you hear His Grace's words clearly!"
Had anyone else said it, they might have had reason to doubt it.
But these were the words of Duke Kyle, who had designed this ship himself. That made all the difference. After all, not a single thing he had said had been wrong.
"From now on, we are going to beat those mages right in front of their eyes!"
Everyone on the bridge swallowed nervously.
Until now, the South had fought many different enemies directly, from powerless Infantry to knights and even Wyverns, the aerial cavalry.
But fighting mages, the ship's natural enemy, in a close-range exchange of fire was an entirely different matter.
It meant willingly giving up the range advantage the Southern Army had enjoyed until now.
However, no one objected.
After all, everyone knew the power of this ship.
"All hands, battle stations!"
The siren announcing battle stations rang out, and the giant ship's propellers began to spin fiercely.
"Both sides, full speed!"
Leaving the Destroyers waiting in the distance behind, Dreadnought moved its massive hull toward the fortress.
Naturally, the Scouts of Aquiten Fortress observed its approach.
An ash-gray citadel advanced across the crimson sea.
The fortress Scouts, who recognized its identity from 10km away, immediately raised the alarm.
The monster that had smashed Sarsen Fortress in a single blow was approaching their fortress.
By the time the mages hurriedly climbed to the offensive Magic Tower, the battleship had already approached within 8km of Aquiten Fortress.
However, they could not launch an attack recklessly.
Magic weakened the farther it traveled from the mage. Therefore, in warfare, a mage's effective range was at most 1–2km.
When accuracy was taken into account, the effective range could shrink even further.
That was why mages had desperately obstructed the development of guns and cannons until now.
"Battle stations! Deploy shield magic!"
Even as the mages hurriedly deployed their shields, the battleship continued to draw closer.
The giant steel fortress approaching at a speed of 40 km/h exerted indescribable pressure on the mages.
After all, everyone had at least heard about the power of those monstrous naval guns.
Thus, as soon as the battleship entered their range, the mages launched the strongest attacks they could muster.
1km distance.
The fortress and battleship were now extremely close to each other.
Elvin, a 7th-Rank Mage, gathered all his strength and unleashed his magic.
[Explosion]
Kugugugung-!
The fireball struck the battleship's frontal armor, causing a massive explosion that engulfed the vessel. Pitch-black smoke billowed high into the air.
The sea surface shook from the enormous shockwave, and a tremendous roar erupted.
It was proof that the magic had landed perfectly.
"Ha, as expected, no matter how those bastards struggle..."
Only then did Elvin let out a sigh and prepare his next spell.
It was an attack unleashed with the full power of a 7th-Rank Mage. It should have been enough to split even the largest ship in half.
"As expected, those guys still are no match for mages."
As his tension eased, a laugh escaped him.
But just as Elvin relaxed and aimed his staff at the place where the smoke was billowing...
"Huh?"
He saw something he should never have seen.
Dreadnought's enormous hull.
A vessel was silently sailing across the sea, surrounded by the lingering smoke of the magical explosion.
Seeing it, Elvin could not help but doubt his own eyes.
"W-what... no damage?"
It was the moment the common sense he had relied on until then was shattered.
It was also the last sight he ever saw.
Before anyone realized it, the distance between the fortress and the battleship had shrunk to 750m.
Dreadnought's 305mm Naval Guns, now right before their eyes, unleashed a fierce barrage of fire.
Two naval gun shells fired directly at the target literally split one Magic Tower in half before flying into the sky.
It was the beginning of a one-sided bombardment.