CHAPTER 517: CHAPTER 470 PAIR BATTLES

On the vast Black Sea, a seemingly unimpressive Level 4 battleship was speeding underwater, led by a massive shadow.

"It’s really on our side, this is simply a divine gift of merit!"

"Thank ’Eternal Flame’!"

In the captain’s cabin of the quasi-legendary battleship "Long-nosed Shark," a group of officers gathered around a large chart table, their eyes fixed on a red flag stuck in it.

This was a prediction flag placed before they left port, and there were two other identical flags for the other two quasi-legendary targets.

With Divination Art sealed and no radar or radio available now, the Navy Tactical Data System became their only choice.

In Admiral Hilus Fisher’s naval tactical reform, the concept of "Situation Map Centered Warfare" was introduced for the first time.

Whenever an enemy fleet set sail, spies at the port would quickly relay gathered intelligence, including enemy scale and objectives, to their own high command for strategic adjustments.

Comprehensively analyzing a whole set of data systems including departure time, supplies, commander styles, ocean currents, wind direction, and speed to determine if a certain ship or fleet is in a specific port or certain sea area.

Using abundant intelligence to predict enemy actions for maritime interception engagements.

However, this kind of prediction totally relying on intelligence rather than Divination Art had a significant element of luck. Even for the most experienced officers, the success rate of such predictions was not very high.

Especially after a major sweep, with their intelligence network severely damaged.

However.

The three sea areas carefully selected by the entire staff room as most likely to contain the Alliance Fleet finally let the "Long-nosed Shark" hit the jackpot.

Just 30 nautical miles ahead, beyond the visual range of lookouts from both sides, a fleet bearing the unified Tulip long pendant had already turned and fled rapidly, and this battleship was accurately pursuing relentlessly.

Furthermore, the distance between them was closing rapidly!

Because once within the hunt range of a quasi-legendary battleship, even a conventional fleet relying solely on natural conditions to navigate, despite having an early warning from a scouting network, couldn’t possibly escape a quasi-legendary pursuit.

Especially under the situation where "Long-nosed Shark" possessed the Magic-like Technique: Side Line Perception.

Effect: A gifted ability originating from fish-type creatures, where the lateral line on both sides of the body can function like radar, detecting water flow direction, sensing water temperature, and perceiving electric currents...

This perception far surpasses human vision, being one of the main reasons causing the front fleet to make misjudgments even after bird warnings were received.

"The opponent clearly has some over-the-horizon detection means, but we should be more grateful to Captain’s ’Long-nosed Silver Shark’ Froome."

The Chief Navigator finally spoke and received unanimous agreement from everyone.

Captain Marz Harry of "Long-nosed Shark" owned a "Large Species Sea Monster: Long-nosed Silver Shark" also known as "Wizard Fish" from the Treasure Sea (a place without the Mother of Sea Monsters, all sea monsters are wild).

With a long snout like a witch’s nose, mastering various innate magic-like techniques, and due to the advantage of the sea monster’s body size, the magic effects are very powerful.

Even though it’s considered a large species, as the "Mage" among fish, it still stands at the top of the sea monster’s contempt chain!

This is also why you can run 39 meters first, but still end up in despair.

Most crucially, there is still no equivalent force to stop them, clearly, the Tulip’s two quasi-legendaries are not here but tangled with the other two quasi-legendaries.

Major General Marz Harry couldn’t help but smile a little, despite having no apparent factional inclinations and not wanting to get involved in the Royal Faction and Church Faction’s conflict, battle merits were something everyone loved.

"Release the Seagulls, summon our fleet, let’s end everything today!"

"As you command, Captain!"

Then beneath the hull, a shadow about sixty meters in length gently swayed its long tail.

The turbulent currents surrounding the combat swirled faster, and the entire ship soared out as if surfing.

Swoosh—

In less than an hour, even without the assistance of "Side Line Perception," the lookouts’ telescopes could vaguely spot the silhouette of that fleet.

Captain Marz Harry led a group of officers onto the open deck, without initiating an attack order, instead instructing the sea monster in the water:

"Froome, slow down, maintain distance!"

Not hasty in pursuit; for "Long-nosed Shark," as long as it stalked the United Fleet, the biggest merit was already earned, making it unnecessary to engage in a life-and-death struggle with the Tulip People.

The quasi-legendary ability of "Long-nosed Shark" came from the sea monster, it had nothing particularly special by itself. Coupled with the hidden Great Knights in the fleet, a direct confrontation could very likely result in this quasi-legendary being counter-overpowered.

As an experienced Navy Captain, Marz’s tactical choice was undeniably correct.

However, this tactical choice irritated someone.

"Damn, you have the nerve to follow, you might as well charge in!"

Aiven, on the Storm Horn 40 kilometers away, also monitoring this scene, was severely displeased with the cautious conduct of "Long-nosed Shark."

Planning to play the role of a mantis stalking the cicada, Aiven had already used Telepathy to coordinate with the fleet’s captains.

Since last year, all Tulip battleships leaving the homeland were already equipped with "Siren’s Song." As long as this sea monster dared approach within two kilometers, the entire fleet’s "Siren’s Song" could directly bring it down.

He could achieve the feat of taking down a quasi-legendary without lifting a finger!

"Roddy, open fire directly."

"Yes, sir."

Olivia, who had been on standby for a long time, decisively pulled the trigger of the electromagnetic cannon.

Bang——

Ring ring ring...

Suddenly, within the Quasi-Legendary Battleship ahead, Marz’s heart was alarmed.

It was the warning from the extremely perceptive "Long-nosed Silver Shark".

The next moment, the combat instincts belonging to a Great Knight also began to strongly warn him, making it nearly impossible to be ambushed after becoming a Tier 3 Great Knight.

Whoosh——

Carrying a gust of wind, he abruptly turned to look behind him. There was nothing on the vast sea, but after a breath, a sharp red light appeared at the end of the sea and sky, silently growing larger like the rising sun.

A fatal sense of crisis pierced his nerves like a steel needle.

He turned pale with fright involuntarily.

"If struck...dead!"

At a critical juncture.

Crash...

A tall, thick, transparent water ring suddenly rose around the entire battleship and then began to spin at high speed.

In the next moment, a hand-long conical projectile enveloped in bright red smoke shot into one side of the water ring, but was nowhere to be seen when it shot out again.

[Magic-like Technique: Bubble Ring]

"Water Elemental Shield?"

Forty kilometers away, Olivia raised her head from the shooting position in surprise.

Finally meeting an opponent worth using the electromagnetic cannon on, she didn’t expect such a weapon, which could almost dominate the era, to be so easily overcome.

Perhaps the projectile had formidable destructiveness from the front, but when the water ring spun at high speed, it imparted a tremendous force from the side in an extremely short time, deviating the projectile from its trajectory.

Just like using four ounces to move a thousand pounds, the direction of deflection and the attack direction were actually perpendicular.

This kind of armor technology, almost like a fantasy on the technological side, was commonplace in the world of witchcraft. At least most Water Element System shields were constructed from such high-speed water currents.

Dreaming of using a piece of advanced technology to dominate the Wizard World was evidently unfeasible.

"As expected, those dubbed Quasi-Legendary are no simple figures..."

After two attempts to set up an attack failed, Aiven, who stood beside Olivia, also realized the impracticality of playing tricks through scheming.

Initially, he thought that even after upgrading, his "Storm Horn" would enter the battle line, allowing him to easily crush the enemy.

Later, after receiving the commander’s order, he understood that the battleship formation, derived from the "line-up firing tactic," was essentially to concentrate the firepower of front-loaded muskets for intensive strikes, compensating for the lack of precision and range.

But the Quasi-Legendary Battleship was essentially already at the level of a modern rifle. It seemed absurd to use line-up firing tactics with soldiers wielding modern rifles.

The bigger the ambition, the more capable one must be, especially when facing the Hilus People, the most powerful country. No matter how strong one’s power, there is always an opposing equivalent level of adversary awaiting.

Just like now, as a frontline combatant with a rank meeting the standard, military intelligence had been revealed to Aiven.

The current situation was three versus three, with the combat parties as follows:

Alliance: "Storm Horn," "Northern Cold Wind," "Five-Mast Peak."

Against Hilus: "Long-nosed Shark," "Red Maple," "Firebird."

Besides the notably Red Maple, which Aiven had come to understand,

Firebird: Its side guns have all undergone a Priest’s [Extraordinary Weapon Blessing], turning normally fired solid shells into Scorching Bullets, extending the effective range to two kilometers.

Completely maxing out attack power, regular battleships almost stand no chance against it.

And the "Long-nosed Shark," already close at hand, aside from being known to have a large species Sea Monster "Long-nosed Silver Shark," details on its held magic types remain unspecified.

So Aiven didn’t know that if it weren’t for them coincidentally activating the [White Shark Patrol], they’d have already been discovered by the "Long-nosed Shark," mistaken as kin by the Long-nosed Silver Shark.

"Too bad I wasn’t given a ’heroes appear at the last moment’ kind of grandstanding chance. Let’s move closer!"

Aiven waved his hand forcefully.

The "Storm Horn" immediately accelerated towards the "Long-nosed Shark," which had abandoned the Alliance Fleet and stood ready to engage.

At this moment.

As the Alliance Fleet re-engaged in maneuver mode, playing hide-and-seek with Hilus’s conventional Invincible Fleet,

this ocean had already become the stage for the Quasi-Legendary Battleships from Tulip Alliance and Hilus, a total of six such battleships engaged in combat.

On the sea route north, connecting with Treasure Sea, the speed-savvy "Red Maple" and "Northern Cold Wind" turned into red and blue ship shadows speeding across the sea surface.

Near the open sea position, the defensive "Five-Mast Peak" and the offensive "Firebird" played out a spear versus shield confrontation.

And far at Hatrafa Port in the New Continent,

the aggressive "Pirate Suppression Team" finally arrived!