Duke of Kaest's Territory.
The Duke of Kaest, a woman renowned for her iron hand and wisdom, stood by the window, quietly watching the emergency assembly of troops in the square outside.
There was not a trace of panic on her face; in those deep eyes, there was only cold determination.
The battle report detailing the total collapse of the Eastern Border Defense Line within a single day lay on the long table behind her.
The shocking casualty figures were enough to shatter the courage of any Victorian noble.
"My Lord Duke."
Her butler, an elderly man with gray hair but a back as straight as a ramrod, reported softly:
"The Duke of Wellington has once again refused the 'Wartime Unified Command Act'. He suspects this is a conspiracy by you and the Duke of Gododdin to seize his military power."
"The northern nobles are still arguing endlessly over who should send troops and who should provide money."
"They... can no longer be counted on."
"I never counted on them," the Duke of Kaest said with a steady voice. She turned around, her gaze sweeping over the map on the table.
"A pack of old dogs whose bones have been hollowed out by power and suspicion. They know nothing but how to bark at each other."
"They will drag Victoria into the grave."
"Then we..."
"We will fight this ourselves." The Duke of Kaest walked to the sand table, her finger pressing heavily onto a strategic choke point on the eastern plains—the Midland Corridor.
That was the inevitable path leading to the heartland of Victoria.
"The Leithaniens want to swallow us in one gulp? Then let us see if their teeth are hard enough."
"As the sister of the late King and a Duke of Victoria, how can I sit idly by while our land is lost and our people slaughtered in this time of national crisis?"
"I would rather let the wreckage of the Glory become the final defense line of Victoria's East than retreat a single step."
"Pass my order!" Her voice rose abruptly.
"Assemble all fleets within the Duchy! The flagship Glory and the dreadnought Guardian are to set sail immediately!"
"The combat sequence will be formed by five assault ships and twenty gunships!"
"Order the 3rd, 5th, and 7th Infantry Divisions to board the ships!"
"Target: The Midland Corridor!"
"We will give that arrogant little Emperor of Leithanien a proper lesson right there!"
The butler shuddered. Looking at the Duke's resolute back, he bowed deeply: "As you command."
...
...
With the order given, the entire Duchy began to operate at high speed.
The massive dockyard gates slowly opened, revealing the steel behemoths anchored within.
The flagship Glory, a high-speed battleship two hundred and fifty meters in length, displayed the crystallization of Victorian industrial technology through its colossal hull and towering bridge.
Its main gun caliber was terrifying, and the ducal crest was engraved upon its heavy armor; it looked like a moving mountain of steel.
Flanking it were the dreadnought Guardian, slightly smaller but bristling with turrets, and rows of assault ships and gunships that were smaller in size but equally ferocious in firepower.
Sirens wailed long and loud as Originium engines were ignited, emitting dull roars.
Thick black smoke surged from the towering smokestacks, blotting out the sky.
Thousands of soldiers, clad in fine plate armor and armed with Victorian standard lances and repeating crossbows, formed neat columns and boarded the battleships along the gangways in an orderly fashion.
They were the most elite professional soldiers under the command of the Duke of Kaest. There was no fear on their faces, only the soaring fighting spirit of those about to rush onto the battlefield.
In their eyes, these landships were the symbol of Victoria's power; they were invincible.
The Duke of Kaest, dressed in military uniform, personally boarded the bridge of the Glory.
She stood before the observation window, watching her fleet slowly steam out of the harbor and advance toward the East.
"My Lord Duke."
The "Grey Top Hat" commander, "Butler", had appeared behind her at some point. His expression at this moment was also incredibly grave.
"Are we really going to use the entire family fortune of the Duchy to gamble on this one battle?"
"The Leithaniens' weaponry and equipment... according to intelligence, are not simple."
"I know." The Duke of Kaest did not turn her head.
"I know better than anyone."
"But sometimes, war is fought not just with weapons, armaments, and numbers, but with will."
"Victoria's will is being ground away to nothing amidst the quarrels of those fools."
"If even I choose to retreat, then this country is truly finished."
She paused, a note of self-mockery in her tone: "Besides, I also want to see with my own eyes what kind of monster that little Emperor named Lacey truly is."
"To be able to play Wellington and us old folks like fiddles in the palm of his hand—he is worthy of me using the Glory as his opponent."
The fleet traveled at high speed across the plains, tracks crushing the earth and leaving behind broad furrows.
...
...
Two days later, in the open terrain of the Midland Corridor, they encountered Leithanien's vanguard.
On the lookout tower of the Glory, the observer roared at the top of his lungs: "Enemy spotted!"
"Dead ahead, distance twelve kilometers!"
"It's the Leithanien armored unit! Quantity... quantity is about three hundred vehicles!"
Inside the bridge, the atmosphere instantly became tense.
The Duke of Kaest picked up her tactical binoculars. On the distant horizon, a swarm of dark iron lumps appeared.
Those "Tiger II" tanks looked somewhat insignificant in front of the colossal landships.
"It seems they are very confident, actually using such small toys to confront battleships," an officer sneered.
"Do not underestimate the enemy."
The Duke of Kaest lowered the binoculars and issued orders calmly: "All fleet, assume combat formation!"
"Main guns of all ships, target the enemy armored cluster. Calibrate ballistics. Three rounds rapid fire! Fire!"
The order was given, and the massive fleet began to transform, spreading its two wings.
The next second, dozens of giant cannons roared simultaneously.
Boom—!
Boom—!
Boom—!
The deafening sound of cannon fire merged into a single sheet, and the flames spurting from the muzzles formed a sea of light.
Heavy shells traced high parabolic arcs, smashing toward the distant Leithanien tank formation.
The earth trembled violently. Balls of huge fire and pillars of black smoke rose in the distance.
The power of the explosions was so immense that even at this distance, the windows of the bridge command room were buzzing.
"Hit! Confirmed hit!" the observer reported excitedly.
"Destroyed at least a dozen of their tanks!"
The Victorian soldiers erupted in earth-shaking cheers.
However, Leithanien's counterattack followed immediately.
Although their tank guns had smaller calibers compared to the battleships, their rate of fire was faster, and their trajectory was flatter.
Hundreds of armor-piercing shells instantly whistled as they pounced toward the Victorian fleet.
Boom—!
Most of the shells were deflected by the thick armor of the landships.
But some shells accurately hit areas with weaker armor.
The broadside of a gunship was hit consecutively; the armor was pierced, and a great fire ignited.
The two sides engaged in a fierce artillery duel across the vast distance.
Relying on overwhelming firepower and range, the Victorian fleet held a distinct advantage.
After paying the price of dozens of lost tanks, Leithanien's vanguard began to slowly retreat, disengaging from contact.
"They're retreating!"
"They're retreating!!"
"We beat them back!"
"Long live Victoria!"
"Long live the Duke!"
The joy of victory quickly spread through the fleet.
A young officer excitedly said to the Duke of Kaest: "My Lord Duke, it seems the Leithaniens are nothing special after all!"
"Their so-called tanks are simply unable to withstand a single blow before our fleet's main guns!"
"Looking at it this way, the reason Siracusa and Kazimierz lost is entirely because they were too weak!" another person remarked.
"Can Siracusa even be counted as a country? It's just a tiny place; a random division could probably take it down, right?"
"As for Kazimierz, wasn't that because of Ursus?" someone analyzed.
The Duke of Kaest did not speak. She just quietly watched the dust kicked up by the retreating Leithaniens in the distance, her brows slightly furrowed.
Everything... seemed too smooth.
This victory came a bit too easily, making her feel somewhat uneasy.
She picked up the black tea handed to her by the butler and took a light sip, trying to use the familiar taste to calm the doubts in her heart.
Perhaps, she was really overthinking it?
Perhaps that Lacey was, after all, too young and had underestimated Victoria's true foundations?
Just then, a strange sound came from the distant high altitude.
Woom—
It was not the whistle of shells, nor the roar of engines.
It was an unusually piercing shriek, coming from far to near, getting louder and louder, denser and denser.
On the bridge of the Glory, the observer responsible for detection went pale. He pointed to the sky and screamed in terror:
"Alarm!"
"Directly above! High altitude!"
"There are... there are a large number of flying targets diving toward us at high speed!"
The teacup in the Duke of Kaest's hand crashed to the floor, shattering into powder.
She jerked her head up and, through the skylight atop the bridge, saw a scene she would never forget as long as she lived.
Dozens of "Stuka B-type" dive bombers, dragging long contrails, pierced through the clouds and dove straight toward her fleet.
________________________________________
Get rewarded for helping with our community goals!
🎯 Reward for all: +1 bonus chapter at 50 Powerstones.
🚀 Tier Reward: Help us reach 20 members for +5 chapters on all stories!
👻 Join the crew by searching Ms. Medusa on (P). You know the spot! 😉