aircannonsinc Chapter 1085 The First Fleet
Chapter 1085 The First Fleet
Sunset Sea Trial
More than a year has passed since the World Hall conference that changed the world order.
The World Alliance has been established for over a year.
Over the past year, every corner of the world of Aigella has undergone tremendous changes.
On the Icefield Defense Line, the "Anchor-I" device has undergone seventeen iterations of testing, evolving from its initial range of 100 meters to its current ability to stably attract void creatures for tens of kilometers.
On the continent of Anvien, three giant shipyards are being transformed day and night, converting civilian shipbuilding lines into military warship production lines.
Under the divine power of Kana, the protected territory of the city surrounding the tower on the continent of Lebia gradually extended to the east and west sides of the continent.
Today, what is about to take place on the sea of sunset is an experiment that will be recorded in the history of the World Alliance.
The sea at sunset.
The vast sea west of the Leviathan continent, a hazy area near the world's edge.
From an astrological perspective, this is the westernmost point of the entire world of Aegir—sailing hundreds of nautical miles further west, the seawater gradually becomes transparent, eventually merging into that chaotic edge where even light cannot define it.
The Night's Watch's exploration ship had approached that area, and when the crew returned, they only said one thing: "There's nothing there. Even the concept of 'nothing' itself is slowly disappearing."
But at this moment, in this sea area where "existence" is still defined, sixteen giant alchemical warships are cutting through the waves.
This is the first batch of standardized fleets designed under the leadership of the Night Watchers and jointly built by multiple countries after the establishment of the World Alliance.
Viewed from above, the sixteen warships are arranged in a standard "hedgehog formation"—
In the center are five main warships.
The four "Sinful Skyfire-class" battleships were cast from a dark black Tier 3 star-patterned alloy.
The decks are densely packed with six-unit alchemical energy turrets and interception arrays, each ship displacing over 80,000 tons, resembling mobile steel fortresses.
At the very center is the flagship of the "All-Around Eye" class battleship, with a crystal observation sphere twelve meters in diameter atop the bridge. Spatial perception runes, personally inscribed by Pope, operate day and night, capable of scanning any fluctuations within a radius of three hundred nautical miles.
To the left and right, there is a silver-white "Wall of Light" class frigate. The defensive runes on the surface of the ship reflect a faint rainbow light in the sunlight. They are responsible for providing multiple layers of energy shields for the entire fleet.
Further outwards, six slender Striker-class cruisers spread out in an arc, emphasizing a balanced design of speed and firepower, allowing them to form the first mobile firepower network on the periphery of the fleet.
At the four corners of the fleet, four agile Ranger-class destroyers stood like sentinels on patrol.
Their mission is to detect targets before threats get close and tear apart enemy advance units with dense short-range alchemical weapons and rapid-fire alchemical cannons.
Three flags flew atop the mast of each warship.
At the top is the World Alliance's hexagonal core flag—six crystal patterns encircling the continental map; below that is the Night's Watch's flag; and at the bottom is the United Naval Forces' blue sword and shield banner.
The flags fluttered in the sea breeze, creating a rhythm like war drums.
flagship bridge
The interior of the bridge of the Omnisight-class ship is much more spacious than it appears from the outside—this is the result of the application of the Space Expansion Rune, which creates more usable space within a limited volume.
On the holographic projection platform in the center of the bridge, a three-dimensional map of the current sea area of Sunset Sea is slowly rotating.
More than two hundred markers are distributed on the map.
Our own ships are marked with blue dots, the pre-set test target area is a red box, and there are dozens of green arrows representing the current ocean currents and wind direction.
"Reporting to the commander, the fleet has arrived at the designated coordinates. All warships are in position, and the formation is 98% complete."
A female officer in a blue-grey Night's Watch uniform reported.
The Ring of Order badge on her chest gleamed slightly under the light, and the three silver stars on her epaulets indicated her rank—Colonel, named Eileen Tide Song, an elf who had participated in several operations.
The commander is a middle-aged human male named Edmund Iron Anchor, a senior commander of the Night's Watch naval forces and a master of Night's Watch tactics.
His short, gray hair was neatly trimmed, and the wrinkles on his face bore witness to a lifetime of storms at sea, but his deep blue eyes remained sharp as ever.
"Tell them to tighten their formation a bit more."
Edmund said in a deep voice, his gaze fixed on a gap in the outer ring of the hedgehog formation in the projection, "The gap between Raider III and Raider IV. In actual combat, the Void Creatures will not give us a 'basically completed' rating."
"Yes." Eileen immediately issued the order through the fleet communication channel.
A moment later, the array on the holographic projection was fine-tuned, achieving a perfect 100% fit.
“Commander,” Eileen turned to Edmund, her voice tinged with barely concealed excitement, “shall we begin the trial process?”
Edmund did not answer immediately.
He walked to the porthole on the bridge and looked out at the endless deep purple sea.
The name "Sea of Sunset" comes from a unique natural phenomenon here—due to its proximity to the edge of the world, the seawater refracts the light of the stars, giving it a color like melting amethyst at certain angles.
"Let's begin." He turned and ordered, "Notify all warships to initiate the first round of formation drills—'Anvil' mode."
"Yes!"
Anvil Mode: Defense and Counterattack
With the order given, the sixteen warships began to move at sea.
This is not a simple formation sailing, but a complex tactical change that has been simulated and rehearsed thousands of times.
The five main warships in the center first reduced their speed, and the four Sinister Fire-class ships formed a tight diamond-shaped defensive formation around the flagship.
Viewed from directly above, this rhombus, together with the larger rhombus formed by the four Ranger destroyers at the corners, creates a perfect concentric geometric structure.
Immediately afterwards, the energy generators of the two Radiant Wall-class corvettes on the left and right began to operate.
On the silver-white surface of the ship, dense defensive runes lit up one by one, and a layer of light blue semi-transparent shield expanded outward from the surface of the ship like ripples, completely enveloping the five core warships within seconds.
"Shield stability is 100%," a technical officer reported. "Energy consumption rate is within expectations."
Edmund nodded slightly.
The shield system of the Radiant Wall class has undergone three rounds of upgrades. Its core is the spatial stabilization rune technology provided by the god of the Popo. This shield can not only resist physical and energy attacks, but also resist spatial tearing to a certain extent. It is a defense measure specifically designed for void rifts.
"Cruiser group, advance to second attack position," Edmund continued, issuing the order.
Six Striker-class cruisers accelerated forward from both flanks of the fleet, forming a larger arc around the core shield.
They were not completely disconnected from the core fleet, but maintained a precise distance—if the core fleet was besieged, the cruisers could quickly retreat and provide concentrated fire support.
If fighter jets appear on the periphery, they can move in immediately.
Four Ranger destroyers crisscrossed the outermost layer; they were the fastest of the small boats, like four agile fish, constantly changing positions to make it difficult for the hypothetical enemy to track their movements.
"Anvil mode is 100% complete," Eileen reported, a hint of satisfaction flashing in her eyes. "The fleet's coordination has improved even further compared to three months ago."
“This is just a warm-up,” Edmund said calmly. “Activate the second option—'Furnace' mode.”
Furnace Mode: Coordinated Firepower. If Anvil Mode is a defensive stance, then Furnace Mode is a tactical configuration for all-out offense.
Upon receiving the order, the turrets of the four Sinister Skyfire-class battleships began to rotate. The eight triple-gun turrets—two on each ship—slowly pointed towards the pre-set target area, the massive gun barrels adjusting their angles under the drive of the hydraulic system, emitting a dull metallic scraping sound.
"Target area: 15 nautical miles due west. The designated target has been deployed," Eileen reported.
The so-called target is actually a deserted island.
The Night Watchers had deployed multiple layers of simulated void rift defenses on the island in advance—shields generated by void energy simulators, up to five meters thick, with a hardness equivalent to level six star-patterned alloy armor.
This is the most powerful non-living test target the World Alliance has ever been able to find.
"Charge the main guns," Edmund ordered.
The hulls of the four battleships emitted a low hum—the vibration of massive amounts of alchemical energy compressed to their limits within the main gun barrels.
The barrels of each main gun began to glow with a dark red light, gradually increasing until they became as dazzling as lava.
"Charging complete. Ready to launch at any time."
Edmund raised his right hand, paused for a few seconds, and then swung it down sharply: "Fire."
First volley.
Four battleships, eight main gun turrets, and twenty-four alchemical energy cannons fired simultaneously.
At that moment, it was as if an artificial sun had risen on the sea.
Twenty-four energy beams, each nearly a meter in diameter, ripped through the sea surface, ionizing the air with intense heat and producing a piercing shriek.
Wherever the energy beam passed, a white steam trench was carved into the sea surface, the seawater boiled and evaporated, and thick fog rolled to both sides.
The energy beam traveled for less than ten seconds over a distance of fifteen nautical miles.
boom--!!!
The deserted island in the distance was hit directly.
The roar of the first salvo had diminished somewhat by the time it reached the fleet across the sea, but the shockwave from the energy release itself still caused the sea surface to ripple slightly.
"Hit rate: 100%." An observation officer reported, his voice filled with barely suppressed astonishment, "The central area of the target island has been completely bombarded. The defensive barrier... has melted away."
On the holographic projection, the real-time scan image of the target showed a huge depression with a diameter of more than 300 meters in the center of the island—not a crater formed by an explosion, but a smooth gap left after the matter was directly evaporated by the energy beam.
The five layers of simulated void barriers deployed on the island vanished like snow under the scorching sun.
After a brief silence on the bridge, a suppressed cheer erupted.
Edmund nodded slightly.
The main cannon of the Sinister Skyfire class exceeded its design parameters by 12 percent.
This is thanks to the further optimization of the energy conduction runes by the designers.
“But that’s not the main point.” He turned to Eileen. “Initiate the third step—the scanning and tracking test of the All-Area Eye.”
Global Vision: Spatial Perception
If the Sinister Skyfire-class is the fleet's iron fist, then the All-Seeing Eye-class is the fleet's eyes and brain.
At this moment, the crystal observation sphere atop the flagship's bridge began to spin rapidly.
Inside the massive crystal, twelve meters in diameter, tens of thousands of tiny runes lit up simultaneously, emitting a cool and soft light.
The light was not dazzling, yet it seemed to penetrate all obstacles and reveal the deepest structure of the world.
"Global Vision activated, scanning the surrounding sea area." The technical officer's voice became focused. "Spatial fluctuation scanning has commenced, depth:..."
“Continue,” Edmund said.
The images on the holographic projection changed rapidly.
The physical images of the sea, islands, and warships gradually faded away, replaced by a densely packed spatial structure diagram—green lines representing stable spatial structures, yellow areas representing minor disturbances, and red indicating anomalies.
"Target detected - slight spatial disturbances at a distance of 270 nautical miles from the flagship."
"Identified as... a natural fluctuation, not from the void, threat level: zero," the technical officer reported, then continued, "Set up a hypothetical target simulating a void rift, generated by the fleet's internal virtual generator."
The core function of the Global Vision is not only to scan the real environment, but also to track and lock onto simulated false alarms—a key feature of fleet training.
A moment later, a deep purple dot appeared on the holographic projection. It was set to simulate the signal characteristics of a void rift and was moving rapidly.
"Target generated, tracking in progress."
The crystal observation sphere rotates, and the deep purple light spot is locked onto the holographic projection by a bright white scanning line. No matter how it changes direction, accelerates or decelerates, it can never shake off the tracking.
"Tracking lock-on rate: 100%. Synchronization data has been transmitted to the tactical terminals of all warships."
Edmund looked at another data screen, which displayed the latency of the Global Eye's information processing—from capturing the target signal to completing the lock and transmitting it to the other fifteen warships, the total time took no more than 0.3 seconds.
"Let's see how they coordinate in actual combat."
He ordered, "Using the target data locked by the Global Vision as a benchmark, the cruiser group will conduct simulated attack drills. The striker formation will conduct fire correction based on the coordinates transmitted by the Global Vision."
The six Striker-class cruisers adjusted their turrets based on real-time tracking data, maintaining a locked-on aim even when the simulated target was moving at high speed.
The four Ranger destroyers adjusted their course based on the data and deployed virtual minefields along the possible interception routes of the simulated targets.
"Simulated attack: All Striker-class cruisers have locked on, with an expected hit rate of 97.8%. Ranger destroyers' interception formation is 100% complete."
A barely perceptible smile appeared on Edmund's lips.
This tactical system, characterized by "overall vision, shared data, and coordinated strikes," is the core achievement of the Night Watchers over the past year.
Under the command of the All-Area Eye, the sixteen warships are no longer independent firepower units, but a precisely operating war machine.
A target detected by any one warship is equivalent to a target detected by the entire fleet.
"Shut down the simulated target," he ordered. "Prepare for the fourth test—Shield Coordination Defense."
"Yes."
Afterglow at sea
As the sun began to sink below the horizon, and the waters of the Sunset Sea reflected the last dazzling purple-gold rays, the fleet completed all its scheduled test subjects for the day.
The fourth test in the afternoon—Shield Coordination Defense—was also successfully completed.
The two Radiant Wall-class corvettes successfully created a layered shield around the fleet, covering an area from the core fleet to the outer cruiser group, and even including high-speed destroyers in part of the protected radiation zone.
If this technology were deployed in actual combat, it would mean that fleets facing large-scale void energy impacts would be able to significantly increase their survivability through collective defense. (End of Chapter)