Chapter 64: Fog of War (Part 2)

Ravendawn Main Fleet, HMS Luxtor

“Sir, our gunships have entered enemy firing range,” an officer reported.

Captain Rhines nodded calmly.

“Then it’s our turn.”

He turned toward the gunnery crew.

“Prepare covering fire.”

“Aye, sir!”

Across the Ravendawn mechanical ships, steel turrets began to rotate.

Unlike their wooden counterparts, these vessels carried Murican-designed artillery.

Heavy guns.

And currently, every single one of them was pointing toward the ocean between the two fleets.

“READY!”

The gunners locked their targets.

“FIRE!” Rhines commanded.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—

---

Dwargonia Vanguard Flotilla

“Commander! The Ravendawn mechanical ships are firing!” an officer shouted.

“What? They can’t even see us yet.” The commander frowned.

SPLASH!
SPLASH!
SPLASH!

Shell after shell crashed into the ocean between the two fleets.

Not near the Dwargonian ships.

Not even close.

Another Ravendawn salvo roared.

More splashes.

Then another.

And another.

For several seconds, no one spoke.

Then someone noticed it.

“…Sir.” The officer’s voice came out quieter. “Something is happening in the water…”

The commander focused his telescope again.

At every impact point—

Smoke.

At first it drifted lazily upward. Then more shells landed and more smoke erupted. The scattered plumes slowly connected. Merging and spreading.

“…What?” one officer muttered.

Within moments, the ocean between the fleets began filling with a growing wall of dense fog. White smoke rolled across the waves, expanding wider and thicker with every new splash.

“…No.” The commander’s eyes widened. “IT’S A FOG OF WAR!”

The commander slammed his fist on the railing.

“THEY’RE MAKING SMOKE COVER!”

“What!?” an officer shouted. “But we’re not even fighting on land!”

“GUNNERS!” the commander roared. “FIRE BEFORE WE LOSE SIGHT!”

Another Dwargonian volley thundered.

BOOM BOOM BOOM—

No hits.

The fog spread faster now. Thicker and darker.

Until finally—

A towering wall of white smoke stood between the two fleets, swallowing the entire battlefield.

The Ravendawn ships were gone completely.

---

Ravendawn Main Fleet, HMS Luxtor

“Smoke screen complete,” an officer reported.

Captain Rhines watched the massive fog bank rolling across the ocean.

“Good.” He nodded once. “Order maximum speed.”

---

Ravendawn Gunship Squadron

“MAXIMUM SPEED! GO!”

The order echoed across the squadron.

Wind mages raised their staffs and unleashed far more wind than any sane sailor would ever allow near a traditional mast.

Normally, that much magical wind would rip sails apart and snap wooden poles like twigs. But these masts weren’t normal. These were Murican alloy.

The massive 124-gun ships surged forward, pushing past 24 knots.

The lighter 64-gun ships accelerated even harder. 30 knots.

The entire squadron charged straight toward the towering wall of white fog ahead.

Within seconds—

The ships vanished into it.

---

Dwargonia Vanguard Flotilla

“Sir! Scout airship reports they’ve also lost visual! Smoke is too high!”

“DAMN IT!” the commander barked.

The commander then forced himself to calm down.

“Fine!” he growled. “If we cannot shoot them—we ram them!”

Officers straightened.

“All ships prepare to ram any wooden hull we encounter! Full speed ahead! Use mana-radar for positioning!”

“Aye, sir!”

Orders spread across the flotilla.

Engines roared louder as dwarven cruisers and destroyers pushed forward toward the fog bank.

But then—

“Commander…” The mana-radar officer’s voice trembled. “Our madar… stopped working.”

“…What?” He turned slowly. “What did you say?”

The dwarf marched across the bridge in heavy steps.

“What do you MEAN it’s not working!?”

The officer pointed helplessly at the display. The screen was empty. Completely blank.

“The signal disappeared, sir. It was working perfectly a moment ago…”

---

Ravendawn Gunship Squadron

Near the rear of the formation, one of the 64-gun ships looked slightly different.

Mounted above its deck sat a large parabolic antenna.

Inside the ship, several mages worked around humming machines and glowing crystal arrays—an experimental Ravendawn-Murican hybrid system.

Scrolls, cables, crystals, and metal panels covered every available surface.

The magical engineers were sweating.

A lead mage leaned back from the device with a long sigh.

“Finally…” She wiped her forehead. “Finding their mana-communication wavelength was a nightmare…”

Another mage rubbed his sore fingers.

“The Murican normal radar jammer doesn’t seem to have this kind of trouble.”

“It’s a prototype,” she replied flatly, adjusting a crystal socket. “Be grateful it works at all.”

The machine hummed louder as runes flickered across the control plate.

She glanced at a second crystal connected to the apparatus.

“Send all collected data back to base every two minutes.”

The assistant nodded quickly.

“If something happens to us—our data must survive.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

---

Murica First Fleet

“KYAAAAA!!! THAT’S SO COOL!!”

Admiral Rusalka sprinted across the bridge.

“RIGHT!? RIGHT, CETUS!? THIS IS AMAZING!”

Captain Cetus remained exactly where he was, hands behind his back, watching the monitors with a small, satisfied smile.

“I must admit,” he said calmly, “I did not expect him to deploy the smoke screen this early for such a maneuver. Very amusing indeed.”

On the screen, the satellite feed showed the fog wall swallowing the battlefield while Ravendawn ships disappeared inside it one by one.

Cetus chuckled quietly.

“I remember Admiral Lorenzo was very excited when I showed him old photographs of our aerial smoke-screen maneuvers.”

Rusalka leaned over the screen like a fan watching a sports replay.

“He asked many questions,” Cetus continued. “Quite enthusiastically, I might add. Like a child discovering a new toy.”

Another Ravendawn ship vanished into the fog.

“And now,” Cetus finished, “he is using the concept rather skillfully.”

Rusalka suddenly spun around and grabbed his shoulders.

“WHY HAVE I NEVER MET THIS MAN!?”

Cetus blinked.

“…Pardon?”

“THIS IS MY KIND OF ADMIRAL!” she shouted. “LOOK AT HIM! SMOKE! SPEED! CONFUSION! THIS IS ART!”

Cetus coughed politely.

“With all due respect, ma’am… You never attend alliance officer gatherings,” Cetus said evenly. “You always say it’s full of old men.’”

“…Ah.”

---

Dwargonia Main Fleet

Far behind the vanguard flotilla, the super-dreadnought Wavecrusher carved through the sea like a floating mountain of iron.

From the command deck, Admiral Durnick Axebreaker watched the distant ocean through a long brass telescope.

On the horizon—

A massive wall of white smoke continued to expand across the water.

“Admiral,” the ship captain reported. “We suddenly lost all communication with the vanguard. Technicians are checking for malfunctions.”

Durnick lowered the telescope slowly.

“In battle,” he said sternly, “one must assume every malfunction is caused by the enemy.”

The captain hesitated.

“Do you believe… the Ravendawn possess the ability to disable our mana-communication?” He glanced at the silent communication crystal. “Even the Silverfist and Bluespire clans are still researching that kind of technology.”

The admiral’s gaze remained fixed on the fog.

“…It is either Ravendawn,” he said quietly. “Or Murica.”

The final silhouette of the vanguard fleet disappeared into the white void.

Durnick’s eyes hardened.

---

Ravendawn Main Fleet

“Sir,” a communications officer reported, “both our sail ships and the Dwargonia vanguard have entered the fog zone.”

Captain Rhines nodded.

“Good. The plan proceeds.”

Around them, the Ravendawn mechanical fleet maintained formation behind the smoke wall, their steel hulls steady on the water.

Admiral Lorenzo stood at the center of the bridge, hands folded behind his back. He stared into the fog-covered horizon without blinking.

“Your battle plan has been flawless so far, Admiral,” Rhines said respectfully.

Lorenzo did not respond immediately as his gaze remained locked on the fog bank.

“Now,” he said quietly, “we will see if their training holds on a real battlefield.”

Beyond the smoke-choked horizon—

The Ravendawn gunships moved like ghosts through the fog.

Hunting dwarven giants made of steel.