Chapter 497 Art

The fog was so thick that you couldn't see your hand in front of you.

Even a low-ranking non-commissioned officer who had just started his extraordinary career could only see the situation on his own ship in such a climate.

The waves around the warship were getting bigger and bigger. Looking around, he couldn't see the rest of the friendly forces around him.

It was as if there was only one ship left in the world, sailing in this endless fog.

With both hands on the calibration mirror of the magic crystal cannon, even though he had been in battle for a long time, Duliotis still felt an unspeakable fear.

More than 20 years ago, he was just a soldier.

At noon in the middle of the sun, he had also participated in a naval battle with the Kingdom of Pylos and witnessed similar fog.

However, at that time, they had the help of the great wizard Hermes.

Although the vision was still blurry, they could always roughly see the shadows of friendly forces and enemies approaching.

But now it was different. Duliotis knew that they were in an unfamiliar sea area, near the enemy's capital.

And this time, they no longer had the powerful king who could kill the incarnation of the gods.

Whoosh--

Whoosh--

...

In the distance, the sound of arrows breaking through the air could be heard faintly, that was the enemy trying to find their position.

After all, although they had the blood of the sea god, it did not mean that the enemy was completely unaffected by the fog.

In the final analysis, this was not a fog released by a single person, so naturally no one could be immune to it by their own strength... But listening to the sound of arrows breaking through the air, Duliotis became more and more frightened.

Not only him, but also his deputy.

If the two armies were fighting head-on, they would all be fearless warriors.

But now they were trapped in the fog and had no power to fight back, and the real fear often came from the unknown.

They didn't know where the enemy was, when the danger would come, and what they could do to save the defeat.

At this moment, Duliotis couldn't help but curse this meaningless march in his heart again.

It was so stupid to fight a naval battle in the territorial waters of the descendants of the sea god!

"Duliotis, main gunner Duliotis!"

"The alchemical communicator has received the latest combat order, please execute it immediately!"

The depressing atmosphere became more and more intense as time went by, but at this moment, a messenger suddenly came trotting in the fog.

Although the Athenian fleet was equipped with an alchemical communicator, which could transmit messages within a certain range through the frequency and amplitude of the magic net string, this high-end creation was obviously only implemented at the "ship" level.

Specific to internal transmission and operation, it still needs to be conveyed by the messenger.

Especially in this fog that contains extraordinary power, it is especially so.

"Order, what order?"

The sudden order broke the silence, and Duliotis was a little confused.

According to common sense, even if there is an order from the commander, it is at most to instruct how their warship should move, or which enemy ship to focus fire on.

As for how to attack, I think it is all their free play.

From ancient times to the present, no army general would refine the command to a three-person combat team.

By analogy, naturally, no one has ever heard of any naval commander conveying orders to a gunner.

But no matter what, Duliotis still took over the wartime order urgently copied by the stenographer.

[To: Gunners of battleships No. 157-3, 157-5, 159-2, and 218-6]

[Within seven standard reloading times after the order is issued, deflect the muzzle to the east -12.15°, west 7.02°, 3.61°, 18.00°, and fire uniformly, three rounds of rapid fire]

[After execution, reload and wait for further instructions, end]

"..."

Silently, Duliotis stood there, not knowing what he was reading.

The above parameters are said to be the standards brought back by the great wizard Hermes after studying in Silver Moon City.

Later, in order to better use these imported magic crystal cannons, the gunners also urgently learned relevant knowledge.

Therefore, Duliotis naturally knew what this was talking about, but the problem was that this was clearly the design parameter that they adjusted based on experience after using the alchemical mirror to measure the distance between the two sides.

The real shooting parameters are much more complicated than this, but the instructions only require adjustments to the current muzzle direction, which is simple...

His thoughts stopped here, and Duliotis felt that he really couldn't make it up.

It's funny, even when shooting at fixed targets during normal training, considering the wind direction, sea conditions, and the degree of ups and downs of your own and enemy ships, you can't guarantee the accurate position.

What is going on now, setting off fireworks?

"Ahem, Gunner Duliotis, three standard reload times have passed since you received the order. Do you think you should start working?"

With two low coughs, the messenger could probably guess what the gunner in front of him was thinking, but he still reminded him:

"No matter what, remember to execute the order."

"In fact, the captain also received an order..."

The content is to deviate 1.5° to the left and reduce the speed to 70% of the peak value.

The messenger didn't know how the captain thought of this order, but in the end he obviously chose to execute it.

"...Okay, I understand."

With a grim expression, Duliotis felt that his death was really coming.

However, as a member of Athens, he believed that if he died for the royal family, he would definitely be reborn in the goddess' kingdom after death.

It was just that this way of dying was a little ridiculous.

"Brother, if you can go back alive, remember to build a monument for me and write a line on it."

"Fuck him!"

Duliotis couldn't help but swear, and turned around to adjust his magic crystal cannon.

Forget it, since I can't see anyone anyway, it doesn't matter where I shoot.

If I'm lucky enough to hit it, and I get to the goddess' kingdom, then he will have something to brag about.

······

"...Finally, to the eighth gunner of this ship."

"Move the gun position 50 cubits to the left, raise the elevation angle by 0.81°, and fire three rounds in a row."

"At this point, the fleet has formed 17 local combat positions, with the primary goal of encircling and annihilating the enemy's main force to complete the combat plan."

"I will follow up and make arrangements for the specific implementation of the strategy."

"General, do you have any other questions?"

A clever [Phantom Sound Technique] was conveyed in real time by dozens of communicator users at the same time.

Ryan was still a little unsatisfied until he finished talking about the next arrangement.

This scene reminded him of some strategic games in later generations.

It's just that the one in front of him was played by real people.

"...No more."

"But Lord Ivan...Have you received some gift from the goddess to see through the fog of the battlefield?"

As soon as he asked the question, Kemon regretted it, because he knew that his question was a bit stupid.

Even if this airborne commander really had such a treasure, he couldn't explain the arrangements he made.

After all, no one can accurately predict where each enemy ship will be at a certain minute and second, let alone the position of one's own side.

The ocean is not land. Here, a small wave may cause the attack that should have hit to pass by and return in vain.

But it doesn't seem to make sense to say that the person in front of him just wants to make a joke with the life and death of the entire navy.

"It doesn't matter, General."

"Soon, you will see the result."

"Oh, by the way, the task of the gunner on this ship is quite critical, because the target of his attack is a future king."

"Whether it can be killed or not, as long as someone is hit, it is a great achievement."

Calculating the time, it has been a while since the first order was issued and executed. Ryan raised his hand and made a telescopic gesture.

However, there was a thick fog in front of him, and Kemon also took a look, but he saw nothing.

Silently calculating the time, it seemed that it was almost time for the attack to start.

Some light gradually appeared in the surrounding fog sea, and various colors came out.

Kemon knew what it was. This was the scene of the magic crystal cannon charging.

This special weapon essentially fired the elemental energy extracted from the magic net in the simplest and crudest way. The advantage is that it does not require wizards to control it, but it has a lot of disadvantages.

For example, the charging time is too long, and the energy utilization efficiency is extremely low. Now the dispersion of this light is the manifestation of a large amount of elemental energy leakage.

Another example is that it cannot be fired continuously, otherwise a large amount of high-concentration elemental energy may be ignited by the activated magic crystal cannon, evolving into a local instantaneous elemental tide, directly destroying everything on the warship.

There are many similar problems, which is why this weapon is called a defective product.

But no matter what, in today's naval warfare era where defense capabilities are almost zero and hits kill, this is an epoch-making weapon.

And according to legend, on the tower of the great wizard Hermes, the thing that can destroy the incarnation of the gods can actually be regarded as an extremely special magic crystal cannon in essence, but it cannot be mass-produced at all, and it must be assisted by such a powerful wizard to use it.

However, Kemon obviously didn't know much about these things.

"Ten."

"Hmm?"

"Nine."

"Eight."

"..."

Raising his head again, the general watched the airborne commander count down bit by bit.

At the same time, the light around and the sound of arrows breaking through the air became more and more obvious.

Obviously, the elemental light leaked when the magic crystal cannon was charged also attracted the attention of the enemy, posing a threat to them.

"..."

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

Counting to the last number, Ryan paused, then made an onomatopoeia.

"Bang——"

Hundreds of streams of light illuminated the entire fog sea in an instant, each containing an energy torrent close to a nine-ring witchcraft.

For the real strong, the power of this divergent elemental impact may not be as threatening as the casual sword of the legendary knight, but for large mortal artifacts, this is a destructive attack.

No sound was heard at the first time, because the wooden hull would only be pierced at the moment of contact with the elemental torrent.

It was not until a while later that Kemon heard the sound of seawater pouring into the cabin amidst the noisy shouting and yelling.

He didn't know how many enemies were hit, but there was no doubt that at least more than a dozen enemy warships were destroyed by the previous attack.

At this moment, the knowledge learned in the past seemed to be useless.

And looking at the figure in front of him who was still looking at the foggy sea, Kemon followed and looked again.

"... Hey, what are you looking at?"

Lian was a little surprised when he turned around and saw this scene.

With the help of the sea god, these thick fogs were of no use to him. He was just looking at where to let the "waves" push these ships to appear next, and it would be best if he could shoot through two or three ships with one shot.

But the guy behind him couldn't see it, so what was he looking at.

"I don't know."

In response to Ryan's response, Kemon first responded, and then hesitated.

After a while, he slowly said: "But I think..."

"Maybe, I'm looking at the real art of war."

"..."

"This... Just be happy."

Not knowing what to say, Ryan never thought that this general named Kemon would work hard from then on, and really become a master of naval command in the future, and invent many useful tactics.

Even in the distant future, some people gave their children the same name, and eventually became a famous general and was recorded in history.

At this moment, Ryan just hoped that he would not be led too far and get stuck in a dead end.

After all, no matter how you think about it, your operation has nothing to do with the art of war.

Should I explain it?

Well... forget it.

This is also to prevent Nereus from being exposed. It is not easy for him to go back on his word on something that has been agreed upon long ago.

So although helpless, he can only admit that he has taken the blame first.

"Alas."

Sighing slightly, looking at the fog that flashed again, as the embodiment of humanity that was separated, Ryan felt that he was indeed carrying a lot of things that were not understood by others.

Although these things may be very much wanted by others, there is always a difference between active and passive.

Shaking his head gently, Ryan continued to observe the situation on the current battlefield.

What he arranged before was only a plan of less than half a water clock.

It's not that it can't be longer, but it would be a bit deliberate if it is longer.

After all, even if it is the sea god, it is best to affect the position of the ship quietly, rather than doing it so obviously.

So it would be more reasonable to adjust the new attack plan according to the current situation every once in a while instead of completing it all at once.

"... General Kemon, get ready to continue recording."

After a while, Ryan spoke again until the gun position of the ship he arranged last began to release the light of charging.

The target attacked by the flagship seemed to be the enemy commander, the prince of Pyrrhus whose name was unknown.

It would be best if he could be killed, but it didn't matter if he couldn't be killed. For Ryan, these were all trivial matters.

But for some reason, Ryan had a hunch after taking a casual look at the enemy ship in the fog.

The prince of Pyrrhus might not die here, and in the distant future, maybe he would come into contact with something unexpected... who knows.

...