Merzen Ocean
West of Mu Continent
15 February 1639
One of the Imperial Leiforian Navy battleships, SMS Kaiser Wilhelm III, was sailing in the middle of the fleet. Judging by the size and their gun, the fleet was composed of nine destroyers, four cruisers, one battleship and two battlecruisers. With a big pride and confidence in their power, the sailors and officers patrolled this area without any worries, especially since the said threat never came anyways, only the giant plane that was always flying in the sky doing some recon probably.
The thick fog didn't stop them from patrolling as there's a concern that the enemy might enter their waters when covered by it. The flagship of the fleet, the SMS Kaiser Wilhelm III sailed in the middle of the formation with two battlecruisers on its side. A destroyer was sailing in front of the fleet to scout what's in front of them, the SMS L-101.
The first ship in her class, the SMS L-101 was equipped with new technology and weaponry, such as the new magic torpedo and mechanical radar from Mu. Compared to the previous class, the new mechanical radar gives the ship an ability to detect the enemy ship first with its superior range. As shown during the Mu-Mirishial war in the middle stage of the war, when a Muan battleship detected a Gold-class battleship first.
The captain of SMS L-101, Zerstörerkapitän Ernst Markensen, kept his eyes looking at the radar due to the thick fog. He was grateful because the radar was mechanical so they could detect any obstacles in front of them, not the magical radar although the newer version said to be able to detect it too, but he doubts it.
"Don't worry, sir, you can rely on me for this," said the navigator.
"Understood, I will rely on you for this."
"Yes, sir! " Markensen then walked away to his room.
The cold breeze still entered his room, making him tighten his jacket and coat. He then opened his notebook, and wrote something on it.
The navigator, while he didn't see any object other than their ships behind, was shocked when he heard what the radio operator said, "An unknown ship has just contacted us! Get the captain here, now! They said they know where we are located!"
A crew immediately ran to the captain room, while the Navigator was left in confusion.
"How is that even possible? There are no other ships in here. How they can... no-no way they have better radar than us!"
The captain then entered the room. His eyes looked at the radar, when he then noticed there were no signs of any other ships except the ships on behind.
"I see, so it was not a malfunction," he said.
A thunder was heard, then the weather turned to be worse. Water can be seen starting to fall from the sky, turning the vision to be even worse as the fog hadn't yet disappeared. It's lucky that their ship was equipped with a radar.
"Get me on the line!"
"Yes, sir!"
Markensen, speak using a formal question to test if the communication didn't get interrupted by the weather.
"Yes I can hear you. May I ask a question, are you Belkan?"
Markensen, who didn't understand what Belkan was, got confused.
"Sorry, no, I don't even know what Belkan is. I'm Zerstörerkapitän Ernst Markensen, the captain of SMS L-101 of the Imperial Leiforian Navy. Please identify yourself and your intentions!"
"Ah, my bad, sorry. It's because your name and language seems similar to a country called Belka. "
Markensen started to think that these people came from the Western side of this planet, that hadn't been fully explored.
"Understood but, can you start to identify yourself and what are your intentions? "
While waiting for the reply, he was giving a sign to notify the main fleet.
"I'm Admiral Ratex from the Royal Erusean Navy. We are coming in peace, in order to establish diplomatic relations. Thus, we are also bringing diplomatic groups for that purpose."
"Understood. I will notify the main fleet."
-----
On the behind, as the fog started to disappear, what the fog was hiding started to come into view. A fleet, with a battleship in the center as the flagship. The battleship was flying a cross flag with a national eagle on the top left, that was the naval flag of the Imperial Leiforian Navy. The big 305mm main gun proudly aimed at the sky. Although it's smaller than the newest Muan battleship or even the Mirishial one, it's still capable of inflicting some damage, and considering that not all navies possessed battleships anyways, it's still a decent gun.
On the bridge of the SMS Kaiser Wilhelm III, the fleet commander, Vizeadmiral Karl Ferdinand von Ammon noticed something.
"Something is wrong, I can feel it."
"What is it?"
"The weather, and something I can't exactly tell what is it about. Also, is there anything suspicious that appears on the radar?" he asked the navigator.
The navigator, who had just finished taking a sip, immediately looked at the radar.
"No, sir."
"Good. Maybe it's just me."
The radio operator, who had just finished taking a call, stood up and looked at him.
"Sir, I just got a call from the SMS L-101! The commander wants to talk with you!"
Ammon nodded as he knew what it was, there was something on the front.
"Yes, what is it?" he asked.
"Vizeadmiral, sir, there was an unknown fleet from a country called Kingdom of Erusea!"
"Erusea? Never heard a country with that name. What was their intention?"
"They want to establish diplomatic relations with us, that was what they said."
"Do you know where their country was located?"
"No, but I suppose they were from the west."
Ammon immediately doubted it. As the last expedition from a Leiforian explorer around 50 years ago set their foot on the west, the continent there was full of backwards civilization. The inhabitants were still using swords and arrows, and didn't even know about firearms. The man then came back with four ships full of gold and silver, but he said the journey there was dangerous. High wave and full of sea monsters, and it's recorded only 3 expeditions managed to come back successfully.
Ammon immediately doubted that, but if that was true, he didn't have anything to say anymore.
"I will contact the Imperial Command."
-----
As the fog had disappeared, Zerstörerkapitän Ernst Markensen and the crews of SMS L-101 that were on the deck or bridge were dumbfounded when they saw what ships lay on their views. When the Erusean fleet said that they were on the way to approach them, they doubted it since the Erusean ships didn't appear on their radars. But, when the ships started to appear, and the fog disappeared, they were looking at the West where the Erusean ships were supposed to be coming from.
Much to their shock, the ships weren't like what they were expecting. Not a small and middle sized bulky ship like the usual common warships. Instead, a big ship in the middle, and another ships that were either middle or big size, started to approach their small warship. Weirdly though, they didn't notice any main guns on the big ship.
"Maybe they hadn't installed the main gun yet?" Said an officer.
"I doubt it. Why would they even send an incomplete ship?" Markensen replied.
"Hmm..." The officer cannot say anything.
Markensen didn't understand. The ships' design was weird, just like the Mirishial ship's design if he can say it. He wanted to make sure about the other unconventional things, but the rain reduced his visibility so he couldn't see it.
"Sir, we got the approval!"
"Understood."
He then started to speak to the Erusean Admiral.
"Erusean ships, this is Zerstörerkapitän Ernst Markensen speaking. You're allowed to enter the Leiforian territory. Please follow us to the nearest harbor. And also, please keep in notice that you cannot enter the mainland territory for now, but on the nearest island first."
"Zerstörerkapitän Ernst Markensen, this is Admiral Ratex speaking. Thank you for the confirmation, and we will keep that additional information in mind."
"Understood."
As the SMS L-101 guided the Erusean diplomatic fleet to Paganda, Ammon ordered another destroyer to the front in order to scout. It was the SMS W-97, which was still a fairly new destroyer, but with magical radar. Ammon didn't mind it, as the ship was still capable of doing the job.
"I just can hope that the Erusean weren't the Ancient Sorcerers Empire subordinates, but a civilization from the far west." Said him to himself.
Equipment Used In This Chapter
1. SMS L-101
Based on Großes Torpedoboot 1918 M with some adjusments
