The Unbreakable Bow

It was almost dawn. A fleet of warships, their sails adorned with a light-grey crown, emerges ghostlike from the thick fog that blankets the calm sea. The massive galleons, with their towering masts and intricate rigging, appear as dark, looming silhouettes against the white, misty veil. The fog muffles the creaking of the wooden hulls and the gentle lapping of water against the ships' sides, creating an eerie, almost surreal silence.

The sails, slightly billowed by a faint breeze, bear the pale crowns, their faint outlines barely visible through the dense fog. The ships glide slowly, their movement steady and deliberate, as if navigating through a world suspended between reality and a dream. The water is smooth and undisturbed, reflecting the ghostly shapes of the warships above.

Onboard, the crew moves quietly, their voices hushed as they tend to their duties. The thick fog obscures their vision, making the ships' lanterns glow faintly, casting long, diffused beams of light that struggle to penetrate the dense mist.

On their flanks, a small number of steam corvettes follow the main fleet. These smaller, more agile vessels are discernible through the thick fog by the plumes of smoke rising from their stacks, blending with the mist in ethereal swirls. However, their sails bore the golden emblem that embraced a silver pickaxe and hammer. Their crews only consisted of short bearded men or more accurately dwarfs.

The corvettes' dark, iron hulls contrast sharply with the majestic wooden galleons, their steam engines emitting a low, rhythmic hum that punctuates the otherwise eerie silence.

In the biggest ship, the admiral in his dark blue coat adorned with gold buttons. A sash and epaulettes made of silver indicate the high ranking. Wearing a black tricorn hat, his eyepatch and some scars that covered his face were signs of his experience to those who don't know him. Smoking confidently through a clay tobacco pipe, his moustache dancing with the gentle wind, he leads the great armada of the kingdom of Thacsia.

A short man comes out of the cabin. He wore a yellow coat and also had epaulettes but of gold. However, most of his coats were covered by his long black beard. His small eyes were barely visible from his thick eyebrows. He was half the height of the admiral.

"Admiral Frediano, your ships are barely moving. If we keep going at this speed, we will never reach the straits. "

"Oh, Captain...Shui, right? Don't you dwarfs know that ships need the wind to sail? We only use wind-making gems in times of emergency. "

"Is this not a time of emergency? Good thing that the Elfansj navy works on temperature magic and not luck. Seriously, don't you think that this fog is a little suspicious?"

"If you are suggesting that this fog is man-made then you are definitely correct. Throughout my years of sailing the northern seas, I had never seen such fog. There is no doubt that this is man-made. I could daresay that the lack of wind is also by them."

"Then, this is a trap !"

"No, they think it is a trap. Let them think they have the upper hand. Their admiral Kaito is a young man, I daresay he is a rash person like our king... But first, tell me, is there any response from Tabollba?"

"No, apparently, they choose neutrality. "

"Never mind, they were never useful anyway. "

"What do you mean?!"

"They were only to be a distraction for the Hirohasmeans. Their petty excuse of a kingdom would fall in the face of the superior army of Ryuji. Hirohasm has only the quality, but when it comes to the numbers, they are simply lacking. The same thing goes for their navy. Their island only has a small amount of magic resources, but due to their quality, they can make very strong pieces of warfare. "

"Admiral! Admiral! There is something to our northwest!"

Yelled one of the sailors. Next to him was a gem that glowed orange.

"Everyone activates the highlights."

All the ships shot a continuous beam of light that showed a single tiny sloop ship that immediately started to sail away. Both commanders looked through their telescopes.

"A Republican ship..."

"Destroy that vessel."

"Eh?"

A single cannonball was shot, and the fleeing boat quickly fell into the deep water. Any survivors were killed using explosive arrows.

"Are you sure that you don't want to take any prisoners for valuable information? "

"I have all the information I need. The enemy is in front of us. Everyone be on top alert! "

As silence spread across the decks of the armada, so did the anxiety of a battle that hadn't started. The gem glowed orange again.

"Admiral-!"

"I know, prepare for the engagement!"

From the dense, rolling fog emerges a formidable fleet of junk warships, their massive, multi-tiered hulls cutting through the still waters with a silent, almost eerie grace The ships' distinctive, battened sails rise high into the air, each sail adorned with the emblem of a crimson sun. The red suns on the sails glow faintly as the fog diffuses the light, creating a haunting and majestic sight.

On the flanks of the main fleet, sleek schooner ships keep pace, their agility and speed complementing the might of the junk warships. These schooners are adorned with vibrant orange and blue flags, which flutter briskly in the slight breeze. The colourful banners stand out against the monochromatic fog, signalling their allegiance and adding a touch of vivid colour to the scene.

The schooners, with their streamlined hulls and tall masts, move gracefully alongside the larger Junks, their crews maintaining a watchful eye. The fog cloaks the fleet in a shroud of mystery, enhancing the sense of anticipation and tension as the ships glide forward. However, their numbers appeared to be way less than the fleet opposing them.

"There are twenty-two ships at best. Looks like they underestimated our combined fleet. I am sure that the Republicans are going to switch sides, thus, it is only sixteen ships. "

"It is too late for them to switch sides now. I have orders to sink every republican vessel. "

"I thought that the goal of this expedition was to stop the Hirohasmeans?"

"Yes, but we are going to take our opportunity to weaken Sofax's power in the Atrum ocean, just like you are here just to test your latest inventions in a real battle. "

"Are you saying that the dynasty doesn't care about the power balance in the Atrum Ocean? "

"Yes. Anyway, we have a bigger problem on our hands. The core of the enemy is missing."

"What do you mean ?"

"The Hirohasm navy doesn't impose a challenge for us except for the infamous turtle vessels. In a fleet, this large, there should be at least two to six turtle ships. "

"Yes, I was wondering if you had a counter for that ."

"Of course, turtle ships rely on charging into the enemy like bulls, destroying most vessels and causing chaos in a formation. The junk ships will utilise that to destroy the fleeing ships while the turtle ships will destroy any ship that tries to fight. The high quality of the materials and gems used for the turtle ship makes them capable of defeating multiple enemies at once. They are completely armoured from every side. Not to mention the fact that they are resistant to most magic artillery. However, just destroying one of them will be a huge loss for them due to their cost. And I am going to destroy all of them tonight. "

"And may you explain how ?"

"Oh lord, when they charge, we will activate a strong gravity shield to stop their charge and use a very strong flame cannon to break through their defences. The flame cannons can only fire in one narrow direction to maximise damage, so when the turtles get flipped by the gratival shiels, they will be easy targets. And your fast steam engines will catch and sink all of their remaininnavyvy."

"That sounds like a lot of mana consumption to me ."

"Yes, that is why we brought more manstorageses than usual. "

"Are you sure that this isn't too expensive?"

"If victory is secured, then this is worth t . I am only disappointed that I see no ships to shatter.....

There is no way they wasted resources on making this mist ....

They must be invisible ."

"Admiral! There is something wrong with the radar. It detects a hostile presence approaching us."

The gem was now glowing a light shade of orange.

"THEY ARE INVISIBLE! ACTIVATE THE GRAVITAL SHIELDS AND PREPARE THE FLAME CANNONS !"

All the ships stopped. And light purple transparent curved walls appeared in front of each vessel. But other than that, nothing happened. Very silent moments passed, as the opposing fleet did not make a response.

"The shields can't last forever, admiral! You are risking not leaving enough mana for the flame cannons. "

"I know, I know, Damit! What the fuck is wrong with that radar- "

Suddenly, a huge splash could be heard not far away on the right, quickly followed by the sound of thousands of wooden planks getting destroyed. A turtle ship had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, destroying the lower part of a huge vessel with its presence alone. The hull, painted a deep, inky black, absorbs the light, rendering the ship almost invisible against the dark sea. The ship's structure is formidable, with a broad, rounded shape resembling the shell of a turtle, designed for both defence and offence.

The deck is fortified with iron spikes, deterring any attempts at boarding, while cannon ports line the sides, ready to unleash devastating firepower. At the centre of this fearsome vessel stands a single mast, bearing a sail marked with a striking emblem: the crimson sun of the west. The vivid red of the sun contrasts sharply with the dark backdrop, symbolizing power, dominance, and an unwavering presence.

All ships near it, started firing immediately, yet to no avail. The enemy retaliated with its cannons, sinking some small vessels while damaging the bigger ones. Suddenly, the head of the turtle started to breath fire and all the gems on its neck glowed. The ship accelerated fast towards the closest warship, crashing into it. It created a huge hole in its deck, tilted its balance and threw half of its crew into the water. Not soon after, another turtle ship fell from the sky, destroying the warship beneath it.

"They are above us!"

"But how the fuck !"

"They took a greater risk than you, Frediano! RETREAT, EVERYONE, RETREAT !"

Another splash was heard, followed by two others ones and three other warships were sunk. By now, most of the armada was either sunk or catching on fire or on the run. Yet, the enemy fleet hasn't made a move.

"That motherfucker Kaito! WE CAN STILL WIN THIS. PROCEED WITH THE FAKE RETREATS! "

"What is that?!"

"Eh ?"

A small black silhouette could be seen flying upwards above the Hirohasm fleet. Two beams of purple fire were shot from that silhouette. The beams soon exploded mid-air and from the dust of that explosion, a barrage of long Eastern dragons of purple fire was hurled down on the ships.

"ACTIVATE THE UPPER AIR SHIELDS!!"

It was too late most of the ships were either completely destroyed or were too much damaged except for the leading ship of the admiral as its shields managed to block two furious heads of fire dragons.

"WATCH OUT !!!"

The black silhouette was rapidly approaching its position. All sails were cut down. As Frediano pulled out his sword, it quickly got shattered into two pieces. while a deep wound in his guts was formed. From the pain, he fell helplessly. As blood covered most of his prideful badges, he looked for Shui. His body was decapitated not far from him. He tried with his last breaths to search for the offender. He was standing next to him. A black armoured samurai with various decorations on his armour and sheath that he held. His face is hidden away by a red oni mask. The dark purple dragon symbol causing more fear in the already dead man. It was the shogun.

"For a former pirate, I was expecting a more interesting battle but I guess Kaito is simply more skilled than you. The people of my home will pleased to know that 'Fred of Palmera' is dead."

How the fuck does he know my past?

"OPEN FIRE"

The musketeers fired at Ryuji, yet he didn't react as the bullets didn't do the slightest bit of damage to his armour. Swordsmen and archers began to attack but this time Ryuji dropped his katana and bought out his golden cannons and a huge explosion followed.

The ship was split into two with each past slowly sinking into the water and losing its balance. As Frediano felt his body slowly slipping away into the water. Ryuji took a walk up the deck after picking up his sword. By the time he reached the back of the ship, it had become its roof. Looking from above at the destruction of his enemy, he said :

"Now, all we need is Unmei before their response..."

Thousands of kilometres away, a king was awoken from his slumber with terrible news.

"What the fuck do you mean we lost ??? Frediano said he had a plan !"

"Plans don't always work, my majesty. "

"Yes, with me, they don't. Why the fuck does nobody can do their job properly! What am I supposed to say to the dwarfs ?! "

"I think you should be more concerned with the people's reaction ..."

"Fuck them! "

"Your majesty, I wanted to point out that a special guest has arrived with good news .."

"Where is? Bring him now!"

A few moments later, the advisor returned with a bearded man in fine clothing.

"Your majesty, may I present to you, Primo Bonaccorso the Duke of Olson."

"A republican ?! Get him out of my sight before I execute him!"

"King Eglio the eighth, I have great news for you .."

"Speak!"

"There are rumours in Sofax that say that the shogun is looking for ancient keys that can change one's fate forever. "

"I have no time for your fairy tales!"

"Your majesty, I can confirm that these rumours are true. All I am asking from you is your royal permission for me to organise a small event. If you do, I will prove that the keys exist. There are eight keys in total and I have one of them. And if you are willing to make a deal, you can also have your try .."

"Show me your key first."

"Of course, your majesty.."

He pulled out a necklace that he was wearing. Attached to it, was a golden key glistened with two smoky quartz gems.

"So, do we have a deal ...?"