Chapter 133: Torpedo

Even after saying that, I could think of very few options.

Our fleet had only two battleships, while the enemy possessed more than ten.

However, the force directly blocking the route ahead contained only one battleship. The rest were mainly cruisers.

The Friez Kingdom had spread its ships over a wide area while searching for us, so not all of its strength had reached the same position.

“If we fight a normal artillery duel, we’ll lose,” I said. “We should concentrate every gun forward and break through the fleet blocking our route.”

“You mean accepting that some of our ships may be sunk so that the others can survive?” Captain Yurick asked.

“Yes. It’s reckless, but remaining here will only allow the enemy’s main force to surround us completely.”

“My concern is placing you and Her Highness in the middle of such a charge.”

“If the situation becomes hopeless, I can escape by air.”

Emma stepped beside me.

“Captain Yurick, we’ll follow Noah’s plan. As a member of the royal family, I can’t abandon all our subordinates without even fighting.”

“Understood.”

With both Emma and me in agreement, Captain Yurick immediately issued the order.

“Full speed ahead! All guns forward!”

The fleet turned toward the force blocking our route and charged through the enemy fire.

Inside the battleship, every nearby explosion shook the deck beneath our feet.

“This feels very different from being in the sky,” I said.

“I’m glad I finally overcame my seasickness,” Emma replied.

“If you hadn’t, you might be the only person vomiting during the charge.”

Before she could answer, I sensed a great number of magical signatures vanish.

“…One of our destroyers was hit by a battleship shell. It broke apart and sank.”

Several of the magic aerial soldiers who had fought beside me were among those who disappeared.

Captain Yurick’s expression tightened.

“Now that our aerial soldiers have withdrawn, the enemy can place observers on deck again. Their fire will become more accurate.”

“Should we return to the air?” Emma asked.

“No. The anti-aircraft fire makes that more dangerous than remaining here.”

All we could do was continue the breakthrough.

“The enemy line is close!”

Just as Captain Yurick called out, a tremendous impact struck the battleship.

The deck lurched beneath us.

“We’ve been hit!”

Captain Yurick listened to the sound and immediately understood.

“A torpedo?”

I sensed where the damage had occurred and ran from the operations room.

“Noah!” Emma shouted, following me.

A sailor came toward us through the corridor.

“Major General! A torpedo opened a hole in the hull. Water is flooding in!”

“Did it strike in the direction you came from?”

“Yes, but why—”

“I’m going to seal it.”

I ran into the flooded section.

The water grew deeper as I approached the breach, and the damaged anti-magic barrier in that area had already stopped functioning.

Using body-enhancement magic, I forced my way through the current until I found the hole.

Fragments of the hull and the torpedo were scattered around it.

I gathered the metal with earth magic and pressed it into the opening.

Then I used gravity magic to force the seawater back outside while compressing the fragments firmly into place.

The breach closed.

The flooding stopped.

“Earth magic can still be useful at sea.”

Emma finally reached me and stared at the repaired hull.

“You actually sealed it…”

Before I could answer, another roar shook the ship.

This time, it wasn’t the sound of an impact.