Woosh—!

The sea wind howled past as gray clouds rolled across the horizon.

Even though the Eritrean Sea, marking the start of the summer rainy season, was no place for sailing, it couldn't prevent the fierce battle between two powerful fleets west of the Andaman Strait.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!...

It was as if the unknown thunder preceded the rain, the dark surface of the sea turned crimson by the resounding cannon fire.

One side in the intense sea battle flew a blue flame banner.

The Tulip Alliance, mainly composed of the armies of Phaletis, Tyrone, and Galliot, had 112 Level 4 and above main battleships, divided into five sub-fleets maneuvering flexibly under the command of the Mind Network.

Moreover, they traveled light and swift, even crossing the Black Sea, Treasure Sea, and Eritrean Sea in ultra-long distance combat, without taking a single decent supply ship and carrying no burdens.

The other side flew a flame banner, as if it were blazing.

For Hilus, constantly shrinking territory over the past few years wasn't entirely without benefit; they could now concentrate more forces on limited ground, with defense strength climbing sharply.

The First Fleet, with its complete combat power, had 92 Level 3 or above battleships, over four hundred Level 5 and above auxiliary battleships capable of long-range voyages, allowing them to look down on their opponent.

It wasn't that the Hilus high command and Philip II were overly confident; it was during a national war with the Lowland Republic that such formidable forces were stationed abroad, instead of guarding the Kingdom.

Only because the defense of the Royal Capital was already sufficiently robust, any more would be wasteful.

In this secular war, both sides had a tacit agreement that gods themselves and high-tier clerics of the Church would not intervene.

However, Wycliffe, the genuine Tier 4 Peak saint cleric of the Tinder Sect, was personally stationed at the Leon Cathedral in St. Cruz.

The cathedral also gathered most of the high-tier clerics from the Tinder Sect; not actively attacking others is one thing, but if attacked, they would counterattack fiercely.

If a crisis threatened the very existence of the Church headquarters, they might launch the Pope's exclusive skill, Holy Descent, allowing the offender to taste protective iron fists from their "father."

The only regret is that neither the secular Empire nor the ideology of the Eternal Flame transcends human secular conflicts. They remain oblivious to the God of Black Wings, who has quietly assembled numerous ancient gods and evil gods, laying out a grand strategy beyond the secular battlefield.

Moreover, the Lowland Republic and the capitalists are crucial to the final success or failure of this grand game, absolutely intolerable!

With differing strategic intentions, the resources they are willing to commit and the price they are willing to pay are naturally different.

Since the "Angel of Prosperity" revealed itself, startling and retreating the "Magma Angel," both the Lowland Republic and the Hilus Empire have become mere pawns.

The outcome is no longer in their hands, though the Hilus people haven't realized this yet.

Since the initial attacks by the Raiding Fleet, Tulip has remained the biggest imagined threat to the Hilus people's "Sea Monarchy."

Even ordinary people can learn from experience, let alone these bright minds of the Imperial Navy, comprised of the nation's elite?

After the painful lessons of the Battle of Benin and the Battle of Dierben Castle.

The Imperial Navy high command, having deeply reflected, began focusing on improving cannon range and training line tactics tailored to their needs.

Then, they found a replacement for their backward command system compared to the Mind Network—a Blue Eagle feather imbued with the Wind Language Curse from the Hurricane's Nest.

The Invincible Fleet has already been reborn, and furthermore...

"Order, double column, crush them! The invincible name of the Empire will be upheld by us!"

Fleet Commander Prince Rodrigo Hilus waved to give the order, this Great Knight being the last surviving brother of Philip II and the first captain of the Sea Monarchy.

With the Legendary Battleship: Sea Sovereignty as the flagship and the Legendary Battleship: Golden Cuckoo as support, 92 Level 3 and above battleships formed a solid "Sea Great Wall" of two mutually supportive columns on the sea.

Strangely, at this moment, every battleship emitted a faint blue Extraordinary Spiritual Light, forming a mysterious connection that included the two legendary battleships as a unified whole.

Among the allied forces stood Aiven, with the highest worldly status and Extraordinary level among those involved.

With the prestige and achievements befitting a Grand Duke, Aiven gracefully took command, raising the command flag aboard the Crown of Miracles.

Simultaneously, orders were given within the Mind Network:

"Our enemies have evidently been progressing too, but our progress is even greater. Subfleet, T-formation tactics. Strike from behind, chill them to the core!"

All the ships immediately echoed the captains' rallying calls. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Full helm to port!"

"Adjust three compass points to starboard!"

"Orders, sailor..."

Usually, when talking about battle line tactics, ordinary people assumed it meant lining up in a row and firing like fools, whereas actual tactics in practice are flexible and not bound by fixed conventions.

The so-called "T-shaped" tactic is nothing new. Aiven used it many times in single ship combat when he was young, only now it's applied to fleet operations.

The principle is to have your battle line form the crossbar of the T, passing through the head of the opponent's line, thereby maximizing the sustained firepower of each ship as they fire in sequence.

If the scorching cannonballs enter the enemy's ship from the rear, they can continuously bounce within the enemy's armored decks, causing massive casualties.

Implementing this tactic, however, requires very high communication abilities and command skills; one misstep could backfire disastrously.

These are precisely Aiven's strong suits.

The ability of the [Meteorological Spirit] allows him to grasp every detail on the battlefield, and with the assistance of "Data Visualization," he could sense even the smallest ocean currents and airflows around him.

He can even use [Pseudo Authority: Usurper] to add buffs like "Nature's Favor" and "Smooth Sailing" to the fleet.

Moreover, his orders can be promptly transmitted to every lieutenant in the fleet, allowing them to maintain formation while moving swiftly.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!...

The entire fleet, like an arm responding to a command, swiftly converged behind the dual-column formation of Hilus.

Liweina, Magnus III, and the other kings of the alliance were observing the battle from afar. As beings of no more than Tier 3, they had no business protecting themselves in this chaotic "Battle of National Destiny," and were likely to become burdens due to their identities.

Better to stay away than to add to the trouble.

However, even sitting safely in the rear, they couldn't help but envy Aiven, who was charging at the front lines, for the honor and the power it brought.

And it was foreseeable that if this battle was successful, the divine grace descending upon them would significantly, without side effects, enhance the power of its major contributors, making the "Queen and Goddess of Navigation" name like its essence.

At this time, though, Aiven had no leisure for such idle thoughts.

Besides [Jade Coronet] stationed in the New Continent, and Tyrone Kingdom's [Divine Demon Wings] stationed in Tulip.

Even though [Steam Fortress] and [Sea Soul] were flanking, and the hidden [Theseus] was ready in Jelos's Witchcraft Garden, Aiven remained deeply wary of this enemy.

"Mei, man the main gun! Let's probe once more!"

"As you command, Captain! Main gun charging, fire!"

On the foredeck, the [Electromagnetic Main Cannon Tower], the barrel rotated to switch to the specially crafted Enchanted Tungsten Steel Bullet.

Buzz——

The two vertically oval cannon barrels spat flames at one-second intervals.

Boom! Boom!

Traveling at five times the speed of sound, the shells sliced through the air with a thunderous roar and arrived in a flash. A phantom shield appeared, blocking both electromagnetic cannonballs with a thunderous sound; eerily, the target of the barrage was nothing but an ordinary Level 3 battleship.

Clearly, Aiven wished he could launch a long-distance "Justice Judgment" as he did in the "Battle of Dierben Castle" to end the battle swiftly and cleanly.

But because of [Legendary Battleship: Sea Sovereignty] activating such an astonishingly powerful skill, he had to abandon this tantalizing idea.

"Hahaha, though our 'Artificial Divine Artifact' has not been completed as planned, this 'Sea Sovereignty' as a medium is already powerful enough!"

Prince Rodrigo clapped in amusement next to Anduin of the "Curse School," the Great Wizard.

[Legendary Battleship Skill: Emperor's Majesty] grows stronger by incorporating the power of more battleships into the same fleet, and Sea Sovereignty becomes stronger as a result.

[Secondary Ability: King's Attendant] is a large-scale buff, allowing the designation of all ships' attack power, defense power, or incoming damage to be assigned to a certain member of the fleet.

In the first instant of the encounter, Aiven had already launched a [Hurricane Missile] to probe, but they sacrificed just a Level 5 Cruiser to absorb all the attacks.

Attacking one is attacking all; in finding solutions, the only choice was to revert to traditional combat mode, letting ships compete against ships, attacking both the individual and the collective at the same time.

However, with the probing attack of [Crown of Miracles], [Legendary Battleship: Golden Cuckoo] in the Hilus Fleet retaliated simultaneously.

The [Golden Cuckoo] stationed in the Hilus foundation "Peacock Islands" symbolizes the rise of the dynasty and is the second legendary battleship after [Royal Alfonso].

"Activate [Legendary Battleship Skill: Predecessor's Decree]!"

This is a growth-capacity ability.

The successive kings of the Hilus Royal House can write a decree into it after completing their kingly duties; so far, there have been five.

While alive, Alfonso XII (mainly acclaimed for discovering the Southern Continent and initiating the Age of Navigation), Alfonso XIII (connecting the Peacock Islands), Carlos I (discovering the New Continent), Carlos II (known as the King of Conservation), and Philip I (the previous king).

Bang——!

A golden decree wave shot forth, swooping at the three legendary battleships at the front.

[Fifth Decree: People's Hearts are with Me!]