Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology-Chapter 1251: WW1: Attack of the western Front (1)

Off the coast of the Sahara,

A European lookout was routinely inspecting the horizon, as always, carefully watching for a possible attack from the Bharatiya Empire.

The attack launched by the Bharatiya Navy on the English Isles had been devastating, and England had only recently started to recover. It had not been long since all the shipyards and ports were brought back to full order, and England did not want to be caught off guard a second time, and more importantly, Europe did not want to be caught off guard as well.

As a result, while the number of warships patrolling the Atlantic Ocean had been drastically reduced in order to conserve forces and accumulate strength for a decisive battle, the number of scouting vessels and small, fast boats had increased dramatically.

The lookout was only one among several thousand, routinely patrolling the waters, constantly searching for any sign of the enemy.

Suddenly, he noticed a small black dot on the horizon, so small that it was barely noticeable. He almost thought he was hallucinating and rubbed his eyes. Working long hours for several weeks at a time, he had experienced several hallucinations before, so he originally did not think much about the black dot in the distance. But as time went on, he felt something was wrong. The dot became larger, and more dots began to show up, hundreds of them at a time.

His unfocused mind was jolted awake. He poured some water on his head to calm himself down and then stared into the telescope.

"1... 2... 15... 23..."

The more he counted, the wider his eyes became, and when he caught a hint of saffron on the flag, cold sweat broke out on his back. It was as if the dread that had been in the hearts of every naval officer of Europe had been reawakened.

He took a big gulp and cautiously informed the captain of what he saw. The captain, who had been awoken from his sleep, was a little irritated, but when he heard the report from the lookout, the lethargy disappeared in an instant, and the ship decisively turned around and sailed towards the nearest naval base as swiftly as possible.

It wasn’t only one ship that acted in such a way. Several hundred ships that were patrolling the same vicinity also noticed the approaching Bharatiya fleet. Without a second thought, they chose to retreat as well.

It did not take long for the news to reach the desks of various nations in Western Europe.

British Isles

"Are you certain of this report?" Stuart knew that there was a very high probability that the intelligence was true, but still, given the magnitude of the situation, he hoped it was not.

"It is, Your Highness. We have received the same intelligence from nearly all the scouting vessels patrolling the Atlantic."

"Damn it." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Portugal

Alfonso had a grave look on his face. It was quite easy to discern that he wasn’t too happy with the intelligence.

"Is the target Portugal?" he couldn’t help but question, because if it really was, there was very little he could do. The naval force of the European Union was concentrated within the Mediterranean, and not in the Atlantic, and unlike most European countries, his kingdom had nothing to do with the Mediterranean. He was very vulnerable to an attack from the Atlantic, especially since Lisbon, the capital, is a coastal city.

Though he was prepared for such a day, he still managed to use his position in the union to take command of over 500 ships. Sadly, it was of no use in the current situation, since most of the ships were simply retrofitted merchant vessels, incomparable to the union’s own warships, not to mention the Bharatiya warships.

There was one more thing that bothered him. The fleet composition used by the Bharatiya Empire this time around was odd. The fleet was not populated by warships or battleships; instead, it was populated by transportation vessels, nearly occupying 60% of the entire fleet.

What did the Bharatiya Empire transport that required so many transportation vessels? Were they preparing for a land invasion? It was almost inevitable for this thought to appear, because if not, the decisions made would simply not make sense. So once the thought germinated, it was as if it had taken root in his brain, not leaving his mind. The more he thought about it, the more certain he became, and the more agitated he grew.

"Immediately summon everyone."

Spain

Juan Jose Domingo Balasar Carlos, the regent of the Spanish Kingdom, temporarily looking after the affairs of the kingdom due to the illness of King Baltasar Charles, was immediately left furious upon receiving the message of the Bharatiya Empire’s actions.

"These damn bastards."

"Minister, could you bring me the admiral? I won’t let these Bharatiya succeed."

Netherlands

"Should we prepare?" John William Frisco asked in an uncertain tone.

William III of Orange, bedridden, hesitated for a moment and shook his head. "We have the British and the Norwegians as a buffer. It’s best not to act too quickly. Sending reinforcements is okay, but don’t be hasty."

"Yes."

France

"Just a little more." Luis XIV clenched his fist in frustration after receiving the intelligence. France was building a new generation of battleships, over 10 at a time. In at most a month, they would have completed their construction and would be ready to be tested, but with the Bharatiya Empire’s attack, France was caught off guard at the wrong time and was only left with inadequate retrofitted merchant vessels to defend itself.

"Dammit, alright."

"Quicken the construction. I don’t care if it isn’t tested for its seaworthiness, just get it into the water."

Denmark Norway

"Could we be the target?" a minister asked.

"It’s doubtful, but it’s good to be prepared anyway. The opponent’s fleet is simply too big to be taken lightly."

"Agreed, however, what about supporting the allies if they ask for reinforcements?"

"Hmm, the Union court requires us to provide reinforcements, and we require the Union to continue supporting us to build our railway lines, so we should indeed support the Union’s army when required. However, there is no need to go all out; we should still keep some of our forces hidden."

"Makes sense, then let’s do as you suggest."

Different kingdoms reacted in different ways, but almost all of them believed this would be a naval attack. Only Alfonso of Portugal suspected that it might be something far greater. So, apart from mobilising every naval ship he could muster, he also initiated the capital relocation plan, one that had been conceived as far back as the time when the Bharatiya Empire attacked the British Isles.

That event had made Alfonso realise just how vulnerable his kingdom was to an attack from the sea. Since then, he had considered moving the capital further inland, and only now was that plan finally being put into action.

While the relocation was happening, he mobilised his entire kingdom and its resources, be it in the form of troops, artillery, ordnance, or wealth. Everything was pumped into the coast, forming a defensive perimeter as quickly as possible. It was not possible to build a complete defensive barrier since the time was too short, making it difficult, but preparing to defend against a potential landing operation from the Bharatiya Empire was still doable.

Unexpectedly, his unusual movements were noticed by the other kingdoms, who were preparing for a naval confrontation. When asked, Alfonso did not hesitate and put forward his speculation, and when they heard his reasoning, they were all stunned. Successively, other countries, be it the British, the French, or the Dutch, swiftly started setting up a defensive perimeter in a hurry.

Several hundred kilometres away,

Agni, no longer disguised as his father, walked openly on the deck, inspecting the weapon systems on board, as well as making sure that all the safety features were in place.

He had been doing this since he left Cape Town, inspecting several battleships in a day, spending most of his time during travel on this task, and he was almost finished with all the inspections himself.

For this battle, he brought along over 25 Maharaja Rama Chandra class battleships, 42 Ramachandra class battleships, and 80 Delhi class battleships. There were also over 290 warships consisting of heavy and light frigates and clippers, but his fleet also consisted of over 660 2500-draught-tonne ships, which took a fortune for the empire to build. Each ship carried nearly 1500 troops along with all the logistical supplies they would need.

The fleet of 1092 ships was the largest the Empire had ever assembled. To bring together such a massive force, security across multiple regions had to be compromised. Nearly all the battleships deployed to the Americas were recalled, and those patrolling near the Ming Empire and East Asia were withdrawn as well.

By concentrating so much naval power into a single fleet, his father, Vijay, had left the Empire in a dangerously vulnerable state. With no major naval force guarding its borders and relying almost entirely on the Coast Guard, even the Empire’s advantageous position in the Americas risked becoming unstable.

But this was a gamble where nothing less than victory was acceptable.

Agni was determined to ensure that his father’s gamble paid off, no matter what it took.