Chapter 49: ~Air against water.~ (1/2)
***Norfolk, Northern Ocean***
***Ascathon***
“How about using our railguns from directly above them? If a single hit gets through, they will have a big problem.” An officer makes the first suggestion.
“Unfortunately I think that we wont penetrate their barriers if we attack just from one direction.” I tilt my head.
“Then we fan out as far as possible and pick off one ship at a time like in the fjord. The other possibilities are our mana-bombs, or good old magic by our few mages.” The captain states our options.
Unfortunately it's true that our possibilities to attack the enemy are limited. And I want to hold the mana bombs back. They are big pieces of glass, which are performing the same task as our ship's engine.
To be truthful, they are the failed products of our attempts to create a small mana based engine. The glass wasn't cooled properly from its molten state. So the crystalline structure is faulty. Something which could lead to a catastrophic explosion. Of course the properly working ones have failsafe mechanisms.
I intend to start those engines up and throw them onto the army of Mislow. They don't have to last longer than a few seconds until they break on the ground.
The big explosions would have the maximum effect on a tightly advancing army.
It would be a waste to throw them on this naval fleet, because of the barriers. “I am afraid that their barriers could withstand the explosions, unless we get a direct hit. We need the mana bombs against the army from Mislow. We will run out of ammunition if we try to stop all fifty thousand of them with our railguns alone.”
“We don't have to use our bombs like that. We could rely on our barriers and fly deep enough to be sure to hit. If we use our railguns to shoot not directly at them, but into the water close to them, we can create a curtain of water to give us cover. The impacts from the railguns produce really big splashes.” The captain makes another suggestion.
I scratch my cheek. “I like that plan. But we will improve the cover part by adding a little of my own magic. I will cast a spell which will create a small fog bank around the enemy fleet. We should be able to see the masts of their ships while their own vision will be seriously hindered.”
Yes, obstructing their vision is necessary, especially because they have globes too. Although they are the simple versions, they have the same effective range for spells as us. “I will start to weave the needed spell. I hope we can settle this fast, our people need us in Sarn.”
I turn to one of the engineers. “Bring one of the smaller cores to the deck. I guess I will need a little more power to cast this spell.”
The engineer nods and runs off. He returns a few seconds later with a big chunk of glass. A complicated web of magical circuitry is replacing the function of the big machines of the ships core. “That's a nice one. I was always a fan of miniaturisation.”
I grin at the engineer and grab the core with the size of a head out of his hands. Then I turn towards the captain. “I will be occupied with the spell, make sure to stop our attack if something unfortunate happens.”
The captain nods while I step outside again. Having a direct view on my target area is a big bonus if you have to cast wide area magic alone.
I orient myself towards the enemy fleet and the core in my hands comes to life with a blue light. Creating a fog bank on sea is easier than on land because of the huge amounts of water at my disposal.
The power of the core flows through my being and I throw a thin web of mana over the enemy fleet. A slight manipulation of the bonding energy between the water molecules does the trick.
A thick fogbank starts to appear around the enemy ships while I continue to channel mana into the spell.
While my fleet starts its attack, I see fireballs rising from the enemy ships and heading into our direction. I guess we were still seen in the end. But the fireball spells are slow and our railguns start to pick off the incoming attacks.
I pour more mana into the spell and the core between my hands starts to pulse unhappy. I am drawing more mana than it can collect from its surroundings.
The enemies continue to shoot their spells blindly and I watch as one of them gets a lucky hit on one of my ships. But our ships aren't defenceless either. The barrier of the ship's defence lights up and deflects the big explosion.
Our ships disperse to pick their own targets by orienting themselves on one of the many sails above the fogbank.
While passing through a curtain of fireballs, I feel my spell suddenly being affected by a foreign influence. I feel my control slip and force more power into my spell. But the opposing pressure is overwhelming.