The cold, electronic voice rang like an alarm bell in Lind's mind!
An Orcish fleet! And it's a fleet of warships! Seven of them!
Linde's "field of vision" instantly switched to the data stream transmitted back by the detection array.
On the relatively calm sea below, seven distinct points of light are cutting through the waves at a considerable pace.
Linde brought up the screen, and the detection array of the Steel Sky transmitted back clear images.
The silhouettes of seven ships came into his view.
They share many similarities with the wooden sailing warships of Earth's Age of Exploration—towering masts, billowing sails, and streamlined wooden hulls cleaving through the deep blue sea.
However, the numerous exquisite magical artifacts mounted on it give it a completely different magical aura, unique to the continent of Til.
Huge metal plates with shimmering blue runes were embedded on both sides of the hull, clearly some kind of propulsion or stabilization device, allowing these behemoths to maintain considerable speed even in calm or headwind conditions.
The bow is not a simple ram, but is carved into the shape of a ferocious sea monster's head, with what appears to be an energy vent inside, gleaming with a dangerous light.
On the deck, one can see complex ballistae that resemble crystal-driven cannons. The cannons are wrapped with energy conduits, and the muzzles are not solid objects, but rather floating, rotating magic circles.
The top of the mast is not simply a lookout tower, but a slowly rotating crystal sphere that floats above, radiating probing magical energy.
This is the naval power of the Grand Duchy of Oak.
This human empire, which came from the eastern ocean of the continent, has been formidable since landing on the southern part of the western coast of the continent of Tiel. With its unique technological advantage that combines magic and engineering, it has torn apart the then unified "Old Sass Empire" and turned it into the two hostile nations of Kree and Sass.
It is said that on the eastern side of the continent, this powerful human empire was also suffering from the continuous oppression of another, even older empire, and was eventually forced to cross the endless sea to seek a place of survival on this new continent.
Putting aside these grand historical contexts, this was the first time Linde had ever "seen" the ships of the humans (Orks) on the continent of Til so clearly.
These creations, which blend magic and wood, are filled with an exotic sense of power and precision.
"avoid!"
Linde's thoughts were decisive and clear, like a cold steel needle piercing the core of his brain.
"Ascend to the upper limit of cloud cover! Maintain engine output in silent mode! Reduce all external detection array power to minimum, retaining only passive reception! Avoid the flight path and detour! Pass through this area with minimal exposure risk!"
He absolutely cannot allow the Steel Sky to come into contact with any force, especially the Orcs, who possess a powerful naval force and whose technological path is unclear, in this dilapidated state.
Buzz—
The massive hull of the steel dome responded with a deep rumble.
The eerie blue light emanating from the attitude engine nozzles intensified slightly, and the massive bow slowly rose, beginning its ascent.
The external armor made a faint hissing sound as it rubbed against the thin air.
The detector array dimmed, like closed eyes, retaining only the most basic "hearing".
The massive steel shadow silently merged into the higher, thicker lead-gray clouds, like a giant whale diving into the deep sea, leaving only the Orc fleet below, oblivious and still cutting through the waves.
After confirming that the giant ship had risen to a sufficient height and that the detection signals showed that the Ork fleet was still proceeding along its original course without any unusual activity, Linde's tense nerves finally relaxed slightly.
The remaining journey will be handled by the Steel Sky's own central core and mech maintenance system.
Provided it does not encounter extreme weather or extremely rare aerial threats (such as some legendary flying behemoths), it should be able to reach its designated landing point safely.
If he encounters an emergency that he cannot handle, he can always connect to the magic network of the Bokou Ruins and project his spirit there again to solve the problem remotely.
…………
The perspective shifts back to the bottom, into the captain's cabin of the Orc flagship, the "Anvil."
Captain Birmingham Yad, a nearly sixty-year-old navigator whose face was etched with the marks of time, was lounging lazily in a large chair covered with thick sea animal hides.
The cabin was filled with the rich aroma of specially made cigarettes—made with a blend of spices including "Dragon's Breath Grass," a unique herb from the eastern part of the mainland, spicy and invigorating.
He took a deep breath, letting the pungent smoke swirl in his lungs before slowly exhaling, the grayish-white smoke swirling around his wrinkled yet still sharp eyes.
Outside the window, the white wakes left by the fleet cutting through the sea appeared calm and normal.
Knock knock knock!
The urgent knocking shattered the languid tranquility, carrying with it an unusual sense of panic.
“Come in!” Birmingham’s voice was steady, with a hoarse tone that came from years of experience.
The hatch was flung open, and First Officer Karen Stone strode in with a grave expression. He was a tall man and one of Birmingham's most trusted deputies, but fine beads of sweat glistened on his forehead.
"Captain, something's happened!"
Karen's voice was low, but she spoke very quickly, "Just now, about fifteen minutes ago, all the magical instruments on the fleet's warships... all malfunctioned!"
Birmingham's fingers, which were holding a cigarette, paused, and his cloudy eyes instantly sharpened like those of a hawk.
"Abnormal? What's going on? Explain clearly!"
"Interference! Very strong interference!" Karen spoke rapidly.
"The 'Song of the Siren' detection array (the crystal ball atop the mast) is experiencing strong noise, with intermittent signals making it almost impossible to discern the surrounding sea conditions; the 'Heart of the Tide' navigation compass (a precision instrument in the main control room at the bow) is spinning wildly, completely losing its directionality; even the magic output of the 'Deep Throat' propulsion rune plates (rune plates on both sides of the hull) is experiencing brief, unstable fluctuations! This lasted for about half a minute! All ships reported the same thing!"
Birmingham sat bolt upright and stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette in the brass ashtray.
"What's the cause? Enemy attack? Magic storm? Or sea monsters?"
"Unknown at the moment!"
Karen shook her head, her face grim. "What's even stranger is... one of the lookouts on the 'Raging Waves,' that kid Colton, he was on the highest lookout tower when the interference happened. He swears... he swears he saw something in the sky!"
"The sky?" Birmingham's brows furrowed.
"Yes! In the sky!"
Karen nodded vigorously. "Colton said that the clouds were very low at the time, but suddenly a cloud seemed to be 'pushed open' by something, revealing a huge, moving... dark shadow! Very big! Much bigger than our largest warship!"
It was incredibly fast; it disappeared into the higher clouds in the blink of an eye! He described that thing…
It's like a flying metal island!
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