Reich Marshal of the Belkan Reich

RM Vol 3: For a World without Boundary – Interlude: Enemy at the gate! (Part 5)

"The enemy vessel has made a break out of docking! Are they running away?"

"No! If they're running away, they should have headed for direct West, not a South-West bearing. From the look of it, they're dashing further inland."

"This hotel is literally by the coast. If they are heading inland, they will have direct access to the VIPs."

"Any idea how many hostiles are on that ship?"

"Enough to cause some serious damage if they make landfall anywhere. There's no telling how much firepower they're still backing after previous engagement."

"Can they even pass through the strait?"

"It's a small enough vessel, the draught won't be deep enough to hit a shallow mound."

"They're still further away from any settlement, do we have any nearby units that can intercept them, with force if necessary?"

"The Gustaf V and her escorts are the only ones nearby, anything smaller will risk being perforated by the time they get close to the Sardegnians. However, our vessels won't be able to catch up to the enemy ship before they pass the Stegesund Strait. By then, we won't be able to stop them without risking civilian casualties."

"Our ship is faster, but they got a head start. Damn it! If we can't stop them by sea, then may as well prepare for a coastal invasion. Your Majesty, please grant the permission for the Royal Guards to sortie!"

King Gustaf V, deep in thought about the ramifications of this recent development, nods at the request. "You have my blessing. Go out and greet the enemy that dares intrude on our doorstep!"

The officer who made the request salutes Gustaf V. "Long live the King!"

Now that a portion of the Swedish Royal Guards moving out to secure the hotel's outer perimeter, the conference room is noticeably less cramped. It doesn't mean that Gustaf V's security is any less airtight, however. Still, with the information that is made available to her thanks to her daughter, Lu knows that she should intervene now before things develop in an unforeseen manner.

"King Gustaf, if I may be bold to suggest something?" The Belkan Empress interjected, surprising Gustaf V for a bit.

"Do tell, Empress." The Swedish King nodded at Lu.

Plastering a smile, showcasing her ease despite the hot situation, Lu raises her pitch. "It's possible for the Belkan military to aid in disabling the hostile vessel, giving your Navy the leeway to catch up and apprehend the threat. But of course, we can only do so with your explicit permission."

"Since if your military intervenes on their own to ensure your safety, it can be seen as infringing on Swedish sovereignty, I see." Gustaf V added after Lu's suggestion. "Nonetheless, requesting your help may also reflect poorly on our armed forces... Some might spout that but I see things differently."

Gustaf V asks with a serious look on his face. "Are you certain that your forces can stop the vessel on its course?"

"On my honor as an Empress, yes." Lu smirked confidently.

"Then as the King of Sweden, we, at this moment, extend an offer of cooperation between our countries to eliminate the threat to the heads of states in this room, what say you?" Gustaf V has chosen his words carefully to ensure the political stance of Sweden in the eyes of others. After all, this will be going down into the record.

Lu nods, seeing no fault in Gustaf V's wording. "The Belkan Reich pledges to aid Sweden in safeguarding the leaders in this room. Starting with removing the maneuverability on the enemy ship approaching Hogberga Hotel."

Nodding to Bryn, Lu signals the Valkyrie that their countermeasure is a go. Bryn accepts the order, touching her earpiece and saying. "The plan is a go, eliminate their ability to move then provide overwatch until further notice."

Hearing the words spoken by Bryn, Lu smiles, gesturing to the video projection in the room. "A good show gonna be happening soon, do view it at your leisure."

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Alisa the angel has long since rejoined her fallen angel compatriot, Franka, in the airspace above the rogue Sardegnian vessel. Now that the hostiles are sailing to Hogberga, they have been given an explicit order to intervene at a moment's notice. As such, while still streaming the footage to the conference room, Alisa has aided Franka with rangefinding as a side task. Despite their SPI suits and rifle scopes being capable of precise ranging and measuring environmental effects on the fly, these Witches have the habit of doing everything by hand. Such is to keep themselves from being rusty and over-relying on modern amenities. Ten times out of ten, they will be able to score a perfect result against the machines. A rare result to have, even for other supernatural entities in Belka's payroll. They are truly living up to the honor of the titles granted to them by the Reich Marshal.

When Bryn transmits the order for these Witches to engage the enemy ship and maneuver to kill them, they are not at all stumped by the request. Witches rarely ever carry heavy firepower like a Panzerfaust, but that doesn't mean that they don't have other means to cause some serious damage. This is especially true for Witches under the direct employ of ONI, meaning they have access to the best gear available. Such is the case for Franka who is hefting around her SG-20 payload rifle. As a subspecies of a sniper rifle, a payload rifle packs enough firepower to make a grenade blush in shame in exchange for long-range accuracy... Belka just don't do that here. Modified to the extreme, ONI's payload rifles are made using magitech at nearly every step of the way. Specialized high-grade mana-conductive alloys, modern furniture, runic inscriptions precisely carved aplenty, custom bullets with different effects depending on battlefield needs... These details have culminated in a portable, modular, accurate, and powerful rifle to be used in a variety of roles and creative ways. In this case, it will be a combination of anti-materiel and sharpshooting.

"Range is 1200. Wind is 35 m/s North to South. Temperature is 10 Celsius..." Alisa called out. "Ready when you are."

Franka smirks behind her scope. "Heh, I'm born ready." She then pulls the trigger, causing a magically muffled bang to be heard around them but not anywhere else.

The bullet flies at an absurd speed of approximately 1000 m/s, ensuring that the distance from them to the target is meaningless. The first bullet is just a normal armor-piercing bullet, however, and so is the second one fired by Franka next. She is not breaking out her personal toys just yet. Rather, the normal bullets are used first to target the anchor winches on the fore and aft decks of the Sardegnian ship. In quick succession, the heavy 20mm armor-piercing projectiles destroy the winches but still leave the chains and anchors perfectly intact. The anchors, now with nothing to hold them back from gravity, fall beneath the waves and soon hit the bottom of the sea. The ship lurches forward for a short distance but is ultimately forced to a halt when its engines are unable to supply enough power to drag the anchors under the sea.

To prevent the Sardegnians from just cutting the anchor lines, Franka loads her specialties next. Franka first transfers some of her mana over into her rifle, making some of its runes glow a light blue. Then, the mana is fed into the bullet that is chambered, similarly making it shine a pale light. Pulling the trigger, Franka sends her specially crafted payload round down below before rechambering another matching round and firing it. The payload munitions, shining white like they have tracers, impact the fore and aft deck of the enemy vessel. They then explode in flashes of misty white, immediately encasing not just the chains but also a large portion of the deck in a thick layer of hardened ice. Not stopping there, Franka fires two more rounds, impacting and sealing the vessel's bridge in a tomb of ice, killing the captain and everyone inside. This truly ensures that no one would be able to recover the ship's mobility on short notice. By the time they manage to make any headway, the Swedish would be by their flanks, eager to deliver justice to them.

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It has been shocking to hear that Stockholm has been invaded. It's been an anxious trip to intercept the rogue enemy vessel. Yet, what beats everything is the weirdness of it all to see a half-frozen vessel on a good day. The Captain of the HSwMS Gustaf V must admit that it has been a baffling, trippy experience. Honestly, Sweden has never come across such a situation, not in a long while at least. Now that an outlier has occurred, not many know how to adequately react on this particular occasion. The Sardegnians have been beaten black and blue by the Army ashore, from what he has heard. Now that they are being fridge tunas, the Captain can't exactly order for their immediate termination.

As such, he opts to sail the Gustaf V closer, a mere five hundred meters away. Does it break the rules? Yes, but there's no playbook on this occasion anyway. Turning on the ship's loudspeakers, the Captain has one of the sailors who knows Sardegnian speak up.

"This is the HSwMS Gustaf V to hostile Sardegnian vessel. In the name of His Majesty the King of Sweden, stand down and prepare to be boarded!" Such a broadcast is played on repeat many times. During said broadcast, the Captain orders the preparation of boarding parties.

While armed sailors are gearing up for boarding action, the Captain's attention is taken away by one of his subordinates. The man is then shown through binoculars the action of the Sardegnians uncovering something on their deck. The Captain of the Gustaf V then promptly jumped in shock when it turned out that the Sardegnians had bolted haphazardly some naval cannons on their ship. His inexperience in naval warfare matter shown when the Sardegnians secure the first shots on the Gustaf V and at such a close distance. Luckily for the man, his faith has blessed him, the two 90mm shells that the Sardegnians send out have lackluster performance on the Swedish coastal defense ship. One falls short of the vessel while another harmlessly shatters against the impressive armored belt of the Gustaf V. Nonetheless, they do cause the Captain and the crew of the Gustaf V a fright. Worse, they scratch the paint job on the ship that is bearing the name of His Majesty, using something that's not even worthy to be called an armed merchantman. A humiliation like that would cost the Captain his military career at the very least.

The Captain is now positively livid after that slight.

"Good! Good! If they spit on the civility we offered them! Then who are we to not return that slap they gave us in kind! I want all guns to aim that stain in the sea!"

The sound of groaning metals can be heard as the Gustaf V lays her armament consisting of:

• 4 × Bofors 283 mm gun M/1912 (2×2)

• 8 × 152 mm/50 cal. Bofors QF M/1912 (1×2, 6×1)

• 4 × 75 mm/53 cal. Bofors QF M/1912 (4×1)

• 2 × 75 mm/53 cal. Bofors AA M/1915 (2×1)

• 2 × 57 mm/21.3 cal. Bofors M/1916 (2×1)

• 2 × 6.5 mm/92.3 cal. MG M/1914 (2×1)

After a report that all batteries are ready, the Captain shouts heatedly.

"FIRE EVERYTHING!"

For the first time in her service record, Gustaf V unleashes her first all batteries salvo in anger against a target many times less than her in wiping the Sardegnian vessel off the ocean in less than five seconds. It has been nothing short of a point-blank range for the Gustaf V, as such, nearly everything hit the now non-existent vessel. Ultimately, what remains of the former enemy are floating debris and oil stains, with pieces of things still falling from the sky after many explosions.

By HSwMS Gustaf V's side is the HSwMS Tapperheten, a vessel that has been lucky enough to get a front view of Gustaf V's anger. In a moment of hilarity, the Tapperheten has signaled Gustaf V this:

"Chill, bro, chill."

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