First Attack

The ocean of clouds were being split apart by the hulls of the warships as the warships sliced through the clouds like an arrow perfectly shot from a bow. Along with the sovereign class battleship which was in the middle, it was followed by the cruisers while the destroyers moved out of the formation and formed their own formation so that they could establish a defensive perimeter around the ships.

With the battleship and the cruisers doing aerial bombardment, they stationed the other ships, like utility ships and convoy ships, for the army at the middle and on the back was a perimeter of defensive formation by the destroyers.

Panning back to the bridge of the sovereign class battleship, the captain of the task force, was busy ordering the crewmates on what they were supposed to, and they were in a rush as they were all preparing for the attack as soon as possible. Light was blinking as the alarms were blaring loudly that reverberated throughout the entire ships, as the crewmates got into their positions as required.

"Hard to starboard!" the captain ordered.

The aerial fortress moved as it was intended by the captain, which was followed by the movements of large caliber guns and the cruisers by her side. Upon directing the large caliber guns of the warships, the captain finally gave the order to fire. Almost immediately, a deafening shot rang out into the surrounding areas, as a large caliber roared to its utmost effort, which was then followed by billowing smoke.

On the far side of the battlefield within the area of the landscape, a large invisible covered the entirety of it. The shots of the cannons whizzed through the battlefield to which after it landed on the top of the invisible force. A thunderous explosion rocked the surroundings as the trees from the ground shook and were slightly blown away by the explosion.

Though the invisible force stopped the first salvo from the aerial bombardment by the warships of the Machine Empire. Almost immediately after being pummelled by the salvo of the cannons, the invisible force or the thing immediately disappeared. Meanwhile, having observed the results of the first salvo from afar, the human forces of the machine Empire were quite surprised. However, they believed nothing could stop the superior firepower, so they continued with the second salvo.

The second salvo was released as the force of the sheer amount of power of the large caliber guns slightly pushed back the sovereign class battleship. The shot reverberated throughout the surroundings as it slashes through the sky and into the land of the islands. To which an ear-piercing explosion followed it. The soil to which the shell landed sprung up and flew all over the surroundings, with various pieces of the shell spewing out everywhere and wreaking havoc on the environment.

After the explosion ended, a dark soil and a few inches deep of fallen soil which could be used to mark where an explosion ultimately happened.

As for the surrounding area of the explosion, there really isn't much to say except "Total Destruction."

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Within a long corridor, a man could be seen dashing through the Veldarun Outpost and into the command room. He barges into the command room as he has an urgent matter at hand. To which, to the surprise of his commander.

"Alcius! Why are you barding in this trying times? Is there any news our Republic allies and our scouts we sent! They're all silent!"

"My apologize, Commander! But we've spotted what seemed to be airships of unknown variety. They came from the Republic border, but it doesn't seem it belong to then as we couldn't recognise the flag that it was flying. Furthermore, this airship is far too big for a standard airship. Moreover, they were in large numbers. It could be a fleet from this mysterious nation that destroyed the theocracy and an invasion force from them." The man explained.

As the Imperial commander was listening to the things that the man was speaking, the more sour his face becomes, not only sour but also terrified at the same time. If it really is a fleet from the mysterious nation forming within the fallen theocracy, then they could have finally lost and would be on the defensive now, so that means he would become another casualty of the war.

That way of thinking was the most that terrified him, however he still has a responsibility to take care of, and despite him being in fear, he has to do his job, or else millions of lives would be lost.

"I need the quatity of the enemy ships!" He said.

"Just over 200 ships, all closing!"

The commander groaned as he closed his eyes, using hus surveillance magic to watched the disarrayed elements of the defense fleet in the Empire's border, already partially devoured by the explosion caused by the enemy fleets. It also displayed the invasion fleet, numerically smaller than their own, and yet so much more. All of their ships were massive, but they had appeared at a great distance compared to theirs, and he concluded their opening slavos to be more a show of force and fervor than an effective attack.

He quickly realized his error when two more fellow of the Imperial Airships that were drifting nearby, were suddenly struck by pillars of crimson light. The beams were almost 500 meters in width, and while the magical barriers seemed to hold for a moment, they quickly collapsed under the weight of those enormous beams. The imperial commander was dead to novelty, was unimpressed by power, but even he nearly paused as he watched the two ships melt like candles under the crimson touch of the invader's weapons.

"Mobilize all of the gatherung fleets in the border!" The Commander immediately demanded. After having exclaimed his utter shock, he stood up and had the man have him move towards the dockyard to protect their only line of supply towards their lands. However, despite his best interest, more thunderous explosion rang out into the surrounding areas. He felt a deep chill towards his insides, and so he automatically activated one of his strongest skills.

Within an instant, a massive invisible shield appeared throughout the entire border fortress and the Imperial fleets. To which a few moments after it appeared, a bright and thunderous explosion reverberated throughout the skies, and when they looked up, the sky became crimson with ablot of flames as if the end hasbcome. However, it was just an explosive shell from the large caliber guns of the Warships of the Machine Empire.

After being hit by the explosion, the shield or barrier dissipated into magical particles, and descended into the base like snowflakes.

Now depleting almost all of his mana, the Imperial commander fell to the ground with a surprised look on his face and to the surprise of the man beside him.

"Don't you stand there, I said mobilize our defensive fleets! The Empire is now at war!"