"Saint Sophia has been hit and is on fire!" Onboard Enterprise, Ryan and his crew observed the unfolding battle. The undead warships seemed to be wary of Enterprise's power, keeping their distance and engaging only from a kilometer or two away. This ranged duel raised countless splashes in the ocean, but few shots hit their marks.
Ryan had initially hoped to turn the tide by initiating a boarding action, but he quickly realized the undead pirates weren't fools. They'd already learned the painful lessons of boarding battles from previous encounters and were now actively avoiding close combat with Enterprise and Saint Sophia. Whenever Enterprise tried to close the gap, the undead ships swiftly adjusted course, refusing to give even the slightest chance for boarding.
With its cumbersome structure, the ironclad ship couldn't match the undead's agility in speed and maneuvering. Ryan even tried to approach on his griffon, Impress, but Count Noctelas immediately ordered his gunners to concentrate fire on the griffon, forcing Ryan to withdraw back to Enterprise.
The frustration was mounting for Ryan, who felt unable to demonstrate his personal prowess in this level of large-scale naval warfare, especially when the undead fleet was determined to avoid boarding combat.
"Boom!" Enterprise fired once more, shaking from the blast. Dwarf engineer Sorgrin commanded his gun crews to reload quickly. His face was flushed with excitement as he laughed and nodded, exclaiming, "Aye, this is war! More power! Fire! Fire!"
Ryan, although anxious, couldn't help but smile at the dwarf's enthusiasm. Big ships, massive cannons, and large-caliber firepower—absolute necessities for some warriors.
The triple-mounted cannon roared in unison, raising three massive pillars of water about 20 meters in front of an undead battleship. Enterprise rocked slightly, with Sulia and Olica standing by Ryan's side. Olica was armed with her staff and clad in her battle armor, while Sulia was also fully equipped, eager to unleash her Void Dance technique again. "Ryan, Saint Sophia is on fire. Fogen's bridge was hit."
"Yes, they're fighting the fire. Fogen should be fine, but Vice Commander Pirazzo seems to have been injured," Ryan said, his Primarch-enhanced vision allowing him to spot the aftermath on Saint Sophia. He saw Fogen, looking disheveled, his once-silver hair smeared with ash. Vice Commander Pirazzo had taken a direct hit from a warpstone lightning cannon, leaving him charred, but luckily, his wounds weren't severe. His modified physiology as a genetically enhanced Emperor's Son meant that injuries that would be fatal to ordinary men were merely flesh wounds to him.
"You'll have children like that too, won't you?" Sulia asked with a spyglass in hand, recalling what Ryan had shared over several days about his family and other Primarchs, including the extreme behavior of Angron, who had fitted his sons with butcher's nails and had a violent temper that led him to kill his own guards on a whim. Sulia struggled to connect the bloodthirsty madman in Ryan's stories with the gentle "Uncle Angron" she knew now. Yet, she understood why Angron now cherished peaceful farm life—it was the family life he'd dreamed of his whole life.
"Yes, the Grey Knights will be forged soon enough. And trust me, their power will exceed even that of little Devonshire and Frederick," Ryan assured her as he coordinated the soldiers reloading the cannons.
Before he could finish, a massive cannonball shot towards the bridge where Ryan stood.
"Rosary of Sighs!" Ryan cast a defensive spell with lightning speed. His psychic energy, born of a Grey Knight Primarch, covered the bridge in a forcefield of light, diverting the giant cannonball. It missed the bridge, crashing into the sea and sending a 50-meter-high column of water into the air.
The bridge crew held their breath; even the usually confident Sorgrin knew that Enterprise's obsidian armor couldn't have withstood that impact.
Ryan felt a slight headache from the exertion; using large amounts of psychic power so close to the Maelstrom was straining, but he quickly recovered. Just as he was about to speak, a similar shell shot toward Saint Sophia, striking the bridge and blasting it apart. Shattered glass and metal rained down, and flames ignited. In the chaos, Fogen, who had just returned to his command post, was thrown off Saint Sophia and into the ocean.
Seeing this, Wood Elf Princess Carona gasped and dove into the water after him.
With Saint Sophia losing its command center, an undead battleship armed with a Queen Bess cannon and two Dark Elf ships closed in on it.
"Damn it!" Ryan slammed the railing in frustration. "Sorgrin, take down that undead battleship with the massive cannon!"
"We can't guarantee a hit, Your Majesty!" Sorgrin called up, "Plus, we're low on ammunition! We should focus on closer targets."
"What about that other plan? Use it!" Ryan shouted back.
"Which one?" Sorgrin hesitated, then remembered. "You mean Big Daddy?"
Just then, a ghostly cannonball struck the command deck, leaving a dent in the obsidian armor before dropping harmlessly to Sorgrin's feet.
"Saint Sophia needs air support!" Ryan ordered. "Send in the air force to target that undead battleship Bone Ghost!"
"Got it!" Sorgrin acknowledged. The dwarven crew received their orders, dodging enemy fire as they hurried to the helipad with barrels of dwarven beer to fuel the gyrocopter engines.
"Take to the air! Confirm the target!" shouted the veteran riflemen stationed on the broadside decks, exchanging fire with undead deck gunners and snipers on the opposing undead warships. Sorgrin, gripping a shotgun, ran with reckless abandon, shouting, "Now the real battle begins!"
He pulled his goggles down and charged with his crew to the rear helipad, where the Grimnir Thunderbolt gyrocopters were ready.
"Take off!"
"Target at three o'clock—clear shot!"
The gyrocopter propellers spun rapidly as the dwarven aircraft ascended. Sorgrin laughed, gripping the controls. "Big Daddy is here!"
Amid the smoke-filled blue sky and sea, the gyrocopters sped towards Bone Ghost. Seizing the opportunity, Sorgrin fired, yelling, "Die, skeletons! Grimnir curses you!"
The sulfur rotary guns unleashed a stream of fire, cutting down enemy deck gunners and Deep Sea Guards in swathes.
"Oh yeah!" Sorgrin pulled the lever and pressed a button. "Special delivery!"
A massive bomb called Big Daddy dropped from the gyrocopter. Its casing bore farewell greetings from the Garon foundry.
"Have a good day!"
"Boom!" The bomb detonated on Bone Ghost's deck, creating a mushroom cloud of fire and smoke. Half the deck was blown away, exposing the ship's interior. Sorgrin watched, shouting, "By Grungni, did it work?"
The answer was a resounding yes. The Queen Bess cannon was ripped from its mount and plummeted into the sea.
"Yeah!" Sorgrin cheered, but his celebration was cut short as streaks of green light flashed past, scratching the gyrocopter's armor. He looked back and saw a Skaven warpstone aircraft tailing him, firing continuously.
"Dwarven trash, fall down, yes-yes!" screeched the Skaven pilot.
"Bring it on, you damn rat! Sorgrin will send you to meet the Horned Rat today!" Sorgrin shouted, lifting the gyrocopter and ascending.
The sky was a chaotic mix of colors—High Elf, undead, and Dark Elf magic, dragon breath, arrows, and cannon fire crisscrossed in a brutal display. Already, fifteen undead battleships had been sunk or disabled, but the High Elves were also paying a heavy toll. Eight Star Dragon warships were lost, and another four were severely damaged. The Dark Elf fleet had now joined the battle, flanking the undead forces with their Black Arks and bombarding the High Elves with an overwhelming barrage of Reaper bolts and magic missiles, plunging them into a desperate fight.
At the rear of the formation, Saint Sophia was in flames, its deck and bridge struck by the Queen Bess cannon. Fogen, clutching the nearly-drowned Carona, quickly returned to the ironclad ship to continue commanding. A Gold Wizard summoned water elementals to defend the ship, but the enemy forces seemed endless.
Miraculously, Enterprise remained unharmed thanks to Ryan's psychic field and Olica's dark magic, although the Dark Elf fleet seemed wary of fully attacking due to her powerful dark magic. Nevertheless, they kept their distance, refusing to engage in close combat.
Despite this, Enterprise had managed to sink three undead battleships and cripple a Dark Elf dreadnought.
"Your Majesty! We're out of ammunition!" Raymon rushed to inform Ryan.
"What?" Ryan was stunned.
"Yes, sire, we're completely out!" Raymon cried, his face blackened with soot.
"Goddess of War, bless us!" Juan struck the railing in frustration. "How can we fight now?"
Ryan's face darkened. In such a critical moment, they had run out of ammunition.
What to do now? Even as a Grey Knight Primarch, he couldn't conjure
shells out of thin air.
Should he prepare Enterprise for a final charge, shouting, "For the Emperor!"?
"Left full rudder, full speed ahead! If we must die, let it be in battle!" Ryan ordered.
"Aye, sir!"
With Enterprise and Saint Sophia silenced, Lord Kraken, Lokh'shia, saw his chance. Laughing behind his golden kraken mask, he ordered, "Attack! The ironclad ships are out of ammunition!"
"Understood!"
Meanwhile, on the Dragonspine Mountains, the High Elf Phoenix King Finubar watched anxiously. Seeing the High Elf fleet struggling, he clenched his fists. "Summon Imrik. I know he's watching."
"Yes, Your Majesty," said Cochir, leaving promptly.
Five minutes later, the roar of a dragon echoed across the mountain as Imrik of Caledor arrived on his dragon, the ancient sun dragon Minahtnir. Imrik, ever proud, inclined his head slightly. "You summoned me, Your Majesty?"
"Imrik… please," Finubar reached out, gripping the prince's hands earnestly. "Our homeland needs you. I, Finubar, need you."
"Imrik… Caledor sacrificed everything to protect this land. Help us, my friend," Finubar pleaded, his voice filled with genuine sincerity.
Imrik was moved, hesitating as he looked out at the distant sea battle. After a minute and fifty seconds, he finally clenched his jaw.
"Your Majesty, I…"
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