Previous Chapter: The One They Call the God of War 3
Aegis destroyer Chōkai, 4th Escort Flotilla
The enemy’s attacks now included the secondary guns and the intensity of their bombardment increased. Still, they continued to precisely intercept only the shells that posed the highest risk. At last, the enemy was finally within range of the Chōkai’s 127mm rapid fire gun.
“The enemy has entered the maximum range of our main gun!!!”
“Main gun, fire at will!!!”
“Main gun, fire at wiiill!!!”
Reciting the order to himself, the gunner pulled the trigger.
The Oto Melara 127mm rapid fire gun, with a rate of fire of 45 rounds per minute, began firing at its maximum range. The barrel was stabilized due to its stabilizer and with the fire control system calculating the relative speed to the enemy, they commenced bombarding the enemy’s future position.
The destroyers Suzutsuki and Shimakaze following behind Chōkai followed suit and opened up with their own guns. The destroyer Sazanami, travelling on the left hand side opposite to the line led by Chōkai, also began firing. The destroyers Inazuma, Samidare, and Kirisame, however, remained silent as their 76.2mm guns were still out of range.
Bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam!!!
The crisp, light sounds of gunfire echoed across the ocean. A storm of shells were unleashed from 4 destroyers. Each gun boasted a successive fire rate of more than 40 rounds per minute with the destroyer Shimakaze sporting 2 guns. In total, they could fire 200 rounds per minute, roughly 3.5 rounds per second, and a barrage of shells rained down on the Grade Atlastar. Across the vicinity of the battleship, intense flames and thunderous sounds manifested from the hits scored on the battleship as near-misses that landed close splashed seawater down onto the deck. The unpleasant sounds of water getting blasted and metal colliding against metal rang out across the ocean.
“Hit confirmed!!! Hit confirmed!!! Hit confirmed!!!”
“Sink sink sink sink!!! Just fucking sink already!!!!”
Explosive flames and smoke engulfed the enemy battleship, making it hard to judge how much damage their bombardment inflicted. They’d normally want to stop firing after a certain time had passed to verify the effect their bombardment had but the escort flotilla did not relax their fingers from the trigger.
“Fire fire fire fire fire!!!”
In plain numbers, a 127mm gun seemed like a small gun. However, looking at the power of the bombardment in front of them, it was so intense that it made them think that nothing would remain unbroken under such hell. In just 1 minute, they fired more than 200 rounds. Since they were at maximum range, they couldn’t score direct hits for all the rounds they fired. Many near-missed and missed the enemy completely but it was apparent that many rounds had also hit.
However…
“Enemy ship has fired!!! 12 rounds incoming!!!”
They immediately launched missiles to intercept them and 7 more shells blew up in the sky. Since they have gotten closer, the elevation of their 46cm guns and other guns had already been lowered, making it even harder to intercept their shells.
“Enemy ship still intact!!!”
“Fuck!!! It’s… It’s too fucking strong!”
The enemy ship emerged out of the explosive flames still alive and kicking, signalling its presence by firing another salvo. Commander Sakano was astonished by the bombardment’s precision.
・・・
The 4th Escort Flotilla had split into two, continuously raining down artillery barrages on the Grade Atlastar as they sailed parallel to it. It can be seen clearly that their shots are hitting the battleship but the enemy’s speed hardly dropped.
If they were to get close, they can pull off more precise attacks and aim for the waterline but doing so would expose them to even more shells from the enemy, increasing the likelihood of getting hit and suffering casualties. He couldn’t decide whether to get even closer under unabated enemy fire.
“Is this how the Americans felt when they faced the Musashi…”
Commander Sakano muttered.
On October 24, 1944, the battleship Musashi, the 2nd Yamato-class battleship, of the Imperial Japanese Navy made contact with the US Navy at Sibuyan Sea and was sunk. According to the US Navy’s records, the Musashi was sunk after being hit by 44 bombs, 9 rockets, and 25 torpedoes. The total number of munitions dropped on Musashi totalled to 161 before finally being sunk after suffering 78 direct hits. Also according to the records, the direct cause of the sinking was due to flooding brought about by torpedoes.
Entering torpedo range was life-threatening. War is fundamentally life-threatening but Sakano didn’t want to have his subordinates get killed as much as possible.
The hesitation took time and before long, they were now 150km away from the Nahanath Kingdom.
・・・
5th Surface-to-Surface Missile Regiment, Japan Ground Self Defense Force, Nahanath Kingdom
Boasting a height of 1200m above sea level, the sacred mountain of Mt. Axade is the tallest mountain in the Nahanath Kingdom. Set up near the 8th gōme1 of the mountain is a search radar. The enemy ship heading straight for them about 150km west of their position was already being tracked due to their link with the JMSDF. A relay device, a command vehicle, 4 missile launcher vehicles, and 4 ammunition trucks have already been set up at the side of the mountain.
The Type 12 surface-to-ship guided missile… After being launched, the guided missile follows a pre-programmed course, like a sewing needle drawing a mountain on cloth, and emerges out on the ocean surface. Its range of several hundred kilometers allows its user to lay waste to any ship out in the ocean. A very troublesome weapon for any attacker, like those who have come to invade Japan, it can unleash its barrage of missiles anywhere as long as the enemy has still not secured a beachhead several hundred kilometers inland.
“Launch preparations are done, sir.”
“Fwoosh… Okay.”
Regiment Commander Kotsubo replies uninterestedly.
There was only 1 enemy ship. No matter how colossal the battleship was, Kotsubo criticized them for being too reckless. Sure, the enemy did make it a point that they were doing a suicide attack and their fiery intentions have been made clear to them but it was ultimately meaningless.
Still, this makes for good target practice. Heh.
With the power held by the surface-to-surface missile regiment, they can easily drive back the outnumbered enemy ship.
“Let’s fire just one shot for starters. Else, we’d be wasting taxpayer money… Launch as soon as you’re ready. Ah, right. After some time, fire another one, then repeat the process. They can’t shoot them down anyways so let’s just make them shit their pants.”
“Yes, sir!”
With malicious intent written on his face, Kotsubo ruthlessly gave the order to fire.
“Fire!!!”
A Type 12 surface-to-ship guided missile was launched from the mountainside of the sacred mountain, Mt. Axade. After being accelerated to a sufficient speed by its rocket booster, the guided missile switched to its turbojet engine. Following its pre-programmed course, it emerged onto the open sea.
The Type 12 surface-to-ship guided missile pushed forward to its target as it skimmed the surface of the ocean.
・・・
Grade Atlastar
“We’re hit!!! We’re hit!!! We’re hiiiit!!!”
Boom!!!
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!”
The flurry of flames was intense… so intense that they could no longer see the ocean in front of them.
A barrage of shells continuously hit their proud ship. However, their heavily armored sections held out like an impregnable fortress. Their shells didn’t punch through their armor but the absurd amount of explosions was annoying to the ears.
Fear gripped the bridge.
“Steel yourselves!!! Our armor won’t give in and so should you!!! We have nothing to fear from the enemy attack!!!”
Captain Luxtal howled.
The ferocity of the enemy bombardment was something that they had never experienced before. However, their battleship, ignoring the enemy bombardment like it was mere rain, nevertheless pushed forward.
“The Grade Atlastar… She’s unsinkable!!!”
Someone on the bridge shouted. An absolute confidence sprouted from the fact that they were on the world’s largest and strongest battleship.
Caesar then stirred up their morale.
“At this rate, we will reach Nahanath and crush the Japanese Army there to ashes and then return to our proud home!!! This battleship… she’s the number one!!!”
“YEAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”
They were still yet to land a hit on the enemy ships. However, no matter how many shells the enemy ships would shoot at them, they’d withstand it. They were absolutely confident.
For a moment, the attacks stopped. Silence enveloped the bridge.
“Load the next rounds!!! We will fire the main batteries!!!”
It was at that moment when they tried to counterattack that a sliver of light ran across the sky.
“Enemy guided bomb incoming!!!”
“What?!”
They looked up to the sky. The rocket climbed up before turning to face them, appearing like a dot that fast approached them.
“It’s gonna hit!!!”
Someone shouted.
“I’m… sorry.”
Ready to meet his fate, Caesar muttered to himself. Whether it was meant for someone, to the sailors on board the Grade Atlastar, or the entirety of the Gra Valkas Empire military, no one knows. Events from the earliest he could remember up to this point in time flashed across the back of his mind like a revolving lantern.
When he first heard the name of the country of Japan, he recognized them as a country that was transferred to the New World just like them. When they toppled the superpower Parpaldia, after seeing that they didn’t take the opportunity to impose their rule on them, he became disinterested, thinking they were a country without much national power to their name. Looking at the results of the Battle of the Folk Strait, he thought that they were a country that fielded fragile warships and viewed them as a country that didn’t pose a single inch of threat militarily.
However, ever since the Army’s Valkyries base fell to them, their evaluation of them immediately changed. They have collected various intel but with so much unverified info, they could not properly analyze them. It was pointed out that a single ship may possess far more capabilities than initially expected but the empire’s overconfident military common sense interfered with the organization’s ability to come up with a precise assessment. Looking at their current deployment, it was clear as day that it was already a failure. A defeat so crushing that he could no longer see how they’ll move forward with their conquest of the world.
They’ve lost a horrifyingly large number of ships while they are still yet to sink a single Japanese warship. It was a defeat so crushing that it smeared the empire’s name and legacy. The disparity in the capabilities of the weapons they fielded was so great that no amount of skill could bridge the gap. At this rate, the empire was simply marching to its doom.
I want to stop the empire. I want to… but it seems that my life could only be permitted to go this far.
He vehemently regretted himself for not being able to notice the empire’s true errors.
However…
“I guess it’s too late for that.”
He silently closes his eyes.
A Type 12 surface-to-ship guided missile launched by the 5th Surface-to-Surface Missile Regiment of the Japan Ground Self Defense Force landed close to the bridge of the Grade Atlastar, the Gra Valkas Empire’s largest and strongest battleship, enveloping everything in its proximity in an intense explosion. The people inside the bridge were vaporized in an instant as explosive flames engulfed the ship. In just a single moment, the battleship, having lost its chain of command and its ability to steer, slowly began to turn.
However, the attacks continued. Another missile came and landed a hit, followed by another one, violently damaging the ship.
Sailor O’Connor was struck by fear.
The bridge was rumbling due to the flames brought about by the enemy attack as the sky was drenched black by the smoke. In a situation where they no longer had any hope for victory, the enemy’s attacks continued. One after another, the attacks landed on their ship, enveloping it in violent explosions.
If they continued to move forward they’d truly end up dead.
It wasn’t just O’Connor. Every other sailor who was still alive on the ship was terrified. Someone speaks up.
“We’ll die at this rate!!! Why don’t we abandon ship?!”
To O’Connor, he only picked up the words ‘abandon ship’. At a time he was about to collapse from terror, he heard the words ‘abandon ship’. He didn’t know who said those words but to his ears, they were the words of salvation. With death knocking on his door, he interpreted the words at his convenience. He then shouted.
“All hands, abandon ship!!! All hands, abandon ship!!!”
With the bridge blown away and their chain of command in disarray, coupled with the presence of death at their doors, the sailors that heard the words ‘all hands, abandon ship’ repeated it loudly so that everyone else who didn’t hear it would hear it.
O’Connor’s words were propagated throughout the ship as if they were legitimate orders as the sailors scrambled to jump out into the ocean. Even if they were to remain on the ship, the next guided bomb would hit them and could even end up killing them. Faced with the reality of certain death, they took whatever chance at life they got with them as they jumped into the waters next to the ship.
Eventually, the superdreadnought Grade Atlastar was left to drift away.
Meanwhile, the aerial battleship Pal Chimera, due to Meteos’s careful attacks, mission-killed all ships of Fleet 88 and were rendered to a state in which they were unable to fight back.
On this day, the more than 1000 ships of the Gra Valkas Empire Imperial Navy’s Combined Fleet failed in its invasion of Japan.
The battleship Grade Atlastar, which had tried to mount a last-ditch suicide attack, was wrecked by 6 surface-to-ship guided missiles and over 235 shells from the destroyers.
The surviving crew members of the Grade Atlastar which had abandoned ship and jumped into the ocean were taken into custody as prisoners of war.
The empire’s largest ship, the Grade Atlastar, was captured and seized by the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force, towed all the way to Kure in Hiroshima, and then thoroughly examined.
・・・
Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture
“Wow… That is amazing!”
An old man sporting white hair muttered.
A massive battleship that was exhaustively wrecked is moored in the harbor. The warship, more than three times the size of a JMSDF escort ship/destroyer, exhibited painful wounds from its previous battle.
“This is the enemy’s flagship which can be said to bear striking resemblance to the old Yamato battleship.”
A uniformed person from the Ministry of Defense explains the summary of the battle to the old man.
“This world… is filled to the brim with those who want to be conquerors. Up to this point, Japan, dragged against its will into wars, still held onto the common sense of the old world, and so failed to exhibit any of its military might. Don’t you think so too?”
“As a member of the Ministry of Defense, that is something that is difficult to answer.”
“That’s fine. You see, my father used to have served on the Yamato herself in the Pacific War. He didn’t tell me the name of the ship at that time but I proudly declared to everyone that he was serving in the world’s strongest battleship. After the war ended, info finally reached me on how my father had died in combat and so I finally learned that he had served on the Yamato herself. Japan needs the battleship. For that, I want to restore that battleship back to life.”
“Huh?!”
“It must have been divine intervention that this enemy battleship, the Grade Atlastar, resembles the Yamato even in detail, save for its engine and fire control system. Well, we don’t know that yet since it’s still being examined. She will be armed with the Japanese version of the Aegis system and the latest armament, and her armor will be strengthened. If I were to use a term that young’uns nowadays use, I guess you could call it a makaizou2, heh.”
“Still! Isn’t it bad, disrespectful even, to use the name of a warship representative of Japan itself on a warship from an enemy country? Sure, the Grade Atlastar may have some usefulness politically but…”
“My bad. Well, you also jumped to conclusions fairly quickly, I must say. Hmm. I also think that those nationalists and other people who possess a deep love for our country will certainly be extremely opposed to christening an enemy ship with the name Yamato and may even think it’s ridiculous. This Grade Atlastar will be remodeled. Separately, I want to create new YAMATO3-class battleships that make full use of modern tech. With these new YAMATO battleships, Japan will have a new, flashy symbol to use as deterrence against other countries. I want to make this into reality. For that, why don’t I begin moving the political world…”
The man, wielding great political influence on the Japanese government, dreamed of repairing the Grade Atlastar and reviving the production of Japan-made battleships.
Previous Chapter: The One They Call the God of War 3
Aegis destroyer Chōkai, 4th Escort Flotilla
The enemy’s attacks now included the secondary guns and the intensity of their bombardment increased. Still, they continued to precisely intercept only the shells that posed the highest risk. At last, the enemy was finally within range of the Chōkai’s 127mm rapid fire gun.
“The enemy has entered the maximum range of our main gun!!!”
“Main gun, fire at will!!!”
“Main gun, fire at wiiill!!!”
Reciting the order to himself, the gunner pulled the trigger.
The Oto Melara 127mm rapid fire gun, with a rate of fire of 45 rounds per minute, began firing at its maximum range. The barrel was stabilized due to its stabilizer and with the fire control system calculating the relative speed to the enemy, they commenced bombarding the enemy’s future position.
The destroyers Suzutsuki and Shimakaze following behind Chōkai followed suit and opened up with their own guns. The destroyer Sazanami, travelling on the left hand side opposite to the line led by Chōkai, also began firing. The destroyers Inazuma, Samidare, and Kirisame, however, remained silent as their 76.2mm guns were still out of range.
Bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam!!!
The crisp, light sounds of gunfire echoed across the ocean. A storm of shells were unleashed from 4 destroyers. Each gun boasted a successive fire rate of more than 40 rounds per minute with the destroyer Shimakaze sporting 2 guns. In total, they could fire 200 rounds per minute, roughly 3.5 rounds per second, and a barrage of shells rained down on the Grade Atlastar. Across the vicinity of the battleship, intense flames and thunderous sounds manifested from the hits scored on the battleship as near-misses that landed close splashed seawater down onto the deck. The unpleasant sounds of water getting blasted and metal colliding against metal rang out across the ocean.
“Hit confirmed!!! Hit confirmed!!! Hit confirmed!!!”
“Sink sink sink sink!!! Just fucking sink already!!!!”
Explosive flames and smoke engulfed the enemy battleship, making it hard to judge how much damage their bombardment inflicted. They’d normally want to stop firing after a certain time had passed to verify the effect their bombardment had but the escort flotilla did not relax their fingers from the trigger.
“Fire fire fire fire fire!!!”
In plain numbers, a 127mm gun seemed like a small gun. However, looking at the power of the bombardment in front of them, it was so intense that it made them think that nothing would remain unbroken under such hell. In just 1 minute, they fired more than 200 rounds. Since they were at maximum range, they couldn’t score direct hits for all the rounds they fired. Many near-missed and missed the enemy completely but it was apparent that many rounds had also hit.
However…
“Enemy ship has fired!!! 12 rounds incoming!!!”
They immediately launched missiles to intercept them and 7 more shells blew up in the sky. Since they have gotten closer, the elevation of their 46cm guns and other guns had already been lowered, making it even harder to intercept their shells.
“Enemy ship still intact!!!”
“Fuck!!! It’s… It’s too fucking strong!”
The enemy ship emerged out of the explosive flames still alive and kicking, signalling its presence by firing another salvo. Commander Sakano was astonished by the bombardment’s precision.
・・・
The 4th Escort Flotilla had split into two, continuously raining down artillery barrages on the Grade Atlastar as they sailed parallel to it. It can be seen clearly that their shots are hitting the battleship but the enemy’s speed hardly dropped.
If they were to get close, they can pull off more precise attacks and aim for the waterline but doing so would expose them to even more shells from the enemy, increasing the likelihood of getting hit and suffering casualties. He couldn’t decide whether to get even closer under unabated enemy fire.
“Is this how the Americans felt when they faced the Musashi…”
Commander Sakano muttered.
On October 24, 1944, the battleship Musashi, the 2nd Yamato-class battleship, of the Imperial Japanese Navy made contact with the US Navy at Sibuyan Sea and was sunk. According to the US Navy’s records, the Musashi was sunk after being hit by 44 bombs, 9 rockets, and 25 torpedoes. The total number of munitions dropped on Musashi totalled to 161 before finally being sunk after suffering 78 direct hits. Also according to the records, the direct cause of the sinking was due to flooding brought about by torpedoes.
Entering torpedo range was life-threatening. War is fundamentally life-threatening but Sakano didn’t want to have his subordinates get killed as much as possible.
The hesitation took time and before long, they were now 150km away from the Nahanath Kingdom.
・・・
5th Surface-to-Surface Missile Regiment, Japan Ground Self Defense Force, Nahanath Kingdom
Boasting a height of 1200m above sea level, the sacred mountain of Mt. Axade is the tallest mountain in the Nahanath Kingdom. Set up near the 8th gōme1 of the mountain is a search radar. The enemy ship heading straight for them about 150km west of their position was already being tracked due to their link with the JMSDF. A relay device, a command vehicle, 4 missile launcher vehicles, and 4 ammunition trucks have already been set up at the side of the mountain.
The Type 12 surface-to-ship guided missile… After being launched, the guided missile follows a pre-programmed course, like a sewing needle drawing a mountain on cloth, and emerges out on the ocean surface. Its range of several hundred kilometers allows its user to lay waste to any ship out in the ocean. A very troublesome weapon for any attacker, like those who have come to invade Japan, it can unleash its barrage of missiles anywhere as long as the enemy has still not secured a beachhead several hundred kilometers inland.
“Launch preparations are done, sir.”
“Fwoosh… Okay.”
Regiment Commander Kotsubo replies uninterestedly.
There was only 1 enemy ship. No matter how colossal the battleship was, Kotsubo criticized them for being too reckless. Sure, the enemy did make it a point that they were doing a suicide attack and their fiery intentions have been made clear to them but it was ultimately meaningless.
Still, this makes for good target practice. Heh.
With the power held by the surface-to-surface missile regiment, they can easily drive back the outnumbered enemy ship.
“Let’s fire just one shot for starters. Else, we’d be wasting taxpayer money… Launch as soon as you’re ready. Ah, right. After some time, fire another one, then repeat the process. They can’t shoot them down anyways so let’s just make them shit their pants.”
“Yes, sir!”
With malicious intent written on his face, Kotsubo ruthlessly gave the order to fire.
“Fire!!!”
A Type 12 surface-to-ship guided missile was launched from the mountainside of the sacred mountain, Mt. Axade. After being accelerated to a sufficient speed by its rocket booster, the guided missile switched to its turbojet engine. Following its pre-programmed course, it emerged onto the open sea.
The Type 12 surface-to-ship guided missile pushed forward to its target as it skimmed the surface of the ocean.
・・・
Grade Atlastar
“We’re hit!!! We’re hit!!! We’re hiiiit!!!”
Boom!!!
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!”
The flurry of flames was intense… so intense that they could no longer see the ocean in front of them.
A barrage of shells continuously hit their proud ship. However, their heavily armored sections held out like an impregnable fortress. Their shells didn’t punch through their armor but the absurd amount of explosions was annoying to the ears.
Fear gripped the bridge.
“Steel yourselves!!! Our armor won’t give in and so should you!!! We have nothing to fear from the enemy attack!!!”
Captain Luxtal howled.
The ferocity of the enemy bombardment was something that they had never experienced before. However, their battleship, ignoring the enemy bombardment like it was mere rain, nevertheless pushed forward.
“The Grade Atlastar… She’s unsinkable!!!”
Someone on the bridge shouted. An absolute confidence sprouted from the fact that they were on the world’s largest and strongest battleship.
Caesar then stirred up their morale.
“At this rate, we will reach Nahanath and crush the Japanese Army there to ashes and then return to our proud home!!! This battleship… she’s the number one!!!”
“YEAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”
They were still yet to land a hit on the enemy ships. However, no matter how many shells the enemy ships would shoot at them, they’d withstand it. They were absolutely confident.
For a moment, the attacks stopped. Silence enveloped the bridge.
“Load the next rounds!!! We will fire the main batteries!!!”
It was at that moment when they tried to counterattack that a sliver of light ran across the sky.
“Enemy guided bomb incoming!!!”
“What?!”
They looked up to the sky. The rocket climbed up before turning to face them, appearing like a dot that fast approached them.
“It’s gonna hit!!!”
Someone shouted.
“I’m… sorry.”
Ready to meet his fate, Caesar muttered to himself. Whether it was meant for someone, to the sailors on board the Grade Atlastar, or the entirety of the Gra Valkas Empire military, no one knows. Events from the earliest he could remember up to this point in time flashed across the back of his mind like a revolving lantern.
When he first heard the name of the country of Japan, he recognized them as a country that was transferred to the New World just like them. When they toppled the superpower Parpaldia, after seeing that they didn’t take the opportunity to impose their rule on them, he became disinterested, thinking they were a country without much national power to their name. Looking at the results of the Battle of the Folk Strait, he thought that they were a country that fielded fragile warships and viewed them as a country that didn’t pose a single inch of threat militarily.
However, ever since the Army’s Valkyries base fell to them, their evaluation of them immediately changed. They have collected various intel but with so much unverified info, they could not properly analyze them. It was pointed out that a single ship may possess far more capabilities than initially expected but the empire’s overconfident military common sense interfered with the organization’s ability to come up with a precise assessment. Looking at their current deployment, it was clear as day that it was already a failure. A defeat so crushing that he could no longer see how they’ll move forward with their conquest of the world.
They’ve lost a horrifyingly large number of ships while they are still yet to sink a single Japanese warship. It was a defeat so crushing that it smeared the empire’s name and legacy. The disparity in the capabilities of the weapons they fielded was so great that no amount of skill could bridge the gap. At this rate, the empire was simply marching to its doom.
I want to stop the empire. I want to… but it seems that my life could only be permitted to go this far.
He vehemently regretted himself for not being able to notice the empire’s true errors.
However…
“I guess it’s too late for that.”
He silently closes his eyes.
A Type 12 surface-to-ship guided missile launched by the 5th Surface-to-Surface Missile Regiment of the Japan Ground Self Defense Force landed close to the bridge of the Grade Atlastar, the Gra Valkas Empire’s largest and strongest battleship, enveloping everything in its proximity in an intense explosion. The people inside the bridge were vaporized in an instant as explosive flames engulfed the ship. In just a single moment, the battleship, having lost its chain of command and its ability to steer, slowly began to turn.
However, the attacks continued. Another missile came and landed a hit, followed by another one, violently damaging the ship.
Sailor O’Connor was struck by fear.
The bridge was rumbling due to the flames brought about by the enemy attack as the sky was drenched black by the smoke. In a situation where they no longer had any hope for victory, the enemy’s attacks continued. One after another, the attacks landed on their ship, enveloping it in violent explosions.
If they continued to move forward they’d truly end up dead.
It wasn’t just O’Connor. Every other sailor who was still alive on the ship was terrified. Someone speaks up.
“We’ll die at this rate!!! Why don’t we abandon ship?!”
To O’Connor, he only picked up the words ‘abandon ship’. At a time he was about to collapse from terror, he heard the words ‘abandon ship’. He didn’t know who said those words but to his ears, they were the words of salvation. With death knocking on his door, he interpreted the words at his convenience. He then shouted.
“All hands, abandon ship!!! All hands, abandon ship!!!”
With the bridge blown away and their chain of command in disarray, coupled with the presence of death at their doors, the sailors that heard the words ‘all hands, abandon ship’ repeated it loudly so that everyone else who didn’t hear it would hear it.
O’Connor’s words were propagated throughout the ship as if they were legitimate orders as the sailors scrambled to jump out into the ocean. Even if they were to remain on the ship, the next guided bomb would hit them and could even end up killing them. Faced with the reality of certain death, they took whatever chance at life they got with them as they jumped into the waters next to the ship.
Eventually, the superdreadnought Grade Atlastar was left to drift away.
Meanwhile, the aerial battleship Pal Chimera, due to Meteos’s careful attacks, mission-killed all ships of Fleet 88 and were rendered to a state in which they were unable to fight back.
On this day, the more than 1000 ships of the Gra Valkas Empire Imperial Navy’s Combined Fleet failed in its invasion of Japan.
The battleship Grade Atlastar, which had tried to mount a last-ditch suicide attack, was wrecked by 6 surface-to-ship guided missiles and over 235 shells from the destroyers.
The surviving crew members of the Grade Atlastar which had abandoned ship and jumped into the ocean were taken into custody as prisoners of war.
The empire’s largest ship, the Grade Atlastar, was captured and seized by the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force, towed all the way to Kure in Hiroshima, and then thoroughly examined.
・・・
Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture
“Wow… That is amazing!”
An old man sporting white hair muttered.
A massive battleship that was exhaustively wrecked is moored in the harbor. The warship, more than three times the size of a JMSDF escort ship/destroyer, exhibited painful wounds from its previous battle.
“This is the enemy’s flagship which can be said to bear striking resemblance to the old Yamato battleship.”
A uniformed person from the Ministry of Defense explains the summary of the battle to the old man.
“This world… is filled to the brim with those who want to be conquerors. Up to this point, Japan, dragged against its will into wars, still held onto the common sense of the old world, and so failed to exhibit any of its military might. Don’t you think so too?”
“As a member of the Ministry of Defense, that is something that is difficult to answer.”
“That’s fine. You see, my father used to have served on the Yamato herself in the Pacific War. He didn’t tell me the name of the ship at that time but I proudly declared to everyone that he was serving in the world’s strongest battleship. After the war ended, info finally reached me on how my father had died in combat and so I finally learned that he had served on the Yamato herself. Japan needs the battleship. For that, I want to restore that battleship back to life.”
“Huh?!”
“It must have been divine intervention that this enemy battleship, the Grade Atlastar, resembles the Yamato even in detail, save for its engine and fire control system. Well, we don’t know that yet since it’s still being examined. She will be armed with the Japanese version of the Aegis system and the latest armament, and her armor will be strengthened. If I were to use a term that young’uns nowadays use, I guess you could call it a makaizou2, heh.”
“Still! Isn’t it bad, disrespectful even, to use the name of a warship representative of Japan itself on a warship from an enemy country? Sure, the Grade Atlastar may have some usefulness politically but…”
“My bad. Well, you also jumped to conclusions fairly quickly, I must say. Hmm. I also think that those nationalists and other people who possess a deep love for our country will certainly be extremely opposed to christening an enemy ship with the name Yamato and may even think it’s ridiculous. This Grade Atlastar will be remodeled. Separately, I want to create new YAMATO3-class battleships that make full use of modern tech. With these new YAMATO battleships, Japan will have a new, flashy symbol to use as deterrence against other countries. I want to make this into reality. For that, why don’t I begin moving the political world…”
The man, wielding great political influence on the Japanese government, dreamed of repairing the Grade Atlastar and reviving the production of Japan-made battleships.
