Chapter 120: Wales's Response

"A century-class warship, the King George V-class battleship Monarch? I truly didn't expect the other side to cheat..." Crown Prince Trexi had already learned of this from Roger, who was still at the Wales headquarters. In truth, His Highness Trexi was not in Wales at all; he had been aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Royal Ark of the Wales fleet, indirectly directing everything alongside another person.

Three years ago, while studying at the Gale Imperial Academy, he had met a small follower. This companion was quite unique. While the Crown Prince of the Gale Empire and the son of the Duke of Bristol were busy dividing up the male and female students of the entire academy, he chose to follow Cole around, claiming, "I will not associate with that bunch!"

Indeed, at that time, Cole, as a student from the United Kingdom, was heavily ostracized, yet this one person was willing to befriend him. This friend had no particular specialty, save for his profound mastery of naval command. Yet, he refused to curry favor with the Gale Empire's Crown Prince or the Duke of Bristol's heir. Normally, any graduate of the Gale Imperial Academy's Naval Command Department could secure a high-ranking position in the Imperial Navy, especially one with his exceptional grades. However, his actions never aligned with theory. In his naval command courses, he failed his theoretical exams, yet in practical exercises, his performance was always the best.

People in school called him a "practical genius, theoretical idiot." Even the generals who taught the naval command courses could not necessarily defeat him. It was either a mutual destruction or he would gain a slight upper hand. No other student could ever get the better of him. Cole was the exception. Although he claimed to be just "Cole," his follower had deduced his true identity as Trexi. This occurred after Trexi’s identity had already been exposed to the Gale Imperial Court, but the follower's unwavering conviction made Trexi realize he must have guessed the truth—perhaps through the words of the guards present or some other means.

After the follower learned his identity, Trexi offered him a few choices, and the follower graciously chose to follow in his footsteps, becoming a member of the United Kingdom. Because of his mastery of naval command, the United Kingdom’s old Marshal Nelson decided to accept him as his apprentice. From then on, this follower learned that there is always someone better than oneself. Marshal Nelson’s similar tactical style opened his eyes. Though they were occasionally evenly matched, the follower still could not devise effective tactics against the old Marshal.

That man was Andrew Cunningham, a person who shared the name of a famous naval marshal from the past.

"So what? The battleship Monarch is the symbol of your United Kingdom. My nationality is with the Gale Empire; only an Empire-class battleship could shake me. Leave it to me!" said Andrew Cunningham.

At the border between Wales and England, a massive army kicked up a rolling wave of sand; this was Cromwell’s ground force. Being a land army, their speed was not fast. However, their arrival was just in time for the decisive battle. As the confrontation between Wales and Scotland, Trexi and Kevil, was about to begin, Cromwell’s ground forces thrust in from the south of Wales. Their objective was to destroy the base of the Wales faction in southern Wales. Because they had to bypass the entire English region, the Scottish fleet and their land forces arrived near the Wales base almost simultaneously. On the other hand, the Wales fleet was heading toward the Scottish base. It was a race to see who could destroy the enemy's base first. But in reality, their true target should have been the opposing commander-in-chief. Yet, the Wales commander was on an aircraft carrier, while the other was actually holed up in the base. As for Scotland... "Damn it. Why would he bring something like this out? I would rather win fair and square than win with such a thing. The battleship Monarch—how could anyone possibly defeat it?" That was correct; Kevil was also aboard a warship. However, it wasn't until he actually boarded it that he recognized it as the Monarch. This was strictly forbidden in military exercises; unless it was to test the Monarch’s data, this century-class battleship should never be brought out. Not only would it reveal the United Kingdom's secrets, but it would also put him in a disadvantageous position. If he won, what would public opinion say? That he won the battle through illicit means? That would be a severe blow to progress.

However, Kevil did not intend to give up. He wanted to know what capabilities his imperial brother possessed to deal with this battleship, or perhaps his brother simply wanted to lose with dignity. After all, on the other side, his own fleet had not been destroyed but was currently locked in a one-on-one shelling battle with the Wales fleet. Clearly, in the waters of the Isle of Man, the Wales fleet lacked the strength to completely annihilate his forces, and he only needed to wipe out the forces in this base.

Of course, Kevil knew his brother was likely not in this base either. But he didn't know which ship in which fleet he was on. However, with a target as large as the Monarch, how could it not be used as a flagship? This invincible century-class warship would inevitably be used as the flagship.

Thinking about it, it was truly ridiculous! His adjutant, Cromwell, the deputy commander-in-chief, and this commander-in-chief were both absent from their respective bases. If his brother wanted to annihilate him completely, he would have to return to the Wales base and destroy both units at once, or perhaps he had hidden some secret weapon in the base, waiting for him or Cromwell to walk into a trap. But how could that be? His army was already depleted. Could he be relying on the Irish army to deal with him? How could that be possible?

Yet, when they actually clashed, Kevil truly doubted his own thoughts. They really had used that method, for he saw several battleships in the Wales harbor that shouldn't have been there. Those behemoths were the Glorious-class aircraft carriers, Nelson-class battleships, and Renown-class battlecruisers of the Irish fleet. One had to know that a fleet of the same specifications was already engaged with his own fleet in another sector. To have another unit appear here, it could only be the Irish fleet.

"It doesn't matter, Your Highness Kevil. How could I, Hesbrown, possibly lose to them? With the battleship Monarch here, we will surely annihilate them all. You must know that this is a world-class battleship with no rivals. Aside from the Gale Empire, who else could even inflict damage upon it?"

At that moment, a shell came screaming in. 24 nautical miles. To hit a battleship with such span was unbelievable. Although there was no major damage to the Monarch's deck, a massive explosion still occurred. A secondary battery with a caliber of 150 millimeters was blown to pieces. The only one to have achieved such a feat was the battleship Warspite from the Second World War. This was impossible—to hit a moving battleship directly from 24 nautical miles away, using the most ordinary shells. It was a complete reenactment of history.

"Hmph. Don't think I'm just a scientist; I'm also a mechanic. Adjusting the firing range? Do you really think I can't do it?" Inside the Wales base, Cole held a wrench, looking at the battleship 20 nautical miles away. That was right; for all this time, he had been on this warship. His task was to adjust the ship's artillery, bringing its firepower to the scale of a Monarch-class battleship. "Don't underestimate me; my electromagnetic cannon technology is quite powerful. Modifying it to the level of a Monarch-class battleship? What's the big deal? If you're capable, let's fire at each other one-on-one! If I hadn't run out of time, I would have tuned this entire row of guns to the Monarch level. I'd show you what a railgun really is." Cole, holding the wrench, gave a disdainful laugh. This modified Erebus-class monitor fired another shot at the enemy. This was not the main gun, but a 150mm secondary gun from another direction. That was correct; this was one of the key reasons why they had managed to take down the Irish army. A monitor—no, at this point, the most appropriate term would be a monitor battleship, or even a monitor battlecruiser.