Chapter 123: | 123 | The Fleet of Operation Storming Freedom
Within the tower bridge of the lightning carrier was its commanding officer, Rear Admiral George. He stood quietly inside the bridge, gazing forward into the seemingly endless horizon.
No one knew of his thoughts other than himself.
But his trance state soon ended when an intelligence officer interrupted him. George turned his gaze towards the officer, wondering what they wanted to report.
"Sir, we have receive reports from Flight Lightning." The intelligence officer calmly reported, making the rear admiral raise an eyebrow. The Flight Lightning was a group of six F-35 jets. He had recently deployed them to get the United Navy an air dominance over the airspace of the colony.
"Continue," Rear Admiral George ordered the officer, who nodded in response. "Their reports are mostly about the activities of the main colony. They are currently preparing their battleships, and their shields have also been promptly activated."
"The wyvern forces of the colony have been mostly wipe out due to the assault of our air force, and it seems that the enemy air forces merely consists of the wyvern riders." The last words of the intelligence officer meant something important.
With their high-technological aircrafts, maintaining air dominance over a region was practically not a problem. It was a good advantage to have as the one that controls the airspace, becomes strongest player in a war.
"Good, that is a piece of good news. But their shielding capabilities will be a problem." George nodded in satisfaction, but furrowed his eyebrows as he thought about the runic shields of the colony.
In simpler terms, they were extremely powerful. They might need to equip bunker busters into their F-35s to do damage to shielded targets. But it would have been better if they could destroy the shields instead.
"I found their shields hard to believe when I first emerge from the light of our great fleet admiral. However, after looking at it myself, I understood why he somewhat respected our enemies despite their lower technological level." George muttered, realizing his mistake of underestimating them.
"The variable of magicraft is too problematic to even dare to comprehend. It may be the reason why it\'s taking long for our research and development department to produce meaningful counter-force against such a variable."
"But just because they are shielded, it doesn\'t mean they are invulnerable. The fleet admiral has already demonstrated this fact, and he didn\'t use any bunker busters to take care of the problem." He uttered with a tinge of zeal.
"Sadly, however... This strategy is something we cannot replicate." George sighed with clear disappointment as he had high expectations of what he could in their operation.
"The runic shielding of the colony is incredibly complicated. Their shields are scattered, and their locations are well-hidden. It would require tons of investigation and reconnaissance to discover the position of these shields." The intelligence officer clarified the words of the rear admiral.
"That\'s right... To defeat our adversaries in their so-called fortress, we have to do what is done throughout history." Rear Admiral George lamented on the unoriginality of their strategy.
Nonetheless, it was something that he and Captain Lux of the UNS Light Bringer had already agreed upon.
"The colony must be blockaded by our naval forces until their succumb to our pressure. Our F-35s will destroy any battleship that dares to leave the protection of their so-called runic shields." George explained as he glanced forward.
The reason was simple. In the horizon was none other than the colony they planned to blockade. It was a colony with an interesting name, the archipelago colony of Eisenberg.
The rear admiral watched the shadow of the colony in the horizon with scrutiny. It was a fairly large colony, but not in large enough to be compared to the likes of the island of Crescere or the Colonial Dominion of Terra.
Their land didn\'t even surpass that of the State of Minos.
But the power and authority of Eisenberg didn\'t stem from the vast lands they had in their home island, but the quantities of islands under their domination. There was a reason why it was considered an archipelago colony.
"It seems that we have arrived." He muttered under his breath, expecting a lot from the colony of Eisenberg. Whether it\'d be challenges, military power, or economic durability. George thought a lot about the archipelago colony.
However, regardless of his expectations, he had a mission to complete.
"It\'s time to dismantle the colony."
...
*This is Thunderbolt 1, observing designated targets.* In the skies above Eisenberg were metallic birds piercing through the skies, revolving around the island like hawks stalking its prey.
*Thunderbolt 1, this is Jaeger. Naval blockade of the adversary has begun, Actual is 5 clicks away from Sierra.* Following the transmission of Thunderbolt 1 was the response of the UNS Jaeger of the Blue Seas.
The naval blockade of the colony had been confirmed, signifying that it was time of phase two of Operation Storming Freedom to begin.
*Affirmative, Jaeger. Lightning Flight has status confirmed of designated targets. Beginning phase two of Operation Storming Freedom.* Thunderbolt 1 then ended his transmission with Jaeger and began turning his gaze to the fortress-like city below.
It was riddled with clear bubbles covered from the smoke of their recent ordnance.
*Lightning Flight, Phase Two of Operation Storming Freedom has been confirmed. Beginning secondary strikes to designated targets.* After observing Eisenberg for a short moment, the pilot of Thunderbolt 1 reported their status to his Flight Team.
*Affirmative, Thunderbolt 1!* *Copy, Thunderbolt 1!*
*Understood, Thunderbolt 1!*
Following the response of his Flight Team, the flight leader returned his attention to the colony and began turning his aircraft towards their designated targets.
Their designated targets were the ports, ships, and military barracks.
During their stalking moments of Eisenberg, they had already confirmed their designated targets and were merely awaiting orders. They had the privilege to bide their time as the airspace was theirs to fly into.
The wyvern force of the colony had already been wiped out in the initial assault of Operation Storming Freedom.
The Lightning Flight then changed their course towards the port of Eisenberg where dozens of battleships anchored themselves. Over a thousand enemy personnel were preparing for the deployment of their battleships.
Sadly for them... They simply didn\'t have enough time to do so.
*Opening Bunker Busters... Weapon Release in 3...2...1...* At that moment, the large missile below the aircraft\'s airframe was released into the air, immediately piercing through the skies.
The bunker buster fell from the heavens, like an unstoppable guillotine. It sliced through the air with hammering weight before hitting the shielded port of Eisenberg.
And it impacted.
*BAM!*
It smashed through the runic shielding like glass and landed directly in the port. The Bunker Buster was set in a timer, so... It only took mere seconds before it happened.
The port of Eisenberg became engulfed by a gleaming light with the radiance of the sun. What followed the ever-glowing brilliance was the shockwave that blasted through the wooden docks of the port of Eisenberg.
*BOOM!!!*
The explosion echoed throughout the colony as it was an incredibly powerful weapon that was meant for deep and underground fortresses in the former world.
The pilot of Thunderbolt 1 calmly observed the status of their target and confirmed its destruction. With the effectiveness of the Bunker Busters strapped into the airframe of the F-35, it was finally time to start the second phase.
*Designated Target Status Confirmed. Proceed with phase two.* After reporting through the transmission, the aircrafts behind Thunderbolt 1 turned away, heading to their respective targets.
Hundreds of bodies laid across the waters where the port of Eisenberg formerly stood. But the pilot didn\'t have much of a reaction towards it as this was war. It wasn\'t the time to feel sad for his enemies, especially when it was far from over.
\'I\'ll have to contact the Jaeger regarding the effectiveness of the Bunker Busters.\' The pilot thought to himself before opening communication with the Jaeger.
*This is Thunderbolt 1 of Lightning Flight. Bunker Busters has proven themselves to be effective. Sending more data through the data link.* He calmly reported through the transmission and a response followed.
*Good job, Thunderbolt 1. Intelligence data has been retrieved and will be studied by the R&D Department in the Port of Dawn.* The Jaeger operator praised him for gathering data in their mission.
*No problem, Jaeger. I\'ll be cutting of transmission now.* The pilot uttered and turned off his transmission. Not having satellites in this world made a lot of things complicated. Their navigational systems were not as accurate as before.
But nonetheless, it was a manageable problem and the effectiveness of their fighting capabilities weren\'t that much affected by the lack of satellites.
\'Though, I do hope for the United Navy to have its satellites in the future.\' The pilot felt that the United Navy would be more effective with their satellites on their side.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the archipelago colony was the raiding ship of the Deerfolk Tribe. They sailed across the rough waters of the archipelago with a destination in mind. Their next target was a colonial armory depot of Eisenberg.
Situated in an island where two tribes meet.