BXBX NOVEL Chapter 75: | 075 | Second Contact
But it wasn\'t like metallic ships were never created in the continent of Europa. It was that they simply couldn\'t replace the usability and versatility of wooden ships.
The development of metallic ships was halted because of the introduction of magic. Its defensive capabilities could easily be replicated by the spells of Magus, not sacrificing the ship\'s speed.
"Obviously… War Master Theodore wouldn\'t lie to us." Another wyvern rider commented while watching the sailing metallic warship.
"Though, the warship really is fast. It\'s faster than a lot of our battleships despite being entirely fully made of metal. I wonder what kind of race got such technology in their qualms." One wondered to himself in the runic communicator.
"Maybe dwarves? I heard they had incredibly advanced technology for the time. According to some of our Magus, they should be half of a century more advanced than us." A wyvern rider suggested the dwarves.
"I highly doubt it. The dwarves rarely take themselves into the seas. Most of them rely on ground and air power to navigate." Another one of them rejected the suggestion of it being dwarves.
While dwarves had unrivaled advanced technologies, they weren\'t interested in the seas. They\'d rather stay in their mountains or sky islands rather than navigate the high seas.
And so, the wyvern riders found themselves in a pickle as they couldn\'t understand what kind of race could be operating the metallic warship.
It never passed their mind that it might be the beastfolk as in their eyes, those creatures were nothing more but talking animals. The thought of the Beastfolk being more advanced than them was practically nonexistent.
And it was true. Most of the beastfolks were stuck in tribal societies making them easier to conquer. Those who did establish their own kingdoms were bad at managing it. One can consider the kings of those beastfolk kingdoms as nothing more but mere warlords.
"All of you get quiet. I don\'t want anyone to disturb the runic communication line." Before they could continue thinking, their silent squadron leader uttered with aloofness.
He warned them to not traffic the runic communication line since it would be problematic if their communication got stuck during a battle. They wouldn\'t be able to report anything to the command and would probably die an honorless death.
"Affirmative, Squadron Leader." The second in command of the squadron responded and silence ensued amongst its ranks.
The squadron leader then turned his attention to the metallic warship after hearing the confirmation of his second in command. He gazed at it with scrutiny, getting ready for any moves it might do.
\'It should have noticed us by now, but it isn\'t reacting for some reason.\' The squadron leader didn\'t think that their adversary would be stupid.
They should be far from it as his sister was among the first ones that died from them.
\'But the fact that they aren\'t immediately attacking means that they aren\'t inherently hostile. They\'ll only start firing their unknown weapons the moment we get near to them.\' The squadron leader continued thinking about it.
While he had his qualms about the hidden force behind the metallic warship for killing his little sister, that didn\'t impede him from thinking rationally about the situation his squadron found themselves in.
However, before he could continue entertaining his thoughts. A voice escaped the runic communicator, and it didn\'t come from either of them.
*T-This is… UNS Marina, contacting bogeys.*
The wyvern riders found themselves shocked after hearing such words from their runic communicators. They didn\'t know where it came from, but they had an idea where.
*I repeat… This is UNS Marina, contacting bogeys. Open communication, otherwise we will engage.*
The voice from the other side repeated itself once again and warned them to reply. If they don\'t, they might be blown out from the sky.
Before the wyvern riders could even react, the squadron leader replied immediately to the transmission, unveiling his wit. Relying upon whether their adversary could do what was told wasn\'t something he\'d rely on.
"This is Sparrow Head, opening communication. What do you want?"
Following his reply was none other than silence, the wyvern riders also held their breaths as they wondered what would happen afterward.
*Sparrow Head, we are the United Navy. Contact your superiors, we would like to establish diplomacy.*
When the voice finally responded, they introduced themselves as the United Navy. The squadron leader raised an eyebrow as thoughts flooded inside his mind.
He wondered if he should follow the words uttered by the voice. But it was not like he had a choice. The other side wanted to talk to their superiors and open diplomatic talks.
"I\'ll try…" The squadron leader uttered and changed the channel of the runic communicator. It was now transmitted to the high command of the fleet, Captain Stolz of the Everlasting Sun.
It took some time for the runic transmission to connect, but the confident voice of Captain Stolz entered their channel and it was finally time for them to report what had happened.
*Sparrow Head, is there something wrong? Has the metallic warship done something strange? Did they attack you?*
"No, sir. But they have established communication with us. They want to open diplomatic talks with you." The squadron leader said and reported the info to the captain.
On the other side of the runic communicator, Captain Stolz raised an eyebrow as he didn\'t expect the metallic warship to contact them out of nowhere.
It seems that their surveillance wasn\'t as secretive as they had previously thought.
"What did they say?" Captain Stolz wanted to dig for more information about the metallic warship.
*They called themselves the United Navy, and the metallic warship we are currently observing is known as UNS Marina.* The squadron leader uttered.
With the information presented by the Sparrow Head, dozens of thoughts entered Captain Stolz\'s mind. He wondered whether he should open diplomatic talks with this so-called United Navy.
In the first place, the reason why they were trying to find them was because the Fleet of Principatus Humanum wanted to eliminate a hidden and growing threat in the first sea of Ferus.
But there wasn\'t anything disadvantageous with diplomatic talks. At the very least, they would be able to gain as much information as they needed before striking this hidden force down.
After all, other than them. Nothing and no one should dominate the Ferus Sea. Not the beastfolks, dwarves, orks, or even elves.
Through this thought process, a dangerous idea emerged in Captain Stolz\'s mind. The edges of his lips rose as he decided his orders through the words that would soon escape his mouth.
"Tell them we are open for diplomatic talks. We\'ll state a schedule for the talks later."