Summoning America

Chapter 132: Draconic Wrath (4)

November 17, 1640
Holy Mirishial Navy Zeroth Fleet
HMS Quasar

Flurries of commands and words flew across the battlefield as individual ships reported their situations up the chain of command. If not for the communication system set up by the Americans, Admiral Tetryon would have struggled to keep up with the various happenings in the battle. With the help of his communications officers, he kept tabs on the numerous groups that his forces were split into for organizational purposes, from squadrons to battlegroups. However, there was one particular channel that he paid the most attention to – the Pal Chimera's channel.

"We can't avoid the rockets! Full power to shields!" The Pal Chimera's captain's words echoed through the Mirishial command network, the underlying fear in his words spreading throughout the ranks of officers.

Then, the unimaginable happened. The rockets slammed into the Pal Chimera's shields, each explosion generating more cracks until the shields finally gave way, erupting in a shrill cry of shattering glass. With this deafening cry, all heads turned to the skies in order to locate the source of the sound. All heads were then introduced to the unfathomable sight of a Pal Chimera condemned with certain doom.

"Fuck!" The captain screamed. "All hands, abandon sh–"

There was little distance between the now-defunct shields and the hull of the Pal Chimera itself. The rockets thus spared little time, slamming into the ancient superweapon and bombarding its exterior hull with a series of blue explosions. The souls inside had little time to react, and none to escape.

The gruesome sight of a burning Pal Chimera, outer stabilizers falling from the sky and central command node breaking apart, struck despair into the hearts of the EDI combatants. Even the stoic Admiral Tetryon did not remain unaffected; in fact, he felt it the most out of anyone else in his fleet. His resolve began to crack, verging on the point of shattering like the falling Pal Chimera's shields.

If he faltered now, everyone under his command would falter. However, he didn't even care anymore. What was the point of remaining composed in the face of such terrible circumstances? He continued to stare at the falling symbol of Mirishial power, not a single muscle in his body able to move. Then, he felt something on his shoulder. The Eimorian, Commander Draudak, was shaking him aggressively.

"Admiral! Admiral! Get a hold of your senses!" Draudak yelled, his bellowing roar bringing Tetryon back to reality.

Tetryon did come back to his senses, but all he could do afterward was sigh despondently. "It may be time to signal a retreat..." he muttered.

"Retreat?!" Draudak recoiled in shock, "There can be no such cowardice! Heed the reports of your men," he said, allowing one of the Mirishial officers on board to speak.

"Sir," the ship's captain spoke, "We're nearly in missile range. We're ready to fire at the enemy on your command."

These promising words lit a spark of hope in Tetryon's heart. There was still a chance to turn the battle around and force the Gra Valkans out of the Hytal region. Or at the very least, exact vengeance for the loss of the Pal Chimera. "Very well," Tetryon said, life and vigor returning to his eyes, "We shall launch a counterattack alongside the Plasma Dragons, targeting the Gra Valkans' capital ships." He turned to a communications officer, "How are our forces?"

"We've lost nearly half of our fighters, but we managed to eliminate at least 200 enemy aircraft — fighters and bombers combined. As for our fleet, we lost 16 destroyers, 6 cruisers, two Gold-class battleships and 3 light carriers."

The casualties weren't bad, considering the numerical advantage that the Gra Valkans had over them. However, the casualties were so low only because the Gra Valkans were hoping to eliminate their anti-air capabilities before committing the rest of their forces. American training and equipment also aided their destroyers in dealing with the submarines, who struggled to land hits amidst turbulent waters and magic defenses. With the Pal Chimera gone and half of their fighters in the sea, there was little they could do to stop the Gra Valkans from tearing apart their ships from above. They had but one option: charge forward and eliminate the Gra Valkan carriers before they could deploy a critical mass of aircraft.