Chapter 77: Instruction

Hours passed as the two corvettes drifted silently across the dark water.

Under Captain Daniel’s orders, the sailors had shut down every weapon on deck. The glowing fire runes on the ballistas were turned off, and the wind mages sat slumped against the wooden walls, completely forbidden from using their mana.

Around three in the morning, a heavy thumping sound echoed across the sea.

Thump-thump-thump-thump.

The sound grew louder and heavier by the second.

"Lookouts! What is that?!" Daniel barked, rushing to the quarterdeck. "Another flying monster?!"

"To the west, Captain! Flashing lights!" a sailor yelled, pointing into the distance.

Red and green lights cut through the dark mist. Soon, a large, angular gray aircraft appeared above the water. It didn’t look like the jet from before. It had two massive rotors mounted on the ends of its fixed wings. As it reached the ships, the large engines rotated straight up, allowing the craft to stop and hover in mid-air.

A violent downdraft slammed into the sea, kicking up waves and spraying water all over the wooden deck.

Miyuki’s eyes went wide. "A tiltrotor... That’s a V-22 Osprey!"

Ayanokoji looked at the craft, a rare spark of real interest showing on his usually bored face. "A CMV-22B, to be exact. It’s the Navy version used for carrier transport. That confirms the aircraft carrier is operating very close to us."

"By the heavens..." Daniel stammered, staring up in shock. "It has no wings to flap! How is it floating without levitation magic?!"

"Dual turboshaft engines," Ayanokoji said simply. "It runs on engineering, not magic."

Before Daniel could say another word, a blinding white spotlight turned on beneath the aircraft’s nose, illuminating the entire deck of the corvette. The sailors shielded their eyes in panic, but Ayanokoji raised a hand to keep them calm.

Then, a loud, clear voice boomed from an external loudspeaker. It was spoken in clean, professional English.

"Attention unidentified surface vessels. This is United States Navy aircraft Sunray One-One, operating under Carrier Strike Group."

Daniel jumped, drawing his sword halfway. "What is that voice?! A spell?!"

"It’s English," Miyuki said quickly, her voice shaking with excitement and disbelief. "They’re identifying themselves as the United States Navy!"

The loudspeaker crackled again with cold authority.

"Target vessels, maintain your position and drift. Do not deploy propulsion, do not display weapons, and do not emit high-energy signatures. Any detected hostile activity will be met with lethal force."

Miyuki quickly translated for Daniel. "He’s telling us to stay right here! No spells, no weapons! If we try anything aggressive, they will shoot us!"

Daniel swallowed hard, glaring up at the bright spotlight. "And then what? They’re just going to leave us here?!"

Right then, the pilot gave the final transmission.

"Be advised: surface warships of Carrier Strike Group are en route to your position. Intercept window is set for zero-seven-hundred tomorrow morning. Secure your decks and await boarding. Do not attempt to run. Sunray One-One, out."

The Osprey’s engines tilted forward again. The heavy chopping sound turned into a loud roar as the aircraft turned around and sped away into the western sky, disappearing into the night.

The deck went completely silent again.

"Tomorrow morning... an entire fleet of those things is coming?" Daniel asked, his face pale.

"Not just aircraft, Captain," Miyuki whispered, staring at the empty horizon. "Their warships. Real modern warships."

"More specifically, a carrier strike group, in our world, a carrier strike group could literally be enough to invade a small country," Ayanokoji said flatly, cutting in before Miyuki could finish. "A carrier strike group consists of an aircraft carrier carrying dozens of strike fighters, guided-missile cruisers, destroyers, and an attack submarine beneath them. In terms of firepower, logistical reach, and reconnaissance, a single group possesses more concentrated destructive capability than your empire’s entire combined fleet."

Daniel stared at him, his face completely pale. "A single fleet... can conquer an entire sovereign kingdom?"

"That’s right."

Ayanokoji replied smoothly, resting his elbows on the wooden railing. "They rely on industrial production and precision-guided munitions. If that strike group considered us a hostile combatant, these two wooden hulls would have been wiped out before we even knew they were in the region. The fact that we are still breathing means their commander wants something from us."

Daniel’s hands shook slightly on his sword belt. He looked around his shattered ship. The deck was covered in dried monster blood, the ballistas were broken, and half his men were either wounded or too terrified to move. The proud military might of the Holy Solarian Empire felt completely meaningless right now.

"Then what are our chances if they board us?" Daniel asked, his voice strained. "Will they execute the crew? Put us in chains as slaves?"

"That depends on you, Captain," Ayanokoji said, his voice dropping into a colder, pragmatic tone. "The United States military operates under strict rules of engagement. They gave us explicit instructions: maintain position, power down all weapons, and suppress all high-energy mana signatures. If your men keep their swords sheathed and the mages don’t cast a single spark, they will process us as detainees. If someone panics and draws steel, they will shoot to kill."

"Detainees..." Daniel gritted his teeth, his imperial pride warring with sheer survival instinct. "You want imperial officers to surrender without raising a hand?!"

"Would you rather die in the middle of the ocean for no reason?" Ayanokoji asked, his eyes half-lidded and steady. "Surrendering preserves your life and the lives of your surviving sailors. Throwing your life away against an enemy you cannot comprehend has an operational value of zero. Besides, they saved this ship from the Kraken for a reason. They want intelligence, not corpses."

Daniel closed his eyes, his breathing heavy. After several long seconds, he let out a defeated breath and unclenched his fist from his sword pommel.

"Fine... fine," Daniel muttered bitterly. "I will order the men to stow the blades and lock the armory. No one touches a rune until dawn."

The captain turned and limped toward the lower deck, his shoulders slumped under the weight of his decision.

Once Daniel was out of earshot, Miyuki stepped closer to the railing, gripping her wooden staff.

"Ayanokoji... who do you think is commanding them?" she whispered, looking out toward the dark horizon. "How could an American carrier strike group end up in this world? Could it be... someone else from Earth got summoned with a skill similar to us?"

"I don’t know, we will find out about it soon."