Reincarnated with the Country System

POV Chapter

....

The drums thunder across the deck, calling us to readiness. I grip the railing of the Shvamha, a war galleon sailing near the mighty Vosha. My hands are slick with salt and sweat. The sea is rough today, the sky darker than it should be. But it isn't storm clouds. It's something else.

"Keep eyes on the horizon!" our sergeant shouts. "The enemy will show their face soon!"

I nod, swallowing dry spit. I am Suresh, a common sailor, and my duty is simple—man the ballista, reload when ordered, obey without question. Today, we guard the pride of our fleet: Vosha, a carrier so huge she blocked half the horizon. Her decks were crowded with towers, runes, cages of gryphons, wyverns, and thunderbirds. People said she could fight ten fleets alone. I felt safe just being near her.

Then the sky tears open.

A sound crashes down on us, louder than any thunder. It doesn't roll—it screams, a ripping howl that shakes the air.

"What is that?!" someone yells beside me.

I squint at the clouds. Dots. Moving fast, too fast. One blink and they're bigger. Another blink and they're above us, black and grey shapes with hard, sharp wings.

"Birds?" Rajan, the gunner beside me, stammers. "No bird moves like that—"

"Gods' machines," another sailor mutters. His lips tremble.

The officer snarls, "Hold your tongues! Stand ready! Ballista crews, to arms!"

The order jolts me. I grab the crank of our heavy ballista and pull, wood creaking as we wind the rope. Rajan loads the glowing bolt. We lock it in place, hearts pounding.

Then fire falls.

Streaks of light drop from beneath the sky-birds. Trails of smoke follow them, hissing as they descend. I think they're some kind of arrow—until one hits Vosha.

The blast blinds us. Our ears ring. A tower of flame rises from her deck, higher than our mast. Wood, flesh, and beast alike are thrown into the sky.

"By the gods!"

"They've struck her!"

"No—no ship can—"

The officer cuts us off, bellowing: "Reload! Fire at will!"

We crank again, muscles straining. The ballista fires with a twang, the bolt streaking into the air. But the sky-birds are already gone. Too fast. Our bolt cuts only empty space.

Another roar overhead. Guns? Fire spits from the noses of the machines, lines of red that rake across Vosha's deck. I see men shredded where they stand. I see a gryphon handler torn apart mid-scream.

"They bleed us like pigs!"

"Focus!" I shout back, though my hands shake. "Reload, damn you!"

We load again. We fire. Nothing hits. The sky-birds move like spirits, weaving through spells and arrows. Our mages unleash fireballs, spears of ice, blasts of lightning. We cheer when one of the machines explodes, blooming in fire. But more remain.

From Vosha's deck, handlers release the thunderbirds. Their wings crackle with lightning as they take to the sky, brave and proud.

"Now we'll see them burn," Rajan whispers, eyes wide.

But the sky-birds fire lances of flame. One thunderbird bursts apart before reaching them, feathers and flesh raining into the sea. Another is torn apart by guns. I clutch the railing, horrified, as they fall one by one, their cries cutting through the storm.

"No," I whisper. "This cannot be."

The deck officer's voice whips us back. "Ready the hoses! Fire spreads across Vosha! Support ships, to her aid!"

Our ship began to approach nearer to the Vosha.

We scramble. I drop the ballista crank and rush with a bucket crew. Water sloshes as we chant binding words, spells cooling the flames that leap across our deck from falling debris. Smoke stings my eyes, burns my throat.

"Keep at it!" the officer shouts. "The carrier must not fall!"

But the sky-birds return. They dive low. I hear their scream before I see them. The sound tears the world apart.

"Down!" someone screams.

Eggs fall from their bellies—black, fat eggs that whistle as they drop.

One strikes Vosha's aft. The explosion rocks the sea, fire leaping higher than before. A tower crumbles, crushing men and cages beneath it. I see wyverns screaming as they burn alive.

A huge wave of water rises from the sea, completely soaking us, and the ship begins to rock in shock waves.

"Reload!" the sergeant cries again. "Don't stop!"

We return to the ballista. My hands tremble so badly I can hardly fit the bolt. Rajan curses and shoves it in. Near Vosha, every ship tries to attack. We fire, again and again, useless. The sky-birds laugh at us, darting too fast to catch.

Still, we do not stop. We cannot stop.

Then the admiral's flagship gives new signals.

Our captain shouts,

"Advance! Close the distance! Shield wall! Do not let them break us!"

Drums thunder. Our galleons surge forward, sails glowing with magic. We roar back, voices raw, even as fear gnaws our bellies. We are the empire. We cannot falter.

But the enemy answers with more fire.

The horizon lights up as they launch their own weapons. Not arrows. Not spells. Stars. Dozens of them. They arc high, then fall, faster than anything we've ever seen.

"Brace!" the sergeant yells.

The sea erupts. Ships vanish in fire. A galleon ahead of us splits clean in half. A mage tower disintegrates, mages turned to ash in an instant. Another ship vanishes in smoke and flame.

I cling to the deck, ears ringing, vision blurred. Men scream. Some pray, some curse, some vomit.

Mage-ships flare bright, runes glowing as domes of light spread across the fleet. The next wave of fire smashes into them. Some shields hold, shaking with cracks. Others shatter like glass. More ships burn.

Our galleon shakes as a blast lands close. A wall of water crashes over us. I cough, spitting salt, gripping the ballista for balance.

Through smoke, I see Vosha. She is burning. Her deck is torn open, her towers broken, her beasts dead. And yet—she floats. She does not fall.

I spit blood from my lip. The sergeant shouts orders, voice raw. We follow.

But in my heart, I know this: we are no longer fighting men. These are not birds. They are something else. Iron demons, gods' punishment—I do not know.

All I know is this—our world has changed, and we are standing in the fire of it.