Reincarnated with the Country System

The sea was still burning when Group Admiral Devgan Arvata leaned against the carved rail of the Divine Ram. His magic viewing sphere glowed before him, showing the wreckage of the 28th Fleet. Hundreds of ships burned. Thousands of men and beasts screamed as they sank.

Through the smoke and flame, the iron ships of the Bernard Empire advanced. They did not slow. Their guns still roared. Their carriers still launched their steel birds into the sky.

Devgan's jaw tightened.

"Tell the Ganges Sky Fleet to advance," he ordered. "And raise the barrier around our formation. These Bernards… are stronger than we thought."

"Yes, Admiral!"

Messengers hurried. Drums pounded across the decks. The giant runes carved into the Divine Ram pulsed once, and a faint silver wall shimmered around the fleet below.

Devgan turned back to the glowing sphere. "Signal the Sixth Fleet to hasten their approach. I want them here sooner. And inform the High Council on the mainland of the situation. This battle is far from finished."

The commander saluted and ran to relay the order.

....

High above the sea, the Ganges Sky Fleet moved into view.

Fifty-seven flying warships, each a fortress of stonewood, iron runes, and wind-forged steel, drifted across the storm clouds. They were massive—levitating fortresses the size of castles. Their prows carried the heads of dragons and lions carved from enchanted bronze. From their undersides, faint blue light shimmered, the levitation runes humming with power.

They were not fragile. Each carried storm-cannons, rune-lances, and racks of fire orbs. Some bore beast pens with gryphons and thunderbirds waiting for release. Others bristled with bolt-throwers, each bolt tipped with burning runes that could pierce steel.

At their head flew the flagship Ashvamedha, where Sky Commander Aranya stood upon its deck.

Below, the sea burned with the wrecks of the 28th Fleet. Beyond that fire moved the Bernard fleet, rows of steel destroyers, cruisers, and carriers. Their decks flashed with lights. Their iron birds—fast, sleek, fanged machines of steel—were already lifting into the sky.

Aranya gripped the rail. His voice carried across the decks.

" Hold nothing back. Forward!"

The Sky Fleet surged, sails of woven cloudstone filling with summoned wind. The fifty-seven flying giants angled downward, toward the Bernard navy.

.....

From the decks of Bernard carriers, another wave of Aircraft screamed into the air.

Indiana sailors shouted in fear and awe. "Iron hawks! Flame beasts!"

The jets split into formations, climbing faster than any gryphon could follow. Then they rolled and dived.

"Brace!"

The first salvo hit. Missiles streaked through the air, slamming into the lead Indiana warship. A thunderclap followed. The Shatrughna lurched, its side blasted open. Flames tore across its deck, men and beasts thrown screaming into the clouds. The ship fell, broken, vanishing into the sea below.

But the Indiana fleet answered.

Storm-cannons boomed. Bolts of lightning, forged by chained storm spirits, lashed upward. Whole batteries of rune-lances fired together, hurling burning spears of blue light.

One Bernard jet exploded instantly, ripped apart in midair. Another tried to evade, but a lance pierced its wing. The machine spun, trailing fire, before crashing into the ocean.

Bernard ships below opened their own weapons. Anti-air cannons roared, spewing endless streams of shells into the sky. Phalanx CIWS turrets whirred, thousands of rounds per minute shredding gryphons and thunderbirds before they could close.

Indiana beasts fell like meteors, their bodies trailing smoke. But some broke through. One thunderbird slammed into a Bernard destroyer's deck, lightning flashing as it exploded in a storm of feathers and fire. The destroyer rolled, flames rising from its bow.

Above, Bernard jets slashed through the flying fleet. They flew faster than sound, faster than wyverns. They looped, rolled, and unleashed missile storms that tore holes through Indiana decks.

But Indiana's ships were not helpless.

The Ashvamedha unleashed its fire-rain. Dozens of orbs, each burning with eternal flame, fell downward. They struck a Bernard cruiser broadside. Explosions ripped across its steel hull. Men scattered as secondary fires erupted across the deck.

Another skyship opened its rune-cannon arrays. Beams of white-hot energy lanced downward, striking a destroyer. Its hull split apart instantly, the ship sinking within minutes.

...

The air above the fleets became a chaos of duels.

Bernard jets screamed past at supersonic speed, their missiles chasing gryphon riders. Indiana riders twisted their mounts, summoning wind and flame to dodge. Some hurled spears tipped with runes, exploding against iron hulls. One jet took a direct hit and spun into the sea, trailing smoke.

But Bernard pilots were trained killers. They cut through the beasts with ruthless precision. Cannons ripped through gryphon wings. Missiles tracked thunderbirds and tore them apart in mid-scream. Blood and feathers rained across the waves.

....

The main lines closed.

Indiana skyships unleashed downward volleys—rivers of fire, lightning storms, and stone-spears summoned by earth mages. The ocean exploded where they struck, Bernard destroyers wracked by flame and waves.

Battleships Yamato and Musashi turned their 460mm guns skyward. The roar was deafening. Shells the size of wagons tore upward, smashing into the belly of a skyship. Its levitation runes flickered, failed. Slowly, the massive ship tilted, then dropped screaming into the sea, crushing hundreds below.

Another Bernard cruiser fired its missiles in upward arcs. Dozens of warheads tracked a sky galleon. Explosions tore through its sails and deck. Men burned alive as the ship crumbled in the clouds.

Aranya clenched his jaw but did not falter.

"All ships—press forward! Break their line!"

The fifty-seven became fewer, but still they came, a wall of fire above the sea.

★★★

Admiral Devgan watched from the Divine Ram. Through the magic sphere, he saw skyships burning, but he also saw Bernard vessels sinking.

"This is no ordinary enemy," he muttered. "But neither are we."

He sent another message. "Hold the barrier. Push the Sky Fleet harder."

....

Above—

The clash continued—iron birds diving, rune-cannons firing, flames raining into the sea. Ships on both sides vanished into fire and water. The battle line twisted, smoke covering sky and ocean alike.