How can a ship made entirely of steel sail on the sea without sinking?
And its appearance... I've never seen anything like it.
"What... what is that?"
"It's a ship, right? It looks... somewhat like a ship."
"But how can a ship look like that?"
...
Beside Kujou Sara, several soldiers stared in horror at the approaching Steam Battleship.
"Move!"
Without hesitation, Kujou Sara sprinted toward Nazuchi Beach.
Meanwhile, on Nazuchi Beach.
Several pirate ships were docked quietly in the shallows.
Pirates and ronin gathered on the sand, eating and chatting.
Due to the ongoing war, these outlaws often roamed the area, planning raids and using the beach as a temporary base.
They knew this was a conflict zone between the Shogunate and Sangonomiya Resistance, so they usually kept moving.
Today, however, they had gathered here because of a message from the Fatui elites. A new job required mass manpower, so they were waiting for instructions.
"Sigh. The Shogunate and Resistance haven't fought much lately. I haven't found a chance to kill anyone."
"Yeah. I wanted to kidnap a few people, but couldn't find an opening."
"It's been so long since I tortured someone. I feel sick. I need to find a victim today."
"We can't go to Ritou. Yashiori Island is swarming with Shogunate troops too. Hard to rob."
"We only get scraps when the two armies clash. I'm starving for action."
"Didn't the Boss call us here? Where is he?"
"Just wait. If the Boss called us, it must be a big job. Maybe our big break."
...
The pirates chatted, chewing on dried food.
"Hey! Look! What is that? A ship?"
Suddenly, someone noticed the battleship sailing toward them.
His scream drew everyone's attention.
When they saw the steel behemoth, their eyes bulged like copper bells.
"Wh-what is that?"
"A ship made of iron blocks? Floating? Why isn't it sinking?"
"Does Inazuma have ships like this? If so, why have I never seen one?"
"Run! It's coming straight for the beach!"
...
Panic spread instantly. Many realized the ship was likely hostile and bolted.
They didn't know who was piloting it, but getting caught by a steel monster didn't sound like a good time.
"Why run? That ship definitely isn't from Inazuma City."
"Yeah! Maybe someone new built it. We could make friends. An ally like that would be huge."
"True. A ship that weird... I'd be willing to serve as a minion for whoever owns it."
...
While some fled, others stood their ground, hoping to negotiate or join forces.
They were certain the Shogunate didn't own this. If they did, the Resistance would have been crushed long ago.
On the Steam Battleship.
"Captain Beidou, those pirate ships are docked right there. Why don't we just blast them?"
Huixing suggested. "Destroy the ships first, then you go grab the pirates. We'll stay on board."
"Good idea."
Beidou nodded. "Do it."
"Fire!"
Huixing grabbed the loudspeaker. "Target the four pirate ships! Wipe them out!"
"You got it!"
In the control room, a crew member reached for the firing button.
"Don't use the cannon! Use a small missile!"
Another crew member stopped him. "The ships are docked, but spaced out. A regular cannon might miss the spread. A small missile will cover it."
"Fair point."
The gunner nodded, switching consoles. He sighed in admiration. "This battleship is too convenient. Auto-aim, push a button, boom. So easy."
On the Alcor, loading cannons was manual labor. Fire once, reload, repeat. Slow and exhausting.
Here? No reloading. Just press and delete. The ship came fully stocked with ammunition they had never even seen before.
"Tell me about it."
The other crew member agreed. "We have so many missiles. The manual says they're more advanced than shells. Small, Medium, Large... sounds complicated."
"I want to fire a Large one," the gunner sighed. "But the Captain said Medium and Large are restricted. Only shells and Small missiles allowed."
Click.
He pressed the button.
A small missile launched from the silo, tearing through the air with a shrieking whistle.
It struck the center of the docked pirate fleet on Nazuchi Beach.
BOOM!
A cataclysmic explosion erupted.
A terrifying wave of energy vaporized the four pirate ships instantly. Not even splinters remained.
But it didn't stop there.
The explosion engulfed a massive section of Nazuchi Beach itself.
The ground shook violently, tremors felt miles away.
"Holy sh*t!"
The gunner's eyes popped out. "That's the power of a small missile?!"
Instead of the usual orange fireball of gunpowder, this explosion released a blinding white light. It was on a completely different level.
On the deck, even Beidou was stunned.
She hadn't expected a "small" missile to be this devastating.
Regular cannons made fire and noise. This... this was pure destruction.
"That's terrifying. Is this what a missile does?"
Huixing gulped. "And that was the small one?"
"Yes."
Furong nodded, pale with shock.
Meanwhile, on the shore.
Kujou Sara, sprinting toward the beach, saw a projectile launch from the steel ship.
It hit the beach.
Then, a blinding white light erupted, forcing her to squeeze her eyes shut.
"What is that?!"
Even with her eyes closed, she felt a wave of searing heat wash over her. It was suffocating.
And she hadn't even reached the beach yet.
Bzzt! Bzzt!
Electro energy flared around her, forming a protective shield instinctively.
"What's happening?!"
Further back, Kujou Masahito and his troops skid to a halt. They saw the blinding flash and heard the deafening roar.
Why did Nazuchi Beach just explode?
The white light faded.
A massive chunk of Nazuchi Beach was simply... gone.
The four pirate ships? Vaporized. Dust.
The geography had been altered.
Originally, Nazuchi Beach connected Yashiori Island and Kannazuka via a series of sandbars and land bridges.
Now? One of the main connecting land bridges was missing. A huge section of the path from Tatarasuna to Yashiori had been blasted into the sea.
One small missile had sunk a third of the beach and severed the road.
"Is this the horror of a missile?"
On the battleship, Huixing stared at the missing coastline, dumbfounded.
Furong was equally speechless.
It was too scary.
"Wait."
Huixing realized something. "If the ships and the land are gone... aren't the pirates gone too? We can't capture dust!"
"Look over there! That part isn't destroyed!"
Qianyan pointed frantically to the remaining section of the beach.
There, near the wreckage of an old, giant broken ship (a landmark of Nazuchi Beach), pirates and ronin were lying on the ground, dazed and shell-shocked.
The missile had destroyed the ships and a chunk of land, but the beach was large. Those not in the immediate blast zone had been knocked down by the shockwave but were still alive.
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