"As all of you probably have known already" said the empress of La Ferdina, the superpower of the Gestraen continent "I have called up an emergency meeting to discuss what had unfolded before us in Flashia"

Kingdoms Union Gestrae Headquarters, 12/4/1702 The Kingdoms Union Gestrae, consisting of pretty much every single existing monarchies in the continent of Gestrae except for Esterria, was given a shock never seen before.

"Representative of the Kingdom of Saogaulia, would you please break down the situation to us?"

"Yes, Empress Reine Bethune of the La Ferdinan Empire" Pires X stood up "As you might have known earlier, our spying mission in the barbaric country named Flashia ended in disaster, out of 85 spies we sent, only 4 managed to escape, the rest were caught and are now imprisoned"

Chattering amongst the representatives, or rather monarchs of the member states ensued.

"Not only that, but our mission were cut short by 3 days, this means we suffer from a lack of information about this republic" said the Hendrolisan representative, King Martelis.

And then, a slam to the table was heard, and King Savić of Gošbania sprung up.

"This failure should have never been possible!" he retorted "They even caught the Varikan spies! If the people found out about this, the Kingdoms Union here in this continent will be doomed!"

The empress of La Ferdina replied: "I understand your concerns, dear Savić. However, as long as no one but us knows about it, we should be fine. Now would you please sit down?"

King Savić begrudgingly sit back down, a frustrated face retained all the way through.

"Thank you. Now we shall move onto the Havenklein matter, should we continue the support for our allies' struggle against the traitorous Esterria?"

The representative then had a short discussion with each other before a decision was made.

"Empress of La Ferdina Reine Bethune" the tsar of the Varikan Empire, Ivan "We have reached a concensus that we shall continue sending weapons to our friend"

"Very well" she nodded "Does anyone have any objection?"

The meeting room went awkwardly quiet, as if no one has anything to say other than what has been discussed in mind.

"No one? Then this meeting has end-"

"WAIT!" interrupted Valente Castro... ah well we'll just stick with Pires X* for simplicity sake with a raised hand, much to the surprise of everyone.

"Speak"

"Before most of our spies were caught, one of my spies who barely made it out were able to identify an uninhabited island just North of the traitor's islands. It is apparently big and flat as well"

"...What are you suggesting here Pires?"

"I suggest that we take this island as retaliation and as basis for later missions"

The La Ferdinan empress then had a smug on her face.

"Very well, that settles it then, thank you Pires. Those who want to participate, prepare your forces for the coming days. We will conclude our meeting here, you are all dismissed"

The representatives stood up from their seat, and began leaving the room one by one. Everyone knew what they're going to do, but a certain monarch would still have some uncertainty for the future.

"...I do not know why exactly..." Madsen IV of Naeslagtland mumbled to himself as he continued walking "...But this Flashia... could be a great danger..."

"Madsen?" Savić called out to him, confusion is clear in his expression "What were you talking about earlier?"

"Oh uh... nothing important" the Naeslagt King shook his head "Don't worry about it..."

The King of Gošbania is still bewildered, but then he shrugged it off and continued to move on.

'They're walking into a hidden predator...' he thought to himself 'I fear they may not realize it before it is all too late'

...

"With the Defense Forces Day Parade over, there was a mixed consensus within the Federal Republic. On one hand, the parade has succeeded in its stated purpose of bringing up morale. On the other hand, it has been criticized by many as being smaller in scale compared to previous years.

Experts have quickly pointed out that due to the dangerous and bizzare situation Flashia faces, the parade had to be smaller so that more of the resources could be funneled into the actual combat capabilities of the Defense Forces, hence the smaller parade.

In other news, the Federal Parliament has now officially approved of the transfer of weapons to the Commonwealth of Esterria after multiple days of deliberation.

The approval comes in the context of after the Defense Forces Day Parade and in the middle of the ongoing Havenklein War of which the Esterrian Royal Army has not been holding up well against the Esterrian Associations of Slavers. The equipment that will be handed over would be from the Cold War era.

Critics were alarmed of such support, claiming that this act could bring dangerous and severe ramifications in the future, more specifically, an acceleration of arms race that Flashia may not be able to keep up. However the Defense Minister Anton Dam argued that it's the only choice to prevent a Commonwealth loss in the war and potentially the loss of their current only ally" - FCNN

Early morning of 13/4/1702, somewhere out the coast of Esterria The Marie van den Ulsens, the pride of the Royal Esterrian Navy is at sea today to the new equipment provided by the Federal Republic of Flashia to the test. Here, she is situated in a secluded area in a dark place, perfect for keeping this a secret from the Commonwealth's enemies.

Mendejerik, the captain of the ship who is standing on the deck, holds up a device provided by Flashia, apparently called a laser rangefinder by their Flash counterpart.



The Esterrian captain would get the 'rangefinder' in hand close to his eyes and look through the lens. He looks at a ship, which was a former Esterrian Navy ship-of-the-line that were decommissioned a long time ago. At first glance, it's just a frankly bulky spyglass with some markings in. He does not know how could Flashia fit them inside but that does not matter right now.

When he pointed at the opposing ship, the name suddenly made sense. It registered '209 meters', or 418 spheras, as he and others were able to easily figure it out (that 1 meter is 2 spheras). The normal magic cannon has an effective range of around 350 spheras in this kind of sea against other ships, which would mean at this range, the magic cannon should not be able to do much if any.

However, the cannons they're using completely lacks mana, not even one of their few archmages could pick up a single signature from it, spawning countless of doubts whether it even works in the first place. This is why the trials are held, to either prove their point or challenge what everything they knew.

He puts down the rangefinder and pulls out his compass to check the bearing, then he grabbed a green box, pressed down a button on its left side with his 4 fingers that is not the thumb and put it close to his mouth.

"This is the Captain speaking, ship-of-the line, stationary, bearing 43 North-East, 200 meters, calibrate"

He puts the green box further away at chest level, waiting for response... and then he heard a noise from the box he's holding followed immediately by a voice.

"Gun 2 calibrated"

Then another

"Gun 3's good to go"

And another

"Gun 1 is on target"

"Gun 4 ready"

"Gun 6 is good as well"

"Gun 5 is ready to fire"

Mendejerik gets his box in green close again.

"All guns, on my mark... FIRE!"

And then almost instantaneously, there was an ear-deafening, powerful combined bang of the 6 guns firing, so powerful it blew his hat off. Out of 6 cannon that fired, 4 found their mark, and they did greater damage than what the magic cannon can do against a ship with anti-magic armor with explosions formed in a blink of an eye.

The box that the Esterrian captain held was not an ordinary box, it was a radio designed to communicate with others that have it. Initially, the Esterrians thought they were redundant as manacomm already exists. However, it was quickly found to be very useful for just being extremely convenient in comparison, allowing small elements to communicate with each other.

The trial showed results about the new Flash equipment for the navy: The rangefinder, as well as the cannon, known as the 'howitzer' were significantly more accurate than what Esterria had prior.

The only problem is that the target ship is still standing. The hat-less Esterrian captain... would only shrug in response.

"To hell with it, this trial would only end when that ship goes down..." he muttered before bringing his radio back up.

...

"Damn, I think we missed that one" commented one sailor manning one of the guns at their previous shot.

"I want to do it again..." replied the other crewman "...If the captain allows it that is..."

And immediately after, the radio then burst into life: "All guns reload and recalibrate!"

"Oh here we go!"

Without hesitation, the crew of gun 4 got to work once more.

"Jurian, get the shell over here!"

"I got it, I got it"

The artillery shell are then loaded into the newly received green cannons which are held in place by chains by the window and sandbags placed directly behind the trail.



"LOADED!"

"Uh... 200 meters right?"

"Yep!"

"Right... Recalibrated!"

"Gun 4's ready!" the lead shouted at his walkie talkie.

The crew then waited for the order to fire, and sure enough, the order is received: "FIRE!"

"Firing!"

The gunner the proceeds to yank the cord on the right side of the breech with all he's hot, sending the pin slam into the primer and in turn, sending the whole barrel assembly back and then slowly returns to its previous position with the shell launched out of it.



The one on the right of the gun pulls on the lever that is on the breech, opening it and subsequently ejecting the fired shell.

"HIT!" called out one of the crew, indeed the they actually hit the ship this time, and they were able to tell due to the usage of 'tracer' rounds that end up being blown into a nice ball.

"By the gods, that felt good! Yes!"

"All guns reload and recalibrate!" yelled out the captain on the radio

The breech would then receive another shell getting pushed into it.

"LOADED!"

And the gun was-

"Recalibrated!"

"Gun 4's ready to fire!"

And again, they waited the order to fire...

"FIRE!"

...That sends the artillery shell towards the old damaged ship

"HIT!"

The crew of gun 4 could see the badly damaged ship slowly sinks into the water, which could only mean one thing...

"Target destroyed" confirmed Captain Mendejerik on the radio.

The crew celebrated as they were able to sink an entire ship with anti-magic armor with only 3 salvos of 6 Flash howitzers, a feat that is only possible with well-aimed shots of 60 magic cannons. Furthermore, with a well-trained crew, the ship could dish out another shot in 6 seconds, while it normally takes 13 seconds for their magic counterpart to recharge.

"LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!" one screamed "DEATH TO THE SLAVERS!"

All in all, the howitzer supplied by Flashia is far more powerful and had faster firing rate. This would give Mendejerik's ship-of-the-line more advantages as it would mean that signifcantly less guns are needed and thus streamlines the logistic of operating the ships as well as being lighter than before.

...

Around the same time, in a town South of the Commonwealth capital, Einskirka, a soldier adorning the FLPAT camo sits on the passenger seat, his body faces the outdoor and his feet on the step up to the cabin. There, he would pass some time playing around with his coin.

"...Excuse me sir..." a gentleman voice would call out to him, the soldier quickly looked up to see who seemed to be a senior officer from an era when muskets ruled the fields.

"Ah, you must be the Esterrians I've been told about?" as he recognized the distinct uniforms of the Esterrian Royal Army. At this point, he would also put the coin away.

"Indeed, good sir" he replied, grinding to a halt "My name is Lieutenant Vincent van Kuik, Esterrian Royal Army, and you must be...?"

"Sergeant Orosz András, Flash Land Army" he then jumps off the truck.

Faanhoft, Esterria Some of the Esterrians who are now present on this ground were sent to receive their new weapons and try them out to see if it's any better.

"It's an honor to meet you Mr. András" Vincent acknowledged "So for today, what do we have?"

"Well... small arms" answered András "Come, I'll show you" as he start walking over to the back of the truck with the Lieutenant and a few of his aides following.

When they got there, 3 more Flash soldiers are seen just sitting inside. He would speak to them in a language that is completely unintelligible to the Esterrians. After a little conversation, a crate would be passed over.

"Help me get them here" he signalled to the Esterrians who would help in unloading the few green crates. The long, the slightly shorter, the small ones would now find themselves in the ground after 50 seconds or so.

After that, András would open up the small box revealing an assortment of thin, tall boxes. He then gets back to the truck where a can is placed on the edge. As the Lieutenant just looks as he just do his thing, one of his subordinates called out to him.

"Mijnheer! Kom hiernaar kijken!" (Sir! Come look at this!)

As it turned out, curiosity got the better of this soldier standing there, keeping the long crate open. Vincent then walks over to see what's up, and there they are in his eyes. They're guns all in black with an uncoventional grip and stock with a barrel placed under instead of above the grip as normal.

A mage went over and proceeded to cast a light magic without asking a question, illuminating the inside with his palm. Vincent then grabbed one, bring it up to inspect it with the mage's hand following that specific gun. Right out the bat, it's already even lighter than their standard musket, a plus in his book.

He looked around the weapon, checking out the left side of the gun. There, he'd find markings on the weapons that may have revealed its name: RM58.



"Whoa hey!" the Flash sergeant had returned "What ya doing with the gun?"

"I sincerely apologize" Vincent responded "But we were curious to see what it was containing"

"Alright... but please, don't do that" he would then take the rifle from the Lieutenant "...Anyways, get your men gathered, we have a demostration to do"

The Esterrian lieutenant nodded in acknowledgement before then turning to the others.

"Vorm lijnen! Schouder aan schouder!" (Form lines! Shoulder-to-shoulder!) he shouted, resulting in the platoon to quickly form rows of 5, corresponding to the 20 soldiers present. András would then follow Vincent as he walked over to face his troops.

"Heren!" (Men!) he began to address them "Vandaag, zoals velen van u al weten, we zullen de wapens van Flasije op de proef stellen, om te zien of ze het Havenklein slagveld waardig zijn!" (Today, as many of you are aware already, we will put the weapons to the test to see if they're worthy of the Havenklein battlefield)

Vincent then turns to the Sergeant, giving him a nod. And with that having been given, the Flash soldier with the black gun in hand would then give a presentation.

"This is the RM58, a battle rifle that used to be our standard service rifle" he began "It is chambered in seven-six-two by fifty-one, which is this right here" he pulled out what can be described as a tiny bottle with a pointy head in yellow and copper colors, showed it around before then putting it back into his pocket.

"It is capable of semi-automatic and automatic repeating action, meaning you would have 20 chances to hit something before you'd need to reload, and even then, reloading is a very simple and a quick process. It has the effective range of 600 meters, maximum is at 800. For reference, if my math is correct, you'd be looking at 1200 spheras and 1600 spheras respectively"

The Esterrian rank and file glanced at each other, clearly shocked by such numbers.

"Now it may seem unbelievable, but trust me, it's as capable as I say it is. To prove my point, is there a volunteer with a musket? Just for demostration"

And after that, one would raise his hand.

"Perfect, now come forth will ya?"

Said soldier would step out of his line then came to the sergeant with him.

"Alright, you see that target over there?" András pointed at the sandbag to his and the line's right with an improvised target markings suspended by a rope, to which he nodded "Good, I need you to give it a shot as accurate as possible"

He then glaced back at his Lieutenant, who would give a subtle nod. He would walk to the spot marked by timbers. Upon getting into position, he would receive further orders from his Lieutenant:

"Wapen laden!" (Load the weapon!)

The soldier would then gets his musket off his back and into his arm with barrel pointing downrange and slightly upward.

"Maak de pan open!" (Open the pan!) [can also be translated as "Make the pan open"]

With a push to the frizzen, he would expose the pan for the sake of loading. He would then reach for his cartridge before the next:

"Scheur de cartridge af!" (Tear off the cartridge!)

Using his teeth, he would tear the thing open before spitting the piece out.

"Klaarzetten!" (Prime!)

This would be the only time he'd look down as he had kept his eyes on target all the way. He looked down so he can make sure that he poured just right amount in.

"Sluit de pan!" (Close the pan!)

The frizzen would then close down on the pan.

"Wapen op links!" (Weapon on left!)

He would then transitions to his left-hand, holding the gun by the bend, barrel now pointing somewhere straight up.

"Patroon in wapen!" (Cartridge in weapon!)

He'd pour the rest of the powder into the barrel and then putting the cartridge in there as well. He would get a ball, making sure it is oriented the right way before pushing it in there.

"Stok, uit!" (Stick, out!)

The soldier would pull out the ramrod from the weapon, turn it around and stick it into the barrel.

"Duwen!" (Push!)

The ramrod would be sent to the other end of the barrel which in turn would push the cartridge and the ball in there as well. 2 taps were given an assurance.

"Breng de stok terug!" (Return the stick!) [Can be alternatively translated as: "Bring the stick back!"]

He would pull the rod out and return it to the gun where it belongs.

"Klaarmaken!" (Make ready!)

He would get his right hand on the grip, left further back into the bend, assuming a high-ready position with his feet making a T.

"Streven!" (Aim!)

The soldier then quickly shoulder the stock, barrel pointing forward.

"Vuur wanneer gereed!" (Fire when ready!)

He would take his time to let out a deep breath, center the sights and get it onto the target, and after a little while, he sends the hammer into the pan, igniting the gunpowder, and BANG goes the musket as it pushed on his shoulder pocket as well.

As it was 100 spheras/50 meters out, the ball would end up hitting the second ring out of the five to the left, just almost pass the third line. An impressive performance for this specific musket.

He would put his firearm to high-ready again, before a "Schuine, armen!" (Slope, arms!) would prompt him to rest the gun on his left shoulder in a specific moveset.

"Very nice" András commented "Good shot, you can take it easy now"

The Esterrian soldier nodded before walking out of the way. And it would be the Sergeant himself who would stand in his spot.

"What you just saw is what you may have known: what your musket is capable of. And now, I will show how our rifle shoot"

András would hold the grip of the black rifle by his dominant hand (right) with his other reach for the box from earlier. With the copper pointing the same direction as the barrel is, he would put it at an angle to the receiver and rock it into position.

He would visibly pull something at the left side of the weapon back, making a crisp. metallic noise. András would take aim at the weapon with the first thing everyone noticed is that he held the grip with his elbow down instead of the chicken wing posture that they were all so used to.

"...Actually, you know what?" he brought the gun down again "How about making it swing?"

An eyebrow was raised.

"Are you sure?" inquired Vincent.

"Yeah, just for demostration purposes..."

The Esterrian Lieutenant would hesitate for a short while before giving in, turning to the earlier musketeer and gestured him to do whatever this Sergeant wanted. In turn, with the musket quickly sent to the back, he would sprint over to the sandbag.

Gradually slowing to a halt, he would catch his breath by the bag for several second, before then gathering his strength and push it as hard as he could. He stepped back so as to not get hit by the returning log. And then he would also run back to them.

"Thank you soldier" the Esterrian soldier gave a thumbs up while panting heavily, leaning down with his hand on his knee "Now let's get back to work shall we...?"

The RM58 is yet again raised to his shoulder, aiming down and centering his sight, he'd acquire his target, following it as it swung back and forth. Upon ready, his trigger finger went into the guard.

BANG... BANG... BANG... BANG...

4 consecutive gunshots, 4 consecutive hits. No one believed what they were seeing, and although it was somewhat all over the place, he still kept it within the 3 center rings, one even got bullseye. It's a feat that nobody in Gestrae could do, a feat that caught everyone's eyes widened.

But showtime isn't over just yet.

The Sergeant still had his rifle up to his shoulder, still focused on his sight. This time, he wasn't aiming at the bag with five holes punched through it at this point, he was aiming way above...

BANG

The fifth and final bullet would put the rope out of commission, the bag just simply plopped down on the ground.

"I've always wanted to do that..." he mumbled to himself while also chuckling "That scene was so cool that I just had to..."

The sergeant would then unload his weapon, taking the magazine out, then give the charging handle a yank with the gun angled in such a way he would be able to catch the unfired cartridge mid-air.

"And that, my friends, is the RM58"

With the rank-and-file very much in awe, the Lieutenant approached the Sergeant.

"That's... the most impressive thing I've ever seen" he remarked "However, there is one problem..."

"...And that is?"

"We... do not know how to use your RM58. If you teach us how to use it, we will take your entire stock"

"Oh um... You sure?"

Vincent happily nodded.

"I'm sure, you have my approval"

...

Port de Loivre, La Ferdina Port de Loivre, a coastal city that is one of the centers of pride of the La Ferdinan Empire. The city is big and prosperous, and with a beautiful coastline, it's no wonder why the Imperial Family chose this city as their summer vacation area.

However, a city this beautiful also comes with the ugly side, a very ugly one... Loivre is one of world's hotspots for slave trades of all types, of multiple origins and races. And these slaves would be sold in-city and to the outside to those who can afford them, and in the in-city cases, most of them ends up in the brand of nobles who resides in this town.

"So you are saying that we will go on an expedition to the island near a barbarian republic so that we will have a place for preparation against them?" said a noble right outside his door

"Yes sire" an aide of his replied "The Empress had reached an agreement with the other Kingdoms Union Gestrae members that we would go on this adventure"

"Oh splendid, that would mean more for me!"

"Indeed sire..."

"...Let me ask, can I also bring a few of my slaves there?"

"They allow that so yes"

The blonde-haired blonde would let out of laugh.

"Ahh... Anyways, where do I apply to go on this expedition?"

Behind that door is a naked silver-haired feline demihuman with what seems like lifeless blue eyes with her wrists bound by cuffs, sitting by herself on the bed. As she overheard the conversation outside, she looked down andher cat ears fold as well, distraught, even more so than the 'session' alone.

It has been eternity she's been here as his 'toy for pleasure', a suffering that never seems to end. Always in agony, she still holds inside her a glint of hope for freedom where no one could tell her what to do and think for herself.

But now, that light strayed further from her as soon as she hears that, and given that this catgirl is the noble's favorite, she gave up hope on seeing the other world as much as she doesn't want to.

All she could do is shedding some tears, tears that are just all too familiar for her, just slightly different. And only slightly different...

...

Port de Loivre has established itself as a beauty and a slave trade hub, but fewer knew them by their strategic importance as the headquarter of a bulk of the La Ferdinan Navy with its large docks. And these are the same docks ships of the expeditions would start from.

14/4/1702, 5:25 Admiral Alexandre stands on the deck of the La Ferdinan flagship. This ship-of-the-line is among the strongest in the continent of Gestrae with 130 guns, capable of taking on an entire Esterrian fleet alone. The La Ferdinan Navy, along with other allied navies are making final preparations on this expedition, in which Alexandre's ship is a part of.

He'd take a walk around the deck of theship, seeing the scenery of supplies being loaded on the warship, and people of importance, such as noble and officers boarding the ships along with their slaves... if they have them of course.

Alexandre then looks at the scene outside, and his eyes would see some ships then another retracting its contact from the ground, including the anchor. A sailor of this ship would tap on his shoulder from behind.

"Sir, manacomm just came in" he reported "All ships are now ready to set sail"

Alexandre nodded.

"Very well then, we shall set sail"

The crewman acknowledged his orders before going off to report back and relay the order. Soon enough, 3-4 ships started exiting the port as they finished loading up, then another 4-6 ships.

"We cannot waste anytime anymore!" shouted another sailor. Around the same time, 2 had already gone "Set sail immediately!"

Theflagship unfolded its sail, propelling the ship forward. From there on after, the ship will join a 150-strong fleet of a multinational Northern Expedition.

"Hey, I just want to ask whether Naeslagtland would be joining as well?"

"No, last time I've heard, that King Madsen IV refuses to send his troops out"

"Why?"

"He feels something awfully wrong about this barbarian nation, that's what he said"

"Hah, tell him he will miss out on the greatest battle in Gestrae history! And tell him his reasoning is absolutely ridiculous as well"

"Will do, just give me a little bit of time"

...

"Dear sister

It has been quite a long while since I have wrote to you. How are you feeling today? Are you cold? Is the road back home covered with snow now that it is getting really cold? Are mother and father fine?

Do you remember that time when I told you my belief before joining the Royal Esterrian Army? I believed in a world without slaves, without those wretched humans exploiting others without even paying them even a single piece of gold. I thought that the war in Havenklein would be the best way to achieve just that while also bringing back some glory.

4 months from that time, I still believed in that world, so I stayed in the army to continue fighting... but at the same time, I feel the need to get out of here as soon as possible every day. Ever since the stars started falling on Scharna where I was, Havenklein suddenly became a hell for me... no, possibly worse than that.

As of writing this, the previous month saw an attack on my convoy, many of my friends did not make it out alive and it makes me want to cry. The fallen souls had their bodies return back where they will be buried, a tragic loss for their family, and it makes me want to curse this bloody war...

At our fortress I am currently residing, it smells of sweat and no one could sleep, as there was a difficult battle the day before. Tomorrow by the time I wrote this, me and other soldiers will attack the rebel-held city again. I do not know what exactly waits for me there, all I know is that it'll feel like the houses are attacking us. Dan is with me in this coming battle, I bet he will survive this and the war.

My time to serve is still long way to go, I won't go home anytime soon, but I will still send you my warmest regards anyways. Oh, and for some reason, I'm not getting any letters recently, did mother and father forgot to send me one? And if they ask what I wrote you, you can tell them anything, even lie, just don't tell them I'm in Havenklein

Sincerely, Hendrik"

*As of researching, a Portuguese person have a first, second, third and last nane

(21/6/2024): Fixed an oopsie (30/7/2024): Fixed more oopsie