The Blue Shark Sets Sail!
Robinson's Crusoe Travelogue — written by the man who departed London in 4026 and returned after two years, recording his journey in a book — sent shockwaves across Europe.
Above all, it was the phrase "the empire where the sun never sets."
The book described Daehan as a paradise of unimaginable expanse, where wheat grew even in winter and everyone could eat three full meals a day.
"That's right! I heard even the ports are wonderful places to live!"
"We want to go too…."
It was only because travel was so difficult for commoners in those days that Europe avoided a tidal wave of emigrants.
"The people are growing restless."
"If the land is that vast, surely we could claim a piece of it for ourselves?"
"However great an empire may be, if we all band together, wouldn't we stand a chance?"
"Perhaps the sheer size of it is precisely what gives us a chance."
Nobles and kings alike shared one thought: seizing Daehan's territory.
"But we'd need a massive army for that…."
"Then everyone unites. Simple."
"Even Russia?"
"We have no choice…."
And so, about a year after Robinson's return, delegates from across Europe began gathering at the Holy See in Rome for serious negotiations.
"No! If everyone marches off like that, what do you intend to do about the Ottomans?"
"Perhaps we should send them a peace envoy?"
"And what exactly would we offer them?"
Something would have to be given — land, money, something — but the discussion of who would pay and whose territory would be sacrificed ground to a complete halt.
As time drifted by, the Netherlands broke into its war of independence in 4031, and the conference was suspended for a while.
"Haah… not a single quiet day, is there?"
"When things are quiet here, they explode over there…."
Europe truly seemed cursed — wars erupted on every front, and killing never ceased.
Then in 4033, the Ottomans began reaching into the Mediterranean.
"The Ottomans have invaded Cyprus!"
"What now? Why again?"
The Venice-Ottoman peace treaty had been shaky from the start, after all.
With delegates from every nation already assembled, Venice decided the moment was ripe and lobbied the Pope with everything it had.
A allied fleet formed, and in 4034 the great Battle of Lepanto erupted.
"A resounding victory, they say!"
"Bwahahaha!"
Plenty of captured ships came with it, and as a result, Europe's naval power began climbing visibly.
"Excellent! Now, back to the matter of Daehan!"
"Yes! Those Ottoman devils will be quiet for a while now!"
The delegates from each nation gathered once more and resumed their conference.
"Hmm. Where would be the best place to strike?"
"We have more ships now — why not attack by sea?"
"Can we actually break Daehan's ships, though?"
"Haven't we improved our cannons considerably?"
Europe, having fought two naval battles against Daehan, had not been sitting idle. They had diligently refined their gunpowder weapons — above all the naval cannon, since they desperately needed some way to crack Daehan's hulls.
Daehan traded quietly and mindlessly, but if its mood ever changed and it seized complete control of the seas, Europe would be finished.
"Still, one can never be sure. Don't we need even bigger, stronger cannons?"
"Ha… then the ships would have to grow bigger too…."
And so the Europeans found themselves gathered together researching weapons and warships alike. Somehow — no one knew where from — they had gotten their hands on a Daehan Horned Whale, and they were studying it on site.
"Why on earth did they build it this thick?"
"Good point. This much plating seems unnecessary, doesn't it?"
The hull was thickened as insurance against disaster, since the ship had to sail through waters littered with drifting ice. Europeans never sailed such waters, so they could only marvel in confusion.
"And these cannons appear to be made of steel."
"What? There aren't even any seams. How did they make this?"
"And there are grooves carved inside the barrel."
The Europeans set about tearing everything apart and trying to replicate it. They even discovered that rifling stabilized a projectile's trajectory — but making cannons out of steel proved utterly beyond their ability to imitate.
Forced to cast their guns from iron, their cannons grew steadily thicker and heavier with each iteration.
"We'll need purpose-built warships to face Daehan's fleet."
Thus, after years of developing ships and cannons, the European Union finally began constructing vessels clad in cast iron and armed with oversized cannons.
So enormous was the budget poured into the project that war across Europe paused, temporarily, for its sake.
Each nation built one or two, and in total thirty-two armored warships took shape.
"Then how about we test them against Daehan's invincible fleet?"
"We can do it, can't we?"
"Everyone strike your colors and begin training."
"Yes, sir."
The ships were brand-new, so the crews had to drill until they knew them inside and out. Taming such ponderous vessels would demand a considerable amount of time.
July 22nd, 4046. After some twenty years of refinement and improvement, the day had finally come for Blue Shark-1 to receive her name and put to sea.
The ship measured 74 ja from stem to stern and 11 ja across the beam, and her draft sat just past 2 ja — apparently because her steel plating had been thickened a touch.
Nowhere but a Daehan port could have accommodated her at anchor.
"Captain, preparations are complete."
"Then we depart at once."
HOOOOOOONK.
Daehan's steam whistles unfailingly produced the sound of an enormous duck crying out.
"Do the artisans do that on purpose?"
"Hard to say…."
The Navy had lodged protests aplenty, but the sound never changed — so it seemed there was nothing to be done about it.
"Once we're at sea, make full speed for Dongdo."
"That far, Captain?"
"Well, the artisans staked their pride on it, so we ought to verify the claim, shouldn't we? It would be a disaster if the engines broke down in the middle of a battle."
"Understood."
The Blue Shark cruised at 120 ja per hour, but her maximum speed was a staggering 300 ja.
He could picture the artisans' confident faces — trust it, we built it with our new alloy!
RUMMMMMBLE.
"Seems no amount of technological progress can do anything about that sound?"
The heavy vibration rolled out from the ship's heart, loud enough to reach the bridge.
"Still, that deep rumble makes a perfect lullaby, doesn't it?"
"Hahaha. I'll admit I sleep poorly without it myself."
The engine room was surely deafening beyond endurance, but everywhere else, the drone was rather easy on the ears.
While the Captain and the Deck Boss traded banter, the ship had already left the harbor far behind.
Twenty years of dozens of refits had sent her in and out of port so often that the locals barely glanced up, wondering if she was heading out yet again.
No welcoming crowds awaited her, but the developers who had come out to watch filled the harbor to bursting all the same.
"I'll increase speed now."
"Sound the whistle too. We should say our goodbyes as we go."
"Aye, Captain!"
HOOOOOONK!
Blue Shark-1 let loose Daehan's signature steam whistle and began steadily gathering speed.
KUKUKUKU.
"She accelerates faster than I expected?"
"Still a bit of a shudder, though. And at top speed — it's simply too fast, sir."
On paper it was just a little over half a train's speed, but the difference between watching scenery glide past a train window and feeling the wind whip your face as the hull slammed through waves was the difference between heaven and earth.
WHOOOOSH.
However buoyant the vessel, the bow of an 80,000-guan ship rose slightly, and the waves striking her prow split apart into twin torrents.
"The way she cleaves the water is magnificent every single time. Like she's cutting it apart with a blade, isn't it?"
"It terrifies me, frankly…."
"You'll get used to it if you watch often enough."
When she carved through a truly large swell, seawater came crashing down over the deck in sheets — enough to make one wonder whether the ship might simply split in two.
Trailing a long wake from her stern, the Blue Shark tore through the ocean like a sharp, merciless arrow.
"Goodness… exactly six days…."
"But… I couldn't do that a second time…."
"Agreed. What in the world is this coal consumption? We're burning it like water."
The speed was welcome, but top speed simply couldn't be sustained. Any longer at that pace, and they'd nearly have become a coffin adrift on the open sea on their very first voyage.
The Captain had been startled half to death when a call came through from the engine room: we're burning through far too much coal, this cannot go on.
"Heh heh… engines in perfect health, but the fuel's the problem. Absurd."
"I suppose the message is: only for combat?"
"Seems that way. Haha. A valuable experience either way."
They had, after all, shaved a full half-day off the crossing. The monstrous environmental pollution was simply a bonus.
After that the voyage proceeded smoothly — through Dongbaek and Baepyeong, then along the canal to Wikiwa.
Call it what you will, it still took 48 days to reach Wikiwa, the final destination on the Eastern Continent.
"One day's rest here, then we depart immediately, I expect."
"Yes, sir. I'll pass the word to the crew."
When the Blue Shark entered Wikiwa, even the traders who had come to the port from the surrounding area abandoned their business and crowded in to gawk.
"Whoa… what on earth is that?"
"It's far bigger than the last one?"
"And I thought the Whale Shark was enormous. What is this thing? She looks sleek, though — honestly, she's even cooler-looking."
At one and a half times the length of a Whale Shark, she could be compared directly against the ship moored right beside her.
Her beam was little different, but her vastly greater length gave her a lean, knife-like profile — a ship that looked built for one purpose: fighting.
"How does Daehan even build things like that?"
"No idea. Haah… forget building one, I just want to ride one. Should I join the Navy?"
"Weren't you saying there's an entrance exam?"
"Ugh…."
The Navy required its sailors to master basic ship-handling knowledge and the art of navigation, so there was far more to learn than most expected.
Naturally, selection was done through examinations, which kept the qualification bar fairly high.
For most, it was quicker to join the Daehan Company — which hired anyone with a healthy body — and bide their time for an opportunity.
"Truly magnificent…."
Thus did the Blue Shark plant dreams of naval service in the hearts of the Eastern Continent's people, and the very next day she set course for Europe.
Her destination was Pyeong-an Naru. She was sailing to guard the port against the European Union's restless stirrings.
Once she had demonstrated her power a single time, her mere presence at anchor would be enough to deter any thoughts of war.
Pyeong-an Naru's salons and smoking rooms were wired with listening devices.
"Have you heard anything about the European Union?"
"Ah, a friend of mine sits on their technology committee."
"Oh? What do they do over there, anyway?"
Over drinks, or over burning tobacco, the Europeans of Pyeong-an Naru unspooled secrets by the dozen.
"I hear they're building ships and cannons meant to smash the invincible fleet?"
"Eh? What good would smashing them do?"
"Something about reclaiming the seas of Europe, apparently?"
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
Nonsense it most certainly was. When had Daehan ever once blocked a sea lane?
No — their plan was to strike first and see whether it was even possible. If they could sink even a single ship, the fight might be worth having.
Europeans, sweating and struggling to take down a Whale Shark that was, in truth, nothing more than a converted freighter.
"By the way, an even bigger ship than the invincible fleet came in recently. What do you suppose that is?"
"She looked so sleek that something about her gave me the chills…."
The Europeans had been building their union and constructing warships for some time now, so Daehan could hardly sit back and watch idly.
And so, the moment the Blue Shark's development was complete, her first hull had been dispatched to Pyeong-an Naru.
"No matter how big the cannons get, how do you sink something that size?"
"Huh? Now that you mention it… how many holes would you even need to punch?"
Not that the shells would punch through in the first place — but supposing they did, wouldn't it take two hundred, four hundred hits in a neat line before the ship split in half?
The real problem was that Europe's cannons had cast-iron barrels. Hard, certainly, but shattering the moment they met force beyond a certain threshold.
Fired against steel plating, the shells would mostly just shatter.
"I hear they've built some absolutely colossal cannon over there?"
"How big are we talking?"
"Word is a grown man could climb inside the barrel?"
"How in God's name do you fire that thing from a ship?"
Whatever else could be said of them, the Europeans appeared to have made truly staggering preparations.