Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 1161

1161. Who Pays the Price? You Do (13)

Admiral Tourville’s Franco-Spanish allied fleet was making its final preparations with grim determination.

“This is our last chance! We must seize or blockade Gibraltar this time! If we fail, France has no future!”

“Spanish warriors! How long will you leave Gibraltar in the hands of infidels! This is our last chance!”

For the sake of their nation’s future, the recovery of lost territory, and their own advancement, the captains, commanders, and sailors of the warships were making their final preparations with determined expressions.

“Preparations are complete. The supply of gunpowder and shells is also finished. We are ready to set sail at any time.”

After hearing the report from his aide, Admiral Tourville filled an empty glass with brandy and issued an order.

“Good, grant the soldiers leave.”

“Leave… you mean?”

The aide looked back with a worried expression.

Currently, the fleet was filled with nothing but ‘grim determination.’

Everyone, regardless of their rank, was preparing for battle with a stiff expression. Of course, it was natural to be serious and determined in the face of battle.

However, the grimness pervading the harbor now had an unusual weight to it. This was because they had suffered continuous defeats.

-We have only lost so far, and many comrades have died or been crippled.

-This battle will not be easy either.

-If we don’t win, it’s over, but it doesn’t seem like we will win.

-But since they tell us to fight, we have no choice but to fight.

-Our death is a predetermined death. We set sail to die.

This was the true nature of the grimness pervading the harbor.

Granting leave in this situation? A large-scale desertion could occur. The aide’s question indirectly pointed this out. Admiral Tourville chuckled and replied to the aide’s question.

“Are you afraid of desertion? Yes, that may be possible. But tell me, where would they go if they deserted?”

“……”

The aide fell silent at Admiral Tourville’s question.

The road from here to France was long and arduous. Even if they went inland to Spain, they would surely be caught and forced back into the army or become serfs. Of course, they could become fugitives and go to Portugal or North Africa.

But at best, it was no different from being a serf. They would become low-level sailors hired without proper contracts, working in harsh environments, or become part of a pirate gang, chased by the empire.

“Those guys know they can’t escape. It’s better to let them go out and have a drink to relieve their stress and come back.”

“Understood. I will grant leave.”

That evening, all the sailors of the fleet who had been granted leave flocked to the city of Puerto Real. From the taverns near the harbor to the high-end bars in the city center, the members of the fleet were packed, emptying their glasses. Every street and alley in Puerto Real was filled with the laughter of drunken men and women and lewd banter.

“How can they do such lewd things in the streets! We must punish them immediately!”

The young priests of the nearby church frowned at this, but the older priests looked at them with pity and dissuaded the young priests.

“Forgive them today. After tomorrow, many of them will not be seen again.”

“But…..”

“Forgive them today.”

“….Yes.”

Thus, after a night of frenzy, those who had gone out returned with faces full of hangovers. After taking another day of rest at the harbor encampment, the allied fleet left Puerto Real.

The priests, who had climbed to the bell tower of the church to watch the departing fleet, quietly made the sign of the cross.

* * *

The allied fleet, having put to sea, slowly increased its speed and headed south.

“If we go around Tarifa, we will be right at Gibraltar. For now, let’s stick to the coastline as usual.”

The aides all nodded at Admiral Tourville’s suggestion to rely on the coastal batteries set up in various places along the southern coast of Spain.

“What is the speed of the fleet?”

“According to the latest measurement, it is about 8 knots (approximately 14.8 km/h).”

At the aide’s report, Admiral Tourville looked at the nautical chart and calculated in his mind.

‘Considering the distance to Gibraltar…’

“Too fast. Reduce it to 4 knots.”

“Then we will have to spend the night at sea.”

“It’s better than fighting a naval battle at night. It’s still an allied fleet that isn’t working well together. It’s better to arrive at Tarifa at dawn tomorrow.”

“Understood.”

At Admiral Tourville’s words, the aides immediately relayed the order to the communications officer. The fleet, having received the signal from the flagship, gradually slowed down. And as planned, the allied fleet passed Cape Tarifa around dawn the next day.

The captain of the flagship ordered his deputy.

“Hmm… Tell everyone to be on their toes from now on.”

“Yes.”

Just then, the top of the mast became noisy.

Ding ding ding!

“Alerte(Alert)! Alerte! Rear airspace! Airplane(avion)!”

At the lookout’s cry, Admiral Tourville, his staff, the captain, and the deputy all came out and looked at the sky. A single albatross was slowly circling high in the sky.

“Is it reconnaissance? They are diligent. Huh? Wait…”

Admiral Tourville, who had been making a joke rather than a serious remark while watching the albatross slowly circling and disappearing, suddenly expressed doubt.

“Huh? Why is it flying that way?”

The albatross in question was flying in the opposite direction from Gibraltar.

“Jackpot!”

The pilot of the albatross who discovered the Franco-Spanish allied fleet cheered.

The pilot, holding onto the speaking tube [an early form of intercom], asked the person sitting in the back seat.

“Navigator, did you properly record the position of the enemy fleet?”

“I… Ugh!”

“Hey! If you’re going to throw up, stick your head out and throw up!”

* * *

The ‘Punishment Fleet,’ which had departed from Shinji, continued its training during the voyage.

This was thanks to the fact that most of the fleet’s core strength, starting with the latest warship Salsoo and the airship carrier Cheonghaejin, were newly built ships. Thanks to the continuous live-fire training and maneuver training, the skills of the ships and crew members belonging to the Punishment Fleet became even sharper.

However, the problem was the airships. The albatross was capable of long-distance flight, but the pilots’ navigation skills were still immature. Therefore, the training of the albatross and goshawks was mainly focused on takeoffs and landings.

The Punishment Fleet, which had replenished the consumed shells and fuel while docked at the naval base in the Portuguese Azores [an archipelago in the mid-Atlantic], took a brief rest. After finishing the rest and maintenance, the Punishment Fleet began to head straight for Gibraltar.

Soon, as Gibraltar approached, the fleet deployed the albatross for reconnaissance. Due to the albatross pilots’ poor navigation skills, the navigator of the airship carrier rode along into the sky. Thus, Navigator Jang Dae-wook, who ended up on the albatross, faced a series of hardships.

“Ugh! Ugh!”

“Don’t throw up inside, I told you to throw up outside! It’s hard to clean that up later!”

Jang Dae-wook apologized, forcibly calming his churning stomach at the pilot’s scolding heard through the speaking tube.

“S, sorry…”

“No, how can someone who has experienced storms like eating meals get seasick! Even a passing dog would laugh!”

“Hey, this and that are different… Ugh!”

“Ah! I told you to throw up outside!”

Jang Dae-wook’s desperate struggle continued. He had to hold a drawing board with a map, a compass, a quadrant [an instrument used for measuring angles], a pocket watch, and a calculating tool in his hands and direct the pilot, all while suffering from ‘airship sickness.’ Anyway, after the flight that continued in that way, the albatross, which discovered the Franco-Spanish allied fleet at the entrance of Gibraltar, immediately turned its nose and headed straight back to the main force.

“Now landing! Fasten your seatbelts tightly! Check your cushions! Grab the handles tightly! Finally, bite down hard! You might bite your tongue if you’re not careful!”

“Al, alright!”

At the pilot’s unusually nervous command, Jang Dae-wook held the map board to his chest and tightened his seatbelt.

Thump! Thump thump!

The albatross landed safely on the deck of the airship carrier, and the deckhands rushed over and began to move the albatross to the side.

In the meantime, Jang Dae-wook, who got off the albatross, staggered but hurriedly began to walk to the bridge.

“The situation is urgent! Get out of the way!”

The deckhands, watching Jang Dae-wook disappear in such a hurry, cursed after seeing the cockpit in the rear.

“Damn it! What a mess!”

* * *

Meanwhile, the report that Jang Dae-wook brought was immediately transmitted to the entire fleet through flashing signals. As flashing signals busily went back and forth between the flagship Salsoo, the airship carrier, and other ships, the Punishment Fleet’s operation was revised and began.

“Captain. Did you call for me?”

The captain, who had summoned Jang Dae-wook, who was taking a rest after dragging his exhausted body, immediately issued an order.

“In half a shijin (approximately 1 hour), the albatrosses will strike the enemy fleet.”

“Yes.”

“You will have to lead them.”

Jang Dae-wook’s face turned white at the captain’s order.

“Yes?”

“Aren’t the albatross pilots still unfamiliar with directions? If we send only them out, the problem won’t be the strike, but they will be annihilated on the way there. So someone skilled in navigation has to go… and you’re the only one who has ridden an airship and gone there, aren’t you?”

“That…”

Jang Dae-wook, who was about to say ‘find someone else,’ immediately closed his mouth.

This was because everyone related to navigation, starting with the veteran navigator, was sending him very, very, definitely strong murderous intent.

Even the captain.

In the end, Jang Dae-wook had no choice but to accept the captain’s order.

“Understood. I will prepare.”

And half a shijin later, 20 albatrosses took off into the sky from the airship carrier.

And at the very front was the albatross carrying Jang Dae-wook.

“Ugh! Ugh ugh!”

“Hey, after throwing up so much earlier, do you still have more to throw up?”

“Tell me about it… Uwaaack!”

“I told you to throw up outside!”

The Punishment Fleet, which had launched the albatrosses, began to sail at full speed.

* * *

Meanwhile, on Admiral Tourville’s flagship, Admiral Tourville and his staff were discussing the albatross from earlier.

“What was that airplane from earlier? Why did it fly that way?”

“Could it be that the Empire has built a new base without us knowing?”

“A new base without us knowing?”

The aide who came up with the idea of ‘a new base’ explained the reason.

-Gibraltar is powerful, but it is highly vulnerable to blockade.

-Therefore, another military base is needed nearby to prevent the blockade of Gibraltar.

-For this, Ceuta is the best option, but we would have to give a lot to Portugal.

-Then it would be appropriate to choose a suitable place on the North African coast and set up a base.

At this, the senior aide pointed out a contradiction.

“It sounds plausible… but the problem is that we should know about it, shouldn’t we?”

“That’s true, but there’s no other way to explain that Empire airplane.”

“That’s the problem…”

When everyone was puzzled by the albatross in question, an officer at the very end cautiously opened his mouth.

“Um… Could it have been launched from the sea?”

“Say something that makes sense!”

At the senior aide’s rebuke, the officer in question immediately closed his mouth. Admiral Tourville, who glanced at the scene, opened his mouth.

“What’s important now is not that. What’s most important now is to pound Gibraltar. Let’s focus only on that.”

“Yes.”