On a cold morning, the sun peeked through the grey clouds, and dew was still fresh on the grass. Soldiers patrolled along the city walls, keeping an eye out for the Gu ships. Fortunately, the fog had already lifted, so their vision would not be impaired.
One soldier looked out at the ocean and marvelled at his calmness; the wind was gentle, and the sea shimmered in the distance. As he peered further outwards, a small silhouette could be made out from afar. It was minuscule, so the soldier could not figure out what it was, but then, all of a sudden, another small silhouette appeared, then another and another, until the horizon was covered with them.
Alarmed by the sight, the soldiers were quick to alert everyone of what was on the horizon. Bells rang to signal the sighting, and soldiers raced to their stations. Cannon crews prepared their cannons, and the small fleet that resided in Hannover was quick to move into position.
The fleet consisted of 2 ships of the line, 8 third-rate ships and 5 rocket ships. This paled in comparison to the Gu fleet, which consisted of over 420 ships. Out of 300 ships, 320 of them were specialised troop ships that could carry up to 1000 soldiers. The remaining 100 were mostly ships similar to a Luxenberg Third-Rate ship. A dozen of the Gu ships were equivalent to a Luxenberg Ship of the Line.
Field Marshal Wellesley peered through his spyglass to assess the situation. Most of the Gu ships were clustered together; this would prove beneficial to the Luxenberg defenders. The rocket ships were highly effective against clustered enemy ships. If their accuracy was not correct, they still had a high chance of inflicting heavy damage.
"Signal the fleet, move our battleships forward, let them act as a shield for the rocket ships in reserve," Field Marshal Wellesley called out to an adjutant standing in the background. With a salute, the adjutant was quick to dismiss himself and carry out his orders.
On the upper deck of the Gu Flagship were three important figures: Stetson Fontaine and Princes Gu San-Tong and Gu Yichen. There were the leaders of this invasion, with Gu Yichen as the supreme commander of the Gu Forces.
"Brother, what are your orders?" Prince Gu San-Tong asked. Yichen looked out towards Osterbon through his golden spyglass, analysing the Luxenberg defences.
"Mister Stetson, this is your home. What do you think we should do?" Prince Gu Yichen said while paying attention to the city. Stetson stepped forward, almost side by side with the prince and answered confidently.
"You have options, Your Highness. You could bombard the harbour and forcefully land your soldiers inside the city. Or we could land 20 kilometres down the beach and hope to encircle the city. Either option is not necessarily foolproof, however, due to the geographical element of this continent, we would be hard-pressed to find another place to land our ships."
All three of the men pondered as their ships stayed stationary: Out of the Luxenberg artillery range. "Brother, let me and my ships blast a hole through their weak fleet. We will pierce a hole through their defences and your infantry can storm the city," Prince Gu San-Tong suggested.
Yichen grinned and accepted his brother's recommendation. It was a good idea; they had a vast numerical advantage, and they could only see 10 out of the 15 Luxenberg ships. The rocket ships were still hidden behind them.
At Prince Gu San-Tong's command, 34 of his ships, 2 ships of the line and 32 third-rate ships split into two groups to try and create a pincer attack. Both groups still remained lightly clumped together.
The Luxenberg battleships reacted accordingly and began to turn their ships to set up for a fierce broadside. The rocket ships also turned their ships to face the oncoming enemies. They also adjusted the ramp to get an accurate shot.
Both Field Marshal Wellesley and Prince Gu Yichen watched intently, wanting to see who would get the early upper hand. "Are the rocket ships able to fire?" The Luxenberg Field Marshal asked his adjutant. The adjutant nodded firmly, confirming that they were well in fact, ready to fire.
"Very good. Let us give these foreigners a fiery welcome. Tell the rocket ships to fire at will," Field Marshal Wellesley commanded with a slight grin. His adjutant was quick to blow a bugle, signalling for the rocket ships to fire.
At the sound of the bugle, all 5 of the rocket ships unleashed their devastating rockets towards both groups of the oncoming Gu Fleet. The Gu sailors looked up in fear as these thundering spears were flying above their heads.
One rocket exploded prematurely, raining fire in front of the Gu fleet ships attacking from the right. Another rocket managed to detonate right above a cluster of three small Gu ships. Flames descended from the heavens, sparking fires across their sails and rigging.
Gu sailors fought to keep the flames at bay; however, the flames were quick to spread along the sails, burning holes in them. "Put out the fires! Hurry! One sailor shouted. Many of the sailors were preoccupied by the falling flames, so they forgot about the Luxenberg battleships they were approaching to engage.
From a distance, both the Gu princes watched as their fleet flailed at the mercy of the Luxenberg Rockets. "I thought you said their flying and exploding spears were land artillery, Stetson. It seems they have managed to assimilate them into their navy," Prince Yichen said coldly, his indifferent expression slightly wavering. Stetson could only shake his head and frown at this revelation.
"My ships! Brother, we must pull back our attacking ships; they are already struggling against the rockets. If we do it now, we can avoid getting broadsided by the Luxenberg ships, they will be beyond saving," Gu San-Tong urged.
Prince Gu Yichen looked out towards the battle as he replied to his brother. "How will we recall them? They are too far away. Their impending sacrifice has taught us many things already. We will start to land our ships down the beach, out of range from their artillery. All our ships can do now is try and inflict as many casualties as possible."
It was a harsh fate for the Gu sailors, but this defeat helped Prince Gu Yichen learn about his enemy and test their defences.