Upon receiving the communication from Bigu, the military port of Livorno began to move frantically.

“It says a large-scale fleet, but we don’t know the exact number of ships! Clear the berths! Gather every tugboat and all the oarsmen you can find!”

“Sir!”

Following the port commander’s orders, the tugboats began to move with haste.

***

The military port of Livorno had been built with piers of various sizes to allow for the docking of ships according to their class.

However, until now, those piers had rarely been operated according to their intended purpose.

This was because the Imperial warships patrolling between Livorno and Prince Henrique Harbor were mostly smaller galleon or carrack-class vessels, and merchant ships docked far more frequently than warships.

And the merchant ships all lined up to dock at the longest and widest pier in the military port.

“It’s easier to load and unload cargo if you dock at the longest pier over there!”

“That’s right! The cranes and windlasses on this pier are the biggest!”

“It’s easier to get in and out, too!”

***

Given this situation, not only the tugboats whose turn it was to be out at sea but also those that had been resting had no choice but to be mobilized.

From the tall watchtower built at the pier’s mooring, light signals flashed and signal flags fluttered incessantly. Watching those signals, the tugboats latched onto large and small merchant ships and warships, dragging them here and there to clear the piers.

While the tugboats were busy at work, the Imperial Military Band, which had been staying at the Imperial Army garrison in the military port, began to move toward the pier.

Dressed in cleanly laundered uniforms with sharp creases, the military band members checked their instruments one last time and set off for the docks.

***

Just as the great commotion was beginning to subside, the squadron that had gone out on patrol that morning returned to the harbor.

Fwoosh! Fwoosh-fwoosh! Fwoosh!

From the lead warship, signaling fire-arrow rocket² were fired into the sky. The port commander, along with the military officers and signalmen on the pier, subconsciously decoded the signal.

“…Imperial Fleet… twenty-two ships… twenty-two? Twenty-two ships!”

Startled by the number, the commander looked back at his subordinates.

“Have you prepared enough space?!”

“Sir!”

The adjutant who answered loudly immediately looked at the other officers standing next to him. At the unspoken command, the officers answered in unison.

“There is enough space, sir!”

However, inwardly, they were all muttering the same thing.

‘Probably…’

There was a reason for their lack of confidence.

Even in the military ports of the homeland, it was rare for twenty-two large warships like the Challenger-class or the Assault Turtle Ships to dock at the same time.

Most would drop anchor a short distance from the pier, and launches would ferry the sailors back and forth.

The only time they docked directly at the pier was to load or replace ammunition and provisions.

However, this time was different.

First, this was a fleet coming all the way from the New Frontier, crossing the East Sea—which the Empire called the Great Eastern Ocean and the Europeans called the Atlantic.

Since they were warships crossing the ocean, it was certain they would all be large vessels.

Furthermore, it was certain they were carrying the Imperial troops and supplies to be stationed in Italy. Therefore, they had no choice but to dock at the piers equipped with large cranes and windlasses.

Finally, these were ships that had completed a long-distance voyage. They had to be docked at the pier, if only to properly inspect their condition.

For this reason, the military officers in charge of maintaining the military port stared at the sea with desperate faces.

‘Please…’

‘I heard rumors they’d gotten a bit bigger, but I pray only the moderately bigger ones are coming…’

While the officers were praying so desperately, the sound of a gong and drums rang out from the watchtower on the pier.

Gong~. Boom! Boom! Boom!

“They’re coming!”

At the sound of the drums and gong and the shouts from the watchtower, the commander and his officers all raised their telescopes and looked out at the sea.

And they all let out a gasp.

“Ah!”

“Son of a bitch!”

“The rumors were true!”

The problem was the massive ship that filled the view of the telescopes. The colossal vessel, slowly turning its bow toward the harbor, had four masts and was flying what looked to be nearly twenty sails, including the jibs on the bow and stern.

***

• -Go to New Frontier, and everything gets bigger! It doesn’t matter if it’s an iron horse or a warship….

This was a rumor that had been circulating about New Frontier for some time.

And it was, to some extent, true.

The Empire’s northern lands and the northeastern forest regions were vast, but the New Frontier was even vaster.

Transporting people and goods across that vast land from east to west and north to south was no easy task.

In the homeland and the northern lands, the distance between villages was sometimes so close that a horse-mounted messenger was faster than the light-signal communication network.

However, New Frontier was a different story. It was a place where, to visit a neighboring village, one had to prepare thoroughly and announce their departure in advance using the light-signal communication network. The reason for announcing the departure in advance was that a search had to be initiated if they didn’t arrive by the expected time.

In most cases, they had simply lost their way and were stranded. However, there were also cases of being harmed in an attack by a wild beast, or, though it happened very rarely, losing their lives in an attack by bandits. And in such cases, the army was dispatched.

Therefore, in the New Frontier, both trains and ships had to carry a large amount of cargo at once.

To transport a lot of goods and people at once, they naturally had to get bigger, and to move those bigger bodies faster, they needed larger and more powerful steam engines or more sails.

And through all sorts of trial and error, the iron horses and ships began to grow in size.

And the one who showed the most dramatic change here was Hyang.

When he first received the related proposal, Hyang looked up at the sky and made an excuse that wasn’t quite an excuse.

“I swear, I didn’t do anything this time…”

Feeling as if he could hear Sejong’s roar of ‘Get out, you bastard!’, Hyang, who was reviewing the proposals, soon changed his attitude.

“It’s the demand of the era! If so, I must accept it!”

Having switched his stance without any hesitation, Hyang began to fly into action.

“Yes, since we’ve already started this! Let’s take it as far as it can go!”

Thanks to this, a scaled-down version of a Windjammer—but by current standards, a super-large transport ship—was created.

“On one hand, I’m proud, and on the other, I’m disappointed…”

Looking at the large transport ship named the Black Whale[1], Hyang muttered with an expression mixed with pride and regret. It was a mixture of the pride of having created a massive ship that would go down in history and stun the Europeans, and the regret that he would now have to hand the New Frontier over to Wan.

“Now that I’ve confirmed that it floats well and moves well, I should pack up the blueprints and head back to Seoul. By the way, Seoul is going to flip out when they see these blueprints…”

Thanks to the still-frustratingly slow means of communication, not a single piece of information regarding the development of the Black Whale had been relayed to Seoul. No, the truth was that Hyang had deliberately hidden it because of the budget officials in Seoul who would raise hell if they heard news of the Black Whale’s development.

Pausing for a moment, Hyang soon grinned and continued.

“What do I care? You think they’re gonna chew me out, the Emperor Emeritus?”

***

Starting with the super-large transport ship, the Black Whale, the fleet that had departed from New Frontier entered the military port of Livorno one by one.

Watching the warships and transport ships entering the military port, the officers wore crestfallen expressions.

“To think the smallest ship is a Challenger-class…”

“The tugboats are going to be worked to death…”

Indeed, the port’s tugboats were suffering hellishly.

Usually, even when a large merchant ship came in, it could be moved smoothly with two or three tugboats.

But the warships coming in now looked like they would barely move even with at least six tugboats attached.

“How are we supposed to tow that thing…”

As if they knew the tugboats’ oarsmen were on the verge of tears, launches were lowered from the fleet’s warships and transport ships.

With the launches and tugboats working together to pull the vessels, the warships and transport ships began to dock at the piers.

***

The first to dock at the pier were the Black Whale and two Assault Turtle Ships.

“They’ve made modifications to the Assault Turtle Ships, I see.”

The naval officers who saw the docked Assault Turtle Ships all had shining eyes.

“Is that the rumored Oceanic-type Assault Turtle Ship…”

The docked Assault Turtle Ship had a slightly longer and sleeker hull than the existing ones. The bow section still featured the characteristic dragon head[2], but the hull below it had become sharper and more pointed.

Most of the naval officers here had experience with long-distance voyages, and they were individuals who had learned and experienced the shape and characteristics of hulls until their ears bled during their time at the naval academy.

“I heard there’s a possibility a new ship class will be created because of that…”

“A new ship class?”

“The rumor is that several names are being proposed. Something like ‘Sea Control Ship’[3] to mean it controls the seas… or ‘Cruiser’[4] because it crosses the oceans. No, there’s also talk that we should use the designation ‘ham’ (함(艦))³ because it’s already become too large to be called a ‘seon (vessel)’[5].”

“Hmm…”

While the officers were talking, the military band that had been on standby began to play the ‘Imperial March.’

As the Imperial March began to play, all the military officers and sailors on the pier, starting with the commander, straightened their posture and watched the Assault Turtle Ships and the Black Whale docking at the pier.

K-thump.

With a dull sound, the docking of the Assault Turtle Ships and the Black Whale was complete, and soon, gangways were connected, and people began to disembark.

The Imperial soldiers who got off the ships soon split into two groups. The Imperial Navy in their white uniforms and the Imperial Army in their green uniforms lined up in formation, and a middle-aged military officer wearing the rank insignia of a Naval Commander (also known as Jeoldosa) stepped forward.

“Welcome. I am Naval Commander Ahn Yeong-gyu, responsible for Livorno.”

“I am Naval Commander Lee Si-ae, in command of the Imperial Army stationed in Florence. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Soon after, the naval Naval Commander who had disembarked from the Assault Turtle Ship approached.

“I am Naval Commander Song Il-won, commanding the East Sea Cruiser Fleet. A pleasure to meet you.”

“A pleasure to meet you.”

The two men who would cause a great upheaval on the land of the Mediterranean and Europe had arrived in Italy.

***

Meanwhile, the arrival of the Imperial fleet from New Frontier in Italy shook Europe.

“From the west?”

“They crossed the western sea?!”

“And they’re massive ships the likes of which have never been seen before? Aren’t you misidentifying a Challenger-class?”

“What? The Challenger-class is the smallest?”

“What! They have ships without sails?!”

The naval officials of the European great powers fell into chaos at the appearance of the Imperial fleet from the direction they had thought least likely.

“Get a grip! What’s happened has happened! The top priority is to confirm the extent of their strength!”

Just as the naval officials, who had barely regained their composure, were about to send out spies, a bizarre rumor began to spread among the common people of Europe.

• -The Land of Flowers has brought sea monsters with them to Italy!
• -In the Land of Flowers, there was a wizard who controlled sea monsters!

“Sea monsters?”

The rumor had started with the fishermen of the Mediterranean region who had seen the Assault Turtle Ships cutting through the Mediterranean, spewing black smoke.