Chapter One Hundred Nineteen: The Prime Minister’s Intervention — The Monarch Battleship

English Channel Waters

The battle appeared fierce in the St. George's Channel, the maritime boundary between Wales and England. A massive confrontation had erupted between the Welsh forces and the Scottish fleet. The fleets commanded by Cleville and Treysi were locked in combat. Since both sides were committing only a third of their total military strength, the engagement was effectively a stalemate. However, because Treysi’s fleet consisted primarily of monitor vessels armed with heavy cannons, it appeared on the surface that his forces were sustaining more severe damage.

In reality, the number of damaged warships on both sides was identical. This was entirely a matter of command proficiency and tactical maneuvering; for the moment, both sides had backed away from direct confrontation. After all, in the distant waters of the Isle of Man, the Irish fleet commander had been completely wiped out, and command of those forces had now fallen to the Welsh commander. This was, in fact, a quirk—a bug—in the command system, yet it persisted. As soon as a supreme commander was killed, all subordinate commanders at every level would perish alongside them. However, the force that annihilated them could, through a specific process, absorb those remnants. This method was quite standard, akin to a formal surrender, allowing the scattered units to be integrated into one's own ranks. The drawback, however, was that the Irish warships were currently heavily damaged. Consequently, Wales was conducting repairs in their Irish ports. Yet, in a game where progress was accelerated, such minor repairs would be completed rapidly. Once that happened, the Scottish fleet would be utterly incapable of withstanding the Welsh threat. Even though this was merely a military exercise, Cleville had no intention of giving up.

Thus, their only remaining option was to launch an all-out assault on the Welsh headquarters. If they could eliminate the opposing supreme commander in a single stroke, the game would end, and no matter how strong the enemy’s forces were, they would no longer be able to block their path. With that, a special warship appeared on the horizon.

The King George V-class battleship, Monarch. During the Second World War, this had been an unfinished project. Yet, every vessel of the King George V-class—whether it was the HMS King George V, the HMS Prince of Wales, or the HMS Duke of York—had been among the premier battleships of its time. Now, the battleship Monarch had become synonymous with the most formidable warship in existence. Much like the Empire-class battleships of the Galle Empire—the legendary vessels that stood ten times stronger than any opponent during their founding era—this ship carried immense weight. Relying on such battleships, they had swept the entire United States Navy. Twenty years ago, a famous battle took place in the English Channel: the celebrated Glorious Naval Battle. It was a three-way conflict between the Galle Empire, Europa, and the United Kingdom, a battle that ultimately solidified the founding of the United Kingdom and symbolized the end of the War of Independence. In that engagement, a single Monarch-class battleship had destroyed three enemy ships of equal tonnage.

And now, such an earth-shattering warship had appeared within the Scottish fleet.

"Oh, damn it! Why is the Monarch there? What is the point of this battle now? We can’t possibly defeat the Monarch, can we?" The Monarch was not only a global deterrent but also a powerful symbol for their own nation. This very symbolism left many sailors unable to muster the will to fight it. A famous scholar once said: if the captain of the Monarch were to betray the United Kingdom, no force could stop it, for they would be unable to bring themselves to fire upon it.

"Hahahaha! They never expected us to hack into the system, did they? Even you, Prince Treysi, cannot deal with this kind of battleship! I’m sorry, but we will certainly win this battle!" In the viewing gallery, the Prime Minister’s cunning laughter echoed throughout the room. If not for the excellent soundproofing, it would surely have been heard by all. If the public were to learn of this, his position as Prime Minister would be untenable. Yet, who could possibly know of these illicit schemes?

However, when Treysi learned that the opposing Monarch had appeared before the Welsh waters, he remained indifferent, even amused. The Monarch? The Prime Minister could not possibly know this, but Treysi knew something vital about the ship: the Monarch was absolutely incapable of firing upon them. The ship’s system possessed a unique identification feature.

"Hey, Roger! Only Scotland remains. What do you think our odds of winning are? I’d say one hundred percent."

"As you wish, Prince Treysi. They have indeed hacked the system and deployed the most powerful warship, the Monarch. Otherwise, the Monarch could never have appeared in the commander system, as authorizing such a ship requires the approval of two Marshals."

"Approval from two Marshals? That’s impossible. Does that mean we’ve been exposed?"

On the observation deck, the conversation between Prince Treysi and Dr. Roger was broadcast openly to everyone present. The moment they saw the Monarch appear, they had assumed this battle would be spectacular. They had not expected that the Monarch could never have participated in a conflict of this scale. In other words, Scotland had violated the rules of the game. Technically, the military exercise should have been over, but the Welsh had no intention of stopping them.

"Cleville would never do something like this. He knows the rules, so the only one who could have done it is that Prime Minister." Treysi’s words reached the ears of all present without reservation. The Prime Minister had violated the principle of non-interference between military and political affairs. Although it remained unconfirmed, only the sitting Prime Minister possessed the authority and the lack of hesitation to assist Scotland in this manner. One had to understand that no Marshal would ever grant command clearance for the Monarch for such a minor incident. The only other way to deploy the ship was through a direct decision from the Prime Minister. If it was not the Marshals who acted, it could only be the Prime Minister himself.