I Became a Witch and Started an Industrial Revolution

“Warning! Warning!”

“Attention! You are about to enter the territorial waters of the Kingdom of Ceres, please leave immediately!”

“Repeating once more! Please leave immediately!”

Unica, who had been flailing her arms about in excitement, froze upon hearing this:

“Huh? Ceres?”

The ponytailed man who walked out from the upper deck instantly shouted in fury after hearing the warning voice coming from the device opposite them: “Insolence!”

“Are you blind? Did you not see the Church flag on our ship?”

His voice, amplified by magic, echoed repeatedly across the sea.

The naval general aboard the giant warship immediately turned and ordered after grasping the meaning in his words: “That’s a high-level mage. Activate first-level combat readiness!”

‘Woooo...’

A sharp alarm blared, and soldiers filed out from the cabins, climbing ladders up to the main deck and quickly moving toward their positions.

Cannons were adjusted for firing angles, and parallel machine gun platforms were systematically loaded with box magazines while fresh water was poured into their cooling tanks.

Meanwhile, concealed armored plates along the mid-high section of the warship’s hull opened up.

Twin-barreled autocannons fixed on small movable rails were pushed out by soldiers, extending their barrels outward.

Massive magazines were mounted upside down into the feed slots above.

As the secondary gunners rotated their hand cranks, the autocannon platforms slowly began turning, finally aiming at the wooden warship opposite them.

With machine guns and cannons paving the way, the emergence of autocannons had been only natural.

However, on land there had yet to be an enemy that machine guns and cannons together could not destroy, leaving little opportunity for autocannons to be used.

And due to their sheer bulk, only the giant warship had been fitted with them, and their firepower had yet to be tested by the army.

Golden light flickered in Unica’s eyes as she stared at the ironclad ship opposite them transforming into a steel hedgehog within just a few minutes.

While she was still trying to make sense of the sudden change, the Ceres navy fired a round of warning shots, dense shells and bullets splashing into the waters ahead of their sailboat.

“Warning once again: you have invaded our territorial waters. Turn your ship at once and leave, or we will regard this as an invasion and open fire in retaliation.”

The ponytailed man felt humiliated and stormed toward his machine: “Damn it, I’ll cut them down!”

Unica snapped at him: “Get back here! Did you not see the power of their attack? If you strike them and they retaliate by sinking us, what will happen to the other followers?”

The brown-haired youth also grabbed him and whispered: “Don’t forget, we’re at sea. Only a handful of us have machines that can fly.”

“Damn!”

The ponytailed man cursed angrily but stopped moving toward his machine.

This squadron of knights numbered fifty.

Except for the five officers’ exclusive machines, which could fly for short bursts, the rest of the soldiers couldn’t do that at all.

If their ship was sunk now, they would all be wiped out instantly.

That made their current situation awkward and precarious—if the army opposite lost patience and decided to blow up their ship, the consequences would be dire.

Unica leaped back into the hall and climbed into her machine’s cockpit.

She manually shut the hatch.

Moments later, golden inscriptions all over the machine began to glow.

Kneeling at first, the machine slowly rose to its feet, its nearly six-meter height making the people around it seem like mere ants.

“Tsk... this feeling is really uncomfortable.”

Through her machine’s amplification, Unica could clearly sense the thin, turbid magical elements in the surroundings, and she muttered in displeasure.

At her command, the magical patterns on the sails dimmed.

The general, seeing the figure fly up from the enemy’s ship, was surprised.

Then Unica’s voice carried across: “Wait! We lost our way. We have no hostile intent!”

Soon after, the Ceres side dispatched a small vessel to approach and speak with Unica.

Learning that this was not the Kingdom of Ovinia’s waters, Unica apologized sincerely, then led her large sailboat away from the area.

Watching the giant humanoid machine disappear into the distance, the general immediately ordered his adjutant to report the matter up the chain, until the information finally reached Mitia.

Reading the written message in her hand, Mitia raised her brows and glanced at Sherria, who was lying on the sofa playing with a cat: “Didn’t you say their magic mechs were only three meters tall? Why is the report I received different?”

Sherria sat up cross-legged in surprise: “So they really came?”

Mitia’s expression darkened: “What do you mean? Were you trying to scare me before?”

“Well, not entirely. I just wanted you to be mentally prepared. Don’t sweat the details.”

“The three-meter ones I mentioned are used by ordinary soldiers. If your people encounter something larger, then it’s a commander or high-ranking officer. That means at least a squad-sized unit has come.”

“What? You drove them off? You people have gotten strong, huh?”

Mitia shook her head: “No battle. They were cautious and gave us no chance. And she could fly. Their numbers were unclear, so the navy wasn’t confident about keeping them all.”

Mitia had invested heavily in the defense of Sendegas.

From the laying of the keel of the first warship, her shipyards had never ceased expanding.

Although she hadn’t pursued building more massive battleships, vessels of several hundred to several thousand tons were already being launched in batches.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to build true large battleships, but the consumption of steel was simply more than she could afford.

Ceres was still in the middle of its great construction era.

A proper fleet required far more than just a few capital ships.

All the supporting vessels had to be built as well.

With Ceres’ current steel output, there was no way to sustain so many large projects at once.

Sherria thought for a moment: “Not fighting is good too. It leaves room for negotiation. Personally, I don’t recommend you antagonize them just yet.”

“This doesn’t count as antagonizing them?”

Hearing Mitia’s question, Sherria laughed: “Have you forgotten that you are now an independent nation? Opposing a regional faction and opposing a kingdom are two completely different concepts.”

“The Dritmia Church may be powerful, but precisely because it is powerful, it must also abide by certain rules—for example, it cannot casually destroy a nation.”

“Such an act would only cause the surrounding countries to grow wary of them, which would hinder their expansion of believers abroad.”

“Besides, the sea lies between you. The cost of a long expedition outweighs the gains entirely. It is far more convenient for the Church on this subcontinent to deal with you.”

Mitia sighed regretfully: “Still, I really would like to see the power cores of those toys of theirs. I wonder if I could buy one through trade.”

Scooping up the kitten into her arms, Sherria sprawled lazily back onto the sofa: “There’s nothing in this world that can’t be bought. You just haven’t found the right channel.”

“My advice is to keep a close eye on this mobile squad. Who knows if they’ll stir up trouble? Sometimes wars begin only because they were forced.”

Mitia nodded: “Of course I will.”

She lowered her gaze onto the documents on the table.

Beneath her calm expression lay a trace of unease.

【Tina...】