Iron Powder and Spellcaster

"What's that ship's semaphore saying?" Winters asked Cage, pointing to the warship that was drifting away.

"'Wish', 'Good Luck', 'Victory' and 'Goodbye'." Cage squinted and read out the flag.

Six main warships left the fleet and scattered across the entire sea area.

"I can't figure out why your navy does such a thing of spreading its forces." Winters sighed.

Cage moved his joints and replied: "The large-scale Tanirian fleet has been wiped out. There is no need for the fleet to stay in a group and disperse to control this sea area... We should be almost at Red Sulfur Island." ?”

Red Sulfur Island is the fifth largest island in the Tanilia Islands. It is named after the red soil and the abundant sulfur in the high mountains in the center of the island.

The entire island is roughly irregular in oval shape, covering an area of ​​nearly 700 square kilometers.

If we use the speed of field marching, it takes about two days to get from the south end of the island to the north end, more than fifty kilometers. It takes about a day's journey from the western end of the island to the eastern section, more than 20 kilometers.

This island is actually a small part of a giant underwater volcano that emerges from the water. People don't know this very well.

But as long as there is sulfur to mine, they don't mind living near a volcano.

This island guards the southern gate of the Tanilia Islands, and Red Sulfur Port is the best deep-water port on the sea blue-Golden Harbor route.

Unlike Haiquan Port, which is vacillating between the two major forces, Red Sulfur Island is the core territory of the Tanilia Federation. The rows of sugar cane plantations on the island speak for themselves.

Therefore, after Consul de Bella's declaration of war, this important sulfur producing area quickly cut off sulfur exports to Veneta.

In Nareshaw's battle plan, capturing Red Sulfur Port is an important part.

The docks of this large port are large enough to dock an entire fleet, and the rich islands are enough to provide supplies for the expeditionary force, and at the same time, they can seize the sulfur mines on the islands.

Using this island as a base and springboard, the attack on Tanilia's main island will have a solid rear.

Later that afternoon, Winters was able to see the southern cliffs of Red Sulfur Island from the deck of the Glory, and the observation posts on the southern cliffs of Red Sulfur Island also discovered the Veneta fleet.

The sentry in the observation post opened his mouth wide and watched in surprise as the sail rose on the sea level thirty nautical miles away.

One ship, then two ships, then dozens of ships, a mighty fleet is sailing towards Red Sulfur Island. The Veneta naval flag on the top of the mast can be clearly seen.

Even though they already knew the outcome of the Battle of Lighthouse Harbor, the efficiency and speed of the Veneta fleet still stunned the sentries.

"What are you looking at?!" The sentry angrily kicked the sentry: "Hurry up, beacon."

Winters on the boat saw a plume of thick smoke rising from the south coast of Red Sulfur Island, rising to an altitude of several hundred meters before dissipating. The beacon spread the news throughout the island that the Venetians had arrived, and the Venetians knew it.

The fleet sailed eastward around the southern tip of Red Sulfur Island, sailed under the basalt cliffs, and anchored in a sheltered place by night. A small group of men on the coast has been following the fleet, closely monitoring the actions of the Veneta people.

For the first time since the expedition, the Veneta Army on board felt the tense atmosphere of war.

That night, the soldiers of the Third Army no longer ate dry wheat cakes, but fresh fish, salty broth and freshly baked bread.

Under special orders from the Joint Command, each Army soldier was also given a small glass of spirits.

Each spellcasting officer received two basic amounts of standard spellcasting materials - the army would not be so generous in normal times.

The soldiers received back their weapons - which had been collected and managed during boarding. All remaining veteran centurions were issued half-armor.

The musketeers began to check their lead bullets one by one, re-polishing the inferior ones that could not fit into the barrel. The sound of polishing weapons and armor could be heard throughout the fleet.

The artillery deck of the Glory was temporarily transformed into a large army tent. All the officers of the Third Army who participated in the military meeting crowded the not-so-large artillery deck.

"The Taniriya Federation is just a loose political alliance and does not have a standing army. In addition to the security forces, their main armed forces are the private soldiers of the plantation owners and the militia guards of each town." The deputy general of the legion explained while standing in front of the map Author: "In addition to Red Sulfur Port, there is also a small city in the interior of the island - Tacheng. There are about 10,000 residents in Red Sulfur Port and less than 5,000 in Tacheng. There are four villages outside the city, and there are also a number of Numerous plantations.”

A guard began to distribute maps to the officers present. As the temporary centurion of the First Hundred, Winters also received a map of Red Sulfur Island.

He was stunned by the detail of the map. This map, which was less than two palms in size, carefully marked the roads, villages, water sources and large plantations on Red Sulfur Island. It was definitely not something that could be taken out in a hurry.

The deputy general of the legion briefly explained the terrain on Red Sulfur Island based on the map, and then began to assign combat tasks.

Finally getting to the point, all the officers present cheered up.

"There are dense reefs around Red Sulfur Island, and only Red Sulfur Port is a natural deep-water port. Tomorrow morning, the fleet will sail to Shengxili Beach. After the tide rises, the chief brigade will be the first to land on Shengxili Beach in a small boat and establish a temporary Camp. If the enemies of Red Sulfur Island want to take this opportunity to attack us, the troop transport ships of the second and third brigades will directly run aground on the beach. The strength of the three brigades should be enough to solve it..."

Before the lieutenant finished speaking, a messenger ran over from the ship building and interrupted him.

According to military law, anyone who trespasses on a military meeting will be hanged.

The orderly soldier lowered his head tremblingly to avoid the unkind eyes of the officers in the cabin, and quickly walked forward and handed Antonio a note.

Antonio, who had been silent throughout the military meeting, looked at the note, raised his eyebrows and said calmly to his subordinates: "The Red Sulfur Island Council has surrendered."

——Cut——

In the scorching sun, a warship slowly sailed towards Red Sulfur Port with its gun doors fully opened, and fired a round of cannon at the fort guarding the entrance of the bay.

Along with the sound of artillery that resounded throughout the bay, a white flag was planted on the top of the fort.

A deafening cheer immediately erupted from the Veneta fleet.

The soldiers and sailors were of course very happy that they no longer had to fight desperately.

However, many army officers felt quite unhappy. From the time of the expedition to the present, the army had almost no room for performance. The navy took all the credit, even the red sulfur port in front of them surrendered without a fight - obviously this was also the credit for the victory in the naval battle of Lighthouse Port, and had nothing to do with the army.

The coast of Red Sulfur Island is densely covered with cliffs and reefs, and only the bay where Red Sulfur Port is located is a natural deep-water harbor.

However, the bay is gourd-shaped as a whole, with a long and narrow entrance, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. The Tanirians even built a strong artillery fortress at the entrance of the bay. This is why the original battle plan did not consider storming Red Sulfur Port from the sea at all.

"Why are you surrendering now?" Andre angrily scolded the Red Sulfur Island Council: "If there is an iron rope at the entrance of the bay, what kind of ship can get in? You have to defend it despite the natural dangers? How can this be done? Did you surrender?"

"Okay, okay, isn't it a good thing not to have to die?" Bud said helplessly.

Winters nodded in agreement. Although he felt a little baffled, it was always a good thing not to have to fight in battle.

"The battles were fought by the navy, and the success was robbed by the navy. We have become hangers-on of the navy..." Andre still muttered dissatisfiedly.

In the forecastle of the Glory, Admiral Naresho asked Antonio politely: "General Serbetti, let's dock right now."

"Please wait." Antonio raised a rare objection. He ordered one of his adjutants: "Take my guards to this fort and kill all the Tanirians inside. Please go out and nail all the cannons in the fort facing the water."

"It doesn't have to be like this, right?" Naresio was slightly startled: "Will we still need to use the artillery in the fort to defend Red Sulfur Port in the future?"

"Your Excellency, General, although we have no intention of resisting, you don't have to humiliate us like this, right?" The envoy from the Red Sulfur Island Council was also a little annoyed.

Antonio smiled and said: "Just to be cautious. If we want to use these artillery in the future, we can just drill away. It just takes a little effort."

Naresio hesitated to speak, but finally agreed to Antonio's arrangement.

The entire fleet was waiting outside the bay, watching the Revenge put down several small boats, carrying dozens of soldiers and slowly rowing towards the fort.

The originally jubilant atmosphere began to calm down. The soldiers and sailors looked at the behavior of the flagship with confusion and began to become a little commotion.

After nearly an hour of tossing, someone on the fort waved the Army flag. Seeing the agreed signal, Antonio's solemn expression relaxed a little.

Admiral Nareshaw sighed and waved to First Officer Karaman. The order was passed from the Glorious to the entire fleet, and the ships pulled anchor and entered the bay.

"Why are you taking so long?" the second mate guarding the ship's helm asked the first mate Karaman in confusion.

First Officer Karaman snorted coldly: "Why else? People who are not in the Army are jealous of us and want to take some credit. They are greedy for credit. The Army has an old tradition..."

Because the entire bay is similar to a gourd shape, the water becomes much wider after entering the entrance of the bay. But the shore is still rugged with rocks, and there is no place where a big ship can dock.

Continuing to sail forward for a certain distance, when the leading ship could already see the dock of Red Sulfur Port and the bastion beside the dock, Antonio stopped the fleet again.

Mate Klarman angrily left the forecastle to give the order for all sails to be reefed.

"Your Excellency Serbetti, I can understand your worries. You really don't have to worry so much." Naresio reluctantly revealed some navy secrets to Antonio: "The Red Sulfur Island Council has had many conflicts with the navy before. After in-depth communication, both of us do not want Red Sulfur Island to be destroyed by the war, so the Council chose to change the flag."

"Do you really want to change the flag?" Antonio asked the council envoy seriously. He was particularly difficult to deal with today.

"Otherwise why would I come here?" The envoy from the Red Sulfur Island Council said back without saying anything.

"Okay, then let one of my centurions enter the bastion at the port first." Antonio said word by word.

The envoy asked angrily: "What do you mean by this? We are changing the flag, not surrendering!"

"You heard what I said." Antonio stopped talking to the envoy and looked directly at Admiral Naresho: "Please also provide ships for my soldiers to wait for the Third Army to garrison the bastion. Later, the fleet will dock again."

"Your Excellency Serbetti, our Navy has really reached an agreement with the Council a long time ago..."

But Antonio was unmoved: "Please send ships to my soldiers. Since the council has decided to change the flag, what's wrong with letting my soldiers garrison the bastion in advance?"

Despite the messenger's stern protests, Naresho nodded helplessly.

Winters, Bud and Andre, who had already taken off their armor, received the order: the 100th team gathered immediately.

"Finally it's our turn!" Andre buttoned up his helmet excitedly.

The three warrant officers quickly helped each other put on the half-body armor issued to officers and began to assemble the accounts of the 100th Team.

Army soldiers were divided into groups of eight, sharing a tent and an iron pot. Therefore, these eight people are called an "account" or a "group" and are the smallest unit of the army.

Just a few days after he became the temporary centurion of the First Hundred, Winters couldn't even recognize everyone. Now he only knew the heads of each account.

As soon as the nineteen members of the First Hundred were counted, Lieutenant Colonel Contel led his flag officer onto the deck. The operation to capture the bastion will be personally directed by Lieutenant Colonel Contel, and it will be easier for the colonel to lead the team to negotiate with the council.

Small boats from various ships began to gather towards the Glorious.

There was also a noise on the deck of another warship next to the Glory. Lieutenant Colonel Contel and three warrant officers explained: "The navy is unwilling to let us enter the bastion alone, and it has to send a team of people."

Winters, Andre and Bud were in a boat, and Andre held the centurion's flag high.

Lieutenant Colonel Contel and his guards were in another boat, flying the flag of the chief group.

A naval officer disembarked from another warship flying a naval ensign that Winters did not recognize.

Three small boats with military flags sailed at the front, followed by more than thirty other small boats, sailing to the red sulfur port dock at the bottom of the bay.

"Hey...ho...hey...ho..." The soldiers paddled awkwardly and entered the second wide body of water in the gourd-shaped bay.

Winters sat on the bow and looked around. The shore at the bottom of the gourd seemed to be mostly rocky, and the trestle of the Red Sulfur Port pier extended from the coast.

There was not a single boat on the dock, not only no big boats, but also no small boats. A hexagonal bastion lay quietly on the shore of the pier, lifeless.

On the forecastle of the Glory, Antonio and Naresio watched silently as the boat gradually moved away from the fleet.

"I will definitely explain today's 'courtesy' to the gentlemen of the Council. The Veneta people treat Red Sulfur Island like this. Will anyone be willing to bow down in the future? You..." The messenger of the Council was angry. The ground chased after him.

"Okay, okay? After we dock, I will personally apologize to the gentlemen of the Council." Naresiao graciously comforted the Council's envoys: "Veneta..."

His words were interrupted by the roar of heavy artillery.

The cannonballs caused a huge splash, and the Veneta fleet fell into panic.

"Where are the cannons being fired?!"

"It's close!"

"It's a fortress cannon!"

There were three more shots of heavy artillery fire, screams and the sound of the hull being smashed. The hull of a galley began to tilt slowly. The sailors on the ship jumped overboard to escape. The oars were locked in the seats. The hands cried out and begged to be unchained.

This time everyone saw the location of the artillery. It was terrifyingly close, at the second narrow point of the gourd-shaped bay.

The outer layer of camouflage of the bushes and vines was removed, and another artillery fort revealed itself.

"It's not on the map!"

"When did they build another fort?!"

Accompanied by the deafening sound of trumpets, an iron cable was pulled up from the bottom of the sea at the second narrowest point of the bay, next to the fort.

Signaled by heavy artillery fire, Red Sulfur Harbor bared its fangs.

By the way, I found a bay from the satellite map, which is roughly the topography of the Red Sulfur Port Bay in my mind, and sent it to the book circle. If you are interested, you can take a look.

On the first day of Yue Dong's absence, I missed him. But in fact, they are the same person, just like Scarlett Hao and Scarlett Omar, Melanie Han and Melanie Hamilton.

Thanks to book friend Social Justice Lao Wang for his recommendation ticket, book friend Justice Purity Is Koala for his recommendation ticket, book friend Please Call Me Pleasant Goat for his recommendation ticket, book friend WritersBlock for his recommendation ticket, and book friend Yuan Hongjian for his recommendation. vote, thank you book friends for your recommendation vote, thank you all.