"Wow! It's a Sabin woman statue! How did the ancients carve the stones into a veil texture?" Anna, who put a tuft of funny beards on her lips, happily wandered in the mercenary veranda: "There is this one, look at the lines of her body, it's so beautiful!"

However, Winters was a little absent-minded at this time. No matter what Anna said, she answered "yes, um" and held the hilt of the sword to protect the girl who was disguised as a man.

The Guards Loggia is a long corridor next to the Parliament Square, built during the imperial period. In the past, the emperor's messengers read the decree on the top of the corridor and received petitioners in the loggia.

Because this veranda symbolizes the majesty of the emperor, it is not only extremely high, but also has several statues created by famous artists. Next to the veranda is the base of the Royal Guards, so it is named the Guards Loggia.

After the Sovereign War, the Republic of Veneta inherited the promenade. Although there were some major public ceremonies - such as the swearing ceremony of the administrator, it was usually just a place for citizens to relax and cool, and it was no longer an inviolable royal forbidden place.

Elizabeth, who was afraid that the world would remain unrest, happily became the messenger for Anna. As a reward for providing patterns, Anna asked Winters to take two horses to the studio outside Mrs. Angusora on time at 9:00 this morning to wait.

So Winters waited for Miss Anna, who was dressed in men's clothing and had a mustache.

"I skipped class!" Anna's big eyes were full of excitement: "Take me to the guard veranda! Have you brought the horse?"

"Take it, but I didn't bring the side saddle for the ladies." Winters said apologetically: "Why do you wait for me to find a carriage?"

Sitting on the saddle with legs apart is very unceremonious for women, so there is a side saddle for women. But Anna happily rode on the horse: "No, I've long wanted to try what it feels like to sit."

At this moment, in the guard corridor, Winters looked at Anna who was admiring the statue and suddenly felt an unreality, as if the fierce battle in Haidong Port the night before yesterday was just a dream.

On the street, the labourer pushing a wheelbarrow and the vendor driving a mule cart were arguing with each other; in the carriage that was driving by, a lady curiously opened the curtains and watched; the well-dressed gentleman ignored this and rode a horse slowly passing by.

Passers-by are busy with their livelihoods, and Anna is intoxicated with carving art. This is another ordinary day in Hailan City, but the soldiers can already smell the increasingly pungent smell of gunpowder and blood.

When the battlefield was cleaned up the night before yesterday, more than 600 corpses were counted. The attackers entrenched in the shipyard tried to run to the beach to escape, but most of them were caught up by cavalry and killed from behind.

Without the need to be punished, the captives spit out a name: Captain Drake, Captain Taniria, a famous member of the Federation of Planters, and a terrifying pirate at the sea.

This was a long-planned sneak attack. The pirates took advantage of the high tide and took small boats to shore in batches and hid in the forest east of Haidong Port. Two days later, when a whizzing south wind came, they launched the attack.

A group of pirates attacked the dock with great fanfare. When the defenders of the duck-mouthed artillery building went to support the dock, another group of pirates ambushed outside the artillery building took the opportunity to seize the artillery building.

Then, two pirates attacked each other forward and joined forces to defeat the defenders.

Immediately afterwards, the pirates began to set fire on the docks and seized the warships anchored in the harbor.

After the warship returned to the home port, most of the sailors had already returned to the shore to rest. There were only a small number of crew members left on the warship, and in panic, they could not organize effective resistance at all.

The brave sailors on the three warships repelled the pirates and tried to drive the warships out of the port. Two of them were sunk by heavy artillery cannons at the narrowest point of the bay exit, and the other was ambushed by a pirate ship hidden outside the bay after sailing out of the bay, with unknown whereabouts.

The sailors of another warship were stuck in the cabin. The sailors could not drive the ship away, and the pirates did not dare to go down. The brutal pirates finally set fire to the warship.

Two warships in the dock were towed on the shore to clean the barnacles of the hull. The pirates could not drag them back to the sea, so they simply burned them together.

The sailors on the remaining four warships were killed by the pirates. With the strong south wind, the pirates drove the four warships away from Haidong Port.

In just two hours, four of the ten warships in Haidong Harbour were taken away and six were burned.

The last complete warship in the harbor was the imperial warship "Mei De" that Winters was responsible for the reception that day. There were dozens of Zhongsi troops left behind on the harbor, and the pirates who wanted to seize the warship shattered their teeth.

At the same time, the captain of the Medes calmly determined the situation and did not leave the bay blindly. Because the artillery building had changed hands, most of the artillery positions in the port must be facing the entrance and exit of the bay, and there were not many artillery positions for the port. The captain of the Medes determined that instead of falling head-on into the outer sea where the enemy was unknown, it was better to deal with the artillery building in the bay.

In fact, when the officers and cavalry teams set out from Dongdaying arrived at Haidong Port, most of the pirates had already escaped. Being able to grab a real warship was already a big profit. Any pirate who boarded the Shanghai Army warship had only one idea: to get the ship away.

In the end, the pirates entrenched in the shipyard were all abandoned children who did not board the ship. They still plundered and set fire at the port. When they turned around, they found that the ships were driven away. Most of them were trapped in the shipyard, and a small number of people stayed at the cannon base.

So the scene that Winters saw: a lonely warship in the bay was shooting against the Duckbilly Fort gunnery; a warship was burning beside the dock, and the sailors fought fiercely with the enemies in the shipyard.

Antonio told Winters that “war is just a means, not an end.”

But now, there is no second option besides war.

The entire Hailan City has now learned that the Navy Harbour was attacked. Soon, the entire Venetta and even the entire Union will learn about this news.

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content later! However, in one night, the Venetta Navy lost half of its warships. This was a sneak attack that was undeclared. Whether it was the Federation instructed Captain Drake, the Venetta regime had determined that the Tanirian Federation had sneaked into Haidong Port.

After the War of Autonomy, Venetta reconvened the All-Citizen Congress for the first time. The messengers rushed on the road to convey messages, and representatives of citizens from various cities were gathering in Hailan City.

The consul will give a speech at the General Assembly of Citizens, but everyone already knows what he is going to say.

"war!"

The prices of iron, copper, sulfur and nitrate are soaring, and every minute is a new price; the Navy is forcing all armed merchant ships that can be found, offering high daily wages to recruit sailors, and recruiting all prisoners that can be found.

The Army Reserve received a call order, and officers who were originally placed in various idle positions were assigned to new positions in the army.

The Third Legion quickly replenished from half of the usual staff to full staff; a reserve army had already built the officer skeleton, waiting for the reserve soldiers to replenish them.

The pro-war faction originally wanted to use the assassination of the dock to put pressure on the ruling committee, but now there is no need for this. The assassination of the dock and the functions of the guards in the headquarters were transferred to the Hailan City Guard Headquarters, and the military police department of the Army Headquarters was removed.

Lieutenant Colonel Field, Major Moritz, and Warrant Officer Winters were re-appointed as many other officers who were idle. Lieutenant Colonel Field and Major Moritz went to the Reserve Corps to lead troops, while Winters was asked by Antonio to train in the Third Corps.

The war machine of Veneta has begun to operate, and all officers are just parts of this machine. No one can control his own destiny, at least a small warrant officer cannot.

When the vortex began to rotate, Winters found that he could only be dragged by the current. He spent so much effort investigating the dock assassination, and it would be useless if it was useless. Perhaps for the big guys, it was just a political game.

He suddenly began to envy Andre's carefree personality: "Don't think so much, we will do whatever we want us to do." Perhaps, compared to himself, Andre is more suitable to be a soldier.

"What are you thinking about?" Anna shook her hand in front of Winters' face and interrupted Winters' thoughts: "Did you listen to what I'm saying?"

"Of course." Warrant Officer Montane came to his senses and quietly changed the subject: "You find me out and let me accompany you to the guard veranda? Have you ever been to the guard veranda?"

The Guard Loggia is a landmark building in the Blue City. Winters has often come here with his friends since he was a child or made an appointment to meet here. He doesn't understand why it takes so much trouble to just come to the square for a walk?

"How could a lady come to such a place? These statues are... all... that one..." Anna blushed and said softer and softer. She couldn't hear what she was saying in the last few words.

Winters looked at the marble and bronze sculptures around him. The first sexual characteristics of the male statue were nakedly displayed in public: "Naked?"

Anna said softly "um".

"You know you're naked, but you still come here?"

Anna, who was still shy the previous second, kicked Winters hard on the calf.

Warrant Officer Montane quickly avoided: "Why are you so savage?"

Anna said angrily: "I am here as a man now."

"You really don't think that if you wear this outfit, others won't recognize you as a woman, right?" Winters asked.

"Anyway, don't treat me as a woman now."

Winters bowed gently: "Mr. Navare, please stay here and appreciate it slowly. I have something to do, so let's go first."

"Don't leave." Anna hurriedly grabbed Winters' sleeve: "How can you treat a woman... it's not safe here anyway... I'll make you paint and be a guard for you. Do you want to pay the debt?"

"This is the Parliament Square." Winters was amused: "This is probably the best place in the entire Venetta security. What's insecure?"

Anna let go of her hand, sat on the stone platform at the base of the statue, and whispered: "You won't understand, you are a man, you are safe everywhere."

As he said that, Anna buried her head in her arms, not knowing what she was thinking.

Winters sighed and turned and left.

A few minutes later, he came back again, holding two large cups.

When Anna looked up, she found herself alone in the guard veranda, and she was almost crazy. Seeing Winters come back, she angrily kicked Warrant Officer Montane again in the calf: "You are really leaving? Where have you been?"

"Aren't you a man now? I'll treat you to a man's drink." Winters sat carelessly on the stone platform at the base of the statue and handed the cup in his hand to Anna.

Anna was slightly stunned, and sat down next to the stone platform, licking a small mouth: "It's sweet?"

"Sweet beer, there are no hops, so it cannot be stored for a long time. They are all boiled and sold now." Winters also took a big sip of it happily: "When I was in Luyou, I always came to the veranda with my friends to drink sweet beer. Unexpectedly, six years later, the beer girl was still selling this thing."

As he said that, Winters took another sip and smacked his lips: "It just seems that the taste is a little different, and it always tastes better in memory."

"Then are you still here with your friends to have sweet beer?" Anna asked Winters while holding the cup in both hands, holding a small sip.

Winters thought of Benway hiding in a farm in the suburbs and shook his head: "No chance now, my friend... is very busy now."

The cool breeze blew, and the two of them sat speechlessly in the corridor drinking sweet wine.

Anna suddenly imitated Winters' careless sitting posture, and her legs were no longer carefully closed, but stretched comfortably. Her upper body leaned back, leaned on the base of the statue, and stretched comfortably.

Winters reached out to Anna. Anna was stunned at first, then smiled and clashed with Winters.

She looked in the direction of the Parliament Square and whispered: "Thank you, this may be the only chance in my life to come to the Guards' Loggia to appreciate these sculptures with my own eyes."

"Give me a pattern, I'll help you with the fair deal." Anna's attitude suddenly made Winters uncomfortable. He raised his glass and drank a small sip of wine to cover up his embarrassment.

"Actually, I envy you very much." Anna whispered: "Because I am a woman, I can't go to see the anatomy, the model, or the naked statue. No matter how I painted it, I can only place it in my bedroom. There is no painting chamber of paintings taken by female painters. Even Mrs. Anguisora ​​can only draw portraits for others. I have only seen these sculptures in paintings before. Although they are in the Parliament Square, I have passed by here several times by car, but I have never gotten out of the car and walked here."

"Actually, just like now, you can come at any time if you want to."

"That's because I dared to come here with...the guards." Anna said with some annoyance: "Mr. Montane, you still don't understand! For ladies, there is no safe place except home."

"Who said that to you?" Winters couldn't help but want to laugh again.

"My mom! And other respectable ladies!"

Winters felt that Anna was simply a contradiction, with an unrestrained side, but at the same time she was constantly restraining herself.

He drank all the remaining sweet wine in the cup and took Anna's cup again. Anna stood there in a daze, staring at the man in front of her drinking all the sweet beer in her cup in one breath.

Then, Winters went to return the cup first, then took the horse, led Anna to turn several turns in the alley next to the Parliament Square, and came to a small open space.

Anna was led by Winters to the grass between the houses in the clouds and mist.

"Okay, that's it, this is where we used to play swords." Winters inserted a stake into the ground with satisfaction and tied the two horses.

"What are you bringing me here?" Anna asked vigilantly with her hands crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Winters waved his hand: "Don't worry, I'm not interested in men."
To be continued...