Chapter 634 A live-fire exercise with one hand left
The lighthouse has not yet been completed and cannot illuminate the surrounding sea with arcane light.
Admiral Berryman temporarily regarded this very conspicuous landmark as the best place to issue orders. From far away, he could see the flag officer waving the command flag on the top of the lighthouse.
After receiving the order, the offshore fleet, which had not yet had time to change its name, immediately changed its direction, raised its full sails and headed towards the border waters between the two countries at full speed.
In the recent privateering operation, the East Sea Fleet of Lordaeron suffered heavy losses. The few remaining warships are still being repaired in the dry dock at the northern port of Tirisfal Glades, and only two or three kittens are left.
Captain Barry Westwin, who had just returned to the East China Sea Fleet headquarters, was feeling bitter. With just three medium-sized warships performing a deterrent mission, he felt really unsure.
Lordaeron's intelligence department is not just for nothing. They have long inquired about the deal between Quel'Thalas and Kul Tiras.
Just after winning the great sea battle, Kul Tiras made an unexpected decision and sold half of the newly produced secondary warships to Quel'Thalas in three batches.
The rapid conclusion of this agreement greatly exceeded the expectations of Lordaeron's civil servants and disrupted their original plans.
Before the privateering incident, the maritime power in the East Sea of Lordaeron and Quel'Thalas was completely disproportionate, with Lordaeron having the absolute upper hand.
Terenas thought he was a smart manipulator, but failed to do so. The existence of the Red Dragon Knights made Lordaeron dare not cause trouble at sea anymore.
Once entangled by those big lizards, unless there is an air force escort, it is impossible for the ship to be isolated and helpless at sea.
The civil service group headed by the Prime Minister suggested that the high elves who bought warships from Kul Tiras should not provoke the East China Sea Fleet until it received sufficient ships and air force.
If Terenas was sitting on the throne, no matter how reluctant he was, he would choose to endure it.
Unfortunately, Terenas relapsed due to his anger and was still bedridden to this day. He handed over the responsibility of overseeing the country to Crown Prince Arthas.
In a very standard way, the crown prince staged a drama called "Young and Vigorous" for Lordaeron's ministers.
Ignoring the opposition of the ministers, Arthas emotionally gave the order and ordered Barley Westwin to lead the remaining three medium-sized warships of the East Sea Fleet to put pressure on Quel'Thalas.
This inexplicable order made the old prime minister so angry that he almost lost his temper on the spot.
He first suggested that Alsace and Quel'Thalas ease their relationship. Arthas agreed in person, but in the end, his mature advice fell on deaf ears.
The angry old prime minister really wanted to grab Terenas by the neck and ask: "What the hell have you taught these past ten years? How could you teach such a weirdo who doesn't listen to advice?"
There is no way, my arms can't lift my thighs.
The royal power of Lordaeron is very stable. The prime minister is nominally the head of the civil service, but he cannot influence the king's decisions.
Don't think that the prince of the prison country is not the king. Before Terenas recovers and regains power, Arthas is the absolute monarch of this country.
In fact, logically speaking, the country should not have given such great authority to the young prince who oversees the country.
Unfortunately, Terenas fell ill very suddenly and was unable to explain clearly his future arrangements.
After being revived by the royal physician, Terenas, who was seriously ill, was not very clear-headed. He kept muttering about calling Alsace back to the prison, but did not specify who should be the one between the prisoner prince and the assistant minister.
Lord.
In this case, we can only follow the practice of the Kingdom of Lordaeron and put monarchy first.
Lordaeron's ministers were very dissatisfied with Arthas' stupid move, but they had no right to object. They could only watch as Arthas' order was sent to the East Sea Fleet headquarters.
Barry Westwin had just suffered a defeat and was just thinking of keeping a low profile and fishing for a few years, but he didn't expect that instead of me, a boy came.
Before setting sail, Westwing complained bitterly to Alfred Abedis who came to see him off.
"Who am I provoking? Even if you are shedding wool, you can't always catch a shearer, right?"
With the military orders in hand, Weiswein had no choice but to go out to fight, no matter how reluctant he was, and put pressure on Quel'Thalas in accordance with the wishes of the Prince of Supervision.
Needless to say, the effect is quite good.
The high elven workers who were building the port in full swing became panicked, and the construction progress came to a halt.
It was not until Admiral Berryman arrived with his fleet that the port project gained some momentum, but only a little bit, and the efficiency was far less than before it was deterred.
Westwin and Berryman had fought before, and they both knew that the other was not easy to mess with. Before receiving further orders from above, the two sides maintained a tacit agreement to maintain a confrontation, neither attacking nor retreating.
This tacit understanding was maintained until the arrival of Sarlayan, who was also "young and energetic" and conducted a live-fire drill without saying a word.
Seeing the five cruiser-level sailing ships approaching at full speed in a diagonal single-column formation, Weiswein suddenly felt a thump in his heart, and instinctively had a bad premonition.
Westwin's adjutant asked in a panic: "Colonel! Are they trying to attack?"
Weiwei Wen took a deep breath and shouted in a low voice: "Why are you panicking? You are a senior officer. Do you want the sailors below to be infected with panic?"
Staring at the high elf fleet that was gradually slowing down and turning towards the exposed gun muzzle, Weiswein pretended to be calm and comforted: "Don't worry, they don't dare."
"The East China Sea Fleet is indeed in dire straits right now, but we are not the only fleet in Lordaeron."
"Just relying on these five warships can only take care of the head and tail. Once a war really breaks out, the North Sea Fleet stationed in the mainland can completely march eastward and even bombard Silvermoon City. I don't think Quel'Thalas will do that.
Such a stupid decision."
As Weiswein said, although Sarlayan wants to completely eat Lordaeron's East Sea Fleet and open up a sea route to the south, now is not the time.
Under the nervous gaze of West Wing and others who did not dare to blink, Admiral Berryman personally turned the helm and steered the ship to aim its guns at the deserted sea.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "The live-fire exercise has begun! The first gun test is ready...fire!"
"boom!"
…
The magic cannon modified by the National Defense Research Institute is no less powerful than gunpowder weapons of the same level, but the noise it causes is not as loud as when gunpowder explodes.
The first cannonball spun and flew out of the rifled barrel, and Weiwei's sharp eyes saw the shape of the cannonball.
"Fusiform? How can it be fusiform?"
Since it was just a drill, the gunners did not activate the arcane explosion sequence in the hollow cannon shell and allowed the fusiform cannonball to drill into the sea.
As an old navy man, the muzzle velocity of this shell made Weiswein shudder.
"So fast! What is the principle of this?"
Lalas also asked Saryan the same question.
Sarlayan smiled and explained: "Actually, it's not that mysterious at all. It's just streamlined shape, lightweight shells, and rotational acceleration of the rifling."
"The previous solid artillery shells were very heavy, did not fly very fast, and had a short range. They could only rely on their own mass and kinetic energy to hit people. They were too primitive."
Saryan pointed to the small splashes on the sea and said meaningfully: "Because it is a drill, the gunners have spared their hands."
"Only when real combat comes, can you feel the true power of the new magic cannon. It will definitely give the people of Lordaeron a big 'surprise'."
Lalas raised his eyebrows and asked: "You mean, sooner or later we will have a battle with Lordaeron?"
Sharlayan nodded with a solemn expression: "Ever since the alliance fell apart, Terenas...or the entire Lordaeron has regarded Quel'Thalas as a thorn in its side."
"Although the matter of the privateer fleet was the sole discretion of Terenas, the current anti-high elves sentiment in Lordaeron is definitely not something Terenas can create alone."
"Lordaeron believes that Quel'Thalas has hindered their dream of unifying the seven human kingdoms. The successive frictions have made the two countries full of anger towards each other from top to bottom."
"His Majesty Kael'thas, who is kind-hearted, deliberately wants to resolve the grudges and does not want to cause a war, but... we have nothing to say about this matter."
"Due to Terenas' sudden illness, Lordaeron's plan to annex Stromgard will most likely end in failure. Who do you think they will blame for this?"
Lylas said with an unhappy expression: "What does this have to do with us? It's not us who made Terenas sick."
"Haha~"
Sharlayan and the veteran Lor'themar looked at each other. Lor'themar showed a slightly ferocious smile and patted Lylas's shoulder heavily.
"There is no simple right or wrong in the relationship between countries. It is nothing more than a competition for interests. Lordaeron thinks that we are blocking their way. This reason is enough."