On the south side of the Western Continent, Jingyue Strait.
Under the sunlight in the sky, the seawater appears light green, and if viewed from a distance, it seems to be a deep blue.
After leaving Verga and Lurna on the edge of the continent, there is the mighty ocean to the south. After the ship goes out to sea, it continues sailing south for thousands of miles before encountering the nearest large island, which is the beautiful Southern Islands.
island.
The sea area between Banle Island and the mainland is the Jingyue Strait.
But today's Jingyue Strait is not quiet. Large ships with sails beating through the waves are constantly rising and falling in the waves. The water waves sometimes lift up and fall into the plate armor above, making them wet.
Bang bang——
Several low gunfire sounds came from a distance, followed by several huge waves that were higher than the bow of the ship.
Following the source of the artillery fire, at the end of the field of vision, a group of iron-black ships were firing thousands of meters away. The 40 cannons along the hull fired one after another, and the shells struck this way in a long arc.
It fell on the wooden hull, smashing through layers of broken wood chips and entering the hull, and then suddenly exploded, with flames and debris flying.
Seawater gurgled in large amounts along the broken hole, and then formed a small whirlpool around it. Some of the crew members who fell into the water kept struggling to grab everything they could, such as wooden boards, iron bars, broken masts, etc.
But before they could leave this dangerous whirlpool, the second round of shelling soon fell one after another, and many people disappeared directly in the explosion and water waves.
The field of vision continues to lengthen and rise with the birds flying on the sea, and the scene on the blue sea below is also fully visible.
To the north is an armored fleet composed of 30 black warships. Each of its hulls is made of wrought iron. It is about 100 meters long and has a displacement of nearly 9,000 tons. The hull has three tall masts and sails, and under the side strings are
There are 40 square gun muzzles, and the artillery sticks out one after another, constantly spitting tongues of fire, and firing cannonballs that pierce the sky.
On the south side of the sea, there is a group of large and small sail warships. There are probably nearly a hundred of them. The solid wood of the ship is painted with black and white waterproof paint. The largest hull is only 60 meters, and the maximum displacement is only 5,000 tons. There are countless hulls.
A tall cross mast stood, the white sails were now fully swollen, and under the side strings were three rows of densely packed gun muzzles, with about 100 artillery pieces spewing counterattack fire.
It is a pity that although the number of artillery fires of the sailing fleet is large, the caliber is far inferior to that of the enemy, which also results in its power and range being suppressed by the ironclad ships.
The two sides continued to exchange fire on the sea. Continuous artillery fire came one after another, causing huge splashes of water. From time to time, ships in the sailing fleet were shot, burst, caught fire, or even sank. However, the ironclad ships in the north remained unscathed, and shells fell on them.
The hull of the ship is not only protected by strong wrought iron armor, but also has an enchanted blue line pattern that lights up, which can withstand some impacts and protect the interior of the hull.
Sail battleship, flagship command tower.
"General Fiford, our fleet can no longer hold on! Several warships have sent signals indicating that they want to retreat."
A messenger in white uniform quickly walked into the room and reported eagerly.
Since the war between the Frost Alliance and Crancia, it has dispatched several armored fleets to blockade the Jingyue Strait and patrol the sea on a rotating basis. The Youngberry Kingdom has also been implicated due to its previous assistance, and many merchant ships and passenger ships are traveling to and from the Jingyue Strait.
All were detained, which caused considerable losses to the Southern Islands, which relied on trade.
Later, in order to counterattack and protest, the Southern Islands also recruited many large domestic ships to form a joint fleet to break through the blockade of the Northern Channel.
But if today's battle fails and a large number of warships are sunk, it is conceivable that the Southern Islands will be trapped in the Frost Alliance blockade for a long time.
General Fiford frowned with gray brows. The veteran looked at the undulating sea in the distance. "Have the Divine Winged Birds from behind not arrived yet? With their assistance, it will not be difficult to defeat this armored fleet."
"Report to the general, we sent the signal 2 hours ago, we should have arrived long ago..." The adjutant on the side replied with a sad face.
General Fiford took a deep breath, and then said in a deep voice: "Send the signal, we will retreat carefully."
"Yes, General!" The messenger ran out of the room, then a special signal flag was raised on the mast, and the fleet began to turn.
————
A hundred miles away from the battle between the two fleets, the sky was densely covered with lead clouds. From time to time, flaming torrents of magic appeared in the black and gray clouds. Iron-gray airships shuttled through them, appearing and disappearing, constantly attacking the clouds.
A giant winged bird flying in the air.
The eyes of these divine winged birds were blood red. They seemed to be no longer as clear and bright as before, but were somewhat irrational and crazy. The mages on their backs struggled to stay calm and barely managed to keep from falling into the sea.
The nearly 200 airships that shuttled up and down the clouds in the sky would not miss such a good opportunity. More than 3,000 mages on the airships jointly cast spells, and golden energy grids were formed, constantly rounding up the frantic divine winged birds among them.
And once these giant-winged divine birds are trapped by the grid, intensive artillery fire will be fired from the airship, blasting these giant birds into bloody pieces and scattering them into the sea.
"Hahaha, it's so pleasant to watch these beasts fry into roasted chicken nuggets."
Inside a huge black airship, a man in a black and red uniform held up a wine glass and admired the scenery outside the window.
His clothes seemed to be a combination of a mage's robe and a military uniform. It was a bit elegance of a mage and a bit neat and capable of a soldier.
"But... I have to thank you for your hard work, Abel." The man turned around, the mustache on his mouth rising slightly with a smile.
"It's a great honor, Lord Hunter." A young man bowed and saluted, then raised his head. He was wearing a black uniform with a white silk scarf in his collar, showing an elegant temperament.
"I also know about your request." Hunter walked a few steps and sat on a velvet seat nearby. He stretched out his right hand and asked the servant beside him to fill his wine glass.
"After defeating Hoplaner, I will be your guarantee, restore the glory of the Tisiphone family, and give you one-third of the wealth of the Carites and Helis families."
"Thank you Lord Hunter, the Tisiphone family is willing to be your loyal followers." Abel expressed his gratitude again.
Although he knew in his heart that this gentleman might be writing a bad check, and when Hoplaner bought it, he might not get a cent of the property of the Carites and Helis families.
But so what, as long as we hold on to this military figure of the Frost Alliance, it will only be a matter of time before the Tisiphone family rises again.
He is not like those two reckless brothers. As the last surviving direct descendant of the Tisiphone family, Abel deeply understands the insignificance of personal strength, and the use of strategy and brains is far better than the use of brute force.
The failure of my two brothers was that they believed too much in advanced technology and extraordinary strength and gave up the original strategy. After all, this world is dominated by people and relationships.
After the failure of the Hopeland Incident, he hid his traces and lurked in the Southern Islands for several years. He finally mastered some of the weaknesses of the Divine Winged Bird. Now he finally used this to connect with a network from the past and contact him.
The big shot of Frost Rose.
And as long as the Frost Alliance wins in the end, the Tisiphone family will surely be revived in their own hands.
He believed so.
Outside the window of the airship, one by one the divine winged birds fell under various restrictions and attacks, their feathers and flesh falling into the sky in mourning.
——————
Three days later, the Young Moon Council and the Cranberry United Kingdom Council met.
The spacious hall is built on the hillside, with tall pillars standing around it. There are also some vines twining and climbing on it, with light green and dark green leaves attached.
Outside the hall is a rocky mountain with flowing mountain springs, and on the other side is an extremely empty view, overlooking the bustling island buildings below.
There is a golden crescent moon drawing on the center wall of the parliament hall. The golden crescent moon is also wrapped with a few vine branches, and the vine branches are dotted with several bright red berries, symbolizing the United Kingdom.
Now there are many high-ranking figures in the kingdom sitting in the hall. Half of them are wearing different mage robes, and the other half are wearing gorgeous clothes sewn with gold thread and silk.
"I think that under this circumstance, the peace proposal of the Frost Alliance should be agreed to." A middle-aged man in gorgeous clothes stood up to speak. He was slightly fat and looked a little put on.
After the destruction of the Divine Winged Birds some time ago, the Frost Alliance once again sent a peace proposal, hoping that the Youngberry Kingdom would withdraw from the war between the two parties and remain neutral. The Frost Alliance also promised that once the Youngberry Kingdom agrees, it will stop
Blockade its merchant ships and routes and no longer interfere with its trade.
As a result, many nobles in the kingdom were moved. Most of their titles and rights were inherited from the Principality of Cranberry. Unlike the Hinoyuki Council who moved south, these nobles did not care about the situation across the sea and only wanted to enjoy stability and prosperity.
life, as an important trade transit station, just get the benefits.
"This is not a good proposal. The other party may be cheating." A mage representative on the rostrum shook his head. He had bright blue eyeshadow on his face and bird feathers in his hair.
"Deceit? How else can we deceive? Now we have even lost the Divine Winged Bird troops, and the sea power cannot defeat the opponent." A representative of the nobles spoke.
A few days ago, when the Divine Winged Birds troops were performing a support mission, they were ambushed by a fleet of airships hidden in the clouds. Moreover, the airships also released a special medicinal gas, which caused a large number of Divine Winged Birds to lose control and go crazy, eventually causing a large number of people in the entire organization to
They died at sea, and only a few escaped.
Nowadays, the air support force of the Youngberry Kingdom has dropped significantly, and it has gradually lost its ability to control the sea surface.
"We also have the proud Chimera battle group, the overlord of the sky - the Ankylosaurus. If necessary, we can also call in the Gray Mountain whales patrolling in the sea, and even wake up the ancient sea beasts sleeping under the Meteor Reef."
"Why give up so easily?" the mage representative replied.
"Because it's not worth it! There's no benefit." A noble representative who had been silent raised his hand and said.
"I don't know what the grudges and struggles are between the two factions of mages, but for the entire Youngberry Kingdom, continuing to fight will not do any good."
"So what if Crancia wins? They won't give us any more territory. Besides, for an enclave, people have to be stationed and protected. It costs a lot of money and doesn't bring much benefit."
"If we continue to confront Hanshuang, we will have to fall into endless money-burning competition, which will consume a lot of manpower and material resources, and will also greatly affect trade, economic recession, etc."
"So, why should we fight for Crancia, just because the Starlight Witch is very beautiful and everyone likes her? Ridiculous!" the noble representative said sternly.
After his speech, various buzzing discussions broke out in the venue, and many people began to favor his statement.
"It seems that there is really no benefit to continuing this confrontation."
"It's just that those mages are too immersed in the resentments of the past."
"I think it's more comfortable to just lie at home and make money, so why bother with the Frost Alliance?"
Hearing such a voice, the middle-aged nobleman who spoke just now also had a look on his face, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth unconsciously.
"Can I say a few words?" Just as everyone was talking about it, a gentle voice sounded.
Everyone turned their attention to the center of the rostrum, where a kind-faced man stood on the rostrum.
"Your Highness Uleves?" The voice below was full of surprise.
"It's really this gentleman, why would he appear in this...such an ordinary meeting?" The voice paused for a second with surprise before continuing to finish the second half of the sentence.
The judge of Magic Sequence 9·Thunder, Ulevis, can be said to be a living legend. He was promoted to Sequence 9 more than 80 years ago and is now one of the super giants behind the Young Moon Council. But this big shot
He rarely appears in the public eye and never does anything. There is no one in the parliament who can order this big boss.
As the top of Ivar's world, Transcendent Sequence 9 is an extremely mysterious existence to most people. No country, organization or order can order it to do things. Most of them are not interested in the interests and conflicts of the mortal world.
They all have their own pursuits. That’s why the appearance of Ulevis surprised everyone.
Such giants and big shots should have stopped caring about world affairs a long time ago. I didn't expect that they would appear in the parliament today.
Seeing that the hall gradually became quiet, the big man began to speak slowly.
"I think we still have to stand together with Crancia and jointly resist the expansion of the Frost Alliance."
"Don't rush to deny it yet, let me tell you my opinion."
"If we allow the Frost Alliance to unify the western side of the continent, it means that we will lose the right to trade and be manipulated and suppressed by the other party."
"The mainland is rich in various products and people. They don't have to trade with us, but many of the things we need come from the mainland. But once the opponent completely controls the ports on the coast, we will be controlled by others in the future, and even under various threats.
, had to give up more benefits.”
"At the same time, when the other faction of the same mages implements their doctrines and views on the mainland, we in the Southern Islands will become a minority in the increasingly dangerous public opinion environment, and will eventually be blocked in all aspects and unable to move forward smoothly."
"Even though we have to pay a lot to support Crancia, it is still worth it."
"When the mainland establishes a new order in the future, we will also be able to share some of the rights and positions. Moreover, if the wizards of the Frost Alliance are defeated, it will be the time for our faction to re-enter the mainland. By then, everything will be done, and naturally we will be able to
It will bring a steady stream of trade and economy.”
"So, we must not agree to Frost Alliance's request for peace!"
After the words of the man behind the Hinyue Mage Faction, the mood in the hall changed again, and many noble representatives began to rethink their future interests and the impact of their choices.
As for the mages, it goes without saying that as the existence of Magic Sequence 9, it itself is the embodiment of the will of the Chuyue mages, and many mages representatives fully support its proposal.
After the lecture, a new discussion began below.
"Then, let's start voting." After the discussion time was over, the host on the side of the stage said.
"Everyone who agrees with His Highness Ulevis please raise your hands."
As the words fell, arms were raised one after another in the hall, very neatly, which represented that the previously hesitant will of the Chuberry Kingdom was finally unified at this moment.
"Very good, then let's start the next round of recruitment and support proposals..."