Chapter 140: with translation of chapter title

Storm First Fleet

Marshal Te Wude Adrian, a senior warrior and member of the Adrian family clan, is the current duke's cadet-branch paternal uncle and the supreme commander of this pacification fleet.

Before the strange warship appeared, he had been quite relaxed.

The fleet consists of 20 ships with a total force of 6,500 personnel! He believes that with the military strength he currently commands, it is enough to easily break through the maritime blockade of White Sturgeon Island, then forcibly land on White Sturgeon Island and seize all the gold coins that the hateful little baron looted with pearls.

By the way, also bring that little baron back to Dawn City for a public trial.

It could be life imprisonment, or public beheading.

Anyway, that little baron is doomed for life, and his wife, who is also my niece, will become a widow.

Afterward, her fate will surely be very tragic.

But when the strange warship appeared, he felt something was off.

He may not have outstanding talent, but he is a competent battle commander, and his experience is also not lacking.

He instantly recognized it as the Black Stone warship that all nations' navies are frantically developing.

"Damn, how could there be a Black Stone warship?"

He was somewhat shocked, but after all, this was his first encounter with a Black Stone warship, and he didn't know its combat capabilities.

"Fortunately, there aren't many of them; we should be able to handle them."

Thinking this, Te Wude quickly issued a battle order.

"Fleet, disperse and enter combat status!"

"Prepare the explosive flame giant crossbow; as soon as the enemy enters range, attack immediately!"

"Combat Mage Unit One, take position, establish a united spirit magic array, and prepare to curse the enemy fleet commander!"

"Combat Mage Unit Two, summon a gale and charge full speed at the enemy."

Under the gale, the warship's speed can be temporarily increased to 13 knots, partially overcoming the drawback of sail warships relying on sea wind.

"Combat Mage Unit Three, raise a giant pure water barrier to maximize the ship's defense!"

The series of orders were issued in an orderly manner, strictly following the Dawn City Naval Academy's naval warfare manual, making it nearly flawless.

However, the maximum attack range of all high-powered attacks in the fleet does not exceed 800 meters.

Even the battle mages' spirit curses require locating the target's position to achieve enough power to pierce the enemy's spirit defense, and this detection range also does not exceed 1,000 meters.

In other words, the farthest engagement distance for traditional sail warships at sea is 1,000 meters.

But when the distance between the two sides reaches 2,000 meters, the pale blue warship lined up ahead in the sea actually begins to attack.

All that could be seen was the strange warship's bow continually flashing with fire and puffs of white smoke rising.

Just as Te Wude was puzzled, he heard an unprecedented whistling sound in the air, and then he saw a scene that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

The leading 500-ton wave warship suddenly burst into a frenzy of flames on its side.

This blaze was like the fist of the legendary Flame Titan Giant; it not only pushed the hull sideways by about half a meter, but also blasted a three- to four-meter hole in the ship! The deep-blue pure water barrier and the sturdy iron-plated armor offered no protection at all!

This is only the beginning of the nightmare! "Boom~ boom~~ boom~~~"

A thunder-like rumble came from the distant sea, and the waters where the Storm Fleet was located also continuously produced deafening roars.

Tens-of-meters-high water columns spurted from the sea, violent flames ravaged the wooden warships, and the terrifying sound waves were deafening, making spellcasting nearly impossible.

Piercing screams, splattering flesh and corpses, and scattering burning fragments instantly filled the entire Storm Fleet.

This scene was like the apocalypse descending!

Te Wude was left stunned.

Never-before-seen high-speed warships and terrifying attacks left him helpless!

Amid the violent shaking of his vision, he saw those strange warships ahead rapidly approaching and beginning to turn collectively.

In this process, Te Wude discovered that the enemy's ship speed was astonishingly fast, reaching an unimaginable degree, like a giant sword skimming the sea, carving a wide trench in the ocean.

Upon seeing this speed, Te Wude knew his ship could never catch up to the enemy.

At the same time, he also did not understand the meaning of the enemy's maneuver.

"What are they doing? Is it because they only have one wave of attack and then leave after striking?"

Although this wave of attack was extremely fierce, it was not enough to inflict a devastating blow on the fleet.

Just as Te Wude hoped, the enemy warship had already completely crossed his ship's hull, and the side of his hull began to emit fire and white smoke.

At that moment, Te Wude finally understood the reason.

His heart nearly burst, and based on past combat experience, he issued a command whose effects were completely unpredictable.

"Scatter~~ scatter~~~ full speed ahead~~ full speed ahead~~ charge onto White Sturgeon Island!"

The enemy's ships are so fast, their attacks so far-reaching, and they do not rely on sails—they can go wherever they want.

There is simply no way to engage them in combat at sea.

The only chance of survival is to rush to White Sturgeon Island and fight a landing battle! Immediately after, Te Wude issued another command whose outcome was unknown.

"Battle mages, take off~~ all take off, charge onto the enemy ships!"

This order is practically a suicide call, for the enemy warships will certainly not allow anyone to board easily.

But this is currently the only way to reach the enemy.

Otherwise, we can only passively take hits!

The fleet has 6,500 warriors, including over 1,500 battle mages, while the enemy has only five ships; they can certainly cause considerable disturbance to the enemy.

But because the situation was extremely chaotic, the orders were poorly communicated, so only a scattered few took off.

In the end, fewer than 500 mages managed to take off.

A few unlucky battle mages, just after taking off, were hit and vanished mid‑air; their protective magic items were as good as nothing. Though the number of unlucky ones was small, they dealt a terrifying blow to morale.

The enemy's attack is truly too fierce, like divine punishment! Such a brutal and desperate battle— not only the soldiers in the fray, but even distant spectators felt chills run through their bodies.

Knight Maxim stood on the watchtower, hearing in his ears rumblings like thunder, one after another, his eyes seeing the densely rising water columns, the ironclad warships as easily torn apart by flames like paper ships, and the sails swiftly devoured by flames, he felt his scalp go cold, his legs go weak, his heart pounding violently, as if he personally witnessed hell descending upon the world.

Black Stone warship paired with thunder artifacts.

It's too scary~~ really too scary~~

Over 300 battle mages.

Black Stone warship, Knight Ma Keximu.

Black Stone warship.

Te Wude.

Phew, phew~~ we still have a fight!

no.

On the deck of the Black Stone warship, dense streaks of electricity actually rose up! That electricity was like the long whip of the lightning god, lashing back and forth in the air.

Because the battle mages were using Flight Spell, their spellcasting ability was greatly limited; facing such dense attacks, they could not make any effective response.

Thus, wherever the whip struck, the battle mage there fell down like a rain swallow with broken wings.

This whip was so dense it almost formed a net of lightning, leaving no room to dodge!

In less than half a minute, no trace of the battle mages could be seen in the sky.

The order issued by Te Wu De in haste was practically telling these battle mages to line up and commit suicide! At this moment, Te Wu De felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

Ma Keximu.

At this moment, everyone around who had come to watch the battle was also stunned speechless.

White Sturgeon Island Duke.

White Sturgeon Island warship.

five warships, Storm Fleet.

Boom~~~ boom~~~ boom~~~

five high-speed warships, Storm warship.

They, relying on their speed advantage, kept gnawing at the Storm Fleet's flesh and blood.

giant beast.

a 1,200‑ton Storm warship.

Storm warship, Flame Fist.

remaining two Storm warships.

Storm Fleet, White Sturgeon Island.

Originally the fastest warship of this era.

five terrifying warships.

Knight Te Wude, Mother Nature.

He let out a great sigh of relief in his heart, almost feeling the urge to burst into tears.

Charge forward~~ keep charging forward~~~ charge onto the island!

There were still five warships and over a thousand soldiers alive; as long as they landed on the island, they still had a fighting chance! But as the fleet had just charged out less than a hundred meters, they saw firelight spouting from the high cliffs on the seaside of White Sturgeon Island, and immediately after, a 'Flame Fist' even denser and more precise than that on the warships rained down from the sky.

Gale warship.

Thunder Flame.

Moreover, the strikes were far more accurate than before, and their power was obviously much greater! Knight Te Wu De was utterly desperate, looking at the remaining four battered warships and at the dazed expressions of the soldiers around him.

no.

Surrender~~ surrender immediately~~

Quick, throw the sun balls into the sky~~ tell the Baron~ we surrender!

no.

If we don't surrender now, the whole army will be wiped out!

no.

The remaining battle mages immediately shot one glaring sun ball after another into the sky, forming a vertical ellipse pattern in the heavens.

In naval battles in this world, a vertical ellipse means 'surrender'.

It means 'I'm the woman, you're the man. I'm lying down ready, you can do as you please.'

ashore.

Te Wude.

no.

Selena, paternal uncle.

no.

Thunder.

no.

Sun Ball.

Te Wu De let out a breath, weakly issuing the order: 'Throw away the weapons, take off the armor, go ashore.'

Faced with entirely new weapons, entirely new warships, and entirely new tactics, every decision he made actually sent his own soldiers to their deaths.

If the opponent were another kingdom or duchy, he would likely choose to fight to the death, but since the opponent is his niece, he naturally does not want to pointlessly sacrifice his own life.

no.

Eagle‑beak cargo ship

As soon as he reached the deck, he saw face after face filled with shock and terror.

Obviously, everyone was deeply shocked by the maritime massacre before their eyes.

And anyone with a bit of naval warfare knowledge knows that even if Levinde's golden giant ship arrived, its performance would absolutely not be much better than the Storm Fleet's.

It's nothing more than taking a few more hits and losing a few more people.

To think of counterattacking is wishful thinking.

Maxim walked heavily back to his own cabin, his loyal guard Ade also silently followed him in.

Master and servant stared at each other wordlessly, the deathly silence in the cabin lasting a very long time.

"Young master, this baron is truly terrifying!"

Ade's ears still echoed with rumbling thunder, his eyes still stained with flowing flames.

He is a Battle Master, but the Storm Fleet definitely lacks no Battle Masters, yet those Battle Masters were slaughtered like dogs.

They didn't even get a chance to act, dying mysteriously, and possibly leaving no bodies to be found.

The martial skills they prided themselves on lost their meaning, and Ade's worldview was on the verge of collapse.

Maxim nodded lightly: "Be glad, be glad that he is only a minor baron now, not a duke or king."

"Also be glad that our Levinde is far enough away, with enough reaction time, and the one who should really be worried now is King Dange."

"Young master, do you think the Heroic Lion Fleet will head north?"

Maxim shook his head: "I don't know, Ade; I just have seen a bit more than you, but I'm not omniscient."

"The only thing I know is that we must adopt a more humble attitude toward the baron—oh no, perhaps soon we should call him a duke."

Ade blinked: "Why isn't the princess becoming a duke?"

Maxim turned his gaze to his loyal servant, smiling ruefully.

"Ade, remember, this world is gradually beginning to belong to true strength, not noble blood."

"Obviously, the baron of White Sturgeon Island is the true strength."

"But he's merely an intermediate mage."

Ade's voice grew lower and lower; obviously, he also felt his words lacked persuasiveness.

In this world, it's hard for the weak to pretend to be strong, but for the strong to pretend to be weak, it's merely a question of whether they want to.

If anyone truly believes that the baron who created so many miracles is just an intermediate mage, then his brain is probably no different from a stone.

Maxim whispered: "I feel he is at least a sage."

In today's world, being a sage is the ticket to participate in the world's contention.

(End of chapter)