Chapter 1318: What Is Called Marching

Meanwhile, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, at a certain port in Austria.

Ever since Grand Duke Theresa learned that the Longyan supply ship had disappeared, she had been massing heavy troops in the port cities, fearing that the Longyan Fleet would force a landing.

These ports had also fallen into a state of high mental tension.

Since hearing of the power of the Longyan warships, they dared not underestimate the enemy even more, terrified that if they were not careful, they would be caught in a sneak attack by Longyan and lose the port.

But four days had already passed.

At a certain Austrian port, a group of officers and soldiers looked at the calm Mediterranean Sea and fell into doubt.

"Do you think Longyan is really coming?"

"We've been discussing it for four days; we haven't even seen a wooden plank on the Mediterranean, let alone a ship."

"Could it be that Longyan isn't coming after all? After all, Prussia can't hold out much longer anyway."

This kind of discussion lasted from daytime until the early hours of the morning; even after several shifts of people, the topic continued.

Longyan had left an indelible image in their hearts; although they were guarding the ports, not a single person took it to heart.

They reckoned today would be just like any other, another calm and peaceful night.

But just at this moment.

Boom—an explosion echoed throughout the entire port city.

"The Longyan warships are here! Everyone, prepare for battle!"

Countless Austrian soldiers poured into the port, watching the horizon vigilantly, but in the dark night already covered by black clouds, it was impossible to see any ships on the sea surface.

Countless Austrian soldiers were nervous, yet also very excited; they were finally going to clash with the legendary, powerful Longyan.

As it turned out, they waited and waited, and then—another boom.

They still saw no ships on the horizon, but...

"Quick, move! The city gate needs reinforcements! The Longyan troops have attacked from there!"

The Austrian soldiers guarding the port were stunned. Attacking from the city gate? What was going on?

They weren't attacking from the sea or forcing a landing; how could they be attacking from land?

Because the estimate was that they would come from the sea, the defense at the city gate was extremely weak.

There was no time to think; the Austrian soldiers immediately swarmed toward the city gate, but it was already too late.

When they arrived, what they saw was the blown-open city gate and a mighty, vast army of the Dragon Flame Nation.

Prince Yong looked at the soot-covered Austrian officers who had rushed over and immediately had them restrained.

He grinned: "Surrender and live. You bunch of fools, did you really think I would attack from the sea?"

Just like that, Prince Yong easily took the first port city, and his troops stationed themselves there to welcome the arrival of Liu Zheng.

That group of Austrian officers could not figure out how the Longyan had launched this sneak attack.

According to their understanding, they could only land at the ports of the Mediterranean; that would save the most time.

If they took a detour, it would take seven days and seven nights to march on fast horses, but given the situation with Longyan, it was impossible to transport so many fast horses.

Even if all these conditions were met, a march of thirty thousand people would be a massive, noisy affair; how could they have done it without making a sound?

Moreover, from the time they disappeared until now, only four days had passed.

And now, they looked as if they had seen a ghost.

Prince Yong watched their expressions and was happy for a long while; come to think of it, this was all thanks to a small invention of Liu Zheng's.

He called it a Bicycle—two wheels, pedaled with the feet, and it ran incredibly fast, faster than a fast horse.

It also made no sound; this invention had been kept in mind by Prince Yong.

For this expeditionary march, this was exactly what they had brought with their supplies; otherwise, how would he have dared to take on the job of vanguard?

But even he hadn't expected that a journey that would take seven days on horseback would only take them four days riding these!

Truly miraculous!

In Vienna, Austria, Grand Duke Theresa's husband, Franz, stormed into the Upper House.

Theresa frowned; she had always disliked this cowardly and lecherous husband and was about to open her mouth to reprimand him.

As it turned out, Franz, for once, acted tough and slammed a stack of papers onto the table.

"You're still here advocating for some monogamy system; do you have any idea that the Longyan troops have already occupied it?" Franz roared angrily.

Upon hearing this, Theresa suppressed her anger, and while shocked at heart, she checked the information on the papers with an expressionless face.

In the end, her beautiful, calm face was completely shattered by the contents of the papers.

"It's only been four days, how could the Longyan vanguard troops..."

"Heh, you still have the nerve to speak?" Franz sneered.

"This is all because of your poor command. During wartime, you insisted on pushing some monogamy system; you didn't even know when the Longyan had already attacked."

Theresa suddenly revealed a fierce look, staring at this husband who kept bringing up the monogamy system the moment he walked in.

"Don't think I don't know about those sordid affairs of yours outside. I have a Method to solve the Longyan matter, but as for your affairs, solve them yourself!" Theresa said viciously.

"You..." Franz's face turned red, but he dared not say a word of dissent.

Although he was the nominal successor, Theresa was the Grand Duke of Austria and the legitimate person in power in Austria.

Theresa continued to look at the latest intelligence, becoming more and more shocked as she read.

The Longyan army had not landed at the port but had attacked from land.

Because the defense was mainly focused on the port, the city defenses were weak. The Longyan army only took thirty minutes to end the battle, and by today, they had completely seized control of this one of the few ports Austria had on the Mediterranean Sea.

Theresa was stunned. Attacking from land?

Could the Longyan army have really bypassed Suez to enter the heart of Europe?

It had only been four days!

To detour from Suez would take at least seven days, and that is only if riding fast horses.

But it was impossible for Liu Zheng to have transported so many fast horses from Longyan, and he had entered the heart of Europe in just four days, and so silently at that.

It was absolutely not fast horses!

Teresa could not see through it; looking at the map of Europe, a bitter smile welled up in her heart, for this time Liu Zheng's million-strong army was truly going to land on the European continent.

The first to bear the brunt would be her Austria!

This won't do; she could not just sit and wait for death!

However, this Teresa, known for her intelligence and beauty, was also at a loss for a Method when facing such a strange and powerful Longyan army.

Just at this moment, good news arrived.

The Envoy who had been sent to Russia had returned.

Elizabeth I had agreed to form a wartime alliance with Austria and was now already marching troops south!

"Good!"

With the help of the Russian army, Teresa felt steady; if one were to speak of who in the world understood the Longyan army's combat best, it was none other than Russia.

With the Longyan army to deal with, she immediately wrote a letter to the mistress of Louis XV of France, Madame Pompadour.

She wanted her to restrain the forces of Britain and Longyan overseas.

To reduce their aid to the colonies.

Meanwhile, upon receiving the news of Tsarist Russia entering the war, Frederick II cursed, "I am fighting against an alliance of three skirts."

But cursing aside, Frederick II also understood the gravity of the current war situation and how dangerous it was for Prussia.

Prussia had already been carved up, and their military strength was no longer sufficient to sustain this war; in his heart, he waited anxiously for reinforcements from Longyan.

Tsarist Russia had already begun its offensive from Poland, and the next would be Prussia; his surroundings had already been sealed off.