Rosetta went straight to the point, and Gwen was not surprised at all. Everyone in the room knew that they were here to talk about this issue.
The 'war' between Typhon and Cecil had ended, and the armistice agreement signed on the Winter Fort battlefield had been in effect for some time. But to the soldiers of the two countries, this matter was not completely over. To this day, the reconstruction of the Winter Fort defensive line was still ongoing, and the Winter Wolf Fort was still under the control of the Cecil Army. Although Gawain had already ordered the withdrawal of half of the troops in the Winter Wolf Fort area out of sincerity, everyone knew that the golden sword and plough flag on a blue background still fluttered above the Tiphon Fort. Furthermore, the gigantic Iron Throne armored train was still parked at the border between the two countries.
This matter had to be resolved sooner or later.
Gawain calmly listened to Rosetta's words. He was very clear that in the current situation, the Cecil army stationed at Winterwolf Fort had no reason to continue occupying the fort. Unless he wanted to escalate this' war ', which had already ended, into a war of aggression, Gawain's true concern had never been the defensive line at Winterwolf Fort. However, before he could achieve his true goal, the army at Winterwolf Fort was still a pretty good card to play.
"I understand your concerns, but you can rest assured that Cecil has never intended to invade the land of a neighboring country," Gwen said slowly. "Our occupation of Winter Wolf Fort was initially forced by the situation. You know, at that time, Typhon's army was out of control, and your command system was in chaos. We had to prevent the flames of war from spreading to our own land, so we had to move forward. But now that the war is over, of course, the land that belongs to Typhon will have to be returned, but … we have our own difficulties.
"In the battle at the Winter Fort front line, Typhon was not the only one who suffered heavy losses. Cecil's armored army was also attacked fiercely after entering the attack range of the God of War. We lost two light armored trains and one main armored train, and the losses of various main tanks are uncountable. In addition, there are also crippled heavy cannons and countless wounded on the battlefield. We can't abandon all of this on the battlefield.
"We have to transport the heavy weapons back to the country, but the railway line to Changfeng Fortress has been blown up, and it will take a long time to repair it. The wounded also need to be taken care of. Many of them are seriously injured and cannot withstand the long journey. Coupled with the broken railway line, they have to stay in Winter Wolf Fort. To be honest, I am more anxious than you to bring them home, but I can't let the wounded walk back to Changfeng Fortress … "
Rosetta frowned. Of course, he knew that Gawain was just making excuses. Perhaps every word he said was true, but the truth could be mixed with a lot of lies. However, he still followed the direction of the conversation and asked, "So, you mean …"
"When we repair the main railway line, and when the wounded can be transferred to the rear, my army will immediately withdraw from the Winter Wolf area," Gwen said. "In fact, you should know that I have evacuated most of the local troops. Those units that can be transferred have already left, and the rest … can't be evacuated overnight."
"So, how long will this process take?" Mathilda looked at Gwen. "A month? Or a year? Or longer? "
"I can only say as soon as possible," Gwen spread out his hands. "But there are many factors that I can't control."
Rosetta stared into Gwen's eyes for a long time before he suddenly broke the silence. "In fact, we don't need to bargain for too long on this kind of thing, do we? We're not here to sharpen our tongues today — "
As he spoke, he adjusted his sitting position and looked at Gwen with a more solemn attitude. "We each rule a powerful empire. If it's not a special situation, we don't even need to meet in person. If it's just to argue about the ownership of a fortress, our diplomats can complete all the negotiations. But now that you and I are here in person, sitting face to face, I hope we can talk more confidently. Don't think about the diplomatic language, don't think about the implication. Let's be frank and straightforward. Typhon is morally wrong in this matter, so you can state your conditions. What do you want? "
It was only at this moment that Gawain finally revealed a genuine smile. He then sighed and made himself more comfortable in his seat. "That's why you should've said that earlier, instead of using the matter of Winterwolf Fort as a test. Now that we've come to this point, I'll tell you what I think — Amber. "
As soon as his voice trailed off, Amber had already pulled out a folded map. After the map was spread out on the tea table, a partial picture of the northeast region of the Loren Continent appeared before everyone's eyes.
The moment he saw the map, Rosetta's pupils shrank. However, what he noticed was not any signs on the map, but the amazing accuracy of the map and the specific description of a large number of coastal islands and coasts, especially the latter — some coastal islands that no one knew about and the uninhabited coastline that the local residents were not necessarily aware of were clearly outlined. The information revealed by these details was enough to alert him.
While Rosetta's attention was attracted by the map, Gwen's finger had already pointed to a place where the borders of Typhon and Cecil connected.
"Dragon Summoning Fjord, as far as I know, Typhon also called this place that way." His finger pressed on the map, his eyes looking at Emperor Typhon in front of him. "I'll build a port here — it'll be used as the northeast node of the route around the continent. In addition, in order to provide the necessary maritime protection and turbulence warning for the Dragon Summoning Fjord, I also need to set up some strongholds in the outer sea area of the port … In short, I want these islands."
The room was quiet.
Rosetta Augustus' expression was as calm as a deep pool, while Mathilda beside him took a light breath. At this moment, it was as if a chilly wind blew through the surrounding space. The air at the scene seemed to have solidified. At the same time, a name appeared in Rosetta and Mathilda's minds at the same time —
The Winter.
That terrifyingly powerful steel warship was still lingering in the coastal area east of Wintercastle. It had stayed there for a long time, and there was no sign of it returning. It was like a nail, nailed to the edge of the coastline of the Typhon Empire.
So that's it.
Gwen did not say anything, patiently waiting for Rosetta's answer. His expression did not change, so others could not tell if he was confident or complacent. The silence in the room lasted for a long time until Rosetta suddenly looked up, his deep-set black eyes were frozen like ice. "Typhon can't accept it."
"You have to think about it carefully." Gwen did not look surprised at all. He just patiently and calmly said, "I'm not asking for your coastline, any land, or even your coastal waters. I'm asking for the islands in the south of the Dragoncalling Fjord, which is close to the area dominated by the turbulence of the storm. It's not within your territory."
"Typhon can permanently give up the territorial claim of the Dragoncalling Fjord. It's a disputed area, but we can admit that it belongs to Cecil. But those islands … they're on Typhon's side," Rosetta said firmly. "It has nothing to do with whether they're in the coastal waters or not. Even those islands deep in the turbulent sea are on Typhon's territory."
"The endless sea is vast and boundless. Typhon can't extend their control to the sea. Those islands don't belong to anyone. This is a fact, and it won't change just because you've drawn them on the map," Gwen said firmly. "We can let those islands play their proper role. It's better than letting them continue to be eroded by the wind and rain on the sea."
At this moment, Mathilda, who was sitting at the side, suddenly said, "What if those islands belong to someone?"
Gwen frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I think you should have a way to contact that warship at any time, right?" Mathilda looked into Gwen's eyes. "Why don't you confirm it with your own eyes?"
Gwen had vaguely realized something. He took a deep look at Rosetta and Mathilda and said in a deep voice, "It looks like … we can only continue to talk about some things tomorrow."
…
In the boundless sea, a towering and huge steel warship was quietly floating on the sea under the night sky. The waves were constantly surging around it. The sea breeze from the southeast slapped the steel plates on the side of the warship. However, this most powerful warship in history only swayed slightly occasionally. It was as steady as a hill.
Byron stood on a high platform on the front deck and gazed at the distant sea with a bored expression. But apart from the nearby undulations of the waves that were faintly glowing under the starlight, he couldn't see anything else.
The Cold Winter was very far away from the land. At this distance, he could not see anything even during the day, let alone at night.
The ship had been floating on the sea for a long time. The soldiers had also lived on the sea for a long time. This was probably the longest experience of human activity on the sea since the second pioneering (excluding the experience of a certain legendary explorer drifting on the sea). After the initial adaptation period, life on the sea became boring. Even Byron began to miss the days on land. However, strict military discipline still played a role on the ship. The well-trained sailors planned their orderly lives as if they were on land. At the same time, they accumulated valuable experience in the past period of time.
The experience of carrying out long-term ocean missions, the experience of maintaining ship machinery at sea, the experience of dealing with the sea environment, and the experience of dealing with the sea environment … These things were all extremely valuable accumulations of technology. They were also essential first-hand information for the further development of the navy and the training of soldiers in the future. Although Byron had led his soldiers to carry out many simulations in the coastal area before this mission, no matter how realistic the simulations were, in the end, they weren't as reliable as actual experience.
While collecting and accumulating these valuable information, Byron also carried out an important task assigned to him: to monitor the coastline of the Typhon people and wait for orders from the rear.
The soldiers on the ship were very clear about the significance of this: As a steel fortress floating on the sea, as long as the Cold Winter floated here, it would be enough of a deterrent to the Typhon people.
At this moment, a series of footsteps suddenly came from the side behind. Byron turned his head and saw a low-ranking officer walking up the platform.
"General, we have received a secret order," the officer quickly walked to Byron's side, saluted and said with a serious face, "The superior ordered us to immediately move to the southeast and investigate the situation of the three reefs H-6, H-9, and H-12."
…
Accompanied by a slight buzzing sound, a lightweight Dragon Rider aircraft specially modified for the reconnaissance mission took off from the circular platform at the stern of the Cold Winter and flew into the distance in the night.
The undulating sea surface and the low-altitude mist quickly receded from his field of vision. With the help of the observation lens with night vision and eagle eye enchantment, the scene in the distance was clearly presented in front of the aerial scout. The young scout's eyes were fixed on the situation on the sea surface. After flying for a while, something different from the sea finally appeared in his field of vision, as well as a small light source that seemed to be extinguished at any time.
That was the first reef he was responsible for investigating — a bare rock soaked in the cold, bone-chilling sea water. Even a few weeds were rare on this deserted small "island," but a stubborn flame rose on the small island, illuminating the entire reef and the nearby sea surface.
A simple tent stood in the cold sea breeze. Two sentries with short staffs stood in front of the simple tent, staring at the distant sea vigilantly. Behind the sentries, above the tent, the flag of the Typhon Empire was fluttering in the dark.
On the distant sea surface, a little bit of the morning sun's glow had slowly spread along the undulating waves.
In the bridge of the Cold Winter, Byron was sitting in the captain's seat with a straight face. The communications officer was reporting the intelligence sent by the scout in front of the magic net terminal.
"Typhon sentries and flags have been found on the reefs H-6, H-9, and H-12. Those seem to have been set up recently … No Typhon warships have been found nearby …"
"General," an officer standing next to Byron said hesitantly with his head lowered, "Those 'sentries' are very fragile, but I'm afraid we can't …"
"Not 'probably', but 'definitely'." Byron sighed. "We definitely can't attack, even if those tents and flags fall with a push …"
He shook his head and looked up. His eyes passed through the window on the side of the bridge and looked at the wide deck outside. The huge rainbow generator crouched on the deck like a behemoth, and there were large and small secondary cannons surrounding the terrifying main cannon. The warship's magic-powered wings extended out from one side, and under the gradually fading starlight, the surface of the runic array on the wings moved with a dim light.
This ship could destroy strong fortresses, sink warships of the old era, sweep the fortifications and bunkers on the coast, and even execute the weak true gods.
But it could not destroy those 'sentries' with only two or three sentries and a tent.
"Report this to the higher-ups." Byron sighed again. "This matter will be left to His Majesty to decide."
As he said, he could not help but mutter, "Damn it, when did those Typhon realize …"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
