On the 17th day of the 1st month, 1790 of the Galinthea Continent calendar, a B Squadron of the Invincible Fleet that was patrolling the Ocean of Sadness was ambushed by the Norton Family's North Sea Fleet. The entire fleet was annihilated, and the commander of the patrol, Captain Therod, surrendered with six large armed warships and nine medium fast armed warships. The Norton Family was victorious in this first confrontation, and it also meant that the Invincible Fleet was about to leave the stage of history.
On the night of the 20th of the 1st month, the North Sea Fleet, under the leadership of its commander, Senbarwood, launched a surprise attack on the Trade Federation's Port Elniba. Not only did they burn down nearly five hundred merchant ships and warships, but even the Third B Squadron of the Invincible Fleet that was patrolling south to escort reinforcements suffered a calamity. They never dreamed that they would be attacked at their own port. Most of the crew and sailors of the Third B Squadron had gone ashore to have some fun, and by the time the port was ablaze, it was already too late.
Even Senbarwood did not expect his luck to be so good. When the two famous Septorium ships of the Invincible Fleet were turned into two huge bonfires, every member of the North Sea Fleet was so happy that they could not close their mouths. The only thing they could do was to speed up the delivery of ammunition and try to hit and destroy as many ships as possible …
By this time, the entire port was in a raging inferno. When Senbarwood received a report that the bronze cannons were too slow to dissipate heat due to the red-hot iron bullets, and could only rest for half an hour before continuing to fire again, he issued a dangerous order. He ordered the fleet to approach the burning docks, and use the catapults at the bow to hurl pots filled with kerosene onto the ships and docks that had not completely burned down. He wanted the Trade Federation to not have a single ship that could be repaired or the docks that could be used.
Senbarwood's order was resolutely carried out, and the fire at Port Elniba burned for two days and three nights until the entire port was reduced to ashes. To add fuel to the fire, there was no snow during these two days and three nights, and the weather was clear. It was a rare good weather in winter, suitable for cruising, and the wind was blowing inland. That was why those who escaped the fire could only watch as Port Elniba was burned to the ground. They wanted to put out the fire, but they gave up because the fire was too big, and could only cry as they watched Port Elniba burn from afar …
In the history of the war on the Galinthea Continent, it was known as the Siege of Port Arniba. Not only did it make the previously unknown North Sea Fleet famous, but it also made the North Sea Fleet famous. Even his commander, Senbarwood, had become a dazzling general. In comparison, the losses suffered by the Trade Federation were much greater. Although the Port of Erniba was burned to the ground, the casualties were less than ten thousand, but it was these survivors who added to the burden and troubles of the Trade Federation.
The first reason was that the Third B Squadron of Invincible Fleet had all of their ships burned down in a very sullen manner. The members of the squadron, who had always been invincible at sea, had no choice but to walk back to Morent City on foot. Secondly, the nearly seventy thousand Southern Province reinforcements escorted by the Third B Squadron would also be walking unarmed on the road to Morent City with them. Thirdly, the owners of the merchant ships anchored in Arniba blamed Invincible for the loss of their ships and cargo. They believed that Invincible did not fulfill its duties and caused the loss of their property. They demanded compensation from Invincible.
Lastly, the residents of Erniba. They had lost all of their daily necessities and personal belongings, and were unwilling to leave the port. For the sake of these sixty to seventy thousand residents, the Trade Federation had to mobilize relief supplies and manpower to help them build houses and keep warm during the winter and the rainy season of March. A rough estimate was that the North Sea Fleet's burning of Erniba had caused the Trade Federation a loss of no less than twenty million gold fords …
If the Norton Family's North Sea Fleet hadn't interfered, the Trade Federation would have been confident in defeating or annihilating the Andinac Kingdom's allied forces with their enormous manpower, resources, financial resources, and military strength. They might even have been able to launch a counterattack into the Andinac Kingdom. This time, the higher-ups of the Trade Federation had made up their mind to eliminate the greatest threat in the north no matter the cost. They would have completely disintegrated the Andinac Kingdom.
However, the news that arrived at the beginning of the new year made the higher-ups of the Trade Federation restless. First, a patrol fleet went missing, and then came the news that Erniba had been burned to the ground. Just as they were frantically holding a meeting to discuss the aftermath of the burning of Erniba and to mobilize provisions to help the reinforcements who had braved the snowstorm to rush to Moronte City, the news from the sea made all the higher-ups of the Trade Federation furious …
After burning down the Port of Erniba, the North Sea Fleet led by Sembarwood launched an interception operation in the waters between the Port of Erniba and the Hidden Gold Bay. All merchant ships and cargo ships heading for the Hidden Gold Bay, regardless of whether they belonged to the Trade Alliance or other countries, were intercepted and held hostage. Those that refused to obey orders were immediately destroyed in the vast sea, while those that obeyed orders were grouped under the protection of several Thunderstruck Warships and sailed to the Silovas Island …
In short, the Trade Federation's sea route to the southern part of the continent had been cut off by the North Sea Fleet. This caused the Trade Federation to suffer huge losses once again. This was because many merchant ships and cargo ships were transporting military supplies and provisions that Morent City desperately needed. Now, these supplies and provisions had become the Norton Family's spoils of war. This was like taking drastic measures to remove the firewood from under the cauldron. The upper echelons of the Commerce Alliance were extremely anxious.
The bloody battle on the Mana Hill Plains that had lasted for more than two years had turned the fertile Mana Hill Plains into ruins. Without this largest food production base, Moronte City could only rely on the support and supplies from the southern provinces. The sea route had become the Trade Federation's most important transportation and supply route. Now that the sea route had been cut off, they had to rely on the land route to supply the 400,000 troops at the frontlines. Not only was the journey long and delayed, but the cost of manpower had also greatly increased. In fact, it would already be considered a saving if they could only have 15 kilograms of food left after transporting 100 kilograms of food to Moronte City.
They had to take back control of the sea route immediately! The higher-ups of the Trade Federation immediately made this decision. However, when the order reached the Invincible Fleet, everyone realized that they were faced with an extremely awkward situation. The Invincible Fleet did not have enough manpower …
Alright, the Invincible Fleet's First B Squadron was holed up in the Chigda Kingdom at the southern part of the continent. This was a request from their ally, the Chigda Kingdom, to protect the coastal areas of the Chigda Kingdom from being pillaged by the Romon Empire's pirate fleets. The Second B Squadron was stationed in the Chikder Merchant Group's territory, which was also the former Ulubaha Duchy. That area of the sea was the area where pirate activity was the most rampant. Right now, almost all the reinforcements and supplies from the southern provinces had boarded their ships there, so the security couldn't be neglected.
The Third B Squadron's ships were docked at Ainiba Port on their way back to Hidden Gold Bay. In the end, they were burned to the ground by the Norton Family's North Sea Fleet. Right now, the majority of the fleet's personnel were still present, but the ships were gone … The Fourth B Squadron was stationed at Hidden Gold Bay, but one of their patrol ships had gone missing. The biggest possibility was that they had fallen into the hands of the North Sea Fleet.
Now came the question. If the North Sea Fleet had the ability to destroy a patrol ship, then how many troops should the Fourth B Squadron stationed at Hidden Gold Bay dispatch to deal with the North Sea Fleet? A B Squadron could be divided into four patrol ships. Now that one patrol ship had been destroyed, the Fourth B Squadron only had three patrol ships left. If the entire army was dispatched, Hidden Gold Bay would be empty, but it was better not to leave a patrol ship behind than to leave a patrol ship behind. The patrol ship that had been destroyed was the perfect example. But if they left two patrol ships behind, then the patrol ships that were dispatched would be nothing more than fodder for the enemy.
This simple math problem caused the commanders of Invincible Fleet and the upper echelons of the Commerce Alliance to be caught in a dilemma. Coupled with the harsh sea environment of winter and the reluctance of most of the fleet's personnel to fight, the Fourth B Squadron's dispatch date had been delayed for a very long time. But when it came to February, the Chikder Merchant Group's territory was still sending merchant ships full of military supplies and rations to Morent City because of the delay in delivering information on land. The news that the merchant ships and cargo ships were being held hostage by the North Sea Fleet finally forced the Fourth B Squadron to make up their minds. They would attack from Hidden Gold Bay and fight the North Sea Fleet to the death.
The Fourth B Squadron had disrupted the original organization of all their subordinate warships. This time, they were sending all large and medium-sized armed warships. The two Fourth B Squadron's Sepnim ships and more than a hundred and sixty or so small rapid-impact warships were left at Hidden Gold Bay to guard their home. For the two Sepnim ships and the small rapid-impact warships, they were not suited to sail in the high winds and turbulent waves of winter. It was better for them to stay at Hidden Gold Bay. That way, they would have the power to fight back even if the enemy charged in. They might even be able to set up a trap and lure the North Sea Fleet into attacking Hidden Gold Bay. Then, the attacking fleet could outflank the enemy and wipe them all out in one fell swoop.
This was the second time the Invincible Fleet and the North Sea Fleet had clashed. The Fourth B Squadron's luck was pretty good. After sailing for a day and a night, they encountered a fleet of more than thirty large ocean-going merchant ships and medium-sized armed merchant ships that were being held hostage by the North Sea Fleet. The ships in charge of escorting them were four Thunderbolt warships and four large armed warships of the North Sea Fleet.
The Fourth B Squadron had sent out thirty-nine large armed warships this time, and twenty-eight of them carried a hundred-man assault squad on the sea. At the same time, there was also a great swordmaster of Invincible Fleet sitting on the flagship. There were eighty-three medium fast armed warships that had come out together with them. It could be said that the Fourth B Squadron had sent out all of their medium and large warships.
The commander of the Fourth B Squadron had split the one hundred and twenty large armed warships into four waves. They were separated by three thousand meters and communicated through the ships' communication petrel. From the merchant sailors who had escaped the North Sea Fleet's pursuit and interception, the higher-ups of the Fourth B Squadron had long since learned that the North Sea Fleet had only sent out twenty or so warships. The reason they had split the fleet into four waves was because they were worried that the North Sea Fleet would sail away and increase the difficulty of catching them.
The sky was gloomy today. Small, icy snowflakes were falling, and the lookouts on the mast could not see very far. Therefore, when the North Sea Fleet's escort fleet and the Fourth B Squadron collided head-on, they were less than four hundred meters away from each other …
As soon as they saw the Invincible Fleet coming to their rescue, the merchant fleets that were being held hostage to Cirvas Island immediately broke out of their nests. They no longer cared about the threat of being struck by lightning and sunk by their warships as they drove their ships and charged towards the Fourth B Squadron. It was at this time that the captains of the four Thunderbolt Warships in charge of escorting the Fourth B Squadron made a huge mistake. They did not pay any attention to the twenty or so enemy warships that were charging towards them. Instead, they started firing at the fleeing merchant ships. For a moment, the battlefield was as chaotic as a pot of boiling porridge.
For the Fourth B Squadron's first wave of warships, the fleeing merchant ships gave them countless troubles. Not only did they disrupt their formation, their entire formation was also scattered because they had to avoid these merchant ships. As a result, they suffered huge casualties and losses when they first came into contact with the four Thunderbolt Warships of the North Sea Fleet.
The first wave of twenty-eight large and medium-sized armed warships received orders to discover the enemy, delay and hold on until the following fleets could outflank and reinforce them. They were to be willing to sacrifice anything in order to destroy the North Sea Fleet. However, they only ran into the North Sea Fleet's escort fleet this time. The commander of the first wave of warships did not pay any attention to the four Thunderbolt Warships and four large armed warships. Hoping to get off to a good start, he immediately ordered all his warships to charge forward.
The four rounds of bombardment from the four Thunderbolt Battleships gave the enemy a fierce slap in the face. Three of the four large armed battleships of Invincible Fleet at the forefront were smashed into broken wooden frames and sank into the sea at a speed visible to the naked eye. The other large armed warship was a little luckier. Although its masts were broken and the ship was spinning, it was not in danger of sinking.
However, because they were too close together, the dozen or so medium armed warships flanking them were already in position and clashing with the four large armed warships of the North Sea Fleet. These four armed warships did not have bronze cannons installed on them. Their long-range weapons were still those old Flying Grenades, large steel ballistae, and stone cannons. The sea was filled with smoke, fireballs, and flying rocks. It was a very lively scene. It didn't take long before two of the large armed warships of the North Sea Fleet burst into flames...
"Enemy ships! Invincible Fleet still has reinforcements! They're six hundred yards away! "The lookout on the mast of the Thunderbolt Warship shouted at the top of his lungs. After all, he had a telescope and a much wider field of vision. However, the sky was too dark and it was snowing lightly. By the time the lookout discovered the second wave of Invincible Fleet's Fourth B Squadron's warships, it was already a little too late.
It was at this moment the rumbling sound of cannons came from behind. It was Sambarwood leading twelve Thunderbolt Warships to rescue them. The first wave of the Fourth B Squadron's warships was quickly defeated. Only six medium armed warships managed to turn tail and run away when they saw that the situation was bad. However, three of the four large armed warships of the North Sea Fleet were destroyed, and more than two hundred of their crew were killed or injured.
"Charge forward and eliminate the enemy in front!" Sambarwood pointed at the thirty or so medium armed warships in front of him and gave his order. However, the lookout on the mast soon gave him two pieces of bad news.
"We've spotted Invincible Fleet's warships on the left. There are thirty or so of them! Seven hundred yards away! "
"We've spotted Invincible Fleet's warships on the right as well. There are thirty or so of them! Six hundred yards away! "
This is a trap!
"Charge! Follow them forward and turn left fifty meters away from the enemy fleet. Fire! We'll circle around the blockade!" Sambarwood immediately made a decision.
The North Sea Fleet's desperate gambit wasn't out of the Fourth B Squadron's expectations. The only thing they didn't expect was the North Sea Fleet's cannons to be this powerful. Every intercepting warship that faced the North Sea Fleet's charge was blown to smithereens, and screams for help filled the sea.
However, the last two Thunderbolt Warships and the last large armed warship of the North Sea Fleet had been intercepted by the Fourth B Squadron's second wave of warships. The worst part was that the great swordmaster overseeing the flagship had charged onto one of the Thunderbolt Warships and started a bloody massacre. The crew of the Thunderbolt Warship was no match for him at all.
The other Thunderbolt Warship and the large armed warship were also attacked by a lot of enemy vanguards. The sounds of battle and screams of pain rang through the air, but the sounds of resistance soon died down. If there were no surprises, these three warships would fall into enemy hands.
"Turn around! Our targets are our two Thunderbolt Warships and the large armed warship! The Norton Family's warships must not fall into enemy hands no matter what! "Sambarwood gave yet another unexpected order.
The North Sea Fleet's counterattack had also caught the Fourth B Squadron by surprise. Not only were the two Thunderbolt Warships and the large armed warship in their hands sunk, the greatest blow of all came from the great swordmaster who had single-handedly captured one of the Thunderbolt Warships. He was standing at the bow of the Thunderbolt Warship and showing off his might when Sambarwood turned around and attacked him. The first round of canister shells blasted the great swordmaster into a bloody hole. His broken body fell from the bow of the ship and dyed the sea red …
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