Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 78 Red Sulfur
"What are those flag signals saying?" Winters asked Cage, pointing to the warship that was sailing further and further away.

“Good luck, victory, goodbye,” Cage read the flag signals, squinting his eyes.

Six main warships left the fleet and scattered across the entire sea area.

"I can't understand why your navy would do something like this, dispersing your forces like this," Winters sighed.

Cage stretched his joints and replied, "The large-scale Tanirian fleet has been destroyed. There's no need for the fleet to stick together anymore; spreading out is the only way to control this area... We should be almost at Chiliu Island, right?"

Chiliu Island is the fifth largest island in the Tanneria archipelago, named for its red soil and the abundant sulfur found in the high mountains at the center of the island.

The island is roughly an irregular oval shape, with an area of ​​nearly 700 square kilometers.

If we calculate based on the speed of marching in the wild, it would take about two days to travel from the southern tip of the island to the northern tip, covering more than 50 kilometers. It would take about one day to travel from the western tip of the island to the eastern tip, covering more than 20 kilometers.

The island is actually a small part of a giant underwater volcano that has emerged above the water, a fact that is not widely known.

However, as long as there is sulfur to be mined, they don't care about living next to a volcano.

This island guards the southern gateway to the Taneria Islands, and its port of Chiliu is the best deep-water port on the Blue-Golden Port shipping route.

Unlike Seaspring Harbor, which wavered between the two major powers, Red Irrigation Island was the core territory of the Tanilia Federation, as evidenced by the numerous sugarcane plantations on the island.

Therefore, following the decree of war issued by the consul of Debera, this important sulfur-producing region quickly cut off sulfur exports to Veneta.

In Naresha's operational plan, capturing Red Sulfur Harbor was a crucial part.

The port's docks were large enough to accommodate an entire fleet, and the rich islands were sufficient to supply the expeditionary force, while also providing opportunities to seize the islands' sulfur mines.

Using this island as a base and springboard would provide a solid rear for the attack on Taniria Island.

Later that afternoon, Winters was able to see the cliffs on the south coast of Chiliu Island from the superstructure of the Glorious, and the observation posts on the cliffs also spotted the Venetta fleet.

The sentry in the observation post stared in astonishment as he watched the sails appear on the horizon thirty nautical miles away.

One, two, then dozens of ships—a mighty fleet was heading toward Chiliu Island, with the Veneta naval ensign clearly visible atop the masts.

Even knowing the outcome of the Battle of Lighthouse Harbor, the efficiency and speed of the Venetta Fleet still left the Sentinels speechless.

"What are you staring at?!" The sentry angrily kicked the sentry. "Hurry up and light the signal fire!"

On the ship, Winters saw a plume of smoke rise from the southern coast of Chiliu Island, reaching hundreds of meters into the sky before dissipating. The beacon towers relayed the news of the Venetians' arrival throughout the island, and the Venetians themselves became aware of it.

The fleet sailed eastward around the southern tip of Chiliu Island, navigating beneath the basalt cliffs, and anchored in a sheltered spot by nightfall. A small detachment followed the fleet from the coast, closely monitoring the Venetians' movements.

For the first time since setting out, the Venetian Army on board experienced the tense atmosphere of impending battle.

That evening, the soldiers of the Third Army Corps no longer ate dry wheat cakes for dinner, but fresh fish, salted meat soup, and freshly baked bread.

Under a special order from the Joint Command, each army soldier was also given a small cup of strong liquor.

Each spellcaster officer received two base quantities of standard spellcasting materials—the army wouldn't normally be this generous.

The soldiers retrieved their weapons—which had been collected and managed upon boarding. The entire 100-man veteran unit that remained in service was issued half-body armor.

The musketeers began inspecting their lead bullets one by one, refining the inferior ones that wouldn't fit into the chambers. The sounds of weapons and armor being polished echoed throughout the fleet.

The gun deck of the Glorious was temporarily converted into the legion's tent, and all the officers of the Third Legion who were attending the military council crowded the not-so-large gun deck to the brim.

"The Tanilia Federation is merely a loose political alliance with no standing army. Apart from security forces, their main armed forces consist of plantation owners' private armies and militia guards from various towns," the legion's deputy commander explained, standing before the map. "Besides Red Sulfur Harbor, there is another small city inland on the island—Tower City. Red Sulfur Harbor has about 10,000 residents, while Tower City has less than 5,000. Outside the cities are four villages and numerous plantations."

A guard began distributing maps to the officers present. Winters, as the acting centurion of the Hundredth Company, also received a folio map of Chiliu Island.

The map's level of detail left him speechless. This map, no bigger than two palms, meticulously marked the roads, villages, water sources, and large plantations on Chiliu Island; it was definitely not something that could be produced hastily.

The legion's deputy commander gave a brief explanation of the terrain on Chiliu Island using a map, and then began assigning combat tasks.

Finally, they got to the main topic, and all the officers present perked up.

"The area around Chiliu Island is riddled with reefs, with only Chiliu Harbor being a natural deep-water harbor. Tomorrow morning, the fleet will sail to St. Ciri Beach. After high tide, the first squadron will be the first to land on St. Ciri Beach in small boats and establish a temporary camp. If the enemy on Chiliu Island tries to take this opportunity to attack us, the troop transport ships of the second and third squadrons can simply run aground. The strength of three squadrons should be enough to deal with them..."

Before the adjutant could finish speaking, a messenger came running from the ship's deck, interrupting him.

According to military law, anyone who trespasses on military council proceedings shall be hanged.

The messenger, trembling with fear, lowered his head to avoid the unfriendly gazes of the officers filling the cabin, and quickly stepped forward to hand Antonio a note.

Antonio, who had remained silent throughout the military council, glanced at the note, raised an eyebrow slightly, and said calmly to his subordinates, "The Red Iwo Jima Council has surrendered."

——Cut——

Under the blazing sun, a warship with its cannons fully open slowly sailed toward Chiliu Harbor, arrogantly firing a round of blank shots at the fortress guarding the entrance to the bay.

Amidst the resounding cannon fire that echoed throughout the bay, a white flag was planted atop the fortress.

A deafening cheer immediately erupted from the Venetta fleet.

The soldiers and sailors were overjoyed that they didn't have to fight or risk their lives.

However, the army officers felt rather resentful. Since the start of the campaign, the army had had almost no opportunity to demonstrate its capabilities. The credit had all gone to the navy, and even the surrender of Chiliu Port without a fight was clearly attributable to the great victory at the Battle of Lighthouse, and had little to do with the army.

Chiliu Island is surrounded by steep cliffs and reefs, with only the bay where Chiliu Port is located being a natural deep-water harbor.

However, the bay is gourd-shaped with a long, narrow entrance, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. The Tanirians even built a strong artillery fortress at the entrance of the bay, which is why the initial battle plan did not consider a direct naval assault on Chiliu Port.

"How could they surrender so easily?" Andrei angrily berated the Chiliu Island Council. "With an iron chain at the entrance to the bay, what ship could possibly get in? Relying on the natural defenses, shouldn't they at least have held their ground? How could they just surrender like that?"

"Alright, alright, isn't it a good thing that no one is dying?" Bard said helplessly.

Winters nodded in agreement, though he also felt somewhat bewildered, but it was always a good thing not to have to fight on the front lines.

"The navy fought all the battles and stole all the credit. We've become the navy's freeloaders..." Andrei muttered discontentedly.

Inside the forecastle of the Glorious, Admiral Narecio politely asked Antonio, "General Serbiati, shall we dock now?"

“Please wait a moment.” Antonio, unusually, offered a different opinion. He pointed to one of his adjutants: “Take my guards to this fortress, remove all the Tanarians inside, and nail down all the cannons facing the water.”

"Isn't this a bit unnecessary?" Nareshaw was slightly taken aback: "We'll still need the cannons in the fortress to defend Red Sulfur Harbor, won't we?"

“General, although we have no intention of resisting, is there any need for you to humiliate us like this?” The envoy from the Red Iwo Jima Council was also somewhat annoyed. Antony smiled and said, “Just to be on the safe side. If we need to use these cannons in the future, we can just drill them open again; it will just take a bit of effort.”

Naresha hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed to Antonio's arrangement.

The entire fleet waited outside the bay, watching as the Revenge launched several small boats, carrying dozens of soldiers, and slowly rowed towards the fortress.

The jubilant atmosphere began to subside, and the soldiers and sailors, bewildered by the flagship's actions, began to stir.

After nearly an hour of commotion, someone finally waved the army flag from the fortress. Upon seeing the agreed-upon signal, Antonio's grave expression eased somewhat.

Admiral Nareshaw sighed and waved to First Officer Karaman. The order was relayed from HMS Glorious to the entire fleet, and the ships weighed anchor and entered the bay.

"Why are you taking so long?" the second mate, who was standing at the helm, asked the first mate, Karaman, in bewilderment.

First Officer Karaman snorted coldly: "What else could it be? It's just that the army guys are jealous of us and want to get some credit too. It's a long-standing tradition in the army to be greedy for credit..."

Because the bay is roughly gourd-shaped, the water widens considerably after entering the bay. However, the shore remains rugged with jagged rocks, offering no place for large ships to dock.

After sailing forward for some distance, when the leading ships could see the docks of Chiliu Harbor and the bastions beside them, António once again called a halt to the fleet.

First Mate Karaman stormed off the forecastle to issue the order for all sails to be lowered.

“Your Excellency Serbiati, I understand your concerns, but you really don’t need to worry so much.” Naresha reluctantly revealed some naval secrets to Antoni: “The Chiliu Island Council had already had in-depth communication with the Navy before. Neither of us wanted Chiliu Island to be destroyed by war, so the Council chose to change its flag.”

"Are you truly sincere about changing your allegiance?" António asked the council envoy seriously, he was particularly difficult to deal with today.

"Otherwise, why would I be here?" the envoy from the Red Iwo Jima Council retorted bluntly.

“Alright, then let me send one hundred men to the port’s fortress first,” Antonio said, enunciating each word clearly.

The envoy retorted angrily, "What do you mean by this? We are changing our flag, not surrendering!"

“Did you hear what I said?” Antonio said no more to the envoy and looked directly at Admiral Naresha: “Please provide ships for my soldiers so that the fleet can dock after the Third Legion has entered the bastion.”

"Your Excellency Serbiati, our navy has indeed already reached an agreement with the council..."

But António remained unmoved: "Send ships to my soldiers. Since the council has already decided to change the flag, what's wrong with letting my soldiers move into the bastion ahead of time?"

Despite the envoy's stern protests, Nareshau had no choice but to nod.

Winters, Bard, and Andrei, who had already removed their armor, received orders: the Hundredth Company must assemble immediately.

"It's finally our turn!" Andrei excitedly put on his helmet.

The three warrant officers quickly helped each other put on the half-armor issued to the officers and began to assemble the tents of the 100th squad.

Army soldiers were divided into groups of eight, sharing a tent and an iron pot. Therefore, these eight people were called a "tent" or a "group," which was the smallest unit of the army.

Winters had only been acting as the centurion of the 100th squad for a few days, and he couldn't even recognize everyone. He only knew the heads of the various tents.

As soon as the nineteen men of the hundredth squad were assembled, Lieutenant Colonel Contaire led his standard-bearer onto the deck. The operation to capture the bastion would be personally commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Contaire, and having a colonel in charge would make it easier to negotiate with the council.

The smaller boats from each ship began to converge on the Glorious.

On the deck of another warship next to the Glorious, a commotion broke out. Lieutenant Commander Contair and three warrant officers explained, "The Navy won't let us enter the bastion alone; they want to send a team too."

Winters, Andrei, and Bud were in one boat, and Andrei held the flag of the Hundred Men's Corps high.

Lieutenant Colonel Contair, accompanied by his bodyguards, sailed in another ship, flying the flag of the chief battalion.

The naval officers who disembarked from another warship were carrying a naval ensign that Winters did not recognize.

Three small boats bearing military flags sailed at the forefront, followed by more than thirty other small boats, heading towards the Chiliu Port dock at the bottom of the bay.

“Heave-ho…heave-ho…heave-ho…” The soldiers paddled clumsily into the second wide waters of the gourd-shaped bay.

Winters sat at the bow of the ship and looked around. The shore of this gourd-shaped place looked mostly rocky, and the pier of Chiliu Harbor extended from the coast.

There wasn't a single ship on the dock, not even a small one. A hexagonal bastion lay silently on the dockside, utterly lifeless.

On the bow of the Glorious, Antonio and Naresha silently watched the small boat gradually move away from the fleet.

“I will explain to the gentlemen of the council the ‘courtesy’ shown today in detail. If the Venetians treat Chiliu Island like this, will anyone be willing to submit in the future? You…” The council’s envoy chased after him angrily.

"Alright, alright? After we reach the shore, I will personally apologize to the gentlemen of the council." Naresha generously reassured the council's envoy: "Veneta..."

His words were interrupted by the roar of heavy artillery.

The cannonballs created huge splashes of water, throwing Veneta's fleet into chaos.

"Where are they firing?!"

"It's nearby!"

"It's a fortress cannon!"

Three more heavy cannon shots rang out, followed by screams and the sound of ship hulls being shattered. The hull of a galley began to slowly tilt, and the sailors jumped overboard to escape. The oarsmen locked in their seats cried out and begged to have their chains removed.

This time everyone could see the position of the cannon. It was incredibly close, right at the second narrowest point of the gourd-shaped bay.

The camouflage of bushes and vines was removed, and another fortress revealed itself.

"It's not on the map!"

"When did they build another fortress?!"

Accompanied by deafening shouts, at the second narrowest point of the bay, beside the gun emplacement, an iron chain was pulled up from the seabed.
With the signal of heavy artillery fire, the bay of Chiliu Harbor revealed its fangs.

By the way, I found a bay on a satellite image, which roughly corresponds to the shape of Chiliu Harbor Bay in my mind, and posted it to the book club. Book lovers who are interested can take a look.

On the first day Yue Dong was away, I missed him. But actually, they were the same person, like Scarlett O'Hara and Scarlett O'Hara, Melanie Hamilton and Melanie Hamilton.

Thank you to the readers for their recommendations: Social Justice Old Wang, Justice and Purity is Koala, Please Call Me Happy Sheep, writersblock, Yuan Hongjian, and kkkkk. Thank you everyone.

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(End of this chapter)