Chapter 171: The First Day
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Rody had never seen so many warships
On the day of the decisive battle, when the morning sun had just risen, the ocean was shrouded in a layer of golden ripples. The weather was surprisingly good, and the ocean was calm. Specks of sails appeared faintly on the horizon.
More and more specks emerged. The few specks grew to ten. Ten grew to dozens. Dozens grew to a whole ocean of sails on the horizon…
The groups of black warships headed for the coast, and finally stopped at a distance about one kilometer off it.
The people of the Roland Continent had excellent ship building skills. Their large warships had several floors. They were also extremely strong. Each ship was like a small fortress on the ocean.
After some time, the sailors at the observation ledges on their huge masts started to wave their flags, signaling a maneuver. After that, the warships broke their formation.
Sieg stood on the walls and frowned. "The Roland continent’s warships are really advanced. We cannot create a warship that can carry so many people. I think a warship this big can probably carry a few hundred people."
Milo heard this even though he was standing quite some distance from Rody and Sieg. He had a better understanding of the Roland Continent as he had spent more time in the North. Milo shook his head and said, "This is considered small. It looks like the opponent does not intend to send everyone out all at once. To the people of the Roland Continent, these warships are merely second or third-class ships. Each of these ships has four flame magicians and about a dozen cannons. The hulls of these ships are spacious. It can be used to transport goods or people. If it only transports soldiers, each ship can carry three to five hundred soldiers. If it were a first-class warship, it would not be strange for it to have more than a thousand people on board."
"More than a thousand people?" Sieg took in a deep breath. "A ship that can carry more than a thousand people. It must be really big."
Rody silently looked at his enemy fleets on the surface of the ocean. His eyes glinted.
Sieg suddenly said, "I can see several hundred ships approaching. These hundreds of ships can only carry about twenty or thirty thousand soldiers. Why so little?"
Milo smiled coldly and said, "It is not several hundred. There are altogether more than two hundred ships. I can recognize their banner. The ones that raised the White Cross banners are the main ships. In the Roland Continent, each fleet is about ten ships. If you count the number of white crosses they have, then you will be able to tell the number of ships they have. Look at the ship with the black cross. This is the Roland Continent's real warship. This one must be their vanguard's command ship."
Rody lightly said, "More than two hundred warships cannot all be loaded with people. There must be horses and supplies as well. I think this group should have at most twenty thousand soldiers."
As they talked, their opponent’s warships had started to set down numerous small boats. Those boats were filled with about twenty to thirty soldiers per boat. Those soldiers then paddled the boats with great effort. Within a short while, the ocean was packed with small boats. Those small boats were scattered all over the golden ocean as they moved towards the coast.
Sieg's eyes flashed and said, "Your Excellency the Duke, let us attack them the moment they disembark. We can take advantage of the fact that they are not organized. Let me lead the Wolf Fang and charge at them. Since the opponent has only twenty thousand soldiers, with just two to three charges by our cavalry, they would be completely defeated!"
They saw the small boats gradually getting closer to the coast. Some of the faster ones, in front, had already reached the coast. Those soldiers put down their paddles, picked up their swords and jumped off their boats. They waded in waist deep water, heading for the beach.
"Your Excellency the Duke, now is the time!" Sieg said excitedly. "They need some time to organize after they embark ashore. If we advance now, we can easily defeat them!"
Rody took a deep breath. Without looking at Sieg, he lightly said, "No!" He paused and then added. "Without my orders, you are not allowed to attack!"
Having said that, Rody looked at the Roland army who had embarked on the shore. He was calm. He then turned around, got down from the city wall and left.
Sieg frowned but Milo, who was beside him, sneered and said, "Deputy Regiment Commander Sieg, do you still not understand what is His Excellency the Duke’s intention?"
Sieg gave Milo a glance and asked, "Do you understand?"
Milo smiled as his thin face gave a profound expression and said, "Obviously. These guys are just the Roland Army's vanguards. Their task is to get on the shore and test our reaction. It is not difficult to send out the cavalry and kill these twenty thousand soldiers. They are sent here just to test the waters. If you were to fight them, they would return to the ocean. Do you think our warships can compete with theirs? If they were to land at a different place, would your cavalry still be able to keep them on the shore? His Excellency the Duke's intention is obvious. He wants more of them to disembark! The more, the better! The ocean is the territory of the Roland people but the land is our territory!"
Thus, thousands of boats reached the coast and twenty thousand soldiers finally stepped foot on the Radiant Continent.
Those twenty thousand soldiers were infantries. The moment they disembarked, they immediately started to find a place and build fortifications. They had some wood and equipment with them when they disembarked. They began to put up tents and fortifications. The people on the walls watched them busy working from morning until night. From a distance, it was visible that tents and fortifications were closely built on the shores, outside Thunder City. The numerous tents, which looked like ants, covered the entire coast and was enough for an army of more than one hundred thousand.
They were extremely busy but not vigilant at all. They did not even spare a few thousand men to keep guard. The twenty thousand soldiers were working intensely and were not at all worried whether their enemies would rush out of the city to kill them.
In the evening, Rody once again went up on the city walls. He looked outside the city and frowned. He suddenly whispered, "Milo…"
Milo was startled. He did not expect that the Duke of the Tulip Family, who was never on good terms with him, would take the initiative to speak to him.
Rody slowly said, "Have you noticed? Something seems strange."
Milo’s eyes also revealed his anxiety and he replied, "Seth, you realized that as well?" Milo coldly said, "The enemy commander is smart too. He already knew our intentions and that we will not attack his vanguards. He knew that we want to fight on land and will let them disembark. This is why these vanguards did not spare any men to watch out for us. They know we will not attack them."
Rody nodded and said, "That’s right. We wanted them to disembark and use our land advantage to defeat them. However, it seems like they also understood this point. The enemy commander is really not a simple person."
Milo raised his eyebrows when he heard Rody said the word ‘we’. His expression changed as though he wanted to say something.
Rody looked at him and coldly said, "General Milo, I know you do not like me. You do not like me not just because of family reasons but also because of personal reasons. However, war is about to start. If you are a real man, a general of the Empire and a warrior of the Lionheart Family, you will leave behind whatever grudges we have until after the war."
Milo stayed silent for a moment. He then replied coldly, "Seth, I admit that I hate you! Rest assured! I, Milo, may not be a good person, but I am a man!"
After saying that, Milo gave a glimpse below the city and said, "There is nothing left to see here. Tomorrow, their large army would disembark and occupy that camp. I will go back first to prepare for tomorrow’s battle!" He no longer looked at Rody, turned around and left.
When night arrived, there was a bonfire at the shore in the distance. The construction of the large and simple barracks was completed. The number of tents was enough for two hundred thousand people. Some simple fortifications and wooden fences had also been erected. The only ridiculous thing was that the gates to the barracks were wide open. Not even a single guard was stationed there. The twenty thousand vanguard soldiers had also stopped their construction work. They laid down the construction tools and picked up their weapons. They then lined up and walked towards the numerous boats at the beach. They then lined up to get on their boats. One by one, the boats returned to the large warships in the ocean, leaving the empty barracks on the beach.
Rody had, at some point in time, taken a chair to sit down on the walls. He sneered as he watched the Roland soldiers leave behind a good barracks. Are they not afraid that we would destroy their camp?
Rody’s eyes turned cold as he said, "Commander of the Roland army, are you deliberately trying to provoke me? Are you deliberately trying to humiliate me? You deliberately left behind the barracks, that you had just built, just to tell me that you had seen through my intention. You predicted and are sure that I will not prevent you from disembarking? And will not attack your vanguards?"
Rody was then lost in thought as he said, "You fearlessly got ashore. Don’t you know that we have the advantage on land? You swaggered, with excitement to get ashore; are you really so confident?"
He looked at the long lines of the barracks near the coast. Right now it was totally empty. It would be completely filled tomorrow.
The major war is about to begin, but the first day of the war passed peacefully.