Chapter 667-Glory of the Empire
Translator: ryangohsf
Editor: Nora
In terms of shock, the most shocked party was still the Spanish themselves.
When the Spanish Invincible Squadron heard the notification on their way back, they naturally felt ashamed. However, since they had suffered such humiliation already, they quickly adapted.
A broken can breaking apart was bound to happen.
Casillas felt all the more furious. Both of his eyes were totally red like fire was about spurt out. Who knows whether he was angry at Ouyang Shuo for being shameless or Alvaro for being a traitor, or even his countrymen for being selfish.
Maybe it was a combination of all these aspects.
The ones who truly could not accept this matter were the players in the country. Such a system notification was a massive slap to the proud and face-loving Spanish people.
"What happened?" The Spanish people were stunned, "Didn’t the Invincible Squadron swear to crush the voyage squadron? Why did our own general become theirs in the blink of an eye?"
"Was the squadron from Tortola City ambushed, or was the Invincible Squadron defeated?" The Spanish players had a greater desire than all other players to know the truth.
Tortosa City was the territory of Casillas.
The Spanish forums exploded. The panicky players desired the truth; they wanted someone to step out to explain to them what had happened.
Finally, the player group that was still floating on the oceans could not bear the pressure from the forums and just revealed the entire battle proceedings.
The moment the news escaped, Spain was stunned.
"Is it April Fools? Our invincible squadron actually fell in just one day?"
"Oh my god, please do not make such a joke!"
"Please tell me this is not true."
……
The prideful Spanish people totally could not accept such a reality.
Additionally, the players posted photos of the Spanish Galleon sinking into the ocean.
The vast ocean surface had countless Galleons and Carracks sinking into the sea at the same time. Only their sails represented their identity and past glory.
Such a stunning picture directly dragged the Spanish into the depths of the unknown.
"Oh my god, I cannot believe it."
"Is the enemy the devil? How could our invincible squadron fall just like that?"
"Can anyone tell me what magic the enemy used?"
The Spanish could not wake up from such a great blow. To put it another way, they would rather not wake up; they did not want to face this cruel reality.
The invincible squadron, the ruler of the Mediterranean, the crown jewel of Spain, had actually sunk in just one night, becoming a matter of the past.
The prideful empire was walking toward destruction.
The only party that remained clearheaded was the Spanish Media. They gathered all the news that was revealed and wrote out article after article.
The pictures on the articles made use of the sunken ships that sent one into despair.
"Darkest day in Spain!"
"Glory crushed, invincible destroyed!"
"Losing the invincible squadron, how will the empire continue its hold on the seas?"
"Who will save Spain?"
The answer was evident. The only one that could save Spain was the Madrid imperial city emperor squadron. It was still country war time. In theory, they could be sent out.
The problem was that Shanhai City did not attack Madrid. Hence, based on the country war rules, both sides were still at a regional war stage, so the imperial city army would not throw themselves into the battle.
However, the despair-filled Spanish people did not care much anymore. Especially the Madrid players, who gathered together, and arrived before the imperial palace to request and beg for Phillip the Second to send out the Spanish royal squadron.
"Fight for the honor of the empire!"
"We are willing to be the vanguard; we wish that the king can pity us!"
"Pay back blood with blood. Us Spanish players will not back down!"
The shouts that the players hollered were getting more and more motivating. To increase their persuasiveness, some even slit their own wrists and used the fresh blood to write banners.
The prideful Spanish decided to follow the spirit of the matadors; they would never back down.
Phillip the Second did not know what to do about the player’s requests. With his war loving character, he naturally wanted to help the players out. However, due to the system restrictions, he could not act.
The rules the Gaia set were something that the NPCs had to follow.
"If you want to blame someone, blame the player squadron for failing," Phillip said helplessly.
The imperial palace could only reply to them with silence.
When the Spanish players that shouted outside saw the king not reply, an unconcealable despair appeared in their eyes.
"Spain really is finished?"
Some people were so sad that they even wanted to kill themselves in front of the palace.
The fresh blood on the stone steps became the last signs of the Spanish glory.
Eye-catching, eye-piercing, tragic.
……
At this very moment, the defeated troops seated on the small boats arrived at the Spanish Port without any danger.
When the players received the news, they were naturally furious.
Some people took pictures of the scene of the six to seven thousand boats entering the port and posted it onto the forums. This totally ignited the rage in the hearts of the Spanish people.
"Scum of the empire, how do you all have the face to return?"
"All of you will forever be sinners of our country, go kill yourselves!"
More and more players gathered toward the port and scolded the defeated soldiers. If it was not for the army maintaining law and order, a bloody conflict would have started.
The defeated ones were naturally ashamed.
Confusion clouded their hearts; till now, a large portion of them still did not understand how they had lost. They only found after waking up that their ships had sunk one by one.
Following which, they were surrounded by the voyage squadron.
"We are innocent!" The players shouted in their hearts but did not dare to say such words out loud.
Their blood was boiling, and they wanted to claim glory for their country. Who knew that they would not even fight a war. They would even pay 200 gold per a person to the enemy and become sinners and disgraces.
How could outsiders understand such a feeling?
Helplessly, the furious players had already lost their rationality, so how would they listen to the defeated players’ words? Curses, numerous smelly eggs, cabbages, and tomatoes were the only reply they received.
The soldiers swiftly fled using teleportation formations, either going back to their territory or their bases. Some even went back home to lick their wounds.
Even if they went back, they had to bear the weird looks of their friends, family, and more. This was the most unbearable part for the invincible squadron.
……
The boisterous port was emptied out by half in less than half an hour.
The player group who had lost their target of abuse loitered around the port, their eyes filled with helplessness. The small boats docked at the port were eye-piercing to them.
"Burn them!" someone suggested.
"That's right; burn them all. Just looking at it makes me angry!"
The players needed to use such extreme ways to vent the anger in their hearts.
Naturally, most people were like that.
All of a sudden, thousands of small boats were burned in less than half an hour. The massive flames charged toward the heavens, dyeing the port red. Within the flames were numerous ugly, despaired faces.
The great fire spread, but there was no one to extinguish them, so even some of the port facilities were burned. The burned black port became the most apt description of the empire.
Night fell, and the players slowly left.
A more intense event was slowly brewing in the night sky.
That night, no one fell asleep.
When the Lords returned to their territories, the first thing they did was to send out an emergency recruitment order. At the same time, they ordered the shipyards to work around the clock to build warships.
They were crystal clear that after losing the protection of the navy, the territories close to the shores would be the first targets. If they did not increase their preparations, they might even lose their territories.
Thousands of workers were put to work and started to build war forts along the ports.
The current Spain could not afford a second failure.
They lost the navy battle, so they definitely needed to defend the land; if not, their country would be over!
For the country and for themselves, the Lords gambled it all. They spent everything in their treasuries, occupation changing each soldier, building warships, and building forts.
……
Working through the night were also the various reporters from the big media groups.
This weird naval battle still had many specifics that were waiting for them to dig out. The reporters started to break through the defenses of those who participated, saying they wanted to uncover the truth for the people.
The next morning, the various media headlines posted some shocking news. The redemption money matter was dug out by the reporters.
With that, it was like pouring oil onto fire.
The players who had just calmed down once again protested on the streets. The players who participated in the war were like rats on a street, abandoned and hated.
Of course, there was still the rational media people. They were anxious to gossip, but they had a bottom line; they would not touch the sensitive nerves of the players.
Their eyes turned to the battlefield.
The most asked question was, ‘How did the ships sink?’
Through interviewing the normal players, guild leaders and Lords, what they described helped clarify matters and uncover the fog.
When the Spanish players saw the report, their doubts were cleared.
Without a doubt, their enemy had some kind of technique or equipment that was truly the nemesis of warships.