Munitions Empire

Taren's fleet was moving along the coastline, composed of 7 warships. After deploying the infantry and craftsmen, one warship escorted a transport ship laden with food and other supplies to anchor at their own landing point, while the remaining 7 warships fanned out to search for any possible towns and ports along the coastline.

Their mission was to capture the port, sink the nearby ships, and then force the enemy to surrender, to prevent unnecessary losses for the infantry arriving later on land. Discover hidden stories at m,v l'e-.net

After all, they were sailors, faster than the army on land and with stronger firepower.

The Kingdom had spent so much money on the navy, naturally expecting a return on investment. Over the years, Taren Kingdom's fame spread far and wide for expanding its territory at sea, all thanks to a strong and combat-ready naval force.

Compared to warships from other kingdoms, Taren Kingdom's were slightly larger and had a more slender shape, which made them look somewhat awkward.

Even more awkward was that Taren Kingdom's warships didn't use white sails but rather a light yellow color, making them highly recognizable.

Initially, Taren Kingdom's sails were brown, but due to inferior dye, they quickly turned a pale yellow after being exposed to the sun and sea winds.

Changing them was quite expensive, and there was no good solution to the fading problem, so Taren Kingdom just held its nose and tolerated it, continuing to use these light yellow sails.

"I really didn't expect someone to have built a town here for us. Hahaha." Standing on the deck, the commander of the Taren fleet joked with self-assured glee.

He wasn't afraid of battle and didn't think his fleet could lose. He was ready to outmaneuver the enemy's negligence—as long as the enemy hadn't built gun batteries on the most treacherous parts of the coastline, his chances of victory were great.

The enemy's warships would be blocked inside the port, destroyed by cannon fire before they could even set sail. And after losing their naval power, they typically chose to surrender in most cases.

Next would be the matter of diplomatic negotiations; sitting down for a tough talk, exchanging insults and attacks, until the losing side, holding their nose, acknowledges the defeat. Taren Kingdom would then secure another victory.

In any case, he seemed to have already envisioned the entire outcome of the affair.

"Sir, the wind is now in our favor!" The adjutant approached, with the flag marked with the steering wheel fluttering above his head.

He spoke with some concern, "Our fleet is advancing at full speed! However, this island is larger than we anticipated."

Taren Kingdom had not fully surveyed this island, and only now, as they truly measured it with their actions, were they realizing that it was indeed a case of 'the mountains are high and the emperor is far away.'

This damned island was huge; they estimated that their navy might not find the enemy's port as planned.

But if night fell, surely those fleeing would return early and warn their port. And if the enemy was prepared, the situation would be completely different.

If the enemy's warships weren't in the port but out at sea, then it would be a genuine test of naval prowess.

"It's fine, we haven't seen the end of this island yet, which suggests it's large. If we don't find the port before nightfall, we'll have ample time to wait and act first thing tomorrow morning," the fleet commander thought for a moment, comforting his adjutant.

According to his calculations, any potential deserters signaling the enemy wouldn't even reach half the speed of his own warships, and they couldn't possibly return to the enemy's port to inform them during the night.

What he didn't know was that, in the direction he was heading, a warship enveloped in dense smoke was charging towards his fleet at a high speed of 30 kilometers per hour.

Due to the headwind, the dense smoke rolling off the warship was swept up by the sea breeze and elegantly cast behind.

Atop the mast, a sailor with a telescope was carefully scouring the sea surface, aiming to find the potential enemy fleet and then send those enemies to meet their maker.

Standing on the bridge, the captain of the Brunas 4, his hands clasped behind his back, squinting, was waiting for his prey.

Like his counterpart, he didn't believe his warship would encounter any enemies at sea; those so-called enemies were nothing but his prey.

His warship was made of steel, his cannons were modern breech-loaders, and his ammunition explosive shells. He had no reason to lose any naval battle in this era.

Those wooden sailing ships were mere ants before him; once his warship spotted the enemy, it could easily sink them.

The prerequisite was, as long as he could spot the enemy…

Searching for targets in the vast sea could be tiresome since even if you knew the enemy was nearby, if the distance exceeded 40 kilometers, you could not detect the target with radar, given the curvature of the Earth.

The waters near Dragon Island were not a busy route, so emulating the previous tactic of Brunas 1, which annihilated dozens of transport ships along a shipping lane in one go, was not feasible.

Here, there was only the most primitive sea, uncharted and untamed, with one side bordered by the luxuriant island forest and its cliffs and precipices, and the other side the boundless ocean.

"Captain, we are fast approaching the central waters of Dragon Island… no enemy ships in sight," the officer reported, a trace of anxiety in his voice.

The captain did not take his gaze off the sea surface, instead offering reassurance without turning his head, "Don't worry. Not all ships can match our speed. Given the timing, the enemy should still be quite far from here."

"I hope we can achieve some merits in this battle… otherwise, those guys on Brunas No. 1 will show off to Commander Bernard again," the officer said, explaining his anxiety.

He was simply eager for battle, anxious that he might miss his prey and let the opportunity for accolades slip through his fingers to someone else.

The long wait before a battle always made people impatient. It was not until late in the afternoon that Brunas No. 4, speeding up to 31 kilometers per hour, finally spotted enemy sails on the horizon.

A sailor peering through a telescope spotted the pale yellow sails and the brown flags fluttering on the enemy warship.

He quickly turned back and shouted into the communication tube, "Directly ahead! Enemy fleet spotted! Enemy fleet spotted!"

Then the battle alarm sounded, and along the not-so-spacious corridors of Brunas No. 4, sailors could be seen rushing to their battle stations.

"They've finally appeared!" The officer breathed a sigh of relief after his excitement, picking up the telescope to look at the distant enemy sailboats as if they were golden hills floating at sea.

It felt like a big, bad wolf laying eyes on a little, white rabbit. He was already calculating his military achievements in his heart, fantasizing about boasting to his counterparts on Brunas No. 1 about his glorious battle record when he returned.

"We can see three warships, there must be more behind them. We can detour to open sea and engage from the flank," the officer suggested, putting down his telescope and looking to the captain beside him.

The captain nodded slightly, agreeing to the officer's plan, "Reduce speed to 20 kilometers! Adjust the course… Don't be too quick, there won't be time to fire."

"Understood!" The officer hurried off to relay the orders. Accompanied by the roar of the steam engine, Brunas No. 4 began to slow down.

Meanwhile, at each gun position, the soldiers had skillfully opened the breech and loaded the cannonballs into the chamber. They could not see the outside situation, and to them, war was like a routine job.

All they needed to do was get used to inserting one cannonball after another into the chamber within an enclosed space, then wait for the cannon to roar and repeat their skillful actions.

Before their own warship was breached and sunk, they were simply working rather than truly fighting.

Thus, they could maintain a tranquil mindset and methodically carry out the killing, just as their descendants would do 100 years later when operating drones.

"Loaded and ready!" Amidst the long wait, a loader closed the breech and loudly reported to the officer at his side.

This officer was the gun commander, responsible for deciding when to fire based on the correction parameters provided by the nearby aiming device.

On the distant sea, the Taren sailors on the sailboats had also spotted the strange, large ship cutting into their flank.

They could see the black smoke billowing behind the large ship and its slender side adjusting course.

This was a vessel longer than their sailing warships, and it looked like it was indeed a warship.

Because the Taren sailors, also observing their opponent closely, had recognized two cannons turning towards them from the increasingly clear silhouette of the opposing warship.

And the Dragon Banner flying on this warship clearly signified a connection to the unlucky fellow they had killed, as he had worn the same emblem.

"Cannons ready to fire!" Separated by about 1000 meters, facing each other, the Taren Kingdom's warships were also battle-ready.

At that very moment, on Great Tang Group's Brunas No. 4, the captain had issued the order, "Aim at the enemy ship! Fire when ready! Sink them! Avenge our comrades!"

Then, the next second, the front and rear main guns of Brunas No. 4 spat out flames. A plume of smoke billowed from the muzzles, and three cannonballs flew towards two different targets.

Filled with vengeance, the cannonballs flew the short distance of less than 1000 meters and slammed into the hulls of the enemy ships, bursting open into a ball of flames that devoured everything.

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