Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 229 Wait a minute! How come there really is a city here?!

Even if other countries are unwilling to admit it, the East and West Franchis, who divided the world equally according to the "Papal Meridian," were undoubtedly the maritime hegemons of this era!

This Tier III battleship, a perfect blend of cutting-edge shipbuilding technology and mysticism, brought about a stunning reversal of the battle as soon as it arrived on the battlefield.

These Siefrangers were the pioneers of the "Third Deep Breath" Age of Exploration.

Since Prince Enrique gathered artisans, navigators, and sailors to establish the earliest maritime academy more than a hundred years ago, he not only became a high-ranking Heroic Spirit himself for this achievement.

The nation of Westfranki was also granted the power to summon "three deep breaths" to aid in battle.

Its neighbor, the East Francois, also received this honor thanks to the far-reaching influence of the British Empire, which was the source of their confidence in ruling the seas.

During the Age of Exploration, explorers on the Pyrenees Peninsula were both crusaders and merchants.

Historians have commented that the sails of the Eastern and Western francs carried both the sacred sound of church bells and a frenzied desire for gold!

Before times change, no one can stop these "darlings of civilization".

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The Marines, known as invincible in the fleet, roared in anger.

The first to suffer were Uncle Zhang and his squadron, who had not initially distanced themselves but instead used a breaching tactic to attack the flank of the Frankish fleet.

The waves raised by "Ocean Breathing" suddenly pushed them together, and the distance between them rapidly returned to zero.

The tall, breech-loading sailing ship slammed into the relatively small East Sea Kingdom warship. The marines immediately launched grappling hooks, preparing to secure the two warships together.

Once boarding action begins, it will inevitably end with the annihilation of one side; neither side can escape.

Zhang San, a fifth-rank chef, hurriedly lit the stove and burned incense, unleashing one of his family's signature techniques—"Universe Within Folds, Distant Horizons":

"Old Zhang, let me ask you, where is your hometown?"

"My home is in the center, thirty li away from the filling. When a diner takes a bite, a stone tablet appears, which reads: 'This place is indeed thirty li away from the filling.'"

Transparent folds, resembling steamed buns, appeared in the air, turning what was originally a mere few dozen meters into an insurmountable barrier.

No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't catch up. In fact, the East China Sea Fleet was able to use the wind to their advantage to increase the distance between them and continue firing back.

Unfortunately, due to insufficient number of "kitchens" in the fleet and their lack of combined strength, Zhang San could only evade the opponent's attack with his flagship and the three warships behind him.

Wang Cheng was quick-witted and acted promptly.

He took out his iron-framed bow and, using his skill of shooting the halberd at the gate, imitated King Qian shooting the tide, killing the tide god in the water.

"middle!"

With the combined power of the entire fleet, the arrows, carrying the scorching heat of a furnace of yang energy, struck that section of the tide, instantly extinguishing the spirituality hidden within.

Wow!

The section of the tide where the two armies were entangled collapsed, and the Franco-Gesellsmoke warships that had been lifted up fell back into the sea.

Although several of our warships were drawn into boarding action and had to use the military manual "Detailed Explanation of Naval Siege Warfare" (Boarding Action Tactics) to fight the enemy, most of them managed to escape successfully.

However, Wang Cheng, who was the primary target and directly confronting the charging [Ocean Angel], did not find it so easy to dodge.

Two arrows were fired in succession, but they failed to shake the "third deep breath" of this bandit civilization.

As the two sides drew closer, the pressure on the entire squadron increased.

The vague consciousness of the [San Diego] conveyed a somewhat ambiguous suggestion to Wang Cheng:

"Lord, the Santiago can take over to buy time for the other warships. I can do it."

This living warship had long since become one with the elixir of immortality.

The "Kidney Flower" on the ship belongs to the water element, and its restorative ability is its strength. It can draw on spare materials and the wood of the Kidney Flower to repair itself, and its impact resistance is far superior to that of ordinary sailing warships.

It should be able to withstand a third-class ship without being smashed to pieces on the spot.

"You can rest now. I was prepared."

Wang Cheng rejected the proposal for a living warship.

Under the eager gazes of his generals and the Five Peaks Chosen, he raised his hand and drew a white mist from his Niwan Palace, which manifested in the minds of everyone on the warship as a 42-zhang-long black dragon boat.

It was that besieged version of the Mirage Cloud Dragon Ship!
The unique properties of the material allow it to travel in a dreamlike world independent of the real world, making it extremely secretive.

The Mirage Cloud Dragon Ship can travel freely wherever marine life exists, but it will be forced to return to reality once it reaches a place where life has disappeared.

With the addition of Wang Cheng's abilities as the "Imperial Patrol King of Jinghai" and the "Debt Collector," he can freely jump between the various debtors as guiding lights, further compensating for the lack of the Thunderfire Cardinal.

After all, as the second-generation Sun of the Donghai Kingdom and the Tanka people, there are far too many people in this world who are unaware of his kindness.

However, facing such a behemoth as a Tier III battleship, he showed no intention of backing down.

Instead, he looked up at Baron Carlo, who stood proudly at the bow of the ship, and laughed loudly:
"Good timing!"

I admit that the Frankish tactics were indeed very powerful. We couldn't defeat them by relying solely on linear tactics. So, now it's time for a real naval siege warfare tutorial.

"Mirage Cloud Dragon Ship, transform into a bastion!"

call--!
The mirage churned, and a thick fog instantly enveloped the battlefield, drastically reducing visibility. Carlo remained unfazed at first.

No matter what kind of warship from history blocked his way, he dared to ram it into a third-class battleship and smash it to pieces.

The first mate and the Marine Corps captain next to him had the same mentality.

"Our Marines are invincible."

Countless naval battles have proven that the franc galleon is the highest and strongest wall on the sea; from this superior position, we have never lost.

"Unless someone can move coastal artillery and fortified mountain cities to the sea as well. Hahaha."

The whole boat burst into laughter.

Even the priest who had come with Carlos was smiling, clutching his cross, finding the lame joke hilarious.

It's just as funny as that joke I heard when I first came to China: "The Lord has two Confuciuses in his hands, so he is more powerful than him."

But as the distance between the two sides rapidly closed.

When Carlo and the grinning crew members on board saw what was visible through the fog, their smiles froze on their faces.

"This is.!!!"

Ahead of the fleet, a three-tiered, concave-polygonal military fortress, entirely black and gleaming with the color of cast iron, actually appeared.

In the three-layer structure, the bottom layer appears to be completely solid, with only a small gate at the front and back, and a convex corner bastion at each of the four corners equipped with numerous short and stubby cannons.

The second layer also consists of four convex-cornered fortresses, nested with those on the first layer, leaving no blind spots in defense.

Upon seeing that familiar shape, Carlo and the elite soldiers of his homeland who had sailed across the ocean to the East almost groaned as they uttered its name:

"Crown Bastion!!!"

Such fortresses may be completely unfamiliar to Easterners, but in their eyes they have long been a nightmare.

Just ten years ago, King Henry II of France captured the city of Metz in the Lorraine region and stationed 5800 troops there.

Holy Roman Emperor Charles V personally led an army of 45000 to besiege Metz in an attempt to retake it.

Even though as many as 7000 shells were fired in a single day at its peak, the Shinra side suffered heavy casualties a month later.

Their main asset was the military fortress known as the "Crown Bastion," famous for its crown-shaped nested bastions.

In this era dominated by firearms, old-style castles have long been obsolete; bastions are the most formidable shield in land warfare.

It is said that even with a 7:1 numerical advantage, it would take about 20-30 days to capture the smallest bastion.

Of course, they are at sea.

Putting aside how formidable the crossfire of the Crown Bastion was, any oak sailboat that dared to ram it head-on would surely be smashed to pieces instantly.

"Hard to left! Turn quickly!!!"

It was Carlo, the fourth-rank [Tide Knight], who was the first to react and took the initiative to release the waves of "Ocean Breath," though his voice was unconsciously so high-pitched that it became somewhat distorted.

The helmsman wasn't blind; as he shouted, he steered the Ocean Angel to a sharp turn, narrowly avoiding the fortress by scraping the edge.

But before they could even catch their breath, the flagship that Carlo had initially been on roared up behind them.

"Oh no! Aaaaaaah!"

These unfortunate ships, their view blocked by the towering third-class ships, were unable to dodge in time and crashed into the bastion from the side.

Like an egg hitting a rock, a tooth-grinding, ear-piercing "crunch" rang out, and half of the hull at the right rear stern instantly exploded into wood chips.

It continued to rush forward for several dozen meters before collapsing and sinking into the sea. Even the excellent anti-sinking properties of oak could not save it from such a devastating accident.

This is not the most terrible thing.

On the third level of the fortress, Wang Cheng had already led his most elite imperial guards to stand ready, the gleaming iron-bared flying thunder cannons beside him baring their fangs.

No matter how large a warship is, even a super-class ship equipped with 140 cannons, the heaviest cannon weighs no more than 42 pounds.

But their bastion not only had 150 42-pound cannons, but also 30 terrifying 68-pound heavy fortress cannons.

Seeing that the "Ocean Breathing" effect had disappeared, the Franco warships were all reduced to their original pitiful maneuverability, and their formation became a complete mess. Wang Cheng made a hand seal and shouted in a low voice:
"Summon General Iron Rod Flying Thunder to the altar!"

As the wind blew, nearly two hundred heavy cannons, which had been blessed by the Silversmith, flashed with magical light, condensing into the phantom of a golden-armored general.

Under their command, most of the artillery pieces within the firing range automatically adjusted their firing angles and completed aiming.

"Fire!"

Wang Cheng waved his hand.

boom! boom! boom! boom! boom!
Rolling thunder tore through the sky, and countless brilliant lines of fire stretched across the heavens.

With almost a single strike, it shattered all the [Knights of Heaven] within a one-kilometer radius; those towering, mountain-like phantoms vanished into thin air with a gust of wind.

The Frankish people who witnessed this scene were collectively speechless.

The Easterners not only learned their bastion technology, but they also made better cannons than they did.
(End of this chapter)