Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 230 Who is a good person who wears infantry armor when fighting a naval battle?
Before the first round of concentrated fire from the bastion fell, the third-class ship, Ocean Angel, attempted to retaliate.

"Open fire!"
How could these native Chinese just casually move a bastion to the sea?

This has already crossed the line into the realm of legendary warships!
The Donghai Kingdom, which has only been established for two generations, could never possibly possess such a treasure. Even our Eastern and Western Franchi combined only have three legendary warships.

Maybe it's just an illusion. Yes, an illusion! There might just be a large reef hidden there.

The Ocean Angel was equipped with 74 heavy shipborne guns, enough to overwhelm all cruisers, and a single salvo from it was extremely terrifying.

However, most of the shells were deflected by the steep, tilted walls of the bastion and failed to inflict any effective damage on the Mirage Cloud Dragon.

The main material of a conventional bastion is simply rammed earth, which does not require particularly strong materials. It is entirely within the range of transformations of the Mirage Cloud Dragon Ship, and its transformations are even more effective.

When the first salvo from the bastion finally came crashing down, their last shred of hope vanished along with the Knights of Heaven.

Many of the heavy 68-pound cannonballs continued their trajectory even after piercing the knight's phantom.

It easily pierced through the warship's half-meter-thick planks, shattering the bones of many Franz Joseon soldiers and crushing their invincible pride.

"My Lord! That really was a fortress!"

"The artillery they use must be hiding something supernatural; it has fierce firepower and a high rate of fire, and it is definitely not any of the models that we currently have in the Western Continent."

"Run! We're no match for them!"

Panic shouts echoed throughout the fleet.

According to military experts, it would take seven times the troops to besiege a bastion on land for a month. How could they possibly fight it with just a third-class ship with far inferior firepower and a group of cruisers?
To make matters worse, the two flotillas on the other side, which had been lined up in battle formation, had regrouped at a speed far exceeding their own thanks to the [General's Order].

Still in an upwind position, they created a wide turbulent zone, leaving them with no way to escape.

boom! boom! boom! boom! boom!
Attacked from both inside and outside, with artillery firing in unison, the keels of the Franco-class warships were frequently broken at close range by the coastal defense heavy artillery, and they sank into the sea with mournful cries.

Carlo's face was extremely ugly.

"Damn it, things shouldn't be like this."

He simply could not accept that their mighty maritime hegemon, who dominated the seas, would be defeated and annihilated by a peripheral vassal state of a land-based empire.

Now, their only chance of survival is to capture the leader first and take that fortress!
"Even if we can't take the bastion, as long as we can seize my target from there, any price is entirely worth paying."

Even losing the entire fleet and a third-rate ship would still be a great achievement in the eyes of the Eastern and Western Franco royal families.

He glanced at the [military priest] beside him and roared:
"Take a second deep breath, a breath of faith!"

The crusades and the Age of Discovery continue to resonate.

As the leader of the third breath and a participant in the second breath, the Sifrecce triggered the second deep breath of the bandit civilization.

The dark red military aura above their heads surged and coalesced into countless fierce battle lights and shadows, which suddenly slammed down on them.

Was the Crusades really just about faith?
of course not!

It is only the common people at the bottom who have no chance of returning who talk about faith, while the middle and upper-class elites are only concerned with profit.

At that time, the Zhao Song Dynasty in the far east opened up the Maritime Silk Road connecting the Red Sea, and large-scale intercontinental trade began.

However, in this trade process, the Western countries simply could not bear the huge costs and trade deficits brought about by the transshipment by the Semu people, causing the already poor countries to be constantly exploited by the infidels.

Is it okay to just accept it passively? The enormous trade volume monopolized by those Semu merchants could be used to bleed them dry through trade deficits.

Since a trade treaty cannot be reached, the only option left is to burn, kill, and plunder in the name of God!
This 200-year war was essentially a "license of plunder packaged in faith," much like the currently popular "license of privateering."

Like the East, the West has probably not had anything new in its history.

So when Pope Urban II proclaimed "Liberate the Holy Land" in 1095 AD, the nobles heard the echo "Gold from the East can be looted at will," while the merchants heard "Monopolize trade routes and reap huge profits!"
Then they turned around and robbed the Byzantine Empire, which shared the same faith as them!

Even Anna Komnenos, the princess of the Komnenos dynasty at the time, cried out in anguish: "The Crusaders are more ferocious than the Turks!"

faith?

What a liar!
The eight Crusades were not only religious wars, but also trade wars and bloody plunder.

The ability to take a second deep breath is to pursue faith, pursue wealth, and achieve a daily "rapid march and leap of faith!"

The Ocean Angel and its two adjacent warships were swept up by the crusaders in the sky, and in a flash, they jumped directly to the side of the bastion.

"Boarding! Jumping onto the board!"

"Kill them all!"

Compared to ordinary ground troops, they gained an unexpected advantage by attacking the bastion by warship.

The masts, often dozens of meters high, became excellent siege weapons, with Marines leaping onto the fortress walls on ziplines. Before, they were the ones who crushed others; when had they ever been so constantly controlled and frustrated as they were today?
Now they have finally entered the siege warfare they excel at. Their breathing echoes the deep breaths of the Second Civilization. The fierce military atmosphere and bloody stench make their blood boil and their strength surge.

But before they landed, they were hit by a barrage of hot lead bullets.

"Musketeers, three volleys, fire!"

At Wang Cheng's command, the musketeers, armed with flintlock muskets, formed a much tighter and more orderly formation than the matchlock musketeers and pulled the triggers.

Smoke billowed and fire rained down. Many people screamed as they fell into the sea while still in mid-air, only to be devoured by the guardian spirits and various masters raised by the [White Water Men].

It wasn't until the fourth-rank [Tide Knight] Carlo led his governor's guards to take the lead that the situation was turned around.

clang!clang!clang!
The slender, swift sword in his hand transformed into a streak of silver light, deflecting all the projectiles aimed at him.

Despite not swinging his sword many times, he defended the area impenetrably.

This is precisely the essence of the Supreme Art!

The essence of this swordsmanship lies in the "Marichesky Circle," where every movement, attack, and defense follows a pre-designed path, applying formulas to achieve offense and defense.

It was less a contest of courage and skill and more a mathematical competition that tested intelligence.

If we must compare it with a sword technique from China, then it must be "How to Mount Tai," which also requires the rapid calculation of the enemy's position, moves, and body shape!
Thanks to their swordsmanship, the Frankish Marines are the only country in the world to be equipped with lightweight, swift swords on a large scale.

The guards behind them displayed their superb swordsmanship, and quite a few of them were able to deflect lead bullets.

Seeing their bravery, Wang Cheng decisively gave the order:

"Load the shotgun! Fire!"

Countless scorching bullets transformed into lines of fire, sealing off all of Carlo's escape routes in mid-air.

The Tide Knight's eyes sharpened, and he drew a ripple-like circle in the air around himself with his Swift Sword. The incomparably sharp sword energy seemed to reject any external force from getting close.

At this moment, time seemed to slow down.

Even the water droplets splashing from the sea around him were directly shredded by his sword light, turning into a hazy white mist that swirled around Carlo, clearly outlining a spherical space with a radius of three meters.

Immediately, sparks flew everywhere, and the dense clang of metal against metal was deafening.

Countless bullets, shattered in half, fell to the ground with a clang, but not a single one could harm a hair on his head.

It was as if Carlo was the absolute ruler in this circle, possessing supreme dominance.

This is the strongest secret sword technique in the supreme art school, which only a few mathematical geniuses can master—[Secret Technique: Circle of Ritual]!
The "Ritual Circle" is a sacrifice offered to any enemy who dares to step into its territory, signifying absolute certainty of death.

It can be compared to the various killing moves in the Thirty-Six Paths Thunder God's Cloak and Mace, which combine magic and martial arts.

Carlo, with the terrifying command of a fourth-rank knight, finally led his guards to storm the fortress walls.

Just as they raised their swift and incomparably sharp swords, thinking they could finally unleash their fury,

"and many more!"

All the Marines, including Carlos, broke out in a cold sweat as they looked at their opponents.

But then they saw Wang Cheng's temple army ghost soldiers [Five Peaks Selection] drop their muskets, tear off their outer garments, revealing their full-body heavy armor underneath—infantry armor!

The infantry armor was originally the core equipment of the Zhao Song heavy infantry. It consisted of 1825 armor plates and weighed 60-70 jin (30-35 catties). It could withstand the slashing and arrow impacts of the Jin army's heavy cavalry!
The Donghai Kingdom's arsenal modified it, using hydraulic stamping technology to create an arc-shaped, integral breastplate, replacing some of the smaller armor plates, thus reducing weight while improving chest and abdominal protection.

The total weight is kept under 50 pounds, greatly improving flexibility.

The core protected areas, such as the chest, back, and head, are made of stamped, curved steel plates, which can even withstand lead bullets from muskets with an initial velocity of only 300 m/s.

The hydraulically driven rolling mill has extremely high efficiency in mass production of armor plates.

Under normal circumstances, if an infantryman were to fight a naval battle wearing armor weighing tens of kilograms, it would be like a Westerner wearing plate armor for a knight. If he fell into the sea, he would not have time to remove the armor to save his life.

Unless one is protected by the vast ocean like Wang Cheng, favored by the water class, and able to breathe underwater.

However, it's different on the bastion. There are walls all around and solid ground beneath your feet, so there's no need to worry about that at all.

Among them, one hundred of the Five Peaks Selected had colorful dragon scales embedded on their foreheads, transforming into small giants nine feet tall called the Five Directions Dragon Scale Soldiers.

The three flames of fortune, prosperity, and longevity are connected on his body, and he holds an iron mace, advancing forward like an indestructible steel wall.

"kill--!"

Swift Sword: Huh? Fighting heavily armored infantry?? Me??

(End of this chapter)