After being forced to step down, the once-annoying nun eloped with me.

Yang Hao felt sympathetic towards this: if nothing unexpected happened, Arthur would soon have to hold weddings for his more than twenty lovers—although he didn't know how Viya would react, they were all family now, and he hoped that they could live happily together.

I also hope that Arthur doesn't actually die on a woman's belly at this crucial moment, really.

They began discussing the details of the recent developments.

Meanwhile, at the seaside... after overcoming numerous hardships, the Ysgard fleet finally arrived at a sea area less than five days' journey from Drake Harbor.

They received word that Drake Harbor was now sparsely defended, with all the Romans preoccupied with the threat from the north, making it the perfect time for their invasion!

The fleet commander of Ysugard, with a grand gesture, ordered a portion of the ironclad and steel-hulled ships to harass the coast of Aleser before confidently announcing...

"With sufficient supplies, we can conquer the entire Roman territory within three months!"

He appeared confident, knowing that the Roman army was easily defeated.

Chapter 10: The Fall of Drake Harbor (8K)

......

On March 2, Drake Harbor was peaceful and quiet. The residents who worked and lived in the port talked about everything that had happened in the central and northern regions as if it were a ghost story. Few people thought that a fire so far away would burn their own heads.

Amidst the shouts of the veterans and the vast majority of new recruits who remained at the port as they practiced their patrols, the merchants chattered amongst themselves, hoping to make a fortune together after carefully selecting valuable intelligence.

"Although what everyone is saying seems so outrageous, the point is... the food supply in the central region and the north is really tight right now, right? I've seen quite a few reports lately of grain transport wagons being robbed along the way... how about we go and pull off a heist together? If the wagon is big enough, no one should risk attacking, right?"

One of the businessmen muttered to himself, while the others nodded in agreement.

In the Roman Empire, the crime of "profiteering from national crisis" did not seem to have yet emerged—but the profit-seeking instincts of merchants made them realize that the life-or-death crisis of the country was actually the best opportunity to make money!

Why do you say that?

On the one hand, when a nation is on the verge of collapse, it will naturally spare no expense in procuring the necessary resources for war and fighting to the death. In this situation, it will inevitably release large quantities of gold and silver treasures that were previously inaccessible, giving merchants the opportunity to make a fortune with minimal investment—and the only price is a few insults, nothing more.

On the other hand, even if the country were to fall, the impact on these merchants would be negligible. After all, merchants are a nomadic group who go wherever there is money; they are not bound by anything other than national laws and taxation. Talking about patriotism with the merchants of the Roman Empire is less meaningful than explaining the importance of birth control to rats.

Under these circumstances, it is quite normal for merchants to intend to continue making money at this critical juncture when the Roman Empire is falling apart.

"But aren't they a bit too reckless?" the merchant from Isgard smirked, standing on the platform of the tavern room, looking down at the Roman merchants on the street. They really were too reckless; they hadn't considered that a larger caravan meant a larger and stronger enemy to attack.

They only saw the huge profits that the caravan might bring! They didn't even consider the risks they would face... a group of short-sighted, profit-driven people.

When they first saw the Regent's various plans, they must have acted recklessly with the mindset of "not considering anything if there's no short-term benefit, but flocking to anything if there is." In the end, they even exiled him.

How can we build a nation and a bright future by associating with such short-sighted and profit-driven people? It's not that we can't do it, but... why should these people have a place in the new nation that we've worked so hard to build?

The merchant from Isgard muttered to himself, calculating that it was about time. He secretly returned to his room, took out the magic mirror used for magical communication from the drawer, locked the doors and windows, and muttered to himself while looking in the mirror:

Where are we?

The mirror shimmered faintly, and then a man's powerful voice came from within it:

"We'll reach the outskirts of Drake Harbor in half an hour. With the mages' camouflage, the Romans probably won't be able to see us from the lighthouse—but the Alessar fleet is a good problem."

"The Alessar fleet has indeed been patrolling frequently lately. More importantly, once you capture Drake Harbor, you won't have to worry about food—the merchants in the port are already planning to use the grain in their warehouses to make huge profits in the north. If you still want to avoid going hungry, you must take this place before they leave the city."

"I know. My guys are ready, the landing craft and everything are maintained, and we can head to the port at any time. How about yours?"

"Everything is fine. I'm quite comfortable except for the unbearable urge to beat up those Roman merchants—and the main force of the military region doesn't seem to be here, so you can hurry up. Otherwise, I'm afraid I'll lose my temper and start beating people up myself."

At this point, the merchant from Isgard paused for a moment before adding:

"Also, those things on the towers of the Roman coastal city walls aren't cannons, they're catapults and ballistae. Don't worry about them posing a threat to you; our minimum range alone is much farther than their maximum range. Just bombard them!"

As the largest port in the Roman Empire, Drake Port naturally has ample defensive facilities.

However, to the people of Isgard, these so-called "sophisticated" defensive devices were practically useless to the knights.

The Romans had to use catapults and ballistae to counter the naval guns that could fire from several kilometers away, and iron chains specifically designed to restrain large wooden warships to counter the agile landing craft. They also had to use outdated crossbows to deal with breech-loading guns with an effective range of several hundred meters.

They dismantled their own factories, sold off the only steam rifle that could rival Ysgard's advanced rifles, killed the intellectuals who could lead the country to a better future, and even exiled the regent who was the only one who could save the Roman Empire.

What is this?

The Isgardian pondered. Even the most foolish idiot wouldn't do something like the Romans. Are they really the same species as us?

Perhaps it was because the Roman emperor and regent had protected these barbarians too well that they mistakenly believed they possessed supreme power and strength, and that they were invincible.

But in reality, aren't they just a bunch of emaciated, starving idiots who think they're superior because a group of strong men can't beat them?

...Never mind. They're finished anyway.

The merchant from Isgard hung up the phone. After having a delicious meal brought over by the hotel waiter, he quietly awaited the arrival of the fleet.

At the same time, on the sea, the fleet of Ysgard had made effective progress.

The Alessar fleet was forced to leave the coastline surrounding Drake Harbor.

On the one hand, it's because Drake Harbor has been really peaceful lately, and on the other hand, the auxiliary magic cast by the mages has camouflaged the entire Isgard fleet to be almost the same color as the sea, making it impossible for anyone to detect the Isgard fleet from a distance.

On the other hand, some small fleets of the Isugardians had appeared off the coast of the Arethean island nation. They imitated the Aretheans' past actions, hoisting pirate flags on their ship flagpoles and harassing the remote towns of the Aretheans with cannon fire, forcing the Arethean homeland to send out distress signals.

For Alessar's fleet, one side was their homeland, and the other was their nominal ally. Naturally, they chose their homeland over their ally, and naturally they left the coast of Drake Port, leaving the entire Drake Port almost completely undefended at sea.

This is a good thing—although the Alessars did leave some ships for defense, those wooden-hulled ships were nothing to Ysugard's fleet!

You can't expect some iron-hulled wooden boats still using ballistae to pose a threat to ironclad warships with large-caliber cannons, can you? They might be able to fight merchant ships with their maneuverability, but against real ironclad warships with cannons? That would be suicide!

"Have the mages cancel their [disguise] and unleash strategic support spells like Eye of the Sky—although there's a huge amount of magic here, we must use it sparingly."

The commander of Ysugard roared, looking at the port lighthouse of Drake Harbor not far away and the ships entering and leaving the port. He knew that victory was just around the corner.

"Once you get close enough to engage, prioritize bombarding the towers facing the coast! Blow up all the equipment on them, then help the landing forces create a landing port leading to the inner city, and subsequently reinforce the infantry!"

"Have the Griffin Riders take to the skies to prepare for air support, assist the infantry in capturing locations within the city that are difficult for the fleet to support, and seize the top floor of the enemy fortress in preparation for the subsequent [airborne] attack!"

"Remember to have all infantry protect the grenadiers. After capturing the bridgehead, immediately move the small cannons from the merchant ships out to provide reinforcements for the upcoming battle!"

Following the commander's orders, the fleet of Ysgard changed formation in an orderly manner.

After the mage's [camouflage] ended, the Ysgard fleet finally revealed its dark colors on the sea—[camouflage] is Ysgard's strategic magic, using magical power to add camouflage to friendly forces, thus hindering the enemy's long-range observation capabilities, allowing them to suddenly appear under the enemy's noses and launch a swift attack...

The Isugards achieved countless victories using this method. They firmly believed they could continue to triumph over the Romans.

They were full of confidence. From commanders to rank-and-file soldiers, they all believed they could achieve final victory.

Meanwhile, in the distance, the Roman lighthouse, noticing the sudden appearance of an entire fleet, frantically rang the bells signaling an invasion.

Clang—Clang—

The bells rang incessantly, and several Alessar warships were visibly sailing out of the harbor. They were not launching a fearless attack directly on the Issugard fleet; they knew very well that being trapped in the harbor would only lead to their demise, so their choice was naturally to evacuate before the harbor was sealed off.

But the commander of Issugard was already prepared. Two Schrizin-class ironclads had already blocked the only routes from Drake Harbor to the north or south. Completely surrounded, the few Alexei wooden ships could only grit their teeth and try to break through the defenses of one of the Schrizin ships.

But, after all, they were just wooden boats.

In the vision seen by Commander Ysugard through the [Eye of the Sky] and [Sand Table] magic, accompanied by the rumbling cannon fire and explosions from the Schrizin-class ironclads, the wooden ships that attempted to bypass the Schrizin blockade line eventually sank.

"Thank you to the researchers! Thank you to the scholars who fled the Roman Empire for developing the three acids and two alkalis for us! Thank you to the President for her massive investment in military and technology—if it weren't for the scientists developing the [high-explosive shell], we might have only been able to try to sink the wooden-hulled ship again and again with those solid shells instead of blowing it up directly."

Commander Ysgard shrugged as he looked at the wooden ships in the sand table, now shattered by high-explosive shells. After clearly seeing the overall defensive layout of Drake Harbor through the [Eye of the Sky], he immediately ordered all ironclad ships to launch wave after wave of bombardment against the towers of the coastal walls.

While the griffon riders took to the air, Commander Ysgard used the [sand table] to confirm the landing points for the ironclad ships' bombardment. After half an hour of relentless bombardment, confirming that all the defensive structures on the towers had been destroyed, he ordered the infantry to begin their landing, while simultaneously ordering the ironclad ships to blast at least three gaps in the infantry's path.

"Urban warfare... I just hope our losses in urban warfare can be minimized."

He stared intently at the red dots representing the Roman army densely distributed throughout the inner city on the sand table—Isugard's naval guns could not provide support to the infantry without destroying the buildings within the city, while the various facilities within the city were the basic guarantee for the Isugard colonial army for a long time to come... So, urban warfare could only rely on the efforts of the infantry.

The commander watched as more and more landing craft were launched from the merchant ships. He watched as the landing craft quickly bypassed the iron chains raised in the harbor, and watched as shells, even faster than the landing craft, struck the distant city walls.

Looking at the shattered breaches in the coastal city wall, and then at the pieces of corpses flying into the sky with the explosion, he shook his head and sighed:

"The Romans have dismantled all their foundations; now, they are finished."

......

"We're doomed! How can we possibly fight those enemies?!"

In the inner city of Drake Harbor, Barney, the current garrison leader, sat in despair in the fortress, letting out a desperate scream as he watched the intelligence reports from his staff that the front lines were in dire straits.

The reason was simple: the intelligence he received was simply too terrible. One minute he received news that the tower's defenses had been destroyed, and the next minute he received news that the city walls and gates facing the coast had been breached.

Before Barney could take any action, an even more devastating message arrived: the Isugardian landing ships were more agile and swift than they had imagined. They had bypassed the winding waterways formed by the iron chains, and while the Roman soldiers were still recovering from the explosions and fear, more and more Isugardian soldiers landed on the docks with strange weapons and used cover to precisely pick off the Roman archers stationed on the relatively intact city walls.

Their weapons could shoot even farther than the archers on higher ground! Each resounding thud meant an invisible arrow was being fired at their side. More importantly, those things didn't seem to be able to be stopped by traditional wooden shields...

One after another, warriors died with their shields pierced and blood gushing out. The archers, besides firing pointless projectiles, could only cower behind the battlements, trembling, or simply abandon their posts and retreat from the wall.

But the powerful siege engines of the Isgardians could often blast the walls they were on to shreds before a squad of archers could even retreat... How on earth did these Isgardians manage to do that?!

Barney was utterly desperate. What made him even more desperate was that the morale of his own army had long been on the verge of collapse due to the strength of the Issugardians.

They were not only unable to maintain order in the inner city and keep the residents at home, they also lacked the courage to even hold a weapon.

If General Dreschka hadn't left behind some veterans before leading the main force to resolve the Western disputes, and had barely managed to maintain the last vestiges of discipline under their reprimands, the inner city might already be in utter chaos.

What to do? What should he do? Barney racked his brains. He hesitated about handing over the city, but then he realized the importance of Drake Harbor. If he did, he would bear the greatest responsibility. Even if the Isugardians didn't kill him after the war, General Dreschka and the nobles of the Roman Empire wouldn't spare his wife and children...

Barney gritted his teeth and decided to persevere—it didn't matter how many of his soldiers died, as long as he was captured heroically after putting up countless acts of resistance, then even General Dreschka wouldn't do anything to his family.

As long as it makes my capture seem "heroic," as long as... as long as...

Barney was sweating profusely when he suddenly heard the sound of wings flapping from the window. Was it a bird? Annoyed, Barney ordered his guards to chase the bird away, but the soldiers by the window looked bewildered and at a loss.

"General... General?! Those aren't birds at all, they're... they're Ysgard griffon riders, and those dragons ridden by their soldiers?!"

The guards' panic stunned Barney: Griffin riders? How could that be! Griffins, those delicate birds of prey, could never adapt to life on a ship, let alone be transported by Isugard from their continent to the continent where the Roman Empire was located! This was simply impossible!

What's more, a dragon, a dragon ridden by soldiers?! Let's put aside the question of whether such a legendary creature as a dragon could possibly appear here... a dragon ridden by soldiers?!

That's impossible! Dragons are legendary, incredibly proud creatures. How could they possibly allow anyone other than a dragon knight to ride on their backs?! That's impossible!

So you guys are hallucinating, aren't you?!

"Let me see! You fucking bastards, don't try to fool me—"

Barney rudely squeezed to the window, pulled the stunned guard aside, and then stuck his head out of the window.

[Swish—]

Just then, the thing that Barney had just been shouting "Impossible!" flew right in front of him—

It was a knight riding a griffin, carrying many bottles and jars, and behind him, protected by a red dragon, also clad in armor, carrying more than twenty elite Isgard soldiers who wielded two short swords, wore armor, had crossbows on their arms, and carried new-style rifles with sawed-off blades on their backs.

The Isgardians wearing edelweiss epaulettes seemed equally stunned, as no one expected someone to peek out of a window inside the fortress at this critical moment. They were all dumbfounded, just like Barney, and didn't know what to do for a moment.

Then, the griffin rider threw the bottle directly at Barney's face, and Barney, quick-witted and agile, screamed and pulled his head back.