Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

"Red Sulfur Island is surrounded by dense reefs, with only Red Sulfur Harbor as a natural deep-water good port. Tomorrow morning, the fleet will head toward Saint Hiliary Beach. After the tide rises, the lead squadron will take small boats to land first on the Saint Hiliary Beach and establish a temporary camp. If the enemy on Red Sulfur Island thinks to attack us at this opportunity, the second and third battalions' troop transports will directly run aground on the beach; the strength of three battalions should be enough to resolve..."

Before the Vice Admiral could finish, a messenger came running from the cabin with a thump thump thump, interrupting him.

As per military law, anyone who barges into a military council without permission is to be hanged.

The messenger, trembling with fear, lowered his head to avoid the unfriendly gazes of the ship's officers and hurried forward to hand Antonio a piece of paper.

Antonio, who had been silent throughout the entire military council, glanced at the paper, slightly arched his brow, and said indifferently to his subordinates, "The Red Sulfur Island Council has surrendered."

——Cut——

In the midst of the scorching sun, a warship with all its cannon ports open slowly moved toward Red Sulfur Harbor, firing a round of blank shots at the bastion guarding the entrance to the bay in a display of might.

Along with the thundrous sound of cannons that echoed across the entire bay, a white flag was raised at the top of the bastion.

Immediately, a deafening cheer burst from within the Vineta Fleet.

The soldiers and sailors were, of course, overjoyed that they didn't have to fight to the death.

However, the land force officers had a sour taste in their mouths; from the beginning of the campaign until now the armies had virtually no chance to showcase their prowess. The Navy took all the credit, even the surrender of Red Sulfur Harbor without a fight—obviously, this was also due to the great victory at the battle of Lantern Harbor and had nothing to do with the army.

Along the coast of Red Sulfur Island, cliffs and hidden reefs were everywhere, with only Red Sulfur Harbor being a natural good deep-water harbor.

However, the bay itself was shaped like a gourd with a narrow entrance which was easy to defend but difficult to attack. The Tanilians had even built a formidable cannon bastion at the entrance to the bay, which was why the initial battle plan didn't consider a direct naval assault on Red Sulfur Harbor at all.

"Why would they surrender just like that?" Andre cursed angrily, frustrated with the Red Sulfur Island Council, "Block the entrance to the harbor with an iron chain, what ship could enter then? Relying on their natural defenses, they should at least put up a fight, right? How could they just surrender like this?"

"Enough, isn't it a good thing no one has to die?" Bard said helplessly. Explore stories on empire

Winters nodded in agreement; although he also felt it was somewhat baffling, not having to fight was always a good thing.

"The Navy fought the battle, the Navy took the glory, we've become the Navy's dependents..." Andre continued to grumble dissatisfied.

From inside the prow cabin of The Glorious, General Nalesho politely inquired with Antonio, "General Serviati, shall we dock now?"

"Please wait." Antonio, for once, voiced a differing opinion. He signaled one of his lieutenants: "You lead my guard to that bastion, invite all the Tanilians out, and nail shut all the cannons inside that face the water."

"Is that really necessary?" Nalesho was slightly taken aback, "The cannons in the bastion will still be needed to defend Red Sulfur Harbor in the future, won't they?"

"Your Excellency General, although we have no intention of resistance, must you humiliate us like this?" The envoy from the Red Sulfur Island Council was also somewhat indignant.

Antonio said with a smile, "Just to be cautious. If we need these cannons in the future, we can drill them open again, even if it's a bit of trouble."

Nalesho hesitated, but in the end agreed to Antonio's arrangement.

The entire fleet waited outside the bay, watching as The Glorious lowered a few boats, carrying dozens of soldiers slowly rowing toward the bastion.

The originally exuberant atmosphere began to quiet down, as the soldiers and sailors, confused by the flagship's actions, began to grow restless.

After nearly an hour of fuss, someone finally waved the army flag on top of the bastion. Seeing the agreed signal, Antonio's solemn expression eased a bit.

General Nalesho sighed and waved to Kalaman, his first officer. The order spread from The Glorious to the entire fleet, and the ships pulled up their anchors and entered the bay.

"Why make such a fuss for so long?" The second officer, stationed at the helm, asked Kalaman in confusion.

Kalaman snorted coldly, "What else could it be for? Isn't it just that the army is jealous of us? They want to swipe some credit too, it's an old tradition of greed for the army..."

Because the entire bay was nearly gourd-shaped, after entering it, the water became much more expansive. However, the shore was still rugged with boulders, and there was no place for large ships to dock.

Proceeding further, the leading ships could already see the docks of Red Sulfur Harbor and the bastion next to it when Antonio once again called a halt to the fleet.

Kalaman, furious, left the prow cabin to issue the order for all sails to be taken in.

"General Serviati, I can understand your concerns, but you really needn't worry so much," Nalesho resignedly shared some naval secrets with Antonio, "The Red Sulfur Island Council and the Navy had extensive communications prior to this, and both sides did not wish for Red Sulfur Island to be destroyed by war, which is why the Council chose to switch allegiances."

"Do you truly intend to switch allegiances?" Antonio asked the Council Envoy seriously, particularly obstinate today.

"Otherwise, why would I be here?" The envoy from the Red Sulfur Island Council retorted sharply.

"Fine, then let one of my hundred-man teams occupy the bastion at the harbor first," Antonio said, word by word.

The envoy responded angrily, "What do you mean by this, Your Excellency? We're switching allegiance, not surrendering!"