"Your Highness, urgent report." Tagel hurried into the study.
This was Seaview Manor on Shilovas Island,
He could blame it all on that show-off Adrioli. The moment the rainy season ended, Lorist had received a letter from the Barony of Dina — Adrioli had given him another little princess. In the letter, Adrioli told Lorist she'd named the adorable baby Illy, and — entirely as expected — the child had been given the surname Dina. Adrioli also reminded Lorist not to forget to prepare a generous dowry for little Illy someday...
Well, that letter from Adrioli had sent Princess Silvia into a frenzy. The pregnant Diliana and Mariya didn't care much either way, but the other two concubines, Fenagali and Daisy, were equally unwilling to let things lie — they were determined to bear Lorist children as well. He'd spent the entire winter at it and finally managed to get Daisy pregnant too, but Princess Silvia and Fenagali still hadn't conceived. With half of April already gone, Lorist finally used the upcoming campaign as an excuse to escape their clutches and set off for Shilovas Island.
Women were nothing but trouble, and Lorist really couldn't understand what went through the heads of those harem-building stallions. Take having children, for example. Silvia naturally wanted her son to have full-blooded brothers to rely on in the future — after all, Andebel's current status was that of the
But having children wasn't something you could just will into existence. Apart from the usual intimate exchanges between man and woman, it also came down to luck. Take the matter between the sexes itself — it was supposed to be a wonderful thing. Once a day was stimulating, and Lorist found it relaxing and pleasant. Twice a day was normal, and he could handle it. Three times a day — well, as a Sword Saint, he could manage. But four or five times a day while also ensuring equitable attention for half a year straight? That was torture. Even with Lorist's considerable constitution, excellent health, and high cultivation, he couldn't endure such abuse. The problem was, he found it hard to refuse Princess Silvia and the others when they were driven half-mad with wanting children, so he had no choice but to cooperate and keep enduring the mix of pain and pleasure...
Once he arrived on Shilovas Island, with no women around, Lorist immediately felt as though the sky was boundless and the sea was wide. The air was fresh, and his spirits soared at once. Before, when they'd all shared one bed, he'd woken up for morning exercises with legs like jelly. Now, sleeping alone, he rose each morning brimming with energy, his qi fully condensed and vital. This forced Lorist to concede that the ancients of his previous world had been absolutely right — lust was a steel blade that scraped the bones. At least he'd finally made it through...
When Tagel entered the study, he found Lorist reclined in a lounge chair, basking in the April sunshine with his eyes half-closed, drifting between sleep and wakefulness. His leisure was justified — this was the calm before the storm, and Lorist still needed to wait for the last batch of retrofitted armed warships arriving from the shipyard at Ox Horn Bay in North Sea City before he could decide on his next move.
After the rainy season, Admiral Samba Wood of the North Sea Fleet and squadron commander Toke continued to take fourteen thunderbolt warships out on rotating patrols. Unfortunately, during this period they hadn't encountered a single patrol warship from the Invincible Fleet, and even smuggling vessels were exceedingly scarce. From Hidden Gold Bay to the Golden Sea Route along the continent's southern coast, the waters were eerily silent — gone were the days of a thousand sails competing for passage.
This was clearly abnormal. Samba Wood had even risked venturing into Hidden Gold Bay to scout for intelligence, only to be driven out by the heavily guarded Fourth Squadron. Meanwhile, Tagel, as the head of the Norton family's Wollibeir Intelligence Bureau, hadn't been idle either — he'd sent agents disguised as smugglers into Hidden Gold Bay. But once these operatives were dispatched, they'd vanished like stones dropped into the sea, with not a single report coming back.
"Mm..." Lorist rolled over and sat up. "What is it? Has word come back from Hidden Gold Bay?"
"Your Highness, nothing from there yet. But intelligence has arrived from the Qigeda Kingdom — the Invincible Fleet's First Squadron, along with a fifty-thousand-strong Qigeda reinforcement army, has already set out for the Qikede Trading Company's territory to rendezvous with the Second Squadron there, before escorting a massive convoy of supply-laden merchant ships northward back to Hidden Gold Bay.
Additionally, our agents report that once the Invincible Fleet's First and Second Squadrons return to Hidden Gold Bay, they will launch an expedition into the northern seas. Their objective is to seize Shilovas Island and completely eliminate the threat our family's North Sea Fleet poses to their sea routes and Hidden Gold Bay..." Tagel reported.
"Is this intelligence reliable?" Lorist's expression turned grave. If this information was accurate, then the recent calm on the seas suddenly made perfect sense. The Commercial Alliance's Invincible Fleet had been holding back, preparing to deal the North Sea Fleet a devastating blow.
The intelligence told Lorist three things. First, the Invincible Fleet's two squadrons would combine to escort a massive quantity of military supplies, provisions, and reinforcements to Hidden Gold Bay, rather than letting the transport ships sail unescorted and risk being intercepted by the North Sea Fleet. The sheer volume of supplies in this convoy would be staggering — absolutely critical to the Commercial Alliance.
The responsibility for this weighed heavily. Those previous fifty thousand Qigeda reinforcements had been utterly destroyed during that disastrous retreat — wiped out in a night raid by the
Now Qigeda had sent another fifty thousand troops to the Commercial Alliance, which only underscored the Alliance's determination to fight the Second Prince to the bitter end. If they didn't find a way to deal a devastating blow to the Commercial Alliance and break its ability to carry on, this bloody war would continue until one side or the other — the Commercial Alliance or the Andinak Kingdom — collapsed entirely.
The third point was that the Commercial Alliance had already recognized the threat the North Sea Fleet posed to their maritime transport and the Invincible Fleet itself. They had resolved to eliminate this enemy while the North Sea Fleet was still short on ships and troops. Seizing Shilovas Island was meant to cut off the North Sea Fleet's maritime supply base, rendering it unable to threaten the Commercial Alliance's shipping and the Golden Sea Route ever again.
"Your Highness, this intelligence is highly reliable. Back when you had me send agents to the Qigeda Kingdom to gather information on Duke Fosta the Sword Saint, I dispatched two operatives. They traveled across the continent as veterinarians before settling in the Qigeda Kingdom. After this year's rainy season, they discovered that the Invincible Fleet's First Squadron was preparing to sail, and that Duke Fosta himself was about to lead his elite Firebird Corps on an expedition.
So they sought out familiar officers to make inquiries and learned that the First Squadron would sail to escort the Firebird Corps to the Qikede Trading Company's territory, rendezvous with the Second Squadron, and head north to Hidden Gold Bay. They then used the pretext of wanting to return to
After confirming the Invincible Fleet's departure date, they paid a smuggling vessel a handsome sum to sail independently. On the sea route toward Morant City, they happened to encounter Lord Toke's patrol squadron. After reporting their mission, they were brought back here. They reported that due to the time needed to gather supplies, both squadrons of the Invincible Fleet would set sail on May tenth. The convoy of supplies and reinforcements would number nearly eight hundred ships..."
Tagel's words made Lorist draw a sharp breath. Eight hundred transport ships packed with supplies and reinforcements, plus two squadrons of the Invincible Fleet — that amounted to over twelve hundred vessels in total. In the entire history of the Galentea Continent, there had never been a fleet of such staggering scale. Compared to the North Sea Fleet's current thunderbolt warships, the ratio was nearly one hundred to one.
"That transport convoy absolutely must not reach Hidden Gold Bay!" Lorist said. It was easy to imagine what would happen. If the Commercial Alliance received those eight hundred-plus ships full of supplies and reinforcements, they'd be firing on all cylinders. They could very well achieve overwhelming superiority on the Mana Hill Plains against the Second Prince, perhaps even crushing the Andinak Kingdom's noble coalition outright. At that point, no amount of Norton family reinforcements could turn the tide — and he couldn't very well throw Norton family troops to the front lines to bleed themselves dry against the Commercial Alliance...
"Genorio, send the guards to summon everyone for an immediate war council to discuss our response. And bring me a hundred Gold Forde," Lorist ordered.
Soon, Genorio appeared before Lorist carrying five heavy black money bags trimmed with gold thread. Each such bag contained twenty Gold Forde coins.
"Tagel, please deliver these hundred Gold Forde to those two dedicated intelligence agents on my behalf. This is an additional reward from me, the head of the Norton family, in gratitude for the critical intelligence they delivered to us in time. The family will not forget their contribution."
"Yes, Your Highness. I will convey the reward and the family's gratitude to them." Tagel bowed in reply.
"Good. Make it quick — you need to be at the war council too." Lorist waved him off, then stood before the nautical chart, deep in thought.
At two in the afternoon, the main reception hall of Seaview Manor was packed to the brim. All those attending the war council were senior officers of the North Sea Fleet — captains and above. After Tagel delivered his report on the Invincible Fleet's movements, the hall erupted in clamor. Nearly everyone was stunned by the intelligence. A convoy of over twelve hundred ships — even with the North Sea Fleet's bronze cannons as a long-range striking advantage, it would be impossible to destroy even half of them as sitting ducks. And the enemy was far from defenseless.
The more aggressive faction demanded that the North Sea Fleet take the initiative and continue executing Sea Wolf tactics — nibbling away at the elephant one bite at a time, destroying as many ships as they could through attrition. The problem was that only fourteen thunderbolt warships could currently carry out Sea Wolf tactics. The other armed warships retrofitted with bronze cannons lagged far behind in maneuverability and handling, and didn't even have a speed advantage — they simply couldn't keep up with the thunderbolt warships to coordinate Sea Wolf operations.
The more cautious faction advocated pulling back to fortify Shilovas Island's defenses, ensuring the Invincible Fleet couldn't seize it. They believed that as long as Shilovas Island held, the passage of time would inevitably doom the Commercial Alliance's Invincible Fleet. The fourteen thunderbolt warships could continue their Sea Wolf attacks, and surely the enemy couldn't build ships faster than they could sink them. Sooner or later, Hidden Gold Bay would ripen like a fruit and fall into the Norton family's hands.
But Lorist countered: "And if we let this massive transport convoy reach Hidden Gold Bay? If the Commercial Alliance's forces receive ample supplies and reinforcements, they could very well defeat the noble coalition under His Majesty's command and march to the borders of our family's territory. At that point, what use would holding Shilovas Island be?"
He swept his gaze across the room. "I've made my decision. We must intercept this transport convoy. Even if it means fighting a full-scale naval battle against the Invincible Fleet that costs us the entire North Sea Fleet, it doesn't matter. The North Sea Fleet can be rebuilt. But this transport convoy concerns the ultimate outcome of the war between our Andinak Kingdom and the Commercial Alliance. If we let the Commercial Alliance bring the flames of war to our family's borders, the cost of driving them back will be far greater.
The enemy's fleet is enormous — an unprecedented scale. But don't forget, over eight hundred of those ships are nothing but transport vessels and merchantmen. Their armaments pose no significant threat to us. Our true opponents are simply the Invincible Fleet's two squadrons — three to four hundred ships serving as bronze cannon targets. What is there to fear? Don't forget our North Sea Fleet has just been equipped with five hundred bronze cannons."
Lorist was right. Besides the three hundred-odd naval bronze cannons that Master Cid had urgently completed, Lorist had also loaded onto the ships the two hundred land-use bronze cannons and the entire artillery battalion under Swart's command. Those five hundred cannons were the foundation of Lorist's confidence in fighting a decisive naval battle.
"Today is already April twenty-fourth. The intelligence says the Invincible Fleet's supply convoy will set sail on May tenth. We absolutely cannot let them sail unimpeded to the decisive battle site. Samba Wood, you will continue to lead the thunderbolt squadron toward the Qikede Trading Company's territory. The moment the enemy leaves port, hit them with Sea Wolf tactics..."
Samba Wood stood up. "Your Highness, there's a problem — the thunderbolt warships can't reach the Qikede Trading Company's territory. It takes seventeen days to get there from Shilovas Island, but our thunderbolt warships have a cruising range of only about twenty days at sea. Along the Golden Coast of the Sunshine Waters, our family has no ports where we can resupply..."
Twenty days of cruising range included the round trip, so under normal sailing conditions, the thunderbolt squadron couldn't possibly reach the Qikede Trading Company's territory unless it was a one-way journey with no return.
Lorist laughed. "If we don't have one, we'll build one ourselves. It takes five days from Shilovas Island to Hidden Gold Bay, and another day from Hidden Gold Bay to Erniba Port. I plan to lead the sixteen retrofitted whaling ships and over sixty medium and large armed warships to the Sunshine Waters off Erniba Port, establishing that as our base camp and the site of the decisive naval battle. Your thunderbolt squadron can resupply there as a staging point for sorties."
"Your Highness, no — that's far too dangerous. What if the remaining warships of the Fourth Squadron in Hidden Gold Bay sally out and harass us from behind?" Samba Wood shook his head, unwilling to see Lorist take such a risk.
"Don't worry. By month's end, Uncle Torin will bring the remaining forty-odd retrofitted warships back to Shilovas Island. He can monitor the Fourth Squadron in Hidden Gold Bay and handle supply transport. Time waits for no one — to turn this window of opportunity into victory, we have to act now! That's final. Everyone, go prepare yourselves. We set out in two days!" Lorist made his decision.
"Yes, Your Highness!"
...