Munitions Empire

Off the coast of Osa Port, two Brunas-class ironclad warships, belching black smoke, were engaged in a fierce artillery battle with the fleet of the Poplar Kingdom, which was in disarray within the harbor.

The artillery battle was truly intense. Tang Mo's ironclad warships incessantly fired cannonballs into the hulls of the Poplar Kingdom's ships, while the Poplar warships kept firing their cannonballs into the sea.

The scene seemed extremely fierce, but the situation was already one-sided on the battlefield. The Elf Navy was being destroyed, and they were trapped inside the harbor with no way to escape.

Gazing at the distant cannons that couldn't reach his own ship, the captain of the Brunas No. 2 warship sneered and ordered, "Port side! 310 meters! Adjust firing parameters!"

"Port side! 310 meters! Firing parameters adjusted!" The weapons officer, standing not far in front of him, immediately repeated the order.

They could see the twin-mounted cannons on the deck in front of their own bridge slightly adjusting the elevation of their barrels, then fixing them in a new position.

"Fire!" the captain ordered softly. They were actually at a distance where the enemy ships could return fire, so after reloading, he immediately gave the order to fire.

And a distant Elf sailing ship also fired a dozen cannonballs, which struck and left some imperceptible, shallow pits on the armor of the Brunas No. 2 warship.

The weapons officer shouted loudly, "Fire!"

"Boom!" Accompanied by his shout, both the visible bow turrets and the invisible stern turrets roared together, as three cannonballs flew into the midst of the Elf fleet.

The explosions threw up spouts of water higher than lighthouses, simultaneously blasting an Elf warship completely in two.

Soon after, the Brunas No. 3 warship, following close behind the Brunas No. 2, also fired a broadside, turning another wooden sailing ship of the Poplar Kingdom into splinters.

Warships armed with large-caliber naval guns and explosive shells indeed had an overwhelming advantage when facing wooden sailing ships. Leveraging this massive advantage, the two ironclad warships moved like mighty dragons through the water, unobstructed as if in uninhabited territory.

Already battling for nearly an hour, Osa Military Harbor at this moment seemed to depict the end of the world, a scene of devastating bleakness and somber valor, as ammunition and provisions ran out.

The naval fleet of the Poplar Kingdom stationed here comprised 18 warships, along with the originally deployed defense fleet, totaling 22 warships, and there were also 4 armed merchant ships responsible for transport.

Including the coastal defense units and the harbor guard troops, there was a legion of 1,500 men, plus another 500 men assigned to a coastal artillery battery unit.

These land forces together had 30 cannons, most of which were deployed on the Osa artillery batteries, facing the sea to blockade the harbor.

The current situation was that 26 warships blocked within Osa Military Harbor were struggling in fierce combat, with little hope of holding out much longer.

Of those, 10 warships had already sunk, and at least another 6 had lost their ability to fight.

The Poplar Kingdom had suffered heavy losses this time; their numerical advantage in the navy had been wiped out, and they were now in a complete disadvantage even compared to several neighboring countries.

And the pressing issue was that even though they still had a numerical advantage, against two such bizarre and formidable warships, they dared not claim they could be victorious.

Indeed, they couldn't even save their own warships. No matter where they hid, they were relentlessly attacked and destroyed by their opponents!

Among the remaining warships, there was no longer a flagship. The commander of the Elf fleet, who was also the overall commanding officer, had just managed to swim ashore, now gasping for breath as he lay on the stones of the breakwater.

It was fortunate that the fierce battle erupted within the harbor, so the distance from the fleet to the dock was not too far, which allowed the waterborne Elf soldiers to swim back to shore and seek a chance for survival.

However, the warships they controlled could not go ashore, so these sailors could only watch helplessly as their comrades' ships ended up with only their masts rising above the sea surface.

"Damn it, how did they come here?" The thoroughly soaked commander of the Poplar Kingdom's fleet watched his ships nearing annihilation and asked in angry disbelief.

Calculating the time, these two warships with exceptional sailing speed must have headed north shortly after encountering the attack by the 12 warships from the Poplar Kingdom traveling south.

Perhaps... it was the southern-bound 12 warships that had provoked those fearsome enemies, causing them to abandon the Southwater blockade and furiously advance to Osa.

Thinking of this, he truly regretted. Had he known the enemy was so ferocious and difficult to deal with, he would not have divided his forces into 12 warships to provoke such adversaries!

The delays in information had cost the Elf Navy dear. They had lost more than half their forces, and most of them still didn't know who the enemy really was, where they had come from...

"General... The Walnut has sunk... Our fleet is scattered, but it doesn't look like they can break through..." A soaking wet officer staggered over and reported the distressing news in disarray.

They had already been defeated. In this situation, no one could escape responsibility. Therefore, everyone was downcast and in despair.

Because they needed to find every possible way to explain how their 26 warships were effortlessly annihilated by the enemy's two warships...

Moreover, including the losses in support of Southwater, the Poplar Kingdom had already lost 36 naval ships, as well as at least 40 armed merchant ships, sunk.

For a country that relied on the sea, this basically represented the loss of more than half of its naval maneuvering force.

For a navy that prized mobility and flexibility, this was virtually no different from losing combat capability. In fact, Poplar Kingdom's sea transport was paralyzed, with Southwater Port unable to recover even one-fifth of its original throughput.

The two smoke-belching warships before them showed no signs of stopping. Their guns still roared as the few remaining warships on the sea, finally overburdened, began to sink slowly.

After sinking all the warships in sight, these two ironclad warships actually approached the dock and used the deck guns to shell the city district and castle built far off at the port.

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Huge explosions destroyed a corner of the castle, and black smoke rose from the city district as well. As chaos ensued within the city, explosions also occurred at the battery, causing several black smoke plumes to roll up as if monsters were struggling and tearing in the sky.

Then, as many drenched navy sailors watched, the two warships sailed away, seemingly not wanting to stay a second longer.

Looking at the two receding smoke trails, the total commander of the navy fleet who leaned on the large rocks of the breakwater, let out a breath. Unbeknownst to him, he had developed a deep-seated awe for those two warships.

He feared those warships that came and went like shadows and wind; he feared hearing those dull cannon blasts; he feared seeing the water columns that the explosive shells stirred up, towering higher than lighthouses...

Even as he watched the two warships depart, he was still frightened. He knew that even if his 30 warships had been present, today he would still be the desperate one being beaten down in the water.

"I hope they won't come back," he finally voiced his inner thoughts, for he feared that he wouldn't have the chance to say such words afterward.

Having lost almost half of the Kingdom's maritime forces, his role as the naval commander was essentially over.

"Yes, let's hope we never have to engage with an opponent like that again," the equally drenched deputy commander slumped down, looking at the gradually calming sea surface, and similarly expressed his thoughts.

In less than two hours, Osa Port, the Poplar Kingdom's largest military harbor, was thoroughly ruined.

To recover, they at least had to salvage these sunken warships — the good news wasn't all gone, at least in the shallows, they might be able to recover all the Shireck muzzle-loading guns from the warships.

Though they were damaged beyond use, melting them down and re-smelting... could actually somewhat compensate for the losses...

The day after the two Brunas-class warships disappeared from the sea surface, a few Knights escorted an officer, rushing to the main gate of Osa Port's castle.

"Are they still here? Are they still here?" the leading officer asked breathlessly as he dismounted from his horse, not minding his weakened legs while being supported.

"Who?" the Osa military officers and guards, busy cleaning up the port, looked at the messenger who had come from afar and asked. They had been preoccupied in the last day and did not immediately realize who he meant.

The officer adjusted himself, took a large gulp of water from the flask handed over by someone next to him, and, regaining some strength, immediately asked, "The two ironclad warships..."

"You're too late... they've already left," the disheartened naval general answered upon receiving the news.

"They didn't, didn't cause any damage, did they?" the officer immediately asked, tense.

"... You've been through a lot. Maybe you should rest a bit first?" the naval officer could only shamefully bring the conversation to a close.

That messenger officer immediately frowned, emphasizing the importance of his message, "Damn it, they've already attacked the port? How bad is the damage to the fleet? Marquis is waiting for a report on the losses and battle details!"

The naval general, knowing he couldn't keep hiding the truth, braced himself and answered, "All our warships were inside the harbor..."

"Well, that's good," the messenger officer let out a sigh of relief.

However, the news he received next almost made him faint.

Because, he just heard the naval general continue to explain, "No, you don't understand, they've all sunk inside the harbor..."

"What?" The officer was stunned upon hearing this, then became utterly dismayed and finally fainted away.

It took a while for those around to wake him again, and as he opened his eyes, he insisted, "Send, send the message back to Southwater... Fast! It has to be fast..."