In the Name of Empress-Chapter 361 - 247: Surrender or Die

"What are they doing?"

Lisa, standing beside Roland, didn’t understand naval warfare. Watching the Perth launch a suicide attack, her heart was greatly shaken, and she murmured softly.

Roland didn’t look at Lisa nor did he specially explain.

His level of naval warfare was not much better than Lisa’s, but he could understand Perth’s sacrifice.

He slowly raised his right hand and saluted the sinking Perth and the sacrificed sailors.

"They are using their lives to pave the way to victory."

Even though he had a thorough estimate of the brutality of naval warfare, witnessing the fierce battle still accelerated Roland’s heartbeat.

The speed of the shells was extremely fast; he could barely see their rough trajectory.

In the face of large-caliber shells, all beings were equal.

Even a Tier Seven Transcendent could potentially be taken directly by a 32-pound cannon shot—except Sofia.

The Perth tilted severely and gradually sank into the ocean.

Her sinking also paved the way for the subsequent battleships.

As the Perth tilted, the distance between the Monarch and the Valmy was less than five hundred meters.

Even though the Jin Yuan Fleet loaded quickly, this distance couldn’t organize a volley.

A boarding action was about to begin.

Bridges let out a sigh of relief.

He had no time to mourn the passing of his good friend Grelinn; he had to be fully focused on the upcoming command.

At the cost of a battleship and hundreds of elite sailors, they finally turned the disadvantageous T-crossing into a basically equal boarding battle; his command was impeccable.

But this didn’t mean certain victory.

There’s controversy over whose army is stronger between the Jin Yuan Kingdom and the Vladimir Empire, but Sussex’s land warfare ranks at best third.

The boarding battle tests not naval warfare but land warfare.

Fortunately, the jump board warriors aboard the Monarch were all elite.

Here were the governor’s guards, the heroic troop that participated in the defense of Helentz Castle, and young capable officers like Tom and Jerry.

The space on the Valmy was incredibly large, almost like a sea fortress, carrying over fifteen hundred soldiers.

Using combat power superiority to compensate for numerical inferiority, this was bound to be a bloody battle.

Bridges bit his lip and looked back at the top deck.

Governor Roland was there overseeing the battle.

He very much wished Roland, the strongest combatant, would personally lead the charge onto the enemy ship, but he held back.

He had no authority to issue orders to Roland.

Unless Roland was willing, no one could force him to take risks.

Bridges didn’t think Roland would personally charge.

He couldn’t think of a reason for Roland to take the risk. Before the boarding battle began, there was the brutal act of lining up for execution.

Governor Roland was the Empress’s partner, of course, couldn’t gamble in the hail of bullets.

After all, bullets are blind to rank and wouldn’t recognize whether you were a governor or not.

Not to mention governors, even emperors, would surely die under gunfire.

Bridges squinted and touched the chest armor under his jacket.

This was bear hide armor gifted by Governor Roland, reportedly made from demonized giant bear skin, capable of stopping bullets.

Soon he would personally board the enemy ship and take Vernaf’s life.

He hoped the bear hide armor’s actual effect hadn’t been exaggerated.

This was his greatest wish.

If he had to die, he would at least hold on for the victory of the naval battle.

The distance between the two battleships was getting closer.

To prevent friendly fire, the ship cannons ceased firing, and the sailors came to the upper deck, raising firearms for a shoot-out.

The eight hundred warriors aboard the Monarch were elite, and Valmy was no different.

The soldiers on this battleship were from the Imperial Guard Fifth Regiment, a historically renowned unit that was once the Emperor’s Imperial Guard of the Old Empire.

After the coup in the Jin Yuan Kingdom, the Emperor was executed, but the organization and designation of the Imperial Guard were retained.

Despite its oddity under the Republic, to preserve the honor and tradition of the army, the flexible Jin Yuan People chose to respect tradition.

Their combat power and courage were in no way inferior to the warriors of the Monarch, and they were more numerous by twice.

With the officers issuing orders, the Imperial Guard quickly lined up neatly, with the first row of warriors half-crouching, and the warriors in the second and third rows interspersed, aiming their guns. Countless black muzzles were like the sickles of the Death God, ready to ruthlessly reap.

Seeing this scene, Bridges’ expression slightly changed.

The boarding battle was his last chance, was this not viable?

He forcefully dispelled the shadow of defeatism lingering in his heart, stirred himself, drew his sword, and prepared to leave the command room, personally leading the frontline troops onto the enemy ship.

Just as he left the command room and was about to go down to the deck, a figure flashed, and Roland was standing in front of him, looking at him with a not-quite-smiling expression.

"General Bridges, do not leave your post; your position is there."

Roland pointed to the command room.

Bridges shook his head, defending himself.

"I’m not leaving my post. This battle is very perilous; I must be on the front lines myself."

"Who will command the fleet? Does your deputy have your skills?" Roland spread his hands.

"This..."

Bridges wanted to be stubborn, but his deputy truly lacked experience and had never commanded a large fleet in a naval showdown; this was the truth.

Roland patted his shoulder and said with a smile:

"Bridges, return to your post immediately; this is an order."

"Understood!"

Bridges saluted Roland, but still quietly protested, "A boarding action needs courage and momentum, a strong leader is necessary."

"I’ll do it."

Roland pressed down with one hand, signaling Bridges to hush, and said in a deep voice, "I may not be good at naval warfare, but when it comes to breakthrough assaults, no one is stronger than me."

Bridges thought of the Helentz Castle battle where Roland personally led the special operations team in a mountain assault, turning the tides, naturally knowing this was not bragging.

He did not argue, nor did he dissuade, but earnestly saluted Roland.

Back at his command post, Bridges’ heart nearly jumped out of his throat.

If anything happened to Roland, he wouldn’t have enough heads to chop, even with nine.

He could only pray silently for Roland, believing that Roland would create another miracle.

When Roland arrived at the front line, the first round of gunfire had already ended.

In the exchange of shots, where hits depended on faith, the Jin Yuan People had a slight advantage.

After all, they had the numbers.

Although many of Sussex’s elite warriors wore wolf leather armor, this armor could only protect vital areas and wasn’t very effective.

Feeling the thrill of guns and cannons firing in unison, Roland was also driven by adrenaline.

He summoned the Holy Shield, blocking in front of him, standing with his soldiers, his heartbeat like a fast drumbeat.

Some screamed, some wailed, some died.

More people were fixing bayonets.

This distance allowed for only one volley, so instead of wasting time reloading, it was better to prepare for a bayonet charge.

"Bullets are for fools, bayonets for heroes!"

It was unclear who started shouting first, but then the warriors on both sides joined in.

Although the languages used were different, most people could understand a bit of the opposing side’s speech.

Some who understood were momentarily stunned, nearly distracted on the battlefield to ponder life.

But this was the battlefield; they had no time to ponder life.

The two ships collided, and boarding began.

The Monarch was smaller in tonnage, and its deck was more than a meter lower than the Valmy.

This height difference was crucial. The Valmy’s warriors could easily jump down, while the Monarch’s warriors had to climb.

The height difference put the Monarch’s warriors at a disadvantage at the beginning of the close-quarters battle.

Seeing this, Bridges’ expression changed slightly.

He knew there was a height difference between the decks but didn’t realize it was so much.

He continually gave orders, having the warriors in the rear continue shooting for support.

At this range, shooting would surely cause friendly fire, but he couldn’t worry about that.

Friendly fire was better than the line collapsing.

As long as the bullets didn’t hit the governor, it was fine.

"Bang!"

A stray bullet accurately hit Roland’s back. Fortunately, the Moonlit Silver Armor’s defense was remarkable, easily dispersing the impact, not causing a fatal wound.

Roland only felt a blow from behind, causing some pain.

He knew it wasn’t a targeted shot, just friendly fire.

Without time to curse his bad luck, Roland threw all the smoke bombs hidden in his silver armor.

The terrain was unfavorable, so he used smoke as a cover.

The Jin Yuan People never dreamed that a smoke bomb would appear in a naval boarding fight, leaving them bewildered.

Amid the confusion, Roland leaped high, landing on the Valmy’s deck.

He held a rapid-fire short gun in each hand, pulling the triggers, continuously killing several people, creating a path for boarding advance.

Barely having time to reload after depleting his bullets, Roland casually holstered the pistol and grabbed the Hidden Moon Staff.

Made from the Ginkgo Tree Marrow Core, it had exceptional toughness and stiffness, perfect for naval boarding combat.

Roland didn’t even need to use special martial arts; he moved swiftly through the enemy lines, targeting enemy officers and sergeants.

"Duang!", "Duang!"

Like smashing watermelons with a hammer, each of Roland’s blows could crack an enemy’s skull open.

Using such attacks wasn’t effective in expert duels, but it was more than enough against these soldiers.

As Roland leaped onto the enemy ship, Lisa, who accompanied him, also sprang into action.

She followed him onto the enemy ship, unleashing scorching flames that turned a dozen enemies into fireballs.

These unfortunate fellows screamed and struggled, madly running around, further disrupting an already chaotic line.

Amidst the chaos as junior officers were decimated by Roland, the line was unable to hold, and a soft singing arose.

The song of the Sea Demon came from the ocean.

The second movement, Chaos.

Munina, lurking beneath the sea surface all this time, finally found her chance to sing.

The Jin Yuan People knew about the Sea Demons and had mature methods to resist their enchanting song; starting the song before the battle didn’t work well.

She was waiting for an opportunity.

An opportunity where the Jin Yuan People were too occupied to care about the threat below the sea surface.

When the chance came, she certainly wouldn’t waste it.

Munina recalled her tragic life, the near extermination of the Graham Clan, channeling her anger into her song, adding a few more layers of power.

The Chaos Overture, indiscriminate attack.

Fortunately, Munina was sensitive to the propagation range of sounds, carefully allowing the song’s range to cover the side of the Valmy, causing greater harm to the Jin Yuan People.

With the dual debuffs of the smoke bomb cover and the Sea Demon’s song interference, even the elite Imperial Guard couldn’t withstand it, and Roland forcibly opened a path.

Roland didn’t even glance at the fiercely fighting deck; he shouted to Lisa, instructing her to stay on deck and help the soldiers in the fray while he dashed toward the command room as fast as possible.

As long as Vernaf was captured alive, the Jin Yuan People could be forced to surrender.

Roland kicked the door open with a strong kick.

Gunfire thundered explosively, shrouding the command room in thick smoke.

Vernaf, holding a strangely shaped gun, laughed wildly.

That idiot Roland actually tried to single-handedly decapitate?

This was the result of archaeological excavations, a large-caliber shotgun loaded with single-slug rounds, capable of blasting even elephants to bloody shreds—let alone a human body!

As the smoke dissipated, Vernaf was about to check on Roland’s corpse when a staff emerged from the smoke, pressing against his forehead.

It was the supposedly dead Roland?!

Vernaf was dumbfounded.

Roland, his entire body enveloped in golden light, smiled like a little fox, "Surrender, or die."