Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World-Chapter 720: The Fleet Sails South

TL: Rui88

As soon as he returned to the Northwest Bay, Paul received a piece of news that greatly astonished him.

The small port he had leased in Horn Bay had actually become a target.

The discussion with the members of the Administration Council was quite pessimistic.

“The other side is forcing Liszt to give a reply within a time limit. That’s not even enough time for a mail ship to make a round trip. They might have already attacked by now, or… Liszt has already surrendered!”

“The latest news was brought back by a merchant ship yesterday. The Church’s army has set up camp outside Lion’s Port. The reason they gave was for the unified deployment to attack Fort Ness, but it’s clearly a deterrent against us.”

“We don’t know if the firearms we sent earlier are enough.” 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Listening to everyone’s discussion, Paul suppressed the waves of anxiety in his heart.

He could only confirm two points: “No matter what, Lion’s Port cannot be handed over to the Church, and we cannot send troops to assist them in attacking Fort Ness.”

Lion’s Port was the link that allowed the merchant ships of the Northwest Bay to sail directly to the east. Losing this place meant that the transportation of goods from the Northwest Bay would have to be entrusted to others.

And sending troops to assist the Church was even more impossible. On the one hand, for him to bypass Crystal Shine and participate in a war on the territory of another country was legally unjustifiable. On the other hand, he was not loyal to the Holy See, so how could he let himself be led by the nose?

In the end, Paul decided to exercise his right to self-defence.

This world did not follow the principle that if a lord commands his subject to die, the subject must die. Not to mention the Holy See, even if the King of Ordo wanted to deprive a lord of his life and property without a just cause, that lord had the right to defend himself.

Of course, if you could not defeat him, that was also tacitly considered a “just cause,” and the Horn Bay Church had clearly listed this as one of their just causes.

“No matter what, we must send someone to take a look. If Lion’s Port has not fallen, we will strengthen the defences there. If it has fallen, then we will take it back!”

Paul angrily gave instructions to the crowd.

With the rise of maritime trade and the shipbuilding industry, the sailing ship construction technology of the Northwest Bay had made great strides. A notable feature was the increasing tonnage of the ships.

But the Alda Navy had long been the sole dominant power, with no major maritime force as a competitor. Their main function was to eliminate various pirates and pacify the seas.

So, unlike on Earth where new technology was prioritized for military use, the Alda Navy’s progress in ship tonnage had always lagged behind that of civilian merchant ships.

After a long period of accumulation, combining tonnage and function, the Alda Navy began to have clear classifications for its various warships. Generally, those over a thousand tons were called battleships, those between five hundred and a thousand tons were called cruisers, and those smaller were collectively referred to as auxiliary ships.

Soon, a fleet including one battleship, fifteen cruisers, and thirty auxiliary ships was organized. Commanded by Admiral Quik, it set off for the south in a menacing fashion.

This battleship was named the Sea Fortress. It was the first and currently the only battleship built by the Alda Navy, converted from a large merchant ship and highly experimental in nature.

She had a full three decks and was equipped with ninety cannons of various types. When moored in the harbour, her towering hull and densely packed gunports could make anyone seeing her for the first time think that the navy had moved a castle onto the sea.

Accompanying the fleet south were three Naval Infantry Battalions—taking advantage of Alda’s military expansion, the navy had also expanded the scale of its marine corps.

…

In the Speaker’s Office of the Fort Ness Council, Marcus smoked his pipe, the rising blue smoke unable to conceal the worry on his face.

The door opened and Marquis Foster walked in, sitting down opposite him.

Marcus asked, “Have you settled your family?”

Marquis Foster nodded. “I’ve sent them all to Ordo. What about you?”

Marcus gave a bitter smile. “To the Northwest Bay of Ordo, I suppose. That place is still too far for me. I have some relatives in Eton.”

The Marquis worried, “If we can’t hold on here, Eton will be in danger too!”

Marcus sighed. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it! Let’s focus on the present. The whole of Fort Ness is filled with anxiety right now. I feel like we’re going to collapse on our own before the Church’s army even breaks in!”

Marquis Foster’s brow was tightly furrowed. He made a suggestion: “Give out money!”

“Give out money?”

“Yes!” The Marquis said, gritting his teeth. “Open the Alliance’s treasury, take out all the remaining money, and use it to motivate the people to fight! Let them know that if the Church’s army breaks into the city, this wealth will be stolen. People will naturally fight hard.”

“This…” Speaker Marcus hesitated for a moment. “I don’t think this will be very effective in improving our city’s defence, and the Church’s army will definitely plunder when they break in.”

Marquis Foster did not quite understand. “If we keep it in the treasury, won’t it still be stolen when the Church’s army breaks in?”

“Look… how about this?” Marcus hesitantly voiced his own idea. “We transfer the remaining money to our allies, for example…”

Marquis Foster frowned. “Eton?”

He shook his head again. “Do you trust them that much? I still think it’s better to give it to our own citizens.”

“With this wealth, we can still go to our allies and continue to organize resistance.”

“They might feel that it would be more effective for them to use this wealth themselves, rather than a group of people from a fallen nation.”

The two argued in the office for a while about the handling of the remaining treasury, but in the end, neither could convince the other.

“Then let it be decided by a vote of all the councillors tomorrow.”

The two reached a consensus. It was the only way.

Marcus brought up another matter. “Robin has sent a message. This is his final contribution to his homeland.”

Foster’s brow relaxed. “Contribution? Is he so sure it will be useful?”

Marcus nodded. “The people of Ordo in Lion’s Port feel offended and are very angry, while the Church feels that the people of Ordo are ungrateful. The confrontation between the two sides is intensifying.”

Foster said with displeasure, “Then Robin should have continued to add fuel to the fire, to deepen their conflict, instead of just stopping there and calling it his final contribution.”

Marcus disagreed with his statement. “No, his situation within the Church is very dangerous. It’s already quite something that he could plant this seed. Besides, he is not the kind of person who has formally sworn allegiance to the Alliance.”

“A two-faced man!”

“In any case, do not contact Robin again until the situation turns around. It’s better to leave someone who is willing to help us than to have him exposed.”

Both the New Protestant Army and the Crusader Army, engaged in war, had planted numerous spies within each other’s ranks. The “Robin” Marcus spoke of was not truly a spy for the Alliance within the Church, but merely someone who, due to his origins, sympathized with the Alliance and was willing to provide some help while ensuring his own safety.

Marquis Foster sighed. “That seed that was planted, I wonder if Fort Ness can hold out until the day it sprouts.”

Marcus patted his shoulder. “Let’s do our best!”