Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Theoretically, this fleet with over forty large ships combined with the Third Legion on board was enough to handle any enemy on the inland sea.

However, some small slips occurred at the very beginning...

The navy liaison sent ashore looked at the position of the sun in the sky, then at the level of the seawater, and said to Antonio with resignation, "Your Excellency, your men need to speed up the boarding process. Otherwise, it's going to be very troublesome after the tide goes out. We can only wait for it to rise again in the middle of the night."

Antonio had also been worried about this issue. He pointed to the floating pier and said, "This kind of low-floating pier means climbing onto the ship, my soldiers can't go any faster. Relying only on these two piers is definitely not enough. Let the big ships lower their boats, and row people up in the smaller boats. There needs to be coordination when transporting people in the smaller boats; my troops' organization must not be disrupted."

The navy liaison, who held the rank of colonel, felt Antonio had a point. He nodded at Antonio, hurried to the shore, rowed a boat back to The Glorious, and passed on the message. Since the Vineta Army and the Navy did not use a common system of ranks, the soldiers from both branches did not need to salute each other.

Antonio watched as the navy liaison officer left, leaving only a few army field officers by his side. Looking at Colonel Kongtai'er who seemed hesitant to speak, Antonio patted Kongtai'er on the shoulder, "If there's something on your mind, just say it."

"Isn't it a bit too hasty to deploy the troops now?" Kongtai'er asked with a concerned expression, "We've only just completed rallying today. Shouldn't we at least give the reservists a week of drills?"

Antonio looked at the other field officers beside him. These few field officers, including Kongtai'er, were Antonio's trusted subordinates. If they also had doubts about Antonio's strategy, he would have to provide clear explanations.

Antonio countered, "The key to this war isn't how thoroughly we prepare but the gap between the enemy's preparedness and our own. Those five reservist battalions are not of much use now, but I still have five elite Standing Army battalions with you. Meanwhile, the Tanilians have nothing. They are still each led by individual captains and plantation owners with their small bands of men. Drake struck first and destroyed Haidong Port, so we must also seize the opportunity."

Kongtai'er still looked worried, "But after all, we only have five battalions of the Standing Army, whereas each of the main islands of Tanilia has a population of around a hundred thousand. Our numbers are still too few."

"Of course, we can't expect to conquer an archipelago with just one legion. Our current objective is to win a battle and boost the morale of the Republic, to tear open an entry for the subsequent offensive." Antonio added, "If even you think I shouldn't deploy the troops now, what would the Tanilians think? If we can take them by surprise, we've already gained the upper hand."

"But can we really catch them unawares?" Kongtai'er pointed to the colorful figures on the dock of Haidong Port, "Sea Blue City has no secrets, you know!"

A force of nearly six thousand troops couldn't possibly keep their departure from their base secret. By the time the Third Legion was marching towards Haidong Port, the news that Da Weineta would be leaving Haidong Port by ship to embark on a campaign had already reached the ears of the officers' families.

Once one officer's family member knew of it, all the military families soon did. There was always a special channel of communication among military families; even though it was essentially word-of-mouth, the speed and efficiency of their information spreading was astonishingly high.

The military families, upon learning the news, hurried to Haidong Port. No one would pass up the opportunity to say farewell. After all, this might be their last glimpse...

And so arose the scene before them: children clutching at their fathers' sleeves, refusing to let go; wives who had arrived a step too late kneeling on the docks and weeping bitterly, desperately waving towards the ships; even several trembling elderly women had been carted over, these who likely lost their husbands in the wars thirty years ago were now sending off their sons.

Even though the boarding process continued tense and orderly, the solemn and grandeur of departure began to turn into sorrow and despair, a sight which would moisten the eyes of any onlooker.

Antonio couldn't bring himself to order the dispersal of the relatives who had come to see their loved ones off. These women, children, and the elderly were sapping the Third Legion's morale, something Antonio didn't want to see. But if he ordered their dispersal, he would lose his soldiers' respect and trust forever, which was even worse than a weakened morale.

Moreover... for many, this really could be their last chance to see their families. As long as it did not delay the embarkation, all Antonio could do was sigh and let it be.

"The inability to keep it a secret was already discussed by the thirteen-member committee," Antonio turned away, no longer looking at the scene on the dock, "As soon as we mobilize, complete secrecy is impossible. Still, we can hit the Tanilians with a time difference. The faster we act, the less time the Confederation has to react. So the key is not secrecy, but how quickly we can reach the archipelago."

The lieutenant colonels appeared reflective.

Antonio said somberly, "After all, Sea Blue City has no secrets."

——Cut——

While the Third Legion was busy embarking, a Sea Blue City law enforcement officer was leading a patrol team, busy pulling corpses out from the ruins of a house destroyed by fire.

One, two, three, four...

A total of twenty-five bodies were found in the burnt-out building, with the charred corpses laid out on the street like some heretic ritual, quickly drawing a crowd of onlookers.