Emperor of Steel

Chapter 677: Swords Clash 1

“Wh-what the hell happened there?!”

Fernando, who was leading the fleet that was bypassing Gregg Island, opened his eyes wide when he saw the flames shine bright over the reef.

It was nothing that couldn’t be guessed. He thought that the pirate fleet ended up wiping out the Symphonia Navy.

However, the pirate fleet was firing up signals in the dark night sky calling for help, and the pirate lords aboard the ship sent in urgent help request from the magic communication devices.

“It looks like the enemy’s main unit has ambushed us in the reef.”

“How could that be?!”

The Grenada Kingdom was proudest for having the strongest navy troops.

Even though they were a pirate fleet, for them to break down to the extent of asking for assistance..!

“I must save my allies right away... Damn it, but that can’t be done!”

Even though Fernando was ignorant about the matters of navy battles, he knew very well what would happen if he went into that dark reef at night.

“This is horrible, but we might have to think about giving up on the pirate fleet.”

“Right, we can’t do much.”

At the words of Duke Nathan, Fernando seemed disappointed but didn’t cross his words.

It was a pity that the pirates couldn’t be used for land battles as scapegoats during the landing, but he thought that it was a great opportunity as the pirate lords were being killed.

In the Grenada Kingdom, the pirates weren’t a group that listened to the words of the king.

‘Thanks to the Symphonia men, my rule might end up strengthen even more after the war.’

While Fernando was in his thoughts, Duke Nathan spoke, “Our fleet must continue sailing and attack the coastal area of the Symphonia.”

“With the enemy fleet right behind us? Then what if we get attacked from the rear?”

“Their current fleet alone isn’t enough to stop us.”

Even if the transport fleet and 300 sailing ships were removed, there were around 700 battleships.

Among them, ships with strong combat power and battleships were with the troops.

But Fernando’s thoughts were different.

“I thought that those who ran away from us a while ago would get wiped out by the pirate fleet alone. But the reality turned out different from my expectations.”

“That was...”

“If we retire back like this, they will rage a lot and run wilder. We should think about the morale of our men. We need to destroy them and move forward.”

For a second, Nathan nodded at Fernando’s words.

Fernando’s words made sense from the king’s point of view.

“Understood. But it is absolutely hard to do it at night.”

“I know that. Instead, send in a ship to watch the waters around the island. Even they can’t get out in the night.”

Nathan, who had no reason to go against such a valid order, went back.

Fernando ground his teeth as he glared at the reef which was defying the darkness with flames.

“There is no way that I would lose! Never!”

When the darkness went thick and the battle screams ceased, Luke received reports of their victory in the battle.

His men moved according to the plan, and the arrogant enemy troops fell into the trap made in the reef.

“Three large ships were sunk, and five Song Empire ships caused 300 casualties. On the other hand, there were around 300 ships of the enemy that were sunk and only 65 were captured.”

There were more than 2,000 prisoners who surrendered in the war.

Although detailed counts would be possible in the day, Luke was still satisfied with Sebastian’s report, which said that they got a lot of enemy soldiers down.

“It was more like annihilation.”

“Yes. Your Majesty, there were very few ships that managed to escape, but the damage was too severe that the ships can’t be used for battle anymore.”

Sebastian, who said that, talked about what Marquis Volant had suggested.

“How about taking the advantage of the momentum and attacking the enemy’s main unit at night with the new ironclad ship?”

“This is good enough motivation, but we need to refrain ourselves. Enemies who got hit will always be on the lookout.”

A surprise attack against such a cautious enemy wouldn’t make a huge advantage.

On the contrary, if they ended up suffering a counterattack from the enemy, the morale of the troops would fall.

“Attack the enemy’s main fleet according to the plan we made. I want to make sure that those who move without the order will be subjected to military punishments.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

After being done with the report, Sebastian left the cabin.

Luke was delighted with their victory. Soon, his expression turned cold.

There were reports yet to come about the battle in the west.

There...

‘I don’t know if the royal capital will be okay while I’m not in the palace.’

Luke did come out from there with enough preparation, but he couldn’t shake off the concerns and pulled out the communication device.

He decided to contact that person once more.