Chapter 404: Prince Valeric Defeat

Boom!

Another cannon blast tore through the place.

The windows of the Phoenix Pavilion rattled violently.

Outside, the once peaceful harbor had now transformed into a scene of chaos.

Fires spread across the docks.

Merchant vessels that had spent years traveling around the seas were burning, their sails glowing orange. Sailors jumped into the water while soldiers rushed toward the shoreline, shouting orders that were quickly swallowed by the thunder of artillery.

"Your Highness!"

Another guard hurried into the pavilion.

"The harbor is under serious attack!"

Prince Valeric didn’t answer immediately. His eyes remained fixed on the distant flames. He had expected them to threaten him. He had even considered the possibility that they might attempt a limited show of force, but he hadn’t expected them to open fire immediately after their envoy left.

This was not a simple warning, but a declaration.

"How many ships?" He asked.

"At least five Dutch warships have opened fire from outside the harbor."

The guard said in a trembling voice.

"Their range is greater than ours."

Prince Valeric’s face became gloomy.

"How many merchant vessels have been hit?"

"At least seven to eight have sunk."

"Eight..."

Damien’s expression changed.

Those were not merely ships. They represented years of investment.

His fists tightened.

"Father, we can’t allow them to continue."

Prince Valeric looked at his son.

"What do you suggest?"

"I say we also hit them back."

Damien’s voice was firm.

"If we allow the Dutch to bombard us without responding, they’ll think we are afraid."

Prince Valeric remained silent.

He knew his son wasn’t entirely wrong. But there was a problem.

The Dutch fleet had ruled these waters for years and their ships were built specifically for naval warfare.

That difference could determine the outcome of a battle.

A moment later, a new guard came running into the pavilion.

"Your Highness!"

"The Dutch have stopped firing."

Prince Valeric narrowed his eyes.

"Stopped?"

"Yes, they’ve begun withdrawing toward the open sea."

Damien looked confused.

"They attacked our harbor and then simply left? Nonsense!"

Prince Valeric slowly shook his head.

"No."

His voice low

"They aren’t playing around; instead, they’re sending us a message."

Damien’s expression darkened.

"What message?"

"That they can strike whenever they want."

Silence filled the pavilion.

The realization settled heavily upon everyone. The Dutch had not committed their entire fleet.

They had fire from a good distance, destroying several vessels, and then withdrew.

It was a demonstration of power, and it worked.

At least for the moment.

Prince Valeric slammed his palm against the stone table.

"These damn Dutch."

The anger in his voice echoed beneath the pavilion. He had favoured the Dutch because their merchants brought countless goods into his domain. He had even tolerated their arrogance because they possessed powerful ships. But playing hard was something different entirely.

"Father, these people have no intentions of respecting us. This is nothing less than an insult, and we can’t swallow it up."

Prince Valeric slowly gave an order.

"Prepare the fleet."

***

Fletcher Mansion

At this time, news of the attack on Prince Valeric’s harbor quickly spread here. After receiving the news, Desmond Fletcher, the head of the Fletcher Family, immediately called his eldest son Andrew Fletcher to him.

"Father."

Andrew Fletcher was about twenty-six years old. His face was a little pale and his body was a little thin. It seemed that he had just recovered from a serious illness. Andrew Fletcher was still a little weak when he spoke.

"Andrew, set off for Brambleford immediately. This time Prince Valeric hastily started a war with the Dutch and suffered a big loss." Desmond said nervously, "If we are defeated, our family’s caravan may no longer be able to go to sea. After you arrive in Brambleford, immediately search for Magnus to summon the merchant ships that are transporting goods throughout the Reef state. At the same time, re-purchase merchant ships from Brambleford and organize a fleet. After all, Prince Valeric is watching us closely. So we can’t move our fleet carelessly."

Andrew had a confused expression as he spoke. "Father, Prince Valeric is strong, so he has no problem dealing with the Dutch."

"Indeed, Prince Valeric is quite strong, but there’s no way he can overcome the Dutch at sea that easily. His vessels can be attacked. But the Dutch warships."Desmond sighs.

"Don’t be stunned, hurry up and do as I say. The only one who can overcome the Dutch now is Prince Simon. The hope of our Fletcher Family lies in Brambleford, not here. Prince Valeric will eventually fight against the Dutch.

Andrew got the hint, with a serious expression he nodded and said, "Sure thing father, I will head for Brambleford straight away and bring the people here. While I tell Prince Simon about it."

"Well, go quickly, what are you still waiting for?" Desmond urged him on.

Accompanying a king or Prince is like accompanying a tiger. Over the years, the Fletcher Family has offered countless amounts of money and gifts to Prince Valeric. However, Prince Valeric happens to be too greedy and is now planning to annex the Fletcher Family directly.

The Fletcher Family informant in Prince Valeric’s domain had already secretly told him about this matter. Because of this, he immediately decided to start arranging the Fletcher family’s property in Brambleford.

Although Prince Valeric was a little wary of this, his real purpose was still unclear, and he thought that the Fletcher family was just running a business in Brambleford as usual. Just business.

But in fact, he was preparing to transfer the Fletcher family’s assets. Once Prince Valeric finds out and takes action, they would flee even if they have to give up on their property in Flaming Town.

***

Deep Blue Sea

Hundreds of warships moved down the sea, the sight was really impressive to watch from an audience point of view. Soldiers filled the decks, flags snapped violently in the wind, and war drums echoed from ship to ship. They were not perfect, their crew was inexperienced. But to Damien, they represented something far more important. Among the fleet were ten newly modified warships carrying artillery.

On the ten warships in front, there were ten cannons on each deck, with about five cannons on each side of the deck.

Standing on the largest ship, Damien was full of confidence. In the past, they had no artillery and were naturally afraid of fighting the Dutch at sea.

But now that they are equipped with ten warships equipped with artillery, plus traditional warships, he believes they can fight the Dutch.

Going eastward along the sea, Damien saw the Dutch warships blocking the outlet. At this time, a total of ten Dutch warships were seen.

These Dutch warships all had three decks, with a row of guns on each deck.

Facing these Dutch warships, Damien issued an attack order. When the war drums sounded, hundreds of warships rushed towards the Dutch warships.

At this time, on the Dutch battleship, a man stood beneath the quarter deck, he was observing these battleships rushing out of the river mouth with his telescope.

The middle-aged man wears a brown vest, has long curly brown hair, shiny leather shoes and stockings, and black pants on his legs. He is the new Earl of Split Rock, Earl Grey.

His expression was calm.

Beside him stood Alonso. Awaiting his command.

"Should we fall back?"

Gray shook his head.

"No need. These battleships are unorganized and have an insufficient number of artillery pieces. They are just using the chaotic warfare method from fifty years ago. Although they are large in number, they are not our opponents at all. Today I will let these stupid princes understand what a naval battle is!" Grey put away the telescope and said to a crew member: "Raise the blue signal."

A crew member immediately climbed the mast. A moment later, a small blue flag rose into the wind.

Their response was immediate.

At this time, the Dutch warships, which appeared scattered a moment earlier began moving. One turned, then another, and another. Within minutes, the entire formation began sliding into position. The scattered battleship formation immediately changed into the word ’one.’ This is exactly the array warfare method in naval battles.

Damien’s expression changed.

"Why are they moving like that?" He asked.

In Grey’s eyes, Prince Valeric’s fleet at this time was just using random warfare. This type of warfare did not have a unified command. Each ship fought independently, and there was no unified dispatch at all.

In fact, fifty years ago, the Dutch also used a chaotic warfare method. However, they only began to change this independent warfare method after losing to the British array warfare method with three times the number of troops in a naval battle.

Looking at a hundred mighty battleships at this time, Grey was not nervous at all. When the battleships were arranged in a ’one’ shape, with a raised hand.

Ten warships opened fire at the same time, and five hundred artillery pieces opened fire at the Prince fleet rushing out. In an instant, raindrop-like shells flew towards the warships rushing out densely.

After a round of firing, the Dutch fleet immediately began to rotate in a U-shape, and the other side of the first battleship immediately fired another salvo of artillery.

One of Prince Valeric’s warships suddenly lurched sideways as its hull was torn apart.

Then another explosion struck.

Under the continuous attacks, the seven warships of Prince Valeric that had just rushed out immediately began to sink. These seven warships were like rocks blocking the route of other warships. Even driven by the sea current, some warships were unable to dodge in time. Hitting each other.

Suddenly, the fleet fell into chaos.

The soldiers on the fleet were even more frightened and overwhelmed by the terrifying artillery of the Dutch.

The people were content with enjoying themselves, but the soldiers were afraid of war. When Prince Valeric ordered the war against the Dutch, many soldiers were already frightened.

At this time, looking at the corpses floating in the sea, the screaming soldiers, and the red blood, more soldiers lost their will to fight.

Damien’s expression suddenly changed when he saw this hell-like scene.

He was used to hiding in the house to plot conspiracies and was good at calculations, but the real battlefield was completely different from what he thought. Looking at the sunken battleships one after another, his legs began to tremble.

"Retreat, retreat!" Damien roared.

"RETREAT!"

Under this order, chaos in the fleet began. After losing more than twenty battleships, the rout began.

For the first time in his life, Damien felt completely powerless. He had entered this battle believing that possessing mighty cannons meant possessing power.

Now he understood something far more frightening.

A weapon meant nothing if the person holding it didn’t know how to use it.

A faint smile appeared on Alonso’s face.

On the deck, Grey looked at the chaotic fleet of Prince Valeric and had a wonderful smile on his face as well, and said. "It’s time for Prince Valeric to come to the negotiating table again, and next time, he’ll bring a much larger price."

A/N: A lovely day to my wonderful reader’s. Thanks for the support. I really appreciate it means so much to me.