Blood Holy Scripture: True Ancestor Charlotte de Castel
Chapter 394: -142- Naval Battle and Argument

Chapter 394: -142- Naval Battle and Argument

January 17, 1446, of the Holy Calendar, the Castel family declared war on the Bold family in the name of independence and the recovery of their legal territories.

January 18, the Bold family also declared war on the Castel family for the purpose of quelling rebellion and the lawful deprivation of titles.

Thus, the Castel-Bold War officially erupted.

At the same time, the Third Prince Philip, in his capacity as the Duke of Bold, assured the nobles of the Northern Land that this suppression was solely targeted at the Castel family.

As long as the Northern nobles remained neutral, they could avoid the spread of war, and their titles and lands would be preserved.

Furthermore, those who swore loyalty to the Bold family were offered numerous favorable conditions, including a reduction in the vassal contract tax.

The Bold-Violet Alliance, which had already reached the border of Violet and Castel, marched mightily into the Castel Domain after declaring war. They claimed to have an army of fifty thousand, with thirty thousand being a standing force.

Meanwhile, the Duchy Joint Fleet, consisting of thirty-eight warships loaded with stone-shooting cannons—including five heavy Caric three-masted warships, twelve brigantines, and twenty-three galley warships—had left the northernmost port of Violet, sailing through the Star Moon Strait toward North Port.

On land, the Allied Forces of the two duchies invaded Castel and their advance was as unstoppable as a broken bamboo.

Apart from a few Northern baronial families including the Valley Family, who resisted for a moment using their castles as strongholds, there was hardly any effective resistance from others along the way.

Wherever they passed, the Northern nobles either quickly declared neutrality upon seeing the massive army, or outright surrendered.

However, the Allied Forces of the two duchies did not stop in the villages and castles they passed.

Leaving some soldiers and noble officers as temporary controllers to ensure the supply lines operated normally, the main force continued northwards with formidable momentum, heading straight for North Port in Castel’s Directly Administered Domain.

On the other hand, the Bold-Violet navy encountered some troubles, unlike the land forces which faced little resistance.

After entering the Star Moon Strait, the Joint Fleet became the target of an ambush led by the fleet of the Castel family, headed by the Roman Fuer family...

...

The Star Moon Strait, the sea area around Zen Island.

The roaring sound of gunfire echoed across the sky as dozens of warships, divided into two camps, maneuvered and fired in both northern and southern directions.

Clouds of white smoke rose up alongside the hulls as anti-magic stone bullets were fired from the stone-shooting cannons aboard the ships.

One could occasionally see dim glows of light erupting above the warships; these were magic shields activated by the accompanying mages on board.

However, the effects of the magic shields were evidently limited.

After depleting their magic power in the initial engagement, both fleets entered an unguarded, fervent mode of combat.

From time to time, one could see a warship, after being barraged by a series of cannon fire, either igniting into a massive blaze due to a hit on its powder magazine, losing mobility after its mast was shattered, or being riddled with holes and slowly sinking amid the successive booms.

"Hard starboard! Hard starboard!"

"Load the guns, the enemy is turning!"

"Fire!"

On the flagship "Black Order" of the Roman Fuer family.

The first mate of pirate origins was commanding the crew, bellowing orders to attack.

By the bow, the fleet commander, Viscount Roman Fuer, was somberly surveying the battle situation through his spyglass.

The thunderous sounds of cannon fire continued, and every now and then, ships could be seen destroyed and sunk amid the blasts, gradually shrouding the entire sea surface with white smoke from the gunpowder.

And upon closer scrutiny, one would notice that the majority of the sunken warships were flying the flags of the Violet Duchy and the Bold Duchy.

Unlike the powerful Duchy Joint Fleet,

the Castel Fleet, although not numerous with only three Caric three-masted warships and eighteen galleys, boasted a far superior speed and agility due to the incorporation of Elf shipbuilding techniques, far surpassing the United Fleet of the two duchies.

The warships of the Duchies often missed their mark, but whenever the Castel Fleet found an opportunity, it was always able to inflict damage on the Joint Fleet.

However, despite the more fruitful results of his own fleet, the visage of Viscount Roman Fuer was markedly serious.

"Captain! The Windflower has been sunk! The White Oak and Purple Azalea are signaling with flags that they’re running out of pills!"

shouted the flag officer aboard the ship.

Hearing the report, the Old Viscount heaved a silent sigh.

Though the Castel Fleet was renowned for its quick and flexible ships, the numbers were too few, and their supply of pills was limited.

Strong as the fleet of the Roman Fuer Family might be, having its roots in piracy, it was ill-suited for this kind of direct naval engagement.

Ultimately, the Castel Domain being a Count Territory never had the demand nor had it constructed a large-scale formal naval fleet in the past.

Facing the United Fleet of two Duchies, this ambush was never going to be victorious.

"Signal all warships to retreat," he finally ordered, after a glance toward the direction of the Joint Fleet.

...

This maritime ambush lasted only half a day.

After sinking one Caric three-masted warship, two double-masted broadside ships, and three galleys from the United Fleet of the Duchies, while losing four of their own galleys, the fleet led by the Roman Fuer Family promptly disengaged and took advantage of their superior speed to retreat towards North Port.

Meanwhile, the Joint Fleet, having not been significantly weakened, also continued onward, heading in the direction of North Port.

...

North Port, Count Mansion.

In the council hall where the meeting of territory nobles was convened,

news of the naval battle had yet to arrive, but the ongoing battles had been continuously sending their tidings to North Port.

Charlotte, leading the main force of troops back to North Port, was lost in thought as she looked at one report after another coming in from the South.

Inside the great hall, the nobles involved in suppressing the rebellion were already in an uproar.

"Disgrace! This is a disgrace for the Northern Land! Count, those Southern Nobles are truly foolish. How could they believe promises made by the likes of the Third Prince? It is simply self-destruction!"

exclaimed a Northern Noble, shaking a fist in anger.

"Your Excellency, your family’s territory is in the central part, and the war hasn’t reached your land, so of course you speak lightly. Bold and Violet dispatched a total of fifty thousand troops, with thirty thousand in a standing army. How do you expect the Southern families to resist such a formidable force?"

retorted a noble whose family was clearly from the South.

"Even if they can’t resist, can they not temporarily evacuate? Why surrender?"

"If we evacuate, do you mean for our families to abandon our domains and subjects?"

"Didn’t we do just that during the Star Moon War? Back then, many Nobles fought for the Kingdom until the very last moment. Why have you all regressed?"

"Am I not fighting for Castel right now? My family is far in the South, I don’t know what’s happening there, and I will deal with the traitors after the war ends. But for now, shouldn’t we be discussing how to defeat the enemy?"

Inside the hall, the nobles argued back and forth, like a noisy marketplace.

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