"The commander thinks that the Gronians are not good at fighting, this conclusion is premature, they are the extension of the ancient country of the Barrion Empire, the strongest combat power is the unstoppable heavy knights of the ancestors, in this respect they are far stronger than the Ryrdian people of Calradia, plus the ancient technology products left by the dwarves, the two major knights of the Central Island, and the power of the elite firearms force We have seen, but I dare to guarantee that it is definitely not all their family background, after all, the war has a backup job. ”

"It sounds like these guys just have no strength and lack of experience, even if they are a strong army, they are vulnerable if they haven't been in war for a long time, right?" Hearing this, Porcha also stood up and picked a thorn.

Now Nabal was running out of words, but fortunately, Dean was nearby, and he also joined the discussion, cleared his throat, and explained: "Gronia has one thing in common with your Chanda, they also provide mercenary resources to the outside world, and the main employers are several countries on the western Balion continent, and sometimes large-scale merchant travelers at sea will also hire some people to escort them. ”

"That's just a mercenary, it's no different from those rookies in Zenda, right...... When he met a Druya, he immediately stopped cooking...... "Xiao Yi felt that there was not much difference between the two, because Chanda's elite mercenaries were all killed in Chanda's final battle, and the mercenaries could never replace the combat power of the regular army.

Dean smiled and continued, "Miss, you don't understand this. The Gronians did not simply buy jobs for unemployed mercenaries, but simply delivered the regular army to the army, and at the same time to get paid for the big campaign missions and to keep the army fully trained, and I had the misfortune to fight the Gronian troops when I was on an errand under Captain Huck, and these scars were also obtained in the only defeat in that battle. ”

He took off his vest and showed several scars on his shoulder and back, serious wounds that had recovered well but were at least five years old. There were vaguely penetrating wounds from the flintlock pistol shot, as well as several distorted wounds from strange blades, and as soon as Xiao wanted to ask where the damage came from, Dean continued to answer her questions.

"Technology is the most important thing, the Gronians have unearthed the heritage of the ancient inhabitants, so that they have the technology to lead the other countries, the Ryrdian people, who are famous for their knights, are still designing heavy multi-layer steel plate armor to resist damage, and the Gronian people have developed the technology of using ravines to design to resist damage in the last century, the Gronian knight armor seems to be extremely heavy, but it is actually much lighter than the steel plate armor of the Ryordian people, which is also the result of a metal craft that Gronia does not pass down. ”

Xiao Yi thought back to the images of the knights of the two knights he had seen, the heavy armor they wore was slightly different, the armor of the Red Lotus knight was concave and convex, made of high-strength hematite, and the joints that needed to be protected were equipped with additional metal edges and corners, and the interior used high-tenacity leather to strengthen the resistance to blunt damage, making the red knights look very burly and unshakable. She thought of the gray-based Fan Dog Riders again, the armor of these knights was a little thinner, and they did not use the concave and convex damage reduction design of the former, but their armor was designed in layers, wrapped in a thin layer of chain mail at the innermost, and a cyan robe that did not affect the ability to move was put on in the middle, and the outermost layer was divided into shoulder armor, breastplate, skirt armor, forearm armor, The five new types of armor of the leg armor use a technology that resists damage with a semi-arc surface, which is not inferior to the former in the protection of key parts, and at the same time greatly reduces the degree of cumbersomeness.

Dean guessed that Shaw already understood this part, and said, "The knights of the Calradia countries are only of unilateral value, and the strongest Dark Knights at the moment have not been able to break this framework. Speaking of the Gronian Knights, they are like all-rounders in warfare, they can charge on horseback, and the long-range lethality of the Balleons in the West is also ashamed of the long-range lethality based on the giant crossbow and the great bow, and they can fight on foot and kill the leather and metal armored enemies with the long-arc sword and serpentine greatsword respectively, if the rulers of Gronia did not follow the precepts of their ancestors, it would not be the turn of the Dark Knights to spread the wild in Calradia. ”

After discussing so much, everyone has a bottom in their hearts, compared with the armies of the Calradia countries, the armaments of Gronia seem so advanced and alternative, and now Xiao Yi does not dare to underestimate them anymore.

The wind blew unusually violently the night before, and a heavy fog rose on the Grand Canal, which confirmed from the side that the wind and rain were coming, and after sailing in the haze all night, the first rays of the morning sun pierced the fog, and the bell of the ferry also echoed around, and the fog in the field of vision gradually dissipated, and the outer wall of the water city, about 80 feet high, blocked the front, with an insurmountable oppressive force.

Before the sun could provide much heat to the area, it escaped into the clouds, because of martial law, the water gate at the southern entrance was tightly closed, and the patrol ships of the city guard passed by from time to time under the city walls, and the scene behind the high walls was unknown. Looking around, the expansive circular waters on the outskirts of the city were crowded with merchant ships from Calradia and Barion, some of whom had lost faith in the long wait, and anchored their sailboats at the nearest islands, leaving the villages on land empty and the sailors going straight to their dwellings.

There is no doubt that the Goshawk will not be able to enter the city at this time, and the same must be true of the North Gate, but now that there is an urgent need to meet the King of Andorra in Gronia, he can only try to find another way to enter the city. Thurwaler did not intend to have anything to do with the civilized city, and landed on a nearby island with his men, and Shoey personally visited the City Watch's patrol ships to discuss the entry into the city, but received a disappointing reply, it turned out that the guards could only enter and exit the city during the shift change, but they offered another plan to let the Goshawk try its luck at the naval dockyard.

After about half a mile east along the walls, the Goshawk arrived at a large cavern beneath the walls, which was the haven of the Royal Gronian Navy. But before Nabal could turn the rudder, the naval warships stationed inside rushed out with the current, and in the blink of an eye they had surrounded the Goshawk.

Shoey came forward to explain the reason for this, and the captains immediately withdrew their arms and escorted the Goshawk into the huge dock, where the walls of the cave were held by steel brackets on all sides, and there were several layers of metal platforms and aisles, and the commanding heights were occupied by the Navy's elite snipers, and any outsiders entering the dock could not avoid their view. After moving some distance in fear, the Goshawk lacked thrust and could not move, and the crew on the shore immediately hoisted the Goshawk in its entirety with chains and cranes, picked a place outside the dozen berths, and lowered the heavy large sailing ship, and the huge waves of water violently washed the stone walls on both sides, this novel means really made everyone on the deck suffer.

"Everybody's all right...... Oh, old seal, take your foot off my belly!"

"Slow down, stupid horse thief, you ripped my pants off!"

After this violent impact, the crew all fell on all fours on the deck, and it took a long time to recover from the impact, but there was no time to stay here at this time, and Shoey gave the details, and took Polcha, Sieg, and Nabal ashore, leaving only Lemuel and Dean to clean up the mess of the Goshawk.

On the upper floor of the cavern, Xiao Yi staggered through the steel corridor, the sound of piercing footsteps made her feel uncomfortable, checked her equipment before realizing that something had been left behind, and hurried back to the railing of the platform to shout a few words at the boat.

"After all, it's just a kid who doesn't grow up...... I'll send her the papers, and I'll leave you behind, old man. Lemuel found Chaey's backpack from the captain's quarters, where the vital documents seized from the Dark Order remained, and Lemuel said hello to Dean before leaving the Goshawk to chase after him.

Thanks to this errand work, Lemuel, who should have stayed on the ship, also got the opportunity to go along, of course, at the cost of carrying their equipment for a few people, then Bar's heavy saber and Porcha's long knife were enough trouble, and Shoey also stuffed two guns and a pair of daggers into him, plus Lemuel was wearing a scruffy leather coat, and the naval soldiers along the way thought that this man was a weapon seller.

Inside the dockyard, the guards were as strict as the caves where the ships were parked, with a squad of sentries almost every few steps, and the all-metal buildings were suffocating, and the group did not have time to learn much about the situation before they hurried towards the exit.

"Sure enough, it's you, I'm taking you to Central Island on the orders of the general, please get on board. ”

No sooner had they left the dock than Wings of Liberty met an acquaintance by the waterway leading to the city, Sergeant William Johnson, the harbor guard who had guided them on their previous visit to Gronia and now a herald of the Order, who pointed to the sampan and greeted them.

"Yo, it looks like a good mix, brother Johnson. ”

Nabal greeted each other, and Shoey unceremoniously pulled Sieg and Porcha into the boat, and when Lemuel and Nabal also stepped into the dinghy, Johnson shook the oars, and the dinghy moved slowly in the narrow waterway between the buildings of the naval station, where the light was not sufficient, and there was no time to experience such comfort, but the thought of the end was a long-lost civilized city, everyone was still a little excited.

As the minutes ticked by, the dinghy moved away from the military zone and reached the main river, and even on the cusp of the storm, the water traffic in Gronia was still very congested, and the inhabitants were not in the slightest worried about the impending crisis outside the city, as if nothing could affect the normal operation of the water city.

At this time, a large cargo ship from the Chamber of Commerce passed by, bringing strong water waves that made the boat shake constantly, and schools of fish kept surfacing the water, all the signs indicated that the wind and rain were coming, but the dense rain clouds in the sky never shed a drop of rain, but not many people cared.

"Your Excellency is here to report that we have received enough information, that Admiral Julius' fleet has been harassing the Dark Fleet for nearly a week, buying enough time to move all the people on the Western Front to the relative safety of the East. ”

Although evacuating the population was the right choice, it was undoubtedly creating an opportunity for the Druas to land and plunder agricultural land for military rations, and in order to learn of the Gronya's response plan, Sieg immediately asked Johnson to inform him of the details.

As far as Johnson knew, the command of the western front was held by Admiral Julius, and the security of the city of Gronia was ensured by Atros, and the navy's symbolic resistance to the enemy on the Western Front was only to delay time, which seemed to be a deliberately arranged situation by Atros to defeat the invaders in the defense of the city.

Along the way, the group encountered many cargo ships full of ordnance, including ballistas, trebuchets, and great bows, and the destinations were at the south gate and the western tower, respectively, if the Druas reached the city, the defenders would have enough range to cover the small islands around the circular water, and the tactic of blocking and annihilating the enemy army by relying on the walls was theoretically feasible, but one could not help but wonder if the battle would really be so simple.

Johnson seemed to sense what was on their mind, and said: "The ring of water is the only suitable place for us to fight, Dabalan is different from Calradia, there are no other rivers on land except this Grand Canal, and some of the Drua cavalry has landed in the northwest corner, and these iron horsemen can drive all the way to the perimeter of the city, so the people of the Western Front must be evacuated, but the invaders cannot go beyond the walls of which we are so proud, and under the protection of the moat, the ace knights of Drua cannot even approach it." ”

Still holding his point, Sieg replied, "We've seen the Druas attack Zenda, their armament is not suitable for siege warfare, but they always have the initiative in battle, and the nearby island provides abundant timber resources, which provides them with enough materials to build siege engines, things will not be so simple......"

The topic went on for a long time, and after a round of discussion, the dinghy was already approaching the central island of Gronia, and the impregnable inner city was more tense than the rest of the city, and the invasion affected the heavy knights standing guard on the high walls twice as many as usual, and the surrounding rivers were also blocked off by chains, completely forbidding civilians from entering.

When the guards at the berth on Central Island saw Johnson's dinghy approaching, they immediately activated the mechanism to lower the level of the chains, so that the dinghy could be unhindered, and everyone felt relieved when they stepped on solid land again. This time, the guards didn't say much word, and directly signaled the knights on the city wall to raise the entrance of the city wall, and let the group enter the inside of the royal city.

As the walls behind him were lowered again, and the people had already set foot on the forest path leading to the palace, Johnson brought five fast horses from a nearby stable and handed them them, and after a brief farewell, he returned to the Knights' station.

"Standing on this trail, there is always a feeling of equestrian competition...... Why don't you have a contest here and see how much you've improved over time?"

"Who is afraid of whom! Brother Cha must think that he is sure to win, right? But I've always been practicing equestrian skills!"

As he spoke, Shoy pulled the reins of the horse, and turned over to the horse's back at the moment when the horse galloped forward, and Polcha, who was robbed of the lead, was not willing to be defeated, and jumped on the horse's back after running the horse for a while, and chased Xiao Yi not far ahead as fast as possible, and when the figures of the two disappeared from the end of vision, the others were still leading the horses to stroll on the path, and they had to ride on the horses and chase after them.