The night before the wind blew extremely fiercely, and a heavy fog rose on the Grand Canal, which confirmed from the side that the wind and rain were coming, and after a night of high-speed sailing in the haze, the first rays of sunlight in the morning 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, which was about eighty feet high, blocked the front, and was prohibitive 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 we will not be able to enter the city at this time, and the same must be true of the North Gate, and now that we urgently need to meet the King of Andorra of Gronia, we can only try to find another way to enter the city. Thurwaler did not intend to have anything to do with the civilized city, so he and his men landed on a nearby island, and Shoey personally visited the City Watch's patrol ships to discuss the matter of entering the city, but the reply was disappointing, it turned out that the guards could only enter and exit the city during the shift change, but they offered another plan to try our luck at the naval dockyard.

We drove about half a mile east along the walls and arrived at a large cave beneath the walls. This is the haven of the Royal Navy of Gronia. But before we could turn the rudder, the naval warships stationed inside rushed out along the current, and in the blink of an eye, the Goshawk was already surrounded.

Shaw came forward to explain the reason for this. The captains of the Navy immediately withdrew their arms and escorted us into the huge dock, where the walls of the cavern were held in place by steel brackets, and there were several layers of metal platforms and aisles, all of which were occupied by elite naval snipers, and no outsider entering the dock could avoid their view. Having moved some distance in fear, the Goshawk lacked wind and was unable to move. The crew on the shore immediately hoisted the Goshawk in its entirety with chains and cranes, picked an outward spot among the dozen berths, and lowered the heavy and large sailing ship. The huge waves of water violently washed over the stone walls on both sides, and this strange method really caused everyone on the deck to 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. It took a long time to recover from the impact of the impact. But there was no time left to linger here, so Shoey gave the details, and went ashore with Porcha, Sieg, and Nabal, leaving only us sailors to clean up 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, and she checked the equipment she was carrying, only to realize that something had been left behind. He hurried back to the railing of the platform and shouted a few words at the boat.

"After all, it's just a kid who doesn't grow up...... I'll send her the gun, and I'll leave you behind. Old man. "I found Shaw's twin guns from the captain's quarters, said hello to Dean, and left the Goshawk to chase after him.

Thanks to this errand work, I was given the opportunity to go with the boat, but of course at the cost of carrying their equipment for a few people, and Bal's heavy saber and Porcha's long knife were enough trouble, and Shoy also shoved two guns and a pair of daggers into me, plus I was wearing a scruffy leather coat, and the sailors along the way thought I was selling weapons.

Inside the dockyard, the fortifications were as rigorous 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 we didn't have time to know much about the situation before we raced 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. ”

As soon as we left the dock, we met an acquaintance by the waterway leading to the city, Sergeant William Johnson, the harbor guard who had guided us on our previous visit to Gronia, and now a herald of the Order, who pointed to the sampan beside us and greeted us.

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

Nabal said hello to the other party, and Shoey unceremoniously pulled Sieg and Porcha into the boat, and when Nabal and I 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, and the light here was not sufficient, and there was no time to experience such comfort, but we were still a little excited to think that the end was a long-lost civilized city.

As the minutes ticked by, we were away from the military zone and reached the main waterway, 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 functioning of the water city.

At this time, a large cargo ship from the Chamber of Commerce passed by us, bringing strong water waves that made the boat shake constantly, and schools of fish continued to surface around it, a sign of a qiē signaling 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 General Julius' fleet has been fending off the Dark Fleet for nearly a week, and has bought enough time to move all the people of 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. 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. It is intended to defeat invaders in the defense of the city.

Along the way, we encountered a number of cargo ships laden with ordnance, including ballistas, trebuchets, and great bows, and the destinations were at the south gate and the western tower, and if the Druas reached the city, the defenders would have the range to cover the islands around the ring waters, and the tactics of blocking and annihilating the enemy forces by the walls were theoretically feasible, but one wondered if the battle would really be so simple.

Johnson seemed to be aware of Sieg's thoughts. "The ring of water is the only place we have suitable for fighting, and Dabarán is different from Calradia, except for this Grand Canal," he said. There were no other rivers on land, and some of the Drua cavalry had landed in the northwest corner, and these iron cavalry could drive long distances to the perimeter of the city, so the population of the western front had to be evacuated. But the invaders have crossed the walls of which we are proud. Under the protection of the moat, the ace knights of the Drua could not even get close to it. ”

Still holding his point, Sieg replied, "We have seen the Druas attack Chanda, their armament is not suitable for siege warfare, but they have an inexhaustible supply of time, 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. After a lot of discussions, we are already approaching the central island of Gronia. The impregnable inner city was more tense than the rest of the city, with twice as many heavily armed horsemen standing guard as usual due to the invasion, and the surrounding rivers were blocked off by chains, completely offsetting civilians from entering.

Seeing us approaching, the guards at the berth on the central island immediately activated the mechanism to lower the level of the chains, so that our dinghy could be docked without being hindered, and when we once again stepped on solid land, everyone felt a sigh of relief. This time, the guards didn't say too much, and directly signaled the knights on the city wall to raise the entrance of the city wall and let our group enter the royal city.

As the walls were lowered again, and we were already on the forest path leading to the palace, Johnson brought five fast horses from a nearby stable and handed them to us, and after a brief farewell, we returned to the Order's quarters.

"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, Xiao Yi pulled the reins of the horse violently, and turned over on the horse's back at the moment when the horse galloped forward, and Polcha, who was robbed of the first, 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, we people were still leading the horses to walk on the path, and we had to ride on the horses and chase after them.

"What!!Do you say it out loud again!?"

"Andorra, I said the city is going to suffer this time! What now, I don't plan to send my knights to die in vain!"

"If there were no knights, we would have to rely on the walls, and even the strongest walls will eventually be torn down, you know!?"

Our group was guided by the palace guards to the golden main hall, where two middle-aged men were arguing loudly in front of the central throne, while the dozen or so officials sitting at the conference tables on both sides of the hall turned a blind eye, allowing the gaffe two to continue arguing about something.

Actually, this is not an empty farce, the blonde handsome man of the two is the commander-in-chief of all the armies of Gronia-Atros, and the other old man whose beard has faded to beige I have not seen, but according to the characteristics that Shawy once described, this stern and wise old man must be the current ruler of Gronia- Andorra, as the two pillars of the Duchy of Gronia, the two of them have always been close friends who talk about everything, but it is not once or twice that they quarrel over some unpleasant things.

"Atros, King of Andorra, both of you please step back first! We came to help, but as soon as we entered the hall we ran into your quarrel, what happened?"

In order to break the deadlock, Xiao Yi took the initiative to take a few steps forward, and dared to ask the angry two in front of him to stop arguing. In order not to embarrass themselves in front of the members of the friendly countries, Andorra and Atros glared at each other and returned to their places.

Andorra sat back on his throne, and Atros pointed his galloping sword at a strategic map of the main points of the continent and the surrounding seas at the wall, the tip of which rested on a small island of modest size farther south of Dabaran, which was named 'Hedred' (the ancient Gronian word for 'exile').

"This is the Wanderer's Island, and it's our current trouble. ”

Andorra instructed Atros to tell us the story of the island, and motioned for us to sit down at the table and wait for Atros to begin his presentation.

"The Druas are not alone, the Witch King of Minella has bought off the rebels on the island, and an elite navy will invade from the east, you know what that means. ”

"Will the civilians who have been evacuated to the east be slaughtered by this army?

Without thinking too much, Sieg said the two guesses that came to his mind, and Atros also nodded, and waved his hand at the same time, presumably indicating that Sieg's guess was right and wrong (to be continued......