While the Svadians were steadily preparing for a counteroffensive, the Rhodok soldiers had already entered Salander territory from the fortress of Garmic.

Salander's second prince knew that cooperating with the Rhodoks was tantamount to fighting against the tiger, but in order to ascend to the throne of the Sultan, he chose to sacrifice the interests of the frontier to make the situation at home favorable to him. It is easy to please the gods, and the second prince knows that the Rhodoks will not be willing to stop at the Garmici Fort, but he didn't expect the Rhodoks to turn their faces so quickly, and as soon as they took the Garmici Fortress, the Rhodoks couldn't wait to tear up the contract with the South Saland people and entered Salander in droves.

The goal of the Rhodoks was clear: to destroy the economic center of Salander, centered on Fort Shariez. Once the commercial port was destroyed, the Rhodoks would have a monopoly on trade in the entire South Calradia Sea. At that time, the merchants who had originally used Shariz as their turnover point would choose the ports of Aaron or Djerkhala as new commercial centers, and countless trade orders and taxes to and from the trade would go to Rhodok.

The Rhodok knew that the division of the Salander could not last forever, and that their commercial system and the southern agricultural system must be completely destroyed before Salander could be reunited. Once this goal is accomplished, even if Salander is restored to unity one day, it will be reduced to a second-rate country and be arbitrarily invaded by the countries of the mainland.

The second prince of Salander presented his credentials to the Rhodoks, in which the second prince --- the sultan of South Saland accused the Rhodoks of treachery. The second prince threatened that the civil strife would be pacified in March, and once the civil strife was over, Salander would attack Rhodok with all his might, even if there was no one in ten.

Grand Duke Rodok cautiously replied to the second prince, and said softly and firmly: "Due to the recent situation that has gotten out of control, there are all kinds of signs that your country is no longer able to maintain the security of the border. In order to restore security at the border, which has been provoked by an unknown army from Salander, we consider it necessary and obliged to assist your country in rebuilding order. Your Majesty has newly ascended the throne, and he has thought about it carefully, and peace is unjust, so do not start another war. Once the contract signed by Your Majesty with our country in the past is made public, I am afraid that Your Majesty will no longer have the shame to face the seventeen provinces north and south of Saland, and the throne will be in the hands of those who are not subservients. At this point, I hope that Your Majesty will focus on the overall situation, and do not take a moment to destroy the unworldly industry. ”

It is said that when the second prince received the reply of the Grand Duke of Rhodok with sarcasm and threat, he was expressionless, and it may have been meaningless for the second prince to be angry. The second prince quickly adjusted his policy: the provinces loyal to the Great Prince in the southern provinces were quickly purged or left to the Rhodoks, and the Salander soldiers in the remaining provinces all hid in castles and castles along the way to avoid confrontation with the Rhodoks.

The fortress line that the Sultan had maintained for many years worked, and each time the Rhodoks occupied, they had to face several solid fortresses, and the defenders in them did not surrender or fight, delaying the Rhodok's advance.

The Rhodoks had to pay a great price to advance further, and Salander bought time for his southeastern provinces along the line of forts built along the mountains of the Weyeha Mountains. These forts held back the Rhodok advance until two years later, while the provinces southeast of Salander were completely engaged in production and stockpiling manpower and material resources, despite the fact that war was raging elsewhere. At that time, in order to reserve counteroffensive forces in the southeastern provinces, the second prince collected all the gold of the entire Dukuba palace and used it to attract merchants from various countries. At that time, even the whimsical shipment of a shipload of wheat from a distant North Sea port by a Vekian merchant would be rewarded in Sharetz. This has never been the case in the past.

The Salanders had maximized their commercial subsidies in order to obtain supplies, while farmers in the southeastern provinces were forced by the government to pay all their grain stocks, and any stockpiling of grain was subject to great punishment. Now the second prince is carrying out devastating social reforms in his only southeastern province that has not been affected by the war, transforming the entire region into a super military camp that produces only soldiers and food.

This worked well, and within two years the region had contributed 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers to the second prince, who eventually completely changed the balance of power within Salander. However, the second prince's actions completely destroyed the social fabric of the southeastern provinces, which in the past were one of the liveliest regions of Salander: oases of wealth, fertile land, a constant stream of caravans, and cheerful people. Salander's greatest poets were born in these provinces, and it has been said that if you throw a random stone there, you will break a poet's head. But then, when the war ended, it had become a silent ruin. Although the people of Salander stabilized after four years, the southeastern province of Salander was never able to regain its former elegance and beauty due to the sudden rise of a steppe people from nowhere to the east of Salander.

"If you're going to hide a grain of sand, leave it in Saland".

The once spiritually charged southern provinces of Salander began to dull from this day on, so that when people traveled there decades later, they were left with bare villages and bare-eyed peasants, who did not know the glory and stories of their ancestors, but only the simple labor of the dull heads and the battles for the sultans they had never seen before.

My father was sailing with the fleet to the port of Sharitz.

The Navy's mission is to cut Shariz off from the outside world. Until the army arrives, the navy is to ensure that Sharitz's resources are gradually depleted and not replenished. This task was difficult, because the Navy did not have a base nearby, and everything could only be built temporarily. Fortunately, the Salanders had ready-made anchorages on several small islands off the coast of Sharitz, and after a fierce battle, the Rhodoks drove the Salander navy stationed on the small islands back to the port of Shariz with the advantage of sea power. During the war, my father saw for the first time the new weapons of Salander, which people talked about.

It was a simple naval battle: three Salander ships escorted seventeen merchant ships to Sharitz, and the Hyacinth had spotted the fleet two days earlier and informed the Rhodoc navy. Taking advantage of the speed, the Rhodok fleet arrived three hours ahead of schedule at the place where Salander's fleet must pass. As soon as they spotted the Rhodoks on the horizon, Salander's merchant ships turned their bows in confusion and turned south to flee. The Rhodoks were surprised to find that Salander's three ships did not seem to be afraid, but instead lined up, exposing their sides. The Rhodoks felt that either the Salanders were surprisingly arrogant, or they were so stupid that they only did it when the two ships approached and the soldiers fired their bows and arrows.

And in the face of a new navy like the Rhodok fleet, which is extremely fast and has a long range of crossbow arrows, this is tantamount to asking for a dead end.

The Rhodoks adjusted their angle and split into two groups on the surface of the sea, surrounding the Salanders. The White Dove Valley was in the middle of the left fleet. When the fleet approached the Salander people, a puff of white smoke suddenly came out of the Saland's battleship, and the light was shining in the distance, and before the people in the fleet could react, they saw that the bow of the "Aaron" rushing to the front was hit by something, and the sawdust was splashed everywhere, and the screams were endless. Then there was a rumbling thunder, and the Rhodoks were terrified of this strange weapon, but nevertheless they were able to complete the siege of the Salanders with discipline and courage.

By evening, two of the three Salander fleets were left with a burning pile of debris on the sea, and the remaining one was captured by the Rhodoks. Just as the Rhodoks were about to board the ship to seize the loud weapon, the captain of Salander tied himself to the black pillar-like weapon and pushed it into the water. The clerk on the battleship Salander handed over the surrender of Captain Salander to the Rhodoks: "Our division has surrendered, but I have decided not to accept the insult. I hope you will be kind to my men. In addition, there are thousands of such weapons that I have taken to Hell in Salander, and if you are determined to try them, then I believe that I will soon see you in Hell soon."

The Rhodoks honored Captain Salander's last plea, and did not hang them on their masts, as they had done against the enemy in the past, or give them a small sampan and a jar of water to fend for themselves. The Salanders were brought back to the bay of Garmic and subjected to rigorous interrogation.

At that time, the interrogation was attended by the clerks of General Garcia and General Enor, Sabo Marion of the Craftsmen's Guild, and Edward as an interpreter. At this time, Edward saw that there was no hope of ending the war, and had begun to cooperate with Marion. Because Marion wanted to get clues about Aoi from Edward, he took good care of Edward. Edward was partially regained his freedom after several rounds of interrogation, and would participate in negotiations as an intermediary province if needed.

By interrogating Salander's captured navy, the Rhodoks learned that the new weapon was a strange weapon that used explosive charges. The formula of that drug came from some Oriental people, yes, that Eastern people, the people who invented paper. When people picture in their minds what that people were like, they think of it as a wonderful society full of clever craftsmen: they can create elegant paper, but they can also create such destructive explosives.

The Salanders also confessed that there were many craftsmen of this ethnic group in Sharitz. The Salanders say that their ancestors were first captured in the desert of the East hundreds of years ago, when their Imperial Expeditionary Force was routed by the Salander allies, and that empire gradually retreated to the East. Since the captives were dexterous craftsmen and excellent farmers, they were not thrown into slavery on various farms. After more than ten years of changes, those people gradually settled down and became the technicians and craftsmen of the Eastern countries, and it was at that time that their papermaking skills began to spread.

Some people even say that the destruction of the Kalard Empire was related to papermaking, and in the past, the high-level documents of the Kallad Empire were written on parchment scrolls or papyrus, which were either inconvenient to use or expensive, and ordinary people could not spread quickly if they had a certain belief or voice. However, the introduction of papermaking reduced the cost of disseminating knowledge and ideas within a few decades, and by the end of the Kalad period, a large number of civilians had been able to spread their grievances through cheap official documents and small leaflets, which greatly reduced the trust of the people in the Kallad Empire, thus hastening the collapse of the Kallad Empire. Although the cause and effect of this matter is somewhat far-fetched, the contribution of papermaking to the development of the whole continent is still self-evident.

After a landing to replenish supplies, the Admiralty gave the fleet the task of capturing a ship carrying new weapons.

Having received such an order, the Rhodok fleet intensified its patrols in the waters near Sharitz. The stakes are so high that the Salanders sometimes throw them into the water even if they surrender. It seems that the Salanders were terribly afraid that the Rhodoks would master such a thing.

In the winter of that year, the White Dove Valley was captured.

It came to pass that the 'Philosopher' of the Rhodok fleet was sunk off the coast of Sharitz.

At that time, the 'White Pigeon Valley' was patrolling not far away, and when it saw a column of alarm smoke burning in the distance, the White Dove Valley immediately approached there. After a long day's advance, the White Dove Valley realized that it was too late. The sailors of the Philosopher were struggling in the water, the Salanders were shooting the sailors on the surface with bows and arrows, and several Rhodok boats tried in vain to escape the Salanders.

The White Dove Valley soon found itself facing almost an entire Salander fleet.

The Philosopher was quietly approached and surrounded in the night. The Philosopher discovered the Salander's attempt at dawn too late, and after a few hours of escape, the Salanders finally hit the waterline below the waterline and sank shortly thereafter. The Rhodoks had never thought of a ship being sunk within hours of fighting, and in the old days it was really not easy to get a ship below the surface, and there was hardly any quick way to do it except by fire. But the terrible weapons of the Salanders changed the situation.

"Captain, I think we should get out of here, the Salanders have already discovered us." The boatswain squinted his eyes and said.

"Didn't you see the sailors? They are asking us for help. ”

"Captain!" The boatswain said with a serious expression, "If we catch those people, we will be overtaken by the Salanders." Those people don't run as fast as the Sarandian ships.''"

Before the boatswain could say anything, Captain Arcadio had already turned around and ordered the soldiers to change direction.

Father's command told the White Dove Valley to go some distance towards the crew of the Philosopher on the surface of the sea, and when they were relatively close to them, then turn around and go backwards, so that the wrecked crew could board the ship as quickly as possible and throw the Salanders as far behind as possible.

The Salanders soon noticed the recklessness of the lone Rhodoc ship, and the Salanders approached.

Every minute and every second is extremely precious, maybe tens of meters, and for the 'White Dove Valley', it is a crucial distance whether it can escape from the Salander shooting.

Convinced that they would be able to capture the White Dove Valley, the Salanders approached and began to shoot with their weapons at the remaining boats of the Philosopher' on the sea, and soon one of the boats was hit, and the officers and men of the White Dove Valley watched as the people of the White Dove Valley were smashed into a cloud of blood. The power of this weapon is simply unimaginable.

After hitting a dinghy, the Salanders stopped firing, fearing that the White Dove Valley would turn around and run away if it was frightened.

The Salanders were soon surprised to find that they had messed things up: the White Pigeon Valley threw several ropes with iron hooks at the ends of the ballistas at the boats, and when the boats got the ropes, the White Dove Valley immediately turned. Under the towing of the White Dove Valley, the dinghy soon approached the 'White Dove Valley' very quickly. The speed of the White Dove Valley was astonishing, and it quickly left the Salanders behind.

The crew of the White Dove Valley looked at their captain with mixed eyes, especially when they saw the power of the Salander weapons, and could hardly understand why the captain would lead them head-on. In the moment of life and death, the life and death of friendly soldiers are undoubtedly less important than their own surnames.

The newly landed crew wept with joy, thinking they were dead, and after being rescued, they knelt down on the deck and thanked God for His providence.

"It's all right," muttered his father, as Cesar watched nervously at the Salands chasing the White Dove Valley behind the ship.

When the hell will Arcadio stop doing such a thing, Cesar thought.

Suddenly, he saw the ships of Salander's fleet glow white almost simultaneously.

"Get down!" , exclaimed Cesar. The soldiers on the ship bent down one after another, looking nervously around. Immediately, a lot of debris fell from the sky, and the Salander shells were still powerful here, but they were poorly accurate.

In the first round of shooting, the right rear chord of the White Pigeon Valley was hit, but it was unharmed.

The White Dove Valley continued to move rapidly, getting farther and farther away from the Salanders.

Finally, the Salanders stopped shooting. The soldiers discovered this phenomenon in tens of seconds of shooting.

Finally it worked! The soldiers cheered! The soldiers thought that after a long escape, they had finally sailed out of range of the Salanders.

At this moment, the White Dove Valley suddenly remembered a loud roar, and then the sound of the Salander shooting was heard. The White Dove Valley shuddered, and then everyone's throats tightened: the main mast of the White Dove Valley creaked, slowly splitting through it and snapping to the side.

The speed of the White Dove Valley decreased instantly.