On January 17, 1446 A.D., the Castels declared war on the Bordes in the name of independence and the reconquest of de jure territory.

On 18 January, the Boulder family also declared war on Castel on the grounds of quelling the rebellion and legally stripping them of their titles.

The Castel-Boulder War officially broke out.

At the same time, the third prince, Philip, in his capacity as Duke of Boulder, assured the nobles of the Northlands that the rebellion was only against the Castel family.

As long as the Northland nobles remain neutral, they can avoid the spread of war, and their titles and realms can be retained.

Those who swore allegiance to Boulder received a number of preferential conditions, including a reduction in the tax on vassals' contracts.

The Boulder-Violet coalition, which had reached the border between Violet and Castel, marched into Castel territory after declaring war, claiming to be an army of 50,000 and 30,000 standing reserves.

At the same time, the Duchy Combined Fleet, consisting of five heavy Carrick three-masted battleships, twelve brigs, and twenty-three galleys, with a total of thirty-eight battleships loaded with stone guns, also sailed away from the northernmost port of Violet and sailed along the Star-Moon Strait in the direction of the North Port.

On the land route, the combined forces of the two principalities entered Castel and were overwhelmed.

With the exception of a few Northland Barons, including the Valais, who resisted for a moment from their castles, the coalition encountered little effective resistance along the way.

Everywhere they went, almost all of the nobles of the Northland declared their neutrality after seeing the mighty army, or simply surrendered outright.

However, the combined forces of the two principalities did not stop at the towns and castles they passed through.

After leaving some soldiers and noble officers as temporary controllers to ensure the normal operation of the supply lines, the main force continued northward with great vigour, heading straight for Castre's direct jurisdiction of the North Harbor.

On the other hand, unlike the Army, which had been in full swing all the way, the Boulder-Violet Navy had some trouble.

After entering the Star-Moon Strait, the Combined Fleet was ambushed by the Castel fleet led by the Roman-Forl family......

……

Xingyue Strait, the waters of Zeen Island.

The roaring sound of artillery fire resounded in the sky, and dozens of warships divided into two camps with each other, constantly swimming and firing in the north and south directions.

Bursts of white smoke rose along the hull of the ship, and bullets of broken stones were fired from the muzzles of the stone cannons on the side of the ship.

From time to time, a faint glow could be seen bursting from above the battleship, which was the magic shield activated by the mages accompanying the ship.

However, the effectiveness of the magic shield is obviously limited.

After the initial engagement ran out of mana, the fleets of both sides went into undefended hot war mode.

From time to time, you can see that after a series of shelling, a battleship has either been hit in a powder magazine and ignited a fire, or it has been directly smashed into a mast and lost its mobility, or it has been beaten into a sieve and slowly sank in a continuous roar.

"Right full rudder! Right full rudder! ”

"Ammunition hand loaded! The other side is about to turn around! ”

"Fire!"

On the flagship of the Roman Fahr family, the Black Order.

The pirate-turned-first mate commanded the crew and roared the order to attack.

And at the bow of the ship, the commander-in-chief of the fleet, Viscount Roman-For, held a telescope and looked at the battle on the sea with a solemn expression.

The roar of cannon fire rang out one after another, and from time to time ships could be seen destroyed and sunk in a series of artillery fire, and the entire sea was gradually enveloped in the white smoke of gunpowder.

And if you look closely, you will see that most of the sunken warships have fluttering flags from the Duchy of Violet and the Duchy of Boulder.

Unlike the combined fleet of principalities with strong firepower.

Although the number of ships in the Castel fleet was small, with only three Carrick three-masted warships and eighteen galleys, it was much faster and more agile than the combined fleets of the two principalities because of the integration of many elven shipbuilding techniques.

The gunfire of the Duchy's warships often missed, but Castel's fleet always caused damage to the Combined Fleet if it caught the opportunity.

However, although the results of his own fleet were more fruitful, Viscount Roman-For's face was extremely serious.

"Captain! The Hyacinth was sunk! The White Oak and the Purple Azalea sent flags, and the ammunition was running out! ”

The ship's flag-bearer shouted at him.

Listening to the other party's words, the old viscount sighed secretly.

Although the Castel fleet was known for its speed and agility, it was ultimately too few in number and limited in ammunition.

Although the fleet of the Roman-Fore family is strong, they are originally pirates, and they are not suitable for this kind of hard-fought naval battles.

After all, Castel was a county after all, and there was no need for it in the past, nor did it build a large-scale regular naval fleet.

Facing the combined fleets of the two principalities, this ambush could not have been won in the first place.

"Flag the ships and retreat."

Glancing in the direction of the combined fleet, the old viscount finally ordered.

……

This ambush on the sea lasted only half a day.

After sinking one Carrick trimas, two brigs, and three galleys of the Duchy Combined Fleet, and paying the price of sinking four galleys, the fleet led by the Roman-Fors family broke out of the battle in time and retreated in the direction of the North Harbor with the advantage of speed.

And the combined fleet, which had not suffered a heavy loss in strength, also continued to move forward, also heading in the direction of the North Harbor.

……

North Port, Earls' Court.

In the council chamber where the council of the nobles of the realm is convened.

The news of the naval battle has not yet been returned, but the battle on the road has been reported to Beigang one after another.

Charlotte, who led the main army back to the North Harbor, looked at the battle reports from the south and fell into deep thought.

In the hall, the nobles who participated in the counterinsurgency had already blown up.

"Shame! It's a disgrace to the Northland! Lord Earl, these southern nobles are really stupid, people like the third prince would still believe in the promises made, it is simply self-defeating! ”

A Northland nobleman waved his fist and said angrily.

"Your Excellency, your family territory is in the middle, and the war has not burned your family territory, you naturally said it easily, Boulder and Violet have sent an army of 50,000 and 30,000 standing reserves, such a powerful army, how do you let the various families in the south resist?"

An aristocrat who apparently had a home in the South retorted.

"Even if you can't resist, won't you evacuate temporarily? Why surrender? ”

"Evacuate? Do you mean to ask our family to give up their own lands and people? ”

"Didn't you do the same during the Star-Moon War? At that time, there were even many nobles who fought for the kingdom until the last moment, how did you live more and more? ”

"Aren't I fighting for Castel right now? My family is far to the south, and I don't know what's going on there, and I'll deal with the rebels when the war is over, but shouldn't we have a good discussion about how to defeat the enemy now? ”

In the hall, the nobles were arguing and arguing, like a vegetable market.

Stayed up late and changed _(:з"∠)_