Andrea steps onto the deck of the Flying Zealander. On this fortress-like ship, his vision became wider. He saw the remaining fleets of the Pirate Kingdom sailing into the inland river one after another. The pirates who fell into the water due to the sinking of the ships were trying their best to swim back to the shore. Several ships stood guard at the mouth of the river, using ocean fire to drive away the approaching fleet.
In the narrow estuary, the Republic of Liguria could not escape the fire of the sea. Several ships attempted to pursue them, but they all burned under the attack of ocean fire.
After a while, perhaps because the fire of the ocean ran out, several ships at the mouth of the river began to retreat in an orderly manner. The Republic of Liguria took the opportunity to launch another pursuit. However, several ships equipped with Ocean Fire immediately blocked the middle of the river. After letting the friendly forces pass, they continued to block the fleet of the Republic of Liguria.
"You were obviously hit hard, but you were still able to retreat in such an orderly manner?" Andrea frowned.
Not to mention that the Pirate Kingdom suffered a major defeat this time. Even in a well-matched battle, "retreat" was a taboo word. For most armies, as soon as the order to "retreat" is given, it will trigger a rout across the entire front. There are only two situations in which an orderly retreat can be carried out during a battle: either the army itself is well-trained, or the soldiers have no doubt that the general commanding the army can win.
A group of people appeared on the shore. The Army of the Pirate Kingdom sensed the failure at sea and rushed to the shore to provide support.
"That's enough, stop the pursuit!" Andrea ordered with a dark face.
The Avros piper behind Andrea played the music that signified the withdrawal of troops. The sound was like the whine of the dead souls on the battlefield.
The navy of the Republic of Liguria began to clean up the battlefield.
"Marshal! One hundred and sixty-nine enemy ships were sunk and fifty-two were captured!" Ansaldo boarded the flying Sealander excitedly. "The enemy fleet has lost one-third! This! It’s an epic victory!”
"Epic victory? Is that what you think?" Andrea looked at the direction of the Pirate Kingdom's retreat and then at Azov City, looking quite dissatisfied. "Didn't you notice? The enemy's fighting spirit has not diminished at all. . We only won one battle, and the outcome of the entire battle is still unknown!"
"Does... Marshal think they will come back?"
"A comeback? Look over there, their siege camp hasn't even moved! What on earth are those army idiots doing?"
Andrea banged her cane hard on the deck.
"Follow me to the city and find out what's going on!"
The seaside gates of Azov were wide open. The soldiers guarding the city stuck their heads out on the city wall and weakly welcomed Andrea's arrival. But when the "Flying Zealander" docked steadily at the dock, thunderous applause still sounded from the city wall - this ridiculously large ship had been letting them take over since it appeared on the battlefield. Having nightmares.
Andrea had just stepped off the boat. A group of congressmen, generals and wealthy businessmen supported each other and surrounded him. With a dark face, Andrea grabbed a general who stretched out his hand and asked loudly: "Why didn't you just cooperate with the navy to attack the city?"
"Marshal?" The general pointed to his cracked lips and said in an almost pleading voice, "Can we drink some water first?"
Andrea snorted coldly, threw the general to the ground, and then waved to his subordinates to bring in the water stored in the fleet and distribute it to the soldiers guarding the city.
After drinking a glass of water, the group of people finally gained some energy, and the expressions on their faces became more comfortable.
"My navy has just defeated the pirate kingdom's fleet, why is your army hiding in the city and not coming out?" Andrea continued to ask, "What if you just cooperated with the navy to attack their siege camp?" , this group of pirates has now been driven back to Scandinavia! Why let them gain a foothold?"
"Marshal Andrea, you also saw that we didn't have the strength to fight just now?" An army general replied slowly, "And the enemy's commander is Ragnar Lodbrok. He commanded The army cannot be defeated. If we had just left the city to fight, I am afraid that the city of Azov would not be ours now."
"You would rather die of thirst than go out to fight in the city?"
"Marshal Andrea, you are here, how can we die of thirst!" A wealthy businessman replied with a smile, "As long as you, Marshal, keep the sea route, all kinds of materials will be continuously sent to Azov City, even if you are a pirate Even if the kingdom is surrounded for a year, it won’t be able to be conquered!”
"You just gave up a great fighter plane." Andrea raised his head and sighed with hatred, "I don't know how the enemy's commander will attack us next time."
"Marshal, I also think you are worrying too much." Ansaldo said from the side, "Even if the enemy comes again next time, as long as you are here, Marshal, we will be as stable as a mountain. Even if you are not here, Marshal, I can still defeat them." Rush back to shore."
"Yes, yes, yes! As long as you are here, Marshal, we can't lose control of the sea!" A congressman said at the side, "Marshal, you have won a big victory today. Why are you talking about those irrelevant things? Come here, come here. Bian, we have arranged a triumphal ceremony for you!"
Amid the cheers of the crowd, Andrea was surrounded and walked into Azov City. A beautiful woman ran up to him, put a golden crown on his head, and congratulated her: "Marshal, you will surely achieve more and more brilliant victories in the future, and the entire ocean will surrender to your majesty." Down!"
Andrea stopped for a moment, stared at the girl, and said seriously: "If this is a triumphal ceremony, what you should say now is: 'Remember, you are still just a mortal.'"
"That's the custom of the Qiqiu Empire!" A wealthy businessman laughed from the side, "Marshal, we don't need to be as strict as they are! You are the pillar of the Republic, and no praise is too high!"
There were echoing voices all around. The people in Azov City were selflessly celebrating this victory, but the navy people who were familiar with Andrea were keenly aware that Andrea's crutches were hitting the ground frequently - this was his angry sign. precursor.
"The customs of the Empire of Seven Hills?" Andrea tried his best to suppress the anger in his voice, "The Republic of Liguria is a republic of the Empire of Seven Hills, and the Ligurians are the people of the Empire of Seven Hills! Ansaldo, let's go back to the ship. go!"
Leaving behind the stunned crowd, Andrea turned and left Azov City.
