Andrea's defeat was clearly visible to the defenders on Azov. For those congressmen and generals, this was like the earth was falling apart.
"If the Marshal fails, will the Republic send reinforcements?"
A fat-bellied congressman suddenly asked such a question, and the answer to him was suffocating silence.
Another fat congressman asked in a low voice: "After the navy fails, the sea route will be blocked. With the water source in Azov City, how many days can it last?"
There was still silence. Some people took out their handkerchiefs and began to wipe the sweat off their heads. They had already experienced the same thing. If Andrea hadn't arrived in time, those mercenaries would have switched sides by now.
A quiet voice came from the crowd: "The opponent is Ragnar Lodbrok. What will happen to us after he captures Azov City?"
This time, someone answered:
"Ragnar is the most brutal pirate king in history. I heard that he will not let go of anyone who disobeys him, even his eldest son."
Just hearing a "plop", someone fell to the ground. People looked at each other, and everyone's eyes were full of fear.
"In this case... there is only one way. If Andrea comes back defeated, we won't even have any chips in our hands."
…
More than thirty of Andrea's naval ships have been captured.
The Pirate Kingdom repelled the Ligurian ships that tried to attack, slowly set up a formation on the sea, and then launched a counterattack towards the fleet of the Ligurian Republic.
Andrea stared closely at the boarding platform named "Crow" on the Pirate Kingdom's ship. To equip every ship with such a device would mean giving up the sail on the mast. When a paddle boat loses its sail, it can only use oars to move forward. This will undoubtedly greatly affect the fleet's ocean navigation capabilities.
But when it comes to the close combat between the two fleets, only oars are enough.
"Interesting, in this way, boarding battle is our disadvantage. But since you give up mobility, you have to pay the price for it."
This unexpected way of fighting made Andrea's blood boil. He threw away his crutch and waved his hand boldly, as if he had transformed back into the young man who participated in the Ligurian War of Independence.
"Turn around, raise the sail, and put some distance between you and them!"
When oars and sails are used together, the speed of the ships of the Pirate Kingdom is higher than that of the Republic of Liguria. But the Pirate Kingdom voluntarily gave up its sails in order to carry the "Crow", so the Republic of Liguria had the upper hand in terms of speed.
It didn't take long for the ships on both sides to reach a distance suitable for long-range weapons. Under the command of Andrea, the fleet of the Republic of Liguria gracefully turned a ninety-degree angle, pointing all the ballistas on one side of the ship towards the fleet of the Pirate Kingdom. The sailors loaded huge crossbow bolts onto the ballistae. On land, these ballistae can be used to destroy palisades, gates, and towers.
Andrea, who was in high spirits, forgot about the trumpeter behind him and shouted excitedly with his own voice: "Show the other side a little color!"
Ella also loaded the ships with ballistae, but these ballistae were mounted on the sides of the ship, and they were trying to pursue the navy of the Republic of Liguria, with the bow of the ship facing the enemy. After a wave of shooting, the Pirate Kingdom was at a disadvantage.
"Don't panic! Reloading the ballista takes time!" Ella stabilized the morale of the army, "use this time to get closer to the opponent!"
The pirates paddled desperately, intending to get closer to the navy of the Republic of Liguria.
"Do you think this is the end? Little girl, your experience is still a little green."
Andrea waved his hand, and the ship that was loading the ballista quickly made a 180-degree rotation, aiming the other side of the ship at the Pirate Kingdom's fleet.
"Here we go, everyone - give the other side another wave!"
Under the two waves of attack, the pirates screamed and rowed more vigorously.
"What a tenacious opponent. How about trying this?" Andrea raised his hand high, "Prepare the trebuchet! Let them have a taste of their own weapons!"
The trebuchets mounted on the flying Sealander began to throw stone projectiles, hitting the ships of the Pirate Kingdom. Andrea thought that this would greatly damage the morale of the pirate kingdom, but for some reason, the pirates became even more aggressive.
"Did you see it! The Flying Zealander is right there!"
"I saw it, but these people don't dare to come close to us and fight!"
"Then paddle faster for me! We must take back the King of Sweden's home today!"
"Oh oh oh!"
Andrea's face twitched a little: "What's going on... Why is their morale so high?"
"Marshal," someone whispered in Andrea's ear, "it is said that the commander opposite is Ragnar Lodbrok. He has the protection of Odin, which can make soldiers forget their fear and become berserkers. .”
"Ragnar Lodbrok?"
Andrea thought of the girl's room on the ship and shook her head slightly.
"No...it's because the general opposite is deeply trusted and loved by the soldiers."
While the Ligurian navy kept turning and shooting, the pirate kingdom's fleet gradually approached them with high momentum.
The sea breeze comes and goes.
Suddenly, soldiers rushed over to report: A fleet from the Pirate Kingdom suddenly jumped out from behind, and they were about to be surrounded from front to back!
Andrea was shocked: "What's going on? We have been guarding the sea route these days. How did the enemy ship get around to our rear without us noticing?"
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Andrea had already guessed the answer - the Pirate Kingdom must have made another dry land trip and took the overland route to get around them.
He picked up the crutch he had left on the deck.
"Since we are at a disadvantage in close combat, the probability of failure will become very high. Let's retreat to the port today."
Andrea has already seen the shortcomings of the Pirate Kingdom's boarding platform: to carry this kind of platform is equivalent to completely giving up strategic maneuverability. If it were to be replaced with sails, it would lose its ability to fight at sea. Doing so is tantamount to being at his mercy. In addition, if you want to eliminate the disadvantage of boarding battle, you only need to modify the ship accordingly so that the beak on the wooden board cannot lock his ship.
"It's a pity, but, little girl, you are no match for me on the sea."
For that ideal Seven Hills Empire, he cannot fail here. He has long understood that the glory of the Qiqiu Empire depends on people to continue. As long as the human heart does not die, the light will continue until one day it shines brightly again.
However, what appeared in front of him was the white flag hanging high on the wall of Azov.
——While Andrea was fighting hard against the Pirate Republic on the sea. The councilors, generals, wealthy businessmen, and mercenaries of Azov City have opened the city gate and welcomed the pirate kingdom in.
On the sea, the pirates were still chasing after him relentlessly, determined to take back the ship under Andrea.
"Are you actually...defeated by people's hearts?"
The past flashed through Andrea's eyes like a revolving lantern. The War of Independence, the Republic of Liguria, the Empire of the Seven Hills...all came to nothing in a flash.
The Crow locked onto the Flying Zealander. The pirates rushed to the deck along the planks and fought with the soldiers of the Ligurian Republic.
"Stop it."
Andrea dropped the crutch in despair.
"Let my soldiers go...I surrender."
