Chapter 423 - The Burning Sea 2 (2/2)

Kwang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Hundreds of shells were being fired toward the fort from dozens of cannons.

Sparks shone and grey smoke rose.

However, the damage to the fort was nowhere to be seen. Only rocks and a few stones around it collapsed.

There was very little damage to the fort itself.

“Admiral, I think we need to get closer, so we could inflict more damage.”

“For us to do that… The army needs to get ready to siege.”

The Grenada fleet continued to fire on the fort.

The cannons were easy, and the men on the boat were seasoned ones. The accuracy was also high.

However, even as they attacked the fort, the men in the fort didn’t seem to fight back.

Suspicion kept crawling into Duke Nathan’s body, who thought that the fort’s men would become scared after seeing the power of the fleet.

“Lieutenant, don’t you think something is weird?”

“What do you mean? Is it about the enemy not fighting back?”

“Yeah, they should at least retaliate, right…?”

At the words of Nathan, the lieutenant thought for a moment and responded, “Are they waiting for our fleet to get a little closer to their range?”

“Hmm, that could be… But isn’t the fort too quiet?”

If so, many shells were going to come their way. Also, the fort should be overwhelmed with screams by now.

Even if they weren’t planning on counterattacking, the soldiers at least had to run around to move to a safe place, but none were seen.

It wasn’t just that. The shelling fell, and the guards were still keeping their position.

‘Are they?’

After trying to understand the ominous feelings, Duke Nathan brought the telescope to his eyes and looked at the fort.

As he moved to a closer distance, the image of the fort turned clearer than before.

Even though one side of the fort got blown away, the guard was still standing there without losing any blood.

And the fired shells burned the dry wood.

“Oh, damn it! We have been deceived!”

The fort was a fake one that was made to look plausible enough.

The border soldiers were just models made out of paper and wood to look real enough.

“The fort is a fake one?”

“We fell into the trap they sold!” Yelled Nathan.

“But how will the Rakan estates with few battleships attack us?”

They might have asked for help from another nation, but then, the Grenada navy must have found the ships closing in.

And if the ally ships did come, they should have attacked the Grenada navy already.

“Anyway, we need to hurry…”

Kwaang!

The moment Nathan gave out orders, the ship shook with a heavy sound.

The sailors on the deck wobbled, and Duke Nathan along with his lieutenant was plummeting into a water column.

“What is this? Where did the attack come from?”

“Admiral! Over there!”

Nathan, who was standing on the wobbling ship, looked at the waters where his lieutenant was pointing at.

A few large wooden boxes were tied over the edge of the boats and rocks in water. However, it had a lid and a thin rope outside of it.

‘I-is that a torpedo?’

While Nathan was trying to figure it out, the soldier pulled the rope that was attached to the lid.

As he pulled on the rope, the lid opened. The cannon went through the water and caused another explosion.

Kwang!

“Kwak!”

“W-what is this?!”

The explosion caused a large hole to the side of the battleship.

As the water began to flow into the hole, the ship, which had lost its balance, began to tilt, and sailors on the deck began to fall down.

“Ahh! Help me!”

“Save us! Please, help us…!”

The damage happened in an instant.

Duke Nathan who saw that was shocked.

“Get the rear line to move and save our crew! And hurry out of this place!”

Nathan was turning pale, but he kept ordering his men.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The waters began to show the upcoming attacks with heavy sounds. One after another, the torpedoes were fired.

The ships of Grenada sank into the sea, staggering. The flames created by the torpedoes were taking down a wave of ships.

“T-this has to be a nightmare…!”

In an instant, Duke Nathan witnessed half of his fleet sank, and some were caught in flames.

Seeing that disaster, he sat down with a pale expression.

Unfortunately for him and his fleet, it was just the beginning of their nightmare.