In the southern sea area of Tianshui City.
The three cannon warships were conducting trial firing at a range of one thousand five hundred metres.
Of course, this distance was completely fantastical for this nascent navy.
Sauron was a liberal arts student, completely ignorant of ballistics. He could only let these people explore on their own.
To make the starting point slightly higher, the first batch of gunners Sauron recruited were either former trebuchet operators or elite archers. This group at least had some proficiency in long distance attacks.
These one thousand men spent their first month studying nothing but mathematics and geometry.
At first there were no cannons, so they used heavy crossbows and trebuchet launches to study trajectories.
It was not until half a year ago that the first batch of cannons was manufactured together with Asha Yuanba’s hand gun. This group of gunners touched a cannon for the first time, and fired for the first time.
Over this half year, every gunner team had already had over a hundred firing experiences. On land, their accuracy was already fairly decent.
But firing at sea was their first time!
“All in position, aim!”
The cannons on one side of the three warships, a full seventy guns, were all aimed at the target ship one thousand five hundred metres away.
At this distance, hitting large targets on land occasionally happened.
With conditions at sea so complex, Sauron had absolutely no expectation of hitting. What mattered was finding the feel.
Dozens of gunner teams, sweating profusely, loaded gunpowder and solid shot.
“Fire!”
At the command!
“Boom boom boom boom…” Though the several dozen cannons did not fire in complete unison, all completed firing within a few short seconds.
Inside the ship, it truly sounded like heaven shaking thunder. The entire warship shook violently.
At this moment, Sauron’s heart was in his throat, fearing the ship could not withstand the recoil of the cannon fire and certain parts would simply fall apart.
Fortunately, what Sauron feared did not occur.
After a bout of violent shaking, the warship was not damaged.
At this moment, a master shipbuilder nearby stepped forward and said in a low voice, “My lord, many places on this ship of ours were built unreasonably. According to my guess, at normal combat frequency, this ship will be scrap in at most three or four years.”
Sauron’s heart ached with a twinge. Just the hull of this warship beneath his feet, cannons not included, had cost him nearly fifty thousand gold coins, equivalent to seven or eight hundred million RMB. Yet in three or four years it might be scrap.
Many times, mistakes are only known after they occur. And what was certain was that in actual combat going forward, the ship’s errors would continuously be exposed. But progress was summarised through constantly discovering mistakes.
“No matter. If this ship can be used for three years, it will have paid for itself. And by that time, we will already possess the entire Raging Wave Kingdom.” Sauron said.
Then, Sauron asked, “How were the results of the first salvo?”
Because after the bombardment, the sky was full of thick smoke, making it impossible to see whether the target had been hit.
Yan Chuo’er rode a griffin, flying high in the sky where she could see clearly.
First salvo, seventy cannons, one thousand five hundred metre range, hit rate zero.
This was a very normal result. Miracles were not so easily achieved.
The only thing to do was to gradually become proficient through trial firing, finding patterns and feel, so that accuracy would improve.
Of course, this feel required hundreds or thousands of shells to develop, and all of that was money!
Eight minutes later!
“Boom boom boom boom boom…”
The three warships conducted their second salvo.
Seven minutes later, the third salvo.
Fourth, fifth…
Finally at the seventh salvo, the cannons hit the target ship one thousand five hundred metres away, and two shells hit.
Instantly, the warship erupted in celebration. They had finally hit.
But many also worried, could this be luck, merely a coincidence?
However, what happened next proved this was not coincidence, because the hit rate grew higher and higher afterwards. At most, there were actually six hits.
The feel had come. This mysterious feel had been found.
The gunners only felt their blood boiling, completely sensing no fatigue.
“This is completely different from trebuchets, completely different…” a gunner officer said excitedly. “Trebuchets were truly relying on luck, but cannons really have feel, have trajectory, can be calculated.”
This feel was too wonderful, allowing gunners to feel themselves improving, rather than firing completely at the mercy of heaven.
Thus, the three warships conducted sea trial firing tirelessly.
Moreover, they were dead set on practising at the long distance of one thousand five hundred metres.
Finally…
Two hours later, that target ship could no longer withstand so many bombardments and directly sank.
…
Day by day, time passed.
The three cannon warships trained madly every single day.
From one thousand five hundred metres to one thousand metres, to eight hundred metres, five hundred metres, four hundred metres!
From solid shot to chain shot, then to canister shot. Exploding shot was still very immature, but trial firing was also conducted.
Not only did these three cannon warships conduct sea combat drills, but several dozen other ordinary warships also had cannons mounted on their decks and came to this sea area for sea trial firing.
But unfortunately, even though Sauron purchased pig iron and steel at any cost, the number of cannons manufactured was always limited, unable to equip every single ship.
With only twenty odd days until the great battle, Sauron’s twenty five thousand navy was seizing the final moments to conduct frantic combat drills.
These people were all desperately earnest, but what would ultimately happen when they faced Yan Mo’s hundred thousand strong army?
Truly only heaven knew!
Because drills and actual great battles were completely different.
Moreover, Yan Mo had a hundred thousand navy, fully four times Sauron’s strength. Especially his Rock Pirate fleet, which was invincible under heaven!
So regarding this battle, Sauron had absolutely no certainty.
He had even already thought that if this battle was lost, he would have to relocate the magic mirror industry and gunpowder manufacturing plants entirely within Tianshui City territory, and temporarily abandon maritime trade, switching entirely to land routes, though such costs would be many times higher.
If it truly came to that step, Sauron’s income would shrink by half, and many expansions would have to temporarily halt.
Previously, Sauron had been blooming on all sides. Cannon manufacturing, arms manufacturing, army reorganisation, warship manufacturing, gunpowder manufacturing, castle defence line construction, and all other projects were proceeding simultaneously.
But once income shrank by half, these construction projects would have to be prioritised, selecting only the most urgent to proceed first.
So if this battle was lost, the time for Sauron to defeat Zhiyan Li would be greatly delayed, and even many uncertainties would increase.
So for this battle, Sauron could only pray.
Because cannons had never had precedent in naval warfare. What exactly would happen was truly unknown!
Do all that is humanly possible, and leave the rest to heaven’s will!
…
In the days approaching the great battle, Sauron and Zhiyan both remained at sea.
Every night, everyone’s ears still hummed, because the cannons had been firing all day. Even after they stopped, people always felt the ringing continued in their ears.
And every night, Princess Zhiyan would also cry out very loudly.
Fortunately, the only ones who heard her cries were the Rock women sailors on the ship, and Zhuang Zhixuan outside.
Zhuang Zhixuan was truly going mad. As Sauron’s personal bodyguard, her distance from Sauron never exceeded a single door.
So every night, she was outside the door, listening to Zhiyan’s various cries inside.
She truly could not imagine how this princess, fairy like in appearance, could be so greedy for pleasure? How could it be so vastly different from her usual otherworldly temperament?
This princess, before others, was always transcendent, cold and noble. Every inch of her being wrote holiness.
Yet every night, she would transform into a wanton vixen.
Truly demanding every single night, and more than two or three times at that.
Zhuang Zhixuan clearly saw that when Sauron rose each day, his steps were unsteady. There were even times she could not help but feel sympathy for Sauron.
Even more deadly, she too was a normal woman, a woman matured to the extreme, a woman who had tasted that pleasure.
Every night, listening to Zhiyan and Sauron’s passion, she too felt her entire body grow hot, her mind confused and enchanted.
Before sleeping she had to bathe, and after falling asleep she would have to rise in the middle of the night to bathe again. Otherwise her entire body would be uncomfortably wet and sticky.
And those magnificent dreams never stopped. She had them once or twice every day. Each time upon waking, her body burned deep within, feeling as if her entire being would melt, indescribably strange.
And what truly unsettled her mind was that one day, after Zhiyan and Sauron finished, Zhiyan directly asked, “Husband, when will you bed Zhuang Zhixuan? You must hurry.”
Hearing these words, Zhuang Zhixuan’s legs clenched, nearly shuddering violently, wanting to immediately flee in panic.
From that day on, Zhiyan’s words were like hooks growing in her heart, sounding from time to time.
Thus, her dreams every night became even more unbearable. Every morning she became even less able to face Sauron. Her entire heart was like overgrown grass, incomparably tormented, yet also incomparably yearning.
To the point that afterwards, when Sauron drew near by a few steps, Zhuang Zhixuan’s heart would race and her body would grow hot.
…
Time flew!
Tu Liyang and Tu Lingduo couple had entered the royal capital for nearly ten days already.
Within these ten days, Zhiyan Li had given Tu Liyang unprecedented courtesy, completely holding small banquets every three days and great banquets every five days.
This moved Tu Liyang greatly, and Tu Lingduo also gradually opened her heart to Tu Liyang, speaking of how Sauron had humiliated her, harmed her, violated her.
Hearing this, Tu Liyang’s hair stood on end in fury, his killing intent soaring to the heavens!
Finally one day, after Tu Lingduo and Tu Liyang were half drunk on wine, she wept, “Yang, I am no longer a maiden. I was once forcibly violated by Sauron. Will you despise me?”
If Sauron heard these words, he would have been unable to resist rising up to kill.
Indeed, he had had countless opportunities to possess Tu Lingduo’s body. Even Tu Lingduo had actively offered herself more than once or twice.
But Sauron had bedded Zhi Ning, yet never bedded Tu Lingduo.
Hearing Tu Lingduo’s words, Tu Liyang’s tears immediately welled up, his eye sockets nearly splitting, his voice a shriek, “Sauron, I will tear you limb from limb!”
Then, he wept emotionally, “If a man cannot protect his own woman, that is the man’s incompetence. How could I bear to blame you? In my heart, you are still that most beautiful, most holy woman.”
Tu Lingduo wept, “Yang, my body has healed. I can already bear children for you. I know you also greatly desire to have me, but… the shadow of Sauron’s violation always hangs over my heart. That terrifying violation, that cruel torment, gives me nightmares every night. It has also filled me with immense terror of love between men and women. So please give me a little more time. Wait until the shadow in my heart fades, then I will give my body to you and bear children for you.”
Tu Liyang was immediately moved beyond measure, “It does not matter. I am not anxious. I am willing to wait for you always. I will be with you, overcoming the shadow that devil Sauron brought you.”
From that night on, Tu Liyang swore in his heart that he must avenge his wife, must tear Sauron limb from limb.
He first sought out the Dark Society’s liaison, inquiring about the price to assassinate Sauron. After receiving the astronomical price of nine hundred seventy thousand gold coins, he had to temporarily back down. Moreover, the Dark Society indicated that even at this price, they might not necessarily accept, because their first assassination attempt on Sauron had failed, and they would be very cautious about a second attempt.
Though Luanyang City had once been the wealthiest vassal, several great battles had already gravely wounded it. Nine hundred seventy thousand gold coins was beyond his means.
Thus, Tu Liyang, with nowhere to vent his fury, began in the royal capital Zhi Capital to fiercely denounce Sauron, exposing his darkness and ugliness.
Moreover, he prematurely announced that Sauron would soon suffer an unprecedented defeat, that Yan Mo’s hundred thousand strong army would completely destroy Sauron’s navy, cutting off all hope of Sauron’s rise.
Then, Tu Liyang also repeatedly made public declarations that he would resolutely pledge loyalty to Prince Zhiyan Li. He would be irreconcilable with Sauron, fighting to the end!
In just ten short days, Tu Liyang had already replaced the former Gui Xingfu, becoming Zhiyan Li’s foremost vanguard, becoming Sauron’s foremost vassal enemy.
…
This evening, Zhiyan Li once again held a banquet for Tu Liyang.
“Tu Liyang, you may need to prepare yourself mentally.” Zhiyan Li said.
“What is it, Your Highness?” Tu Liyang asked.
Zhiyan Li said, “Your father may already have been killed by Sauron…”
At these words, Tu Liyang sat frozen in place, his voice a shriek, “No, impossible! Sauron definitely wanted to hold my father as a hostage, to extort Luanyang City. He would not kill my father.”
Tu Liwen was not only Tu Liyang’s father, but also his idol. In Tu Liyang’s life, his father’s weight even exceeded that of his wife Tu Lingduo.
If his father Tu Liwen was dead, for Tu Liyang it would be like the sky collapsing.
Zhiyan Li said, “I wanted to rescue City Lord Tu Liwen. I do not know how many people I sent to Tianshui City? But all were without result. And recently, one of our high level sleeper agents in Tianshui City informed me that City Lord Tu Liwen may already be dead.”
Tu Liyang’s wine cup fell to the ground. “Why would Sauron kill my father? This is impossible!”
Zhiyan Li said, “Once, I sent several dozen experts to Tianshui City intending to rescue your father. They found a secret dungeon and attacked in. At the time we did not know your father was in that dungeon. It was merely a normal search. And the people on Sauron’s side felt the dungeon was about to be breached, so they might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb, directly killing your father.”
Tu Liyang’s face twitched violently, then he burst into wailing grief, crying until his liver and intestines were torn apart.
“Sauron, I will tear you limb from limb, limb from limb!” Tu Liyang desperately shrieked, desperately pouring wine down his throat.
In just a quarter of an hour, the wine entered his sorrowful heart, and he was completely drunk into unconsciousness.
And just at this moment, Zhiyan Li clapped his hands, “Completely drunk and passed out. Come out!”
At this moment, Tu Lingduo emerged wearing a tight fitting long dress, her figure graceful and fiery, her gaze complex as she looked at her husband drunk into unconsciousness.
Zhiyan Li’s gaze burned hot as he stared at Tu Lingduo’s body, licking his lips, his voice hoarse, “I most enjoy playing with other men’s wives. But a woman who is both a maiden and a wife, this is my first time playing with one.”
Hearing these words, Tu Lingduo’s beautiful face trembled slightly.
Zhiyan Li smiled, “We must hurry. Did I not promise you before that I would give you a child? Today, I shall plant my seed in you, guaranteed to make you die from pleasure!”