That night.
Eddington then set sail to visit the Yan Kingdom fleet stationed in the territorial waters, but to avoid misunderstandings, they only visited five or six medium-sized warships.
Although this move is extremely risky, after witnessing Yan Kingdom's naval exercises in the past few days, Eddington had no choice but to do so. If Yan Kingdom were to take further military action, even if he used all of his warships, he would probably be powerless to stop it.
As midnight approached, Eddington, standing at the bow of the ship, saw the Yan Kingdom warships at sea signaling for contact. He immediately ordered his sailors to lower the small boats, and with some trepidation, disembarked and boarded the boats, slowly heading towards the ironclad behemoth opposite.
——
One night passed.
As the sun slowly rose over the eastern sky on April 23, Isabella was already sitting in her temporary office at the Maritime Bureau.
It was only a little past six in the morning. She sat quietly in her chair, waiting for Eddington to come and report back.
A moment later, as there was a knock on the door, Isabella, who was deep in thought, looked up at the doorway and said, "Come in."
Good morning, Your Majesty.
Eddington opened the door, took off his hat at the entrance, walked to the desk, and curtsied.
Isabella scrutinized Eddington's face. He looked haggard, his eyes were bloodshot, and his face was full of worry, clearly indicating that he hadn't slept all night.
And indeed, at midnight, Eddington successfully boarded the Yan Kingdom's ironclad warship. After explaining his purpose, he waited on the ship for nearly three hours before disembarking, and it wasn't until almost five o'clock in the morning that he returned to Pulton Harbor.
Seeing Eddington's haggard face, Isabella showed concern and stood up, saying, "General Eddington, it's a pleasure to see you back safely."
Eddington nodded with a worried expression: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. As you can see, the people of Yan have not made things difficult for me."
Upon receiving this answer, Isabella gestured for Eddington to sit down, and then said:
"So how did the communication with the Yan people go?"
Eddington gripped the armrest and slowly sat down. After a two-second silence, he replied, "It went... alright, I guess."
"They have indeed finished their military exercises."
Upon hearing this, Isabella's eyebrows relaxed, and she pressed on, "Alright, have you seen their commander?"
Eddington hung his head, looking slightly dejected, and said, "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I didn't see their commander. He's somewhere in the high seas. The Yan people didn't specify where, but I think he's probably on some island."
“However, compared to that, I learned two very important things from the Yan people.” As he said this, Eddington looked up at Isabella with a complicated expression.
Upon seeing Eddington's expression, Isabella's face immediately darkened: "What is it?"
Eddington let out a long breath before speaking: "Firstly, the commander of the Yan Kingdom army that came here is their emperor."
"He came to us in person with an immeasurably large army."
As soon as she finished speaking, Isabella's fingertips trembled involuntarily, and her hands, which were resting on the table, slowly clenched together. Her originally gloomy expression visibly turned cold.
This is by no means a trivial matter. When the emperor of a country personally leads his army into battle, it is incomparable to appointing a general to lead an expedition.
Without a strong military foundation, it would be inappropriate for the emperor to possess great courage, but as we see it today, they have not lacked either.
Furthermore, the act of the emperor personally leading an expedition itself contains a wealth of information. The most important point is the stability of the country. If the country is not stable enough, then the emperor who is fighting abroad will inevitably be subject to constraints at every turn.
However, by now, the Yan Kingdom's army has been at sea for more than half a year, and every battle overseas has been a great victory. It is obvious that their country must be very stable and their national strength must be extremely strong, so they can continuously send troops to support their overseas campaigns.
At the same time, the Yan Emperor personally led the expedition, which fully demonstrated his determination.
Therefore, when Eddington revealed that the commander of the Yan army was their emperor, Isabella immediately connected the dots to the crucial information behind it, which made her even more anxious.
Eddington was well aware of these things, and that's why he was in a very bad mood after returning to Pulton Harbor.
It is obvious that the previous assessment of Yan Kingdom's national strength needs to be raised to a higher level, and this is no longer just something to be wary of.
Eddington sighed inwardly, and seeing Isabella remain silent, he softly called out:
"His Majesty....."
Isabella snapped out of her reverie, slowly loosened her clenched fists, and forced a smile, saying:
"What a man of great courage."
Eddington rubbed his tired face and mumbled, "Maybe."
He then changed the subject, his expression becoming increasingly solemn, and said, "And another matter has not yet been confirmed. It may be true, or it may be a lie told by the Yan people."
Upon hearing this, Isabella frowned.
Eddington continued, "The Yan people told me that they have defeated the Delta Federation Empire and achieved a complete victory in that war."
As soon as she finished speaking, Isabella's pupils dilated, and she couldn't even control the change in her facial expression.
Eddington noticed all of this and then said in a deep voice, "Of course, this is only a statement made unilaterally by Yan Kingdom, and its authenticity cannot be verified."
"In a war, it's not uncommon for one side to declare victory..."
Cute Dington's words did not dispel the shock in Isabella's heart. She bit her lip and remained silent for several seconds before speaking:
Do you think this is just fake news they're spreading?
Looking at Isabella's complicated expression, Eddington shook his head helplessly and said:
"The possibility of it being fake news is too low. Judging from this seven-day military exercise, they should have really defeated the Goths."
"They won, defeating the Delta Federation Empire in less than six months."
"By the way, Your Majesty..."
At this point, Eddington's face turned slightly pale, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
“What other bad news?” Isabella asked.
"After the defeat of the Delta Federation Empire, Emperor Hadra X. von Palen was hanged in Salvia, the capital of the Goths."
“This is what the Yan people said... I think... it should be true.” After saying this, Eddington lowered his head, no longer daring to look Isabella in the eye.
Upon hearing this, Isabella's delicate face stiffened, and her fingers unconsciously clenched into her palms, her sharp nails digging deep into her flesh.
"Is that so..."
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