From beginning to end, the Woolley did not even slow down. Bimaguan became the place where the Woolley's artillery fire debuted. With just a salvo of 18 small-caliber cannons on the starboard side, the Bimaguan garrison camp was destroyed. Amid the roar of explosions, the houses, stables, equipment warehouses, and granaries in the camp either collapsed and caught fire, or were in a mess. In the thick smoke and fire, next to the incomplete limbs or bloody corpses, there were wounded soldiers howling for help, and there were also soldiers who were unharmed but frightened and ran around everywhere. Their commander, General Ceylon, was like all the villains. He died in an ugly posture as soon as he showed his face...

In one round of volleys, more than half of the 500 garrison troops at Bimaguan were killed. Seeing this tragic scene through the telescope, Sarres' heartbeat accelerated involuntarily. Emotions such as excitement, horror, and fear kept entangled him, making his body tremble and making him inexplicably excited...

"Your Excellency the High Priest, do you want to fire another round?" Sareth asked tentatively.

Wu Lai put down the telescope and said, "It's not necessary. Besides, they have already dispersed. If we launch another round, we won't be able to find any missing ones. Inform them to stay alert and be ready to fight at any time!"

"Yes, sir!" Sareth crossed his right arm across his chest and saluted like a knight.

…

When there was a knock on the door, Ye Renwu frowned and threw the grain transfer application from Titania City back on the table: "Come in."

Two attendants pushed the door open and walked in, then walked side by side until they were ten steps away from Ye Renwu. At the same time, they knelt on one knee and kowtowed in greeting.

"What's the matter?" Ye Renwu asked as he picked up another application.

"Reporting to the general, the express horsemen from Wuhe Pass reported that a huge ship appeared in the inland river. The ship number printed on the hull is 'Wulai'..." After an attendant recounted the appearance of the Wulai in detail, he continued, "Wulai Pass has arranged for the navy to intercept it, but they said that they probably can't intercept it."

"When the Five Rivers Pass came to report the news, how far was the ship from the inner harbor of Assyria?" Ye Renwu stood up and asked urgently. There are five rivers running through the city of Assyria. Among these five rivers, the inner river connecting to Kayikede is the largest. The Five Rivers Pass mentioned by the attendants is the management agency of these five rivers. It is half soldier and half merchant - it is responsible for both military defense on the water and taxation and inspection of water transport and commerce.

"It was less than ten miles away at that time. When Wuhe Pass reported the news, the two sides had not yet engaged in battle." The attendant answered immediately.

"Prepare my horse!" Ye Renwu grabbed his sword with his backhand, "Send someone to notify the North and South camps immediately, and set off as soon as possible! The South camp will defend the port and dock area, and the North camp will guard both sides of the inland river. Also, notify Wuheguan to pull up all the chains to block the boats! Stop that boat in the river!"

The two attendants hurriedly took note and left as promised. Ye Renwu also walked out quickly, escorted by two hundred hastily arrived guards...

…

On the bow deck, Wu Lai stood with his hands behind his back, holding his identification card in his left hand - it consisted of two thin copper plates about an inch long and a long necklace. The thin copper plates were engraved with his name, number and rank. Every member of Wu Lai's army, from officers to soldiers, had one such card.

But unlike the others, Wu Lai's identification tag only had his name on it.

At this moment, he had a relaxed smile on his face...

"Your Excellency the High Priest, we have intercepted nearly a hundred ships. Should we speed up the ship?" Sales quickly ran over and asked.

"We are less than six miles away from the port of Assyria now, and we are downstream. We just need to maintain the current speed. Notify them to prepare for battle." Wu Lai said calmly. He had of course seen the small boats approaching on the river, but these small troop transports, which were converted from civilian ships, carried less than thirty people and were equipped with bows and grappling hooks at most, posed no threat to the Wu Lai. Besides, Wu Lai also needed to create some momentum.

The louder the noise, the more cautious and hasty the enemy will be, and the more troops they will gather and the more concentrated they will be. The more likely it is that the civilians around the port will be driven away by the Tianjuan Army or scared away by the Wulai's formation.

"Yes!" Sales was delighted. From the time the first intercepting ship was launched at Wuhe Pass to now, there have been more than a hundred ships "biting" the stern and left and right of the Wu Lai, like a bunch of disgusting flies buzzing around constantly, which was so annoying.

Not only Sarres, but the soldiers on the ship also thought so. However, in addition to disgust, the living targets in the river also made them itchy. Although they had conducted training on bombarding target ships in the waters of Greendo Island, that was nothing compared to bombarding the real enemy...

If the Wuheguan military ships knew that the entire ship of the Wulai hated them, they would definitely feel even more frustrated. They had already dispatched more than a hundred ships and deployed 3,000 soldiers, but after chasing for several miles, they still couldn't do anything to the Wulai.

Archery? The huge ship had long ago put up high shields on all the sides of the ship, not only blocking the view of the enemy, but also making it impossible to see even a person. What was that yellow thing on the shield? Copper coins! Not to mention feather arrows, even javelins wouldn't be able to shoot at it.

Go over and hook it with the claws? Don’t dream! Although the giant ship is not moving fast, the waves created by the bow are so big that the river surface is turbulent. If the small boat gets a little closer, it will be pushed away by the waves. The soldiers and sailors on the ship can hardly stand firmly. Besides, even if they hook it, they can only be dragged by it!

Block it from the bow? The three wooden sluice gates couldn't withstand its pressure, so how could a small boat stop it? Have you lived long enough?

Boarding battle? Oh my god, the enemy's side is at least fifty cubits above the water surface. Are we going to fly up to it? Therefore, the ship at Wuheguan could only chase while cursing. No, it was not chasing, but "escorting".

The soldiers on the shore of Wuhe Pass cursed loudly. They rode horses or ran, helplessly following the Wulai from a distance, moving forward...

"Hmph, bastards, I'll make them pay in another two miles." A deputy general cursed as he whipped the boat and chased it on the shore. Two miles away was the "hinge formation" of Assyrian Port. On the river that was one mile long and only half a mile wide, there were not only two wooden dams across the two banks, but also twelve ship-blocking chains across the two banks. Each chain was as thick as a strong man's waist. They were usually sunk in the water and would be pulled up and fixed by huge capstans connected at both ends when needed. It is worth mentioning that the twenty-four capstans weighed more than ten thousand pounds each and were firmly embedded in huge stone troughs.

In the opinion of the deputy general, even if the Wu Lai could break through three or five chains, it would be stopped by the subsequent chains. However, he did not know how Wu Lai could not know the defense situation of the Assyrian city.

…

When Ye Renwu rushed to the large observation tower above the port, he immediately saw the Woolley on the inland river three miles away.

"What? The chain that blocks the ship is not raised?" Ye Renwu was stunned and asked sternly.

One of the lieutenants who arrived earlier stepped forward and replied: "Reporting to the general, the first to seventh chains have been raised, and the ones behind are being towed. The chain to stop the ship is very heavy, and it takes hundreds of people on both sides to turn the capstan..."

"Slow reaction means slow reaction, why explain so much?" Ye Renwu frowned, "Are the trains and fire ships ready?"

"Reporting to the general, everything is ready." Another deputy general stepped forward to answer.

"What about the civilians here? How are they dealt with?" Ye Renwu asked again.

"Reporting to the general, they have been driven into the city and guards have been arranged to ensure that no one can take the opportunity to cause trouble." Another deputy general replied.

"Okay, you must remember that we have just taken over and cannot expect the Assyrians to submit to us wholeheartedly." Ye Renwu nodded and raised the telescope. Her brows suddenly furrowed, because she happened to see the terrifying power of the Wu Lai breaking through the first wooden dam. Above the huge waves, there were flying wooden stakes that were blown away by the impact force.

"Wu Lai, you really... really..." Ye Renwu's heart suddenly became heavy.

In the river, the Wu Lai had already accelerated. The propulsion speed of the oars driven by gears was unmatched by human power. Although it only accelerated a few miles in advance, it had already given the Wu Lai enough momentum.

But momentum was not the only reliance on breaking the wooden dam. The structure under the bow of the Woolley was the biggest reason why it could continue to move without any delay after the violent collision. Although the Woolley was built with a flat-bottom design that was very different from the Shelley and the Lolita, its bow was the same forward-leaning sharp-angle design as the Shelley and the Lolita. This design not only greatly reduced resistance, but also gave the bow a certain lethality, because the straight forward-leaning bow was like a huge knife.

What's more, the bow of the Woolley is not only similar to the ship, but also exactly like it, because its bow is not only covered with copper plates, but the sharpest edge is also specially thickened and polished...

Wu Lai knew that breaking through the first wooden dam was only the beginning. In the field of view of the telescope, nearly ten thousand Tianjuan soldiers had gathered in the port dock area. Soldiers kept appearing on the roads leading to the observation towers, command towers, large and small fortresses, and inner walls around the port.

On the river surface ahead, several huge copper chains have risen, some high and some low...

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"With so much copper, I will use it to make cannonballs someday." Wu Lai said to Sales with a smile and waved his hand, "Both sides, hunters get ready!" The section of the river where the ship-blocking chains were set was a bit narrow. The Wu Lai was sailing in the middle. Although it was more than 200 steps away from both banks, such a distance could only ensure that ordinary feather arrows could not cause damage. It was not enough to ignore weapons like the crossbow. Because of the loading capacity and draft depth taken into account during the construction of the ship, the thickness of the external copper plate armor was not too high. Of course, it could not be just a decoration.

"Yes!" The two flag signal soldiers stood up and responded, then turned around and quickly sent out a flag signal. Then, a hundred people from the special forces company quickly ran out of the cabin, two people in each group, and fixed the fifty assembled Hunters on the crossbow firing positions close to the small-caliber artillery positions. Even four were set up at the bow where Wu Lai was.

"Ready!" As the voices of reply rang out one after another, the Woolley trembled slightly, and it had already "cut off" the first interception chain and rushed towards the second one...

Ye Jianwu, who had seen this scene, gritted his teeth and asked, "Have you arranged the train-throwing position on the dock?"

"Reporting to the general, it has been arranged." A deputy general replied quickly, but was stunned in his heart, thinking that he had already reported it once just now. "Pass my order, change the explosive packs to kerosene packs!" Ye Renwu raised the telescope again.

After the messenger servant on the side received the order and ran to the dock, a deputy general hesitated for a moment, approached Ye Renwu and asked: "General, you think this big ship...can't be stopped, right?"

"It's very likely." Ye Renwu sighed softly, "Wuliglindo should be on that ship. Given his personality, if he dares to come here alone, he must have his reasons. We must not take it lightly, and we must not let that ship get close to the dock."

"General, what is that black mass on the deck in front of the ship?" asked another lieutenant general as he scanned the approaching Woolley through a telescope.

"I don't know either." Ye Renwu's brows were furrowed a little deeper. The telescope in her hand was given to her by Wu Lai that year. Its magnification and viewing distance were much better than the common ones in the hands of the lieutenants, so she could see more clearly, but she still had no clue - in fact, that was the main gun of the Wu Lai, but it was covered by a large piece of black oilcloth at this moment.

As soon as he finished speaking, there was another cry of surprise from the river bank. Ye Renwu looked up and saw that the Wulai, dragging long white waves, had "cut off" the third copper chain and rushed to the fourth...

"Quick! Light the signal smoke! Alert the entire city!" Ye Renwu screamed.

…

Just as the Woole was approaching the inland port, the Loli, far away in the Gulf of Muritania, withdrew reluctantly.

The one who gave the order to retreat was not Captain Bailey, but Putang. Even though this guy made trouble every now and then, he was trusted by Wu Lai because he felt that although Putang had a lot of minor flaws, his loyalty and leadership ability were impeccable. Moreover, the rogue spirit that popped up from time to time during the battle was very much to Wu Lai's liking - when marching and fighting, it is good to be as methodical and cautious as Otto, but it is rare to find someone like Putang who takes advantage of opportunities, makes detours when encountering tough opponents, and uses all kinds of tricks to win at all costs.

The war in Muritania had subsided last night, but the Xiuman army had not been completely annihilated, because the nearly 10,000 survivors, along with some core members of the Xiuman family, had moved from the ground to the underground - Muritania's fortifications were more than just those on the ground. You should know that Muritania had a huge copper mine more than 700 years ago. Although it was mined out as early as 300 years ago, the tunnels left behind were almost countless. After the Xiuman family took Muritania into their possession, they chose to transform some of these maze-like tunnels. Although the investment was not large, they did build an underground military camp with a water source, a well-stocked granary, and many pits and fortifications.

The most important thing is that its several entrances are very secretive, and the Xiuman Army was very careful when entering so as not to be discovered by the Tianjuan Army, so that the Tianjuan Army mistakenly believed that they had wiped out the Xiuman Army.

Thinking that the war was over, the Tianjuan Army immediately launched a looting and order restoration campaign in the town of Mauritania. They sent troops to search for remnants, put out fires, and clear streets, while they also sent people to collect property and food from house to house. Another group of people gathered together and ran towards the bay to drive the fleeing civilians back to the town.

Then, this part of the Tianjuan Army happened to encounter the Lolita, but Pu Tong did not gain much advantage, because he had just ordered two rounds of shooting, and the Tianjuan Army, which had suffered more than a thousand casualties, slipped away very shrewdly, and just hid in the woods and observed from a distance, and never came close again.

After a long stalemate, Bailey ordered a retreat. Pu Tong could ignore the cries and pleas of the civilians on the coast, but he could not be as cruel as Pu Tong. Besides, the enemy dared not get closer after experiencing the power of artillery. Instead of wasting time like this, it would be better to retreat first and give these civilians a way to survive. Although they might be enslaved after being driven back to the town, the civilians on the coast were short of food and exposed to the wind and sun. It was hard to say how many more days these civilians could survive.

Although Pu Tong was not happy about it, he knew what Bailey was thinking. Besides, it would be useless to stay there as he would not be able to gain any advantage. So he had no choice but to give up for the time being.

After the Loli sailed away from the coast for a while, the bored Pu Tang simply sat down under the flagpole to rest. However, he had the task assigned by Wu Lai on his mind, so he couldn't rest peacefully. After thinking for a while, he stood up, walked to the side of the ship, took out a telescope and looked at the terrain.

"Damn, the locations of both mountains are good, but they're too damn steep. Otherwise, if we pull a few cannons up there, we can definitely kill those bastards." Putong muttered to himself as he looked at the steep cliffs on both sides of the town of Malitania from afar.

A soldier who was wiping the deck beside him hesitated for a moment, then stood up and saluted: "Colonel, I am sure I can climb the two peaks you mentioned. As long as the colonel gives me enough ropes, I can not only pull up a few guns, but also all the guns, shells and people on the ship."

"Huh? Really?" Pu Tong was startled and couldn't help but re-examine the soldier. "Are you sure? By the way, what's your name? Where are you from?"

"Report to the colonel, my name is Manggu, I am from Yanmarsh Town, I have been in the Gap Defense Zone before, and I have met you, colonel." The soldier grinned and said...