On the southwest of Dragon Island, on a pleasant sandy beach, several sailors exerted all their strength to drag a small boat to a place beyond the reach of the waves.
Then, these sailors began to pour the seawater out of their boots and figure out how to clean the sand off their bodies. Read new chapters at m_v-l'e|-novelhall.net
"This place is really nice." The leading officer brushed the sea sand off his body and surveyed the surrounding scenery with high praise, "It is my honor to expand the territory for His Majesty the King."
"When will the follow-up troops be able to land?" After speaking, he turned to look at the subordinates by his side and asked.
"Sir, the troops will be able to land soon, and the following sailors and workers will all be able to get ashore before dinner today," the deputy officer on the same boat replied.
Not far behind him, on another small boat, soldiers armed to the teeth were jumping down one after another.
A brown flag was unfolded and hoisted onto a flagpole, then erected on the beach. This flag fluttered in the sea breeze, its golden steering wheel emblem particularly conspicuous.
"This land belongs to Taren Kingdom! Long live!" When the leading officer saw his nation's flag billowing in the wind on the island, he let out a cheer.
"Long live!" Everyone who landed shouted together, they had gone through hardship to get here, all for such a glorious moment.
"Set up the camp! Send out a scouting team... Wait, over there... What is that?" Just as everyone was excited about gaining control of the new island, the leading officer saw rolls of black smoke in the distance, near the mountain peaks.
"It could be a volcano," the deputy officer, touching the Longsword at his waist, said to his commander: "It's probably an active volcano."
"Perhaps." The Taren Kingdom's naval commander also touched the Longsword at his waist and raised his chin to look at the black smoke as he spoke.
After thought, the deputy officer offered another explanation: "Or it could be a forest burning, possibly due to lightning strikes or something."
"Send out a scouting party! Let them go check out the black smoke, see exactly what is burning..." the commander of the Taren Kingdom ordered anew.
"At your command!" The deputy officer nodded, ready to select a group of soldiers to take a closer look deep on the island.
Then, they saw a man emerge from the jungle, pushing through the shrubs and walking towards them as they were landing.
"What's going on? How can there be people here?" Commander Housen, who believed he was the first to land on this uninhabited island and expand territory for his motherland, exclaimed incredulously.
His deputy was also surprised because this unnamed island should have been recently discovered by several maritime powers.
He didn't look like a person from Zheng Country with black eyes and black hair, nor was he one of the elves from Poplar Kingdom. So where was this man in front of them from?
Meanwhile, deep in the jungle, two soldiers, tears in their eyes, pushed aside the branches around them and ran back in the direction they'd come from.
They needed to get back to the central island's watch station and use the telegraph equipment there to send word back to Dragon City of the intrusion on Dragon Island.
"We must avenge the captain!" The man carrying two rifles hissed through clenched teeth, "I'm going to kill them all!"
"If it wasn't vital to deliver the message, I would have stayed and emptied my bullets! Bastards!" The other soldier yelled as he ran, not looking back.
There was no choice, as the captain had left the two of them on watch. If the enemy had ill intentions, they had to get back to the lookout and deliver the message to Dragon City.
The two men ran swiftly until they reached the watch station established in the middle of the island by noon.
One of them immediately mounted the bicycle generator in the room, beginning to vigorously pedal to generate electricity for the telegraph equipment.
The other, clearly trained for this, opened the codebook on the table, referring to the text inside to send the telegraph back to Dragon City.
Minutes later, at Dragon City's anchorage outside the harbor, a plume of faint black smoke started to billow from an ironclad warship's chimney. Another warship that had been patrolling the sea headed straight towards the horizon.
The commander of the Dragon Island garrison, Tagg, upon seeing the telegram, immediately issued orders to assemble the troops.
An infantry battalion of the Dragon Island garrison, along with the artillery, totaling over 1,900 men, took up positions in the defensive perimeter outside of Dragon City and stood by.
"We must leave one warship to protect the harbor! Otherwise, if we miss the enemy's fleet, our warships won't be able to return in time to protect the docks and shipyards," Tagg, after arranging the defense mission, rushed to the city hall and met with a grave-looking Roger.
Then, he conveyed his thoughts to Roger, the person in charge of the island, "Our troops can't launch an immediate attack either, as we don't know from which direction the enemy will approach. If we miss the enemy forces, Dragon City will be in grave danger."
"We can only wait for them to strike first and then engage and annihilate them," Tagg said. "I hear a captain has been sacrificed."
"I've heard as well! They must pay a price for this!" Roger clenched his fist and, grinding his teeth, said to Tagg, "I've already telegraphed for reinforcements back to Brunas. I believe the backup troops will arrive soon."
"Reinforcements?" Tagg didn't think his troops wouldn't be able to hold Dragon City.
"Yes, reinforcements! Two Brunas-class warships will be on their way here immediately. That's what the reply from Brunas said," Roger informed Tagg. "Also, the reply included orders to enter a state of war and activate the first set of wartime communication codes."
"Understood! I'll return to headquarters right now! We'll first secure the factories around Dragon City and then figure out how to find the enemy's main landing force," Tagg nodded, took the first set of communication codes from Roger, and turned to leave.
About an hour later, the ironclad warship billowing with black smoke disappeared into the horizon. Another warship, now fully operational, took its place, patrolling outside the port.