Butterfly crossing time and space Eleven、Embarrassed both sides

  The fierce flames of summer poured down on the emerald-green New Enoa Oak grasslands, under the blazing sun like fire, the winding blue river sparkled with glittering golden light. A massive fleet puffed out snow-white sails, slowly sailing upstream in the gentle breeze. In the sky above the fleet, two small flying ships and three green dragons circled back and forth, trying to find the hidden enemy tracks in the grass.

  Idril stood at the bow of the flagship "Crown", his brow furrowed. Behind him, a large group of staff officers were busily marking maps, while on the grassy riverbank, countless infantrymen formed a long column, struggling to advance through the muddy shallows.

  It's been five days since we set out from Glorious City, but the fleet still has a long way to go before reaching Tan Hai. Idriel, who came from the army, had to admit that he greatly underestimated the difficulty of navigating through rivers.

  The fairy fleet had no navigator, no hydrographic data, and not even a detailed map. Along the way, continuous shallow waters, reefs, rapids, and harassment by guerrilla forces caused the fairy army to dwindle, many warships ran aground or sank, and food and ammunition were increasingly scarce.

  After receiving the magical telegram from Councilor Ludwig, the herders and militiamen of New Enooak did their best to give trouble to the upstream fleet of elven ships. These robust sons of the prairie were mostly refugees who had fled from the southern continent of Ferren, which was destroyed by the elves, and almost every household had a deep hatred for the Elven Kingdom. Recently, they had been burned, killed, and looted by the Elven Expeditionary Army, so in recent days, there have been guerrilla squads riding fast horses around the fleet at all times. They either lurked in the grass along the riverbank, sniping at sailors on the ships with repeating rifles; or floated down various simple explosives from upstream to damage the ships; even sent water ghosts to sabotage and set fire to the ships under the cover of night. Due to the limited width of the river, once a ship was damaged, it would block the navigation channel, and it had to be cleared before proceeding, so the Elven army's journey was further slowed down.

  For the safety of the fleet, Idriel had to send infantry to patrol and scout on both banks. As a result, the riverbank in front was filled with traps and landmines overnight, and large cavalry teams hung around the elven army from a distance, occasionally charging over to fire a few cold shots. Once the elven army pursued, they would escape on horseback, and the elven infantry could not catch up with the cavalry, but neither could they leave the fleet to clear them out. Due to limited gunpowder, the ship's cannons could not be fired frequently, resulting in being passively beaten, morale plummeting day by day.

  In desperation, the Eldrid deployed their precious flying ships and dragon riders to disperse the guerrilla forces gathering on both banks. At first, this had some effect, and they even managed to seize some food and gunpowder. However, the guerrillas soon learned from their mistakes, hiding their troops in remote areas during the day and returning to harass the riverbanks at night when the air force was less effective. Moreover, the number of guerrilla fighters continued to grow, and the losses among the elven infantry and ships also increased, with two dragon riders being killed by a large group of guerrillas after their green dragons fell from exhaustion due to frequent sorties.

  If that were all, Idriel estimated he could still make it into the Mild Sea before supplies ran out and preserve most of his forces. However, the problem didn't stop there; on the next leg of their journey, they had another difficult pass to navigate, whose success would determine the life or death of the elven fleet.

  That is the stronghold that guards the confluence of the Blue River and the Dalmatian Sea, where nearly half of the Seventh Fleet was once stationed, the third-ranked military fortress in New Trisellia's thirteen states - Bluefort.

  For nearly a century, as the elven forces expanded comprehensively, the Nacelle Empire gradually fell into an unfavorable position in the maritime competition. One by one, trading posts and colonies were destroyed by the elven navy, and the once global trade network was shrinking day by day. In order to preserve the 13 states of New Nacelle with limited military strength, a naval general proposed the concept of "existence fleet" ten years ago, that is, withdrawing the fleet to a safe inland area to avoid the enemy's military edge. At the same time, due to the existence of our own fleet, it can also restrain the action of the enemy fleet. He believed that this would allow the fleet to play a better role than direct combat. Under this idea, he built a new naval base at the confluence of the Blue River and the Light Sea, as a spare mother port for the entire fleet, in order to preserve the fleet when the battle situation is unfavorable, while preventing the enemy from entering the Light Sea deeply. This naval base is Bluefort.

  However, by now, the majority of the warships of the Seventh Fleet have sunk outside Emon Port, and General Soliton withdrew a large number of military supplies when he attacked North Pole Port from here. After the New Mazovia militia launched guerrilla warfare, many officers and soldiers were borrowed to serve as instructors, greatly weakening the fortress's strength. This is also the reason why Idriel dared to go west.

  "The place is quite large, but unfortunately it's a bit deserted." Standing on the city wall of Bluefort, Fili made his personal evaluation of the surrounding environment, and the big druid beside him nodded his huge bear head.

  Originally, the Blue Fort was designed to consist of land fortresses on both banks of the Blue River, floating gun emplacements on the river surface, and a military port on the side of the Tanhai Sea. However, due to insufficient funds and policy changes, this massive fortress became an unfinished project. The floating gun emplacements and the northern shore's fortifications were barely started, and as far as the eye can see, there is nothing but wild grass. The southern shore's military port has half of its wharfs usable, but the supporting facilities such as the shipyard are all in an unfinished state, and due to exposure to wind and rain, they are gradually collapsing, looking like ancient ruins in a wilderness.

  The southern fortress where Fili is currently located has finally been built to a decent standard, but the gun emplacements on the city walls are mostly empty, as if they have been moved away. Moreover, there is only one naval lieutenant with more than 50 soldiers stationed in the entire fortress, and some military dependents, herders, and fishermen living in the harbor area, which is really desolate. Even if Fili and all other military mages use up their spells and magical items, they can only teleport over a hundred people, which is far from enough to defend the fortress.

  "When designed to hold 5,000 people, the fortress is now barely filled with less than 300. It's an understatement to describe it as desolate." Ludwig, who had just been transported here, was suppressing the discomfort caused by long-distance transportation, and asked with a worried face, "Respected Miss Taylor and Grand Druid, can you transport more people or weapons over?"

  Another one who mistook my gender, Fili muttered to herself in her heart, but didn't reveal it. "I'm very sorry, even if Bluefort has a precise positioning transmission array, transmitting over a hundred people is still extremely difficult. I've used up all the transmission scrolls and magic crystals, including the dragon crystal that was just seized. The great druid must have also exhausted his spells."

  The great Druid nodded desperately, his fluffy face showing an expression as if he was about to cry, looking like a poor worker who had been severely exploited, completely unrecognizable from the violent thug who could toss giant dragons around like beach balls.

  In fact, there was still a teleportation spell, and Fili took a sneak peek at the positioning teleportation ring on his left hand. It could instantly send Fili to the Governor's Mansion in Emon Port. If he didn't have this thing, he really wouldn't dare come to this place that was about to become a battlefield.

  "Alas," said Councilor Ludwig, plopping down on the ground, "I'll go around to the nearby villages and see if I can scrape up some more people. But arms are really a problem - when we came here last time to recruit soldiers, I basically emptied out the fortress armory. Hopefully you two will be able to continue casting teleportation spells after you recover tomorrow. In this situation, even one more person would be good. If we just let the Spirit Fleet pass through like this, the southern states will have my hide."

  Fili was about to comfort Ludwig when the precise positioning transmission array in the room behind him emitted a dazzling white light again. Fili turned his head to look at the Great Druid, who hastily shook his head, indicating that it wasn't him who did it.

  As the white light dissipated, much to everyone's surprise, Governor Sohn Norum and Speaker Zena appeared in the fortress transporter room.

  "I received news that a fierce battle will erupt here soon, so I brought Saon over." Zena, wearing a mage's robe, sat down in a chair, "It just so happens that Saon has some thoughts on this battle, let everyone take a listen. Saon, go ahead and speak up."

  Governor Nohm seemed somewhat displeased that Speaker Zenna had stolen his thunder, and he glared at her for a moment before turning to address the local leader.

  "Ludwig, where are the fairy troops now? How is the fortress?"

  "Idril departed from Glorious City just last night, and it will take her four to five days to get here. As for the fort," said Senator Ludwig, standing up and pointing outside, "take a look for yourself, I don't think we can hold out against an elven fleet's attack."

  Governor Nohm walked up to the city wall, took a rough look around and then came back. "It seems that things are not looking good, I had an idea when I received Phil's magical message, now it seems necessary to implement it. Ludwig, since we can't confront the fairy fleet head-on for the time being, why don't we just let them not come over?"

  "Could you be more specific?" asked Representative Ludwig, somewhat perplexed.

  "In other words, cut off the Blue River and let the enemy's warships lie on the dry riverbed!" Governor Norm said with his astonishing idea.