I, transformed into a vampire girl, sparked the Industrial Revolution.

Chapter 33 Artillery Barrage! Target: Enemy Port!

Two rounds of grenades fired by the naval auxiliary ship F301 cleared the ground of the Royal Port Lighthouse, which stood on one side of the harbor. The towering brick tower was not garrisoned by any soldiers. Alicia realized that they should capture the tower.

The small boats were quickly rowed ashore, and a squad of soldiers, led by their squad leader, formed the core defensive position. Then came the second squad, the third...

The 1st Naval Infantry Company assembled on the shore. These several hundred men quickly got ready and, to the beat of drums, captured the Royal Harbor Lighthouse. A team of lookouts swiftly climbed the lighthouse and planted the tricolor flag on it.

"Report! The lighthouse is in our hands. The 1st Naval Infantry Company has suffered zero casualties and is ready for combat. The 2nd Naval Infantry Company is assembling and is expected to be ready to attack in ten minutes!"

Four 12-pounder mountain howitzers were quickly pushed ashore. Lacking horses, the artillerymen had to push the gun carriages forward by manpower. Head-on, two Type 90 escort ships quickly fired the first round of shelling. Four 75mm Dahlgren guns and two 122mm Dahlgren guns fired alternately. The shells flew over the ships and exploded on the shore, killing dozens of people and causing further chaos among the already disorganized sailors.

"Sir! The enemy has... has long-range firepower!"

"What are you afraid of? Where are the catapults and ballistae?"

By trying to calm himself down, Yang De realized that although the enemy's things looked like magic, they were actually similar to catapults, except that they fired explosive projectiles.

"It's being assembled, but frankly, at this distance, it's very difficult to hit the target..."

"asshole!"

Seeing that the shell had gone astray, the observer immediately shouted through a megaphone to the officer at the gun emplacement: "Adjust the firing parameters!"

"Be bold yet careful, and don't panic!"

The new data was quickly transmitted to both ships via flag signals and light signals. The focus of this attack was to destroy the puppet navy fleet. The gun elevation was quickly adjusted, and with a command, the two ships fired another salvo.

Almost all the shells flew toward the large ships in the outer harbor, which were large three-masted ships that had played an important role in the attack on the capital. However, they were not prepared in such a short time. Suddenly, a flash of light and three 75mm shells hit a ship. The shells easily blew open the hull and destroyed the mast, causing it to collapse quickly and killing several sailors.

Then, the 122mm cannon roared like the loudest beat in a drumbeat. Each 122mm shell had the power to sink a wooden ship. A large warship was hit and broke in two, making a horrifying sound and the cries of the wounded sailors.

How can we fight like this? Our nearly one hundred warships haven't even left the port yet, and they've already been wrecked by just a few enemy ships. Looking towards the port, Yang De saw large ships on the outskirts burning fiercely, some already sunk to the bottom, with sections of wreckage sticking out of the water.

The water near the shore was reddish-black, the red from blood and the black from burning ash. These ships were no match for the conical shells of rifled cannons; their hulls were never intended to be used to defend against gunpowder weapons when they were first built.

"Get those filthy bastards moving the ships! Set them ablaze!"

Fire attacks were a decisive tactic in naval warfare, at least for the Byronde. Compared to crossbows, fire-based ships were more likely to damage enemy warships.

Several ships began to move, but due to the sea and land winds, the ships moored in the harbor could not raise their sails at all, so only a few fire ships were able to move.

"Change targets, aim at those oar-powered sailboats that are in motion!"

Yug Lat looked at the harbor through his monocular naval telescope. After several salvos, the outer ships were mostly sunk, but the cannon barrels were starting to heat up. The sailors began distributing buckets of water to pour onto the barrels. He immediately ordered the 75mm cannons on the sides to cease fire, clean the carbon deposits, and wash the barrels. The 122mm cannons, due to their slower rate of fire, were able to maintain their combat capability.

On land, two companies of naval infantry began to advance. In their path were only scattered soldiers. A volley of fire killed some and sent others fleeing. Alicia took the opportunity to enter the city. The naval infantry's duty was to capture and destroy the port, while Alicia went to find someone.

Byrd quickly noticed the enemy landing force, marching in a thin line, and with strange crossbow-like objects. He summoned his men—the capital was not a place where heavy troops were stationed; most of the forces were on the front lines against the church further south, and the rest were either in the north.

A hundred-man unit, all fully armored, consisting of shield-bearers and spearmen as tall as a person, quickly emerged from the palace and assembled in front of the naval infantry. Leading them was the Royal Guard General, who stroked his beard as he looked at the army before him, unarmored and carrying strange short spears.

He decided to let the shield-wielding infantry attack first. The enemy appeared to be only about a hundred men, roughly equal in strength to his own, but they were unarmored!

"Three ranks! First rank, crouch down!"

The three-line battle formation of the Amerlansi vanguard is the simplest and most basic combat formation, as the three-line battle formation can guarantee basic firepower output.

"Raise the gun!"

The shield-wielding soldiers charged out from the ranks, and the naval infantry commander, Shortkar, looked at his opponents with disdain, sneering as he brandished his command sword.

"Fire!"

As if they had crashed into an invisible wall, the shield-wielders at the front were thrown backward, followed by the second and third. The naval infantry ranks were shrouded in smoke, and the surviving shield-wielders began to stop, awaiting a volley from the second column.

Hundreds of Minié rifles snapped the shield-wielding soldiers in two. The flying bullets traveled 100 meters, passing through the gaps between the shield-wielding soldiers and piercing the shield at the front of the long spear formation. A shield-wielding soldier fell straight down, his shield hitting the ground with a loud thud.

"What exactly is this...?"

Before the Royal Guard General could finish his surprised statement, the three 12-pound howitzers in the ranks opened fire. Solid shot spherical shells slammed into the shields like meteorites. The ornate decorations were no match for the shot spherical shells, which pierced a large hole, revealing a headless neck gushing blood.

Solid shot bounced through the ranks, killing many men in one volley. The naval infantry raised their rifles again and fired in unison. The Minié rifles with percussion caps had a faster rate of fire than flintlock rifles, resulting in a higher density of fire. In this volley, not one in ten of the shield bearers in the first rank survived.

If this salvo shattered the fighting spirit of the hundred-man square formation, then the 75mm Dahlgren gun shell support from naval auxiliary ships made them only care about escaping. The Royal Guard General was hit by a Mini shell, and even the demon's tall and strong body could not withstand this weapon.

"Artillery fire order—Destroy the enemy port!"

On the forward-deployed naval auxiliary warship, the order was loudly proclaimed.