The Glius Federation Fleet opened fire while sailing, with only a portion of the cannons on the bow deck usable. Coupled with the swaying waves, the accuracy was quite poor. Facing off against the Kingdom fleet, who had anchored and lined up almost all their cannons on the enemy ship's side to function as a floating battery, was an unbearable situation.

After a round of exchange, the Kingdom fleet equipped with Italian shipborne guns achieved decent results: two smaller enemy vessels were directly sunk, and some enemy ships were damaged.

Facing a fleet with both superior quantity and quality, the achievements made in the initial battle were already worth boasting about.

However, for Remington, the order from the temporary capital Ikante was clear: the coastal naval ports were crucial. These deep harbors capable of anchoring warships could provide the Gregian Federation a stronghold and a channel for continuous reinforcements. The enemy wouldn't retreat, and even if it meant exhausting all available forces, they couldn't let go.

Having risen through the ranks in the navy system, Remington held a deep affection for ships. If he wasn't the overall commander overseeing the battle, he would rather be back on his flagship personally commanding, witnessing cannons shattering enemy ship decks, breaking masts, and engaging in boarding combat with a blade in hand.

Yet, he had to consider the defense of the beaches around the port. Such reckless behavior could only exist in his mind.

Out at sea, the Gregian Federation Fleet also leveraged its numerical advantage. Unable to suppress the Kingdom navy inside the port solely with the firepower on the bow deck, they decided to forgo retaliation and charge forward directly.

With the Kingdom navy's firepower, it was impossible for them to inflict sufficient damage on the Gregian fleet during close combat as the firing alternated between the two sides.

In all honesty, viewed through modern eyes, the technological tree of this world was indeed peculiar. On one hand, magitech technology theoretically capable of creating advanced systems remained unindustrialized due to energy consumption issues. On the other hand, firearm technology, belonging to the realm of science, developed slowly, leading to situations where naval battles still sometimes resorted to boarding.

And that was precisely the approach the Gregian fleet was taking now.

Even if they managed to overlap and cover with cannon fire by crossing the ships' sides, the rotation process would undoubtedly be meticulously monitored. With the increased area under attack, the likelihood of hitting the ship's arsenal or causing an explosion in the powder magazine, leading to sinking, would significantly rise.

Rather than risking such a scenario, it was simpler and more straightforward to resort to the most primitive methods.

However, Admiral Remington had also guessed this line of thought.

In a pure naval confrontation, their Kingdom navy's subordinate fleet naturally couldn't rival a naval power like Gregia. Nonetheless, this defensive battle integrated both land and sea elements.

"Order given, commence the bombardment."

To prevent Gregia from gaining a foothold on the mainland, His Majesty the King ordered a nationwide war mobilization. Except for the troops on the eastern front and those engaged in the Maston operations, all other army divisions' cannons and the new magitech artillery provided by the Kingdom were deployed to the three deepwater naval ports on the western coastline.

The first time he saw so many varieties of artillery being transported into their arsenal, Remington had a sudden urge to unleash all that firepower someday. After all, which man wouldn't appreciate something long (referring to barrel length) and thick (referring to caliber) at the same time?

Unexpectedly, that day arrived rather swiftly.

From the perspective of the Gregian fleet at sea, a thin line of Kingdom ships suddenly emitted a row of smoke along the coastline, intermixed with flashes of crimson amidst the gunpowder smoke.

"Oh no, could that be—"

The cannonballs streaked through the air in fiery arcs, covering the enemy ship along with the cannons fired from the battleship. Countless splashes erupted on the surface of the sea, with the cannonballs hitting the ships and flipping them over. Even more deadly were the fiery bombs launched by the magitech cannons; just one hit could almost destroy half of a warship.

Fortunately, the number of magitech cannons was still insufficient, unable to overcome the numerical advantage of the Glaucus Federation fleet.

"Excellent, keep up the attack like this. Leven, immediately send a message to the other two naval ports, have them bring over the magitech cannons as well. Today, we must annihilate them at sea. These bunch of pirates think they can invade, bah!"

General Remington couldn't help but swear, but after a moment of thought, he banged on the table to stop Leven, who was already turning around. "Forget it, don't bring over the magitech cannons yet. First, relay the news of the battle to the First and Second fleets and Ikante."

The Glaucus Federation's attack demonstrated considerable determination, and the advantage of developing magitech technology also became evident.

"General!" Leven exclaimed in surprise.

"I see."

Remington's expression was somewhat grim as another round of cannonballs headed towards the Glaucus fleet, but this time, they failed to get close to the ships and exploded in mid-air, even the magitech cannonballs carrying fiery spells erupted into a large area of flames that helplessly dissipated.

Within a range of about ten meters above the Glaucus fleet, a semi-transparent barrier appeared, looming large and covering all the ships at the front.

"A barrier spell... Hey! How could they have that? Weren't you saying that only your magitech kingdom had mastered that technology?"

"General, please remain calm."

Apart from the officers, staff, and communicators in the operational command center, a person dressed in a white coat and wearing crystal glasses, with a completely different style, stood in front of a telescope watching the battle. When he heard Remington's question, he turned around slowly, "I did not deceive you. It is true that the widespread use of barrier spells is currently exclusive to the MagiTech capital, but the Glaucus Federation is our acknowledged competitor, second only to ourselves..."

"Are you suggesting they suddenly came up with this technology?" Remington raised an eyebrow somewhat irritably, realizing he couldn't deal with someone like this.

Who knew that if the opponent pulled out a magitech sniper cannon, blew up their command center from miles away in one shot, this guy might still admire the adversary's development of long-distance concentrating magic and corresponding high-precision optical lenses.

"General, you misunderstand. What I mean is, their technology is not mature, mainly in the excessive energy consumption and uncontrollability. From the judgment of the magic gathered by the war array that the ships can carry and utilize, the barrier can be maintained for no more than a minute."

As if to prove the man's words, just as he finished speaking, the magical barrier over the Glaucus fleet disappeared from the surface of the sea.

But in that short minute, the tide of war was completely reversed.

During the time the barrier was up, the Glaucus fleet had already reached a distance where their onboard troops could engage in combat.

As the distance closed, signs of defeat began to emerge in the formation of the Kingdom Navy. The number of Glaucus warships far outnumbered the Kingdom fleet defending Prettlin, with numerous gangways coming up to bring soldiers onto the ships, quickly transitioning from long-range cannon battles to close combat between the two sides.

The total number of personnel in the Third Fleet of the kingdom is around four thousand, with only half of them directly serving as soldiers on the ships, and even fewer soldiers specifically dedicated to boarding combat. The gunners on the top deck were immediately at a disadvantage when facing the aggressive and outnumbering Greluz sailors. In no time, the decks of several warships in the center of the kingdom's fleet turned into scenes of bloody melee, with soldiers from both sides occasionally falling overboard into the sea, only to be immediately shot down by a rain of arrows, leaving behind floating corpses.

Although they had the advantage of geography in fighting against superior numbers, they soon found themselves isolated and without support, with no one to rescue them.

"Damn it! These damned pirates!" Commander Remington slammed his fist on the table upon seeing his sailors sacrificing themselves continuously. "Send out orders! Those engaging the enemy are to resist on the spot; the rest of the ships must immediately retreat into the military port. Reallocate personnel between beach defenses and the port, position the artillery into anti-landing positions!"

With the barrier technique deployed, the only advantage the kingdom's fleet had was lost. Keeping the fleet in the harbor was akin to inviting death, so it was better to withdraw to the port first. At the same time, the central army stationed on the beach under Remington's command began their final preparations before the imminent battle.

On paper, Milanía had deployed a sea force along with two central army troops drawn from the south to block the Greluz Federation's forces, totaling around fifty thousand. However, due to the open bay outside the Port of Pretelin which needed defense over a wide area and was considered the most likely target for attack, a full central army division was already stationed there.

Yet, even a full division of twenty thousand troops couldn't handle the Greluz navy at sea. After losing four main battleships and having the flagship's mainmast destroyed by enemy fire, the remaining warships led by the flagship retreated back into the harbor.

General Remington had a clear strategy in mind. With the remnants of the Third Fleet's strength, launching a counterattack at sea was unlikely, but landing and capturing the Port of Pretelin wouldn’t be easy for the Greluz navy either. Being an island nation with a small population, the Greluz Federation had only two army divisions, and the defending forces had prepared a large number of defenses on land to await the enemy's attack.

After all, transporting such a large army posed a logistical challenge, and maintaining supplies for the fleet was itself a problem. The defenders had the advantage of being backed up by the mainland kingdom, from where supplies could be continuously delivered, making it difficult for the enemy to sustain their attack.

But the subsequent developments left Remington and his staff puzzled. Contrary to expectations, the Greluz fleet did not launch an immediate assault to swiftly capture the port for supplies. Instead, through the telescope, they even observed the enemy ships dropping anchor in the waters outside the port, as if intending to drag out the situation.

How should one put this... while a prolonged stay of the enemy fleet in the kingdom's territorial waters was a slap in the face on a national level and a serious provocation, if viewed purely from a military perspective, wouldn't a fleet with limited supplies lingering in enemy waters for an extended period be akin to suicide?