Farrell stretched out his hand and said, "My family is a small family, and the patriarch has only five strands of beard. However, I was allowed to have five strands of beard because I invented a forging method that was very powerful at the time and contributed it to the city lord. If I hadn't argued with the patriarch and made a bet, and accidentally blew up the family workshop, I wouldn't have ended up like this."
Xiao Chen patted his shoulder and said, "If it weren't for that, maybe you would be on the other side now."
"Yeah. Maybe it's a lucky thing." Sinclair comforted him. He even shaved off most of his beard, revealing his broad chin. Many dwarf warriors in the Marine Corps made the same choice as him.
"What a pity Lisa," Farrell muttered.
Ansaldo was obviously much more cautious than the patrol team, and he was not in a hurry to launch an attack. However, he still did not realize what the pneumatic cannon was, and he did not know that the formation they had set up would cause heavy losses in front of the pneumatic cannon. A dwarf wizard next to Ansaldo cast a sound amplification magic. He said in a deep accent unique to dwarves: "Outsiders, it is a big mistake for you to attack my fleet. What exactly do you want to do here? Do you want to provoke a war between humans and dwarves?"
Xiao Chen also said in the loudspeaker magic: "Governor Ansaldo, I came here with a friendly and cooperative attitude, but encountered obstruction from your patrol team. During the negotiation, your patrol team took the initiative, and we were fighting back. And we fought back when we saw the advantage. You should have seen it on the shore. Our strength is enough to destroy your patrol team, but we still held back."
"Human, I've seen this kind of tricks many times. You rely on despicable sneak attacks to damage my warships, kill my soldiers, and then take advantage of the morals. This method will not work with me." Ansaldo said coldly, "Don't think that you can do anything here just because you have gained a temporary advantage. This land belongs to the Dwarf Kingdom. No outsider has ever been able to do whatever they want here. What you should do is hand over the murderer and pay compensation, otherwise you will face the wrath of the Dwarf Kingdom."
Xiao Chen ignored Ansaldo's empty warning. He said, "Governor, there is no point in talking about this now. I suggest we talk in private. I have an old friend of yours here. I will explain our intentions. I will also show you the evidence that it was your people who attacked our ship first."
Ansaldo seemed a little hesitant and began to discuss something with the staff around him.
Xiao Chen said: "Governor, in order to let you see that we really showed mercy just now and to prevent you from making a wrong judgment, I will show you a little bit of our strength."
Xiao Chen pointed to a very old warehouse at the edge of the port, which looked like it had been abandoned for a long time. He said, "This old building should be demolished."
Ma Anmin, who was on standby, immediately gave the order to fire. More than a dozen pneumatic cannons on the side of the Houyi opened fire at the same time, and the whistling shells exploded on the wooden house. The explosions that the dwarves had never seen enveloped the entire port. After two rounds of bombardment, the abandoned warehouse had been razed to the ground, leaving only wood and stones covered in smoke and flames.
Such bombardment was far more shocking than the explosion just now at sea. Whether it was Ansaldo's army in the port, or the merchants and residents who were secretly watching the excitement, they were all frightened by the momentum of the bombardment.
The entire port was almost silent except for the echoes of explosions and the sound of burning wood.
The combined power of magic and technology roared in this ancient port, like a sledgehammer hitting the hearts of the dwarves who had lived in their own small country for thousands of years.
Mei Tiantian behind Xiao Chen lightly stroked the air with her hands, and starlight emanated from her fingers like mercury pouring out of the ground. A long translucent ladder formed by magical light extended from the side of the ship, all the way to the dock.
The Marine commander Huang Zheng, who had been prepared, led a company of dwarf marines, rushed down the stairs, stepped onto the dock at an extremely fast speed, and set up a shooting position facing the dwarf phalanx of Ansaldo opposite. These soldiers not only had rifles and guns, but also ten mortars. Their numbers were only about one-third of the enemy's, but their momentum was more aggressive than the enemy.
Xiao Chen and Luo Ling, along with Farrell and Sinclair, also walked down the Starlight Ladder and stood behind the Marines' position.
Ansaldo watched the other side get off the ship and set up a battle array, but he did not dare to act rashly. When the mysterious weapon destroyed the old warehouse, he knew that the other side could use the ship to destroy his entire port at any time if they wanted to.
Although the enemy's leader had already left the boat, the dark tubes on the boat had already turned and were aimed at his location. With just one order from the enemy, he and his soldiers would be completely finished.
But what surprised him was that the other side actually had an army of dwarves. The appearance of these dwarves surprised him greatly. Many of them had shaved off their beards, which were as precious as life to the dwarves. Some had short beards, and some even had bare chins. This was a crime that was enough to send the dwarves of the Dwarf Kingdom to jail.
He really couldn't imagine where in the world these dwarves came from. They had forgotten the customs and traditions of the dwarves and were equipped with strange weapons for humans to use.
For a moment, he even guessed that these people were the remnants of the prince who had failed in the war for the throne, but then he felt that it was impossible. As the prince's subordinates, they could not just abandon their traditions like that, and they would not get the support of any dwarf nobles.
Xiao Chen and his companions walked to the front of the position, and from a distance of several dozen meters, they faced Ansaldo and said, "Governor Ansaldo, it's our first time to meet. I am Xiao Chen from the Tower of China, and now I am the chairman, or leader, of the Tower of China. I came here this time because I have something to discuss with you. There is also an old friend of yours here. I wonder if you still recognize him after not seeing him for many years."
Farrell took several steps forward, staring at Ansaldo with his big eyes, "Ansaldo, we haven't seen each other for many years. Do you still recognize me? You are really much older than you were back then. But I am old too. When you gave me to Viscount Moraton, you certainly didn't think that I could come back here, right?"
"You are..., you are Farrell?" (To be continued)