In the sky, thick smoke billowed, seemingly like a steam airship of a giant cloud whale, slowly gliding.

Admiral George sat in his control room, a black silhouette, indistinct in appearance, emerged from the mirror hanging on the wall, pulled out a chair and sat down opposite him.

"Sir George, regarding the Expedition Army’s recent defeat, Her Majesty the Queen needs you to provide an explanation."

Each steam airship is built at great expense, and the maintenance costs are astonishing.

Suddenly losing so many, for an admiral without much backing, a trip to the military tribunal is inevitable.

As the world’s hegemon, Great Britain’s land power can’t compete with the three major powers in Europe.

Therefore, besides unshakable sea power, it must firmly grasp the emerging air power to secure its position as the hegemon. This is not just for reputation, but for substantial benefits.

You see, by virtue of this reputation alone, the United Kingdom can reap considerable benefits each year. Many small countries soften their stance as soon as they hear it’s the British, thus being swindled into signing unequal treaties by numerous colonial civilian groups.

"That was merely an accident; no one could have predicted we would encounter an Ancient Dragon."

Admiral George felt a bit tense. Despite no major mistakes in his decision-making, any advanced leader would struggle to respond effectively to such a cunning Evil Dragon.

But it was, after all, a disastrous defeat under his leadership.

The silhouette nodded slightly: "Based on descriptions from frontline officers like Colonel Brown and Colonel Norrington, what you’ve said isn’t far off the mark."

Admiral George breathed a sigh of relief, but then the silhouette’s tone shifted: "However, according to Military Intelligence Six’s assessment, this is likely not accidental, and the Expedition Army may yet encounter this Demon Dragon again."

Admiral George found it hard to believe: "When did those wolf cubs learn to tame dragons? That’s an Ancient Dragon!"

The silhouette didn’t answer directly but said: "Our agent in Texas reported some bad news."

With a burst of Magic Radiance, a blurred figure appeared, vaguely visible in his golden armor, wearing a Golden Mask Helmet, exuding an extraordinary aura.

Behind him, the vague silhouette of a Red-Black Dragon roared toward the sky.

The silhouette pointed to the Demon Dragon silhouette behind Admiral George: "Is this the Ancient Dragon you encountered?"

Admiral George frowned: "There are some differences, but those crown-like dragon horns and scales are indeed identical. Is this person from the Wolf Race?"

The silhouette nodded slightly: "He is wearing the lost Saint Maximilian Armor of the Habsburg Family, and this person is an outcast from the Saluzzo Family."

"Is this a conspiracy by the Habsburg Family?"

Admiral George’s expression turned somber: "Those Germans still rely on the Empire to constrain the French, yet they dare to stab us in the back?"

Currently, Europe’s three top powers, geographically, are practically divided into the Western European Empire, the Central European Empire, and the Eastern European Empire.

Among them, the national strength of Central and Western Europe is closely matched, but the Habsburg Family’s Central European Empire is caught like a sandwich cookie. As Eastern and Western Europe grow closer in recent years, it had to turn to the British for support.

"Don’t make random assumptions. It is said that this person is related to the long-missing Knight of Radiance, who last publicly appeared at the founding battle in Texas."

The silhouette narrated the intelligence gathered by Military Intelligence Six, leaving Admiral George visibly surprised.

"The Knight of Radiance with the Wolf Race? To derail the Empire?"

"But members of the Holy Knight Order are known to avoid secular conflicts altogether."

Admiral George furrowed his brows; of course, the Holy Knight Order’s strength was undeniable, being the most powerful monastery organization in the Catholic World, not weakened despite the decline of religious authority. Its various demon-expeditions accumulated tremendous prestige for the Holy Knight Order.

"It’s not excluded that this could be a French conspiracy, but according to Military Intelligence Six, the French are also seeking information on the Knight of Radiance, so we tend to believe she acted on her own."

"Anyway, the Texans have plenty of cards hidden. Admiral, do you still have the resolve to win this battle perfectly?"

Admiral George furrowed his eyebrows; a single Demon Dragon could neutralize the air power they prided themselves on, not to mention a hidden expert, a Knight of Radiance.

He took a deep breath and put forth a bold request: "I need the Kingdom Blade’s support."

The Kingdom Blade is similar to the Iron Duke’s steam armor brigade, just on a larger scale.

The Iron Duke resembles an unreplicable miracle, while the Kingdom Blade is slightly inferior. Despite tremendous consumption, the British Empire’s wealth still allows for small-scale steam armor deployment.

Though its combat power is somewhat inferior, it is certainly not weak; when dozens of Kingdom Blades collectively charge, even the most solid fortress must be crushed into dust.

The silhouette flickered with light, seemingly communicating with some entity.

Moments later, the silhouette spoke:

"Alright, Admiral, the Queen has approved your request, and it’s not just the Kingdom Blade; the Shield of the Kingdom will also support you, but you also know the cost of such actions."

"I swear by my family’s honor, whether our enemy be slaves, rebels, or colonial soldiers’ exaggerated appellation of insurgents, they will be crushed by the Empire’s army, including those Texans supporting them behind the scenes."

The silhouette’s voice turned colder: "Let’s hope so, the Queen is forgiving and benevolent, but that doesn’t mean she will endlessly tolerate failure."

The voice from across made Admiral George somewhat apprehensive, yet he solemnly responded: "I will not disappoint Her Majesty the Queen again; even if the French support these Texans, I will secure victory for Her Majesty."

...

New Basilicata City.

The citizens held a grand welcoming ceremony to greet Losa’s arrival.

Though in Texas, only a few core members knew that Losa was the owner of the legendary Yesterday’s Giant Ship.

Many knew he was also a hero from the Texas defense battle back in the day.

Moreover, this time, Losa first stole a massive amount of arms and supplies, then shot down more than ten steam airships over the waters of Florida, eliminating the aerial threat for the Texans.

The gratitude in their hearts was imaginable.

The welcome ceremony lasted until the evening, everyone’s faces filled with joy, approaching Losa constantly to toast him. The seemingly invincible British troops were given a slap in the face; it was truly delightful.

Eventually, Losa pretended to be drunk to escape from the Texans’ enthusiasm and find some peace.

"Sir, why did you come here?"

Losa, hiding in the corner, was startled by a sudden voice.

On closer inspection, he found the voice came from a Stone Gargoyle.

"Furin?"

"Yes, it’s me. The entire city is now my eyes and ears, impressive, right?"

Furin felt proud. Recently, her expertise in Magic had greatly improved, and with this Magic Array, she could largely transform the mountain city into her Blood Domain.

"Amazing, even the Great Monarch of the Royal Court wouldn’t be much different!"

Losa praised her cooperatively.

"Oh, not at all."

Furin was modest. Her strength was far from the Blood Monarchs, who were entrenched in their domains with considerable geographical advantage over her.

If she reached the full Tier Two level, then she could truly engage in away matches and defeat a Blood Monarch.

"Furin, why are you looking for me?"

The Stone Gargoyle’s mouth opened and closed, producing a melodious sound: "Juliano wants to talk to you; apparently, the British have already landed in Texas."