Page 388 of DATE
More and more people at the port began to notice the gradually growing shape of the ship, and many cried out in astonishment, as though they were witnessing both the sun and moon descending simultaneously.
This was no small sailing ship—it was a massive white tower!
Its main mast had been raised to an unbelievable height, with the flag of the Phoenix soaring in the wind, resembling a giant bird spreading its wings over the sea. Not only was the sterncastle equipped with additional masts and cannonplatforms, but the deck and hull were so wide that the lower deck alone could accommodate at least a hundred people!
To put it into perspective, the best ships in Venice today could barely fit seventy or eighty people at most.
But this castle-like behemoth, at the very least, had two or three hundred people aboard!
What was even more terrifying was that this wasn't just one ship—there was a whole fleet coming! At least forty to fifty ships in total!
Some people rode horses to find the governor, seeking assistance, while others went to call back the navy and mercenaries for defense.
But it was already too late.
This was no mere fleet—it was ten fleets.
Over a hundred giant ships nearly surrounded half of the Venetian bay, like a storm cloud falling from the Adriatic sky!
When over a hundred cannon shots fired simultaneously in response to flag signals, even the lighthouse and fortress in front of the port were blown to pieces!
The Venetians were on the brink of madness—how were they supposed to fight this? How could they fight this?!
They had battled the Ottoman Empire for seventeen years, and despite being a small nation, they managed to hold their ground against the Arabs, thanks to their natural advantage of a superior port.
But now, that port advantage was entirely in the hands of the Italians—
Ships as high as castles! Cannons capable of firing hundreds of meters! And so many ships from who knows where!
Venice fell in a single day.
The governor fled with his wife and children, and the others had no time to even think about resisting.
The giant ship had its own cannon-loading tracks, allowing cavalry and musketeers to disembark and strike immediately upon landing. Even stone walls could do nothing to stop them!
It wasn’t until the Phoenix flag was planted on the governor’s palace that someone finally learned the name of the giant ship— Pezaro Sailship.
This was Lorenzo's final gift to Italy.
Five or six years earlier, Lorenzo had led an army to retaliate against the Roman Catholic Church's siege of Rome, and he had pushed all the way to the easternmost edge of the Apennine Peninsula, seizing ports that once belonged to the Holy Roman Empire.
At that time, his alchemists had suggested the creation of a fleet and new-style sailing ships—of course, the ship design was entrusted to Leonardo da Vinci.
By now, the Pezaro Sailship had become a groundbreaking, revolutionary vessel.
It broke away from the clunky design of smaller ships, boasting four decks and an incredibly high main mast. From wind power to cargo capacity, it was like Noah's Ark!
Not only that, benefiting from the protection of Florence, these fleets had begun loading new-style cannons and ammunition since the previous summer. They could communicate flexibly using flag signals and even fire bright green signal flares at night to maintain communication.
With such a fleet dominating the Adriatic Sea, there was no place Venice could defend!
While the fleet carried out a surprise attack on the bay, the Duchy of Ferrara, under the pretext of "Venice conspiring against the Queen's son," tore up their peace treaty and launched an assault on Mantua, advancing eastward through Saint Mark's, with their army rapidly conquering city after city in a swift and unstoppable march.
No one had expected the queen, during her pregnancy and childbirth, to think about retaliating against Venice. Even less had they expected her to present a charge sheet, stained with the Borgia blood, exposing the governor's crimes.
The fall of Venice took only one day, and the collapse of the entire Venetian Republic took just a month!
Mercenaries rushed to capture city after city, and any place that resisted was left in ruins, with the city walls obliterated. Everywhere they went, thunderous gunfire echoed like a downpour about to strike, and the cannons shook the very earth beneath them!
