Suddenly, "Iron Bone William" looked up at the sky.
The sky was already gloomy to begin with, and now, wisps of clouds were constantly accumulating. They gradually pressed down on the sea, and the sky was getting darker and darker.
At the same time, a few black lightning-like needle-tailed swifts flashed across the sky above the pirate ship as though they were brushing against the clouds.
"It's going to rain! But the rain shouldn't be too heavy. Lower the sails, lower the anchor, and pay attention to scouting. Let's wait here.
We're only here to put on a show. There's no need to beat around the bush with the navy. "
"Yes, Captain!" The burly youth left with the order. Soon, the pirates on the ship pulled the rigging.
Soon, the Twin-Tailed Fish, which was sailing alongside the Iron Bone, also received the signal. The pirates who were controlling the merchant ship did the same.
At this moment, they couldn't have imagined it.
Their every move had been seen by a certain someone, and the naval warship that was beyond their expectations had arrived so quickly!
Clang! Clang!
Alarm bells rang.
"Your Excellency, we've found the target!"
The lookout on the mast put away the brass binoculars, slipped down the mast like a monkey, and ran to Elvin's side to report.
Elvin, who was "resting with his eyes closed," opened his eyes. In fact, the seabirds had already sent back information about the pirate ship.
Although the lookout with good eyesight could see dozens of kilometers away on a clear day, that was all they could see. They couldn't distinguish the details at all.
With the improvement of their abilities, the seabirds' scouting range had expanded. They had already built a three-dimensional scouting network. The scenery dozens of kilometers away was as clear as day in Elvin's eyes.
His "Roaring Conch" had set off from the area where the "Double-Tailed Fish" had an accident. Without the intelligence provided by the "Mastermind", it took him only one day to catch up with the pirate ship. It wasn't just luck.
However, he couldn't say that to the crew for the time being. Elvin nodded and encouraged the lookout, "Well done!"
Flicking his cloak, Elvin walked to the commander's seat and gave the order loudly.
"Level one combat readiness! Take the upper hand and open the cannons. Let's give the pirates a warm first dish to taste! "
There were advantages and disadvantages in seizing the upper hand or the lower hand in a naval battle.
At the very least, the Roaring Conch only had one deck of cannons. There was no need to worry that the cannons on the lower deck couldn't be opened because of water. Also, the cannons had a greater range when they were upwind.
Bang … Bang … Bang …
The left side of the ship was opened.
The marines dragged the five thousand pound ship-borne cannon equipped with pulleys and loaded it with gunpowder. Then, they pushed the cannon out of the firing port and prepared to fire.
The Roaring Conch slowly adjusted its battle posture and aimed its side at the pirate ship in the distance. It had also noticed that the Roaring Conch had raised its sails.
Elvin looked at the dark clouds in the sky and the raindrops that were gradually dripping down. He let go of the Silver Fog Lamp, the secret treasure of the sea in his arms. It was unreasonable for a white fog to appear in a heavy rain.
His mission was simple. He just had to take back the Double-Tailed Fish. There was no need to fight the pirates as the viscount had envisioned. After all, as long as they lost the physical evidence and were not directly caught red-handed by the officials, the viscount's crisis would be resolved.
After today, who would believe a pirate's words?
Moreover, there was a very interesting guy on the mission target list.
In the information sent back by the Double-Tailed Fish, there was no specific information about the identity of the pirate ship. Elvin had only intended to train his troops.
Now that he saw the pirate ship with his own eyes, he realized that the one who hijacked the Double-Tailed Fish was such a famous guy!
"William 'Iron Bone'?"
There was no cover at all on the sea, especially when Elvin did not use the Silver Fog Lamp to summon the fog. The Iron Bone had already discovered the naval warship that had broken through and was charging at them menacingly!
"Captain, should we fire the cannon?"
It was difficult to launch a sneak attack on the sea. Before the two sides entered the range of the cannon, the muscular young man standing behind Captain William asked softly.
"The price that the fat pig in Wesker City offered isn't enough for us to risk our lives for him. Let's just throw the Double-Tailed Fish to the navy. Our mission is already complete.
However, this warship is a little different from what we agreed on. Isn't it a little too fast? "
Although he said to carry out the plan, William, with his many years of experience as a pirate, sensed that something was wrong with the development of the situation.
The complete plan should be for them to capture the Twin Tail Fish and all the crew members on board that were transporting the contraband. Then, they would "accidentally" encounter the kingdom's navy patrolling this area and leave the Double-Tailed Fish behind for the navy to "catch both the pirates and the pirates."
If the plan went smoothly, they would not even have to face the navy.
The fat pig would achieve his goal, and he would be able to pick up his first mate who was accidentally captured when he went ashore to replenish his supplies. Then, he would leave the eastern shore of the Black Sea as quickly as possible, a "place of trouble" that was about to become a whirlpool!
But now, it seemed that there was an accident that he did not understand.
Although the Iron Bone had been wandering around the set sea area to make it easier for the navy to find it, it would take time.
The kingdom's navy was not privately owned.
That fat pig had found his connections and informed them of the situation. Then, the navy would send out multiple cruisers that had enough weight and wouldn't help Viscount Andrea. In their plan, the scheduled time should be pushed back by at least one or two days.
Now, the warship that appeared alone in front of him was obviously different from the fat pig's plan!
"Call back all the brothers on the Double-Tailed Fish. You guys retreat first. I'll go greet our navy friends.
If we don't do anything, won't it make our Iron Bone look too weak? "
Since the strength of the navy was different from the plan, although William was still not prepared to exchange fire with the navy, he was bold and felt that it was not a problem to test this strange warship a little.
So, in the eyes of the soldiers on the Roaring Conch, they saw such a bizarre scene. Facing their continuous approach, the pirates were not prepared to fight. Instead, they directly abandoned the merchant ship, quickly gathered on the pirate ship, raised the sails, and "fled" from afar?
"Are pirates nowadays so understanding?" The soldiers looked at each other. Although the credit of "snatching" the merchant ship was in their hands, they really did not understand what the pirates were up to.
Only Elvin, who knew the inside story, understood that the pirates had finished their act and were preparing to leave.
According to the script, as a patrol ship of the kingdom's navy, he should have sent his men to inspect the ship. Under the watchful eyes of the public, the crew would have witnessed the 'contraband' on the ship. Coupled with the testimony of the crowd, he would have been able to firmly pin the hat of breaking the law on Viscount Andrea's head.
At this critical moment, it was enough to make the old viscount lose his seat in Wake County because of the scandal. He might even lose a layer of skin.
"But I'll have to disappoint you!"
For the sake of caution, Elvin confirmed that the pirate ship, Iron Bone, was indeed far away. It would take at least half an hour for them to come back and ambush him.
He ordered, "Move closer and maintain a distance. Lower the skiff and send a few people up to see if the pirates have left any traps."
While letting the marines operate normally, the seabirds had already entered the interior of the Double-Tailed Fish to investigate.
He was very curious about the "contraband" that the viscount had mentioned.
Soon, a few petite needle-tailed swifts transmitted the scene they saw to Elvin's mind.
Although the ship's hold was wrapped in thick black cloth, Elvin immediately recognized what it was from its large and thick appearance.
"Isn't this … a little too much?!"
It was a total of twenty ship-borne cannons with their other components removed!
A few of the cannons had their cloth removed, as though they were afraid that others wouldn't see them, exposing the cast-iron cannons.
Of course, it was impossible for them to be brand new military equipment of the kingdom. The viscount wouldn't have the guts to do so. Judging from the wear and tear and the markings on them, they were likely second-hand goods that had been discarded by the Kingdom of Thessaly's navy.
They were probably prepared to remove the markings and repair them before transporting them to an unknown shipyard for modification to armed merchant ships, or simply reselling them.
But regardless, even if they were discarded, they were still much better than privately made cannons.
In this era of great navigation, scholars had once measured the strength of a country's navy by the number of cannons it possessed. Whoever had more cannons would have more firepower, and their navy would be stronger!
No one would complain about having too many cannons, let alone high-quality ordnance.
Even if they weren't sold by the country's military, they were still contraband. This was a huge business that only a few powerful nobles could afford!
With Viscount Andrea's status, if he dared to interfere in such a business, even if he had the protection of his title, he would still end up in jail.
No wonder that old fox was so afraid!
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