While Milan was introducing the enemy's situation, he had already activated the telepathic connection and directed the gazes of everyone present to the slave-trading fleet in the distance.
"Whoosh!"
At this time, the continuous wind and rain between the sky and the sea clearly could not extinguish their fiery hearts that were about to embrace a huge amount of wealth.
Relying on the fact that the wind and waves were not strong and the load was heavy enough, almost all of the sails were hung out.
In the slave-trading fleet.
Other than a large armed merchant ship "Santa Cruz Merchant" and a level five patrol ship "Rocking Sail" that were specially deployed due to the recent turbulence on the sea, there were also additional defensive forces.
The main body was made up of eight two-masted fast sailing ships with a displacement of about 300 tons. Each ship had about 100 armed crew members and ten six-pounder cannons.
"Flap!"
Some seagulls swaggered closer to investigate and even flew into the cabin to check the situation inside.
Therefore, the military officers of the privateer fleet also saw a large number of Anumar slaves locked up on the lower deck of the eight slave-transporting ships.
Each of the seemingly small slave-transporting ships was packed with nearly 400 people!
Anger, hatred, numbness, sadness, despair …
But no matter what emotions they had, it could not change their situation at all.
They were like neatly stacked dark chocolate in a box, lying on their sides, one next to the other, chained directly to the lower deck, and even … in the humid and impenetrable stinking lower deck.
However, even when Elvin and the others saw this scene, no one was moved. Even Milan, who came from a wealthy family, was the same.
It was not that they did not have compassion, but in this era, this scene was too common.
And they knew very well that although there were many Anumar slaves on the ship, only about three-quarters of these slaves would survive to reach the New World.
Perhaps in the short time that everyone was watching, there would be people who died silently in the cabin, never having the chance to set foot on the New World.
But even if they could reach there alive, the average age of the Anumar in the New World was only 29 years old.
No matter how strong an individual was, in the mines and plantations, their last trace of life would be squeezed out by endless heavy labor.
Even in the ancient New Stone Age, the average natural lifespan of a human was 35 years old.
And the beginning of these people's tragic lives was obviously because of the huge profits behind the slave trade.
The cost of acquiring a slave in the Southern Continent was about 10 gold lions, but they could make a profit of 600% by transporting them to the New Continent.
If they directly used trade rifles to exchange, it would probably only take three rifles to exchange for a healthy slave, and the profits would only be more generous.
Furthermore, it could create more wars and … More slaves in the local area!
However, according to the size of the fleet, there were still about 3,200 slaves alive.
This was because in the trade of the Southern Continent's Slave Coast, the main source of slaves was prisoners of war obtained after defeating other tribes and countries.
In the end, a slave obtained in a war might be accompanied by the death of six or seven enemy natives.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, it was almost impossible for them to obtain so many slaves at once. The death of tens of thousands of people was enough to destroy a small country.
It was very likely that the slave traders from Santabria had personally attacked some unknown tribe in the Southern Continent to obtain so many slaves at once.
Obviously, as the kingdom's finances continued to be tight, Shilius's policies became more radical. Even if he had to personally take action, he had to maximize the production of gold and silver mines to fill the kingdom's deficit.
"There are a total of two enemy frigates. Although one of them claims to be a merchant ship, it's actually a standard fourth-level battleship.
The other ships have a patrol ship and eight two-masted mixed sailboats. The total number of armed combatants is about 1,200, and the total projectile weight of the cannons is 819 pounds.
Although there are many of them, the caliber of the ship-borne cannons is obviously superior to ours. "
After carefully looking through the other party, Milan reported a series of data.
At this moment, the total number of people in their privateer fleet was 1,152, and the projectile weight was 1,312 pounds.
Just the flagship, the heavy-armored cruiser Morning Star alone had a projectile weight of 808 pounds that was equivalent to the combined weight of all their cannons!
The only thing to worry about …
Elvin narrowed his eyes slightly.
Through the eyes of the demonized seagull, he looked at the bow of the Saint Cruz Merchant. The bow that was shining with magic was what he was most concerned about.
.....
At the same time.
On the Saint Cruz Merchant, in the richly decorated captain's cabin.
"Aha, in this rainy weather, there's nothing better than a sip of the royal family's special rum to make people feel better."
Captain Hobion, who was sitting in a chair with his feet on the table, put down the bottle of rum in his hand and sighed sincerely.
"Hehe! My Mr. Captain, why do you always talk about the weather when drinking? Even on a sunny day, I've never seen you drink less.
Besides, this isn't the kingdom's naval warship. Who can control you? "
A handsome young man, who was wearing a military uniform but had no military rank, looked at the captain who was wearing a triangular hat, had a longsword at his waist, and was slightly chubby. He couldn't help but laugh.
Captain Hobion wasn't angry at all. He smiled as if he agreed and took another big gulp of the sweet rum. He took out a golden pocket watch inlaid with gems and played with it casually.
"Lambert! Since your father handed you over to me for training, of course, I'll do my best to take care of you.
You performed well when you slaughtered the native tribes and plundered the slaves. You were ruthless and decisive enough. "
"Thank you, sir. It's all thanks to your good command!"
Hobion waved his hand, indicating that there was no need to flatter him.
"When I was a naval officer, I didn't understand. I thought that people lived for honor, responsibility, and … the great eternal fire.
But now, I want to tell you that strength, power, and wealth are the most important.
If you want to live well, you want to enjoy the best food, wine, and beauties.
As the strong in all aspects, we have countless ways to take everything we want from the weak. "
The young man pondered and asked.
"What if other strong people want it too?"
Bang!
Hobion put his feet down from the table and said seriously, "Then, someone else will take over.
"Of course we'll let someone else take over. With Santabria backing us, we're not afraid that we won't be able to reap benefits.
So, there's one thing you have to remember.
This company belongs to His Majesty the Emperor, the 19 Gentlemen of the highest management, and of course … it belongs to us.
As long as the company doesn't fall, we will have wealth and comfort. Only then will we have priority! "
At this time, who could tell that this middle-aged man, who looked like a wily old fox in officialdom, was once an elite colonel with a bright future in the navy?
Santabarbia's private guard fleet was originally an independent armed force of the royal family. When it was first established, a group of elites from the navy were transferred to fill in the gaps.
They were also given the most preferential treatment and the most lucrative positions, all so that they could become loyal defenders of the royal family and the king at critical times.
This was a plan that the royal family had set up a long time ago.
The most important point was to obtain a force that was completely under their control now that the Church had seriously infiltrated the kingdom in all aspects, eliminating all interference from the eternal fire.
Especially since the establishment of contact with the hidden sorcerer forces, all kinds of witchcraft tools were first installed here.
Of course, there was also a small number of non- Knight Extraordinaires who were not tolerated by the eternal fire.
There was no doubt who the imaginary enemy behind this operation was.
However.
Now it seemed that a long time of living too comfortably was enough to wear down the will of an elite officer, and he might not even recognize himself anymore.
Just as Hobbian was using his own life experience to teach (poison) the next generation of the company.
* Clang! Clang! Clang! *
The urgent alarm on the ship suddenly rang.
"What's going on?"
Although his will had been worn down by a long and comfortable life, as a qualified captain and Extraordinaire, he still had his vigilance.
In a flash, he had already jumped up and rushed out with the young first officer, Lambert, who was also an official Knight.
* Whoosh! *
In two steps, they arrived on the deck and came face to face with a thin old man in a black robe with long and narrow cheeks covered in gray scales.
"Wizard Rice!"
"Hiss, Mr. Captain, take care of your own business. I'll help when needed."
His eyes were cold, and when he spoke, he stuck out his long and thin purple tongue like a snake, like a poisonous snake in human form.
"Okay, thank you."
Due to the rain's limited vision, the lookout only sounded the alarm when the privateer fleet was two kilometers away from the fleet to the right of the front of the fleet, which was the upwind.
To the fleet, this distance was already too close for them to enter the firing range of their cannons.
At this moment, they couldn't be bothered to hold the lookout accountable.
Hobbian ordered the heralds to send a warning signal to all the slave-transporting ships in the fleet. He stood on the stern of the ship and looked at the approaching Blacksail Pirate Ship with a black dragon head flag.
"Where are you pirates from? Can't you even recognize the flag of the Santabarbia Company?
Retreat quickly, or else the Shilius Navy and your Pirate King won't let you off! "
A loud voice pierced through the rain and echoed on the sea for a long time.
Clearly, having just arrived in the New World through the triangular trade, they didn't know much about the White Knight and his Dragon Rider Pirate Crew, who had been in the limelight recently.
Although the flagship, Morning Star, was clearly much larger than ordinary cruisers, he didn't pay too much attention to it due to the inherent concept that battleships were the rulers of the sea.
In the past, with the name Santabarbia Company, they were able to obtain all kinds of preferential treatment. Even if the Shilius Navy didn't do anything else, they had to serve them first.
Even if the company's assets were to be plundered, the pirates would be heavily targeted by the navy in the future.
Over time, the powerful pirates didn't dare to make a move, and the weak pirates couldn't do anything. This also created a comfortable situation for them on a certain level.
If it wasn't for the sake of keeping a low profile, with Santabarbia's prestige, it wouldn't be a problem to add the word "Royal" in front of their name.
This was also the direct embodiment of what he had said to his juniors, "Interests first."
However, this group of pirates was somewhat different from before.
Whoosh —
The four warships rode the wind and waves and approached the one-kilometer range of the fleet without any hesitation.
"Fire!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Flames flashed in the wind and rain.
The roaring cannons also completely tore apart the Santabarbia Company's long and comfortable days!
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