At dawn, Cacusim arrived at the dock.
What was different from usual was that the dock was filled with silent people. They carried backpacks and long spears on their backs, like a dense forest in the wind and snow. Despite the large number of people, the scene was very orderly. The soldiers boarded the paddle steamer one by one. The scene alone made Cacusim speechless.
Cacusim could not help but swallow his saliva.
These were the soldiers of His Highness.
"It's incredible," the old man thought. When he was young, he had traveled more than half of Graycastle, from Seawindshire to the Port of Clearwater, and led a merchant fleet to the Fjords. He had seen the mighty Armored Knight and the fierce barbarians who could kill beasts with their bare hands. To him, those people were undoubtedly extremely powerful warriors. However, he did not expect to feel this power again in front of a group of ordinary people, and it was even stronger than before.
"Yes, these people are all ordinary people..." Cacusim had been in Border Town for almost four months and had a deeper understanding of the town. He knew that the members of the First Army were mostly local natives. Most of them were already adults when they joined the army. They had a variety of occupations, such as miners, hunters, furnace workers, and masons, but none of them were soldiers. In other words, they had never received combat training since they were young.
However, in just a few months, these people had already become as powerful as any Knight Regiment. What kind of magic did His Highness cast?
"You... really want to go?" Vader's deliberately lowered voice came from behind him. He could tell that he was also affected by the silent team.
"Otherwise, why would I apply for the position of captain?" Cacusim took a deep breath.
"But they're going to war."
"They're all serving His Highness," the old man said without turning his head, "and so am I."
The voice behind him was silent for a moment. "Don't die out there."
He did not answer and just waved his hand.
...
Cacusim boarded the No. 6 paddle steamer in the snow. According to tradition, captains could name their ships. Although this strange ship belonged to His Highness, he was told that he had the right to do so.
However, the old man was hesitant.
This was the first time he had taken up the position of captain after more than ten years of sailing. He hoped that he could come up with a memorable name.
"Boss, you're here!" As he walked into the cabin at the bow of the ship, his assistant immediately came up to him. "The boiler is now warming up. I guarantee it will be up soon."
This young man was called Barracuda. He came from the Southern Territory and had several years of fishing experience. If he was on another fleet, he might not even be able to become a sailor, but here, it was no different. Everyone was a newbie.
"Is the crew all here?"
"We arrived a long time ago. You're the last one." The man winked.
"If you don't know how to respect a captain, I'll be happy to let you scrub the deck for the whole day."
"Yes, Captain," said the young man, standing erect, "of course I do!"
"That's more like it," Cacusim said, stroking his beard. "Tell the boiler room to make the fire bigger, but don't close the damn steam valve. I don't want to hit the bottom of the ship in front again!"
"Okay, I got it." Before he finished his sentence, Barracuda showed his true colors. He winked at the old man and then flew out of the cockpit.
"This little rascal," Cacusim shook his head with a smile. The solemn atmosphere of the First Army was greatly diluted. He felt as if he had returned to the days when he was sailing on the sea. Walking to the steering wheel, the old man gently stroked the wooden handle and began to calm down to review the operation process of the paddle steamer.
The stone boat invented by His Highness was completely different from sailboats. It had no masts or cabins under the deck. There were only two rooms in the bow and the middle of the hull. The one in front was called the steering room, where you could clearly see the route through two large windows. The one in the middle was the boiler room, where the boat was powered.
The rear and rear of the cab were bare decks. During their training, they would often bring some miners along with them to the west along the Redwater River. They would go to the edge of the Concealing Forest and dig up some coal. This coal was more durable than firewood, and was also a relatively common source of heat in the Seawindshire Region. Now, the deck was covered with windproof cloth and a shed was set up overhead. Obviously, it was prepared for the soldiers.
Even though Cacusim had never touched this new thing before, he soon discovered that it was not difficult to make it move. In fact, it was much easier than a sailboat. Just the fact that there was no need to adjust the sails according to the direction and strength of the wind had saved a lot of manpower and time. Any villager could heat up the boiler, but it was impossible to master how to operate the sails without half a year of practice. As long as the chimney blew out white gas and closed the valve, the boat would leave.
Just then, a dull whistle came from the front, breaking the tranquility of Border Town in the early morning.
It was the signal to set off.
"Boss, the water in the boiler is boiling!" Barracuda scurried back to the steering room.
"Ring the bell. Tell Bigfoot and Grizzly to close the valve. Speed, forward one step!" Cacusim ordered solemnly.
"Yes, forward one step!" The barracuda pulled up a thin iron wire on the wall, and along this wire, the corresponding bell in the boiler room would vibrate, conveying the captain's orders.
The boat shook violently, and the wooden wheels on both sides slowly turned.
Cacusim held the steering wheel and looked straight ahead. When Vader asked that question, he did not say what he really wanted. Or rather, serving the lord was only a small part of the answer.
He simply liked the position of captain more than anything else.
Whether it was a sailboat or a paddle steamer, Cacusim felt sincerely happy when he held the steering wheel and broke the waves on the water.
This was the life he wanted.
"Pull the sail... No, continue to add coal!" The old man turned the steering wheel to the right and shouted, "Boys, hurry up, we're leaving!"
*
"As long as you can take me to Border Town, the Schilt family will reward you handsomely... How about five, no, ten Golden Dragon?" the butler asked the boatman, who was in a dilemma, as he blocked the door of a small wooden cabin by the river. His left foot was stuck in the crack of the door, so that the boatman would not close the old door and keep him out.
"Sir, sir... It's not that I don't want to take you, but I really can't," the boatman stammered. "You, you see, my boat has a bare bottom and doesn't even have a shed to keep out the snow. It's fine for crossing the river, but you said you want to go to Border Town, and that's going to take several days! Not to mention whether I can get there with a pole, it's a world of ice and snow at night. Where, where are we going to sleep? If you sleep on the boat, you'll be frozen into two popsicles all night. "
"Are there any other boatmen around here who can go to Border Town?" the butler asked, unwilling to give up.
"No, no," the other side repeatedly waved his hand. "We only have a few small boats, only in Stronghold can there be a large sailboat that can stay overnight. You should go there to find it."
If I could enter Longsong Stronghold, why would I bother to come to the suburban pier to find these boatmen who fish and ferry for a living?
The butler fiercely stepped on the snow on the ground. Since the four families began to attack Stronghold, all the gates had been closed. It took him half a day to bypass Stronghold and come here, but unfortunately, it was still in vain.
It was getting dark, how could I complete the task my master had given me?
The butler looked at the Redwater River with a bitter expression, but soon he was stunned.
God, what is that?
He rubbed his eyes to make sure that he was not mistaken. A very large fleet was sailing in his direction. The appearance of the ships was different from the sailboats he had seen before. In the sky full of flying snow, the fleet made a rumbling sound and moved quickly along the river. Except for the first oddly shaped sailboat, the other ships obviously didn't have sails, but they were moving against the wind. The bow of the ships cut the water into two sections, as if they were splitting the waves.
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