The 33rd of June, Oxhorn Bay, Norton's territory.
The hull of the ship was riddled with arrow marks, and many of them were damaged from being smashed by heavy objects. The Flying Fish of the Kingdom of Dawn had just anchored at the pier, and the gangplank was set up. Most of the passengers were injured, and a few marines carried the unconscious Freya and Padt down.
Laurist strode forward and examined them carefully before heaving a sigh of relief. Although their injuries were serious, they were not life-threatening. This was probably because they had been forced to drink healing potions at the start of the battle.
Freya's internal organs had been displaced by a heavy blow, and he was bleeding profusely from his internal organs. The marines beside him said that he had vomited a lot of blood on the spot, and that he would recover after two or three months of rest. Padt, on the other hand, had been stabbed in the abdomen and came out from his back. Fortunately, his spine was not injured, and he would only have to lie in bed for half a year.
Captain Wilson got off the ship and saluted Lollister. He was injured again, and the bandage on his forehead made him look like an Arab's hat.
Laurist's expression was as cold as ice, "Did the Chikert Merchant Guild do this?"
Captain Wilson smiled bitterly and shook his bandaged head in confusion. "I don't know, my lord. To be honest, I don't know who attacked our Shirovas Island, but it can't be the Chikede Merchant Group. The enemy seems more like a group of pirates, but I can't think of any pirates with such power. They have three to four hundred ships … "
"Three to four hundred ships?"
"Yes, my lord. At first, I also thought that we were ambushed by the Chikert Merchant Guild. Only they could mobilize so many ships to attack us. But as soon as we touched them, I felt that something was wrong. Many of the ships had different flags and emblems, and the sailors on their ships were not as well-trained as the Chikert Merchant Guild's fleet.
When our ships approached, the enemy would panic and shout, and even mess up their own fleet's formation. Such a thing would never happen with the Chikert Merchant Guild's fleet. My lord, if you don't wait patiently for a few more days, Lord Sunbarwood's fleet is right behind us. He might be able to capture them alive … "
Captain Wilson thought for a moment before voicing his opinion.
Loriste said noncommittally, "Tell me what happened from the beginning."
"Yes, my lord." Captain Wilson thought for a moment and began to narrate, "On the morning of 21st June, Lord Sunbarwood's fleet left Syrovas Island. This time, it was their turn to return to the North. At noon, I patrolled as usual. At about one o'clock, I spotted a sail in the southwest of the island. I ordered them to go forward and interrogate them. However, halfway through, they realized that something was wrong. There were more and more ships on the opposite side, almost covering the entire sea.
At that time, I was startled, thinking that it was the Chickford Merchant's fleet that had come to attack. However, through my binoculars, I discovered that the opposing fleet had many emblems and flags, and there was no sign of the Chickford Merchant's barrel and sword flag. That's why I thought it was strange. I didn't know where all these ships were from. Thus, he wanted to step forward to intercept and interrogate them.
However, we didn't expect the first few ships to launch a flintstone attack at us before we could even ask them anything … "Captain Wilson turned around and pointed at the smoke and fire marks left on the Flying Fish of the Kingdom of Dawn. He continued," Fortunately, our ship is agile and fast. We managed to avoid most of the attacks and successfully turned around and ran away. After confirming that all those ships were enemies, I ordered them to rush back to Syrovas and report to the police.
Lord Freya insisted on going out to face the enemy. He said that it would buy the island some time. He sent someone to inform Lord Shred and Lord Padt's guard camp, and ordered me to chase after Lord Sunbarwood, who had set off in the morning, so that his armed fleet could return for reinforcements.
By the time I caught up to Lord Sunbarwood's fleet, it was already midnight. Lord Sunbarwood ordered us to turn back immediately and reinforce Syrovas. But the next morning, on our way to Syrovas Island, we ran into four ships of Lord Freya's fleet that had broken out of the encirclement. The sailors of the four ships said that they were the only ones left of Lord Freya's fleet of nearly thirty ships, but they had destroyed about fifty enemy ships.
Those four ships brought back the heavily injured Lord Freya. According to the sailors, Lord Freya led them to intercept the enemy's fleet, but the enemy sent out around a hundred ships to keep them busy. The remaining ships all headed for Syrovas.
Lord Freya's fleet used up all their long-range weapons. In the end, they saw blood on their swords and jumped in to fight. At first, they managed to take two ships, but the enemy sent out a great swordmaster. Lord Freya couldn't hold him off and was hit in the chest by the great swordmaster's sword. He fainted on the spot and vomited blood.
The sailors said that Lord Torc and a few others stopped the great swordmaster and bought time for them to take Lord Freya back. Then, they heard Lord Torc's order to break out of the encirclement. When they left, they saw Lord Torc being beaten to the ground by the great swordmaster.
Lord Sunbarwood ordered the four ships to move with them, and in the afternoon, we arrived at Syrovas Island … "Wilson's face suddenly became very heavy," My lord, when we arrived, the island was filled with smoke and fire, and we could hear faint cries. From the telescope, I saw corpses everywhere on the pier and the beach, and blood flowed like a river. Those pirate-like enemies burned, killed, and looted the island, committing all kinds of crimes. Sirovas Island has already become a hell … Lord Sunbarwood ordered the four ships to move with them, and in the afternoon, we arrived at Syrovas Island … "
The enemy's ships were all anchored at the southern beach. When they saw us, they sent out a few dozen ships to fight us. We fought them for the entire afternoon, but the enemy's ships increased in number. We lost seven ships, while we burned around twenty of the enemy's ships. In the end, Lord Sunbarwood had no choice but to give the order to retreat. The enemy didn't chase after us. They seemed to just want to drive us away from Syrovas Island.
Lord Sunbarwood only circled around Syrovas Island a few times. After ditching the enemy, he told us to take a good rest. He said that he found our family's Angry Bear Flag on Swordfish Ridge, so he planned to sneak into the navy's camp in the small bay at night and go up to Swordfish Ridge from there.
In the middle of the night, Lord Sunbarwood brought us into the small bay. I found that there was still a bonfire burning on Swordfish Ridge. Lord Sunbarwood brought his men up Swordfish Ridge, but I didn't go up. After a long time, they came back and told all the ships to prepare to evacuate. I heard from the sailors who went up that there were many, many enemies, but we only had around a thousand people left. We couldn't hold Syrovas Island anymore and had to retreat.
Because we didn't have many ships, every ship was filled with people. By the time we finished evacuating from the small bay, the sky was already bright. We were also discovered by the enemy. The enemy sent out many ships to chase after us, but the first wave of ships were all sunk by us. We also stole two medium-sized armed merchant ships. However, the enemy immediately sent out nearly a hundred ships to chase after us. Because we weren't fast when we were fully loaded, we were caught by the enemy in the afternoon.
Fortunately, Lord Divine Archer Josk was there. He and Lord Sunbarwood chose ten ships that were in good condition to act as the rearguard and killed the first five ships that the enemy was chasing after. The enemy at the back started to dawdle and didn't dare to get close, only using long-range weapons to attack. We fought until evening, when the enemy suddenly retreated. I didn't know why, but we finally heaved a sigh of relief.
The next morning, Sir Sunbarwood gave me an order. Since the Flying Fish of the Kingdom of Dawn is the fastest ship, he sent the seriously injured to my ship. He asked me to send the seriously injured back first, and the others will arrive a few days later... "
Lollister reached out and patted Captain Wilson's shoulder. "You've worked hard. Go and rest for two days. Is the wound on your head serious?"
Captain Wilson stood straight and saluted. "My Lord, I'm fine. I was just grazed by a flint ball and half of my hair was burned off. I was just worried about how I was going to meet my wife …"
Lollister nodded. "It's good that you're fine. Go to the navy camp and rest for a few days. I'll have the pharmacists treat the injured soldiers. I hope you can recover as soon as possible. You might have to sail out again in a few days."
"Yes, my Lord. I await your orders at any time." Captain Wilson stood at attention again.
"Shihuard, bring some men to visit the injured soldiers and comfort them. Then, make a record of the questions and see what they discovered and what they think of the enemy. Also, find someone to ask what the enemy's insignia and flag look like. Draw a picture.
Also, pass down my order. Have Bofinger bring a heavy armor division and set up camp here. Be prepared to move out at any time. Have Er send some men to see how the formation of the one-wheeled chariot division in Dolais is going. Also, have Professor Bob's cannon experiment progress. Give me a detailed reply. "Lollister thought for a moment and ordered.
"Yes, my Lord."
… …
By the time Bofinger arrived at the port city, it was already the afternoon of the next day. Lollister had already ordered his men to set up camp by the sea and set up a large tent.
"My Lord, our Silovas Island has been attacked?" Bofinger barged in, panting heavily. It seemed that he had rushed over without stopping after receiving the order.
"Where are your men?" Lollister asked.
"My Lord, they will only arrive tomorrow. I brought a few attendants and left first. My Lord, who would be so bold as to attack our family's territory? Is it the Chikede Merchant Group or the people under the second prince? "
Lollister shook his head, "It's not them. Look at the insignia and flags drawn on the paper on the table. We don't recognize them and have never seen them before. What we're wondering now is where the enemy came from …"
Bofinger grabbed the animal skin paper on the table and was stunned when he saw it. "My Lord, the enemy isn't pirates. I recognize these insignia and flags. They're slave owners and merchants from the Haneabada Kingdom … "
"What did you say? Haneabada Kingdom? That archipelago country with slavery? "Lollister's tone was cold. There was finally a clue.
"Yes, my Lord. You haven't been to this kingdom, so you don't know their insignia and flags. In fact, their insignia and flags rarely appear in Galinthea. Look, these insignia and flags all have a black border. This is the symbol of the slave owners and merchants of the Haneabada Kingdom. Most countries in Galinthea won't recognize the nobles of the Haneabada Kingdom. In the eyes of the royal family and orthodox nobles, they're just a bunch of lowly pirates and slave traders. "
Bofinger had been to the Haneabada Kingdom twice. The first time was when he was invited by Ross the Fierce Tiger and stayed there for a month. At that time, Ross the Fierce Tiger was a bodyguard for a slave merchant. However, Bofinger couldn't stand the fact that slaves weren't treated as human beings, so he found an excuse to leave after a month.
The second time was when he went to the Haneabada Kingdom's Nubit Port to buy slaves to form an armed force for the northbound convoy. He also kidnapped Ross and Malek. With these two experiences, Bofinger naturally knew what these insignia and flags meant.
"You mean to say that it was a group of slave owners and slave traders from the Haneabada Kingdom who attacked and pillaged our Sirovas Island? How dare they! Aren't they afraid of our family's revenge? "Laurist was furious.
Bofinger smiled bitterly and shook his head. "My Lord, the Haneabada Kingdom was originally established by a group of slave traders and pirates. For them, pillaging and attacking coastal areas were nothing more than common occurrences. A hundred years ago, they ravaged the Golden Coastline of Galinthea. Later, after the coastal countries gradually strengthened their defenses, they captured the Haneabada Archipelago and formed a slave kingdom. The pirate leaders and slave traders became kings and nobles. This was one of the reasons why the mainland countries didn't recognize the Haneabada Kingdom as nobles.
After establishing the kingdom, they once looted Cangjin Bay, forcing the merchant alliance to form an invincible fleet to fight against them. But later, their old pirate king passed away, and the new king announced that he would no longer pillage coastal areas. This was in exchange for trade agreements with the coastal countries. In the next few decades, they prospered because of the slave trade.
My Lord, at the end of last year, when Earl Gammus, Baron Shahin, and Baron Filim came to Rock Castle to calculate the profits of the Snow Salt Chamber of Commerce, it was Steward Spear and I who received them. During the meal, we heard them mention a piece of news. It was said that the second prince was particularly disgusted with the slave traders from the Haneabada Kingdom. After several slave traders who bought many slaves from Iberia and the four grand duchies were captured at the border of the Redelis Kingdom and the Andenac Kingdom, the second prince ordered them to be hanged on the gallows without any explanation.
In the past few years, it was said that the slave traders of the Haneabada Kingdom hated the second prince to the bone. They regarded the four grand duchies and the Iberia Kingdom as a dangerous way to buy slaves, and they basically disappeared in these places. Many nobles in the snow salt business even asked us if we wanted slaves. They had a deep resentment towards the second prince, thinking that the second prince was meddling in other people's business, greatly reducing their income.
So, my Lord, I suspect that the great slave owners and slave traders of the Haneabada Kingdom attacked our Shirovas Island this time. On the one hand, they wanted to capture the tens of thousands of refugees on the island as slaves, and on the other hand, they wanted to retaliate against the second prince for his hatred towards them. They are not afraid of our family's revenge. You know, they are originally pirates, and they are also an archipelago country. They want us to retaliate. In the Haneabada Archipelago, they have the geographical advantage, and they are familiar with the environment. We are unfamiliar with the place and people, and it is easy for us to be defeated by them … "
"Bang!" Laurist slammed his fist on the table and slowly sat down. The two of them looked at each other in silence.
"Bogue, when your heavy armor troops arrive tomorrow, you will reorganize them. Next, the three single-wheeled crossbow battalions that Dolles has already organized will also arrive. They will be under your command. In two days, the whaling fleet will return from fishing, and I will have them prepare to set sail. When Sunbarwood's fleet arrives, you will immediately lead the troops to Shirovas Island as reinforcements … "
"If, as you said, I suspect that the enemy will already be far away by the time you arrive, then you will be responsible for the island's aftermath. I will pass on subsequent orders to you. If there are still enemies on the island, immediately eliminate them. Also, be careful. Wilson told me that the enemy has a great swordsman, so don't fight him alone. Directly order Dolles's crossbow battalion to deal with him, understand? "
After a long silence, Laurist finally gave an order to Bogue.
Bogue stood up, "Yes, my Lord."
"Someone come!" Laurist shouted outside the tent.
Howard walked in, "My Lord, please give me your orders."
After saying this, he nodded at his father.
"Yes, Howard, send someone to Rock Castle. Have Spear find me all the maps of the Haneabada Kingdom and the archipelago," Laurist said.
… …
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
