Therod had become a captain. It had been 30 years since he joined the ship at the age of 15. He had gone from being a bottom-feeder sailor to becoming a captain of the Invincible Fleet step by step. He had experienced countless dangers and tribulations at sea. He remembered that when he volunteered to be a hired sailor of the Invincible Fleet, many people said that he was foolish. But after a few years, when he was officially hired by the Invincible Fleet, many people envied him …
Back then, he was only in his 30s, but the owner of the grocery store in the neighborhood he lived in still married his 17-year-old daughter to him without any hesitation. Now, Therod had two adorable children and he was promoted to the captain of a large armed warship last year. To Therod, success was simple. He only needed to work hard for more than 10 years, complete the orders given by his superiors, and pay some monetary price to build a good relationship with his superiors.
That was why when Therod received the order to lead the fleet out on patrol, he didn't grumble about the weather and his bad luck like his colleagues did. Instead, he nodded silently and began to arrange all the necessary supplies and cold-proof clothing with the logistics supervisor. It was risky to set sail in such stormy weather, so they had to be careful about every detail.
Their luck wasn't bad. Being able to arrive at their destination safely in such a harsh winter was already the best thing that could happen. Next, they could head back after circling the Sad Ocean. In fact, the Sad Ocean wasn't deserted during winter. One or a few armed merchant ships could often be seen. Therod and the others were well aware that most of them were actually smuggling ships. Even though the Commerce Alliance and the Andinac Kingdom were at war, the smugglers on both sides were still trading with each other. Often, the more intense the war between the two sides, the more rampant the smuggling activities would be, and the more profitable they would be …
However, Therod's patrol fleet didn't pay much attention to these smuggled merchant ships. To the Invincible Fleet, as long as these merchant ships had a special pass issued by their fleet and a small red flag with three blue slanted edges, they would be legal. All the owners and captains of merchant ships that made a living in Hidden Gold Bay knew that as long as they spent 10 gold fords to purchase such a small, disposable flag, not only would they be able to travel freely on the sea, but they would also be protected by the Invincible Fleet.
It would be great if they could find a smuggler ship that did not have a small flag of special passage. This was the hope of almost every crew and sailor on patrol in such a cold winter, because it meant that everyone could earn some extra money. Without a special pass flag, the patrol fleet would deal with the captured smuggled ships. No matter which noble or trade association president was behind them, and the Invincible Fleet would come forward to talk to them. On the sea, the Invincible Fleet was just that domineering. It would let everyone understand that the sea was the Invincible Fleet's territory.
The fire in the fireplace danced. This should be the warmest and most comfortable cabin in the entire large armed warship. Therod felt that he had the right to do so because he had also suffered. He had squeezed himself in the damp, cold, and dark cabin with the sailors at the bottom of the hierarchy, and used his body to warm himself through the endless cold nights. But now that he was the captain, he naturally had to enjoy the spacious and warm captain's cabin.
As the saying goes, bitterness comes before sweetness. Without hard work, there would be no sweet harvest. Of course, Captain Therod's current goal was to become a nobleman. His goal was to leave a hereditary territory for his descendants. Becoming a noble of the Commerce Alliance's territory wasn't something that could be achieved by hard work. Captain Therod was calculating how much wealth and support he needed to become a noble in the Commerce Alliance that everyone envied …
"Ship, Black Ship, the Norton Family's Black Ship Fleet!" Lookout's shivering voice came from the berth. Of course, he wasn't shivering out of fear, but out of excitement and cold. Everyone could hear that there was a hint of surprise in his voice. At the beginning of last year, the Invincible Fleet had issued an order that they could attack the Norton Family's ships if they encountered them at sea. That was because the Norton Family had become the Commerce Alliance's enemy.
"Aha, the rats have finally come out of their holes …" Captain Therod murmured to himself happily. Perhaps this winter patrol would bring him good luck. For example, he might be able to add a silver sail badge to his uniform. That badge would signify that he had commanded a fleet to deal a heavy blow to the enemy. Now, Captain Therod could only hope that they would not encounter the small fast patrol ships of the Norton Family, which the Invincible Fleet called the "little rats of the sea". Those ships were too agile and fast, making them difficult to catch.
When Captain Therod got on the berth, the lookout's voice came from the mast again. "The Norton Family's main warships, Black Ship, 12 of them. They're 500 yards away, and they're surrounding us in a fan shape. Alert! They seem to be coming for our fleet. They're hostile … Prepare for battle! "
500 yards was equivalent to 1,000 meters on land. This was the standard unit of distance measurement in the Galinthia Continent. It seemed like the two fleets would need another 10 minutes or so to reach each other. There was still enough time for his subordinates to prepare for battle. Captain Therod looked up at the sky. The weather was good today. There was a rare blue sky with a trace of sunlight. It shouldn't snow for the next two days.
However, Captain Therod waited for a long time, but the lookout still didn't report anything. He angrily looked up at the mast and yelled, "Bastard, continue reporting!"
The lookout's trembling voice replied, "Captain, haven't we finished reporting? 12 Black Ships … "
"Only 12? There are no other ships? "Captain Therod was shocked.
"Yes, Captain!" the lookout shouted. "There are only 12 Black Ships. There are no other ships! They're about 400 yards away from us … "
That's strange. What is the Norton Family's fleet trying to do? Captain Therod couldn't figure it out. He knew that the North Sea Fleet had a total of 16 Black Ships. This was also the main reason why the Invincible Fleet didn't want to call them the North Sea Fleet. In the hearts of the Invincible Fleet's members, the sea belonged to them. Even the Northern Seas were no exception. That was why they didn't want to call their opponent by the name of the sea. Calling them the Black Ships was equivalent to calling them a pirate fleet.
It was said that the 16 main warships of the Ebon Fleet were equipped with long-range cannons invented by the dwarves. Once, a patrol fleet and merchant ship saw one of the main warships of the Ebon Fleet destroy a medium-sized pirate ship in front of everyone. Captain Therod was not worried about this, because the onlookers said that the Norton Family's Ebon Fleet only hit the escaping pirate ship when the two ships were only about 50 meters away from each other. The previous rounds of cannons had all missed. As such, the members of the Invincible Fleet did not take the cannons of the Norton Family seriously. The long-range attack ships of the Invincible Fleet were able to accurately fire fireballs and rocks at enemy ships within a hundred meters. This was only the first round, and they were already able to hit their targets five out of ten times.
On the other hand, the Norton Family's Black Ships had once attracted the Invincible Fleet's attention. These ships were no smaller than large armed warships and had extremely unique designs. Just the fact that they could move freely in the stormy northern seas attracted the Invincible Fleet's attention. But when a technician from the Cheekend Merchant Group said that the cost of a Black Ship was about the same as the cost of building six to seven large armed warships, the Invincible Fleet lost interest. Although the Invincible Fleet received a huge sum of funds every year, all the expenditure items had already been divided and had owners. It was impossible for the Invincible Fleet to spend extra money to build a few experimental ships like the Black Ships …
Maybe I can capture a few Black Ships and bring them back. This will be a great contribution and help me get knighted … Captain Therod's heart was burning with passion. There was no doubt that victory belonged to the Invincible Fleet. Just look at his side. Just the patrol B Squadron alone had 12 large armed battleships and 24 medium fast armed battleships. Against the 12 Black Ships of the Norton Family, Captain Therod was very sure that his opponents would be like moths to a flame.
However, Captain Therod had always been very cautious. Even if he thought that the commander of the Norton Family's Black Ships had lost his mind and was here to give himself credit, he didn't want to fail miserably. Besides, in his opinion, it wasn't as if the other party's twelve black ships had no chance of winning. If each of the twelve black ships carried a hundred-man assault team, then as long as they charged into the formation of the patrolling fleet and engaged in a chaotic battle, there would be no chance of winning in the chaos.
A patrol fleet of the Invincible Fleet consisted of twelve large armed battleships and twenty-four medium-sized fast armed battleships. This was the most basic configuration. The 12 large armed warships were divided into close-combat and long-range attack types. The close-combat large armed warships carried a 100-man assault team to carry out sea jumping operations. This was the key to capturing the enemy's ships. On the other hand, the long-range attack large armed warships were filled with stone cannons, flying fireballs, large crossbows, and catapults. These were the main means of destroying the enemy's ships without touching them.
However, if each of the twelve black ships on the other side carried a hundred-man assault team, then they would indeed have a greater advantage in the battle. Perhaps this was the enemy's plan. Captain Therod laughed coldly. The Invincible Fleet had seen all kinds of situations. Did they think that such a simple trick would be able to make my patrol fleet suffer?
"Sound the horn. Medium fast armed warships, spread out on both sides. Keep the four Black Ships at bay. Six long-range attack large armed warships, move forward and stop the four Black Ships in the middle of the two sides. Do not engage in close combat. Use long-range attacks to destroy the enemy's ships. "Six close-combat large armed warships, follow behind the long-range attack. Target the four Black Ships in the middle of the enemy fleet. Use speed to fight speed. Use numbers to take over the enemy's ships in the shortest time possible!"
Captain Therod's order was very concise. He had already come up with the best plan in the shortest amount of time possible. In an instant, the patrolling fleet's bugles were blaring, and flags were waving in the air. Captain Therod's flagship, the Seahorse, which was a large, long-range, armed warship, appeared at the forefront of the patrolling fleet, welcoming the 12 black warships of the Norton family that were riding on the waves.
The fleets of both sides were getting closer and closer. Captain Therod stood on the deck like an iron tower, looking at the sailors on the deck loading the stone cannons in an orderly manner, firing the crossbows, lighting up the braziers, and placing the rocks weighing 40 to 50 kilograms on the catapult in an orderly manner. Once the Norton Family's Black Ships reached their firing range, Captain Therod promised to teach the enemy a harsh lesson …
When the 12 Black Ships were only 150 meters away from the patrol fleet, all of the Black Ships suddenly turned to the side, blocking the patrol fleet on the left.
What was the meaning of this? Captain Therod was stunned. Did the enemy regret their decision to escape now? But the distance was too close. If they turned around and adjusted the angle of the sails to escape, the patrol fleet would have already caught up to them. At that time, the Norton Family's Black Ships would only be able to take a beating. No matter how stupid the captain was, he wouldn't make such a decision. It would be better to charge through the enemy's formation before finding a direction to escape …
Just as Captain Therod was feeling puzzled, he saw two rows of black windows appear on the side of the Black Ships. White smoke rose from the windows, and the sound of thunder could be heard from the sea. So the Black Ships turned around to make it easier for them to fire their cannons! But can the cannons hit them at such a distance? As long as we charge forward, the Black Ships will be finished! It seems that the commander of the Black Ships really doesn't know much about naval warfare. He might even be panicking. After all, no long-range attack could reach such a distance of 300 meters …
However, Captain Therod couldn't help but laugh. Just as the corners of his mouth curled up, he heard a shrill wind coming from afar. An ominous sound could be heard.
Captain Therod looked up and was dumbfounded. The five sails on the mast had been swept away by something. Of the two small sails at the top, one was on the verge of falling, and the other was fluttering like a flag. But the most terrifying thing was that the three large sails at the bottom looked as if they had been cut in half by a sharp knife. The first sail had all its moorings broken, and was falling down. The middle main sail had a third of a hole in it, and the hole was getting bigger and bigger as the wind howled. The second sail at the back had its lanyard broken, and became a broadsail …
Without the support of the wind, the warship came to an abrupt halt and began to turn sideways. After staggering for a moment, Captain Therod hurriedly rushed to the rudder and tried to turn the ship around with all his might. Unfortunately, the sail had been damaged and could not be salvaged. The hull of the Seahorse had begun to turn to the left.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye. Immediately after, Captain Therod heard the howling of the wind on the ship, accompanied by the screams of the sailors. When the sound of the wind stopped, Captain Therod looked at the deck and saw broken limbs and flesh. It was a complete mess. The culprit was two fist-sized iron balls. One of the iron balls was half embedded in the thick wooden deck, and the other was covered in blood and was still rolling. The two iron balls were connected by an iron chain …
It wasn't the Seahorse that was at the front that was unlucky, but the six large long-range armed warships that were at the front. On the two warships on the far left, the braziers had probably been knocked over, and the broken sails that were hanging down started to burn. The people on the two warships were in a mess, and it was a complete mess. The ship to the right of the Seahorse was the Octopus, which suffered the heaviest damage. The mast in the middle of the Octopus had been smashed to pieces on the berth, and the whole ship was spinning uncontrollably.
The damage to the six large long-range armed warships at the front actually raised the morale of the remaining ships in the patrol fleet. Twenty-four medium-sized fast armed warships passed the six damaged warships and stopped in front of them. Then, six large close-range armed warships charged at the black ships of the Norton family …
To Captain Therod, this day was an unforgettable memory. The twelve black ships retreated, turned, and fired their cannons. Then, they retreated, turned, and fired their cannons again, or chased after them, turned, and fired their cannons again …
The rumbling of the cannons echoed on the surface of the Ocean of Sorrow for a long time. Captain Therod and the sailors who had survived the disaster watched as the six close-range armed warships were blasted into pieces and sank to the bottom of the sea. In such weather, falling into the sea meant death. Even if Captain Therod wanted to save them, there was nothing he could do. He had lost control of the Seahorse.
The rumbling of cannons could also be heard coming from behind the patrol fleet. It was the black ships chasing after a few medium-sized fast armed merchant ships that had escaped. Captain Therod watched as the six black ships turned around and approached the six ships that had lost their sails. He knew that this was the last moment of his life. He would never see his adorable children and beautiful wife again.
"Quick, raise the white flag. We surrender …" Captain Therod murmured with his eyes closed.
"What did you say, my lord?" the boatswain asked loudly.
Captain Therod opened his eyes and said angrily, "Raise the white flag! Hurry up! I'm saving your lives! If you don't want to become a meal for the fishes and prawns at the bottom of the sea, go and raise the white flag!"
…
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.
