Huang Zheng stood on the boat and looked up at the huge ship in front of him. The gun barrels, which were thicker than bowls, looked very ferocious from this angle. Just when they were about to reach the bottom of the warship, a triple-mounted main gun suddenly opened fire. The loud sound made Huang Zheng tremble. Behind him were Mr. Bruders and two marines rowing the boat. They were also shocked by the sound of the gun. Bruders had never heard the roar of a cannon so close, and the two marines even forgot to row for a moment.
The artillery fire was certainly not aimed at the Houyi. Instead, it blasted three water columns on the sea surface in the distance. However, the meaning of this artillery fire was also very clear, which was a deterrent.
The boat approached the side of the Red Cloud, and the sailor lowered a rope ladder from the boat. Huang Zheng did not use the flying technique, but climbed up the rope ladder. Bruders followed behind him.
Two Marines tied the boat to the larger vessel and climbed up after him.
Huang Zheng stepped onto the deck of the Hongyun and found that a team of armed soldiers were guarding both sides of the deck. A man who looked like an officer in his thirties was waiting for his arrival.
The officer was obviously surprised when he saw Huang Zheng's appearance. There were few people with black hair and black eyes in the Western Continent, so Huang Zheng's appearance was very special to him. Huang Zheng's clothing was also very different from that of the locals. He wore a navy coat and a wide-brimmed hat, which gave him a very handsome look.
Huang Zheng saluted and said, "I am Huang Zheng, the colonel commander of the Marine Corps from the Tower of China in the East Continent. This time I am here as an envoy to meet the captain of the Red Cloud."
"What? From the East Continent? Colonel of the Marine Corps? Are you kidding? Aren't you pirates who hijacked a cruise ship and came here to negotiate?" The officer said with obvious distrust in his tone, "Recently, the pirates on the nearby outer islands have started to move again. These scums got some old and broken ships, installed some steam engines and old-fashioned cannons, and wanted to challenge our authority. They are really tired of living. I think your ships are very similar."
The Houyi and Xingtian had already opened their gun ports to prevent them from being caught off guard in case of a battle. So it was really similar to the modified pirate ship the officer had mentioned.
At this time, Bruders behind Huang Zheng said, "Mr. Officer, I am Bruders, the secretary of Sage Misael, and I have met His Excellency Montanio, the naval commander of El City. I can prove that what this gentleman said is true. They came from the Eastern Continent across the Devil's Sea and have a very important news to inform us. The evil god who has been sleeping on that continent for many years is about to wake up. We must unite the forces of the two continents to fight him together."
He saw the officer looking at him with suspicion. He argued: "Can you take a look at Mr. Huang Zheng's appearance? Is there anyone like him in our entire Western Continent? Look at those two ships. As a navy, you should be most familiar with ships. Have you ever seen ships of this style in the Western Continent? And do you see the white light curtain on the ship? This is the unique magic of the people of the Eastern Continent! Some of them do not use the power of the devil to do evil, but fight against the devils."
Bruders was a good speaker, and some of his points were hard to refute. The officer asked, "How did you meet them?"
"What should I call you?" Bruders asked.
"I am Captain Ethelite of the Red Cloud." The officer said with his hands behind his back, "Although your identities and intentions are very suspicious, we will still give you a chance to explain the details. Right here."
Brudes said, "Mr. Esselit, the El Shield cruise ship I was on encountered these Eastern visitors on the route. They had just come out of the Devil's Sea a few days ago, and I have just explained their purpose. I think this matter is very important, so I promised to lead them and report their situation to the sages and the Saint. Now that the Red Cloud has intervened in this matter, we hope you can take us into the port, and I will take these people to have a good talk with the mayor."
Esselit said, "Mr. Brudes, please do not interfere with our military's decision. The Navy has the responsibility to protect the entire Western Continent. As for these people who claim to be from the Eastern Continent... whether they are a threat and how to treat them is for me to decide."
Bruders hit a snag and looked a little unhappy, but the warship was the enemy's territory, and he had no choice. But he still warned: "I will watch here, Mr. Esselit, now we have a good start with these visitors from the East, you must not mess it up."
Esselit ignored him and said to Huang Zheng: "Although this person said he gave you proof, it is not enough. Even if I believe you are from the East Continent, what evidence do you have to prove that what you said about the gods and seeking support is true? How do you prove that you don't have other ideas about the West Continent?"
Aethelite paused and said, "We don't know much about the East Continent, and there are rumors among the people that many of you have been contaminated by the devil's power. So I can't put your ship into the port. If you really have something important to report to those big shots, your ship must be detained by our navy, and your people must disembark and be monitored by us. Only after it is confirmed to be safe, can we let you send representatives to meet those important people."
Huang Zheng shook his head slowly at the other party's excessive demands and said, "You are not treating potential partners like this, you are treating prisoners like this. Who gave you the courage to say this?"
Aetherite smiled coldly and said, "Of course it's strength. I believe that in this world, whether in the East Continent or the West Continent, strength speaks. Our strength is stronger than yours, so naturally we will decide the direction of things next."
Bruders warned: "Mr. Esselit, please don't talk like that. You are exacerbating the conflict, which is dangerous. You don't know what capabilities these people in the China Tower have."
Eselite patted the main gun beside him and said, "Strength is naturally reflected by the caliber of the cannon. In this regard, we have a much greater advantage."
Huang Zheng looked up in the direction of Hou Yi and said, "Strength cannot be expressed in words. Let's see how strong each of us is."
Aethelite frowned and said, "What do you mean?"
Huang Zheng said: "My companions just informed me that we found four real pirate ships in the southwest, chasing two merchant ships. They are coming in our direction and will pass by us to the south. How about using these four pirate ships as targets for comparison?"