A vast expanse of blue ocean.
There is a fishy and salty smell in the warm wind.
The sea was slightly turbulent, and seagulls flew across the sky from time to time.
This is the golden route to the East. Since the discovery of geography, countless ships have traveled along this route to the mysterious East every day, bringing special products such as porcelain, spices, silk, etc., and dumped them at the port. Transform into little cuties like gold and silver.
The sea is the cradle of dreams and holds countless treasures.
In every port, there are stories of lucky people getting rich overnight, inspiring more young people to embark on the path of navigators, but they don’t know that in addition to unparalleled treasures, the sea also has extremely terrifying danger.
The storms of nature are only one aspect. There are also the huge water monsters, the ethnic groups living in the ocean, and even some indescribable existences. Once angry, they will easily overturn the ship and bring disaster.
Of course, the most frequent danger on the sea route is pirates.
They chase wealth and are passionate about rum and women. After robbing a large sum, they will spend their time in a special pirate port until they have spent the last copper gram in their pockets, and then set foot on the road with red eyes and howling. A new hunting journey.
For men at sea, being born in the sea and dying in the sea are fate.
However, pirates are not a beautiful profession. Compared with maritime merchants, they are also subject to dangers from the sea. In addition, there are even special Royal Navy roundups.
Insman, the most powerful maritime country on the Western continent, as the biggest beneficiary of maritime transactions, hates piracy and has specially legislated for this. If any piracy is discovered at sea, no matter what the identity of the pirate is, Executed on the spot.
In Insman's port, you can see the dried corpses of pirates hanging every day, until one day the encirclement and suppression of pirates is successful, and then several new ones are replaced.
The struggle between the navy and pirates is a theme that always coexists with each other in human ocean voyages in this age of exploration.
The Age of Discovery!
Based on the great geographical discovery, after the great navigator Michael discovered the route to the East, many continental countries went crazy.
Countless people flocked to the ocean, risking hurricanes, tsunamis, trolls, pirates, etc. to explore new worlds. Continents were discovered one after another. More and more ocean-going ships were built, and their tonnage and speed continued to increase. progress.
Continuous wealth poured into Insman, turning the island nation into the richest country in the entire Western continent.
The stimulation of gold and other wealth has made many countries with coastlines ready to start their own navigation businesses one after another.
This is the worst of times. The terrifying ocean is like a ruthless behemoth, devouring young lives. The great geographical discovery is full of colonization and sin.
This is also the best of times. As long as you have courage and a little bit of luck, wealth or anything else can be found in the sea!
…
“What a great day!”
Donald is in his thirties, and his white shirt is half-open, revealing his thick chest hair.
As an old seal dog and an experienced navigator, he just smelled the sea breeze and knew that today was a cloudless day.
"At this rate, we will probably arrive at Drunk Port by tomorrow night and enjoy the turkey and rum there... "
Donald rubbed his face. Because he had not tidied it up for a long time, a thick beard had grown as hard as a steel needle.
He is the navigator of the "Flaming Beauty" and has a very high status.
Generally speaking, on merchant ships at this time, the captain had the highest status, followed by the first mate. As the captain's deputy, he managed the affairs on the deck and other chores.
The navigators follow closely behind. They can skillfully use sextant and star positioning, and calculate ocean currents and routes. Sometimes they are even more important than the captain.
Next, there is the charge captain, as well as the second and third officers.
The sea route at this time is not calm at all, and there is a possibility of encountering pirates. A capable stormtrooper captain and sufficient weapons are the guarantee of survival at critical moments!
In the case of pirate ships and warships, there are subdivisions of specialized combatants such as gunners and musketeers.
In addition, there are also ship's doctors, cooks, carpenters, accountants... These people, together with the lowest level sailors, form a complete human chain on the ship.
And Donald himself also holds a certain share in this cargo.
Being proficient in maritime trade, he has already estimated that after arriving at the port and disposing of the cargo on the ship, he will be able to make a profit of more than two hundred and fifty gold galleons. These little golden treasures are enough for him to make a fortune in Insman. Buy a villa in the countryside and hundreds of acres of land, and then retire and live a leisurely and prosperous life.
Compared with this, several years of sailing and countless dangers seemed not worth mentioning.
"Sigh... I've been away for so many years, and I don't know what's going on at home. Little Arthur can already speak, right?"
Donald missed his wife and son.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but glance down his throat.
There, a strange metal pendant was worn by a fine hemp rope, emitting a cold and hard light.
This is a miniature dagger with a very weird shape. Donald bought it from a crazy witch at a pirate market.
"It has a special meaning and represents the master of all weapons. You feel its greatness, so it belongs to you..."
The words of the witch at that time were still lingering in Donald's ears.
However, out of respect for the witch, he still paid the price of three silver nards.
In fact, Donald strongly suspected that this was just a sales pitch from the witch.
Who knows how he could have been so obsessed with it that he bought this pendant.
Although the experienced captain looked at it and thought it might be the emblem of an Eastern faith, or something related to evil gods, and advised him to abandon it as soon as possible or give it to other priests, but Donald knew that he could not possibly give this thing worth three Yinnar's things are discarded unless he is crazy.
What's more, anything related to faith, gods, and spirits must be treated with caution.
Maybe there are gods or unknown beings watching you secretly. If you abandon the pendant rashly, it will lead to disaster!
"Coming from the east...perhaps it is the emblem of a certain weapon master?"
Thinking of this, Donald couldn't help but grab the pendant and began to pray: "That unknown majesty standing in the dark... I praise you with sincere words and worship you with sincere faith... I hope you can give me guidance, so that I can successfully complete this voyage!"
As an old sea dog, he has an attitude of rather believing in luck and destiny.
Even though many countries on the mainland still have religious bans, Insman, the most open and civilized country, has a very open attitude towards the religious world.
Basically, as long as it is not a cult and does not promote doomsday or offensive things, then everyone can receive equal treatment and opportunities for publicity.
Although Donald already believes in a goddess of luck, this does not prevent him from asking for help from another existence when he feels guilty.
After all, although those magicians swore that the true God must exist, Donald never felt the goddess respond to his prayers.
Well, if our Mr. Donald is truly divided by belief, he is probably at the level of pseudo-believers and pan-believers.
But this time the prayer was obviously different.
A hot burning sensation radiated from his palm, making him startled and stare at his pendant.
This strange blade looks like a knife but not a sword, and looks like a sword but not a sword. It has a smooth arc and a strange shape. It seems that traces of many weapons can be found on it.
At this time, the black pendant felt cold again, as if everything before was an illusion.
But somewhere underneath, a huge sense of crisis kept stimulating Donald's heart, letting him know that a huge danger was coming!
"Damn... Is this really a revelation from God?"
He pulled his collar and climbed up to the observation deck of the mast like a giant monkey.
The weather was very good, cloudless, there was no mist on the sea, and the visibility was very high.
Donald looked in one direction.
There, a black spot slowly approached, and finally transformed into the shape of an armed merchant ship.
After seeing the Flame Beauty, the other party speeded up and approached menacingly. Moreover, there were no markings on the ship.
"alert!"
Donald had no time to think and immediately shouted, raising the alarm.
"what happened?"
There was a commotion on the deck, and a white captain pushed aside the sailors and came out.
"An unknown ship was found five nautical miles to the left!"
Donald gritted his teeth.
"Um?"
The captain took a brass monocular and his expression became solemn: "Captain of the charge, prepare to fight! Other sailors, return to the cabin and prepare to release the oars!"
The sailors on the Flaming Beauty immediately took action. Donald looked nervously at the approaching armed ship.
The closer they got, the clearer they could see the artillery on the big ship and the densely packed figures on the deck. An uneasy atmosphere suddenly spread.
Finally, there was a burst of cheers from the opposite ship, and a black flag was hoisted.
On top of the flag is a white skull pattern with two crossed bones below.
"It's a pirate ship!"
The most unwilling suspicion came true, and the captain could only take a deep breath: "Turn around now!"
Swipe and pull!
Suddenly, dozens of long oars protruded from both sides of the Flaming Beauty's ship, shaking the sea surface uniformly, causing the ship to turn and escape quickly.
However, with the sound of the horn, the boat on the opposite side also stretched out its long oars and accelerated, like a ferocious beast swooping down to hunt for prey.
After just comparing it, Donald closed his eyes and knew that with the speed of his ship, he would not be able to escape.
"Ready to fight...all hands!"
The captain also knew this, took a deep breath, and issued the order.