Pirate Kingship-Chapter 686 - 468: Black Sail Pirates, Extras Go Overboard_2

But Byron, after all, was a graduate of the Royal Naval Academy of Hightens and had an understanding of the navies of various nations.

The naval ship designs, armaments, and combat tactics of many maritime powers differed greatly.

The most iconic for the Kingdom of Castilia was the "Invincible Fleet."

What was truly invincible were never the Fleets, but the Marines!

The Kingdom of Castilia's tall Galen sailing ships were relatively poor in maneuverability. Additionally, their industrial strength was only mediocre, resulting in artillery range and stability that weren't particularly outstanding.

Yet, using Spices, they had amassed the world's finest Marines and the greatest number of Transcendents over nearly a century.

They excelled at naval siege tactics and grappling fights, achieving mastery and unbeatable success.

In contrast, the line-of-battle tactics popular in the Kingdom of Hightens were discarded by them like old shoes.

This time, [Hard-to-Come-by-Swift-Steeds] clearly intended to leverage [Absurd Absurd]'s ability to control the field to engage in their preferred grappling fights.

As the two sides gradually approached each other, Byron noticed the Puppet Threads connected to the bows of his ship and the Treasure Fleet's Flagship suddenly stopped trembling. This indicated the active intervention in Fate had ceased.

Eh? What's going on? Has the Puppet King's Fate interference ended just like that?

Byron had thought the Puppet King's goal was to precipitate a conflict between him and the Treasure Fleet, but in fact, the influence from the Probability Dice rolling a six had been exhausted.

He shrugged indifferently. Just as well. I never wanted to senselessly clash to the death with the People of Castilia in the first place. I just wanted to probe their tactics and gather some Intelligence.

"Gunner Chief, teach them a lesson. Take out their forestays, and we'll retreat."

Wayne Dote, who had become a Half-Night Devil Bloodline of Byron's, immediately acknowledged the command, "Yes, Captain."

He took out the discarded Sacred Relic, [First Flintlock], from Violet and aimed it at the enemy ship's bowsprit.

Effect: Can only fire one bullet at a time. The fired bullet can bend and dodge in mid-air at the gunner's will. Its power gradually diminishes only after at least ten attacks or striking ten different targets, eventually exhausting its kinetic energy.

Every Warship had a bowsprit extending forward and upward from its bow. Multiple cables, collectively called forestays, were rigged between the bowsprit and openings on the cutwater, forming figure eights that were then tightly bound to secure them. These forestays were crucial because they transferred all the forward tension of the Warship's rigging to the bowsprit. In battle, severing the bowsprit or its forestays could cause an enemy ship's masts to collapse, resulting in a complete or significant loss of maneuverability.

In ordinary naval combat, hitting them would be as hard as reaching the heavens, but for Wayne Dote, an Artillery Expert wielding the [First Flintlock], it was not a difficult task.

BANG!

A bullet soared out, while Little Snail, the ammonite that had been lurking underwater, simultaneously fired dozens of water jets as a distraction.

Before Jeanne d'Arc Don Quixote could react, ten consecutive assaults easily severed the knots securing the forestays, causing the ship's mast to shake violently.

The officers on board who were preparing to board immediately turned pale. "No—! Quick, tighten the ropes! Sailmaster, Artisans, hurry and repair the rigging!"

After the ensuing chaos, when they looked up again, The Golden Deer had long since escaped.

And no one noticed a Raven quietly landing on the mast of [Hard-to-Come-by-Swift-Steeds], where it then crouched like a gargoyle, motionless.

Whatever the Puppet King wants me to do doesn't interfere with my executing the predetermined plan. The Raven, capable of freely traversing three worlds and seeing through everything, in combination with the entry [I Don't Eat Beef], likely has a high probability of cracking the [Treasure Ship's Lock Key]. Since I've encountered the Treasure Fleet earlier than expected due to the Puppet King's arrangement, I certainly can't pass up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Plant a ward! I must plant a ward on them, and make it stick!

While Byron was urging Little Snail to initiate the next Vortex Transmission, Divine Sight also inadvertently brought images of other vessels in the nearby waters to his eyes.

There were two pirate ships that clearly came from Black Sails Harbor, a Pirate City, and their captains were particularly eye-catching.

The first was Goat Captain Alex.

Legend had it that he was an unconventional individual who kept a ship full of goats as pets. He also treasured a Sacred Relic known as the [Golden Fleece]. Wearing the [Golden Fleece] granted eternal youth, but it also transformed the wearer into a goat, forcing them to live in that form. However, if the [Golden Fleece] was removed and the wearer lived in human form, the effect of eternal youth would fade, and they would gradually age.

If it weren't for his formidable Fourth Order Power, just the rumor alone would have piqued the interest of many significant figures.

The other was One-Eyed Owl Pierce.

He was extremely decisive and arrogant in his actions, fiercely ruthless to both himself and others.

Just how ruthless could this man be?

It was said that before leaving his hometown to make his way in the world, his mother told him, "Money is hard to earn, dung is hard to eat."

Without a word, One-Eyed Owl did just that, consuming a bowl to prove he had the mettle to make big money and do great things!

Therefore, in addition to One-Eyed Owl, he also earned another nickname, Dung Eater.

Both were Fourth Order Pirate Warlords, each commanding a not-inconsiderable Pirate Fleet.

The First Circulation Zone had always been the traditional hunting ground for pirates from Black Sails Harbor in the Bahama Archipelago.

Although no second Fifth-Order Pirate King had emerged since the departure of the [Whale Hunter], it was difficult to forge a unified force. But there were still five or six Fourth Order Pirate Warlords.

As Transcendents of the Lighthouse Sequence, many of them had previously joined the first wave of explorers to the Shattered Isles.

With the opening of new routes to the Southern Continent and increased investment from the Old Continent targeting pirates, merchant and whaling ships became more numerous. Consequently, pirates' sources of Wealth expanded significantly, and some Pirate Warlords naturally began to return.

These two were among them.

Seeing them, Byron's eyes flickered. By the way, this time plundering the Treasure Fleet, can I drag these fellows down with it too? Although the requirement to advance to the Fourth Order is to win a large-scale Fleet battle, there's no rule saying it has to be head-on. If I drag Black Sails Harbor into this and wait for them to cripple each other, I can then jump out and pull a fast one on both. Perhaps after my promotion, Violet, the Bay Citizen Princess, and I could even swallow Black Sails Harbor whole. The Treasure Fleet, Wealth, the Promotion Ceremony, Black Sails Harbor... I want it all!

With a wave of his hand, another Raven flew towards them.

Byron's understanding of Fate was clearly still rather superficial.

He thought the Puppet King's actions seemed anticlimactic.

This was only because his goal was already aligned with the Puppet King's. By simply ensuring Byron was at the critical location at the critical time, events would naturally follow the predetermined script.

The Fate of all beings is like a massive net.

If one has just barely brushed against it, they shouldn't panic; there's still a chance to slowly escape. However, struggling violently will only tighten the net further, drawing Hunter and prey towards each other.

Through the accumulation of incident after incident, and the turning of Fate time after time, two months' time was enough for the Puppet King to lead Plan Number Two into the set script.

Nevertheless, in this "Secret: The Crisis of the Treasure Fleet, Historical Impact 28," Byron himself was one of the architects of the crisis.

Ultimately, who will claim the prize remains unknown.