Pillars of Ita

"The situation is not good." Alyssa placed a cup of coffee on the table. The bottom of the white porcelain cup made a soft sound when it came into contact with the tray. The dark suspension swayed slightly, and the surface of the liquid was coated with a layer of light. She looked through the information projected on the crystal, some of which were fed back from the wind element detector. "The pirates are not far away, and there is some new information on the wind element detector."

"It's the Imperial Navy." Fang Plover had actually received the message from Miss Tata. He looked up from the chart and saw the maid not far away arranging the items in the cabinet neatly one by one, with meticulous movements and no distractions. .

Sylvide held a handful of small flags in her hands, nailing thumbtacks and tying threads on different routes to mark the positions of different imperial fleets. The closest one was still the fleet from Fletcher, and there were also Several fleets are also nearby.

"Is Balosha awake?" he turned around and asked.

"No, Jita used some means to keep him asleep. The pirate king has several resurrections. This is to prevent him from committing suicide."

Catherine said: "This is the reason why the Blood Shark pirates are lingering. They are afraid that Bashak will be resurrected. If they give up the search, the brutal pirate king will not let any of them go when he returns to the ship."

The female pirate was leaning against the window, with her swift sword and scabbard hanging on one side, folding her hands. Since she had just returned from a walk outside, the sea fog at night was very heavy, and her waist was stained with some dewdrops. , is shining

"So pirates are actually not a big threat to us." Fang Plover stated.

"Yes," Catherine looked at him, "The real trouble is the Oshu people. What are you going to do, little one?"

"I would rather you call me captain than this."

The woman laughed: "You were my client before. I called you captain out of respect for the boss, but now I am your senior. In front of me, you - you are just some little guys."

Fang He looked at the woman. She was the captain of a privateering fleet under the command of the Corin-Ishurian royal family. As far as he knew, His Majesty the King only had one privateering fleet that was always on the move - the captain of the Lyra, the red-haired Arants.

Her father is the famous pirate Bluebeard, and her grandfather was also a smuggler. It can be said that she grew up in a pirate family. However, she was rebellious and chose to join the Corin-Ithurian Navy. Soon after, she returned to her old career and took the ship "Sky". Qin' attacks the Empire's armed merchant fleet.

After that, he became famous in one battle and gradually became the core figure of the kingdom's privateer fleet.

Theoretically speaking, she should be loyal to the Kaolin royal family and is unlikely to have anything to do with them - or even obey the prime minister's orders and come to arrest them.

But the other party obviously didn’t behave like this——

"Don't be surprised," the woman just smiled and said to them: "I take orders from the Kaolin royal family, but I never said that I have only one employer. Someone asked me to come to you."

"Is there anyone? Minmir?"

Fang Yu looked at the other party with some suspicion. If the woman really gave such an answer, he would ask Miya to collect the other party's weapons immediately. That would be too insulting to everyone's intelligence.

"He is one, but not just him," Catherine replied with a smile, looking at Miya aside: "It's Stargate Port."

"Stargate Port? Military?"

Fang Yu suddenly thought of the origin of the other party and looked at the female pirate with some surprise.

Miya noticed the other person's gaze and suddenly thought of someone, which made the wolf girl feel unusually uncomfortable.

And Fang Yu had already called out the name: "Is it Sister Bai Jia?"

Miya's face twitched.

Fang Yu didn't notice this detail, but Su Changfeng was not in Stargate Port at the moment, and the only person the military contacted him was Bai Jia.

Not to mention that the other party had just left Xinta'an, and she also had this motive.

But the military could obviously contact him directly, so why did it find such a woman to contact them? Although people in the Kaolin-Ithurian area often only know her by name, the red-haired female pirate is also considered a legend. Character.

Or is it because of the interruption of Stargate communication?

But the time didn't match up. Besides, how did the other party know that he would take the route to the Chili Islands?

"I am employed by the Corin royal family, but your people in Stargate Port also need me to maintain the stability of the waterway in San Juan and check and balance the blood shark pirates," Catherine replied lightly, "After all, in comparison, at least I will not attack Corin-Ithurion's fleet."

"With this kind of relationship, it is not surprising that they can contact me. I am also happy to earn two rewards. After you made a big fuss in Ayin Block, your people contacted me and hoped that I I can provide you with some help.”

She looked at Fang Plover, "I also knew your identities from that time, but if you hadn't dared to slap the Oshu people in the face, I wouldn't have bothered to take on this task."

"Ms. Catherine has a grudge against the Empire?"

"Have a grudge? No talk of it," Catherine shook her head lightly, "But the Empire and I are old enemies, and my old enemies will inevitably owe some blood debts. Of course I am happy to see the Empire people suffer."

"So you weren't actually the smuggler in the first place?"

Catherine was startled for a moment, then immediately shook her head.

"Why do you ask this question," she asked rhetorically. "How would I know about your relationship with Minmir if I wasn't?"

Fang Yu glanced at the other party suspiciously.

Although it seemed a bit suspicious, he really couldn't find a second reason to explain it.

The privateer fleet is even more gray than the armed merchant fleet. People only know this female pirate by name, and few people have seen her in person.

He also only knew that Kaolin-Ithurian had a privateer fleet active in Cape Saint-Hughan. Catherine's task was not only to attack the imperial fleet, but more importantly, to confront the Blood Shark pirates and compete for control of Saint-Hughan.

This also fits the description of the other party.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden opening of the door.

Tianlan broke in from outside the deck and shouted hurriedly: "Brother Ed, there is an imperial fleet near us."

"It's the Fletcher squadron," Fang Plover raised his head, "Miss Tata has already told me this. How about it? Can you see the Imperial people?"

"At seven o'clock," Tian Lan complained, "Brother Ed, the wind element detector on the ship is too old-fashioned and the response is too slow. By the time the other party is discovered, they are already on our port side."

Fang Yu stood up and silently noted this, frowning slightly.

The Seven Seas Traveler originally came to the Shili Islands to avoid being hunted by the Imperial Navy, but the two Imperial fleets followed it closely, one of which came from Oka in the north, and the other from Brita.

As Minmir expected, the Imperials did not intend to let them go easily.

However, the movements of the Blood Shark Pirates have ruined the original plan to quietly pass through the Zhili Islands. Once Fritsch's squadron is dispatched, other imperial fleets in nearby waters will definitely respond, and the road ahead becomes confusing again. stand up.

"But why don't the Imperial people go find trouble with those pirates?" Tian Lan cursed those unlucky guys in a low voice, "If it weren't for them, we would have probably left the Zhili Islands. It's really unlucky."

"distance?"

Fang Plover asked.

But Miss Poet couldn't answer either.

He had no choice but to pass through the drawing table and out the door through Tianlan. It was pitch black outside, without moonlight, and he could not see his fingers. There was only a wind lantern on the mast not far away, which illuminated a limited range.

The deck was swaying, proving that the sailboat was still moving, and the sea breeze was filled with the fragrance of wind ether - somewhat fresh and intoxicating. The temperature was very low, and Sylvide put a coat on him from behind, but it was still possible Feel the chill in the air.

Fang Plover took the telescope from Alyssa, walked to the side of the ship, picked up the telescope and looked behind. He only saw a few lights flashing between the clouds from time to time, ten miles away, just like the flash of fireflies. Once destroyed.

"French's squadron has two fourth-rate battleships, four or five fifth-rate frigates, and the rest are fast sailing ships. If the enemy goes out in full force, they will catch up quickly given the favorable wind right now."

Alyssa followed. "But if we turn to face the wind, we will run into other encirclements. The sea area around here is already full of Imperial fleets."

"That's probably what the other party intended." Catherine replied.

"The Oshu people have probably discovered us," Fang Plover came to another conclusion. "Although it was the blood shark pirates who brought them here, their main target is still us. Turn around, we have to get rid of Fletcher." people."

"But what about the encirclement net?"

"Which imperial fleets are the ones forming the blockade in front of us?" Fang Plover looked at Sylvide.

"To the north of us is Oka's third fleet. This fleet is the size of the Oshu patrol fleet. Its configuration is much larger than that of Friedrich's local patrol fleet. Their main force should still be in the Bapal Islands. , but the vanguard fleet is enough to set up several encirclement nets in front of us. "

Sylvide looked at the map in her hand, "If we turn north against the wind, we will run into this encirclement net. Judging from the information sent back by the clockwork goblin released, there are already You can see the light sailboat launched by the opponent."

Her eyes fell on Fang Plover.

Fang Plover's brows sank slightly. The Seven Seas Traveler is currently located near Garshur, maintaining its course and sailing eastward. To the east are Gezelia and the Bapar Islands, but Bapar is further north in Guimana. , the Oka fleet drew a blockade there.

The leading edge of the blockade is located in Gezelia, which means they still have a chance to miss the main force of the Third Fleet.

"In which direction are the Blood Shark Pirates?" Fang Yu asked.

"Also behind us." Alyssa replied.

"Then if we turn north, we can not only get rid of the Fletcher fleet, but also these dog-skin plasters - if these guys continue to follow us, they will be exposed under the nose of Brita's Seventh Fleet in the south."

"The Imperials will welcome them."

"The fleets of Oka and Britta are setting up blockades from the south to the north. If we are held here for too long by the Fletchers, the situation will be very unfavorable. We might as well make use of those pirates. They are also the cause of our troubles. Come on," Fang Pliance concluded, "It's not polite to come back and turn around." He said while looking at Catherine aside. If the Blood Shark Pirates are responsible for half of the responsibility, this person is responsible for the other half. On ladies.

The Seven Seas Traveler quickly began to turn.

Most of the Oshu people's capital ships are not schooners. In the case of headwinds, only clippers with wing sails can barely keep up with the Seven Seas Traveler. However, the Seven Seas Traveler with the Fairy Heart is faster than a sailboat of the same size. He was almost invincible and quickly outshone his opponent.

However, Fang Yu understood that all this was just an appearance. The other party intended to drive them into the encirclement network to the north. There was no doubt that there would be a big battle waiting for them in Gzelia.

At one o'clock in the morning, the Seven Seas Traveler encountered its first battle.

When they passed an unnamed floating stone island on the southern edge of Gezelia, two clippers hiding there came out from the edge of the island, one on the left and one on the right. One of the clippers fired at them, and the shells grazed the seven seas. The port side of the Voyager flew past.

Fang Plover asked Parker to fight back with a crossbow and at the same time released the Lancers. The air combat device caught up with one of the clippers a few miles away and sank it.

Another clipper fled towards the west, but was also overtaken by another group of fire djinn. The explosion penetrated the opponent's upper deck, caused a fire, and burned the main mast. The clipper that lost power was on Shidao. One side burned.

At 2:10, the last trace of the opponent disappeared above Kukai and completely capsized.

However, the battle delayed the Seven Seas Traveler for nearly an hour. After the air combat structure was recovered, a new batch of fluctuations appeared on the wind element detector. About seven ships approached the sea area from different directions.

"It's still the imperial sailboat," Alyssa saw the message from Miss Tata, "They just want to hold us back."

Wing sailing boats are a special type of fast sailboats, specifically referring to boats with more wing sails hung on the sides than main sails. Most of these boats are not too big, but are extremely flexible and are good at operating in the changing offshore environment. Combat.

Most of these ships do not belong to the third and seventh Oshur fleets, but to the Gzelia local patrol fleet.

"Don't worry about it, keep on course."

The two fast sailboats we just encountered should be the vanguard of the Oka fleet, but most of the sailboats in the local patrol fleet are not as well-trained as the main navy of the empire. Even though they are more numerous, they are mostly a ragtag group.

The facts were as he expected. At the beginning of the battle, Gezelia's local fleet lost two sailboats, and the remaining sailboats fled in all directions. The Seven Seas Traveler did not deliberately pursue it, but it still sank another one of the opponent's ships. ship.

However, during the melee, a chain bomb from the opponent still penetrated one of the main sails of the Seven Seas Traveler. Fang Plov had to ask Cui Xisi and Luo Hao to urgently replace the sail. At about 4:20 in the morning, the Seven Seas Traveler was once again captured The advance squadron of the Third Fleet caught up.

This time, five caravels, two sixth-class frigates, and a fourth-class battleship, the Triumph, came. The battle broke out at dawn. It was probably the most brutal battle that the Seven Seas Traveler had experienced that night.

The battle came to an end after only half an hour. Fang Plover's side won the final victory. The Imperial ships, large and small, were like a piece of wreckage suspended in the air and sea.

But winning was not easy, and the Seven Seas Traveler was also hit several times——

One of the shells penetrated the air combat deck and destroyed one of the crystal storage devices. Several Lancers and a Dragon Hunter were preparing for battle on the air combat deck at the time. Fortunately, Trixis escaped. Miss Naturalist was unfortunately killed by a sharp The wood splinter hit his left eye and he was taken to the infirmary.

Another shell opened a hole in the poop, causing one wall of the captain's cabin and the collection there to disappear, but in comparison, the damage caused by this shell was smaller.

In addition, three artillery shells were blocked by the shield of the magic engine, causing varying degrees of damage to only one side of the armor plate and part of the cabin.

The shell that penetrated the cabin also cut off several pipes that transported magic power, causing the Seven Seas Traveler's hull to tilt at about 7 degrees. Because the magic engine was damaged, the speed also dropped to about three-quarters.

However, the Seven Seas Traveler's results were equally remarkable.

The sixth-class frigate 'Hickory'.

The sixth-class frigate 'Gatil Burton'.

Fourth class battleship 'Triumph'.

As well as seven caravels, except for one of them that managed to escape with injuries, the others all turned into shipwrecks, floating in the night with dazzling firelight.

"More than 70% of the spear knights have been lost," Trixis said worriedly. She came to the deck and ignored the bandage still wrapped around her head. She said to the other party: "Nearly half of them need to undergo major repairs before they can return to the battle. However, there are still some dragon hunters left. , but we shouldn’t engage in a boarding battle, right?”

"Ms. Tata said that if the Seven Seas Traveler will go into battle again, it will only be able to maintain less than 20% of its combat effectiveness at most. If possible, try to avoid being involved in conflicts again."

Fang Plover looked at the firelight in the night. A ray of morning light had already appeared on the horizon, and magnificent colors were reflected under the clouds.

He looked at Sylvide——

The ship officer nodded and replied: "It will take at least seven hours for the main force of the Oka fleet to arrive south from the Bapal Islands. It has been almost five hours since we set off. If we can rush If we pass through the main island of Brianos, the last link of the Shili Islands, before seven o'clock in the morning, we can break out of the encirclement before the Imperials complete the encirclement.”

"Can we do it?" Trish couldn't help but ask.

It was almost impossible for Kukai to use other people in the battle, and there were no weapons on board the Nanami Traveler. It was almost entirely up to her, Fang Plover, and Miss Tata to command the formation battle. After a night, Fang Plover and his own Miss Dragon Soul were fine. , the two of them have become accustomed to this.

And she was almost exhausted.

"Yes," Fang Plover nodded, "but there is still a fleet ahead of us."

"The Oshur squadron departing from the main island of Brianos has only three ships, two of which are sixth-class frigates, but the flagship is the 'San Jose'," Catherine looked at the others, " It was a second-rate battleship."

"It shouldn't be here, but it has just completed the route from Kaulin to Ithulian and the Hill of Giant Trees. It is currently on its way back and is anchored in the port of Brianos, which just constitutes this blockade. part of the line."

"The empire's main battleship," Trixis gasped, "How can we possibly defeat it? Even if the Seven Seas Traveler is in good condition, there is little hope, let alone what it is like now."

She couldn't help but ask: "Can we get around it? The San Jose is an old battleship. If we don't meet it face to face, it will be impossible to catch up with us at its clumsy speed."

"I'm afraid not," Fang Yu shook his head. "The opponent is heading south with the wind compared to us. If we turn back, we will run into the Blood Shark pirates and the Fletcher fleet behind us. The 'San Jose' is the last line of defense. We have to get past it."

"But...how can we get past it?"

"We can only let Miss Miya take action," Fang Plover looked at Miya on the side. "Across Gzelia is the southern chain of the Bapar Islands. There are many unnamed islands there where we can hide and ambush the empire. People once.”

"If we can get close enough and are caught off guard, we might be able to give it a try."

"Miss Kemiya is a dragon knight," Trixis looked a little worried, "She keeps attacking in the first world again and again. Is it really okay?"

Fang Plover looked at the wolf girl.

Miya shook her head slightly, somewhat plainly: "The Alliance has expelled me a long time ago, not to mention that I am still on Stargate's wanted order. Unlike your gray wanted order, theoretically I am also on the arrest list of Stargate Port. It’s on the list.”

Her words sounded alarmist, but there was no fear on her face, instead she looked a little demure.

"My identity was most likely exposed during the battle with Issa and Sandro. Even if Minmir didn't tell Prometheus for your sake, SOLID and Gray Filed would have probably already taken action. Once they take action, they will The other guilds representing the three major regions have taken action with Stargate Port.”

"So actually, it seems to me that I don't have to worry about having too many debts. It doesn't make any difference if I break some rules. If those people want to attack me, they have to wait until they catch me. A dragon knight is not so easy to catch."

She looked at Fang Plover with her silver eyes, "So actually it's not safe for you if I stay on the Seven Seas Traveler, but if you want me to take action, I won't object."

Miya shook her head gently.

Fang Yu was speechless for a moment. These things were actually facts that he already knew, but the sea witch had taken action for them once in Campa. After that, he could not ask the other party to leave again, let alone Luo Luo. After the battle at Drigo's Treasure House.

After that, everyone more or less accepted this uninvited sea witch.

"Miss Miya, I'll leave it to you."

He said nothing more.

Catherine watched this scene with interest.

Especially after knowing Miya's true strength, these people gave her a bigger surprise than she imagined - she looked at Fang Plover, and then looked at Miya beside her, it was really hard to imagine how the other party could let her A dragon knight obeying his own words?

She looked Fang Plover up and down. How charming is this young boy?

Even if you know that the other party is the Dragon Alchemist.

Her eyes glanced across the dark sea again, and the scattered flames burning on it. In just one night, the empire lost more than ten ships, including two frigates and a main battleship.

That was almost equivalent to the loss in a medium-intensity naval battle. In comparison, her glorious feat of looting the Imperial armed merchant fleet was nothing more than this.

Catherine retracted her gaze and said: "Actually, there is another way, but it is relatively risky - your purpose is to break out of the imperial encirclement before it is completed. In addition to speeding up your own speed, why not consider Slow down the opponent’s speed.”

"Slowing down the opponent's speed?"

Fang Plover asked.

"I know that there is a sea area covered with rocks in the Bapal Islands. There are strong undercurrents in that sea area. If you can reach that place before the 'San Jose', you can easily get rid of this old sailing ship from there."

"But that waterway is not simple at all. It is called the 'Devil's Sea' by people. If you don't have any courage, I don't mind if you choose a safer method."

She looked at Miya: "As for this young lady, try to take as little action as possible. It's not just a rule, but I'm afraid that you will attract dragon knights from the empire."

...(End of chapter)