The biting cold wind, laden with particles of snow, rushed at them head-on. The warship bobbed and heaved in the endless furious waves like a graceful dancer nimbly stepping around one savage crest after another, carving arcs across the tempestuous sea as it sped toward the horizon.
The Northern Sea was terrifying in winter. Where sky met ocean, everything dissolved into a blur of gray-black—no one could tell where the heavens ended and the sea began. The waves were at their most violent all year, and the howling wind cut with an exceptional, bone-piercing chill. Without adequate cold-weather gear, standing on the bow for even a short while could freeze a man solid...
Sembarwood stood on the deck platform, utterly fearless of the freezing gale that screamed toward him and the snow particles it carried. No wind, however cold, no snow, however icy, could extinguish the fire burning in his heart. Ten-some years—ever since he had been a pirate coerced by
Just days ago at the New Year celebration, Sembarwood had been enfeoffed as a territorial baron. It was not an incentive for his upcoming campaign against the Invincible Fleet, but a reward for over a decade of diligent, faithful service commanding the Northern Sea Fleet to safeguard the northern sea lanes and trade routes. Recalling the night he had departed Angry Bear City, and the promise the Grand Duke of Northland had made in person at his farewell, Sembarwood clenched his fist tighter still. Destroy the Commercial Alliance's Invincible Fleet, and he would advance another rank in nobility. Then he would become the only viscount among all the Golden Knights of the family...
The Invincible Fleet... We can finally have a real go at each other, and see who's truly invincible on the seas... Sembarwood murmured to himself, wishing he could sprout wings and fly straight to Silowas Island, where eight thunderstrike warships of the Northern Sea Fleet's Second Division were still waiting. Once he got back, within three days at most, he would lead sixteen thunderstrike warships south into the Southern Sea. What awaited him would be glory and an endless stream of enemy ships sent to the bottom!
And then there were Tiger Ross, Falaya, and Jost—those Golden Knights of the family. They had always looked down on him, calling him a low-born pirate, saying he only knew how to flatter the Grand Duke and had pushed
Once I've destroyed the Commercial Alliance's Invincible Fleet and been promoted to viscount, let's see if you lot still have the nerve to say the Northern Sea Fleet just idles around doing trade, slavishly putting in time until we earn our titles by seniority. Ten years to sharpen a sword—now the time has come for the Northern Sea Fleet's blade to leave its sheath. The Invincible Fleet will be the first offering beneath that blade. If we're going to win, we'll win in a way that stuns the world!
A massive wave slammed into the ship from the side, and the warship lurched violently. But Sembarwood's feet were rooted to the deck, and he stood on the platform as steady as a mountain. He glanced up at the half-furled sails on the three masts, bellied into half-circles by the wind. This was already the sails' limit; running fully unfurled in such a furious sea risked a gust flipping the entire ship over. They had learned that lesson before.
"Sound the horn! Remind the other seven ships to stay sharp—we'll reach Silowas Island by tomorrow once we cross this stretch of water, and I don't want any surprises!" Sembarwood roared.
The low moan of the sea horn echoed across the dark ocean as eight shadow-black thunderstrike warships sliced through the furious waves like arrows, hurtling forward...
At Sailfish Ridge on Silowas Island—one of the Northern Sea Fleet's bases—sea cliffs plunged deep into the ocean like a bent arm, sheltering a pool of jade-green water within. Compared to the raging surf outside, the little bay was calm and tranquil.
Sembarwood leapt from the ship and strode toward the small bluestone castle on the hillside of Sailfish Ridge—the Northern Sea Fleet's command center and administrative headquarters. A few sentries huddled to one side, shivering. At the sight of Sembarwood, they snapped to attention and saluted. Sembarwood nodded in acknowledgment, then marched up to the second floor and shoved open a heavy wooden door.
This was the Northern Sea Fleet's duty office. In the fireplace, the flames roared high. A tower of a man sat before the hearth, roasting chicken wings and humming a risqué tune, a massive wooden keg of ale at his side.
"Strange, why are you back so soon this time? Didn't you spend some time with your lovely wife and concubines? Didn't they say the Grand Duke was going to enfeoff you as a territorial baron at the New Year celebration? I thought you wouldn't be back until April or May..." The tower of a man was Tokk—commander of the Northern Sea Fleet's Second Division, also a former pirate. He turned in puzzlement to question Sembarwood, who was shrugging off his outer cloak as he entered.
"Ha! Old buddy, we've got a job to do—and it's a big one!" Sembarwood grinned wide and let out a hearty laugh. "Oh, sorry, old buddy—your leave request didn't get filed. Looks like you'll have to finish this big job before you can take leave to advance to the Golden Rank. Because I'm sure that compared to what's coming, you'd gladly postpone that promotion. Otherwise you'd regret missing out on this for the rest of your life."
"Is that so?" Tokk shrugged nonchalantly. "Tell me, what's the job this time? I don't mind postponing the promotion—my aptitude isn't that great anyway, so there's no guarantee of success. But are you sure you want to head out to sea in weather like this?"
Sembarwood strode to the map and slammed a fist down on the spot marked with the Invincible Fleet's name.
"What did you say?" The iron fork holding Tokk's roasted chicken wing clattered into the hearth. He leaped to his feet in excitement. "The Prince has authorized us to attack?"
Three years ago, the Norton Family had launched an armed assault on several former Krisen Empire provinces that had been seized by the Commercial Alliance, while also destroying the Vestia Trading House, one of the Seven Giants. The Commercial Alliance's Chikde Merchant Guild and Peterson Merchant Guild then cut off all trade with the Norton Family. Strictly speaking, those two merchant guilds still owed forty to fifty thousand gold Forde in outstanding procurement payments. In light of this, the Northern Sea Fleet had submitted a formal request to take proactive action, heading south into the Southern Sea to intercept and destroy the Commercial Alliance's shipping.
However, at the time, Lorist considered that the
But no one had expected the Commercial Alliance to refuse to compromise with the Second Prince. Instead, they devised a scheme, hoping to have the Storm Sword Saint abduct the Second Prince along with the elite territorial nobles of the Andinak Kingdom and take them to
The Northern Sea Fleet had submitted several more requests during that period, seeking permission to strike south. But at the time, Lorist was hiding and recovering from his injuries in some secluded location, while Steward Hanske had launched a rebellion within the family, throwing the entire family administrative system into chaos. The Northern Sea Fleet's requests vanished like stones dropped into the sea, receiving no reply. By the time Lorist had recovered, returned to family territory, and restored order, all of the Norton Family's armed forces had already returned to Northland. So the Northern Sea Fleet's senior officers had shelved their plans for a proactive strike.
Now Lorist himself had issued the order, authorizing the Northern Sea Fleet to take the offensive—and their target was none other than the Invincible Fleet, which they had always despised. How could Tokk not be thrilled? "This is great! I'll go ring the assembly bell right away and get everyone here. We should have shown those sea monkeys what we're made of a long time ago!"
Both fleets made their living on the open sea, so the Northern Sea Fleet and the Invincible Fleet were no strangers to friction. The boundary between the Northern Sea and the Southern Sea had never been formalized in any official document or charter—it was simply an unspoken private understanding between the Norton Family and the Chikde Merchant Guild, the hegemon of the Southern Sea. Take the Sorrow Sea, straddling the border between north and south: geographically it belonged to the Northern Sea, but for the Invincible Fleet out of Hidden Gold Bay, it was a patrol zone they absolutely had to cover. Not only was piracy rampant there, but it was too close to Hidden Gold Bay to allow someone else to control it...
Many conflicts built up gradually over time until they reached a breaking point, and the Northern Sea Fleet and the Invincible Fleet were no exception. The Invincible Fleet had always been arrogant beyond measure, convinced of their own invincibility. Had the Northern Sea not been known for its fierce winds, dangerous waves, cursed coastline, and hostile relations with the Andinak Kingdom, they would have seized control of the entire Northern Sea long ago—why else would they have tolerated the Northern Sea Fleet flaunting its presence? Under those circumstances, they considered the Northern Sea a concession they had grudgingly allowed the Norton Family's fleet, and saw no reason to take the Northern Sea Fleet seriously.
The Northern Sea Fleet, for their part, regarded the Invincible Fleet as mere target practice. For officers like Sembarwood and Tokk, with the bronze cannons' unrivalled long-range firepower, their unique warship designs, reinforced hulls, and exceptional speed and maneuverability, they had long stopped viewing the Invincible Fleet—who relied on close-range boarding tactics—as worthy opponents. They mocked the Invincible Fleet as nothing but a bunch of jumping sea monkeys, with numbers being their only advantage.
So whenever the Northern Sea Fleet's patrol squadrons encountered the Invincible Fleet's patrols at the Sorrow Sea, there was no shortage of cursing and shouting. Neither side would fire the first shot or loose the first arrow to avoid triggering a full-scale naval battle, but insults and provocations grew more intense with every encounter. Lining up to urinate in full view of the other side, waving women's undergarments at their ships—such stunts were endlessly creative.
Last summer, two large armed warships from the Invincible Fleet's patrol had tried to use a pincer angle to ram one of the Norton Family's small fast patrol ships. Although the small patrol ship had used its agility to evade them, the patrol's actions were nothing short of naked provocation—effectively a declaration of war. But with Lorist having just returned to Northland to put down the rebellion, Sembarwood had swallowed his anger.
The assembly bell rang, and soon the grand conference hall of the bluestone castle was packed with burly, barrel-chested men—the Northern Sea Fleet's captains and first mates. When Sembarwood announced Lorist's order for the Northern Sea Fleet to proactively strike and destroy the Invincible Fleet, the entire hall erupted in cheers. Every last man in the Northern Sea Fleet rubbed his fists and clenched his hands, itching to set sail and attack the Invincible Fleet immediately.
"This time, Tokk and I will lead twelve thunderstrike warships out ahead. Following that, eight large armed escort warships will provide us with supplies and take custody of any captured vessels. Each thunderstrike warship heading out will carry a hundred-man naval boarding party, to counter enemy boarding attempts and control captured ships.
"All ships not called up for this operation will set sail the day after tomorrow and return to North Sea City. Rest assured—this isn't about making you miss the battle. It's about having your ships reinforced and retrofitted at Oxhorn Bay shipyard and installing bronze cannons. Although the cannons on your ships won't be as numerous as those on our thunderstrike warships, you'll still have more than enough long-range firepower.
"The decisive battle with the Invincible Fleet will come in April or May after the rainy season. Right now we're just giving them a taste of what's to come, so you'll have plenty of time to join the main engagement. There's no need to rush. His Royal Highness has prepared two hundred bronze cannon gun crews for us, but they're not yet accustomed to firing cannons aboard ship. You need to coordinate with them in training—the sooner you complete it, the sooner you return. Understood?"
The captains who had been downcast at not being called for the offensive operation all broke into wide grins, responding enthusiastically: "Understood! Rest assured, my lord..."
Sembarwood cursed with a laugh: "Happy now, are you? No more envying us—you'll be cannon warships too. But take care and don't let any accidents happen, or I'll skin you alive and hang your hides on the masts as sails!...All right, those of you heading to the shipyard, go make your departure preparations. Everyone else staying for the attack, stick around so we can discuss our first target."
After more than half the room had filed out, Sembarwood stepped up to the sea chart, pointing at the map. "Our first target on this operation is the Sorrow Sea patrol fleet. Even though it's winter, the Invincible Fleet still maintains its patrols of the Sorrow Sea on roughly a two-week rotation. This time, we will annihilate that patrol fleet entirely—not a single ship is to escape!
"Our second target is Elniba Port. It's the closest port city to Hidden Gold Bay, only a day and night's sail away, and it marks the beginning of the Golden Coastline. Further south lies the long stretch of coastline along the Titannini Mountains—it takes three days and four nights to reach the next port from there. Although Elniba Port sits on the edge of the Christo Hills and falls within Commercial Alliance territory, reaching Morant City overland would take four to five days.
"So Elniba Port is the Commercial Alliance's most critical relay station. All ships coming up from the south stop there before continuing to Hidden Gold Bay. After we destroy the Invincible Fleet's patrol, we'll bypass Hidden Gold Bay and strike straight at Elniba Port—reduce it to rubble so it can no longer serve as a relay. Then we'll blockade this entire stretch of sea, and every ship coming from the south becomes our target!"
"Admiral, why don't we just charge straight into Hidden Gold Bay and destroy the Invincible Fleet there?" Tokk asked, puzzled.
Sembarwood rolled his eyes: "Are you an idiot? Charge into Hidden Gold Bay and hand ourselves over on a platter? Do you have any idea how many ships the Invincible Fleet has in there right now? And have you thought about how many volleys our cannons can fire? We need to lure the Invincible Fleet out of Hidden Gold Bay. Out here, the sea is vast, the winds are fierce, and the waves are savage—that's the battlefield where we'll clash with the Invincible Fleet. Got it?"