I will be crowned king

Although he had known for a long time that the so-called "Commander of the White Whale Port Defense" could never be a good job, Anson was still a little depressed after he really understood the situation roughly.

Of course, everything has two sides - the current Ice Dragon Fjord is already a powder keg. Even if he and the Storm Master continue to intensify the conflict, the situation will not be much worse no matter how bad it is.

Considering the pie that he has created for the Luen family, this situation of intensified conflicts can even be considered a good thing to a certain extent; after all, if the colony is peaceful, the Stormtroopers, as an external force, will have less room to intervene.

This also raises another question, that is, was this the instruction of Luther Franz?

Obviously, the Luen family has the idea of ​​​​expanding its power to the New World, and even moving its roots to the colonies; if Luther Franz knows this, does it prove that he intends to use this opportunity to conquer Clovis? The powerful Old Gods were expelled from the land of Clovis?

If this is the case, then I can't just show off and continue to help the Luen family, but I must actually create enough environment and situation for the Luen family's rule.

In other words, my own plan and the original goals of the Storm Division must also be adjusted accordingly; maintaining stability and mediation are absolutely out of the question, and maybe I have to find a way to intensify the conflict and make this powder keg burn even more fiercely. .

But there is also a problem. Once the turmoil and riots expand, it will inevitably affect the security and stability of colonial trade. It is hard to say what will happen to others at that time. I, the "White Whale Port Guard Commander", will definitely be held accountable!

When something goes wrong, it's not easy to blame someone easily, which is one of the disadvantages of being organized.

Anson, who was worried, drank two more drinks with William, and the latter stood up to leave. As the captain of a battleship, especially commanding a battleship as a colonel, William Cecil seemed extremely cautious and did not dare to slack off in the slightest. .

"Ah, there's one more thing."

Just before leaving, William suddenly turned around as if he suddenly remembered something and said to Anson: "In the next few days, if there is nothing particularly important, it would be better if you try not to leave the cabin."

"If...I mean if, you see something like a hurricane or a sea monster, please don't panic or do anything unnecessary, just leave it to us."

"As for all issues during the voyage, the captains of each ship and I will be fully responsible. If there is anything you need to know, we will inform you as soon as possible. If you have anything you want to know, please ask me directly. "

"Other than that, you and your Stormtroopers only need to stay in the cabin and wait peacefully to arrive at Ice Dragon Fjord. There is no need to ask anything else... okay?"

Although he used a requesting tone, William Cecil's expression was very serious, as if he would not allow the other party to refuse.

So Anson didn't ask any more questions, nodded and said: "Of course, no problem... I will summon the officers on each ship and ask them to restrain their men from running around."

"Then I'm sorry to trouble you."

After saying that, a smile appeared on William's face again, and he looked at Lisa who was eating canned food all over her face: "Today's lunch time is half past eleven. I will ask them to prepare lobster bisque and cheese langoustine. Tom cake—this is the specialty of the Crown, so please be sure to enjoy it.”

"Um!"

The girl nodded her head happily, raised her little apple-sauce-filled face, and showed an angelic and innocent smile to William.

What a cute and good boy. Maybe I think too much?

Recalling the experience of being startled by a little girl just now, the young naval officer secretly laughed at himself for being too vigilant, while saying goodbye and turning around to leave.

………………

"Sea monster?"

In the slightly shaking cabin, Carl Bain, holding a bottle of rum, looked at Anson nervously: "Did he really say that?"

"These are his exact words."

Anson nodded slightly and glanced at Fabian who seemed to be deep in thought: "I guess it's because the route in the next few days is more dangerous, and he wants us not to act at will on the ship or interfere with the command of the fleet's operations. Right."

This is not a random guess. After all, the conflict between the Navy and the Army has been going on for a long time. Even if the senior leaders of both sides can understand each other, it does not mean that the middle and low-level people can also do it; especially they are still on the ship and are looked down upon by the Navy. It is not absolutely impossible for officers and soldiers to target or deliberately stir up trouble.

Rather than waiting until the problem breaks out before dealing with it, it is more appropriate to give a "well-intentioned warning" in advance so that both parties can maintain a safer distance.

What's more, although the Storm Division is asking for help this time, at least in name, the relationship between the two parties is that of employer and employee. The other party will worry that it wants to compete for the command of the fleet, or even reduce the entire fleet to a part of the Storm Division. Understood.

Well, although I do have thoughts on this.

"I think what Colonel William Cecil said may be true."

Fabian suddenly spoke.

Um? !

Anson and Karl suddenly raised their heads at the same time, looking at the former Guards officers with different expressions.

"In the past few days, I have had private conversations with many crew members on the Crown - most of them are guys who can talk for hours after a few glasses of wine." Fabian shrugged. , asked in a very plain tone:

"The New World is different from the World of Order. The influence of the Church of Order here is minimal. Even the believers who believe in the Ring of Order are completely different from us. They are more in line with the sect that was popular in Adlan during the sectarian schism. I remember it seemed to be called... "

"Universal Sect." Anson said calmly before Fabian could speak.

Regarding this knowledge, he made up for it during a temporary assault in Beigang - in 320 BC, the continuous "sectarian war" caused a large number of refugees.

While the war disrupted commercial activities, it also severely shattered the local social structure, making it chaotic and turbulent.

For this reason, churches in various places began to put forward new doctrines, believing that the church should prevent the struggle between Christian countries, target the heretics, encourage and support all actions to expand territories and foreign exploration, and strive for success or those who sacrifice for it. A huge honor awarded.

At the same time, the management of commercial activities should also be relaxed, allowing lending and working on weekends; and even actively participating in it, using the church's credibility and power as collateral to provide convenience and guarantee for ocean exploration and trade.

Later, the financial and monetary system of the Church of Order was absorbed and merged from this sect.

But the fusion of sects happened more than a hundred years ago... If the mainstream belief in the colony is really Universalism as Fabian said, then apart from the name, the beliefs of both sides are probably two completely different things.

"In addition to the mainstream Ring of Order beliefs, there are also various heretical organizations, large and small, as well as the local beliefs of local indigenous people." Fabian continued:

"Because the church has never been able to establish dioceses and cathedrals in the colonies, the colonies were unable and unwilling to interfere with these. As a result, these heretical beliefs were spread everywhere. It is said that even if the Old Gods walked blatantly on the streets, no one would ask."

"No one even cares about the Old Gods?!" Karl's eyes widened:

"But what does this have to do with sea monsters?"

"Among all these heretical beliefs, there is a legend called the 'Sea of ​​the Abyss' that has the widest spread." Fabian ignored Karl and continued:

"It is said that in the deepest part of the turbulent sea, there exists a huge sea beast beyond imagination; every moonless night at the end of a year, he will use the power of the stars in the sky to open the door to the sea of ​​​​the abyss, and appear On a beach somewhere.”

"He looks like a huge mollusk, with hundreds of heads, thousands of horns, and billions of tentacles... Ordinary people can't get a glimpse of His appearance even if they are standing nearby; but if they break the taboo and see it with their own eyes, then this person will see it with their own eyes." For a moment, one's sanity is crushed by incomprehensible horror, or some kind of power awakens that even oneself cannot understand."

Anson couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

I seem to have heard a similar description from someone.

"Legend has it that the 'Sea of ​​the Abyss' where this indescribable beast is entrenched is a body of water 'parallel' to this world... Theoretically, it can appear anywhere in the turbulent sea; ordinary ships will not Being harmed or intercepted by Him, but once there is any blasphemy that defile the sea, you will be dragged into it by billions of tentacles in the endless storm."

"At the same time, He is also the 'gatekeeper' of the New World and the 'reaper' of all those who trespass on this land; if there are too few people who unfortunately fall into the water in a certain year, He will set off a terrible storm and cause a shipwreck to destroy the ship. Swallowed to the bottom of the ocean.”

“And in order to harvest the missing lives, the end of each year may be the time when He stirs up storms and huge waves to harvest souls on a large scale.”

"The crew member who told me this legend also told me about another very interesting 'tradition' on rough seas - if they encounter a shipwreck, a battle breaks out, or even if someone unfortunately slips and falls into the water and cannot be rescued, everyone will Recite this sentence silently..."

"I hope Lord Youyuan will have a rich harvest this year."

Fabian picked up the rum bottle on the table and poured himself a glass silently.

The slightly swaying cabin suddenly fell into silence.

Carl, who was holding a glass full of rum, twitched his throat hard, and his trembling right hand began to fumble for the remaining cigarettes in his jacket pocket.

Anson fell into deep thought while staring at the map and began to recall a certain crazy old professor.

"Then... how much is left?" Karl paused, and he looked a little nervous with a pale face; of course, it was more because of seasickness.

"How far is it from this year's quota?"

Fabian looked at him and shook his head calmly: "I don't know."

"you do not know?"

"I really don't know - this is a legend, a story. No one calculates the performance of the monster in the story. No one knows what his annual performance indicators are."

"..."

"But one thing can be confirmed." Fabian changed the topic with an indifferent expression:

"Although rough seas in winter are calmer than those in summer, the accident rate is the highest; because the ship speed is slower and the voyage is longer, it is more likely to hit various emergencies: rocks, icebergs, sudden Storms, huge sea beasts swimming under the sea, pirates hunting everywhere, enemy warships..."

"Stop!" Karl, who was half frightened to death, quickly raised his hand to interrupt him:

"In short, these problems have nothing to do with us, right - we have a battleship under our feet!"

"Theoretically, yes."

"Oh, isn't that just...theoretically?!"

"Yes, the battleship Crown and four other cruisers are all old ships that are about to be retired." Fabian said matter-of-factly:

"Although it still looks very strong, it still doesn't change the fact that she is an old ship that is about to be retired. Otherwise, how could the Royal Navy be willing to lend a capital ship to our army to use it as a transport ship?"

"But..." Karl was stunned for a moment:

"This is a battleship. It only has a twenty-four-pound cannon..."

"Sixty twenty-four-pounders and two sixty-eight-pound carronades; the cruiser Serenity, thirty eighteen-pounders and five thirty-two-pounders; the cruiser Bullfight, two twenty-four-pounders Eighteen guns, and one twelve-pounder on the front and rear decks..."

Fabian took a sip of wine: "Yes, I asked specifically. At least there are enough artillery."

"At least?!"

Karl, who looked pale, immediately realized the problem.

"Yes, although the artillery is sufficient, on average, the entire fleet only has half the base of artillery shells and gunpowder...it will be gone after a dozen rounds." Fabian explained:

"Of course, this is also to pack more than 6,000 of us and the sailors from each ship into the cabin. At the same time, it does not affect the speed of the ship too much. We must try to free up some space."

"But……"

Just as Karl was about to speak, a pale white light suddenly shone on his face.

"boom--!!!!"

The next second, a sudden loud noise came from a distance, causing the three of them to subconsciously stand up at the same time and look in the direction of the sound.

The sky that was clear in the distance a few minutes ago has been swallowed up by dark clouds without even realizing it, and is rolling towards the fleet at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The clear water began to churn, turning into a deep black; the candlestick on the table suddenly started to sway, tossing up and down following some kind of melody.

"boom!"

Without any call, the closed window was suddenly opened, and the strong wind carrying the strong smell of sea poured into the cabin, instantly extinguishing the candlestick and darkening the entire room.

Karl, who was almost blown to the ground, got up in embarrassment and found Anson standing by the window holding the glass window, looking at the dark clouds in the distance with a particularly solemn expression.

"What's wrong?"

"Ah, nothing."

Anson swallowed without looking back and let the sea breeze hit him:

"Maybe I... saw it wrong."