I will be crowned king

"Send a message to the Believer, telling them not to jump into battle easily, and just block it from the outside. Be sure to block the enemy's retreat, and don't let it escape!"

Looking at the opposite Imperial battleship that was sailing almost side by side with him, William Cecil leaned close to the guardrail of the ship and locked the bow of the other ship with the monocular in his hand. The excitement was almost written directly on his face.

Although he currently only has the flagship "Crown" and the cruiser "Believer" that happened to be passing by, there is only a lone battleship on the opposite side... The difference in strength is not so big that he must avoid the battle.

Based on the storm a few days ago, he guessed that this should be the flagship of a certain fleet of the empire. Due to the storm, it got separated from the escort warship; if the interception could not be completed here, Beluga Port would probably be ready to fight. A whole fleet is ready!

"Colonel, are you really prepared to start a war here?"

The one who spoke was the first mate of the Crown. He stood behind the young captain worriedly and asked in a slightly nervous tone: "The number of our shells is very limited, and the total number of them is less than a base number - even if they all hit. , and it’s not enough to defeat the other side…”

"Then you can't let it go!"

Suddenly putting away the telescope, William turned to the first mate and growled: "There is less than a week left from here to Beluga Port... If you don't kill this fleet here, you plan to make Clovis the most important in the New World. Was the port destroyed?!"

"I understand your worries, Colonel; but so far, only one warship has appeared, and it has not flown a flag to fight or ask for help. Maybe the other party is not planning to attack Beluga Harbor, but there may be something else..."

"I don't care!" The young fleet commander directly intercepted the first officer's words:

"An imperial battleship ran into the route controlled by the Royal Navy, and it was also a battleship - I can't let it leave like that!"

"Boom——!"

Before he finished speaking, a loud noise exploded on the sea not far away.

The two people who reacted instantly focused their sights on the direction where the sound came from. Gray smoke rose on the deck of the cruiser "Believer" speeding into the wind.

The wisp of smoke was different from the gunpowder smoke after the general gunfire. It did not immediately disperse to the surroundings, but gathered and continued to rise into the sky. It was like a thin "gray line", which was unparalleled and eye-catching on the endless sea.

"It's the signal they sent - the Believer is willing to assist us and block the Imperial battleship on the opposite side!"

William Cecil shouted excitedly. He rushed to the helm of the ship and drew his saber at the busy crew and sailors below: "The Believer is coming to support us! Go ahead at full speed and let the Empire's Old sea dogs, let’s see the glory of the Wang family’s navy!”

"Kill the battleship on the opposite side, and I guarantee that everyone will be promoted to one level - plus twenty boxes of rum and ten boxes of chocolate collected on the Crown, which will be used to celebrate tonight!"

"Long live Clovis-!!!"

There was thunderous cheers on the deck. Being able to receive support from friendly forces during an encounter on the sea is a great morale booster, and may even completely reverse the outcome of the battle.

As for promotion... for a group of sailors who live a boring life at sea all year round, this event may not be as motivating to them as the temptation of rum and chocolate.

Fueled by alcohol and luxury goods, the Crown filled its sails and attempted to overtake the Imperial battleships, which were also moving at full speed and found themselves being hunted.

"They're also accelerating."

Staring at the approaching enemy ship on the other side, the frowning first mate suddenly looked at the captain with an urgent expression: "The other side is already pulling the gun port, do you want to fight back to interrupt them?"

"Ignore it, just keep accelerating." Despite his excitement, William's eyes were still full of uncontrollable nervousness:

"Our firepower is not as good as the opposite side, and firing first will only waste precious ammunition - it is better to wait for the enemy ship to fire first and find a way to get around to the front of its bow."

At this point, William saw clearly that the firepower of Clovis warships was generally not as good as that of the Empire. Even with the number of cannons, there was still no chance of winning even with the Believer protecting them; and those that could pose a substantial threat to enemy ships, There are only two 68-pound carronade main guns on the Crown.

If you want to sink the opponent, you must take advantage of the speed and flexibility of the two warships to continuously pull and surround them; then blow the opponent's mast to pieces and completely lose its ability to move.

The waters around here are controlled by Clovis. As long as they can bite the opponent, it is only a matter of time before they are sunk or even captured... This is also an important reason why William still insists on going to war despite knowing that he is not well prepared.

Being able to encircle and suppress a lone Imperial ship, and it is also a battleship, while being on one's own home court and having the advantage - this is a good thing that can only be encountered with the blessing of the Ring of Order.

But being clear doesn't mean that you can't feel fear... Under the blue sea and blue sky, the Imperial battleship is also crowded with people. As the gun doors on both sides of the ship are opened one after another, its densely packed, honeycomb-like muzzles are revealed.

Just by visual inspection, you can feel that the number of artillery guns on one side of the ship is already equivalent to the firepower of the entire Crown!

Even though he was mentally prepared, William Cecil suddenly turned pale, and a wave of coldness surged behind him and went straight to the top of his head.

Others didn't give in too much, and the sounds of exclamations and gasps echoed on the deck one after another.

"It's been checked out."

Under the tense atmosphere, the first mate still remained calm and took the document handed over by a crew member. He said calmly: "Across the way is the 'Green Dragon', which is directly under the emperor himself in the imperial fleet and is also one of the largest battleships." ; There are nearly one hundred and ten guns, the largest of which is the thirty-six-pounder, and there are as many as thirty."

"One hundred and ten..." William gritted his teeth and his eyes kept wandering among the countless gun muzzles on the opposite side:

"It doesn't matter, even if there are more artillery pieces, it doesn't mean that the opponent can fire accurately; and the Crown is much faster than the Green Dragon. As long as it survives the first round of bombardment, it will have a chance to rush out of the opponent's range. !”

"Let the crew not be nervous. No one is ordered not to fire guns to meet the attack. Be ready to take cover at any time to protect yourself from the enemy's broadside salvo."

"Yes!" the first mate nodded immediately.

There was a sudden panic on the deck, and the sailors who forced themselves to remain calm continued to maintain the maximum speed, allowing the Crown to sail into the shooting range of the Green Dragon's left side.

The young fleet commander held on to the side of the ship and stared intently at the muzzle of the gun that almost filled his sight; the first mate behind him stood motionless within three steps behind him, always ready to pounce on him the moment the gun was fired. fall.

Under the cloudless dome, the two warships were approaching each other at a speed visible to the naked eye, and getting closer and closer; the crews of both sides could almost clearly see the expressions of the enemies on the opposite decks, and heard each other's boatswain, second officer, and third officer giving orders. Curses and shouts.

Everyone was waiting quietly, waiting for the moment when thousands of cannons fired together and the flames shot into the sky.

But until the bow of the Crown passed the Green Dragon, the dark gun muzzle on the opposite side still quietly remained stretched out, and there was still no sign of firing, not even a symbolic calibration gun.

So the two battleships, which were armed to the teeth, went from side by side to staggered without anyone firing; the Crown, which was moving at full speed, successfully escaped the Green Dragon's firing range, leaving only a beautiful trajectory.

How is this going?

Surprised, William turned to look at the first mate behind him, and found that the other person had the same expression as him; the two men looked at each other in confusion, unable to say a word.

……………………

"What are you talking about, no shells?!"

In the captain's cabin of the Green Dragon, Ed Levent, who was the emperor's special envoy, widened his eyes in disbelief: "The majestic Green Dragon battleship, one of the most powerful flagships of the empire, how could it be possible that there were no cannon shells when it set sail? Woolen cloth?!"

"Of course not. It's weird to have cannonballs, my respected Lord Ed Levent!" The captain of the Green Dragon blushed after being scolded by him, and he talked to the "Sir Envoy" in a matter-of-fact manner. argued:

"The orders this ship has received from the Imperial Guard only include 'escorting' you from Adlan's port to Sail City. This section is all waters escorted by Adlan's 'Grand Fleet'. There is no threat at all. Of course, You won’t be carrying too much ammunition.”

"Now all the artillery shells in the whole ship combined can support at most two or three rounds of salvo fire from the cannon on one side of the ship. With this firepower, not to mention the Crown on the opposite side, even the smaller Believer may not be able to sink it. ; If you use up all the cannonballs now, are you planning to surrender next time?!"

"Then you can't just be beaten passively!" Aide said angrily:

"The Clovis warships on the opposite side are much faster than the Green Dragon. Once they seize the upper hand and attract more warships to attack us, we will really have no room to fight back - what are you going to do? ?”

"Uh...we're going to wait and see."

The captain's answer was quite straightforward.

"wait?!"

"Yes, wait - as long as we don't fire, we may be able to keep confusing the enemy. Maybe the enemy will be intimidated by the Green Dragon's former reputation and dare not take the initiative to provoke; as long as we can maintain the current state until the North Sea In the waters controlled by the three countries, we may be safe.”

As long as, maybe, maybe, it's still possible... Listening to the captain's seemingly righteous answer, Ed almost lost his temper - he almost said, "Be beaten unilaterally until the enemy's cannonballs are used." Once it’s over, you don’t have to get beaten anymore.”

Of course, if you insist on saying so, this idea is actually not unreasonable: the empire's battleships are very strong, and it is not easy to be sunk even if they do not fight back at all.

Both the Crown and the Believer on the opposite side are vastly different in size and firepower from the Green Dragon. Even if they withstand several rounds of salvos, as long as they do not damage such a critical part as the ammunition depot, it is almost impossible to suffer any substantial damage. .

"Wait a minute, something's not quite right!"

Ed Levent suddenly realized something and immediately stopped the captain who seemed to want to leave secretly: "If I remember correctly, even if a warship has no combat mission, it must carry a considerable amount of artillery shells and military supplies; on the one hand, In order to ensure that we can cope with the unexpected situation, on the other hand, it is to pressurize the position - how could there be no shells?!"

"Well, this is of course due to some other special reasons."

Speaking of this matter, the captain's expression became unnatural: "Ninety-five years after the Saint's Calendar, the Green Dragon has not had a combat mission for a long time. Some of the military supplies used for ballast have been stored for many years, resulting in the damage to those cabins. It has also been idle, so..."

"so?"

"Ahem... Do you still remember that before arriving, we asked you to stay in Sail City for a few more days, and we will give you a small 'surprise' when you return to the mainland?"

Looking at the captain's increasingly secretive expression, Ed Levent's pupils gradually expanded as he gradually guessed the truth, until his entire eyeballs were about to bulge out:

"You... you... you actually used the cabins used by warships to store weapons and ammunition to... smuggle?!"

"Please don't make such a fuss, it's not a big deal." The captain defended:

"It's a tradition at best."

"Tradition?!"

"Of course it's tradition, otherwise you wouldn't think that the empire can maintain two 'big fleets' at the same time with the little reward given by the emperor every year, right?" The captain looked at Ed as a matter of course:

"What's more, do you think His Majesty himself doesn't know about this? Every year, in addition to the regular protection fees paid to Grand Duke Adlan, at least a quarter of the income from each fleet's 'private work' must be turned over to the palace. …”

"Okay, don't talk anymore, I don't want to know this!" Ed quickly raised his hand to interrupt the captain who wanted to continue:

"So, what are you loading on the ship?"

"Ore, mainly coal ore."

At this point, the captain has nothing to hide: "These things are almost worthless in the New World, but as long as they are shipped back to the mainland, they can be sold at least ten times or even twenty times the price; every year these coal mines The profits from smuggling, excluding the part of the money that must be handed over, are enough to provide maintenance and replacement costs for all the ships of the Imperial Navy."

"Coal mine?"

Ed Levent hesitated for a few seconds, and his expression became confused: "Is the coal mine business in Edland good?"

"It's not Adlan's port - they only accept iron ore and wood there, and coal is not very fetchable." The captain explained: "We occasionally transport some wood, but only those precious wood That’s all.”

"Isn't it the port of Adlan? Then which port do you usually smuggle to..."

The words stopped abruptly.

Ed Levent, whose expression suddenly froze, stared at the captain with an almost stiff face: "You, you mean, you sold all the smuggled coal mines to..."

Before he finished speaking...the next moment, a huge thunder sounded in his ears.

"boom----!!!!"