Chapter 779: A self-inflicted disaster… (14)


    “This is a bit unsettling…”


    Unlike Captain Thomas, who became anxious due to the sense of incongruity conveyed by his own experience, Captain Brow gave an order in a very excited voice.


    “Unfold all sails! I’m following that Mr. Eagle with all my might! “If you just follow that boat, you’ll be in the nd of flowers!’”


    “Ooooh!”


    “Raise the signal!”


    “yes!”


    The ships of the Brow fleet began chasing the sea emergency front disappearing into the distance with all their might.


    The only exception was Captain Thomas and his henchmen.


    “just in case. “Be prepared to fight whenever necessary.”


    “okay. “I feel uneasy about something.”


    The vice-captain, navigator, and deck officer, who saw Captain Thomas’ expression full of anxiety, immediately lowered their heads.


    “All right. “I will check the guns.”


    Captain Thomas’s henchmen neverined about Captain Thomas’ decisions.


    In some ways, Captain Thomas was so prepared that it could be said to be overly sensitive. However, thanks to that preparation, I was able to escape life-and-death situations more than once.


    Thanks to this, the Golden Mary’s crew, who had to undergo untimely gun maintenance,ined.


    “What is this sudden maintenance?”


    “Didn’t we also meet a ship from the ‘Land of Flowers’! “Isn’t itmon sense that if you meet that ship, you’re safe?”


    The sailors who had beenining so much became quiet at the words of the deck captain.


    “The captain says he feels uneasy about something.”


    This was because the senior sailors were also well aware of the captain’s ability to sense crisis.


    * * *


    Three dayster, the Brow fleet encountered the Imperial Navy fleet stationed in Shinji.


    “Quite a lot of peopleing? “There are 2 Challenger ss ships and 6 Sea Eagle ss ships…”


    “Do they usually move that much?”


    In response to the n leader’s question, Captain Brow lightly shook his head.


    “no. Usually, about two Sea Eagle ss ships move in pairs.”


    “Then isn’t it dangerous?”


    “It won’t be like that. “Maybe they came in like that because they were surprised that they appeared from apletely unexpected direction.”


    The n leader thought Captain Brow’s answer was reasonable and nodded.


    “For sure…”


    It was clear that the route they had taken was one that even they had not expected. Seeing the n leader’splexion brightening, Captain Brow asked a question in return.


    “Have you prepared your credentials?”


    “I’ve already prepared it. “Since thest time I saw Mr. Eagle, I’ve always carried it with me.”


    The n leader took a peek at the envelope containing Edward IV’s credentials that he had kept in his pocket.


    Seeing this, Captain Brow cautioned again.


    “You must have it. Without it, everything is in vain.”


    “I am keeping this in mind.”


    ‘If you do not have the king or monarch’s credentials, you cannot enter the empire even if you arrive in the southwestern province.’


    Because of the Empire’s notorious entry uses, n leaders had to gain credentials from Edward IV by presenting him with gifts.


    When the Imperial fleet was close enough to be seen with the naked eye, Captain Brough ordered:


    “Raise the national g on the mast!”


    “yes!”


    Captain Brow, who gave the order, looked more rxed as he watched the imperial fleet getting closer.


    “Whoa~. “Now I can take a breather.”


    * * *


    But things did not go as Captain Brough expected.


    The imperial fleet was divided into two columns, led by two Challenger-ss battleships, and split into two halves with the Brow fleet in the middle.


    “huh? this?”


    Feeling uneasy at the unexpected movements of the imperial fleet, Captain Brow turned his head and shouted at his crew.


    “The white ges….”


    Kwakwakwak!


    Even before Captain Brough’smand was over, the Challenger-ss ship’s guns began firing.


    As the cannonballs fired by the Imperial Navy created a column of water near the ships of the fleet, Captain Brough issued an urgent order.


    “Ready for battle! Ready for battle! “Fire back!”


    “Why ‘Land of Flowers’? why!”


    Captain Brow answered the n leader’s screaming question with a white face.


    “I don’t think it’s the ‘Land of Flowers’ ship! No, it’s definitely not the ‘Land of Flowers’ ship! What are you doing! “Open the shutters of the gun gates!”


    “yes!”


    “Are you sure it’s not the ‘Land of Flowers’ ship!”


    “I’m sure! “If it had been that country’s ship, we would all have sunk on the first hit!”


    In response to Captain Brow’s answer, the n leader looked uncertain whether he should cry orugh.


    “When you’re ready, open fire!”


    “firing!”


    Quack!


    * * *


    The battle raged fiercely for quite a long time.


    This situation arose because most of the sailors in the imperial fleet stationed in Shinji were natives with nobat experience and the sailors of the Brow fleet were surprisingly capable sailors.


    Although seasonedmanders and executives at the headquarters trained hard, the native sailors, who were new tobat, were unable to show their skills.


    On the other hand, many of the sailors of the Brow fleet were experienced sailors. It was a situation where new sailors and ves had be seasoned through battles with pirates.


    However, as time passed, the Brow fleet became increasingly inferior.


    This was because the imperial navy already had a numerical advantage, and the native sailors were also ustomed to fighting, unlike in the beginning.


    Kwakwakwak!


    In the end, Golden Blow, who had suffered a fatal blow to his side, turned his body to the side and began to sink.


    As the gship sank, Golden Mary and Golden Wind attempted to escape.


    The two ships split off in different directions. It was to increase the chances of survival even a little.


    The emergency lines chased down the ships that were scattered and trying to escape.


    * * *


    “I’m d I survived, but…”


    Captain Thomas, who had regained his strength, trailed off as he looked at the Golden Mary stranded in the sea off the beach.


    The Golden Mary, which had been avoiding the pursuit of the sea emergency fronts, jumped into the middle of the storm without hesitation when it began to rise.


    Thanks to this, it was possible to avoid the pursuit of the emergency fronts, but it was difficult for the Golden Mary, which was already covered in injuries, to withstand the storm.


    “You can see the beach on your right!”


    Upon hearing the report of his subordinate who was looking around, Captain Thomas turned his head in that direction without hesitation.


    However, the Golden Mary, which was already heavily flooded, ran aground just a stone’s throw from the beach.


    “Get off the boat! “Lower the boat!”


    “Abandon ship!”


    Captain Thomas, who suffered a head injury from the shock of running aground, ordered the ship to abandon ship with a bloodied face.


    At Captain Thomas’mand, the crew lowered the boat, threw anything that could float in the water, and then jumped off the tilted boat.


    Captain Thomas, who was preparing to abandon ship for thest time, lost consciousness due to blood loss and was carried to the beach by his men.


    * * *


    “Is it possible to repair the Golden Mary?”


    The vice captain who escaped with Captain Thomas responded.


    “It seems like something can be done since the carpenter is safe, but the problem is that we don’t have enough workers.”


    “How many survived?”


    “It’s about 1/3.”


    “Oh my… But where is this ce?”


    Captain Thomas looked around, unable to hide his disappointment at the vice captain’s question.


    “If the ships that attacked us were ships from the southwestern provinces, would they be Luzon?”


    In response to Captain Thomas’ question, the vice-captain, who had been looking around together, opened his mouth.


    “I don’t think it’s Luzon or the nearby inds. “It seems simr, but something is different.”


    “yes? “So where are we?”


    As they wondered where they had drifted, they soon acknowledged reality.


    “It doesn’t matter where. “The first thing to do is to repair the ship and get out of here.”


    The survivors who decided what to do immediately took action. We secured what supplies we could from the stranded ship and scouted the nearby area to see if there was any usable wood.


    It’s been 15 days since we’ve been busy trying to survive and escape.


    Aztec warriors began to appear one by one from the coastal jungle.


    The faces of the Aztec warriors slowly approaching were filled with murder.


    Seeing this, Captain Thomas and his crew quickly looked for weapons. However, as the Aztec warriors continued to push out of the jungle, the survivors sensed the end.


    “Looking at those guys walking around, it’s definitely not Luzon.”


    “So have we discovered a new territory for Ennd?”


    “I guess so. “It is an honor.”


    Captain Thomas and Vice Captain talked with aloof expressions. The sailors around him also talked with simr expressions.


    “Will you ept me if I surrender?”


    “Will you ept it?”


    “Anyway, are they the cannibals I’ve only heard about?”


    “If I were a cannibal, I would enjoy looking at your belly fat.”


    “Wow!”


    The Aztec warriors, who were slowly approaching the survivors, rushed towards them while shouting, and the survivors began a desperate resistance against the Aztec warriors.


    * * *


    Since they did not know the fate of Captain Thomas and his party in the south, Hyang concentrated on checking the report and preparing countermeasures.


    “It would be best to move on the assumption that he returned alive. In that case, the first thing to do is to build and deploy the assault return ship. And the cleanup of those southern crazy people. Even if we give up the south, we can only feel safe if we get to Mexico.”


    Hyang, who was writing down a list of things to do right away, sighed.


    “Whoa~. The problem is people. “There aren’t enough people.”


    The township, which wasining about its chronic manpower shortage, soon made a decision.


    “I can’t help it. “You have to turn and block.”


    Hyang, who had taken out a nk piece of paper and was nning something to write to Wan, suddenly smiled.


    “wait? There’s no need to draft troops from the military, right? “If Im has the Taliban, we also have the Taliban, right?”


    Hyang came to mind from Neo-Confucian schrs as a ce to supply the necessary manpower.


    “Compared to the history I knew, it has been greatly diluted, but Neo-Confucianists are those who follow the principles of Confucianism and Alliance and immediately jump out when ites to edification. And these days, as it bes easier to make a living, the number of oldies is increasing, right? “If we find people among them to punish and reform the cannibalistic natives, they wille out like a herd of African buffalo.”


    Hyang’s expression brightened and she started filling out the nk paper with excitement.


    * * *


    Wan screamed after receiving the report on the scent rted to the Aztec Empire.


    “Are there such vicious people? “Have you seen it too?”


    The ministers bowed their heads in response to Wan’s question.


    “Yes, I read it.”


    “This is truly outrageous.”


    “It is outrageous that people use people as food.”


    Daejeon turned into a ce of ruin. After checking the reactions of the ministers, Wan got to the point.


    “It is a problem that Europeans approach the newnd, but it is also a must to punish these unscrupulous people and educate the natives. So I think it would be a good idea to ept the suggestion you made.”


    Hearing Wan’s words, the ministers began to do the math. But the oue was already decided.


    “I think it’s a really good n.”


    Hyang’s proposal was a clever idea that served both the cause and the practical benefit.


    A few dayster, a room was taken up in the government office of the imperial headquarters.


    It was Wan’s promation that made the Neo-Confucianists at the Empire’s headquarterse out of the room.