Pirate Kingship

Late in November, the sun shone brightly.

White sails! White sails!

Together, two hundred large and small sailing ships embarked on a long voyage.

White sails, obscuring the sky, stretched from before their eyes to the horizon—a fleet so vast that even a seabird couldn't cross it in a short while.

The merchant ships, laden with various goods—blankets, cloth, ironware, alcohol—made up the majority. Some belonged to the York family, others to Great Nobles and large trading companies.

Then there were the colonial ships, filled with immigrants, indentured servants, and dreamers hoping to strike it rich overnight in new lands.

Among them were also many scions of declining noble families, like Vincent of the Royal Hound, intending to make their mark overseas and restore their family fortunes.

The flagship of the fleet was the Support, a fourth-rate ship equipped with a Wonder Ship Figurehead.

It had a displacement of 1,088 tons, a gun deck length of 44.5 meters, and carried 50 cannons: 22 twenty-four-pounders on the lower deck, 22 twelve-pounders on the upper deck, four six-pounders on the quarterdeck, and two six-pounders on the forecastle.

Similar to Violet's Flame Rose, it was a standard Portland-class fifty-gun fourth-rate ship.

In the Navy, first- and second-rate ships of the line were always scarce. Third-rate battleships were the true workhorses, primarily engaging in maritime combat.

Even third-rate battleships usually confined their operations to their home country's coastal waters, rarely venturing on long ocean voyages.

After all, in terms of self-sustaining ability at sea and sailing capabilities, battleships of third-rate and above were too large, too slow, and had insufficient endurance.

Any captain who dared undertake such a long voyage must have truly grown weary of living.

On the overseas routes, the mightiest warships encountered from other nations were, at best, nominally fourth-rate battleships.

However, the Miracles, even Sacred Relics, equipped on these ships could grant them combat capabilities far exceeding those of ordinary battleships.

Dozens of pirate ships, having acquired a Privateering License and officially joined York's forces, used their speed advantage to patrol the fleet's periphery, acting as escort cruisers.

The Golden Deer was naturally among them.

Not far away were the Grenville family's two merchant ships, the Osprey and the Little Osprey, laden with the family's entire fortune.

Tsk, if anything happens to those two during this voyage, Catherine would probably keel over and die, Byron thought.

But while these gold and silver treasures seem plentiful, they're really just floating wealth without a tangible source. Land, mines, manors, pasturelands... all those golden geese that lay eggs have become unseen colonies in the Bantaan Archipelago. I have no idea what our future base will look like, or whether it can support the finances, infrastructure, and population of a privateer fleet. If we're ranking misers, Gus, who loves honor and freedom, is just a tiny mole. Catherine, on the other hand, is a greedy dragon. Trying to squeeze a single copper coin from her? The two of us combined wouldn't stand a chance.

Although he didn't even know where his territory was located, Captain Byron had long set his sights on Catherine's assets, already viewing them as a prize he was entitled to.

"Captain, please don't say any more," Bruh pleaded, his voice tight. "Just thinking about it makes my whole body ache."

"But I believe that if it's you, Captain, there won't be any problem. Miss Catherine is very straightforward. Unless it's tangible gold and silver, her 'dragon nature' won't be stirred. When the time comes, you just have to cry, roll around on the ground, and use the secret chant that never fails: 'I want it, I really want it! I won't get up unless you give it to me!' Miss Catherine always softens up in the end."

A genuine smile softened the granite-hard features hidden under Bruh's mask, if only for a moment.

Although only the two of them were near the helm, Byron shot Bruh a fierce glare. That kind of cringeworthy blunder is best left unsaid!

Still... the suggestion itself is rather constructive and feasible, Byron mused. This captain will give it serious consideration.

Turning his head, he glanced again at the Osprey sailing alongside, a knot of impatient desire tightening in his gut.

The fleet's speed is just too slow, Byron lamented internally, only a third of the Golden Deer's. And that's with the benefit of a following wind from the north, too. Only when we officially enter the First Circulation Zone can the entire fleet pick up speed to a steady six knots or more. We should reach the Bantaan Archipelago within a month. Judging by the time, we should be close. Only when we're truly away from the omnipresent reach of the Church in the Old Continent and fully embarked on the overseas routes can we dare to relax a little. Even though she's so close right now, it's a struggle to even exchange a word with Catherine. If I hadn't given one of the pair of Echo Conches I seized from young Norwich to Violet... Cough.

Another cold wind swept low across the sea surface.

Byron tightened his cashmere cloak; he didn't feel excessively cold.

The nearby merchant ships had already unfurled all their sails. Captains of full-rigged, square-sailed ships loved a "following wind" far more than a "dead run."

In this condition, aside from the mainsail on the mainmast, which needed its windward half furled to prevent it from shadowing other sails, almost all other sails could be set. They wouldn't block each other's wind, and they could even set studding sails for extra speed.

But on long-distance ocean voyages, wind power couldn't be sustained constantly; then, it was necessary to harness the power of ocean currents.

Byron happened to be discussing the First Circulation Zone with Bruh.

DONG, DONG, DONG...

Suddenly, the flagship, the Support, sounded its alarm bell and hoisted signal flags.

Every ship in the fleet mimicked the action, passing the signal down the line to the very rear.

It wasn't an alarm, but a signal: "Prepare! The fleet is about to enter the current!"

Soon, a vast current zone appeared before the fleet, like a separate ocean, its waters sharply distinct and clearly discernible from the surrounding sea.

Sailors on their maiden long-distance voyage couldn't help but gape, leaning over the bulwarks at the spectacle.

"It's like a river in the sea!"

"So magical!"

Catherine, on the neighboring Osprey, heard the commotion and also came out. She leaned halfway out over the rail, one fair calf peeking out from her skirts, her hands scooping at the air as if trying to touch the current.

Unfortunately, her hands were too short to reach it.

In reality, these "rivers in the sea" were everywhere in the ocean. Some were visible to the naked eye, while others were completely undetectable. They varied in temperature, salinity, size, and length, with main currents and tributaries. Yet all of them continuously transported salts, oxygen, and heat to every corner of the world. Where they flowed, they also stirred up underwater nutrients, nourishing plankton and sometimes even creating world-famous fishing grounds.

Naturalists of the Tower Sequence had measured that this current connecting the Old Continent and the Bantaan Archipelago, this veritable river in the sea, was hundreds of kilometers wide and thousands of kilometers long. In the known world, it was considered the foremost.

The moment Byron steered the Golden Deer into this current, the Sailing Logbook in his right eye spontaneously began to write:

"Captain, you have continuously increased your strength, seized your own pirate ship, and built your own crew. You have finally set sail, embarking on the first leg of the Erkadna Triangular Circulation. Please continue your efforts; endless unknowns and secrets are about to open themselves to you.

Spirituality +0.2!"

The Decryption Rate for [Hidden: The Racial Revival Prophecy of Woden, God of Prophecy, Authority, and Mad Hunt; Historical Influence 69] also jumped from 15% to 17%.

Byron glanced at the Sailing Logbook, which had suddenly updated, realizing he had apparently taken a critical, milestone step.

And... the Great Ekdna Triangle? Is the triangular circulation of the Sea of Monsters also connected to this secret with a historical influence of 69—something potent enough to overturn the world order? This... its scope isn't limited to just the Old Continent anymore!

Of course, Byron knew what the "Erkadna Triangular Circulation" was.

Once one leaves the North Sea Region, squeezed between the Strait Islands and the Old Continent, one enters the dangerous, mysterious, vast, and as-yet-unconquered "Sea of Erkadna," which means "Mother of Monsters."

This sea was also called the Sea of Monsters. Because no one who dared sail a ship into its depths had ever returned alive. That was how it earned such a ferocious name.

Moreover, scholars had observed that a vast, counter-clockwise triangular circulation system operated around this sea—the Great Ekdna Triangle.

The current beneath their ship, connecting the Old Continent and the Bantaan Archipelago, was one side of this triangle: the First Circulation Zone.

The Circulation Zone was also one of the few safe passages in the Sea of Monsters.

Navigators all knew this common knowledge.

The Storm Knights were second to none in their research on storm systems.

Byron, possessing the legacy of the Lancaster Family, knew even more than others.

A Lancaster ancestor, who had reached the Fifth-order Legendary level, once made a bold assertion. Based on cumulative data on the triangular circulation gathered by predecessors, combined with his own aerial reconnaissance and perception from great heights, he declared that beyond the Bantaan Archipelago, whose full extent was still unknown, another extraordinarily vast continent must lie to the East, across the Sea of Erkadna!

Otherwise, the current flow patterns of the Great Ekdna Triangle were inexplicable.

Unfortunately, due to the forbidden zone of the Sea of Monsters and the nature of the circulation, reaching it directly was difficult. Expedition ships must first head southeast to the far edge of the Bantaan Archipelago, and from there, enter the Second Circulation Belt, heading northeast. If his deductions were correct, upon reaching the far side of that continent, one could then enter the Third Ring Current Zone and potentially return to the Old Continent.

And the endpoint would be precisely... Iron Anchor Bay, home of the Bayfolk!

According to the information in the Sailing Logbook, to truly unravel this secret connected to the prophecy of the Mad Hunt Deity, Byron might indeed need to accomplish the monumental feat of conquering the Great Ekdna Triangle.

Best to take it slow, Byron thought. This long journey has only just begun with a single small step. I haven't even reached the current frontiers of human exploration. Thinking so far ahead is a bit too ambitious right now.

As they ventured deeper into the First Circulation Zone, the sun gradually set below the horizon.

Due to changes in salinity and temperature, a thick fog rose from the water, drastically reducing visibility.

Suddenly, Byron turned his head and nodded at Bruh beside him.

"It's time."

As they swapped places, Bruh transformed into the likeness of Pirate General Bill, taking the helm from Byron.

Byron himself, under the cover of the thick fog, vaulted over the bulwark and leaped into the sea. He was caught by a Man-Eater Shark, which then streaked through the water and vanished into the mist.