Friday arrived in the blink of an eye, and Odis and Abel, a naval officer in Fenneport, agreed to trade the Ghost that morning.
Tim, the officer sent by the Rune Navy to handle the matter, was very concerned, but in order to avoid being exposed, Odis did not let Tim participate in the conversation and also asked Rupert to keep an eye on the officer.
The transaction took place in the town's tavern, where Odis warmly opened his arms: "Welcome, my friend."
Abel smiled somewhat awkwardly and said, "Hello."
He then added, "I saw the 'Argo' in the harbor."
"That's right." Odis smiled slightly. "This is also to show respect for this transaction. Didn't the Fenneport Navy also send a fleet?"
Accompanying Abel was a fleet of five warships, including a sailing battleship, a large cruiser, and three small cruisers.
Warships are generally taller than merchant ships and cargo ships, especially that battleship, whose mast is about one-third taller than that of a normal seagoing vessel. It has three gun decks and can carry 106 cannons, making it look like a mobile sea fortress.
Although cruisers were smaller than battleships, they were faster. Large cruisers could be equipped with 68 guns, while smaller cruisers were equipped with 36 guns.
This is why pirates would run away immediately upon seeing the navy. Even a large pirate ship would have no advantage over a small naval cruiser in terms of either the number of cannons or the number of crew members.
By saying this, Odis was essentially mocking Abel to his face: Don't you also distrust me?
However, Abel pretended not to hear and instead brought up another issue: "Before the deal goes through, I hope we can talk about establishing a long-term partnership."
Odis shrugged: "I don't have that many ghost ships to trade with you."
"That's not what I meant." Abel smiled and said bluntly, "We hope to mine the iron ore on the island."
Their plan is to win over the "Dawnbreaker" pirate ship through long-term cooperation, and when necessary, issue them missions to sabotage and plunder in the Roside Islands.
"Let's finish this deal first," Odis said with a smile. "In this deal, we can see whether either party is trustworthy, and then we can talk about longer-term cooperation."
Abel laughed and said, "Are you afraid we won't keep our word?"
Odis also smiled but did not speak.
"Alright," Abel said, not pressuring the matter. "Let's finish the deal first."
He paused for a moment and then said, "However, I must check the 'Ghost' first."
"No problem."
At this time, the Ghost was docked at the pier, with Bazel, Rupert, Third Officer Bevis and several other crew members, as well as Tim, waiting for Abel on board.
Before this, when Rupert invited Tim aboard the ship, Tim immediately became nervous, because he realized that he was either going to watch a good show or he would become the protagonist of that show, the protagonist who would be killed.
In short, whether to choose Fenneport or Rune seemed to be just a matter of Odis's decision.
Accompanied by Odis, Abel arrived alone on the Ghost.
Because Fenneport's navy fleet was anchored near the coast, he was convinced that Odis and his men would not dare to act recklessly.
Upon arriving at the captain's cabin of the "Ghost," Abel said, "Now please tell the 'Ship Spirit' that you will be stepping down as captain."
Odis glanced at the suitcase in the other person's hand: "Before that, I would like to check the payment."
"No problem." Abel didn't take it too seriously. After all, the transaction had already reached this stage, so it wouldn't hurt to check the payment first.
Bazel took the suitcase from the side, opened it, and found stacks of banknotes, all in denominations of 10 pounds.
He quickly counted the money, nodded to Odis, indicating that it was exactly 10,000 pounds, and put away the suitcase.
Adding to the previous £5,000, Odis has now received £15,000 from Fenneport in this deal.
Odis hummed in agreement: "Alright, let's go."
Officer Tim from Rune almost burst out laughing. He hadn't expected that Odis would so casually renege on Fenneport's £10,000.
Abel stood there, stunned, not reacting for a moment: "Wh...what?"
He quickly followed: "Captain Gal! You haven't given me the captain's authority yet."
Odis smiled and said, "I asked for 40,000 pounds, and you've only given me 15,000 pounds."
"At this price, you can only come aboard the ship and take a look around."
He paused for a moment and then said, "But at this price, you can stay here for a few days, and I will send someone to bring you meals."
Abel's mouth dropped open. Seeing Odis still walking away quickly, he hurriedly caught up and said, "We'll be cooperating with you for a long time. As long as you cooperate with us, you'll have more money than you can spend..."
"Didn't I say?" Odis said, "We'll talk about cooperation after this deal is over. We'll discuss long-term cooperation once you've paid the remaining 25,000 pounds."
Abel finally understood why Odis had said that after the transaction was completed, both sides would know whether they could trust each other.
At the time, Abel thought that Captain Gard didn't trust the Fenneport Navy, but now he finally realized that it was Captain Gard who was untrustworthy!
This enraged Abel, who shouted, "Garn, you're a liar!"
Odis was unmoved by this and laughed, "I'm a pirate. Do you expect a pirate to keep his word? I've already been very kind to you by not ordering your death."
Ebdon was immediately rendered speechless; discussing credit with pirates did indeed seem rather strange.
Moreover, Odis's reminder made him realize that his situation was not good, so he immediately used the sealing artifact to leave the "Ghost".
Odis then ordered, "Bazel and Cleveland, take the 'Ghost,' the rest of you board the 'Argo,' sail out of port, and prepare to engage the Fenneport Navy."
The crew members boarded the ship as ordered, and Tim followed them onto the "Argo." In the bridge, he reminded Odis, "Captain Garr, the enemy fleet has strong firepower. We can temporarily escape to Chacker Island."
"I will immediately report what happened here to Admiral Emilius and ask him…"
Odis waved his hand dismissively: "Can't you see? I have a fleet too!"
Tim opened his mouth: "I...you..."
Finally, with a mournful face, he said, "This is different!"
The combined tonnage of Odis's two ships was probably less than that of a single small cruiser in Fenneport's naval fleet.
Seeing that the other party was indeed a bit anxious, Odis smiled and said, "Go sit over there for a while and see why I dare to take the money from the Fenneport Navy."
Tim nodded, thinking to himself, "The word 'take' is too polite. 'Cheat' and 'rob' would be more appropriate."
But then he realized that this was perfectly normal at sea, and he should be thankful that Odis ultimately chose the Rune Navy.
By this time, Erwin had returned to the fleet's battleships, and those ships had already unfurled their sails and were charging towards them.
Odis used a "sound transmission array" to tell Bazel, "Release the fog."
The "sound transmission array" is very useful in naval warfare, but the range of "sound transmission" is within ten kilometers. Beyond this distance, the array is of little use.
Although the sky was clear at the moment, the area around the "Ghost" was suddenly covered by fog, and the fog quickly spread to the surrounding sea, obscuring the vision of the crew on the "Argo".
Odis heard a majestic voice in the distance say, "Ghost ships are forbidden here."
The Ghost was immediately weakened, and the fog it released was not as dense.
The majestic voice spoke again: "The power of the dead is forbidden here."
The Ghost was weakened a second time, and its speed decreased rapidly.
Odis frowned. At this moment, there was still a long distance between him and the Fenneport Navy. Perhaps only a demigod could affect the Ghost at such a distance.
But if the opponent had a demigod, they would have already attacked. Therefore, he concluded that the opponent must have a sealing artifact that could expand the range of their abilities.
Without the cover of fog, it didn't matter. Odis immediately ordered, "Prepare the 'Spirit Wave Cannon'!"
The mechanically-looking "Lingbo Cannon" quickly came to life on the deck and extended two mechanical rods.
Upon seeing the "Lingbo Cannon," Tim suddenly recalled some rumors about the "Argo." It seemed that there was a powerful cannon on this pirate ship. He wondered if it was this one.
At this point, the "Dawnbreaker" fleet split into two, and the "Ghost" was already far behind.
After the "Lingbo Cannon" completed its aiming, the majestic voice appeared again: "Use of extraordinary cannons is prohibited here."
Clearly, the other side had also seriously gathered intelligence about the "Argo".
Odis, without any hesitation, said, "Fire!"
The "Lingbo Cannon" immediately fired out a small ball of light, which was not greatly affected by the "prohibition".
Because the "Lingbo Cannon" is not an "extraordinary cannon" in the traditional sense, or rather, its entire structure does not utilize extraordinary properties.
Just as Odis could separate spirituality from the extraordinary, the word "forbidden" had little effect on the "spiritual wave cannon".
Boom!
The cannonballs of the "Lingbo Cannon" exploded, and the fleet was instantly engulfed by the explosion.
In the bridge of the Argo, Rune naval officer Tim gaped in astonishment at the sheer power of the cannon.
Without extraordinary power, no ship could withstand such a shot.
Odis ordered, "Move to one side and keep your distance."
He had no intention of getting close to that fleet, because even for the Argo, the fleet had far too many cannons, and they were all large-caliber guns, and the shields would not be able to withstand a round or two of shelling.
As the aftershocks of the explosion subsided, Odis saw through his telescope that the sailing battleship was almost undamaged, the large cruiser was damaged, and two smaller cruisers were sunk.
This result did not surprise Odis. Such sailing battleships were the main warships in the navies of various countries, with a value of about 80,000 pounds. They were usually captained by a Sequence 5 or Sequence 6 captain.
With such a large investment, it's impossible that there isn't some extraordinary defensive design.
However, after learning the power of the "Lingbo Cannon," the sailing battleship lost its earlier momentum and turned to flee.
Odis gave the order again: "Fire!"
Boom!
Another Lingbo Cannon shot, another huge explosion.
This time, another small cruiser was also sunk, but the large cruiser still had some extraordinary defenses and managed to stay afloat.
The small cruiser's exceptional defenses were too weak to withstand the "Lingbo Cannon" fire.
The stern of that first-class battleship was also damaged by the explosion, and its hull and sails were immediately covered by a layer of black light. Then the battleship sped forward at an unnatural speed, almost as fast as the Argo and the Forward IV.
This acceleration must have been achieved using some extraordinary power; it can't be sustained.
However, Odis did not pursue the sailing battleship because the "Lingbo Cannon" had entered its rest period, and it would be better to deal with the large cruiser as soon as possible.
Odis saw through his telescope that the large cruiser had broken one of its masts and had obvious damage to its hull. He used a telepathic spell to ask Bazel, "Are you confident you can capture that ship?"
Tim, standing to the side, swallowed hard. The pirates were actually going to capture a large naval cruiser!
If this gets out, the Fenneport Navy will lose face in the Arctic Ocean!
Bazel's voice, coming from the "sound transmission array," was also somewhat excited: "It's possible, but we need to prepare for close combat."
Such a warship would have a crew of more than 500, and the captain would most likely be a Sequence 7. If they were to hold their ground on the ship, they would be very difficult to deal with.
At this moment, Tim said, "I understand the structure of the Fenneport fleet. I'll lead everyone straight to the captain's cabin."
Odis nodded: "Alright, engage the safety on the 'Extraordinary Machine Gun'!"
He then took over Bazel, who had fallen far behind, and quickly approached the large cruiser.
The officers and men on that cruiser originally thought that if another shot came, they would be buried at sea, but the enemy quickly closed in.
The cruiser's captain immediately understood the enemy's intentions and ordered the cannons to be brought out, preparing for close combat.
For them, surrendering to the pirates was out of the question; they had no choice but to fight to the death.
The cruiser's captain thought the pirate ship was too arrogant, daring to try and seize a naval vessel.
However, this might not be a bad opportunity for them to turn the tide, since the enemy's powerful cannons couldn't be used at such close range.
When the two sides were about eight or nine kilometers apart, the officers and men on the cruiser were ready for battle. They were just a little short of entering the range of their cannons.
At that moment, the machine guns at the bow and stern of the "Argo" opened fire, and two blue shells exploded on the cruiser's hull, instantly covering the surrounding area with solid ice.
Some cannons were frozen solid, some crew members were frozen into ice sculptures, and some crew members were hit in parts of their bodies, with the hit parts frozen stiff, while the unhit parts remained normal.
The cruiser's captain froze in place as a blue shell came flying at him. The first mate quickly tackled him to prevent him from freezing.
The Argo's bombardment lasted for about a minute, freezing the entire large cruiser on the sea surface.
At this moment, several crew members of the "Argo" flew towards this side, with Tim leading the way.
Odis did not participate in the battle; he stayed in the bridge with the navigators, while the rest of the crew went into battle.
Including Tim, that makes a total of three Sequence 6s, which is enough.
Odis saw through his telescope that the battle seemed to have started quite fiercely, since some crew members must have taken cover during the earlier shelling.
Soon, under Tim's leadership, they killed the cruiser's captain and first mate, which immediately weakened the ship's resistance.
The battle lasted for about twenty minutes before Bazel signaled from the deck that he had completely captured the ship.
Odis came to the deck, spread his hands, and "Star Sand" appeared. He used "Flying" to arrive at this large cruiser, which was four or five times larger than the "Argo".
Odis's first impression upon boarding the ship was that the deck was so large that one could run on it.
The bridge was several times larger than that of the Argo, and it not only had a rudder, but the table and walls were covered with nautical charts, and they were the kind of exquisite military-grade nautical charts.
Many crew members on the cruiser surrendered; most of them were sailors, cooks, and other support staff. The majority of the crew chose to die in battle.
Odis then ordered, "Rupert and Bivis, you take a few crew members and tow this ship back in the 'Ghost.' I will also send twenty 'Extraordinary Puppets' to assist you."
Rupert asked, "What should we do with these prisoners?"
"Take them all to Crus Island," Odis said. "Use the 'Helmet of Wisdom' to teach them the Rune language."
He smiled and said, "I heard that Mandy is planning a quarry and is short-handed right now. Send them all over there."
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
"Try to rescue the Feneport crew members at sea and let them work in the quarry for a while; they will be useful later."
These are all experienced sailors, and they still have great value.
Rupert nodded and said, "Okay."
Tim, who looked somewhat tired, said, "I need to go back immediately to report on the battle situation here."
Odis nodded: "Yes, go ahead."
He then circled the ship and said to Bazel and the others, "We can try to modify it and make it my flagship in the future."
Rupert asked, "What should I name him?"
Odis thought for a moment before smiling and saying, "Let's call it 'General'."
Everyone immediately understood Captain Gal's meaning, and Bivis laughed, "After this battle, the captain should be recognized by many pirates as having the strength of a 'general'."
Smiles appeared on everyone's faces. It was hard to believe that they had only been at sea for a few weeks and were already crew members of the "Pirate General".
On this vast sea, the "Pirate General" is a big shot that is difficult for ordinary pirates to come into contact with.
After handing the place over to the crew, Odis boarded the "Argo" and returned to Cruz Island first. Just as he stepped onto the dock, Tim suddenly emerged from the spirit world and, upon seeing Odis, immediately said, "Captain Gar, the Admiral wants to see you."
Odis was taken aback: "General Emilius?"
"Yes," Tim replied immediately.
He was somewhat surprised, because Admiral Emilius had always hated pirates, and he never expected that he would take the initiative to meet with Odis this time.
However, considering the battle he witnessed today, Tim felt it wasn't surprising at all. After all, anyone would be interested in a pirate with a special ship and a complicated identity.
Odis was also somewhat surprised, but he quickly calmed down and asked, "When do we meet?"
"afternoon."
"Then there's no rush," Odis smiled. "I'll go have a drink to celebrate first."
Tim smiled somewhat helplessly: "You'd better get ready. At least change into a formal suit and shave."
"Since we're meeting this afternoon, let's talk about it then." Odis waved his hand and walked towards the tavern.
Tim followed closely behind him, as if afraid that Odis would run away.
Odis not only had a drink, but also went to Wells to discuss the issue of contacting the tribes in the mountains.
The liaison personnel sent earlier have returned, and both the Tailang and Gelang tribes in the mountains have expressed their willingness to make contact with the new mayor.
Odis then planned to send Bivis to discuss the matter, and then he would step in to finalize the outcome once the discussions were nearly complete.
Around 3 p.m., Odis finally got ready and changed into a decent suit, but he didn't shave.
He was a pirate, not a gentleman attending a ball.
Tim led Odis through the spirit world, eventually appearing on a deserted street corner.
Odis's spiritual senses told him that he had arrived at the eastern part of the Roside Islands, and even at the Sunia Sea.
He then followed Tim to a mansion with high walls and a huge courtyard.
Odis saw that at the entrance of the spacious and solemn mansion, a plaque with gold trim read: "Governor's Residence of Olavi".
Oravi Island... Emilius...
Odis "recalls" that Klein was supposed to be playing the admiral on the island of Oravi soon!
Suddenly he thought: I wonder if it's Emilius who wants to see me, or Klein?
Navy personnel stood guard at the entrance of the mansion, and many exquisitely decorated carriages were lined up for inspection. In the colony, those who could afford to ride in such luxurious carriages were important figures in the military and political circles of Olavi Island.
Tim showed his credentials and entered the yard without hindrance.
Odis exclaimed, "This courtyard is truly vast!"
"I also regret not calling a horse-drawn carriage," Tim said with a wry smile.
They had just learned that a grand welcome banquet would be held here that evening to welcome Admirus to visit the island of Oravi.
This also made Odis realize that Klein must have started acting as Admiral Emilius's double from this banquet.
Running in such a situation would be very ungentlemanly.
However, the entrance is at least two kilometers away from the villa where the banquet was held.
Odis was aware of the extravagance of the colony; even the Sodrak Palace, where the king lived, in Backlund did not have such a large courtyard.
Upon arriving at the villa, Tim found a young man dressed in a tuxedo who looked refined and cultured; he was Emilius's secretary, Luiran.
Lu Er'an glanced at Odis: "You don't look like a pirate, more like a rugged young man."
Odis laughed and said, "I heard there's going to be a banquet here. I can't exactly write 'I am a pirate' on my forehead and walk around the banquet to let everyone know I'm a pirate, can I?"
Tim smiled; he knew that Captain Gal might actually do such a thing.
Lu Er'an remained serious and said, "I hope you will still have such a good attitude when you see the general."
Odis thought to himself: This is a very boring person.
Then Lurán had a waiter take Odis and the other person to a small reception room. After waiting for about ten minutes, the waiter opened the door and Emilius, with his black hair neatly combed back, entered.
He was of average build and did not appear very robust, but he exuded an undeniable air of authority.
Odis lowered his gaze slightly, subconsciously trying to avoid eye contact with Emilius.
"You don't seem to have the air of a pirate," Emilius said first.
Odis thought to himself: It seems that your secretary has been by your side for a long time and has also developed many of your ways of thinking.
He smiled and said, "That's because I know I can't beat you if we meet at sea, so I've toned down my pirate nature."
Tim was stunned for a moment, then felt a little frightened. It was fine to joke with Lu Er'an, but to joke like this with the general was going too far.
To Tim's surprise, Emilius smiled and said, "That makes you sound a bit like a pirate."
As he spoke, he sat down on the sofa. Odis also wanted to sit down, but under the constant aura of authority emanating from Emilius, he felt it would be awkward to sit down, and it was more comfortable to stand.
"I heard it from Tim," Emilius said, crossing his legs. "This morning, you sank three cruisers, including the Fenneport, and captured the USS Connaught."
The USS Connaught was that large cruiser.
"Yes," Odis said, "my ship is rather special."
What's special about it is that it's roughly on the same level as the ships of the "pirate generals".
Emilius said, "I'm more curious, why were you so determined to destroy Fenneport's warships? And why did you have to swindle them out of their money?"
In fact, the best way for Odis to handle this matter was to end the deal with the Fenneport Navy and spread the news that the deal with the Rune Navy had been completed.
This way, they can get the £20,000 from Rune without completely falling out with the Fenneport Navy.
Now that Odis has done this, once the Feneport navy is fully prepared, they will surely retaliate against "Dawnbreaker".
Odis said, "Given the current international situation and naval power, the Rune Navy is the dominant force in this sea area. I can only gain the greatest benefit by standing on the side of the victor and crushing the loser."
This answer surprised Tim again: Do pirates these days even care about the international situation?
After a pause of a second or two, Admiral Emilius asked in a serious tone, "Do you believe that war will break out in the Raging Sea in the future?"
Odis shrugged: "That's obvious, but the main enemy of the Rune Navy doesn't seem to be Feneport."
"Your answer is impressive," Emilius said. "Unfortunately, I have limited time today and cannot continue this topic."
He paused, then added, "The Navy hopes to secretly incorporate the 'Dawn Sword' pirate crew, and you will be directly awarded the rank of colonel."
Odis was taken aback: So, will I be a navy officer or a pirate?
Tim was also stunned. He had recruited pirates before, but at most he would only give them a lieutenant or captain. This was the first time he had ever heard of giving such a high rank.
Emilius continued, "I know you are part of the Church of the Goddess of Night's naval forces, and I have also sent people to gather some intelligence on you. The number of pirates you have eliminated in the past month is more than the number an naval captain eliminates in a year."
"The only flaw is some of your behavior in Backlund."
"I can formally inform you that if you agree to be incorporated, MI9 will no longer consider you an enemy."
Odis considered for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and saying, "To be honest, being incorporated into the navy sounds pretty good, but I went to sea to pursue freedom..."
Emilius suddenly raised his hand to interrupt Odis: "No one will give you specific orders; I will only give you two broad orders."
"The first priority is to eliminate the pirates as much as possible, the second is to harass the central shipping lanes, and to attack the Fennepot Navy when the opportunity arises."
"You don't need to hand over any of the loot you acquire, and you'll even receive a reward from us."
Odis said somewhat uneasily, "If I anger them..."
"If they send out demigods, I will get there as soon as possible," Emilius said.
Odis smiled and said, "I can't think of a reason to refuse."
Emilius nodded: "You can discuss the specifics with Tim."
After saying that, he got up and asked Odis to wait there, while he took Tim outside for a private chat.
Tim returned quickly and said, "You are very lucky to be so appreciated by the General."
Odis sat on the sofa, a smile playing on her lips: "I'm certainly having good luck today, but that's not surprising."
Why do you say that?
"I just thought of that too," Odis replied. "The Rune Navy is indeed the most powerful naval force at present, but its main military force is in the Sunia Sea, confronting the Fusak Empire."
"We also need to allocate some resources to guard against the Republic of Intis."
"Therefore, the Rune Navy no longer has much power to deploy along the Chacker Island, Nicard Island, and Norhaus Island line."
"This forced the Rune Navy to watch helplessly as the Feneport Navy's forces infiltrated the eastern part of the Rothschild Islands."
At this point, if even one piece were to hold that area of the sea, the situation would be much better.
Odis's words shocked Tim once again, and he realized that the pirate in front of him had a bright future ahead of him.
His expression immediately became much more flattering: "Just now, the general officially assigned me to join 'Dawnbreaker Sword' to be specifically responsible for communication with you."
Tim laughed and said, "From now on, I will be your subordinate."
Then he took out a document: "Secretary Lu Er'an gave me some detailed information. We will be rewarded with 1,000 pounds for destroying one of Fenneport's frigates."
"The reward for destroying a small cruiser is £2,000, a large cruiser is £3,000, a second-class battleship is £6,000, and a first-class battleship is £10,000."
Finally, Tim said, "You can also make a few more requests."