Chapter 268 Mist Sea Song
but
Next, there is one last thing to deal with, and that is the gunner.
Obviously, just four or five elite gunners cannot operate the seventy or eighty cannons on the "Prince Queen".
Therefore, we still need to find ways to recruit a group of mature gunners, preferably retired naval personnel from various countries in the business alliance. For ordinary sailors, it will take a lot of time and energy just to be familiar with how to operate the artillery.
Marquis Norris has already thought of a way to do this.
He asked the butler to give Captain Balorik a list of people who had come to work at the Norris Chamber of Commerce after retiring from the Navy of the Principality of Loras in the past five years.
There are some earlier lists, but those people are already older, want a stable and comfortable life, and are less willing to continue taking risks and struggles at sea.
This point will be difficult to change even if Richard's commission is doubled.
The best way is to recruit young people who still have ideas, adventurous spirit, and are willing to give it a try.
After Captain Baloric got the list, he immediately patted his chest and promised: "Lord Marquis, Lord Richard, leave this matter to me! Within three days, I will definitely complete this task."
Richard smiled slightly and nodded.
It’s great to have a captain like this!
It saves me a lot of worry.
Three days later, Richard and Stephana boarded the "Prince Queen". Captain Baloric had lost weight in the past three days, and almost all of the trivial matters before the official departure required his intervention.
The last issue about the gunner has also been solved.
Captain Baloric selected more than 120 people from the list given by Marquis Norris, and recruited more than 50 people from the comrades of these people, finally gathering enough gunners.
This is the biggest difference between warships and ordinary merchant ships.
On ordinary merchant ships, sailors account for more than 80%, and the rest are some combatants. However, Richard's "Prince Queen" has 70% combatants (including gunners) and only 30% sailors. .
This was thanks to the high remuneration given by Richard. Otherwise, no matter how strong Captain Baloric's communication and coordination skills were, he would not have been able to complete this matter within three days.
"Sail! Set sail!!" As Captain Baloric's words fell.
The five-masted huge canvas was opened, and suddenly, the huge wind drove the equally huge "Prince Queen" slowly away from the dock and headed towards the blue ocean.
Richard did not let Mei Luo accompany him. With the strength of a third-level wizard apprentice, it was too dangerous to accompany him to Basileus Island in the Summer Sea.
Maybe in some sudden danger, once Richard fails to consider Mei Luo's safety, he will let her die.
It would be much safer to have Melodo accompany Marquis Norris.
Although the Poseidon Cult may continue to cause trouble for Marquis Norris, there is a Grand Duke behind Marquis Norris now. Richard believes that in a short period of time, security issues should be safe.
Five days later.
Stephana was accompanying Richard on the bow of the boat, admiring the endless blue sea in the distance.
"Master Richard, we are about to enter the deep sea ahead. We will soon pass through the Siren Sea Monster area, but don't worry. We have walked this route many times and are very familiar with it. We will avoid all dangers. area."
"Moreover, the weather has been relatively good in recent days and visibility is very high."
Captain Baloric walked over from the side and introduced to Richard with a smile.
Richard nodded and said, "I believe in Captain Baloric's professional ability."
The two chatted for a while. Suddenly, the lookout on the mast waved the pennant in his hand!
"Hey! Strange, the lookout just said there is heavy fog ahead!" Captain Baloric couldn't help but murmured.
"This shouldn't be the case"
Captain Baloric took out a telescope and began to observe the fog carefully.
"Captain Baloric, if this fog is strange, can we take a detour?" Stephanna asked curiously from the side.
Since Baloric had noticed that the fog was a bit strange, she didn't know why she didn't take a detour.
After all, the ocean is vast and you can go anywhere.
"Miss Stephana, for a sailboat, the wind direction is the most important. If we turn around now, it will affect our sailing for a period of time today, but it is not the most important thing."
Captain Baloric paused, seemed to be organizing his words, and said: "This heavy fog is spreading rapidly in our direction. I just calculated that even if we start to turn around now, due to the impact of the reduced wind, we are likely to It will still be shrouded in heavy fog!”
"Hey! Indeed!" Stephana looked at Da Wu again and said.
Richard on the side also nodded. He also noticed early that the heavy fog in the distance was spreading rapidly to all directions.
"All personnel, level 2 combat readiness!!" Captain Baloric thought for a moment and immediately issued a combat readiness order.
This made Richard quite appreciative, because he had just felt a sense of vigilance in his heart. The wizard's mental power is far superior to that of ordinary people, so his perception of danger is sometimes very sensitive.
Just now, Richard had a bad premonition, but this premonition was not strong enough to make him immediately choose to turn around and leave.
However, just as he was about to remind Captain Baloric, unexpectedly, the other party issued a battle preparation order in advance.
After issuing the order, Captain Baloric looked around and realized that the highest commander on the ship was not him now, but Lord Richard.
So, he immediately explained: "Sir Richard, I'm very sorry, just..."
Richard waved his hand and said: "Captain Baloric, you did a good job just now and you don't need to apologize to me."
"In addition, if this happens in the future, you can just like this time, issue the order as soon as possible, and then when you are free, tell me why you made this decision."
“I always believe that professional things should be left to professionals!”
Captain Baloric was deeply moved when he heard what Richard said. He felt as if he had found a confidant!
"Yes! Lord Richard, your mind is as broad as the boundless sea!" Captain Baloric took off his hat and bowed deeply to Richard!
"Captain Baloric, you're welcome!"
In the thick fog, a huge, dilapidated ship loomed on the sea.
The X-shaped crossed double-knife flag on the flagpole is vaguely visible!
The hull is surrounded by various barnacles, mussels, seaweed, kelp, conch and other marine life. Many gaps can be seen even on the surface of the hull. The deck is also full of potholes and there are many broken boards.
It's hard to imagine that this thing, which is more like a sunken ship on the seabed, can actually sail smoothly on the sea?
The cold and deep seabed may be where it should stay!
What's even more unbelievable is that there are actually many figures walking back and forth on the deck.
In the captain's room, three figures were seen sitting in a Zigzag posture. One of them, a beautiful and slightly tired human woman, was talking to a man in black robes:
"Saridin, we, the Siren clan, have activated the Mist Sea Song in accordance with the requirements of our Poseidon Association, so that the ship is shrouded in fog. The next step is up to you."
His voice was pleasant to the ear and had a special sense of charm.
Looking down her moving face, you can see that the upper body is only covered with shells, while the lower body is a huge fish tail shining with silver scales.
Sure enough, as she just said, she belongs to the siren clan.
Adult Siren Sirens possess the innate witchcraft Mist Sea Song. When a group of Siren Sirens activates this skill, the fog can cover hundreds of sea miles in a radius and is extremely powerful.
"Of course, the Siren clan has done enough!" The man in black robe seemed to respect the representative of the Siren clan in front of him, bowing slightly.
"In that case, I'll leave first! Goodbye, Salidin!" I saw this beautiful siren twisting her waist like a snake, quickly came to the side of the ship, and jumped gently He jumped and jumped into the sea.
Soon, it disappeared into the vast sea.
"Lord Salidin, why do we need to rely on the power of the Siren Siren? With the power of our ghost ship Westminster, can't we deal with each other?" The hooked man on the side said in a deep voice.
This guy with a sharp hook embedded in the broken part of his right hand is named Asakim, and he is the captain of the Westminster ghost ship.
Many years ago, the Westminster was an important part of the Commercial Alliance - the Kingdom of Akala, and the flagship of the First Fleet.
It unfortunately sank in a sea battle more than a hundred years ago, but a few years ago, the "Poseidon" worshiped by the Poseidon Cult used its great power to lift it from the seabed and transform it into a marine wonder - the ghost ship.
The crossed sword pattern painted in the flag on the mast is the symbol of the maritime power of the Kingdom of Akala!
And Asakim was appointed as the captain of this ghost ship, which naturally has his own merits.
"Asakim, according to the accurate information we have collected, the guy who sabotaged our Poseidon Cult's plan to control the Norris family and destroyed our stronghold in Antwerp Port is on that ship."
"However, the opponent's ship is very unusual. It is a decommissioned warship. If we rush forward and attack rashly, we will probably fall into a fierce battle." Salidin slowly explained why he invited the Siren Sea Monster clan to help. s reason.
"Hey! The other party can actually get a battleship?" Asakim's eyes showed surprise.
You must know that although the ghost ships under his command are powerful, they are relatively speaking. If they encounter ordinary ships, they will naturally destroy as many as they come. But if the opponent is a warship, and a large warship with amazingly powerful artillery, the result will not be certain.
The powerful salvos of dozens of artillery can cause heavy damage to the ghost ship!
Salidin nodded and said: "This should be the help given by the Norris family!"
"Could it be said that the failure of that guy in Okote was also due to the other party?" Asakim couldn't help but ask, and the trace of carelessness in his heart quickly disappeared.
He had met the guy who cultivated clones in Okote several times. He was a deep-minded conspirator.
Although in terms of personal strength, Asakim thought that they were on par with each other, and even he was a little stronger, but the other party had many conspiracies, and he did not expect that such an insidious guy would actually fall into the hands of the other party.
"That's right! Get ready for battle, Asakim!" Salidin said in a deep voice.
"As you command! Lord Salidin!"
As the "Prince Queen" gradually sailed into the fog, Captain Baloric had raised the combat readiness level to level one.
Suddenly, everyone on the boat started to move.
A large number of gunners and melee team members who were still resting in the cabin all performed their duties and were ready for battle.
Especially the black muzzles on the three decks have been fully debugged and can be fired at any time.
"Baloric, is it necessary to be so nervous?" The tall Hanhan orc walked over holding a giant double-edged battle ax and said disapprovingly.
"Otombo, I always feel that this fog appears a bit strange and sudden." Captain Balorik explained.
"The fog doesn't seem to be naturally formed, but I can't think of any creature that can generate such a huge range of fog. Maybe this is some kind of anomaly."
At this time, Richard frowned and said, "Did you hear a faint singing voice? It sounded like a woman singing."
Upon hearing what Richard said, everyone immediately listened with rapt attention.
"Hey! Master, I heard it too! It seems to be the voices of a group of women. They are very nice!" Stephana nodded at the side.
"Not good! Siren?!" Richard, Stephanna and Captain Baloric woke up at the same time.
Richard and Stepina are wizards who have learned relevant occult knowledge, while Captain Baloric relies on his many years of rich sailing experience to know the abilities of various strange creatures.
Therefore, almost at the same time, the three people expressed their suspicions in unison!
"This should be the Song of the Mist Sea! I have read relevant records in a book. The Song of the Mist is the innate ability of the Siren Siren. The general range is more than ten nautical miles. The song has a unique ability to charm, and it has a unique effect on men. times, the effect on women is half or even ineffective.”
"However, if the opponent is a large group, the range of the jointly released innate ability - the foggy sea song will be superimposed, and the lethality of the song will also be doubled!"
Just as Richard was explaining, the female singing voice coming from the fog became increasingly clear.
Many sailors already had curious expressions on their faces and seemed to be stopping to listen.
Soon, many people who were listening to the sea song had intoxicated expressions on their faces, and unconsciously started to walk towards the side of the ship with stiff steps.
"No! Ring the bell!!" Captain Baloric shouted.
As a great knight, he is relatively resistant to the siren's singing. At this time, he can still conduct command without being greatly affected.
"Dang! Dang! Dang!"
All the alarm bells on the ship are ringing!
This caused some interference to the songs of the sirens, but it still cannot be eliminated.
"Plop!"
The first victim who jumped into the sea by himself appeared!
When he sank several meters into the water and was close to suffocation, his human body instinct broke free from the control of the siren's song. Only then did he realize, how did he end up in the water?
But when we started to save ourselves, it was already too late.
Although the sailors were all very good at water, they did not take a breath in advance and suddenly sank into the cold water, and soon began to struggle to drown!