For the next few days, other than doing his daily knight training routine, Alvin would learn and practice the knowledge the boatswain had taught him.
Technically, the boat would not generate its own energy and move forward. It needed the wind and the current to move across the water. Thus, whenever the wind changed direction or speed, the sails had to be adjusted accordingly or they would need to prepare for capsizing.
Alvin thus had lots of practice opportunities on the boat. Since his body constitution was better than the rest, he even managed to help many other sailors. For a pulley system that required several men, he could do it all by himself!
Alvin was approachable and easygoing. He did not put on any airs in front of the other sailors. He quickly made friends with the sailors and his sailing skills improved drastically.
With the help of Data Vision, he only needed to be taught once. Also, when it came to judging wind speed and current direction, he was even better than some of the experienced sailors. The boatswain was confident he could let Alvin control the boat for a short distance when the weather was good.
The Data Vision had helped Alvin a lot until now. Be it judging the external variables or understanding his own body status, Alvin had benefited greatly from it. He didn’t like it when he had just acquired the ability, but his attitude had changed now.
It was another fine, peaceful day.
The Silver Wing had finished close to one-third of its journey.
Alvin had encountered many merchant ships on the way as they were on the same course. But he really wanted to meet some pirates to try out his skills.
It made sense as there were many naval bases around the area and the navy was everywhere around here. Encountering the Blood Anchor was really a very rare case. Most pirates would not make such a suicidal move.
Early in the morning, Alvin climbed onto the watchtower after his morning training routine. He looked at the ocean and enjoyed the gorgeous sea view.
Since there were no obstructions out here in the open sea, it felt like the sun had risen earlier than usual.
“Where are the pirates?” Alvin said to himself.
“Boy, isn’t it great that we are enjoying peace?” Gull put his hand on Alvin’s shoulder. He had woken up early too.
Alvin was too focused on his thoughts and did not realize that Gull was here. He dismissed the topic with an awkward laugh. He did not want to tell Gull that he wanted to fight some pirates just to test out his skills.
Fighting pirates was not child’s play. As long as there were battles, people would get hurt and die. The ocean was never a friend of the human race. Pirates, diseases, bad weather… there were thousands of things out on the ocean that could end a sailor’s life easily.
A normal Class 4 battleship could accommodate 350 men. When Alvin was transferred to this Class 5 battleship with Gull, there were fewer than 200 men on board. He did not even have to ask where the rest of them had gone.
“Uncle Gull! Look!” Just as Alvin wanted to continue talking to Gull, he spotted an unusual sight in the distance. He quickly alerted his uncle.
“Relax!”
Gull held up a copper monocular and looked at the direction Alvin was pointing.
Broken planks, splinters, canvas, buckets, crates, and other kinds of debris were floating on the sea. As an experienced sailor, Gull immediately recognized it as a shipwreck of a merchant boat.
“Level three combat readiness!”
Clang, clang, clang… Alvin immediately started ringing the bell.
The two of them climbed down the mast and ran towards the poop deck, where they could have the best view of what was happening. The rubber of the ship was there too.
All the crew members rushed out of their cabins after hearing the bell. Everyone quickly got into their positions and prepared for what might happen later.
Alvin thought that the sailors were very disciplined under Captain Joseph’s command over the Yellow Bird. But now, he had a whole new definition of the term “discipline”.
Gull did not have to give any commands. All he did was stand at his post and everyone knew exactly what to do. The crew members worked together and the Silver Wing was ready for a battle in an instant.
“Raise the sail! Turn the boat!”
The sailors turned the Silver Wing agilely and moved toward the debris.
Soon, everyone saw the ruins of that poor merchant ship.
The ship itself was shattered into pieces and floating on the water. There were cargo boxes everywhere, but not a single body was found.
“It seems like a merchant ship from Polos.”
Some experienced sailors recognized the ship from the architecture and the torn flag. It was a merchant boat from the Tulip Alliance. However, they had no clue what had happened to the ship. There was hardly any part of the ship left, and it was definitely not caused by pirates’ artillery.
“Captain, something is not right.” Sailing Master Theroux frowned.
He had a wild guess, but he was not very sure of it. After all, only an expedition ship would encounter that kind of danger out on the high seas.
It was not very likely to happen offshore, where the marine resources were scarce.
“Level two combat readiness!” Having heard the Sailing Master, Gull had made his own judgment too. He gave the instruction without hesitation.
Soon, the instruction was passed down to all departments on the ship. Everyone took out their firearms and reloaded them regardless of whether they were combat personnel. They were getting ready for an imminent fight.
As they were preparing, mist started to form on the surface of the ocean.
In fact, the sun should’ve been up by now. However, their visibility dropped instead. The Silver Wing had no choice but to slow down.
Click, click, click.
A weird mechanical sound came from Gull’s pocket.
Avin looked at Gull curiously. With a stern look on his face, Gull took out a silver pocket watch.