Outside Port Doldot, upon the Inland River.
Under the veil of night, the river roared on.
Brand new Kirk Sailboats, distinct and clear, sailed upon its surface.
Twenty sailboats hailed from three trading companies.
Doyegge Chamber of Comrce, Rota Chamber of Comrce, Fissel Chamber of Comrce.
All three chambers were modestly famous within the territories of Ainhars and Bert.
Each mast's lookout held high a torch, making their company's flag clearly visible.
At the sa ti, they kept a wary eye on one another.
In fact, at this mont, sailors from the three companies watched each other as if facing a great enemy.
They did not believe the others were delayed in setting sail over a trifle matter.
Though they occasionally played the role of river pirates, the others had an even more notorious reputation.
One could never be too careful!
Many sailors had already loaded their firearms and stood on deck, their muzzles subtly pointing at their adversaries!
To make a living on the Inland River, any carelessness could cost one's life!
In the captains' quarters of their respective flagships, the chairn of the three companies were tense; so paced back and forth, others furrowed their brows in deep thought, and still others puffed on their pipes.
Different from their subordinates.
They all knew each other well.
They knew they were allies.
Or to be more precise…
They were colleagues.
All loyal to one significant figure: Greysa Hamlet!
The eldest son of the Golden Lion Family.
The primary heir to the Golden Lion Family's future.
Their arrival at Port Doldot today was also by the command of that significant figure—
Takeover of Port Doldot!
Regarding the orders of this significant figure, the three had their reservations but dared not defy him.
Moreover, that significant figure had assured them that tonight's takeover would be smooth.
And if they arrived on ti, they would witness the 'signal.'
However...
Until now, there was no sign of that 'signal.'
The president of the Doyegge Chamber of Comrce grew increasingly restless in his steps.
Rota's brow was deeply furrowed.
Fissel, after finishing one pipeful, swiftly filled another.
Once the packed tobacco was lit, dense smoke once again filled the captain's quarters, yet even so, the captain saw the light from the fires of Port Doldot; then ca the sound of explosions.
The signal!
This was the signal!
"Raise the sails, full speed ahead!
Destination, Port Doldot!
Gunners, take your positions; sailors, on deck!
Fight! Fight!"
Fissel clutched his pipe as he burst from the captain's quarters, shouting loudly.
At the sa ti, the leaders of Doyegge and Rota also erged from their captain's quarters.
The shouts of the three were almost indistinguishable from one another.
The command then passed from one boat to another, and within half a minute, the sailors on all twenty boats knew the order.
They were briefly stunned, but then all broke into sinister grins.
Unexpectedly, it wasn't an enemy but friendly forces.
This left all the mbers of the three companies sowhat bewildered, but the flaring fires of Port Doldot were telling them—it was ti to get rich.
Even though they knew not what had befallen Port Doldot, the keen intuition of the river pirates told them that it was ti to plunder amidst the chaos.
Greed churned within them at that mont.
Gold coins, jewels, won!
All of it would be theirs!
Roar!
No one knew who let out the first roar, but soon everyone was roaring together.
At that mont, n were no longer n, they had transford into beasts.
However, it was at this very instant.
The next mont—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Artillery barrage!
A dense and continuous barrage!
Twelve-pound cannonballs, one after another, rained down from the thick woods at one side of Port Doldot, causing the sailors from the three Chambers of Comrce, who had just been roaring furiously, to cry out for their fathers and mothers.
The artillery fire was too intense.
So intense that in the brief mont of contact, half of the twenty ships were hit.
The heavy cannonballs penetrated the thick hulls, scattered wood splinters flew in all directions, and as the fierce wind drilled in, it swept up severed limbs and broken bodies before flying out from the other side.
Imdiately, the ships that were hit began to tilt.
And that was the best-case scenario; those less fortunate were directly engulfed in massive explosions.
The cannonballs struck the powder magazine.
The scorching cannonballs smashed onto the powder kegs.
The powder kegs burst apart.
The black powder instantly ignited by the scattered sparks.
Boom!
The entire ship was split open.
The sailors were consud by flas.
And this was far from over, as the gunners hidden in the dense forest began to clean their cannon and the accompanying musketeers lined up in rows under the command of the Marquess of West Berlin's Guard Commander, executing volley fire.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Even more dense bullets rained down on the sailors from the three Chambers of Comrce.
Blooms of blood rapidly flourished one after another.
Only the sailors with the quickest reflexes managed to dodge this calamity at that mont.
But it only delayed their deaths by a re trifle.
Monts later, when the gunfire had briefly paused, the cannons were pushed forward again.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Another barrage ensued.
The Marquess of West Berlin's Guard Commander watched indifferently as the three Chambers of Comrce were enveloped in flas, his eyes betraying not even a tiny bit of disturbance from start to end.
For Gergis, the scene before him didn't even qualify as an appetizer.
He was more interested in seeing that big fish.
Unfortunately, as the Guard Commander of the Marquis, he must obey his lord's commands.
His duty was to obliterate that guy's vanguard.
The rest?
Would naturally be Sweat's and Miller's responsibility.
He trusted that the two of them would definitely do their best.
...
Gleisa Hamlet sat in the captain's quarters.
The eldest son of the Golden Lion Family had quietly left Inner Bay.
At this mont, he was traveling covertly on an inland river aboard a retrofitted Kirk Sailboat, so hidden that even the moonlight shining on the river's surface could not reveal it.
Most importantly, the ship was moving quickly and silently across the water without sails or oars.
Of course, the common folk couldn't see it.
But anyone who did would find it unbelievable.
Because—
This was an Arcane Sailboat!
An Arcane Sailboat that required innurable gold coins to construct!
Golden Lion!
This was the na Gleisa Hamlet had given to his arcane ship.
Naming it after his own family, he naturally had absolute confidence.
"After today—
your na will echo through South County!
Isn't that how the 'Four Legendary Ships' ca to be known?
You shall rise as the fifth Legendary Ship!"
The Old Lion's eldest son mused softly to himself.
His words were laced with disdain for the 'Four Legendary Ships'.
In the eyes of the Old Lion's eldest son, those so-called legendary ships weren't much different from arcane ships. Although they might be of a higher grade, what mattered more was that the owners of those ships were famous.
So…
The Golden Lion deserved to beco the fifth Legendary Ship.
Because the owner of the Golden Lion was none other than him, Gleisa Hamlet!
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