Chapter 1089: Chapter 261: Sea of Shining, the Maritime Route to Ambeser (Part 2)_3
Two sailors who were supposed to be dead drank the Holy Water, and the terrible wounds immediately began to heal at a visible speed. At that moment, not only the Second Officer in charge of treating injuries but even James was stunned. Although his sailors weren’t considered highly important, for people who had lived on the seas for years, each one’s life was hanging by the belt, indifferent to life and death. Yet being able to pull someone back from the grasp of the Death God practically amounted to a miracle.
Captain James, being of noble lineage and knowledgeable, immediately realized what Brand’s Potion was. He wasn’t astonished by Brand’s ability but by his generosity; to use the Holy Water on unknown sailors was either too merciful or it meant a broad mind.
Seeing this, James hesitated for a moment and, for the first time, began to consider deepening ties with the budding power of the Lengshan Domain from the perspective of a noble and merchant. He glanced at Brand, pondering if the rumors were true, that the other was from a family with deep roots. But why was the other standing against Tonyger and Count Jandener?
With the unique sensitivity of nobles, he immediately linked it to the northern civil war. Was it the Royalists? Or the Princess’s private Knight? Could it be that Karasu’s Highland Knights were beginning to support the Princess’s faction? Numerous thoughts raced through the young captain’s mind like lightning.
Compared to the captain’s complicated thoughts, the two sailors saved from the Death God’s grasp were left with only gratitude. These sailors were simply from poor families; if not for being cornered, who would become a seaman? Sailing in this era involved immense risks, with a notably high death rate for sailors. According to Brand’s understanding, it was only slightly better than the great seafaring era of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Saving these two sailors practically meant saving their entire families. Nonetheless, Brand refused the sailors’ request to kiss his boots as a gesture of thanks.
To a modern person like him, it was utterly awkward.
However, in the eyes of others, this only highlighted the broad-mindedness of the young Lord further. Unbeknownst to Brand, his subconscious actions had won immense reputation among the crew because, by this time, the future officers of the White Lion Legion had already retrieved a batch of heavy crossbows from below deck. These crossbows weren’t ordinary four-armed crossbows; the four-armed crossbow didn’t satisfy warriors of Black Iron Rank. Brand had Master Buru specially forge a batch of enchanted crossbows to enhance strength for the White Lion Legion’s Officer Cadets. These weapons were astonishingly expensive, with each one nearly equivalent to its weight in Gold. Fortunately, Brand only needed fifty of them.
Brand planned for the future White Lion Infantry to use Magic Bows instead of ordinary Magic Bows. The Magic Bows required miniaturized magical propulsion devices, a field Antitina excelled in. Although complex in technology, they were several times cheaper in cost. Of course, that’s a distant dream; until then, the White Lion Infantry could only use ordinary Whiteboard Bows as a stand-in, as Brand wasn’t wealthy enough to equip every soldier with a Magic Bow. Moreover, he thought if he did so, Little Roman would cause quite a headache.
As soon as the officers of the White Lion Legion joined the battle, the battlefield situation immediately shifted. In this world, and even across Erune, no Lord invested as much money into training soldiers as Brand. Brand’s insights came from the modern era, understanding that armies are cultivated. His training programs stipulated strict requirements for real combat training in daily drills for soldiers and officers—Buru and Antitina had repeatedly complained about the formidable funds spent by the Territory—replenishing arrows, repairing weapons and damaged armor. This expenditure was dozens of times more, even hundreds, than that of other Erune Lords.
The royal Master had once expressed anger, saying if that money were saved to outfit an army for the Princess, it could at least recruit an army equivalent in scale to Brand’s. Yet Brand stubbornly persisted, and such persistence finally bore fruit today.
The officers of the White Lion Legion fought like seasoned warriors who had entered the battlefield countless times. Even their only shortcoming of not having seen blood was compensated during the wolf tide. Their performance was so swift and decisive, even Erune’s most elite Knights couldn’t compare. Despite likely being more experienced in battle formations, their coordination and training were far inferior.
The arrows of the White Lion Legion’s officers seemed to have eyes with pinpoint accuracy, a result of countless shooting drills. Each individual’s worn-out arrows, converted into Gold Coins, could easily number tens of thousands of Thor. But those Gold Coins have now been retrieved from the Naga, making Captain James nearly unable to believe his eyes. The officers of the White Lion Legion took down a Naga warrior with each arrow, and in mere moments, over a dozen Naga warriors were shot dead and sunk into the sea.
Even the navy’s Divine Archers are no better.
The opposite Naga also felt immense pressure; they dreamt not of encountering such firepower on a merchant ship. This was clearly a warship, with fire density no less than the main battleships of the Kingdom’s Level 3. Only thing lacking was that this merchant vessel lacked cannons or crossbow cannons, otherwise, they would genuinely believe they’d stumbled across a Kingdom’s official warship.
After a brief exchange, the White Lion Legion side only had one officer injuring his hand due to pulling a crossbow wrongly during this battle; otherwise, Brand’s side had no casualties. Meanwhile, the Naga had already left behind dozens of corpses. The Naga warriors on the sea moved from initial shock to fear; they let out cries and suddenly turned to retreat.
"They’re retreating just like that?"
Both the Captain and Brand were stunned, as their impression of the Naga clan was of fierce warriors; even suffering setbacks, they would bravely continue fighting. They had never seen them retreat so quickly after an offensive was blocked. Is this really the Naga? Could it be Fishmen in disguise? For a moment, Brand and James found themselves at a loss for words.
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(Note 1): Typically, in Vorn only humans and Dwarves among the Races are enthusiastic about commercial trade, and the most common merchant ships on the sea are also those of these two Races. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation ticket, Monthly Ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
