From Robinson Crusoe

On April 22, 1500, two Portuguese men arrived in South America and discovered the vast continent. They erected a cross engraved with the Portuguese royal coat of arms and declared the land to belong to Portugal.

Later, they discovered a type of sturdy and durable redwood here, and named it "Brazil".

In Portuguese, Brazil means redwood.

By the 17th century, Brazil had become a port for navigators to land in South America. They would set off from Bristol or Lisbon, cross the Atlantic Ocean, and follow the sea routes pioneered by Columbus to South America, where they would reap considerable profits.

As a rising star in the Age of Exploration, the Spanish used the vast wealth they plundered from the Inca Empire to start their own businesses.

In this environment, almost every high-ranking Spanish captain would purchase a piece of land at the Brazilian port to build his own estate, and then buy some black slaves from Guinea or Zambia to help them manage the farm.

Kylian was no exception.

Unlike most sailors who became sailors later in life, Killian grew up in the port.

His father was a shipyard worker, and he was a frequent passenger on ships. He could raise the sails when he could walk, and when he was a teenager, Killian embarked on his first long voyage.

His excellent sense of direction, keen mind, quick thinking, and wolf-like greed enabled him to accumulate wealth rapidly.

At the age of 22, Killian owned his first ship and quickly gained fame in the port.

Killian's men were a bunch of rude sailors whose minds were filled with only three things—money, wine, and women.

They preferred direct plunder to business dealings, just like when they looted the treasures of the Inca Empire; nothing could be more delightful than seeing mountains of golden riches.

Most of the time, the sailors did not fully understand Killian's intentions.

Of course, Killian didn't want his men to understand his thoughts. As he got older, it became increasingly difficult to read his mind from his face. Even the old sailors who had followed him for many years might not know what he was thinking.

……

When Captain Lucia brought the news back to the Brazilian port, the island's dry season was nearing its end.

Outside Kylian's private residence, the sunlight had long been buried by the gradually piling up gray-white clouds, and there was no lightning yet, only the rumbling of thunder.

The mahogany flooring gave the room a warm feel, and a bench stood at the center of the luxurious carved furniture, where Killian sat.

Captain Fidel, who owned a three-masted armed merchant ship, was a figure of importance anywhere, but standing in Killian's mansion, he bowed his head and bent his back like a servant.

As he recounted in detail what he had seen and heard since arriving at the archipelago, Fidel discreetly observed Kylian's expression—

This important figure is no longer young. Although he usually takes good care of himself, years of life at sea have etched deep wrinkles on his face, making him look like an old lion, aged but not without dignity.

Killian remained calm when he heard that the camp had been completely ransacked, with no signs of battle and no sailors' bodies to be found.

Upon learning that the buried treasure had also vanished, and that all the supplies stored in the camp had disappeared as well, Kylian's poker-faced expression finally showed a hint of anger.

He gestured for Fidel to stop speaking, then stood up from the bench, walked to the window, and opened it.

The sky outside the mansion grew increasingly dark, and a stream meandered around the flat lawn, with dragonflies flying low over its surface.

The approaching storm made the atmosphere around the border exceptionally oppressive; the croaking of frogs and the chirping of birds could not be heard, and even the usually chattering insects were silent, with only the rumbling of thunder.

The air was hot and humid, making it hard to breathe, and there wasn't even a breath of wind.

Killian remained silent for a long time, seemingly trying to control his emotions that were about to erupt.

Finally, he turned around, faced Fidel, and sat back down on the bench.

With a slight frown, deep wrinkles appeared on Killian's forehead. He picked up his pipe from the table and began to fill it with fine tobacco that had been fermented in oak barrels, while explaining his plans.

……

The sailors were terrified when they found the camp empty, but despite this, they still discovered clues left by the raiders—

Some patterns and words blackened with charcoal are carved on the walls of the wooden house.

The meaning conveyed by the clues is easy to understand. To summarize, it can be said in one sentence: "The treasure was taken from our island. If you have any objections, come to the island and find me. My location has been clearly written down for you."

Without this clue, Killian might have flew into a rage, unleashing a torrent of abuse and smashing things to vent his anger.

But it was this provocative clue that made him calm down, which was a rare occurrence.

What Kylian couldn't understand was why the raiders, who could have quietly taken his treasure and left, would leave such clear clues.

"What do they want?"

Having accumulated enough wealth to last a lifetime and enough assets to enter high society, Killian was no longer as arrogant as he had been in his youth; he had become much more cautious than before.

Upon hearing Fidel say that the bandits had left clues, he abandoned the idea of ​​going to the island himself.

Who knows what awaits him there? Since they left clues, it means they're not afraid at all.

Facing an opponent whose background is unknown, who is not afraid of you, and who is well-prepared, going to their door is tantamount to suicide.

But if he didn't react, he wouldn't be able to explain it to his subordinates.

As captain, he has a responsibility to his sailors. If a dozen or so sailors disappear on the island without any explanation or information about their whereabouts, he could indeed choose to ignore it.

But the fact that someone left clues had already spread across both ships. If he doesn't take care of it, who will be willing to risk their lives for him in the future?
Going there is a trap.

Not going would damage my reputation.

Between the two options, Killian chose the third—

Let someone else do it.

……

There are quite a few Spanish merchant ships docked at Brazilian ports.

For many captains who have reached the pinnacle of their lives through seafaring, owning their own plantation in Brazil is an extremely fashionable thing.

Especially some older captains, who don't want to spend their whole lives at sea.

Even those who were once brave, when they recall the storms and turbulent waves they experienced, will yearn for the stability and security of the mainland.

Kylian's arch-nemesis, Monidez, was one of them.

Monidez's fleet was larger and his connections stronger than Kylian's, but he was far inferior to Kylian in terms of personal courage and strategy.

Killian often told Fidel in private that if Monidez had been born into the same family as him, he would have been nothing more than an ordinary sailor, destined to die either at sea or in the womb of a woman. However, the greatest chasm between people is etched from the moment of birth; the wealth Killian accumulated throughout his life was less than one percent of the wealth Monidez had amassed through his family's wealth.

Of course, the difference in status and position did not prevent Killian from tripping up Monidez.

……

On the third day after the Lucia returned to the Brazilian port, the Monidez, which was also docked at the port for rest and repairs, received the news—

The slippery Killian suffered a great loss.

A huge fortune that he had secretly hidden on an overseas island was stolen by pirates who were based there. Not only that, many of Killian's capable men were also captured by the pirates. The pirates even left out arrogant clues, guiding Killian to ransom his men.

It is said that Killian was so angry after receiving the news that he fainted and fell ill. Many captains who were on good terms with him have visited him in the past few days, and they say that Killian was indeed very angry.

Seeing his rival suffer a setback, Monidez was naturally gloating. He even brought a "gift" to visit him, hoping to take this opportunity to mock him and make Killian's illness worse.

However, Kylian had already given instructions not to receive Monidez. Monidez, who came in person, couldn't even get through the plantation gates and was almost bitten by Kylian's vicious dogs.

Despite this, Monidez was not angry at all; on the contrary, he was happier than to see Kylian bedridden.

If Killian were to die because of this, he would probably throw a huge banquet and a party to celebrate.

……

Not long after being turned away, Monidez received another piece of information—

The exact amount of treasure that Kylian was robbed of.

The intelligence report mentioned that most of the treasure that Kylian seized from the Inca Empire was buried on that island, including several solid gold statues inlaid with precious stones.

It is said that there was also a ruby ​​larger than a pigeon's egg, which Kylian wanted to give to the Queen as a gift, and it was also stolen.

Along with this intelligence, another message arrived at the Monidez residence—

Killian's two armed merchant ships are buying gunpowder, recruiting men, and have even spread rumors that they want to buy another three-masted armed merchant ship to seek revenge against the pirates.

Upon hearing these two pieces of news, coupled with what he had seen and heard, Monidez became restless.

Although he had a close relationship with the Spanish royal family, who would complain about having too strong a connection? "A ruby ​​the size of a pigeon's egg" was a rare item that he had never seen before.

If Killian recovers from his illness and buys the merchant ship to prepare, how could those arrogant pirates possibly be a match for him? When his mortal enemy takes back the treasure, his good mood will be ruined.

……

After setting his sights on the Killian treasure, Monidez spent some money to bribe the sailors on the Lucia who had landed on the island, obtaining from them the island's exact location, including the pirates' stronghold.

While leveraging his connections to persuade the port captains not to sell large merchant ships and gunpowder to the Kylian, he also prepared for his sea voyage.

Even during the rainy season, daring sailors still boarded the Monidez's large sailing ships and set sail against the gloomy sky, tempted by the treasure.

……

To ensure everything went smoothly, Monidez deployed three three-masted armed merchant ships.

These three armed merchant ships all came from the Spanish royal family. The wood used to build the hulls and the hull structure were much stronger than those of ordinary merchant ships. They were also equipped with brand-new cannons and plenty of ammunition.

Fearing that the large ships would be too cumbersome to catch up with the pirates' small boats, Monidez did not even load goods onto these ships.

In other words, if this operation fails, he will have to bear all the costs of traveling between the island and the Brazilian border, which is a sure-fire way to lose money.

However, Monidez was wealthy and powerful, and didn't care about such things. As long as he could get that ruby, he was willing to make several more trips to get it.

He never imagined there would be even greater losses.

In Monidez's eyes, pirates were always lowly sea dogs who only bullied the weak and feared the strong, and his merchant ships could only avoid them.

The reason these pirates were able to steal Killian's treasure wasn't because they were particularly skilled, but because Killian was incredibly stupid—

Monidez held a high position and was never short of flattery over the years. No one dared to point out that Killian was actually much more capable than him.

This time, Kylian's performance and the information he released were too convincing. Not to mention the simple-minded Monidez, even many nobles who were familiar with Kylian were kept in the dark.

……

On September 30, 1666, a grand festival was held on the island as usual.

The new temple, built by Zebra, was officially completed a few days before the festival. Although only the main hall was completed and the outer row houses were only roughly constructed, the site of the worship was still chosen to be the new temple.

Both new and old islanders worship Wang Lingguan in the temple and witness the gun salute.

Chen Zhou appeared as always, dressed in his jet-black Ironclad armor. His robust physique and imposing armor brought the same shock to the islanders as before.

Shortly after the holiday, in mid-October, the second steamship built on the island was successfully launched, and Chen Zhou named it "Iron Heart".

The steamship's power system was further improved, allowing for more efficient use of the heat energy from charcoal, thus increasing both its speed and range.

As the only veteran captain on the island with combat experience, Ironheart was forced to leave his beloved Steelbone on Sunday after it was launched, becoming the captain and commander of Ironheart.

The rainy season has a great impact on sailing ships, but it cannot stop steamships from cutting through the waves and sailing in the waters near the islands.

Every morning, the islanders living near the port can hear two ship horns, one in front and one behind.

The Steelbone, with its tattered sails, looked somewhat bulky.

The Iron Heart, on the other hand, completely abandoned the impractical sails and had a smoother line. Its hull, covered with thin steel plates, was bathed in the morning light and was eye-catching.

……

As their understanding of the island's coastal waters deepened, the two warships patrolled an increasingly wider area.

To increase their range, both the Steelbone and Ironheart ships freed up half a deck to store charcoal, in order to avoid running out of fuel and having to anchor at sea.

The Steelbone, equipped with sails, was relatively easy to manage; even without fuel, it could still manage to crawl along the sea with difficulty thanks to its sails.

The Iron Heart had no second power source besides the steam engine. Once the charcoal was exhausted, it could only drift with the sea. This fatal flaw made Chen Zhou even more eager to obtain coal resources.

Unfortunately, the island had no mineral resources whatsoever. They couldn't possibly rely on that "black box" that produced a lump of anthracite coal per day to supply a large ship; the coal supply was barely enough for forging. (End of Chapter)