I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 510 Boarding Battle (Part 1)

The moonlight, like a ribbon, poured onto the calm sea, painting the fleet in a silvery-gray hue.

The massive Sea Lion resembles a silent silver giant, its enormous silhouette appearing exceptionally majestic under the starlight.

Most of the portholes on the three gun decks were closed, leaving only a few with a dim, warm light shining through, like the half-closed eyelids of a giant beast, gleaming warily yet gently in the night.

Other warships, like loyal escorts, maintained precise spacing and were scattered around the Sea Lion.

The navigation lights at their sterns and the signal lights on their masts, like fallen stars, flashed and moved rhythmically on the inky sea, outlining a dynamic picture full of order and power.

The waves gently lapped against the hull, making a rhythmic splashing sound, like a lullaby sung by the sea for this steel fleet.

Occasionally, the deep chirping of the night watchmen or the faint whistles from distant warships further accentuated the vastness and profundity of the night.

The entire fleet resembled a mobile castle complex slowly cruising through space, exuding unparalleled power in its tranquility.

Unhappy and unwilling to play, he leaned against the railing on the upper deck of the Sea Lion, letting the salty sea breeze caress his face. His current feeling was novel and... pleasant.

He looked down at the giant ship beneath his feet.

Even at night, everything on deck was in perfect order. The mooring lines were neatly coiled, the cannons were covered with canvas and secured, and the sailors on duty patrolled their posts with high spirits, their steps light and steady, exchanging concise commands in hushed tones.

However, even though the sailors were very skilled, their nervousness and awkwardness were still evident.

Ten years for the army, a hundred years for the navy.

"From the boat to the people, everyone's a newbie... But this big guy is actually pretty stable."

He muttered to himself, feeling slightly uneasy but not too worried, as he was reluctant to play.

On one hand, he is a player who can revive even if he dies; on the other hand, this ship gives him a strong sense of reliability.

Standing on the deck, you can feel the ship's hull rising and falling slightly with the waves, but this swaying is more like a comfortable cradle rhythm than an uncomfortable turbulence.

He recalled his previous experiences traveling to and from Casarina in those small boats, and it was a stark contrast to what he had experienced before.

What impressed him even more was life on the ship. He had dinner in the officers' mess, and although it wasn't a banquet specially prepared for him, the abundance and freshness of the food far exceeded his expectations.

Steaming hot white rice, perfectly fried fish fillets, and even fresh vegetable soup—this was paradise compared to the later days on the island when they had to survive on canned food and salted fish.

He even began to understand why Lieutenant General Marlowe was unwilling to disembark... The living conditions here were probably more than ten times better than those on Casarina Island.

While immersing himself in the tranquility of the night voyage and marveling at the steel behemoth beneath his feet, Bushuangbuwan's gaze unconsciously swept across the mirror-like surface of the sea.

Suddenly, a huge and extremely unnatural eddy or an unusually long white streak on the sea surface about a few hundred meters to his left caught his attention.

The trail glowed eerily with phosphorescence under the moonlight, covered a vast area, and was moving in the direction the fleet was heading, maintaining a parallel trajectory with the Sea Lion.

The first thing that came to mind when I thought of the snake-man's sea serpent was that I was unhappy and didn't want to play.

"Snake-man, there's something underwater, 500 meters to port!"

"I'm not happy, I won't play!" was practically shouted out. At the same time he yelled, the lookout at the top of the Sea Lion's mast also sounded a sharp alarm whistle, clearly having also noticed the peculiar trajectory.

"Dang! Dang! Dang!"

The urgent alarm bells immediately rang on the "Sea Lion" and the surrounding ships, instantly waking the entire fleet from its slumber.

Such a swift reaction made BuShuangBuWan immediately realize that the fleet was actually prepared for an attack.

The orderly tranquility on the deck was replaced by the clamor of battle, and sailors poured out of the hatches like a tide, rushing to their respective battle stations.

The thick beams of searchlight swept back and forth across the sea, initially revealing only the unusually surging eddies and eerie waves, as if some enormous sea monster were swimming underwater.

The sailors on deck operated the cannons nervously, turning the muzzles to port; the atmosphere was heavy.

However, after observing carefully through his binoculars for a moment while standing on the bridge, Vice Admiral Marlowe frowned. He put down the binoculars and calmly issued orders through the megaphone.

"Don't fire! Those aren't the tracks of a sea serpent; they're just waves left by a ship!"

After being transferred to the Navy, Vice Admiral Marlowe studied diligently upon taking office. Based on his knowledge, he judged that the shape of the wake and the regularity of the eddies were more consistent with the wake and wave-making effect of a large ship sailing at high speed, rather than the chaotic water flow caused by the movement of living organisms.

Just then, Advisor Polka climbed up the bridge, panting. In his hand was a strangely shaped compass-like instrument inlaid with crystals. The pointer was pointing at the empty sea, trembling violently and emitting a faint blue light.

"Magical Disturbance, a very powerful water-based concealment spell, probably a high-level Mirror Image!"

Polka's voice was somewhat shrill with excitement.

"Your Excellency, there is indeed a magic ship there. My magic detector is showing a very strong reading!"

Lieutenant General Marlowe's expression grew even more serious.

He raised his binoculars again, staring intently at the still empty sea surface under the moonlight and searchlight; only the unnatural wave patterns proved that there was indeed a physical entity there.

The situation with the invisible magic ship was somewhat delicate. After being discovered, it did not panic and accelerate its escape, nor did it immediately launch an attack. It maintained the same course and speed as the fleet, running parallel without conflict, like a calm hunter or an arrogant observer.

And that distance of five hundred meters...

Lieutenant General Marlowe laughed; the other side seemed to know a lot about naval artillery on the Greek mainland.

Five hundred meters is an extremely precise distance. For the shipborne artillery of a typical armed merchant ship, this is close to or even exceeds the effective range, and the accuracy of the shells will drop sharply at this distance.

It is precisely because of this that this unknown ship can so confidently sail alongside the First Fleet.

"consultant!"

Lieutenant General Marlowe asked loudly.

"What special abilities could such an invisible ship possess!"

"I don't know, Your Excellency."

"what?"

"I don't know, Lieutenant General."

Polka helplessly spread his hands towards Lieutenant General Marlowe.

“A magic ship is like a magic tower. Apart from its owner, outsiders often have no way of knowing its secrets. Just like this magic ship right now, apart from knowing that it is enchanted with advanced mirror magic, I know nothing else.”

Polka's words made Vice Admiral Marlowe fall into thought. After a moment, he raised his binoculars again to observe the rippling sea, then turned to look at the nautical chart hanging on the wall. "Ship's officer, how long until the fleet enters the storm belt?"

The ship's officer, with a gold cable insignia on his shoulder, immediately stepped forward, quickly traced his finger across the nautical chart, and answered with precise location.

"The report states that, given the current low speed of our small sails, we will enter the outer edge of the storm belt in about two hours, and the sea conditions will begin to deteriorate significantly."

Lieutenant General Marlowe nodded, his gaze once again fixed on the empty yet deadly sea, his eyes sharp.

He quickly weighed the options in his mind: an invisible and mysteriously purposeful magic ship, and an impending storm zone with extremely low visibility and difficult navigation.

Combining these two factors is too risky.

In a storm, the fleet's formation will inevitably be disrupted, and ships will be difficult to maneuver. Meanwhile, the invisible enemy may take advantage of the wind, rain, and giant waves to launch a fatal attack.

"We must not bring hidden dangers into the storm."

Lieutenant General Marlowe made up his mind, his voice resolute.

"Pass on my order: the fleet shall immediately enter a state of first-level combat readiness. All cannons shall be loaded with solid shot. Target: the airspace with the contrail, 500 meters to port!"

"Wait, wait a minute!"

At this moment, Polka, who had been looking down at the instrument in his hand, looked up and spoke up to stop them, drawing everyone's attention to him on the bridge.

"I must warn you, we have seen that navigation trail, which is real, but it is very likely a projection of that magic ship using mirror magic... In other words, the location of that unknown magic ship is not actually there."

If the fleet bombards that area, the barrage will most likely hit nothing but seawater…

"what?"

Lieutenant General Marlowe abruptly turned his head and stared at Polka.

"You mean the trails and eddies we saw were fake, magical illusions?"

"Yes."

The atmosphere on the bridge became even more eerie and tense due to the conversation between the two.

If Polka's judgment is correct, then the enemy is more cunning and dangerous than they imagined.

An enemy ship that is invisible and whose location cannot be determined is like an assassin lurking in the shadows, ready to attack from any angle at any time.

Lieutenant General Marlowe frowned deeply as he quickly processed this terrible possibility.

If we blindly fire into that airspace, it will not only waste ammunition and expose our gun positions, but it will also cause the entire fleet to focus its attention on the wrong direction.

Do you have any way to determine its exact location?

Marlowe asked in a deep voice, a hint of expectation in his tone. Faced with this supernatural threat, he had to rely on the knowledge of an expert.

Polka's forehead was covered in sweat. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but after a long pause, he finally managed to stammer out the words.

"Your Excellency, I suggest that the fleet increase its speed. When the magic ship is in a concealed state, its speed will inevitably be affected. If the fleet sails at full speed, it will inevitably be unable to keep up."

Secondly, the ship will not enter the storm belt, because the magical elements there are weak, and if it goes inside, it will not be able to maintain the mirror spell..."

Before Polka's words had even finished, a sudden and heavy impact came from the upper deck.

It wasn't a single sound, but a continuous series of muffled thuds, as if many heavy sacks were being thrown onto the wooden planks, interspersed with the ear-piercing sound of metal boot soles scraping against the deck and short, fierce roars.

The expressions of everyone on the bridge changed drastically; they all knew what situation had caused this commotion.

"Damn it, that boat is right next to us, we've been boarded!"

……

"Unhappy and Unplayful" was intently staring at the strange trail of waves in the distance on the port side, trying to find more clues.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a very unnatural distortion... right below the port side of the Sea Lion, so close that he could almost feel the shockwave from the other ship breaking through the seawater.

The air on the once empty sea surface began to ripple violently, as if a pebble had been thrown into the water.

A massive, blurry outline emerged from the transparency at an astonishing speed, like a giant whale suddenly rising from the deep sea.

The outline is not entirely solidified, but rather has a translucent quality, like a giant block of ice or twisted glass.

Through this magical barrier, one can vaguely see the distorted sea behind it, as well as its own strange structure: a streamlined hull, towering masts, furled sails, and strange runes shimmering with an eerie light on the side of the hull.

Using advanced mirroring techniques, this magical ship managed to stay silently close to the Sea Lion, at one point possibly less than fifty meters away.

Its perfect concealment not only deceived the eyes, but may even have interfered with ordinary perception to some extent. The trail it displayed, just as Polka had predicted, was indeed an illusion created by magic to attract and mislead the lookouts of the First Fleet.

At the very moment the outline of the magic ship appeared, dark shadows swarmed on its deck. Bu Shuang's pupils constricted sharply... He saw dozens of figures leap up from the enemy's deck as if they had been launched from a crossbow!
These figures were all fully armored and well-equipped. The armor was ancient and strange in style, reflecting a dark, non-metallic luster under the moonlight.

Their jumping ability far surpasses that of ordinary people, easily leaping several meters in height and more than ten meters in horizontal distance, like heavy cannonballs, accurately crashing into the upper deck of the Sea Lion.

"Enemy attack, boarding action on port... The damn enemy is coming aboard!"

"I'm so angry I can't play anymore!" he roared, instinctively drawing his longsword from his waist. His shout mingled with the other alarms and cries that suddenly erupted on the deck.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The dull thuds of heavy objects hitting the ground were continuous, interspersed with the cracking sounds of wood being crushed.

The enemies who leaped over were clearly well-trained. After landing, they quickly rolled to dissipate the force or landed in a steady half-crouch. The weapons in their hands were mostly longswords, battle axes, and strange spears with barbs, their blades gleaming with a chilling light.

The battle erupted instantly, without any warning.

These intruders were silent and efficient. Once on deck, they moved in groups of three or five, like deadly wedges, rushing towards the nearest sailors and key positions.

Their attacks were swift and cunning, and their teamwork was impeccable, clearly demonstrating their expertise in this kind of sudden boarding maneuver.

Chaos erupted on the deck.

Caught off guard, the sailors hastily engaged in battle, and the gunners had to abandon their cannons and draw their short swords and boarding axes to fight back.

Roars, the clash of weapons, and screams instantly replaced the previous battle commands.

(End of this chapter)