Extraordinary Voyage

Crack—

The snapping of the whip echoed loudly above the heads of the slaves.

"Hurry! Get that silver onto the ship at once, or I'll have your hides if we miss the sailing time!"

The naval soldier, acting as overseer, shouted and cursed, continuously urging them to speed up.

Due to the construction period being too short, Potosi's Island No.3 hasn't been equipped with animal power, let alone steam equipment. The burdensome work relies entirely on the indigenous slaves, who carry it on their shoulders.

But.

Who cares anyway?

After all, a slave's life isn't worth much.

Whoever wins or loses in this "Silver War" over the ownership of Potosi, there isn't much difference for the original masters of the new continent.

No matter who gains control of Potosi, capturing wild Atrean people from the continent to be slaves for the most dangerous mining work is inevitable.

However, at this time, the majority in the slave ranks were Atrean people from the new continent, with some Anuma people from the southern continent, and quite a number of white-skinned Nimansite people from the old continent.

Because these people... are also slaves!

Yet they have a slight advantage over the indigenous people, as being contract slaves, they don't have to be slaves for their entire life; they can regain freedom after a set term.

For reasons of poverty, politics, and religion, these old continent residents came to the new continent looking for a chance to survive.

But too impoverished to afford the fare, they entered contracts with shipowners or employers to offset the fare with four to seven years of free labor.

And contrary to what one might think, they are not a negligible number compared to indigenous slaves, according to statistics from Phaletis scholars stationed in the new continent.

Currently, about 60% of all the Nimansite people in the Northern New Continent are such contract slaves, or were contract slaves at one point!

Compared to the "ignorant" Atrean or Anuma people, these individuals have some level of technical skills or stronger learning and communication abilities, enabling them to handle the more technically demanding parts of mining work.

For instance, heating the silver ore with saltwater, combining it with mercury to form silver amalgam, and finally distilling out the mercury to get silver.

However, compared to the indigenous slaves who have died from exhaustion just over a month after the facilities were built and the intense labor began, these Nimansite people are not much stronger either.

Without adequate protection, chronic mercury poisoning could claim them at any time.

Currently, the mining and refining facilities have been fully constructed at mines No.1 and No.2 belonging to Hilus and mine No.3 belonging to three nations.

In full operation, the daily total output of the silver mine is approximately 660 kilograms.

Although Island No.3 only holds one-fourth of the reserves, its actual output is nearly half the total, around 320 kilograms.

Lower reserves do not mean slower extraction; the mobilization of manpower and resources by three nations even exceeds Hilus's input in a single mine.

Clearly, the high-level officials from various nations sensed something amiss in the wind and are eager to extract their share quickly in order to distance themselves from Hilus, the tyrannical neighbor.

Yet despite the total support, depleting this silver mountain could still take at least several decades.

After over a month of reserves, Island No.3 now holds 12,000 kilograms of silver, with each nation having 4,000 kilograms per their tripartite agreement, which equates to four tons of silver for each.

To avoid unforeseen delays, the officials stationed by each nation decided to transport this batch of refined silver ingots back to their respective colonial headquarters promptly.

Furthermore, a precedent has been set to clear and transport the accumulated silver ingots once they reach a total of 12,000 kilograms. The representatives from each nation feel immense pressure coexisting with the infamous Hilus people.

Thud! Thud! Thud!...

Under the overseers' shouted commands, a group of slaves transported 120 heavy wooden crates onto three cruisers docked at the pier.

Another three warships were assigned to provide escort.

Although lacking the channel-opening capability of the "Guard Commander," the time spent was enough for them to chart a safe deep-water course through the outer island reefs, allowing large warships to dock at the port.

A mere four tons of burden means little to the cruisers—a difference as insignificant as a feather, and they're fully capable of swiftly ferrying the silver back to their territories.

Moreover, a ceasefire agreement signed by four countries and notarized by their respective churches assures that Hilus won't break the agreement by sending warships to intercept.

A moment later.

"Weigh anchor! Set sail!"

The cruiser captains received the orders, and six warships departed from the temporary port on Island No.3.

Sak and Atlant sailed west together, while Phaletis went south. Each nation had one warship for transportation and one for escort.

Even the Great Pirate dared not make a move on them; this should ensure absolute safety under normal circumstances.

However...

Just six hours after leaving the Potosi Islands, and not even a hundred kilometers away, the three nations' warships already encountered trouble.

"Crown, Skull, Blood Dripping Saber—those are followers of 'Oathbreaker' Bradley, one of the Golden Sea Twin Kings!

Five fast-moving sloops have converged!

Signal them to back off!"

The Phaletis captain responsible for transporting silver attempted to send semaphore signals to assert their identity, hoping to deter them.

"Close in, board, seize the ship!"

The agile sloops ignored the signals, charging aggressively at the silver-laden warships like a pack of wolves without the slightest hesitation.

They clearly had full knowledge of the transport fleet's situation.

The situation of Sak and Atlant's four warships was even more despairing.

"That's the flagship 'Chisel Teeth' of 'Oathbreaker' Bradley!!!"

Facing a Peak Grand Knight's personal plunder, the officers and soldiers on the four warships turned ashen.

"Hahaha! Hand over the silver, and I'll spare your lives!"

The giant, towering over two and a half meters, stood at the ship's bow, his thunderous voice echoing over the sea for a long time.

Although the previous pirate attacks did not have an immediate effect on the battle, quite a few pirate ships that followed Bradley's call to attack Sak and Atlant colonies disappeared without a trace on the way.

This made Bradley feel utterly disgraced.

But now Hilus is still willing to give them a chance.

As long as there is enough political donation, the previous promises still hold!

So... plundering at sea, does it matter whom you plunder?

Now Hilus faces a huge military budget deficit, to prevent the mutiny of the low-level soldiers who live solely on their pay, every silver coin is extremely precious to Hilus.

The existing Potosi Silver Mine has naturally re-entered their sights immediately, while they appease the low-level soldiers whose emotions are fluctuating due to delayed pay, they also accelerate the planning.

Although the silver mine's ownership cannot be openly reneged on due to the gods' fairness, its output can be fully taken under Bradley's hand, to cash in on this easily mined silver mine!

As for whether to continue such plundering after regrouping enough military funds again, haha...

...

Inhale—Exhale—

Aiven, holding a wooden training longsword, practiced the "White Sail Swordsmanship" with the most basic Knight's Breathing Method, turning his gains within the Spirit Realm into muscle memory and truly integrating them into his own strength.

Though the Spirit Realm can replicate real-world abilities, wielding the same swordsmanship with a soul body and physical body is ultimately different.

Slash—

Gradually, the unsharpened ironwood training sword in Aiven's hand seemed to develop a thin white haze, lightly waving it produced a faint ear-piercing screech as if tearing through air.

Step!

A gleam suddenly appeared in Aiven's slightly closed eyes.

Taking a sudden step, power rose from the soles of his feet like a drawn, taut bow, consolidating the force of all his bones, fascia, and muscles into a swift piercing strike.

Whiz—

As black wood chips flew, a waist-thick ironwood post before Aiven was pierced through with the training sword in a single strike.

The incision was smooth, with no rough edges visible.

This was indeed made of the same wood material as his sword, with hardness almost comparable to steel!

If an armor of the Knight's Heavy Armor were placed here, the outcome would be no different.

"Whew—"

Aiven slowly exhaled a white breath, his face unchanged, clearly such an immensely powerful strike did not exhaust him too much.

Now, with full concentration and ample preparation, he could autonomously wield powerful force akin to Sword Qi.

He had already reached the level when Colonel Reynolds Ban, the Peak Knight from Hilus sunk to the ocean depths, wielded the Supreme Secret Technique [Ceremony Circle].

Clap clap clap!

A nearby boy, also holding a wooden sword in training attire, couldn't help but clap with excitement upon seeing such a strike.

Calvin had never expected his teacher to be not only a miraculous Wizard but also a Sword Master at the pinnacle of mastery.

In his view, regardless of whether preparation was needed to wield Sword Qi, this was definitely a Sword Master-level ability.

If he didn't mind looking too much like a child, he would have jumped up.

'Enrolling under such a teacher, I truly hit the jackpot!'

"Calvin, you already have a certain foundation in swordsmanship. Now, after recovering, picking it back up shouldn't be difficult.

Especially since a Wizard at the Apprentice Level has far less combat power than an Official Knight. You can try synchronizing swordsmanship practice along with completing the learning plan I set for you.

At least acquire the ability to protect yourself at the Apprentice Level, balancing work and rest wouldn't delay your witchcraft studies."

Aiven turned back, ready to give some guidance to his second disciple.

Suddenly.

Whoosh—

A Seagull fell from the sky, bringing Aiven an urgent letter from Dierben Castle, summoning him to attend an emergency meeting at "Dierben Castle."

Not daring to delay, just a few hours later, he met Vice Admiral Gustav and other senior officers at the meeting, faces as grim as water.

"I have some very bad news to inform everyone...."

The first batch of output from the Potosi Silver Mine was attacked en route by "Oathbreaker" Bradley and his pirates, with newsletters sent via Seagull, thereafter no more news.

Not only Phaletis faced this, Sak and Atlant did too.

Even Tulip Member Countries suffered varying degrees of reports of losses within the New Continent, increasingly severe as time passed.

Minerals, tobacco, pelts, indigo, whale oil... even dried fish catches, the appetite was enormous.

Both pirates and Hilus' regular troops were responsible...

Although the output of a month could bear the loss, the occurrence of such events conveyed a very bad signal to them.

Hilus' New Continent policy further tightens the noose around other countries' necks, their take-it-or-leave-it attitude barely disguised!

While their series of actions after the Treasure Fleet's destruction had detonated the already tense nerves of various nations like a fuse.

Subsequently, in just short days, countries had reached consensus.

"Hilus must pay the price for their arrogance! Countries must retaliate!"

As the perpetrator delighted with significant short-term benefits, a full Anti-Hilus Alliance had silently formed...