855 Shock (2/2)

Orlando kept silent for a long time before suddenly bursting into laughter. ”Haha… great! Arcane Trickster Roche, wait for me… It won't be long before I once again stand before you!”

…

”Boss, based on the intelligence we obtained when we stopped at that pirate port earlier, your bounty has doubled to thirty thousand gold coins!”

Nightmare Ocean.

Fiery Lotus was in the lead, with Slavery and the other two ships following behind. The sails were fully extended, but they were barely running at seventeen knots.

On the deck, Wilson was respectfully making a report to Fang Yuan.

”Mmm…”

Fang Yuan was lying in a cushioned chair with his hat covering half of his face. He made a casual response, seeming to be very bored.

Although this was already very fast in the eyes of ordinary pirates, it was no different from crawling turtles in Fang Yuan's view.

”Perhaps… when Ettoman's all-new ironclad warships are in active service, the whole world will be astonished?”

Steam engines were not Ettoman's specialty, and neither were steam-powered warships.

But without a doubt, this supreme maritime power went the deepest and furthest in the area of ironclad warships.

With the early advantage gained from this, it was sufficient to leave its rivals behind by two to three years, which was basically the amount of time required to construct a steam-powered warship. Even magic would be unable to save their overall strength from falling behind.

In other words, even if their rivals were able to get ahold of all of the shipwrights and design drawings and even relocate the entire factory from Ettoman right now, it was already too late.

”If this were in my previous life, with this huge advantage, in addition to a technical blockade and policy support, it's absolutely enough for Ettoman to establish its position as a maritime empire and maintain its supremacy for decades… Unfortunately, this is a world brimming with extraordinary powers! Even some of the ironclad warships are inferior in strength to extraordinary ships… But it wins in terms of being able to be mass-produced, which is its absolute advantage.”

There would not be any problem in crippling a pirate governor when Ettoman's accumulated strength was released.

Fang Yuan reckoned that it was about time for Donald to release another book—The Influence of Sea Power.

”Speaking of which, when Ettoman's Royal Navy displays its might, the first one to be unlucky will definitely be Blackbeard!”

After all, the first section of the Golden Sea Route was the Nightmare Ocean. As the Nightmare Ocean's governor, Blackbeard would not be able to escape!

By having his own logistics base, although his war potential improved greatly, he also lost the mobility that pirates originally had.

For instance, even if Blackbeard had an army of over ten thousand pirates, once he lost those few island nations, he would definitely be unable to provide for the tens of thousands of pirates and would only collapse in the end.

”During such a dangerous time, what exactly is Blackbeard's purpose in waging war with the Pirate Prince?”

Fang Yuan pondered.

Do not underestimate any pirate governor.

Although the intelligence on ironclad warships was classified, with Blackbeard's extensive resources, he should be able to get ahold of some vague news.

However, he still took the risk to become enemies with the Pirate Prince at this time. Of course, it might be because their feud could no longer be stopped, but the motive was still pending deliberation.

”Could Blackbeard want to seize some territory and find a way out in the Golden Ocean… Or perhaps the Pirate Prince has grasped a portion of the ironclad warships' secrets but is unwilling to trade and thus angered Blackbeard?”

Pirate Prince Edward!

He was the Golden Ocean's pirate governor and rumored to be a very charismatic young man. His smiles could even make mermaids become deeply bewitched.

Furthermore, Edward's flagship, Wanderer, was also a legendary pirate ship. It was said that it had the blessing of the God of Speed, which gave it speed superior to all other warships.

With Wanderer, Edward was like a spirit in the wind, free and laid-back.

Needless to say, for such a person, even if he had some subordinates, his fleet's cohesiveness and organization would certainly be inferior to Blackbeard's.

Thus, even though Edward had the support and backing of other forces, he was still at a disadvantage in his fight with Blackbeard.

Under these circumstances, the Pirate Prince should be more welcoming of new forces joining?

Fang Yuan thought about it and then asked directly, ”How much longer until we reach the Golden Ocean?”

”We've already reached the border of Nightmare Ocean. According to the nautical chart that Heathfrey provided, we just need to pass through the Hell of Lightning ahead of us before we reach the Golden Ocean!”

Wilson bowed and continued, ”The Golden Ocean is a land of riches, and it also has numerous plantations and colonies that Ettoman established…”

”Attention, there are incoming ships!”

At this moment, Helga gave a warning from the lookout, causing Wilson's entire body to quiver.