884 Ques (1/2)
Royal Port.
Admiral Philip and a few staff officers gathered to stare at an ancient ocean map with doubtful expressions on their faces. ”Sun Crown?”
”Yes… According to our source, the Pirate King's next target is to find where the legendary Sun collapsed and obtain the Sun King's crown!”
Vice Admiral Norton pointed a black stick at the mark of a crown in the middle of the map.
”This… is simply… absurd!” Admiral Philip's fingers were trembling. ”Vice Admiral Norton, please explain yourself! Otherwise, I will start doubting if you're even deserving of your current position!”
”Yes, Sir!” Vice Admiral Norton bowed. ”First, we have to make something clear. This Sun King who conquered ancient dynasty after dynasty is not merely a legend. I've already gathered concrete evidence to prove that this king existed… Additionally, he really did leave his Sun Crown behind…”
”You… Don't tell me you actually believe that legend—The Sun King was born of the sun, and his crown possesses the ability to beckon an endless army of soldiers. These soldiers are tireless and fearless of death. They helped him conquer country after country and defeat all sorts of enemies… Finally, the Sun King was disheartened because he did not have an heir, so he chose to bury himself on an uninhabited island… He left his crown inside his tomb, and whoever obtains the Sun Crown will have the strength to conquer the world…” said one of the advisors the legend.
”Since sea monsters, elves, dwarves, and so many legendary ships exist… a Sun Crown isn't totally unbelievable!”
Vice Admiral Norton continued, ”Moreover, I've already gathered reliable evidence that the glorious Sun Dynasty truly existed… From a practical point of view, this shouldn't concern us, but those pirates believe that possession of this Sun Crown will give them enough strength to defeat us.”
”You mean…” Admiral Philip's eyes lit up.
”Regardless of whether this information is true or not, we should make our move. However, our first target shouldn't be the Sun Crown but those pirates instead… Due to the uncertainty of our source, I believe we should increase the preparations for our pirate enticing plan…”
Evidently, Vice Admiral Norton had thought through this thoroughly.
”Hmm… Indeed… Our current strength surpasses the pirates, so with sufficient preparation, there isn't much for us to worry about… If we give that Pirate King some time to reorganize, it won't be beneficial to us!”
Admiral Philip instantly made his decision.
”Also… we have a few active privateer captains under us who are a decent force,” Vice Admiral Norton added, causing everyone to smile faintly.
Privateer captains could be considered a force for Ettoman, but in the eyes of the official navy, they were still too inferior to show in public.
Furthermore, they truly loathed pirates from the bottom of their hearts.
Since this operation might be a trap, the privateer captains would definitely be acting as cannon fodder for the navy by charging and breaking through enemy lines.
…
Pirate King City.
Fang Yuan opened up a nautical chart and smiled when he looked at the mark of the crown.
The accumulated wealth of Pirate King City and the pirate governors was seriously not a small amount. Other than some gold, silver, or treasures, the most exciting ones were the accurate nautical charts showing the locations of treasures.
Items that he might be interested in, which the pirate governors had not yet excavated, were naturally not ordinary.
If it was not too distant, the locations would be close to impossible to decipher, or maybe the sea routes would be too dangerous.
This nautical chart involving the Sun Crown was offered by Wang Zhi, the pirate governor of the East.
Because this secret treasure belonged to the West yet ended up in the hands of the pirate governor of the East, it made things extremely awkward. Due to the location, even if he could not bear to use it as part of a deal with other pirate governors, he could not go look for the secret treasure with great fanfare. Therefore, it had been left idle for a long time until now.
Offering it to Fang Yuan was similar to giving up something that was of dubious worth.
This nautical chart was not something that one could just follow and be certain to find the hidden treasure.
The codewords, hidden dangers, changes in the present sea routes, migration of beasts, and many other considerations had to be taken into account as well.
After analyzing it, Fang Yuan estimated that even if he really wanted the Sun Crown, he would have to mobilize at least half of the troops under him.
Instead of treasure hunting with great fanfare and allowing the navy to scheme against him, Fang Yuan would rather spread the news and tempt the main forces of the navy into a decisive battle. At the very least, he would be able to grasp the initiative.
Of course, Fang Yuan did not care about how legendary or mystical the Sun Crown was.
Even if the Sun Crown was truly able to beckon a formidable army, that was on land and not at sea.
Out at sea, ships would always be the most important! Otherwise, the Sun Dynasty would not have been limited to only one continent.
”By tossing out this bait, I'm confident that the navy will be hooked because it can't stand seeing Pirate King City expanding at this pace!”
Fang Yuan gathered his four pirate governors, as well as his original subordinates. ”We're going to go all out, and we won't be leaving behind any third-level ships. We shouldn't treat the royal navy as idiots and think that it'll definitely fall for our trap. Instead, we have to be well prepared to fight a hard battle!”
…
Three days later.
At the common boundary between the Coral Ocean and the Golden Ocean, the Cornelian Ocean…
Incredibly captivating, multi-colored radiances reflected from the bottom of the ocean.
Inexperienced newbies out at sea would certainly think that there were treasures on the seabed.
However, these gorgeous radiances were dangerous and not riches.
Nobody knew why, but the ocean water in this region was contaminated with dense toxins. Even an old fur seal would not last five minutes swimming in this water.