This time, the cruise was uneventful, and after more than half a month of sailing, the Silver Wings smoothly returned to the Gabred Military Port.
The only power for a sailing battleship is wind, making speed difficult to guarantee. Coastal patrols are already considered tasks that take relatively less time and have a higher safety factor.
According to the old sailors, if you were to undertake an ocean escort mission, such as going to the New Continent, it's quite normal for it to take several months. Of course, those tasks can only be handled by at least Level 4 battleships, and the Silver Wings is no longer qualified.
After disembarking, the other crew members went to relax and enjoy themselves, while Aiven and Gary returned to their seaside residence to continue their training. They understood clearly that self-discipline is more important than Extraordinary Inheritance, and to shine in public, one must toil in private.
However, just as the two had finished cleaning their house, which had been unoccupied for over half a month, a sailor who had stayed on the ship came running to deliver a message, panting heavily, "Sub-Lieutenant, there's an urgent task, the captain has issued a rally order, all personnel must report back to the ship immediately."
"Alright, we understand."
Upon returning to the Silver Wings, Aiven greeted Perry, the First Mate, who was working overtime to replenish the Silver Wings' supplies, and headed straight to the captain's cabin.
"One-Eyed Becky? A bounty of one thousand Golden Lions!!!"
"Is this guy really that arrogant? Daring to sink a warship?"
"It's said he's the Vice Captain of the Shark Tooth Pirate Gang and already has a combat power at the Senior Knight Level."
When Aiven arrived at the captain's cabin, the officers of the Silver Wings had already gathered around, passionately discussing the situation.
A bounty order just brought back from fleet command lay on the desk in the middle, along with a brief intelligence report on this wanted criminal.
Seeing the amount of the bounty, not only Aiven, but all the officers were wide-eyed.
What does one thousand Golden Lions mean?
It's roughly equivalent to a navy sailor's pay saved over a hundred years without spending a dime, equivalent to ten high-quality warhorses, or one-fifth of a Level 6 single-masted fast sailboat.
Moreover, this money is issued in full directly by the Third Fleet Command, without being subject to the loot distribution rules. Whoever takes down this guy will get that one thousand Golden Lions!
Plus, the potential loot from defeating pirates could provide everyone a feast.
Aiven was astonished too. What kind of man is worth this much money? After greeting Uncle Gel and his colleagues, he picked up the intelligence report on the table to read.
The identity of the Vice Captain of the Shark Tooth Pirate Gang didn't matter to him; what pirate force could possibly be stronger than the navies of the nations? The terrifying forces that ordinary people dare not provoke are nothing in the face of the Kingdom Navy.
Yet accurate intelligence showed that "One-Eyed" Becky himself possesses an Extraordinary level of strength at the Senior Official Knight Tier, with achievements in slaying strong individuals of the same level. Recently, his pirate ship even sank a Navy Level 6 communications ship in a direct confrontation.
This made Aiven gasp at his madness and power.
In fact, there are pirates who dare to engage in duels with the Navy; many great pirates traversing the seas have records of sinking warships.
But there are preconditions.
Firstly, you must possess the kind of powerful strength that even the Navy dreads and weigh whether it's worth pursuing you across the seas. This strength must be at least equivalent to Tier 3 and Great Knight Level; secondly, don't let others see it, don't boast about it everywhere, and certainly don't let it become widely known.
However, this One-Eyed Becky, although he allegedly has the strength of a Knight Phase, remains far from reaching the level that would worry the authorities.
After sinking a warship, he didn't escape immediately but continued to roam in the Third Fleet's jurisdiction, which is literally slapping the Third Fleet's officers and soldiers in the face. Who else would be targeted if not you?
Aiven didn't think this guy could remain at large for long. Now it just depended on who got lucky enough to grab his tail; when the warships surround him, unless he can fly and dive into the sea, the outcome is inevitable.
"Captain, the supply is complete!"
After a while, First Mate Perry returned, reporting to Captain Gel that the supply was ready and the crew members had returned.
Seeing the eager eyes of everyone present, Gel nodded in approval and waved his hand: "Set sail! As per the command order, we will head to the vicinity of Taro Island and rendezvous with the Warrior to jointly hunt down One-Eyed Becky.
Gentlemen, the dignity of the Navy cannot be defiled, and we shall cleanse it with the blood of One-Eyed Becky!"
"Yes, Captain!"
...
On the blue sea, the waves were not high, the weather was sunny and bright, and two Level 5 Cruisers of similar size were sailing in a cruise formation with one ahead and one behind.
"Chirp chirp chirp... chirp chirp chirp..."
The cries of the sea birds, instead of being friendly and pleasant as usual, seemed somewhat annoying.
The Silver Wings and the Warrior had been searching the sea for eight days in pursuit of One-Eyed Becky.
Not just One-Eyed Becky, even other minor pirates haven't been seen anywhere, as the well-informed pirates have long received news and were scared off by the grand scale of the Third Fleet's operations.
It's safe to say that most warships without urgent tasks have joined the pursuit, in a force so strong and numbers so large that it's rare to see in the past decade.
If it weren't for the swift communications ships and the Seagull constantly bringing the latest intelligence, confirming that One-Eyed Becky hadn't landed or left the domain of the Third Fleet, everyone would have thought he'd long slipped away.
By now, both the officers and soldiers on the Silver Wings and the Warrior have begun to grow restless. Actions like such a large-scale blockade, even with the power of the Third Fleet, cannot last indefinitely. The longer the delay, the greater the chance that everyone ends up empty-handed.
The ocean is simply too vast for humans, and even trying to locate that guy in this small area of the Black Sea's west coast is no easier than finding a needle in a haystack.
Aiven, however, remains calm; even if he doesn't find the target, he regards it as a training experience.
It's just that, due to the possibility of encountering sudden combat at any moment during this period, his special training is temporarily postponed. During this period, Aiven spends most of his time under the mast.
Aiven learns the sail control skill quickly, having reached the level where he can assist Sailor Jabu. Now, all he lacks to become a qualified sailor is experience.
Having been on the ship for over a month, Aiven has completely adapted to life aboard, and now even feels quite at home.
He even smugly thinks to himself, "I'm really destined to be a conqueror of the sea, haha."
Standing on the lookout tower, facing the slightly salty sea breeze, he surveys the surroundings, aided by data visualization, ensuring he won't miss the slightest clue.
"Hmm, the Warrior has sent a signal?"
At this moment, Aiven keenly notices the flag signals from the Warrior, deciphering that they've found a small island with a freshwater resource ahead, inviting the Silver Wings to replenish its freshwater supply.
Every drop of freshwater on a ship is a precious resource, as long-stored freshwater can become spoiled and smell bad. Hence, after being at sea for some time, sailors will replace freshwater with sugarcane wine, known as rum in many Western stories. Those living on land can't truly appreciate the hardships of water scarcity aboard a ship.
As a part-time order officer for the ship, Aiven quickly slides down the mast to report to Gel.
Moments later, with the flag signals raised on the Silver Wings, both warships make a turn together, heading towards the unnamed small island.
...
"This little island's scenery is quite nice; if it were closer to the coast, many people would probably want to come here for a vacation."
Sunlight, white beaches, a few gracefully postured coconut trees. While the first mate organizes the sailors to replenish freshwater, Aiven leisurely sits in a small boat near the island, casting a line to catch fish.
"Hey, caught another one!"
Such untouched places must be said; the fish are so naive they've never seen a hook before. Even with Aiven's average fishing skills, he's quickly filled two buckets with large fish he couldn't name.
Sailors of this era aren't bothered to name all sorts of odd-looking sea fish; that's something scholars should do. To them, sea creatures are simply distinguished by whether they are edible or not.
After delivering the fish back to the ship and seeing the sailors haven't finished their work yet, Aiven directly runs to the river mouth on the island's freshwater river to enjoy a refreshing freshwater bath.
"Refreshing!"
Although conditions are better for officers aboard the ship, not being able to bathe often is something Aiven struggles with. Taking the opportunity, he certainly doesn't want to waste it.
Drying his hair with a towel as he returns to the ship, the cook is grilling on the deck, using ingredients like the sea fish Aiven brought back, various seashells the crew found on the beach, and preserved meats from the storeroom. The rising smoke looks extremely appetizing.
Life at sea is tough, and sailors have long learned to find joy amidst hardship; gatherings and good food are just some of those joys.
Watching this, Aiven feels eager, too. Two lifetimes of singlehood have honed his cooking skills considerably, and he's itching to get started.
Casually grabbing a large fish resembling a tuna but with red stripes from the fish bucket, he picks up the kitchen knife beside him, performs a quick flick of the knife, and swiftly, like a master chef deboning an ox, transforms the large fish into two shiny, translucent fillets of fresh fish.
With the kitchen knife in hand turning into a flash of silver light, akin to something out of an anime, slices of gleaming, thin-as-cicada-wings fish automatically fly out, landing on a clean plate prepared beside him.
In terms of using knives and swords, Aiven now knows he's far beyond the best chefs of his previous life, skillfully precise and a pleasure to watch.
Such a dazzling display of knife skills quickly gathers a crowd around Aiven, most of whom are key crew members, serving in irreplaceable technical roles at least.
"This kid, does he have too many ideas?" Gel and Aiven aren't the type to view swordsmanship as life itself, so they don't find anything inappropriate in Aiven using swordsmanship in this manner.
Having already known that he invented a vegetable called "bean sprouts," taught the ship medic several foods and drinks to prevent diseases, and now came up with a new way to eat sea fish, Gel can't understand where Aiven gets all his fresh ideas.
After finishing filleting the fish, Aiven uses the ingredients at hand to whip up a sauce, dipping and tasting it. Although it lacks the flavor of the specialized dips from his past life, the freshly caught fish seems to come alive in his mouth, compensating for any flavor shortcomings.
"Nice, fresh!"