Chapter 13 Conspiracy! The Real Purpose!
"What? A pirate ship?"
Colonel Leron ripped off his napkin, put on his Justice Coat, grabbed his dagger, and went outside.
"Did you see clearly? What pirate crew?"
"Reporting, Colonel, it's the Dylan Pirates!"
"Huh? That Dylan guy, swaggering into my territory, does he want to die?" Colonel Leron snatched the binoculars and, sure enough, saw the Dylan Pirates' flag hanging there.
The pirate ship's lookout also spotted the warship and shouted nervously, "Big, big brother, warship!"
Lister yawned, jumped onto the mast, observed for a moment, then turned to the pirates and said, "Sink it!"
"ha?"
"No way, that's a warship!"
"Huh? You're going to rebel against me?"
Just as the pirates hesitated, the lookout shouted, "Oh no! It's coming at us!"
"ah?"
"Sink it, or be sunk by it, do you have any other choice?" Lister asked.
"Sink it, and you will be the heroes of this sea. Choose: be a coward for life, or a hero for a second!"
The pirates looked at each other in bewilderment.
"You scum, aren't you men?"
"Roar! Let's fight!"
"oh!"
One cannon after another was pushed out of its muzzle. The Dylan was a three-masted sailing ship with a total of twenty-four cannons. At the command of "Fire!", the twelve cannons on the port side shot out flames and black smoke. Then the helmsman adjusted the ship's position to seize the upwind position.
"Ah, Colonel, fire, fire!"
Colonel Leron's face turned ashen. The pirates of the East Blue were notoriously weak and rarely challenged the Navy. The fact that the Dylan had opened fire was a slap in the face to him.
"Fight back! Take it down!"
Thump thump thump...
The navy's artillery had a long range and great power. In a round of fire, the warship was unharmed, while the Dylan was in grave danger.
"You don't actually think you can sink a warship with this junk, do you? Don't be ridiculous!" Klo walked up to Lister.
"You look down on pirates?"
"Hmph, pirates are nothing but scum on the fringes of society."
"Haha, didn't you want to be a pirate on that merchant ship?"
Crow's forehead veins bulged, and he said with a dark face, "A stopgap measure."
"So you can target innocent children?" Lister already knew what had happened from the crew.
"I would kill Dylan to avenge him. What would you choose?"
"Me? Of course, I'd rather not choose either. I can kill Dylan."
"Ha, how cunning!"
Lister changed into pirate clothes, tossed one to Crowe, and said, "Do as you please if you're not afraid of being recognized."
"Hey, I didn't say I'd fight for you, did I? Don't take it upon yourself to do it!" Kro grabbed his clothes, looking helpless.
"Suit yourself!" Lister kicked the knife off the ground, picked it up, and swung it around a couple of times; it was quite handy.
"cut!"
Kro reluctantly changed into pirate clothes and tied his bandana. He had left his cat paw on the merchant ship, so he could only pick up two knives.
Pirate ships are at a disadvantage in cannon battles against warships. Therefore, pirates usually use cannons to cover their ships while quickly approaching the warships to engage in boarding combat.
Of course, under normal circumstances, very few pirate crews would attempt to directly attack a warship; that would be clearly an act of idiocy.
Even the three emperors of the new world wouldn't go and fight the Navy without a reason.
After being hit by two rounds of gunfire, the Dylan finally rejoined the warships.
Bang bang bang...
The warship's musketeers unleashed their power, shooting down pirates charging towards the warship one by one. However, the two ships were quite close together, and the musketeers only managed to fire one volley before the two sides clashed in close combat.
"kill!"
"Kill them!"
Lister mingled among the pirates and quietly approached Captain Leron, who was commanding the navy in battle.
"Destroy them, leave no one alive, kill them all!" Colonel Leron shouted.
puff!
A sharp pain shot through his chest. Colonel Leron looked down as the hilt of his knife plunged into his heart and emerged from his back, drawing a trail of blood.
Colonel Leron's eyes widened, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood before collapsing backward.
"Yes, Colonel!"
Having succeeded in his attack, Lister took advantage of the navy's confusion and fled.
With the captain dead, the morale of the navy plummeted and the army was in disarray, while the pirates were greatly encouraged and their fighting intensified.
In this battle, the Dylan Pirates attacked the Navy's 153rd branch. Captain Raelon led his warship to meet the enemy but was tragically killed.
Lieutenant Sig of Branch 153 provided timely support, personally capturing Captain Dylan alive, annihilating the Dylan Pirates, and obtaining evidence from Dylan that the officers of Branch 153 were colluding with pirates.
The report of this incident shocked all naval bases in the East China Sea. Even the Navy Headquarters held a meeting to discuss it, requiring all branches in the East China Sea to conduct self-examination and self-reflection, strengthen the crackdown on pirates, and ensure the stability and harmony of the East China Sea.
To mitigate the negative impact of the incident, Navy Headquarters discussed and promoted Ensign Seager to Major Seager.
Influenced by the Great Pirate Era, the World Government has conducted several large-scale conscriptions, and there are quite a few officers like Higuma who have achieved remarkable victories and made leaps in rank.
In short, it's about creating role models and exemplars to demonstrate the World Government's determination to combat pirates and its willingness to spend a fortune to acquire their bones.
"Is this your purpose?"
On the top floor of the 153rd Naval Base, Crow stood next to Lister, looking down at Major Sieg receiving the investigators.
Of course, the Navy Headquarters would not listen to one-sided accounts and would definitely conduct an investigation into the entire incident. However, it would be too troublesome to send people from headquarters, so they drew officers of the rank of colonel from various branch bases in the East China Sea to form an investigation team.
As the officers entered the base, they all wore smiles and appeared relaxed.
They didn't take the investigation seriously; it was just a necessary procedure and wouldn't affect the outcome.
The entire investigation process was more like a trip to Shells Town by officers drawn from various branches of the East China Sea. Major Sieg's job was simply to accompany the investigation team to eat and drink. As long as the investigators were happy, the investigation report would naturally be "truthful and factual."
Three days later, the investigators left comfortably with evidence, including Dylan's pre-death confession, letters of repentance from the fallen school officials, and bags full of local "specialties."
Following this, as the only remaining officer in Branch 153, Sieg, with the rank of major, temporarily served as the branch's supreme commander until a new base commander was appointed from headquarters.
Sieg sat down in the brightly lit office, his face full of disbelief.
Three months ago, he was a restaurant owner on the verge of bankruptcy. Three months later, he transformed into a naval division lieutenant commander and became the highest-ranking officer of a naval base. Although he was acting, he had every opportunity to cultivate his own trusted confidants before the arrival of the new commander.
Moreover, he is now a "hero" in the eyes of all the marines in Branch 153. When Captain Leron was assassinated and the Navy was about to be defeated, he appeared out of nowhere and turned the tide. He single-handedly killed more than ten pirates, captured Captain Dylan, and dug out the traitors hiding in the branch. Which of these things is not worthy of praise?
Not only in Branch 153, but throughout the entire town of Shells, Sieg was proud and called "Son of Shells," enjoying unparalleled prestige.
The sudden success made Sieg excited and changed some of his views. He finally realized how ridiculous his previous dreams were, what restaurant owner?
This is what a man should do!
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End of this chapter...