For the passengers aboard the "Dorset," today had truly been filled with too many ups and downs.
Initially, their ship had encountered pirates during its voyage.
Watching the pirate ship with its raised black flag gradually approach, panic involuntarily arose in everyone's hearts.
Although the captain organized the people to resist, the "Dorset" ultimately couldn't escape this calamity.
The captain and sailors who dared to resist were all killed in the battle, while they would subsequently face the full malice of the pirates.
But just then, the navy arrived.
The warship's cannons, with firepower far exceeding a pirate ship's configuration, made the previously fierce pirates cry and wail with just one volley.
When soldiers carrying high-powered steam rifles charged onto the deck, they gave up resistance without hesitation and surrendered with raised hands.
"Thank you! Honored Lieutenant Colonel, sir! And thank you to your brave soldiers!"
With the captain dead, the remaining second mate and surviving passengers all gathered on deck, facing the navy and sparing no praise.
Some people were quietly crying from their narrow escape, while others cursed the bound pirates and tried to attack them.
Unfortunately, they seemed to be celebrating a bit too early.
That lieutenant colonel, the warship's captain, merely cast a cold, dignified glance at these passengers without acknowledging them, instead looking at someone behind him.
"Mr. Vance."
He said in a deep voice. "What do you say?"
"This batch is of good quality."
The gentleman standing behind the lieutenant colonel smiled, his gaze moving back and forth between the passengers and pirates.
Although he came from the warship, he wasn't wearing a military uniform but rather a well-tailored white dress suit.
With a smile on his face, he appeared quite charming.
Vance Nelson, Team Two Leader of MI9, was also one of the attendants who came to the Sonia Sea with Deputy Director Qonas.
"Good."
The lieutenant colonel said in a deep voice. Without showing any emotion, he waved his hand, and soldiers with rifles surrounded them.
Gradually, the passengers began to realize something wasn't right.
Huh?
Why are they surrounding us too?
These people watched helplessly as soldiers raised their rifles level, aiming at both the pirates and themselves.
The gleaming bayonets at the rifle tips made their hearts run cold.
"Lieutenant Colonel, sir, we are lawful Loen citizens!" Seeing this, the second mate hurriedly called out.
"We can provide any identification you require! You can search the cargo hold too. There are no contraband inside!"
The second mate was beginning to feel afraid. Had he encountered an unscrupulous navy that planned to kill them and pass them off as pirates to increase military merit?
"That's right, we're innocent!"
"My friend knows Baron Fast of Ahova County..."
The passengers also panicked, all shouting to prove their innocence. The deck became noisy.
"Quiet."
Vance spoke with a smile. His voice carried an authority difficult to defy, making everyone instantly shut their mouths.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the royal family and His Majesty need you. The moment has come to demonstrate your loyalty to Loen."
He told the people. "You will go to Backlund to work for the King."
Soldiers on the side were constructing a floating bridge, connecting the merchant ship to the warship.
It seemed they planned to have these people board the warship to be transported away.
"But we want to go home."
Among the passengers, someone spoke boldly.
"Is this your common wish?"
Vance Nelson asked with a smile. "To return to your homes, to return to Loen?"
With some hope, everyone nodded one after another.
The next moment, Vance extended his hand, as if grabbing something in the void.
"Swish!"
Invisibly, certain things seemed to be twisted and confused. The passengers' gazes became hazy.
They obediently followed the soldiers' directions, boarding the warship and being confined to the lower cabins together with the pirates.
"Distortion" of the "Chaos Instructor." Vance distorted everyone's thoughts, twisting the definition of "going home" to "returning to Loen," and boarding the warship would conveniently send them back to Loen.
"Sink the ship. Keep a few pirates and say they did it."
Vance said.
Because of the Blood Reverend, the three major Churches had increased surveillance on the royal family.
Human trafficking within Loen had been forced to stop and could only shift to the sea, using various methods to kidnap people and fill the numerical gap.
Of course, this was only one of the objectives...
"A ship is approaching!"
Just as Vance was secretly pondering, he suddenly heard the soldiers' cries.
"They've raised the black flag and are charging toward us! Pirates!"
Pirates?
Raising the black flag at the navy?
Vance almost laughed when he heard this.
Setting aside the fact that there were two Beyonders here, himself and the lieutenant colonel, the warship's formidable cannons and steam power alone weren't something ordinary pirates could handle. Had these pirates gone mad?
Looking up, three ships really were sailing over. At the top of the leading mast, a black flag truly fluttered in the wind.
Such boldness. Could they be famous pirates of the sea?
Vance had done his homework after arriving at sea. He carefully examined the paint scheme of the leading sail.
That blood-red sail didn't belong to any of the pirate flagships he'd heard of before.
Then there was nothing more to say. Probably some pirates possessed by demons who'd gone mad and wanted to attack.
"Lieutenant Colonel Lyon."
He turned to look at the warship captain beside him. "I'll leave what comes next to you."
Dealing with a group of pirates wasn't enough to require a Beyonder like him to act.
"Understood."
The lieutenant colonel answered in a deep voice.
Only then did he finally show a trace of disgust as he strode back to his ship.
As originally independent navy personnel now having to follow the other's commands, he naturally felt dissatisfied.
Vance pretended not to see and followed behind onto the warship.
Under the lieutenant colonel's command, the ship quickly began turning.
Amid the metallic sounds of cannon adjustments, they aimed the gun barrels at the approaching pirate ships.
"Whooo..."
The engine room simultaneously spewed large amounts of white steam. The generated force propelled the warship toward the three pirate ships.
The latter also had enough guts, not only not fleeing but charging straight toward them!
"Hmph."
In the captain's cabin, Lieutenant Colonel Lyon watched the pirate ships gradually becoming clearer as they approached, estimated the distance between both sides, and gave the order. "Fire."
"Boom!"
The solid cannonball accelerated in the barrel, finally blasting out with tremendous energy, crossing the sea and raising a water column in front of the "Doe."
We're really going to fight!
Splashed by the falling seawater, Filia hugged a cannonball, staring dumbfounded at the warship bearing down on them.