East India Company.
These five words, leaping from Jack Sparrow's kohl-rimmed face, instantly turned the agitated atmosphere on deck, caused by the discovery of an enemy, subtly tense.
Roger lowered his telescope.
Of course, he recognized that insignia.
In the Caribbean Sea, this thing was even more detested than a pirate flag.
A pirate flag only wanted your money.
But this insignia, it not only wanted your money and your goods, but also wanted to set rules for you, telling you that free trade was shameful.
"Lord Cutler Beckett's fleet!"
Jack Sparrow's voice was tearful.
He clung to the mast, trembling violently.
"We're dead!"
"He's even more troublesome than Davy Jones!"
"Davy Jones only wants your soul, he'll take all your money!"
Roger glanced at him.
Pathetic.
"Sam, that good-for-nothing, actually found foreign aid?"
Billy spat on the deck, a look of disdain on his face.
"He thinks that by finding a few more broken ships, he can fight us?"
"No."
Roger shook his head, a hint of excited smile appearing on his face instead.
"This isn't foreign aid."
"This is... a big customer delivering himself to our doorstep."
Plundering East Asian local magnates like Sam offered little sense of accomplishment.
It was only with these transnational monopolistic conglomerates that the plunder felt satisfying.
These were legitimate, official pirates, operating with royal authorization.
"Captain, they're charging at us!"
Hector's voice carried a hint of gravity.
The opposing fleet had already arrayed itself.
A dozen of Sam's chinese cargo ship and Guang boats served as cannon fodder in the front, followed by several Western-style warships, which clearly boasted significant firepower, forming a standard T-shaped formation.
They advanced menacingly.
"Nobody panic."
Roger waved his hand, picking up his tin megaphone again.
"Hector, show our new toy to our friends over there."
"Let them also feel the spring breeze of the Industrial Revolution."
Although Hector still didn't understand what the Industrial Revolution was, he understood the captain's meaning.
He rushed into the engine room and shouted at the ten engineer pirates who had become one with the machines.
"Captain's orders! Full power!"
"Received!"
The flames in the boiler instantly surged to their maximum!
At the stern of the explorer, the massive propeller churned up a terrifying vortex, and the entire ship transformed into a black arrow, charging fiercely towards the enemy fleet's flank!
A terrifying speed of thirty knots was a complete bug in this era.
It could fight. It could run.
Of course, with their current strength, they didn't need to run at all.
On Sam's flagship.
A middle-aged man in a 'flying fish robe' with a sinister expression, was holding a telescope, staring intently at the black strange ship approaching at an incredible speed.
He was Sam.
"Is that the demon ship Robin spoke of?"
His voice carried a hint of disbelief.
"It has no sails, how can it run so fast?"
"Never mind, who cares what kind of sorcery it is!"
Sam put down his telescope, a sinister smile appearing on his face.
"Give the order, once it's within range, blast it to pieces!"
"Notify Cutler Beckett's men, have them outflank us!"
He refused to believe that a single ship could make any waves in the face of absolute numerical and firepower superiority.
However, he quickly realized he was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
the explorer had no intention of engaging them in a T-shaped formation.
It made a huge arc, sweeping past the very front of Sam's fleet with an almost humiliating posture, then steadily stopped about two nautical miles away from them.
This distance was just beyond the maximum range of all of Sam's cannons.
"What does it want to do?" Sam frowned.
"Hahahaha! They're scared!"
The others burst into laughter.
"They must know we've allied with the East India Company and dare not approach!"
"A bunch of silver-plated spearheads! I thought they were so formidable!"
On the East India Company's flagship, the "Endeavour."
------------------------
There are already 70+ chapters available on my Patreon!
The story will continue to update 1 chapter per day on Webnovel,
while early access chapters are posted on Patreon.
Maybe it's not worth it today but it could be later
[email protected]/Kazenova223
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"