"Notify the whole ship and be alert!"

The captain of the Fortune frowned and told the crew to get ready.

He turned to Irene and the others and said, "Guests, you should go to the cabin."

Irene shook her head: "If it's really a pirate and you can't stop it, it doesn't matter where we hide."

She patted the sword on her waist—for convenience, she and Liya had been dressed in men's clothing after boarding the boat—and said: "We know a little swordsmanship, and we can help out in conflicts."

Liya on the side nodded, no, she herself is the guardian knight of the princess. Even the princess herself has received good guidance and training in swordsmanship since childhood, and she is quite confident in her skills. With a sharp blade in hand, Waiting for idlers to get close.

Otherwise, the two girls would not dare to run away from home casually.

"Uh... okay."

Fortune's captain nodded suspiciously.

Velos, a businessman on the side, said, "Since the girls dare to face the danger, wouldn't it make us laugh out loud by hiding in the cabin?"

The other passengers responded to Velos one after another, expressing that they would stay on the deck to share weal and woe.

"Okay, if that's the case, thank you all."

The captain became more courageous, and he ordered the crew to distribute weapons to the unarmed passengers.

The boat sailing out of the west port gradually approached Fortune, and the captain roughly estimated that there were about a dozen people including the oarsmen. There are more than 50 people on his own ship, and this ship alone does not pose any threat. But if they were really pirates, there must be more of their accomplices in Westport. He ordered the people on deck to hide the weapons first.

"I am the port officer in charge, requesting to board the ship."

After approaching the Fortune, a leader-like person shouted to the deck.

"Okay, just a moment, please!" the captain agreed, and he ordered the rope ladder to be thrown down.

The port officer who had spoken just now climbed up with a few entourages.

"Where did you get the ship from?"

The captain frowned and replied: "We have been to Westport several times and registered with the port office. Don't you recognize the Fortune in the Northwest Bay?"

The captain's suspicion turned into worry. The shape of the full-sail boat is very strange to the people of Westport, and it should be highly recognizable. How could the port officials here not recognize it?

Hearing the captain of Fortune's question, the person who claimed to be the port officer smiled awkwardly: "I'm sorry, I'm new to Westport, and I'm not familiar with some situations."

Then he changed to a serious expression, and asked in a questioning tone: "You parked so close to Westport but didn't go in, what is your intention? Could it be that you want to spy on the information in the port? Even the information of the Royal Navy?"

"No, no, my lord." The captain of the Fortune quickly [explained], "Actually, our rudder is broken. We want to see if it can be repaired before entering the port."

"It turns out that the tail rudder is broken." The port officer rubbed his chin. "Well, you don't want to float on the water. Let's take advantage of the wind and move to Westport. We will send someone to tow your boat in after we get close. Wouldn't it be easier to repair in the dock? There are many skilled craftsmen in Westport, even for new ships like yours."

"Haha, then please trouble your lord."

The captain pretended to be grateful.

Devilos suddenly said: "Mr. Harbor Officer, give my regards to your colleague Mr. Jefferson. I have a little friendship with him. I will stop by to see him when I come to Westport this time."

He held out his hand side by side.

The port officer reached out to hold his hand, and responded with a smile: "It's Jefferson, don't worry, I will bring your greetings."

The two sides stopped exchanging pleasantries, and the port officer quickly led his entourage on board the boat and rowed to Westport.

"Mr. Captain!" Velos suddenly turned seriously to the captain of the Fortune: "Turn around immediately, stay far away from Westport. Jefferson is a name I made up. Westport will not happen to have such a port official. Right? In addition, when I shook hands with him just now, I could clearly feel the thick calluses on the hands of the other party, and he didn't look like a person engaged in clerical work at all. In summary, there must be something wrong in Sihanoukville."

The captain nodded grimly: "I originally wanted to turn around and leave, but with your speculation, I am even more determined."

The captain quickly issued an order to sail north. Under the threat of pirates, the sailors performed their work far more efficiently than usual.

At this time, the north wind is blowing. They adjust the angle of the hull and sails, and decompose the wind force into two directions. One pushes the side of the hull and the other pushes the bow. The side force is offset by the resistance of the draft of the hull. , the other force pushes the hull forward.

Just like that, the Fortune started to move slowly, sailing towards the north sea in a zigzag shape.

This operation is actually quite time-consuming, but it is estimated that the "harbour officer" who boarded the ship before thought that his performance had deceived everyone on the Fortune, and was proudly waiting for the prey to come to his door in the port. , so no further action is taken.

But after Fortune turned around and headed north, they finally realized that it was not the other party who was deceived by themselves, but themselves.

After some fuss, several big ships set out from West Harbor to chase Fortune.

But because Fortune was already far away from the port, the galleys still failed to catch up.

"What should we do next?"

Looking at the shadow of the boat drifting away in the south~lightnovelpub.net~ Irene asked in a daze. She couldn't help being very disappointed that a good journey home had turned into this.

Moreover, pirates appeared on the west coast of the kingdom. As a princess, she became worried about the fate of the kingdom.

The captain made his own plan: "The food and fresh water on board are not enough to sustain us until we return to the northwest bay. So we must go north to find a supply point."

Velos suggested: "There are many ports on the west coast. It is impossible for all of them to be invaded by pirates like West Port. It should be easy to obtain supplies."

The captain groped his chin, "You have reminded me that it is better to find a closer port to unload the cargo first than to transport it back to the northwest bay. But we have to send people ashore to find out the situation in this area first. .”

As the sun set, dinner was arranged on Fortune, and everyone spent the night with mixed feelings after eating.

The next morning, the captain sent someone ashore and learned from a fishing village that Westport was indeed captured by a group of pirates who came out of nowhere, and even the Royal Navy stationed inside was finished. Now Jingyao is recruiting ships, recruiting sailors, preparing land and water and destroying pirates.

Everyone on the boat was terrified, they almost fell into the mouth of a tiger.

Steel, guns and the industrial party across the world ww.13168/