It was the third day that the ogre Gugal had left Sealand, and the wet sea breeze was already blowing in with the coolness of the north, and it would not be long before winter came this year.

The furs and meat that had been purchased from the tribes of the Rus' steppes had been turned into gold coins, and even the moldy, air-dried meat that had been pressed into the warehouse was sold for more than expected.

Those gold coins allowed the entire crew of the Black Ogre to enjoy a comfortable vacation life, and they were left in the taverns, arenas, and blockades of Zealand.

This is already the norm for sailors, who sail on the sea all year round, live a life where there are ups and downs, and they will die at any time due to unpredictable weather or other factors, so it is not a very strange thing to enjoy it in a limited time.

When the body became empty, the spirit became tired, and the days began to get bored, the ogre Gugal used the remaining gold coins to buy a lot of things in the city of Sealand.

It can be said that this Sealand city has really changed dramatically in the hands of Remi, not only pirates sailing in the Baltic Sea, but also merchants from other places have come here to sell their goods.

The mere fact that there is no taxation of trade activities makes all the merchants go crazy, after all, such things as merchants, such things as capital, as long as they can generate profits, then it will become a matter of course and not surprising to risk death, ignore all laws, and trample on all human reason.

Arrows, wooden bows, leather armor, salt, clothing, iron pots, ceramics

Weapons, equipment, and daily necessities

These things can easily be exchanged for a large amount of resources and even some magic materials from the centaurs, gnolls, minotaurs, and other races in the Rus steppe.

Moreover, the ogre Gugar has a privateer license issued by the Baltic Sea, and when he sails in the Baltic Sea, he will be protected by the Baltic Empire, and he can also send a distress signal to the Baltic Sea guards when attacked, which makes the previously dangerous voyage much safer.

"Captain, in the direction of seven o'clock, found the situation. ”

The lookout shouted loudly from the mast, without the command of Gugar, the sailors who were busy on the deck were immediately in a state of battle, and the equipment in their hands had changed from dirty and unprotected ordinary clothes to delicate leather armor, and in their hands were sharp scimitars, this kind of weapon good at chopping and slashing had a good performance in white-knuckle combat.

It's not just the sailors' weapons that have been renewed, but also the Black Ogre, a ten-year-old brig.

There are three bed crossbows installed on each side of the ship on the left and right, although they only use ordinary crossbow arrows, and not use magic enchanted crossbow arrows that can explode like the regular Baltic Fleet, but against simple unprotected merchant ships, it can be regarded as a big killer, only one salvo can penetrate the wood of the enemy ship, and then watch the opponent sink because of the water.

"Don't rush, don't worry, we're different. ”

Unlike the nervous attitude of the sailors under him, the ogre Gugar was still sitting on the deck, lazily basking in the sun.

On his left hand he has fruits and vegetables that can replenish vitamins and prevent all kinds of common diseases at sea, and on his right hand is a plate of roast meat that is still steaming.

"After confirming that the other party has no documents, we can attack, this is the territory of our Baltic Empire, and we are now residents of the Baltic Empire, so we can't do it like before. ”

After accepting the privateer license and obtaining various benefits, they also have to abide by the laws of the Baltic Sea, and they cannot take the initiative to attack the Baltics without reason, which is the most basic one.

"No, it's not our flag hanging on it. ”

The flag with a white cross on a black background is very conspicuous in the clear weather, and the person who is selected as a lookout is often the one with the sharpest eyesight, and under normal circumstances, they will not admit such a thing.

"Okay! Prepare for battle! Hurry up!"

Hearing the lookout's words, the ogre Gugar jumped up directly from his chair, picked up the weapon that was set aside, and shouted excitedly.

Don't be surprised that he reacted in this way, and in addition to receiving loot and prisoners, they were able to get a good reward from the Baltic authorities for evidence of plundering the enemy.

That reward can be money, equipment, magic materials, and even if you are tired of running around at sea all year round, you can also go and exchange it for a stable, quiet life to spend the rest of your life.

The ogre was holding a mace made of fine iron, a product modeled after the Cyclops' weapon, which was specially designed for use by creatures such as ogres and trolls, and with this weapon, Gugar was even confident that he would fight the legendary powerhouse for a round or two.

"Captain, they're running away, they're starting to throw things outside. ”

The lookout at the observatory continued to report on current affairs.

Throw unimportant things from the ship into the sea in order to lighten the weight of the ship and allow the ship to escape the pursuit of the enemy faster, but be careful, sometimes some experienced guys will directly melt the bloody fresh meat into the sea, attracting sea beasts to block the path of pursuing the enemy behind.

However, for the pursuers, this is exactly the manifestation of the weakness of the guy in front of him, and only the weak guy, or the coward who is afraid of battle, will choose to escape when he has not seen the battle.

"You guys, get those things up. ”

The ogre pointed to the excited sailors on the side of the ship and told them to prepare nets to catch the floating objects floating on the sea, because they had to chase the enemy and would not deliberately slow down, so they had to rely on the sailors' salvage skills.

The reason why the ogre wanted to salvage the floating objects was not to covet these little things, but to be able to get information about the escaped ship from them, what kind of cargo they were carrying, and how much food and water they were carrying.

The only thing that will not be lacking on the sea is fish and meat, so every sailor, with their sun-tanned skin and strong muscles, easily fished the floating debris on the surface with fishing nets and piled them up on the deck.

"Open it and see what's inside. ”

Standing a little farther away, the ogre Gugar ordered the three salvage sailors to inspect the floats to prevent them from hiding traps, such as the Fire Trap, which had triggered magic.

"Captain, it's food, it's some air-dried salted fish. ”

The edge of the barrel was carefully cut with a knife, and the sailor could see the contents through the sunlight.

"Oh, it looks like our prey is a greedy guy. ”

Hearing this, an ecstatic smile appeared on the ogre's face, based on past experience, the fleeing ship in front of him must have been loaded with something more precious than food.

As time passed, the distance between the two ships grew closer and closer, and the sails made of high-quality linen allowed the Black Ogre to be extremely fast in the sea breeze.

At this time, the rest of the Black Ogre also saw the appearance of the prey they were pursuing, it was a brig half the size of the Black Ogre, and there were only about twenty sailors on the deck of the ship sliding frantically with oars, hoping to increase the speed of the ship and escape the pursuit of the Black Ogre.

"It's weak, those guys. ”

The ogre's vision is more advanced than that of humans, so even from the deck, he can clearly see the situation of the ship on the other side, the sailors are wearing dirty clothes, holding weapons full of gaps, and there are no heavy equipment like crossbows on the ship, indicating that this ship is just an ordinary armed merchant ship.

"Captain, the other side seems to want to surrender?"

The lookout on the mast shouted.

Looking closely, sure enough, a white sheet with some yellow stains had risen from the place where the ship's mast hung its flag, which represented surrender no matter what kind of battle it was in.

"Captain, what should I do?"

The sailors looked at the ogre with a little excitement in them.

"What are you fighting? What are you fighting? Those guys are all gold coins, and if you look at this sword, the gold coins are gone? For the sake of the gold coins, we will mercifully bypass their lives. ”

Hearing Gugar's words, the sailors reacted that the Sealand side was buying slaves at a high price, and adult human males could exchange a large amount of gold coins from there, and if they fought, there would inevitably be casualties, and if they accidentally killed someone, it meant that a sum of gold coins would slip out of their hands.

Desperately fighting, only to have less money, and only a fool would do such a loss-making deal.

"If you surrender, it's time to stop, go and give them a signal to stop the ship. ”

Gugar looked up and said to the lookout, who also worked part-time to raise and lower flags and send signals.

However, the result was beyond everyone's expectations, seeing the signal of the black ogre, the ship did not slow down, but took more barrels from the hold and threw them into the sea, further reducing the weight of the ship and increasing the speed of escape.

"Hahaha, it seems that we are being treated like soft persimmons. ”

The ogre grinned at the sight of this, but the sailors around him felt a chill rush up from the tail vertebrae, and they remembered the last time the guy who caused Gugar to laugh like this was tied up with hemp rope and placed alive on the bonfire to make a barbecue feast.

"Catch up, don't leave your hands behind, don't take prisoners, kill them all. ”

The simple order smelled of blood, and an enraged ogre wouldn't let them go for a few gold coins, even if he knew that turning those guys into slaves was worse than death.

airplanes

The crossbow bolts placed in the bow of the ship attacked the enemy first, aiming at the enemy's wind-blown canvas, but unfortunately, because of the unfamiliarity with the operation of the bed crossbow, the chaotic air flow on the sea made the attack deviate from the target by a distance of about ten meters.

The failure of the first attack caused the other sailors to curse, and urged the sailor who was wielding the bed crossbow to hurry up and reload, take aim, and fire a second shot.

Because of the angle, only the bed crossbow placed in the bow of the ship can be aimed at the target, and those on both sides of the ship can only continue to remain in a state of reloading, waiting for close range before firing.

If the crooked shot of the bed crossbow was unpleasant to the guys on the Black Ogre, then the guys on the opposite ship felt the scythe of death slash across their scalps, bringing an icy chill.

At that time, they did have the idea of surrendering, but soon they found that the pursuing ships did not seem to be able to catch up with them in a short time, and they threw away all the goods in the warehouse, and maybe they could escape.

But the appearance of the crossbow bolt shattered their illusions, and although they did not know or recognize this heavy weapon that had been invented specifically for the purpose of killing, the sight that remained in their pupils told them unmistakably that not only the sails, but also their ships could not defend themselves against such an attack.

The only option if they don't want to be killed and left in the sea to feed the fish is to use the strength of the milk to shake the oars in their hands, so that the ship can get rid of the pursuit of the enemy behind at a faster speed.

Or, if they are lucky enough to encounter a sudden storm, the wind and the torrential rain can also help them escape from the pursuit.

"If the angle is good, give me a shot, if you have more ammunition, don't be afraid of missing the shot. ”

"If you miss this shot, it doesn't matter, just treat it as a training exercise, give me a good job, take it seriously, I don't want this to happen the next time I encounter the enemy. ”

The ogre roared loudly, the bed crossbow mounted on the Black Ogre was indeed a weapon in naval warfare, but it had no effect if it failed to hit the enemy.

However, before the bed crossbow could be fired a second time, the Black Ogre had already approached the ship, and the sailors could clearly see the frightened expressions of the little sheep on the opposite ship.

Ropes with hooks at the end of the ropes were thrown to the sides and masts of the opposing ships with precision from the sailors, shouting slogans of unknown meaning, and the sailors of the Black Ogre were the first to attack, and the most brutal broadside battles were kicked off.

The scimitar glittered with cold light slashed through a crescent-like arc, the severed blood vessels sprayed with warm blood, and in the midst of wild laughter, one life was harvested without hesitation

The armed merchant ships that were absorbed by the Baltic Empire officially entered the stage of history with the beginning of this broadside battle, bringing earth-shaking changes to the entire Baltic Sea and the surrounding region.