If Scandinavia is the source of the image of the dragon Nidhogg in Viking mythology, then the Borkenfjord must be the nasal cavity used by the dragon to breathe fire and frost.

Rounding Cam Island, the Artis Merdeen sailed into the Bokenfjord.

The hydrology here is complex, with steep cliffs on both sides and small islands along the way.

During the journey, the channel suitable for large ships is sometimes wide and narrow, and sometimes intersects with other ships, often leaving only a small gap of a few meters between the two ships.

In this environment, Henna's steering skills are certainly not up to the task.

Lorraine took the handwheel early, put away the mainsail, Henna stood in the watchtower, and the all-important bow sail was left to Clen's care.

Their destination was the Black Harbor of Stavanger.

The eponymous Stavanger, the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Norway, is built on the Tungenness Peninsula on the western shore of the fjord, while the thriving Black Harbour is built on the island of Lennes, less than 20 kilometers from the sea.

The boat travels on the water, following the contours of the island around the pier.

Standing high in the helm, Lorraine saw a grassy slope on the south side of the island, on which was the famous Utstein Monastery, with white walls and red roofs.

Built on the sunny slope of Usstein Island, adjacent to the island of Lennes, this monastery dates back to the Augustan period and was once the oldest religious building in the Kingdom of Norway.

It lasted for 400 years, until the Reformation broke out throughout Europe in the 16th century, when it was abandoned by the king and given to the House of Iwasson, which in turn became the private property of the Garman family for one reason or another.

And it just so happened that the Garman family was the de facto controller of the Staneghei Harbor, the only member of the council.

If the news from Elgin is to be believed, Sir Garman, who runs Black Harbor, has been expelled from his family for reasons of non-religious reasons, and is an "outcast" and a pure Viking.

Thinking of this, Lorraine couldn't help but squint her eyes.

Sir Gaman's faith and identity were an advantage to him, while never having been in contact with a real Viking was his disadvantage.

How to make the most of the strengths and avoid the weaknesses and quickly open up the trade routes of Stavanger?

He pondered as a towering, slender gunboat suddenly bolted into the side of the Artis Beauty.

She spread out her sails in the narrow channel, clattered and tore the waves, grazing the side of the Beauty.

The crew of the Beauty was startled, Lorraine steered the steer, Clen controlled the sails, scrambling to avoid a possible collision.

In a split second, Lorraine saw the flag fluttering on the opposing mainmast.

The black background, white lines, and the pattern are two skull skulls facing each other, and there is a sword and an axe under the skeleton, crossed into an X.

Two giant-tall young men stood side by side on the deck, long-haired Scottish swords hanging from their waists, and bald ones carrying wheeled axes.

When the two sides were closer, Lorraine vaguely saw the bald head and snorted: "Boom, British! ”

Moments later, the gunboat was gone, and the terrified crew gathered around Lorraine.

Little Pierce's face was pale, and there was a bulge on his forehead that had just fallen, which was red and swollen.

He trembled with palpitations: "Captain, was that skull flag just now?" They...... Is it a real pirate? ”

Karen frowned deeply: "Judging from the flag, they should be the Viking twin pirate group that has become famous in recent years, and the leaders are twin brothers, Leif and Bonet of the Eriksson family. ”

Henna looked at Clen strangely: "Do you know them?" ”

"I haven't met the two captains, but the Black Harbor branch of Bell Dockyard has repaired ships for them, and handled the merchant ships they have taken, so I am somewhat familiar with them......"

Pierce opened his mouth: "Their ship...... It's huge. ”

Lorraine held the steering wheel and shook his head slowly: "Brigentine standard, 30 meters long, double masted." The foremast sail, 20 meters high, and the mainmast shangsail, 22 meters high. The bow mast is 5 meters, and four spinnakers are hung, and there are two windcatchers between the masts. ”

"This type of ship is a standard high-speed ship, with a speed of twelve knots downwind and five knots against the wind, slender, stable and adaptable."

"She's no bigger than the Artis Beauty. The main reason why you think she's big is that she has a longer bow mast than the Beauty and many more sails than the Beauty. ”

"Besides...... Brigentine has five decks, and even with the two upper decks removed, her broadside height is nearly two meters higher than the Beauty with a similar draft. ”

Karen looked solemn: "Captain, do you see what is on their deck?" ”

"Artillery." Lorraine let out a long breath, "There are eight guns on the main deck, all six-pounder guns, two stern gun windows in the stern are closed, and the ten gunsoft windows on the gun deck are also closed, if fully loaded, it is twenty gunboats......"

Karen took a deep breath: "This is a real gunboat......"

……

Even though they had been mentally constructed for a long time, the experience of encountering the twin pirates in the waters of Black Harbor still cast a shadow on the hearts of the crew of the Artis Beauty.

The North Sea is not calm.

In this small sea, the Scots, the English, the French, and the Dutch are haunted by the dense routes, and the most powerful and cruel of them all...... Vikings again.

The Vikings' lair is one of the twenty or thirty islands around Scandinavia, and the Gemini Pirates are only one of them, and they are far from the most powerful.

This brought Lorraine back to the table.

If the Chamber wants to use Northern Europe as a fulcrum for triangular trade, he must properly address the threat of piracy.

Sir Garman...... Could it be an opportunity?

At sunset, the Artis Beauty slowly sailed into a calm harbor.

Stavanger's docks were a bit dilapidated and looked far less orderly than Elgin's, at least not with the pilot in sight of Lorraine.

The ship randomly chose an empty anchor dock to anchor, far away from the twin pirates on the other side of the harbor.

After the ship came to a halt, Lorraine left Clen and Pierce to guard the ship, and took Henna into the harbor to begin to inquire about Sir Garman's hobbies and residence.

In his mind, Henna and he were both pagans, and in the Vikings' harbor, they must have an innate affinity for the belief in God.

It's a pity that his plan is good, but his luck is not so good.

After inquiring around the harbor area, he learned that Sir Garman lived most of his time on the island of Ustin across the strait, and only came to Black Harbor two or three days a month to attend to chores, and that the last time he had been in the harbor was exactly five days before.

He also likes to be quiet and very much does not like strangers to disturb his peaceful life......

That's pretty much the worst news, as it means that Lorraine will likely be stranded in this strange Black Harbour for a whole month.

He and Henna reluctantly walked back, and when they returned to the docks, they found a group of pirate-looking men screaming and attacking the Artis.

There were about a dozen of them, clamoring around the boardwalk and confronting the boat.

Clen cautiously removed the plank, and they could not get on board directly, so they began to throw their hooks into the ship and climb up to the deck in the same way as they were to join the ship.

There were five or six hooks and cables hanging on the main deck more than 20 meters long at the same time, and Pierce was cutting hard with a kitchen knife, and Karen had to protect him on the one hand, and on the other hand, he had to deal with three or four opponents who were boarding the ship at the same time.

Lorraine was dumbfounded.

Lao Tzu's Boat ...... Robbed at the anchor pier?

"Hey,!"

Lorraine, who had hit a soft nail all the way in the port area, was so angry that she even came out in Chinese.

His anger rose from his heart, and evil was born to the side of his guts, and he drew his sword with a bang, and the tiger descended the mountain as if he had pounced into the battle group!

"Henna, try to keep your mouth alive!"

"Oh."