Northeast of the New World, Cape Greathorn.

It is close to the northern border of the Black Sea, and in fact it is not too far from the "eternal white land", which is frozen all year round.

In this sea.

The cold Brado Current, which runs from north to south, and the warm westerly current, which drifts northeastward, meet at the sharp corners of Cape Greathorn, creating a huge natural fishing ground.

That scale is second to none even in the entire known world of mankind!

In particular, the main fish consumed by the people of the Old World, "cod", is almost endless.

It was first described in his nautical diary by Capote, an explorer of the Kingdom of Atlanta, when he discovered it:

"There are so many cod here that you don't need to use a fishing net, just put a stone in the basket and sink it into the water and then lift it up, and the basket will be full of fish. ”

"Stepping on the back of a shiny cod, we could walk to shore from the boat. ”

You can imagine how rich this fishing ground is!

In fact.

Just because the sea is abundant doesn't mean it's full of fish.

Most of the fishing grounds are also due to the confluence of warm and cold currents, which stir up the currents and bring inorganic salts from the seabed to the surface, allowing plankton to flourish and providing an extremely rich amount of food for fish.

And most of them are not too far from land.

If you're an ocean-going seafarer and want to fish in the deep sea. No matter how lucky you are, you can catch one or two grotesque deep-sea fish, the kind that you may not have the courage to eat.

Near Cape was a colony belonging to the Kingdom of Atlan, and this fishing ground was also regarded as a generous gift from them as "Frost's Breath".

Backed by the abundance of the region's fisheries, their fishing boats return home with salted and dried cod, reaping huge financial rewards.

Every year, at least a few hundred fishing boats and even whaling vessels operate in the area, and just as the fur industry is to tulips and sarks, fishing is also a pillar of Atlan's industry in the New World.

However, next to two neighbors who are eyeing each other.

This fishing ground has also become one of the sources of continuous disputes between the three forces.

However, in today's day.

Compared to fishing boats and whaling ships, two expedition ships that are rare in this area of the sea broke into this area very suddenly.

Expedition ships built for speed are easy to recognise.

The hull is relatively long and narrow, with an aspect ratio of almost 6:1, and the hull is relatively low and equipped with wing sails, which can run much faster than ordinary fishing boats and merchant ships at sea.

"Lord Daos, judging from the charts, we are approaching the legendary island of Potosí. ”

Behind the dolphin-shaped bow of the expedition ship, a tall middle-aged man is the leader, and a total of three "explorers" gather around to study the charts.

Although the two ships were carrying tomahawk snowflake flags belonging to the Kingdom of Atlan, the people on the ships spoke in the authentic Syrius language.

Combined with what they call "Potosí", it is clear that they are the Sylius treasure hunting ship that set off from the Old Continent before Evan and them!

Follow the tradition that Cylius has always had.

Their warships usually have two commanders of the highest status, one being a naval commander and one being an army commander.

However, in many cases, it is the army commander who is the one with the highest status on the ship.

It's not that they're so stupid that a layman commands an insider.

It's because the tactics that the Cylius Armada is best at, or the tactics that are unparalleled in the world and invincible in the blocker are "broadside battles"!

It is claimed that as long as they are on the side of the sea, no one can resist the blades of the Cyrius soldiers.

So.

As the originator of the concept of battleships, he was also the builder of the first battleship.

Even because there is no industrial or even handicraft base, the construction of ships, sails, and the casting of guns have gradually lagged behind rising stars like Pharytis in recent decades.

It's nothing to them either.

Because, as long as there is an invincible Marine Corps, it is completely enough!

Moreover, the Marines can guarantee the capture to the greatest extent, personnel, materials, ships, weapons, and the "greedy" Sylius do not want to let go of any of the spoils.

At this time, even on the so-called "expedition ships".

Originally, some of the elites of the army, plus some experienced expedition crews, were selected to form this expedition team.

Among them, Brigadier General Daos from the Kingdom Army is the leader, and he is also a true third-order grand knight!

Together with his Kingdom Marines, they formed the strongest force in this expedition fleet.

"Okay, be careful.

Our mission this time is the top secret of the kingdom, if the news leaks out. Neither you nor I can afford the consequences, understand?"

"Rest assured, my lord, our navigator has traveled to and from Cape more than a dozen times, and has avoided the main shipping routes and fishing grounds infested by fishing boats along the way, and will not be discovered by others. ”

"It's better to be like that. ”

The three people in the bow of the ship, Grand Knight Daos, Captain Victor, and Captain Locke are the only three people in the entire team who know the destination and the real mission of this trip.

However, they have also paid the price for secrecy.

While navigating the outer reaches of the Summers Trench, where the "Mother of Sea Monsters" is entrenched, he unfortunately, he encountered a large cunning sea monster.

Even the great knight Daos, who was the leader of the expedition fleet, fought with all his might, and one of the expedition ships was caught off guard, and was suddenly attacked by a huge shadow under the water, and dragged directly into the sea.

At the time of departure, there was a fleet of 500 crew members of three expedition ships, and when they arrived at their destination, only these two ships had a total of 386 crew members.

Even after emergency repairs, you can still see the huge circular wounds left on the body, which are the keepsake left by the sea monster's thick and powerful tentacles.

It's just that in the eyes of the three leaders, it's all worth it.

After more than two months of arduous sailing, they finally arrived at the island of silver marked on the nautical chart - Potosi!

"I've seen the marker, past this crescent-shaped reef jutting out of the sea.

Then correct the compass points to the right, and in about 20 nautical miles we will actually be within the confines of the island of Potosí. ”

After the last adjustment of the course.

There were no accidents, and after more than two hours, they reached a foggy sea.

Although they couldn't see the island hidden in the fog yet, they knew that the destination of the trip was close at hand.

"From here we can't go on large ships, although the Dutch Bank expedition found it before.

But there was no time to find a waterway from this mist and reef that would allow ships to pass through.

So we had to take a longboat to the island. ”

Captain Locke, who had already studied the charts by heart, had just arrived at the periphery of the island chain, and had already alerted the two commanders at the right time.

Boom... Boom... Boom...

Longboats were released from both "expedition ships" and heavily armed vanguard troops were sent deep into the fog. The expedition commanders did not forget that there were also a group of natives who had fled on the island according to the information of the banking group.

If time permits, these marines, armed to the teeth, will not mind using their knives and guns to completely turn this island into a part of the land of Cyrius!

Time is fast.

Most of them, with the exception of the necessary personnel who stayed behind, including the three officers in the know, landed on the island, and... Easily discovered the silver mine they had always dreamed of!

Or it's hard to find out.

"The Eternal Flame is above!

That's right, it really seems to them that this is indeed a silver mountain.

Especially in the afternoon when the sun is at its best, climb a high mountain top and look up.

The sunlight that pierced through the fog reflected many places in the mountains into a snow-white color, and at first glance it looked like a lake, but then they knew that it was the silver mine they were looking for.

It even gives them the illusion that if you peel off the stone skin of the mountain, what will be revealed below will be a full deposit of silver!

Whether it was a few officers or hundreds of soldiers, they were already stunned by the sight in front of them.

In particular, several officers who were in the know.

They came with orders from the king, and at first thought that the prospecting report of the banking group was exaggerated. Now it seems that it is simply the horizon that limits one's imagination, and it turns out that there really is a veritable silver mountain in the world!

After a brief probing.

They have determined that the island chain consists of a total of five islands not far from each other, and three of them have conical "silver mountains" on them!

Although the ship's prospectors identified these as active volcanoes that could erupt again in the future, this did not prevent them from mining silver on a large scale at this stage.

"Because of the confluence of cold and warm currents in the nearby sea, the sea area is covered in fog all year round, and it is not in any major shipping lane, and there are no fish schools nearby.

Although the distance from the coastline is only a few hundred kilometers, the New World has been developed for hundreds of years, and this silver island surrounded by reefs is completely virgin. ”

The old scholar who had participated in the mining of several gold and silver mines in the southern part of the New World exclaimed excitedly:

"A large part of the silver deposit is exposed, and there is no need to mine it at all, just pick it up! This is the largest silver mine I have ever seen, and it is an infinite treasure given to Syrius by the Eternal Fire!"

However, the ownership of the island does not belong to them for the time being.

While exploring the island, they also discovered the group of Atrian natives who had taken refuge here.

In a small village surrounded by wolf-like soldiers.

Men who have already been beaten, women who are shivering, frightened children, and desperate old people who have tried to resist have been gathered under the brightly colored totem poles in the center of the village.

"You have taken over our homeland and taken away our hunting grounds!

We've all taken refuge on a remote island, so why don't you blonde demons let us go?"

The old man, who wore a crown of feathers and a black feather of an eagle and represented his leader's position, held a wooden staff wrapped around a ribbon in his hand, and his face was full of grief and indignation, and he made a bloody accusation against these "butchers" who had invaded his homeland again and again:

"We came here across the sea in a leather dinghy. There are dozens of people who died because of the capsizing of the kayak alone, and even the children born here have not grown up yet!

Why?

Uhao, the god of death, can't wait for your people to accompany you in the 'Mittes' (the Hell of the Atrians?), O God!"

The old man spoke a somewhat jerky Atlán, apparently mistaking them for the Atlans who had driven them out of their original homeland, but the Cyrius soldiers did not argue with it.

Grand Knight Daos waved his hand boringly, he had heard this kind of words countless times in the central and southern parts of the continent, and it was long time before he could make any waves in his iron-clad heart.

Boom!Boom...

The soldiers around him had already drawn their long knives at their waists and rushed forward.

"Ahh

"Damn the devil!"

"No ——!"

In the midst of the wails of men, women, and children, the last survivors of the tribe in a short period of time have completely become a thing of the past.

Before being cut down by a soldier.

As the leader of the tribe, the old man's eyes were bloody and tearful, and he raised his staff and pointed at the great knight Daos, who was the leader, and roared with all his strength:

"I curse you in the name of Uhao, the soul of the ancestors of the Draper tribe and the god of death!

Curse you, butchers, that none of you will return to your homeland alive!

I curse...."

Click!

Bang –

Before he finished speaking, he was cut off by a young soldier, and his body fell to the ground.

At the same time, the Great Knight slashed the totem pole in the middle of the village with a black eagle and a human face as the main body, and turned around and sneered:

"You're stupid enough to curse a great knight?

And I'm cursed every time I slaughter a tribe, and if the curse really works, why would it be us Sylius who rules this continent?"

As always, nothing happened, and no one took the old man's curse to heart.

The burly knight Daos turned to the soldiers who were searching for the trophies and said:

"Send a message to the mainland and to our Fort Navidad in the New World about the authenticity of this Silver Island.

Immediately!

At the same time, we must set up a camp of sufficient size in the shortest possible time to prepare for the kingdom's subsequent silver mining.

From now on, the two of them will act together, and there will be no contact with the outside world without my orders!"

"Yes, my lord!"

The soldiers shouted in unison.

Subsequently, they unceremoniously seized the natives' dwellings and began to expand the camp in a feverish manner.

But.

It's just less than half a day, and the sun hasn't even set.

The crews who remained on the outer ships informed the commanders of two pieces of bad news.

First, they captured a spy from the Sark Empire, and although he caught him, the terns he released were not intercepted.

Second, on the distant sea, three warships belonging to Atlan have already sailed.

They couldn't understand why it was a well-planned covert operation, but in the end, it was like a bamboo sieve, and it was leaking everywhere.

Even though the great knight Daos scanned all the soldiers in the column over and over again like a knife, he understood that the news had been completely exposed, and there was no room for recovery!