"Lord Alfred, this is your share!" Blakeney handed the glass of water to Xu Mo, licked his dry lips, slid his throat, and swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Since the day before yesterday, a strict ration of fresh water had been in place on board the Vistellos, with each officer receiving only one cup of fresh water per day, and half a cup for ordinary sailors.

Xu Mo, who was on duty on the bridge on the back deck, wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and took the water glass. But after glancing at Blakeney, Xu Mo took the other water cup in his hand and poured some water from his own water cup into it, "I'm not very thirsty yet, I'll give you some!" ”

"Thank you!" Blakeney looked at Xu Mo, then at the water glass, swallowed his saliva, took the water glass, and did not refuse.

"Lord Blakeney, how long have we been from Amsterdam!" Xu Mo looked up at the sunny sky and asked Blakeney.

"It's seventeen days in a row, what's the matter, Lord Alfred, are you homesick?" Blakeney took small sips of water from his own glass.

"It's only been seventeen days...... Why do I feel like it's been half a year......" Xu Mo said with a wry smile.

"Sir Alfred, this is because you have so little sailing experience, especially when you are awake every day, and spend almost half of your time on deck. For a novice sailor like you, facing the vast sea with the same scenery every day can easily lead to mental fatigue and loneliness, but this is also a level that novice sailors must go through! Blakeney grinned.

"Yes, yes, please take care of me a little more!" Xu Mo stretched his face, pressed his right hand on Blakeney's head, and rubbed his hair fiercely~.

"Please don't do that, Lord Alfred, I'm not a child!" Blakeney pursed his lips, pulled away Xu Mo's big hand, and straightened his hair, "Alas, if Clifford hadn't been allowed to run away that day, we would have been able to return by now!" ”

"Yes! Unexpectedly, the admiral of England was not a fuel-efficient lamp either! Xu Mo and Blakeney smiled bitterly at each other, laughing at themselves helplessly.

It turned out that on that day, Hedram used his ship's skill, a miraculous maneuver, to go around the back of the Hell, and Clifford understood the great risk of returning to fight, so he took advantage of the tailwind and began to compete with the Vistellos.

Despite the best efforts of the oarsmen on the Vestelos, they were unable to shorten the distance between the two ships, and even the Inferno used the oarsmen to rest, and the interval between recovering their strength gradually widened the distance between them.

Finally, after two days of chasing each other, they lost all traces of the Hell God. However, Hedlam did not choose to return home, but continued north along the Northern Sea Route, and at the current course, they feared that they would soon enter the dangerous sea area of ice floes.

"Blakeney, how many of our supplies do we have left?" Xu Mo turned his head to the young man and asked.

"There's still a lot of food, don't worry, but there's only two buckets of fresh water left!" Blakeney leaned in and whispered, "Since yesterday afternoon, the average sailor has run out of fresh water rations, and the Admiral has given them rum. ”

"There are only two buckets of fresh water!" Xu Mo was taken aback and hurriedly asked, "How can it be used so quickly!" I remember the last time we traveled from Stockholm to London we were only halfway through fresh water! ”

"In the last naval battle with armed merchant ships, some of our comrades died, and we didn't go to sea as long as this time. Originally, the Vistellos was equipped with 180 men as standard, but in Amsterdam in preparation for the naval battle with the Hell God, we overloaded the crew with 250 people, so we didn't have a lot of fresh water to replenish. And no one expected that since the big storm at the beginning, we have not encountered rain at sea for more than half a month! Blakeney pursed his lips and said with a wry smile.

"The armed sailboat behind us was carrying a lot of supplies, but the storm scattered us. But don't worry, you two, we're still a day away, and we're about to reach the freshwater supply site! Gerhardt climbed up the wooden ladder from the bridge.

"Freshwater recharge?" Xu Mo asked strangely, "Your Excellency Gerhardt, are we about to arrive at a certain port?" ”

"No, it's not a port, it's an uninhabited island, discovered only a few years ago by a British navigator, called Jan Mayen. The climate on the island is harsh, there are no inhabitants and animals, only a few seabirds. The island is a volcanic island with hills and lowlands in a narrow strip of hills and lowlands that stretches to the southwest, and a huge volcano at the northeast end, covered with glaciers all year round, where fresh water is available. Gerhardt said slowly.

"Yes, since the discovery of this island, whaling ships from various countries going north often stop on this island to replenish fresh water!" Blakeney added from the sidelines.

"Whaling ship!" Xu Mo's eyes shrank, he thought of something, and hurriedly asked Gerhardt, "Will the two armed merchant ships sent by His Majesty Gustavus to plunder the whaling ships of England appear in this area?" ”

"His Majesty Gustav probably won't specifically designate two armed merchant ships for privateering, but it's highly likely. Alfred, you mean, Clifford......" Gerhardt's eyes flashed, and he smiled, "You two come with me to the captain's room!" ”

"You're saying it's possible that Clifford went to Jan Mayen?" Hudram propped his chin and took a few steps in the captain's room, "This possibility is indeed very high, whether it is to attack armed merchant ships or replenish fresh water, Clifford may go to Jan Mayen Island!" ”

"Your Excellency, I don't think these two reasons are the main reasons why Clifford went to Jan Mayen......" Xu Mo's eyes flashed a cold light.

"Hmmm! Alfred, it looks like you've thought of it too! Hedram nodded, "Although I haven't met Clifford, but I know a lot about him, Clifford is definitely not the kind of admiral who avoids the enemy, not to mention that our strength is still weaker than him, even if our strength is stronger than him, he will not escape." ”

"Your Excellency, Clifford escaped with his tail between his legs a few days ago!" Blakeney pursed his lips and said unconvinced.

"No, Clifford didn't run away, he just thought of a way to regain the initiative on the battlefield!" Gerhardt's eyes flashed, he looked at Hedram and Xu Mo, and the three of them smiled tacitly, they all understood why Clifford wanted to go to Jan Mayen.

Blakeney looked at this, and then at which, his cute little face wrinkled unhappily, and he was the only one of the four who did not understand the purpose of Clifford's trip to Jan Mayen, and just as he was about to question the three, a cadet officer rushed in from outside the door of the captain's room.

"Mention ...... Your Excellency Admiral, there is a fight on the deck! ”