On November 15, 1260, near the outer oceans, at the end of the Bay of Death, the Goshawk stronghold......

The sunset reflected the projection of the three-masted galleon and fifteen coconut trees on the distant rock face, and the pirates who lived here were busy storing summer food, although there was plenty of fresh water in the cliff caves, and the fish caught in the waterways were enough to feed the group, but the pirates' favorite drink, ale, was quite scarce, and the huge sailing ships on the beach came here to transport supplies, and in a short time dozens of barrels of wine were carried out of the stern warehouse, and a group of hungry pirates rushed out of several newly built huts on the island, and they took the barrels from the supplies at the first time, and started a campfire on the sand, and began a picnic of considerable scale。

The flagpole at the top of the mainmast of the sailing ship floated the eagle flag on a blue background, which was the symbol of the Goshawk Regiment's flagship, and many of the sailors on board also left their posts to join the picnic procession at the stronghold, except for two people who remained on deck, namely the first mate and the captain of the Goshawk.

"Why don't you join them and have a good time once in a while!"

"There's no need...... If you want to eat a big meal, you can eat delicious food on board, and we are here only to resupply and recruit men. ”

"Makes sense! But I don't think so, Lemuel! Stay and watch the boat, I have to go and get drunk with the brethren for the night!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the big captain landed on the beach along the sail line, spread his legs and ran towards the campfire, leaving only the first mate on the Goshawk, and in order to pass the time of boredom, Lemuel took out the diary he had carried with him from under the leather suit that he had not changed for several years, and fell into the memory......

"It's been another half a year in the blink of an eye, Samuel, Raguil, Nabar and I will still go out to sea to see you from time to time, so take care of yourself down there. ”

From October 20th to 24th, the day of worship to the god of the sea, the Goshawk carried the pirates' awe and expectations of the sea and sailed out to the open sea, the huge waves overboard, the huge fist-like waves continued to impact the hull, the heavy rain from the clouds also continued to wash the deck of the Goshawk, several sails of the foremast were torn off the line by the strong wind, and what was worse was that the stern of the ship was flooded at this time, and the sudden storm put the thirty or so people on board on the brink of shipwreck.

At the moment of the accident, most of the sailors went to the lower deck in an orderly manner to drain the ship, and the rest of the sailors were busy changing the sails, and the danger of sinking the ship would soon be eliminated, but for the safety of all the crew, the watchman on the mainmast lookout still sounded the alarm.

"Hey, Mr. Sigris, there's a lighthouse not far ahead, maybe we should go there and recuperate?"

The heavy and dense rain made it impossible to raise one's head, Lemuel barely opened his eyes half-hidden by his coat, and following the gesture of the lookout, the sailors finally noticed the anchorage he was pointing to, a black cross flag on a red background fluttered in the wind and rain, and the outpost of a certain general Drua was located about a mile in the direction of ten o'clock, and the other sailors could not make a decision for a while, after all, the position of the Goshawk Regiment was very clear, dealing with the Dark Army would only cause conflict, and people had to leave the choice to the ship's first mate and helmsman, Lemuel Brown. Sigris.

Time seemed to speed up, Lemuel still hadn't made a decision, the violently shaking deck made it difficult to get a foothold, but it was this emergency that caught the attention of someone in the captain's room, and as the wooden door was slammed open, a strong man of large stature and a circle of other sailors repeatedly crossed the overturned debris on the deck to the rudder, he had a medium-length beard, and a pair of angry eyes stared at the first mate through the rain-soaked hair on his forehead, and looked like he was about to beat someone.

"Lemuel! I'm just taking a nap in the cabin, you old fur seals have to show some backbone, the ship must be repaired if it breaks down, and you can't be weak when you need to deal with the enemy!"

"You're awake, this fucking storm makes it impossible to let go at all, then you take the helm, I need to arm the brethren!"

The owner of the bold voice remained quite calm in the face of the mess on the ship, and unhurriedly held the rudder, this person was the captain of the Goshawk, the legendary pirate - Nabal Gusshak, and a member of the legendary mercenary brigade Freedom Wings. Unfortunately, the current situation of the Goshawk is very unoptimistic, there have been many conflicts with the Drua navy in the past few years, and the losses suffered have not yet fully recovered, and the sparsely populated warship is under the control of Nabal, carrying more than thirty pirates armed from neck to knee straight to the Drua outpost.

The isolated island on the border of the North Sea is about four acres in size, and in addition to a few buildings scattered there are many luxuriant trees that stand firm in the wind and rain, proving that the island has plenty of fresh water. Surprisingly, the Lighthouse and Outpost, once owned by the Nords, had just been captured by Drua, and the only Dark Soldiers who stood there were only a dozen Order's sergeants, and the Goshawk approached the shallows without much effort due to the neglect of vigilance due to the influence of the wind and rain. After landing, Nabal led most of the crew to rush in, the defenders were quickly defeated by a surprise attack, and the Goshawk took over from the Druas with only four crew members with minor injuries, lowering the Drua flag and replacing it with the Goshawk flag, and the sailors looted the enemy's belongings and captured an additional copy of the Minella Expedition's plan to invade the west.

After noon, the weather in the North Sea improved slightly, and the dark clouds in the high places dispersed a lot, but the daylight was still filtered by the dark fog in the sky, and only a faint light shone on the wet and cold surface, which could no longer be used to warm the drenched body. It has been almost three years since the invasion of the Dark Knights, and this evil black fog seems to be an exclusive accessory of darkness, as Drua's territory continues to expand, the West Sea, Nord North Sea, Wakakai and other places are all shrouded in black mist, which has had an extremely serious impact on Calradia's life from the side.

While the rain subsided, the carpentry sailors were busy repairing the ship, while the rest of the crew rested and recreational in the small outpost, while Lemuel followed Nabal into the lighthouse, a narrow cylindrical building with a spacious top, presumably to light the brazier at the top if necessary, and after climbing more than 300 stairs along the circular staircase, they finally followed a wooden ladder to the top of the lighthouse, and removed the rain-soaked fire, and there was only about four square meters of space for them to stand on. Rarely at a height with a great view, Nabal straightened his waist and looked out at the distant seascape, and from time to time he cursed a few words at the disappointing black fog in the sky, and inadvertently found a perfectly hidden pigeon cage, which was hung on an iron rod extending from the edge of the platform, and in this dangerous zone nearly fifty feet high, it was very easy for the faint of heart to overlook.

"Aha! We're lucky, this is a carrier pigeon left behind by the Nord scouts, and we may be able to get in touch with the mainland directly. The bold Nabal, who was not afraid of heights, leaned over the platform, stooped down and grabbed the coop and lifted it up, examining the three remaining pigeons in the cage, and quickly noticed the strip of blue cloth tied to the claws.

"This is the North Sea, and it's almost a week's journey from the port of Tiha, can these little ones fly back...... Besides, what if the lords see this as a conspiracy of the enemy, after all, the parchment doesn't clearly state that the target is Nord?"

Despite Lemuel's hopeless views, Nabal insisted on his decision, hastily wrote some requests for the Nords to send troops to take over the area and increase the number of outposts in the North Sea, mentioned a few details in the plan, and finally wrote his name at the end of the letter, and copied two more copies to scatter the pigeons, until the pigeon was swallowed up by the vista, and both of them clutched the wine bottles in their hands and continued to look into the distance from the lighthouse.

"You're right, the Nords are blocking the dark forces east of the Yu River with their terrain and fortresses on the mainland, and the navy has also laid an impeccable blockade in Wakahai, so the target of this invasion plan will certainly not be the Nords. It seems to me that the only people who can pass through the blockade are those of us who are neutrals with clear positions, and only reinforcements from the Gronian side are left. ”

"So, that old immortal of Garnif has his eyes on Dabaran, capturing the strongholds along the North Sea, crossing the dangerous Somnus to the west and returning to the Western Sea Passage, avoiding the eyes and ears of the Nords, and at the same time attacking the city of Gronya, and once he succeeds, he can disguise himself as reinforcements to break through the Nord coastal defenses and capture Tiha?"

After being enlightened by Nabar, Lemuel understood the true purpose of this plan, and he did not dare to imagine the situation after the success of the plan, and he knew that the Nords who lost Tiha City would only be forced back to Sagoth by the Dark Army, and the defense line formed by the dangerous terrain would be self-defeating.

Unlike Lemuel, who was trembling, Nabal was still very calm, he rethought it and said, "Don't worry, Lemuel. Judging from the current situation, it is only two or three days before this outpost changes hands, and this place is almost a day's journey from the next outpost, so the plan should not have begun to be implemented yet, so hopefully our warning will be in time. ”

"yes...... It seemed that the sky was about to change again, let the brethren rest first, the comfortable time always passed very quickly, the crew spent a night draining the water in the bottom cabin of the goshawk, and directly removed the few old partitions that caused the leak, and replaced them with the fine timber that had just been added a month ago, and a few sails that were blown away by the strong wind yesterday also drifted to the shore along the tide, in order to implement the policy of the goshawk regiment to use materials sparingly, Nabar replaced these old sails that were still usable, and when he left, he was supplied with fresh water and some daily necessities, and then gathered the crew to set sail again。

The voyage went smoothly for the rest of the day, and the Goshawk sailed fast in the strong wind, and on the evening of the 22nd arrived at a large island full of ruins in the middle of the North Sea.

"Nabal, we seem to be late this year, look at the ships...... The Exocet of Severor, the Obsidian Queen of Beatrice, the Eagle Wind of the Old Man, and the rest of your fellow colleagues have already arrived. ”

Lemuel pointed to the familiar ships in his field of vision, although they were seen every year when pirates held rituals to worship the gods, but the ships of these legendary pirates were always surprising, whether it was the powerful combat power of the Eagle Wind or the complex internal structure of the Exocet, it was enough for a deputy like him to study for a lifetime.

"Hector is an ancient god of the Nord people's beliefs, and it is also the god of the sea sacrificed by our Pirate Guild, and it makes no difference to participate in the festival in Calradia, coming here is just a formality, why bother with the order?"

Nabal didn't care, decided to find a vacant seat to dock, and personally selected a few old crew members, lit torches and oil lamps for lighting, and prepared to go to the inner ruins to worship the so-called sea god after docking.

As in the past, the sailors looked at a towering colossus in the depths of the island at the entrance, confirmed the position, and followed Nabal's footsteps into the labyrinthine ruins, following a well-known route through the ruins of dilapidated ancient buildings, four years after their last visit, the brave Samuel and the alert Raguil are now gone, and even an iron man like Nabal can't help but feel a little sad in his heart when he thinks of his dead brother.

The group used the faint light source to climb over many low walls, how many deep ditches they crossed to reach the location of the statue, and a long-lost greeting came from their ears, and the enchanting voice came from a very mature woman, who was also an old acquaintance of Nabal and others.

"Look, Nabal, who has a little brain, has finally arrived, but fortunately I haven't forgotten my promise and won't start until you've arrived. ”

The sudden greeting made Nabal unhappy, he shook the goosebumps on his body, took care of his hair, and smiled: "Beatrice Shaq, you are still so charming. What about Captain Severer and Huck, where have they gone?"

The fire was burning nearby, and Beatrice unrestrained his hot body, obediently subduing the sloppy Nabal, and even began to wipe his face and comb his hair. While the two of them were catching up, Lemuel did not want to be a light bulb, so he led the brothers around the ruins around the humble sacrificial ground, where most of the facilities in the ruins were unusable, except for a few deep wells with fresh water. In addition, speaking of this colossus statue that is several meters high, Hector is one of the twelve ancient gods, representing the justice of the world, and it is a young warrior dressed in Nordic antique leather armor, but holding in his hand is not the most popular axe of the Nords, but a kind of heavy hammer with a flange that is common in the court--- symbolizing his status as an arbiter.

The Nord belief in Hector is due to the fact that the Nord tribal hero during the Yamuna Civil War, Gangdin Harebrex, found an account of the gods, claiming that the god of arbitration had left a place for the brave northerners in Calradia, which gave rise to the story of a small group of Yamuna people crossing the sea to occupy the northern continent of Calradia and establish the Nord kingdom. As for the pirate guild, it was mainly imposed on the members by the founder, Sir Hugh Gerald was known for his impartiality, he worshipped the ancient god of justice, and believed that the pirate was able to override the law was actually Hector's remedy for the injustice of the human world, and this belief slowly spread among the pirate guild, and gradually evolved into a unique festival like today, and its essence is probably similar to what Nabal said, and the later pirates simply followed the trend, not to have much respect for the ancient gods.

It didn't take long for the drunken Serwolle to arrive at the sacrificial ground, and although he was accompanied by an entourage, no one dared to help the grumpy Serwolle, for fear that he would start a drunken madness. On the other hand, Captain Huck Bullard had also arrived, and he looked much older than the last time they met, his cheeks and beard were completely white, and the attendants beside him were holding top hats and swords for him, and the strong aristocratic atmosphere made several people present quickly aware of his presence.

"It's finally here, the three captains of Ruohai, Xihai, and Nanhai should almost start the sacrifice, it's pointless to spend all day here, and I still have some troubles to deal with. ”

The old captain gave the order, and Severle was awakened by his majestic voice, and hid the bottle in his hand behind him, and even Nabal and Beatrice, who were in the middle of the war, immediately became serious, and the four of them gathered around the colossus of Hector, and Captain Huck ordered a large bundle of dried seaweed to be fetched, and lit the fire himself, and recited an old eulogy by the fire, and the captains did not declare the ceremony over until they had saluted.

After Lemuel and the others cleaned up the scene, Nabal dared to ask Captain Huck, "Trouble? Whoever has dealt with pirates, who doesn't know that the most powerful of the pirates is Huck Bullard of the Nord North Sea, and there will be people who will trouble you for the old time?"

"Ha, of course it's the Druas, a few days ago my men sent a reconnaissance fleet from Minella into the abyss of the sea, but the commander of the fleet that came back is not simple, it is said that he is the commander of the Black Knight who captured the Free Capital two years ago. ”

Captain Huck smiled as if he had everything under his control, but the commander he was referring to was clearly the Captain of the Spear of the Underworld, Isaac Bravo, who was now the leading warlord of Druya, and whose soldiers must have far exceeded the pirates' imagination.

The coolness of the night breeze irritated Lemuel's nerves, and when he and Nabal were still adrift on the sea when Zenda was attacked two years ago, the city of freedom, which they regarded as their second home, no longer existed. Since the fall of the city, the shattered walls of Chanda have been constantly lit by fires, smoke rising into the clouds and merging with the black fog in the sky, and several dark legions are still stationed outside the city, firmly covering the first victim of the invasion in the dark, followed by dozens of Drua military flags fluttering inside and outside the town, the most striking of which is naturally the Bravo family's red-background tombstone flag. Later, Lemuel learned that Isaac had led his men to defeat Chanda and kill all the defenders, and from then on he became afraid of this guy, and he always felt uncomfortable whenever he encountered something related to this person.