"A chase on the sea is both cruel and most romantic".

My father remembered that this was a quote from a Navy textbook. On the sea, once the speed of the chasing sides is determined, then the outcome of the chase is determined. If you are faster than the target, you will catch up with the enemy sooner or later; On the contrary, even if you are close, then you can only helplessly watch the people on the enemy ship laugh at you loudly, and then move further and further away from you, and finally disappear below the horizon. Of course, the premise of this theory is that the speed of the two ships remains the same, and at the same time they are on a sufficiently large sea.

Today, it seems that the difference between theory and practice is not too great. My father looked at the bulging sails in the sky, and even felt a trace of sympathy for the pirate ship that was rowing hard in front of him. Cesar and the sailors quickly mobilized the sailors on board, and except for the necessary crew, the remaining dozens of crew members were all dressed in light and sturdy naval armor, and these people were equipped with hatchets, javelins, ropes, and fighting swords.

More than twenty armed sailors were armed with well-made mountain bows and arrows. These archers were elite soldiers who were difficult to replenish, and it took two years or more to train a skilled archer, and although Rhodok encouraged the populace to maintain the tradition of practicing archery, it was still very difficult to get soldiers that could be used in wartime. On the other hand, a crossbowman is much easier to train, and it only takes less than a week for an average farmer to have great destructive power, but it is important to consider that a crossbowman costs more than an archer and is more troublesome to maintain his weapons. At the same time, the low rate of fire and cumbersome loading process limited the crossbowmen to a greater role in field warfare, so the main battlefield of the crossbowmen was in the battle to defend a town or fortress, while the archers were often sent to the field where the situation was constantly changing.

This was the first battle of Captain Arcadio II, and he stood at the bow of the ship and looked back at the dozens of soldiers who were quiet below, and felt a slight tremor in his heart. The people below may have belonged to different factions in normal times, but now, they are comrades in the same boat, and they know that in the upcoming battle, there is no other way but to give each other their lives safely, and this is the only way to improve the chances of survival.

Cesar lightly reported the boatswain's calculations on the side: "Catch up with the enemy in three hours".

The father nodded and adjusted his hat: "Now, you have two hours to write a suicide note." Doctor, Cesara's first mate and your boatswain can assist you in this accomplishment. Of course, you can also not write, I will not interfere with what you do during this time, now go back to your cabin, and I will call you again an hour before the battle."

The soldiers dispersed and disappeared into the hatch. Father looked at the dot in the distance, where the pirate ship was getting bigger and bigger.

The ship was spotted by observers on the mast this morning. Using state-of-the-art Aaronic optics, the sailor discovered the ship's oddities: no flags were hoisted, and the course was unknown. What made the sailors sure that there was something wrong with the ship was that when the White Pigeon Valley came within sight of the ship, the ship did not respond to the flag raised by the White Pigeon Valley, and quickly changed course to leave the White Dove Valley's patrol range from the southwest. The observer informed the boatswain, who issued a warning on Cesar's instructions: "Stop sailing, be inspected". But the ship ignored it and continued to speed up its escape. Cesar shrugged his shoulders and gave the order for the whole ship to prepare for battle, and then went down to the cabin to ask the ship to direct the battle.

Due to a simple patrol voyage, the potential of the White Pigeon Valley was not exploited. In fact, the White Pigeon Valley can carry a full hundred fully armed soldiers and their 25 days' provisions, which will make the White Pigeon Valley's combat radius even cover the waters of Paravun. On more than one occasion, my father listened awkwardly to his classmates' speeches about how to blockade the Parabun Sea from the sea and force Svadia to make concessions in future disputes.

Now, the White Pigeon Valley has only more than fifty people in the basic configuration. On the last docking, in response to Rhodok's instructions to eliminate pirates, the Dock Armed Forces Department sent fifteen soldiers to the White Pigeon Valley to take command, and this group of people was said to be a new thing. The dock workers used a lifting winch to carry three felt-wrapped iron machines and three large wooden barrels and more than 400 small skins. As several machines were hoisted onto the ship, the waterline of the White Dove Valley, which was firmly anchored at the dock, shook and the deck creaked. People say it's a new gadget that the Aaronic Academy of Sciences has come up with.

The fifteen men belonged to the Coast Guard, but from the day they boarded the ship, their father and Cesara used some means to make them absolutely obey their orders.

On the other night, when his father had asked the men to show him their belongings, Cesar looked left and right in astonishment when the black-iron thing was peeking out from under the torn felt cloth by the sailors, and he said that he had never seen such a large crossbow.

The father was in a state of flux and explained to Cesar, "Ballista."

This machine looks powerful and mysterious, but my father had seen this kind of thing in the carpenter's workshop in White Pigeon Valley, and the principle of this machine is to use the stored tension to give energy to a powerful destructive object, such as an iron spear or a stone projectile.

"Is this your legendary new thing?" Puzzled, my father asked the technician, "The Coast Guard people are blowing you up badly." If it's just this ballista, I don't know what's new about it. Moreover, I can propose a lot of improvements, for example, a friend who grew up with me made a ballista with three bows in parallel, and I saw him fly a huge stone projectile more than 700 meters, and you don't seem to be as good as him."

The technician smiled slyly: "Of course, I know you're an expert when I hear the kind of parallel crossbow you said, but this kind of thing is not a slingshot that simply throws a stone and only beats the Haikou to the head and bleeds." The real awesome thing is the box we carry, do you need me to show you this? ”

Father nodded.

The technician then gave orders to the remaining four members of his squad. Two of them began to stir the winching of the ballista, and they blushed and poured a great deal of energy into the four taut bowstrings, which clicked and were held in place by an iron trigger in the center; Then a man took out a jar about the size of a tequila bottle from the barrel, and inside the jar was a black, viscous liquid, which he packed into a small leather pouch and tightened his pockets; Immediately, a soldier took the pouch and tied it to a short wooden arrow from the ballista. His father noticed that the wooden arrow had a cross wing mounted on the back, and he knew that this was to allow the wooden arrow to spin during its flight, thus increasing its penetration.

Finally, the technician used a pre-prepared ignition rod to ignite the outer skin of the skins, which must have been soaked in some kind of oil, and burned vigorously as soon as they came into contact with the fire. The technician looked at the machine as if satisfied, and said to his father, "Captain, pull the trigger, I don't think I need to tell you how to do it." ”

Father nodded, and aimed the crossbow at the sea not far in front of the ship. At this time, the technician was shocked: "Sir, don't aim at such a close place, be far away." ”

The father shrugged his shoulders and pressed the front of the crossbow machine higher, but the technician was still not satisfied, and adjusted it several times, and the father couldn't help complaining: "What hull can you penetrate so far?" Do you think that the enemy's ships are made of bark? ”

The technician didn't seem to hear the complaints, he looked at the angle, thought it was about the same, and motioned for it to be ready to fire. The father shook his head and pressed the trigger.

The bowstring made a dull sound of power from tautness to relaxation, and the short wooden arrow flew out with a burning skin, drawing a vigorous burning arc in the air, and soon became a small dot in the distance, and after a while, my father saw that the little dot floated faintly on the distant sea, and became a small lamp that flickered up and down, like a flickering candle in the distant woods on a stormy night.

The father was disappointed and turned his head to tease the technician. At this moment, Cesar let out a cry of surprise, and his father followed Cesar's gaze, and found that the little point of fire began to spread, as if magma had gushed out of the ground, and the flame spread quickly on the surface of the sea, and with the rise and fall of the waves, the sea of fire had a magnificent outline of the sea at night, and the sailors were curious to leave their posts to see this great trick. Soon, the flame spread out over an astonishing area. From a distance, it looks like a fairy tale giant shaking a golden carpet in the void.

"Mr. Captain, this fire oil of ours can float on the surface of the water and burn for three quarters of an hour, and as soon as such a thing falls a hundred meters around the ship, their fate is certain. The more ships, the more destructive. I'm sure you've heard the word dire waters, but at the time, it wasn't an exaggerated metaphor." The technician looked at the fire carpet in the distance with satisfaction and muttered to my father.

Father thought about the test a few days ago, and fell into deep thought, this weapon looks quite powerful, if the pirate on the other side is stubborn, in order to ensure the safety of the sailors, it is still a suitable way to fire this weapon to avoid close combat.

As time passed, Cesar finally came forward to report that the soldiers were ready to fight at any time.

When the soldiers gathered on deck again, they knew that the hour of battle was approaching, and the captain would make a final mobilization for them.

"All the farmers, the fishermen, the citizens. I am honored to be here with you today, and during this period of contact, I believe that most people do not know very well what kind of person I am, in fact, I do not know, because I have no too commendable characteristics, I am just like you: I am a farmer in the valley of the white dove of Suno; I'm a fisherman at Aaron's Naval Academy; I am a citizen of the city of Viruga, and you see, I am just like you. So, I don't want to call you subordinates, I want to call you brothers. ”

"Brothers, less than an hour ahead of us, there is a ship. The ship is believed to be a highly likely pirate ship. They do what the principality spurns: the human trafficking. Everyone should know the story of the woman Rendi, the last straw that broke the camel of that woman's faith, was the group of criminals in front of her. We are brothers to each other, and we should know that the captives on that ship, though they may be Swadiaans, are just like us: they speak the same language, eat the same food, sing the same psalms, and pray to the same gods. So, I don't want you to call them Yankees, I want you to call them brothers. ”

"Twenty years ago, my father witnessed the division between northerners and southerners. At that time, countless families were torn apart, countless futures were ruined, and countless loves died halfway. It was a time when there was the sound of wounds tearing. Twenty years ago, twenty years ago, we thought that the war would go on forever and that the wound would get bigger and bigger, but today we know that this wound can be healed, and it will heal sooner or later. But just as it takes a pair of brutal hands to tear it open, it takes a pair of redeeming hands to heal it, it takes a pair of merciful hands. I want you to know that your hand is not extended to the people of the enemy country, but to your brothers! ”

"There, countless farmers, fishermen, and townspeople like you were tortured, their wives and children humiliated in front of them, their possessions arbitrarily divided, and their dignity trampled on at will. Now all they felt was a cold despair, waiting for the kiss of death in the small cabin full of sin. Save them! Save your brothers! Save their souls! ”

"Twenty years of cracked wounds take longer to heal, so let's do it together! Hold your spears tightly! Hold on to your swords! Tighten your bows! Put on your armor! I am your captain and I wish to fight with you, my brothers! I am your captain, and if there is this honor, I hope we can die together! ”

This candid encouragement from my father shocked most of the soldiers, who were accustomed to the condescending attitude of officers. They cheered.

The father took off his motfur hat, took the helmet that Cesar had handed him, and put it on his head.

"Sons of Rhodok! Let me see your determination! Father drew his sword and pointed it to the sky.

More than fifty soldiers let out a loud shout, a wave of armor trembled, and more than fifty swords pointed in the direction of the captain, these swords reflected the sun between the sea and the sky, reflecting a dazzling light, like a rippling and empty autumn water.

My father pointed his sword at the pirate ship.

"Sail at full speed and annihilate enemy ships!"