Exploration and exploration, since it is exploration, the nature of what is looking for is no man's land.

And if it is within the range of the pirate's power, is it a no-man's land or a manned area?

Although Midi did not give clear instructions, he could guess that even his fierce seamen from the Hamilton family would definitely not provoke pirates without trouble, let alone wander around the area where pirates were entrenched.

And most likely, those rifts are in the pirate's control zone!

Therefore, these days of exploration will be fruitless, because there is a part of the area that is automatically ignored by the explorers.

The areas that can be seen by pirates must be near the more lively sea routes, and there will inevitably be many islands, and the probability of the existence of rifts is probably even higher than that of ordinary sea areas!

"Let's check first, after the fire in the Gran Forest, if anything unusual has happened in these areas controlled by the pirates. As soon as Midilo groaned, he gave the order, "As for the method, let's borrow the Lionheart Trial." ”

Soon, the sailboats, which had been plowed over and over again in the southern seas, withdrew to the harbor.

At the same time, the Lionheart Dojo has announced a new initiative - the direction of the Lionheart Trial, which is now tilting towards the sea route!

As soon as this move came out, it immediately caused a small shock in Faro Bay.

You must know that with the continuous expansion of the Lionheart Dojo, the number of disciples participating in the trial is naturally increasing, their level is above that of ordinary adventurers, and there are almost no requirements for monetary rewards and the like, and their origins are extremely innocent, so they don't have to worry about being betrayed halfway, and they are undoubtedly the best choice for business families who can't afford to raise private soldiers.

Not only that, with the reputation of the Earl of Santa Island in full swing, if there were disciples of the Lionheart Dojo in a caravan, even if there was only one, those robbers would not dare to act rashly, and it could be said to be the strongest insurance.

Originally, these trials were all conducted on land, after all, this was the most suitable environment for ghost swordsmen to play, and those sea caravans could only watch.

But this time, Midi actually said that he wanted the disciples of the Lionheart Dojo to participate in the sea trial, which naturally caused a lot of discussion.

Can ghost swordsmen be useful at sea?

Will the pirates have a hard time facing the name of the Count of Santa Island?

There is a lot of talk about it.

It's just that while these academics, analysts, and gossip parties are talking about it, the major fleets have no hesitation about this move - one word, please!

Anyway, it doesn't cost much to invite the Lionheart disciples to get on the boat, as long as you manage the food, even if the escort effect is not good, you can still sell the Count of Santa Island a favor, why not?

So, just a few days later, the figure of the Lionheart disciple appeared in all kinds of fleets.

These fleets range from large to small, the largest ones are made up of dozens of ships, and there is no shortage of sea guards, most of them are to make friends with the Lionheart Dojo, and the small ones have only one dhow, which requires several Lionheart disciples to form a team to escort them. And their shipping routes are also different, some go to Belmar, and some go to the islands of the south.

But what all have in common is that the scope of this trial of the lionheart at sea overlaps with the sea area that Midi is searching.

Soon, all the information gathered by the Lionheart's disciples gathered in front of Midi.

There are gossip about the seamen, precautions about the major ports, rumors of chats in bars, high-priced information from intelligence dealers, and interrogation records of pirate captives after fierce battles.

Midi combed through the mountains of material for several days, and finally found an entry point that could break through.

Redbeard Pirate.

This group of pirates could only be regarded as third-rate thieves, and they only had a brig in their hands, and they couldn't even rob them in normal times, so they could only sneak ashore and loot some lone people's homes. However, just after the Great Fire of the Gran Forest, the level of this group of pirates rose at an astonishing rate, and soon broke through the standard of level 40 masters, not only that, but they also had a lot more herbs on hand that could be considered rare even in Belmar.

The ever-increasing level and the inexhaustible supply of cherished medicinal herbs made the Redbeard Pirate's power expand all at once. Not only that, but these pirates, who made their ships their home and would flee immediately when the opportunity arose, were said to have opened up a forbidden area at sea and set up a base camp there to prevent anyone from approaching.

Taken together, in Midi's opinion, it was enough to find out.

"Pass my orders and mobilize the ironclad warships. Midi said, turning her gaze to the vast expanse of the sea belonging to Redbeard in the center of the chart, "Before we go to war with the Empire, let's do a real exercise." ”

It was night, under the cold moonlight, above the sparkling South China Sea, huge water beasts reflecting the metallic light quietly streamed out of the secret harbor of Wells, one after another, a full eight ironclad warships, under the order of Midi, were ready to go!

The eight ironclad ships were all fully manned, with the Conqueror under the direct command of Wells himself, the other two by the two female captains of the Southern Star and the Albatross, and the remaining five under the control of elite seamen from the Hamilton family, together with the outstanding adventurers selected from the Hamilton Regiment.

As the commander-in-chief, Midi naturally sits on the flagship "Conqueror" and takes overall command.

It can be said that this is a brand new navy that belongs entirely to Midi, a navy branded with the Hayabusa Regiment.

At the same time, it is also the navy composed of the most advanced warships in the Arad continent.

And at this moment, this navy is about to have its first battle.

The eight warships gradually unfolded in a cruising state, forming a sailing formation like a sharp shuttle, heading straight for the area where the Redbeard Pirate was.

Originally, in such a weather where the wind speed was not fast enough, even a three-masted clipper would take more than half a day to reach the Red Beard Sea. However, the magic-based power system of the ironclad battleship was far more powerful than the traditional sails, and in just three hours, the group had reached its destination.

Deep Rock, the lair of the Redbeard Pirates, is a "game reserve at sea" in those unwritten underworld rules.

It was the middle of the night, and there was silence on the sea, and the deep rocky island, like a giant beast entrenched on the sea, was also silent.

After the revelry, the pirates have already fallen asleep, although there are a few watchtowers on the island, but among these lazy creatures, how can they pick out any sentinels who are really dutiful to stand guard?

Besides, since the Great Fire of the Gran Forest, the Redbeard Pirate Regiment has been soaring, and it can almost be said that there is no opponent, even those maritime families, when facing these shameless pirates, they can only choose to compromise and retreat, they are already lucky not to mess with others, and who dares to provoke them?

Therefore, Deep Rock Island in the middle of the night can be said to have no defenses, it is like a borderless land with a wide open door, waiting for the **** of the ironclad behemoths.

Seeing this scene, Wells, who was already fully sure, was even more in a mood at the moment.

"My lord?" the handsome young man turned his head and looked at Midi under the handsome banner.

In case Midi wants to recruit or something, then naturally he can't go to war directly, and he has to send a messenger over first.

It's just that Midi obviously didn't mean this, and just said simply: "Fight quickly, don't let any of them go." ”

Wells nodded immediately. An order was issued to the magic communication: "All warships obey the order, take their positions, and fire all the guns!"

With the clatter of gears, the friction of chains, and the turning of metal wheels, the eight warships slowly moved, completely surrounding the entire island, and then, the three triple-mounted large-caliber guns on the upper and lower layers of these battleships slowly stretched out the muzzles of their all-devouring black holes.

A signal flare as bright as the sun rose into the night sky, and the next moment, all the ironclad battleships opened fire at the same moment.

Boom Boom!

It roared like thunder and rolled over the sea. The scorching artillery fire like a meteor streaked through the black night, and exploded one after another on the silent deep rock island.

Most of the pirates were reduced to ashes by artillery fire in their dreams before they could wake up, and a few of the startled pirates tried to resist, but they had no means at all, and when they finally ran to the port under fire, they found that it was already a mess.

In naval warfare, the most important thing is naturally the ship, how could Wells not know this?

Of the eight ironclad warships, four were used by him to blockade the port, and after the first round of shelling, half of the ten pirate ships of the Redbeard Pirate Regiment were sunk, and the remaining five were also broken masts, and they were even blocked in the harbor, and there was no way to get out of the harbor.

When the second round of artillery bombardment was over, the remaining five ships also sank to the bottom.

After the third round of bombardment, even the visible buildings on Deep Rock - watchtowers, pillboxes, houses, etc., were completely reduced to rubble under the bombardment of the triple artillery guns.

Spike, this is a complete spike.

Such a pirate regiment with eight three-masted galleons and two five-masted galleons, which controlled a radius of hundreds of miles, occupied an island, and built many fortifications, was completely destroyed in less than a cup of tea.

Even Midi herself couldn't help but be a little surprised when she saw this.

Until this moment, the range, power, and rate of fire of the ironclad battleship gave him the most intuitive feeling.

However, he didn't feel any fluttering because of this, because in the previous life, Midi remembered very well that the warships created by the Delos Empire in order to blockade Faro Bay were definitely not inferior to the ironclad warships at hand.

In the final analysis, if you want to come out on top in this competition with the Empire, the most important thing is to be the first to get Sky City.

"Ready to land. Looking out over the burning island, Midi stood up.