Chapter 139: with translation of chapter title

Night.

Shire County, Maple Leaf Castle.

After half a year, Anna Lady Agneth left White Sturgeon Island for the first time, enjoying dinner with her older brother's family.

The dinner atmosphere was very calm; everyone ate quietly, aside from the occasional ding-dang of cutlery hitting plates, hardly any extra sound could be heard.

After a while, Anna commented: 'This sturgeon stew doesn't taste good; it's nowhere near as delicious as moonlight white sturgeon.'

The voice broke the slightly oppressive silence.

Count Robert said: 'Sister, although the Baron's intention to develop the new route is good, our magical implement cooperation has indeed earned me quite a bit of money, but I still have to say.'

Saying this, Count Robert wiped his mouth with a napkin: 'He's a bit too hasty. He isn't short of money; he shouldn't be selling so many pearls to the south.'

'Even if he indeed has that many fine pearls, he should sell them slowly; perhaps the profit would be less, but it would be a steady, long-term business.'

The Countess beside him smiled: 'Ge Lan Te, you often say that to make money from investment, the most important thing is to seize the opportunity and then give it your all, right?'

'How come you're talking about steadiness now?'

Count Robert was taken aback, momentarily at a loss for words; after a while he defended: 'That's different; mine is merely an economic investment, but the Baron has put his whole family's lives at stake—this will cause big trouble!'

He had never seen such a crazy investment.

Anna chuckled lightly, turning to her niece Ai Li Si: 'Do you like the pearl accessories Auntie gave you?'

The girl nodded repeatedly: 'Of course, this is the best pearl I've ever seen; I love it to death.'

'Anna, don't change the subject; hurry up and say how the Baron plans to deal with the Duke's fleet.'

Saying this, Count Robert gritted his teeth: 'If he can't hold out at sea, we on land can't match him.'

'Those poor counts in the mountain valleys have gone mad, but our Robert family can't follow suit.'

'Ten kilometers west is the sea.'

If the Baron loses at sea, and the Duke's fleet controls the waters, not only will all merchant ships heading to Shattergold Dock be blockaded, but the Duke's army could at any time land in Shialin City and deliver a decapitating blow to their Robert family! By then, this Baron would be finished, and the whole family's lives would be doomed.

A branch of the Robert family, perhaps his distant cousin or uncle, is surely an incompetent coward who will become the new Count Robert.

Anna sensed her brother's fear, and she had come precisely for this matter.

"Brother, the Baron's naval fleet is already very strong, enough to shatter the northward storm fleet."

"What we Robert family must do is, at the right moment, step forward to answer the Dawn Princess's call, and from land sweep away the power of the southern counties and the Duke!"

Count Robert's eyebrows twitched as he heard: "Has the time for a complete break already come?"

It's only been a little over half a year, yet he feels as if in the blink of an eye the situation has come to this point; Anna watches her somewhat panicked brother, and involuntarily Luosen's image appears in her mind.

Comparing the two, one clearly feels the huge gap between them.

His own brother, after all, is merely a wealthy lord raised in comfort, unable to withstand great storms.

"Brother, if you feel afraid, then slow your actions; wait for the news of victory at sea, and acting then will not be too late."

Count Robert immediately relaxed: "Right, right, right, that's safer."

Meanwhile, during the storm fleet's northward march, similar conversations were taking place in other northern counties.

Except for some hesitation in Highland County, the barons of the other eight counties directly began to act.

They summoned troops and began to eradicate the Duke's influence within their counties.

They were truly impoverished, sucked dry by the Duke and the southern counties to the point of barely having pants left.

There was nothing left to lose, and the situation could not get worse; better to seize the opportunity and make a bold move, so as to gain more favor when the new lord takes power.

During this period, on the new trade route, five eagle-beak cargo ships were transporting a new batch of Bohemian refugees northward.

When the fleet stopped at the midway supply island on the new route to replenish fresh water, Knight Maxim also received news of the storm fleet's northward rebellion suppression.

He looked puzzled: "Northward rebellion suppression? Suppress what rebellion? Who rebelled?"

The messenger was his loyal guard Ade, who spread his hands and said matter-of-factly: "Who else could it be? Of course, it's the Baron who married the princess."

Maxim jumped up in shock: "That fast?!"

Although he knew this day would come eventually, the speed truly exceeded his imagination; he even wondered whether the Baron had failed to keep things secret, letting the Duke find out in advance.

"Just what is going on? Please tell me in detail."

Ade then reported to the knight all the news he had gathered at the dock, great and small.

From a huge quantity of pearl ornaments, to the Duke's furious outburst, he directly declared the Baron's disgraceful pearl fraud and dispatched a fleet northward to try the Baron.

As Maxim listened, he calmed down and even laughed: "Selling pearls made the Duke furious; it seems the Baron made a fortune."

Ade nodded: "There are all sorts of rumors; some say he earned at least one million Ogres, others say at least two million—either way, it's a huge sum."

Maxim laughed: "To make the Duke this furious, it must be at least four million; I estimate it could even be five million, hahaha~~"

He laughed so hard he slapped his thigh: "The Baron must have pushed the lightning messenger's function to the limit to rake in that much money at once."

Ade said, not understanding: "Young master, this isn't funny; if the Baron is tried by the Duke, we refugees will have no one to take us in."

Maxim laughed: "Don't worry, the Duke can't try the Baron, and we can also take a cut of the Baron's earnings." Originally, he had prepared various barter deals for the Baron so he could pay the refugees' expenses, but now he intends to demand cash directly from the Baron.

Who made him have money now?

After a moment's thought, he immediately said: "Notify the fleet, set sail at once, go to White Sturgeon Island to watch the excitement!"

Ade blinked: "Watch the excitement?"

Maxim's eyes lit up: "Exactly, watch the excitement—go see a splendid battle."

"I don't understand, young master, what makes you so optimistic about the Baron?"

Although he said that, Ade still turned and passed the message along.

Maxim chuckled to himself, thinking: "Because the Dawn Duke is a fool, and the Baron never undertakes unprepared major endeavors."

Soon, the five eagle-beak cargo ships raised their sails, warmed by the late spring-early summer breeze, and headed north along the new route that bypassed Dawn City.

Because the new route is much shorter, by noon on the third day the fleet actually encountered the northward rebellion‑suppressing storm fleet off the eastern coast of Red Origin County.

As the warships advanced, the civilian cargo ships naturally had to give way.

Maksim announced a slowdown while using a telescope to observe the storm fleet ahead.

"Hmm~ there are actually twenty ships; the scale is not small at all. To deal with a tiny island Baron, they're really taking it seriously."

For a great nation like Levinde, the warships before them are rather ordinary, even failing to pique Maksim's interest.

He isn't worried about what the other side might do, since Weilan is only a duchy and lacks the nerve to bully him, a noble scion from a great nation.

He ordered his telegraph officer: "Notify the whole fleet, keep distance, and follow the leading fleet at a slow pace."

Ade immediately warned, "Young master, be careful not to get drawn into the flames of war!"

"Don't worry, we're far enough away, and I'm also curious to see how the Baron will deal with such a massive fleet."

He truly couldn't imagine what the Baron would do, yet he was convinced the Baron wouldn't lose, so he thought the Baron must reveal some powerful secret weapon.

Like the Lightning Messenger he created—a weapon unprecedented yet surprisingly effective.

Thus, a fleet and a merchant convoy set off one after another toward White Sturgeon Island.

A few days later, the fleet crossed the Red Plain County border and entered Shire County.

Gradually, more cargo ships gathered on the route, and even a number of small fishing boats appeared.

Maksim Knight could vaguely sense that a large portion of them shared his purpose—to come and watch the spectacle.

The storm fleet didn't drive them away; as long as they kept a safe distance, they were allowed to follow.

One can imagine the fleet commander was certainly aiming to make a name for himself in battle.

Thus, the farther north they went, the larger the fleet grew; when the silhouette of Dragon Sleep Snow Peak over White Sturgeon Island appeared on the northern horizon, hundreds of vessels of all sizes had already converged on the sea.

They were now less than fifteen kilometers from White Sturgeon Island.

Maksim Knight issued the order: "Slow down, keep a greater distance and watch."

As a High-tier Mage and a well‑travelled merchant, Maksim faintly sensed a dangerous aura.

He felt that battle might erupt any moment.

Sure enough, his sense proved sharp; only ten minutes later, the lookout sailor shouted a report.

"Ship—there's a ship ahead—"

"What a strange ship, never seen one before—no sails, yet it moves incredibly fast, as if sliding on the sea!"

Maksim, astonished, immediately used Flight Spell to ascend the watchtower, snatched the sailor's telescope, and began looking.

Then he saw the odd ship.

A total of five, lined up in a row on the sea, cutting through waves, heading straight toward the storm fleet.

When he saw those warships, especially the green smoke billowing from their midsections, Maksim's eyes widened instantly.

"They're Black Stone warships!"

Levinde was also researching Black Stone steam warships, had already produced some units, and had begun sea trials.

Although still in testing, the performance of the Black Stone warships—especially their maritime mobility—already completely outclassed sailing warships.

What was unexpected was that the northern Weilan, long a magical desert, had already deployed these brand‑new warships and forged a mature combat force.

In that instant, the well‑travelled Levinde Knight's face showed a deep shock.

A flood of thoughts churned in his mind, eventually forming several astonishing judgments.

"The storm fleet is doomed!"

"Weilan, a change of rulership is coming."

"The Natural Alliance will rise as a new maritime power."

(End of Chapter)