Whoosh——

Whoosh——

The wings whipped the airflow and stirred the mist as two Eagle Warriors on the pirates' side and two formations from Aiven's side, totaling six Iron Feather Frigatebirds, broke through the fog and flew above the "Conch".

Almost simultaneously, both sides' "air force" entered the field collectively!

Previously, the white mist blocked the view, and even with the sharp vision of the "Eagle Warrior" Kara Wusu, he hadn't noticed that besides his own tamed giant eagle, there were six unusually large frigatebirds appearing in the sky!

Judging by their appearance, they were clearly modified through some form of witchcraft, and although their size was slightly smaller than his McKinley Divine Eagle, the combined force of six birds was definitely formidable.

Chirp!

Chirp, chirp, chirp...

No further instructions from the masters were needed; the "air force" from both sides had already spontaneously engaged in combat, circling and attacking above the "Conch". Amidst the incessant bird calls, broken feathers and drops of blood occasionally fell.

Some belonged to the McKinley Divine Eagle, others to the frigatebirds... The battle was evenly matched, with the giant eagle even slightly at a disadvantage.

The final external support was neutralized, and Kara Wusu's heart sank to the bottom.

Suddenly.

Boom——!!!

A thunderous explosion from afar made his heart skip a beat once more, as bone-chilling cold seeped into his marrow!

At this moment, it seemed as if the ocean was trembling.

A blood-colored shadow barely maintaining the shape of an eagle ripped through the fog, fiercely drilling into his body, guided by the shared blood of his kin, along with the wizard's final command: "Revenge!!!"

"Hahaha, the pirate ship's ammo hold had a chain explosion! The 'Scorching Bullet' really worked great!"

A young voice called out excitedly from the ship.

Followed by the collective cheers of the sailors.

"Hooray!"

"....."

"Chain explosion?!!"

Even amidst the battlefield, he could no longer pay attention; the young first mate abruptly turned to look in the direction of the "Eagle Spirit," his eyes seemingly piercing through the mist at that moment.

He saw the pirate ship burning fiercely, slowly capsizing, and witnessed the wizard Akrawa, who would be buried with the pirate ship at the bottom of the sea, saw the last kin recognized by the Eagle Spirit with no escape, and saw his shattered dreams...

"Nothing... is left!"

"Revenge!!!" The wizard's command took root in his heart, instantly growing into an evil tree bristling with thorns and venom.

Kara Wusu's eyes suddenly turned blood-red, and the blue-black tattoos on his body twisted continuously as if they were coming to life.

At this moment, the side effects of overusing his abilities, the beloved giant eagle being at a disadvantage, and the perilous situation of enemies on all sides... none of it mattered anymore.

The bone dagger in hand crossed and slashed through the shoulder blades on both sides, blood light bursting forth!

Slash——

A pair of massive red and yellow deformed wings ripped through the flesh and unfurled, and the powerful wind pressure blew away all the nearby sailors.

Undoubtedly, he... lost control!

The "Eagle Warrior's" loss of control was evidently far more terrifying than that of an extraordinary Knight Path.

The formerly handsome face in the eyes of the aboriginals gradually distorted and elongated into a half-human, half-eagle head. The right foot's joint bent backward, turning into an eagle claw.

Hollow bones pierced through the flesh under the ribcage, growing like abnormal proliferations, bizarre and disgusting.

In a very short time, he had already transformed into a monster, seemingly fused from half an eagle and half a human!

Unaware, the young "True: Eagle Warrior" withdrew his gaze from afar and turned with anger towards the "culprit" causing all this chaos: the captain of this naval warship!

Chirp——

The "Eagle-man" let out a harsh, shrill eagle cry from his mouth, raising his arms that held the bone dagger...

Bang——

Bang! Bang!

Firing three shots in succession, Aiven lightly blew away the imaginary smoke from the muzzle of the "Thorned Gold Rose" and uttered a single phrase: "All done!"

Boom——

The "Eagle-man" fell to the ground with wide eyes in disbelief, with his chest blown open with a large hole.

However, in the battlefield, there's no room for playing with posing or reminiscing!

In Kara Wusu's initial cross-sea surprise attack, there was no sniper fire because Aiven was entangled by venomous bees, temporarily out of the combat zone. Once Kara Wusu distanced himself and re-engaged with Aiven, his life was no longer in his own hands.

The moment of "transformation" had been seized by Aiven, who decisively fired his gun, also rewarding the two giant eagles, already battered in aerial combat, each with a bullet, sending them to reunite with their master.

"Milan, lift the fog!"

In fact, Aiven and Milan had initially prepared to face an Official Wizard directly, but thanks to the successful execution of their combat plan.

Apart from the unexpected intrusion by this Aboriginal Extraordinary, they did not face any of the possible eerie methods of the Aboriginal Wizard from start to finish. Honestly... they had no desire to witness it either.

After the pirate ship's massive explosion, the number of "fortunate" survivors was extremely small, but they were soon all wiped out by the sailors who rowed over in boats.

Because ships of this era are all wooden, they have pretty good resistance to sinking.

Although due to the ammunition cook-off, this pirate ship was left with just a large piece of charred wreckage, it remained stubbornly floating and sinking on the sea surface until the "Conch" approached.

When sailors were sent to board the wreckage for inspection, nothing unexpected occurred. However, as anticipated, there were not many spoils collected.

A massive explosion had rendered almost everything into nothingness!

Regarding this, Aiven was not at all distressed, after all, it was a battle with zero casualties, what more could one wish for?

"Captain, does this come in handy?"

Fleck, ignoring the danger, took the lead in climbing onto the pirate ship wreckage to loot all the spoils and was also the last to return. He brought back a piece of the pirate ship's charred main sail, on which a part of an abstract silver eagle remained.

It was precisely the former dwelling of the Aboriginal Wizard Akrawa's [Eagle Soul Guardian].

"You've worked hard, Fleck!" Encouraging the proactive and progressive recruit, Aiven handed the piece of canvas to Milan. Although the battle was won, his greatest concern was the life or death of Akrawa, the wizard pirate captain.

After a while, using the canvas as a medium for divination, Milan reopened his eyes and said with a smile:

"Good luck, he should have been directly affected by the massive explosion during the ammunition bay cook-off, confirmed kill!"

"Not bad! Not bad! First battle successful, extra rations today!"

"Long live the Captain!"

Amid the cheers of the crew, Aiven had already turned around and returned to the captain's cabin with Milan, taking out a very old piece of animal skin from his pocket, gently rubbing it in his hand:

"The 'Eagle Warrior Training Method' isn't a bad haul!"

This was a spoil obtained from the young warrior who intruded onto the "Conch". Because the mysterious sources of this world all come from the "Spirit Realm Sun," though the continents are separated by vast seas, the Extraordinary texts are quite similar.

This "Eagle Warrior Training Method" was similarly written in a variant of "Spiritual Text."

Its sections on physical training and giant eagle taming are quite primitive and of little interest to Aiven, but the method of tattoo stamping to harness the spirit of animals intrigued him greatly.

Although it seems to have some defects, for an Extraordinary Knight it might not be an unhelpful addition.

Just after discussing the possible applications of the "Eagle Warrior Training Method" with fellow wizard Milan, the door of the captain's cabin was knocked.

Knock... knock... knock...

"Come in."

"Reporting to Captain, our ammunition reserve is now less than half, what do you think?"

At this time, the First Mate, Borg, knocked and entered to report the material consumption situation after the battle. Everything else was manageable, but today's lavish expenditure of ammunition had severely depleted reserves, not enough to support another battle of the same level.

After hearing the First Mate's report, Aiven also felt that this issue needed to be resolved quickly, so he turned his eyes to Milan:

"Chief Navigator, if I recall, the nearest Navy Base to our position is on Saint Martin Island, right?"

Saint Martin Island.

It is a Navy Base controlled by the Tulip Duchy within the Alliance.

In fact, the name "Tulip Alliance" comes from this. Although just a Duchy, it holds an exceptionally special status within the Alliance.

Because calling it the "Tulip Duchy" is less fitting than calling it the "Tulip Religious Country." As the headquarters of the Black Iron Cross Church, which is the common faith of all the Alliance's countries, the Pope automatically coronated as "Tulip Duke," both the shepherd of faith and the secular ruler.

But putting aside for now the base's affiliation.

Because ships of this era are all wooden, they are persistently eroded by seawater and parasites during long voyages at sea, making the underwater parts susceptible to corrosion. The impact of storms and cannon forces can also loosen the structural frame of the warship, so ships require regular major repairs by docking at harbors.

Otherwise, if the wood is allowed to loosen and corrode, the lifespan of the entire ship decreases, eventually risking collapse during some distant voyage under the test of a storm.

Conversely, if a wooden sailboat is finely built and regularly maintained, it can generally easily last over 50 years.

Hence, for a fleet, having a sufficient number of dry docks for regular maintenance of its warships is crucial.

National Navy Bases are often constructed around a dock, allowing the base to provide safe berths for the fleet, rest and medical facilities for sailors, and so on.

The Navy can simultaneously replenish sails, rigging, decks, masts, guns, ammunition, food, fresh water, and personnel at a Navy Base, maintaining complete combat power even far from home.

Thus, within the territorial waters of the Tulip Alliance, large and small Navy Bases are distributed like beads on a string along the main navigational routes, operated by various nations but available for communal use within the Alliance.

While reducing operational costs, it greatly expands the operational range of the Alliance's internal navy. The Navy Base located on Saint Martin Island is, of course, no exception.

Although the "Conch" belongs to the Phaletis Kingdom, it is equally entitled to usage!

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