The First Magic World War

On the second day after occupying Cappadocia City, Charles sent letters to Notruden, but he was unable to wait for a reply. Instead, he was greeted first by two merchant ships mooring at the docks.

Before the crews of these two merchant ships could even understand the situation, they were boarded by the Westwind Knights, who had been lying in wait for some time, and all the crew were detained. Charles skillfully "brainwashed" them, using the combination of salty fish essence and leg-stretching, eye-bulging pills, progressing the Labyrinth to (6/18).

There was a minor incident this time; one of the captains, who claimed to have been a pirate, retired after losing an arm during a boarding fight when a Transcendent on the target ship severed his limb. He then turned to becoming a merchant ship's owner, but as he was not familiar with the business, his venture was not very successful.

This captain, known as Crazy Horse Davis, learned that Charles had taken control of Cappadocia City and now had four merchant ships under his command, adding his and another ship, totaling six merchant ships. His enthusiastic offer to ally himself was so fervent that Charles suspected he might be a spy for Baron.

However, Charles was short on sailing talents at the time, so he still extended a very warm welcome to this former pirate captain and offered him quite a generous remuneration.

Charles himself, Taoles, Anatasiya, Belisa, and the battle squad of Cruz, the former Patrol Army Superintendent of Cappadocia City, each had a hundred men; he afforded Crazy Horse Davis the same treatment.

Crazy Horse Davis, having gained Charles's "trust," and knowing his desire to assemble more ships, proposed a very tempting suggestion, "Lord Qian Nan! If you wish to have your own pirate fleet, it's not enough just to occupy these merchant ships. We also need a batch of warships, even just one." Stay tuned for updates on My Virtual Library Empire

"While merchant ships do possess cannons, their firepower is too weak."

"I believe you must be aware, on land, Transcendents decide the outcome of battles, but at sea, it's the artillery that determines victory, as Transcendents can't fly after all."

"Hmm, the Sacred Order is another matter altogether."

"Faced with the Sacred Order, surrender is pretty much the only option left to discuss."

Charles thought it made sense and asked, "We can't exactly rob the Royal Navy of the Inglima Empire, can we? Besides that, there's no way to acquire warships."

Crazy Horse Davis chuckled, "Besides robbing the Royal Navy, I know of another way. On the other side of Song Spirit Island, at most a half-day's sail from here, there's a small island called St. Michael Island. It harbors a pirate fleet that calls themselves the Golden Goat, equipped with over thirty ships, including three warships."

Charles's eyes lit up upon hearing this; he was also familiar with St. Michael Island, as it was quite renowned. It used to be the capital of a small nation, Saint Michael.

This small nation had just that one city, and its Kings through the ages were obsessed with turning the island into a fortress. After dedicating centuries and the nation's full resources to construction, the entire island became a fortress, easily defended and hard to attack.

Despite being a small country, it was a stronghold that the Inglima Empire couldn't conquer for a long time. Eventually, they had to compromise, ennobling the King of this small nation as a Duke, and the nation acknowledged the Inglima Empire's rule over the British Isles.

But ironically, during the second year after this small nation surrendered to the Inglima Empire, a civil war broke out. A nephew of the new Duke Michael, desiring to claim the throne and reinstate the kingdom to appoint himself King, colluded with a pirate group with plans of betrayal from within and without...

Unsurprisingly, this pirate group slaughtered all the members of the Saint Michael Royal Family, including that clever nephew, and took control of St. Michael Island for themselves.

However, the greatest flaw of pirates is their ignorance in statecraft. The rare talent capable of governing a pirate city is one in a million within the pirate ranks. This group of pirates was quickly vanquished by their peers, and St. Michael Island passed through several hands afterward.

Charles knew about St. Michael Island because there were related materials in the university, but he had no idea why someone was now secretly occupying it.

Continuing in a persuasive tone, Crazy Horse Davis said, "St. Michael Island is much better than Cappadocia City, with the annual comings and goings of merchants' ships numbering one to two hundred, amassing countless wealth."

"If we can capture St. Michael Island, we will be the new kings of the Whale Sea."

Charles was certain that this newly pledged subordinate was a "classic fool."

How could he conquer an island even the Inglima Empire had not managed to take, with just six merchant ships and little more than a thousand men?

The bluster of Crazy Horse Davis might deceive those blinded by greed, but Charles certainly would not believe him.

However, after a moment's thought, Charles considered, "Crazy Horse Davis must be in cahoots with someone on St. Michael Island. Should I try to use that to my advantage?"

"After all, if I can't use him, I won't lose anything."

"Especially since the island is only a half-day's voyage from Cappadocia City, which will not affect the maze-ification."

After weighing the matter in his mind, Charles posed a humble approach, asking, "St. Michael Island is easy to defend but hard to attack, how can we conquer it?"

Crazy Horse Davis answered confidently, "The fleet of the Golden Goat from St. Michael Island has just set sail recently, and currently only about a dozen ships are left to guard the island. It's at its most vulnerable. I've had several dealings with the Golden Goat's fleet and can lead us there under the guise of resupplying. Then we strike at midnight to take the city by surprise. St. Michael Island will easily fall into our hands."

Charles thought to himself, "Based on this strategy alone, it's tantamount to seeking death. I'll have to find an opportunity to kill this man."

Indeed, heeding the advice of Crazy Horse Davis, Charles began mobilizing the whole city. Riding the waves of his rising fame in Cappadocia City and with five hundred new recruits, he expanded the Westwind Knights to two thousand men.

This new Westwind Knights was inferior to his original troops; after all, the original Westwind Knights were formed from Strasbourg's Patrolling Army and were, at the very least, the local forces of the Fars Empire's capital. The main composition of this new unit was slaves, newly freed natives of Song Spirit Island, who had nothing but morale to offer.

Not long after the two thousand Westwind Knights set sail on the six merchant ships, Charles heard a familiar name.

Crazy Horse Davis knew nothing about Charles, much less that this Mr. Qian Nan had the Insight Ability. So, after setting sail, he discussed with a few subordinates—how to lure Charles into the encirclement formed by the slave ship leader Chatham.

Charles was quite surprised; he had let Chatham go, hoping he would spread the word that Cappadocia City had been occupied by the People of Baron, but he hadn't expected Chatham to actually plan an ambush to eliminate him outright.

Charles, accustomed to living in Strasbourg for a long time, had complained countless times about the chaos in this medieval nation, but compared to Fars, the Inglima Empire was truly chaotic, where slave traders could collude with clerks and even pirates. It was indeed a place of disorder.