Chapter 574 - 69: Kilian’s Countermeasure (Part 2)
Facing a mysterious adversary who is neither afraid of him nor unprepared, attacking would be akin to seeking death.
But if he doesn’t respond in some way, he will have a hard time explaining to his crew—
As the Captain, he must take responsibility for his sailors. If dozens of sailors disappear quietly on the island without finding the cause or their whereabouts, he can certainly choose to ignore it.
Yet the clues left behind have already spread across the two ships. If he doesn’t take action, who will be willing to risk their lives for him in the future?
Going is a trap.
Not going affects his reputation.
Between the two choices, Kilian chose a third option—
Let someone else go.
...
There were quite a few Spanish Merchant Ships docked at the Brazil port.
To many Captains who have reached the peak of their lives through navigation, owning a plantation in Brazil was exceptionally fashionable.
Especially for some older Captains who no longer wished to wander the seas for a lifetime.
Even if they were once brave, recalling the storms and high seas they endured, they also missed the solidity and stability of the mainland.
Kilian’s arch enemy, Monidez, was one of them.
Monidez’s fleet was larger than Kilian’s, and his connections were stronger. However, in terms of personal courage and strategy, he was far inferior to Kilian.
Kilian often said to Fidel in private, if Monidez had the same background as him, at most he’d only be an ordinary sailor in this life, either dying at sea or on a woman’s belly.
However, the greatest divide between people is etched from the moment of birth. The wealth Kilian fought for a lifetime to accumulate couldn’t compare to even one percent of the wealth Monidez’s family amassed.
Of course, the gap in status and position did not stop Kilian from tripping up Monidez.
...
On the third day after Lucia returned to the Brazil port, Monidez, who was also docked at the port for rest, received the news—
The slippery Kilian had suffered a significant loss.
An enormous fortune he had secretly hidden on an offshore island had been looted by Pirates entrenched there. Not only that, but many of Kilian’s capable men were captured by the Pirates, who brazenly left clues for Kilian to reclaim his men.
It was said that after receiving the news, Kilian was so angry that he fainted on the spot and fell ill, unable to rise. Many Captains he was on good terms with visited him these past few days. According to them, Kilian was indeed quite upset.
Seeing his rival suffer, Monidez naturally was gloating, even bringing ’gifts’ to visit, attempting to seize the opportunity to mercilessly ridicule him and worsen Kilian’s condition.
However, Kilian had already instructed not to receive Monidez. When Monidez arrived in person, he didn’t even get past the gates of the plantation and was almost bitten by Kilian’s guard dogs.
Despite this, Monidez was not angry in the slightest. Instead, he was even happier than seeing Kilian bedridden.
If Kilian were to directly die from this matter, Monidez would probably throw a grand banquet to celebrate.
...
Soon after being refused at the door, Monidez received another piece of intelligence—
The exact amount of Kilian’s treasure that was plundered.
The intelligence mentioned that most of the treasure Kilian intercepted from the Inca Empire was buried on that small island, even including several pure gold statues encrusted with gems.
It was said there was also a Ruby larger than a pigeon’s egg, intended as a gift for the queen, which was also taken.
Arriving at Monidez’s mansion along with this intelligence was another piece of news—
Kilian’s two armed merchant ships were purchasing gunpowder, recruiting men, and even releasing word of wanting to buy another three-masted armed merchant ship to seek revenge on the Pirates.
Hearing these two pieces of news, along with his own observations, Monidez felt a bit restless.
Though he maintained close ties with the Spanish Royal Family, who would complain about having too strong connections? A "pigeon egg-sized Ruby" — that was a rarity even he hadn’t seen.
If Kilian recovered, bought a merchant ship, and made preparations, how could those arrogant Pirates stand a chance against him? When the time came for his rival to retrieve the treasure, good moods would be hard to come by.
...
After setting his sights on Kilian’s treasure, Monidez spent some money to bribe the sailors from Lucia who had landed on the island, gaining accurate information about its location, including the Pirates’ lair.
Meanwhile, he exerted his connections to temporarily prevent the port Captains from selling large merchant ships and gunpowder to Kilian, while also preparing for his own maritime action.
Even in the rainy season, the allure of treasure still drew bold sailors to board Monidez’s large sailing ship, setting sail under the gloomy skies.
...
To ensure absolute success, Monidez deployed three three-masted armed merchant ships.
These armed merchant ships were all from the Spanish Royal Family; the wood for their hulls and structure was much more robust than ordinary merchant ships, being equipped with brand-new Cannons and ample ammunition.
Wary that the large ships might be too cumbersome to catch up with the Pirates’ small boats, Monidez didn’t even load goods on these ships.
This means if the mission failed, he would bear all the costs of traveling from the island to the Brazil port and back – a business sure to lose money.
However, Monidez’s family was vast, unfazed by such details. As long as he could get that Ruby, he could make several more round trips—
He never considered there might be greater losses.
In Monidez’s eyes, Pirates were always unruly sea mongrels who picked on the weak, having to steer clear of his merchant ships.
The reason they managed to loot Kilian’s treasure was not due to exceptional skills but Kilian’s foolishness—
Monidez, in his high position, was never short of flattering voices around him, and no one dared to point out that Kilian, in fact, was much more capable than him.
This time, Kilian’s act and leaked information were so convincing that even many nobles acquainted with Kilian were left in the dark.
...
On September 30, 1666, a grand festival was held as usual on the island.
The new Temple, constructed under Zebra’s supervision, was officially declared completed several days before the festival. Although only the main hall was completed, with the surrounding quarters merely having rough frameworks, the rite was still held at the new Temple.
Both new and old islanders worshipped Wang Lingguan in the Temple and witnessed the ceremonial gunshot.
Chen Zhou appeared once more in his pitch-black Iron Massacre, his robust physique and imposing Armor leaving the islanders with the same frozen shock as always.
Shortly after the festival, in mid-October, the second steamship constructed on the island was successfully launched, named "Iron Heart" by Chen Zhou.
This steamship’s power had been further improved, allowing more efficient utilization of charcoal’s thermal energy, thus enhancing both speed and range.
As the only veteran Captain on the island with combat experience, Sunday was forced to leave his beloved Steel Bone after Iron Heart’s launch, becoming Iron Heart’s Captain and commander.
The rainy season had a significant impact on sailing ships, yet couldn’t prevent the steamship from cutting through waves and roaming the island’s nearby seas.
Each morning, islanders living in the port area could hear two steam whistles, one after the other.
The Steel Bone, with its tattered sails, appeared somewhat bulky.
While Iron Heart completely abandoned the impractical sails, possessing sleeker lines, its body covered entirely with thin steel plates, basked in the morning glow, garnering attention.
...
With ever-deepening knowledge of the nearby seas, the patrol range of the two warships expanded progressively.
To increase their range, both Steel Bone and Iron Heart allocated half a deck for charcoal storage, to prevent running out of fuel and becoming adrift at sea.
The Steel Bone, equipped with sails, wasn’t much of an issue; even if it ran out of fuel, it could struggle on the sea using sails.
Iron Heart, however, without a secondary power source beyond its steam engine, could only drift along with the water once the charcoal ran out. This fatal flaw made Chen Zhou increasingly eager to secure coal resources.
However, no minerals could be found on the small island, and they couldn’t rely on the "black box" that produced a lump of anthracite each day to power a large ship, as the coal supply barely sufficed for forging purposes.