Chapter 572.5: Naval Guerrilla Battle
When the four captured pirate ships returned to Fishery Island, it caused an uproar.
Other navy recruits in training were envious and excited, eager to join the next battle.
Everyone working on the island felt encouraged and joyful.
They loved the changes Bay Territory brought, though they still worried about a Wokou comeback.
Now, seeing Wokou corpses and captured ships...
They were finally reassured, throwing themselves into work with enthusiasm.
With morale boosted, Bay Territory fully stabilized the situation on Fishery Island.
Over the next half-month—
More and more magic warships arrived from Bay Territory.
Trained naval soldiers began hunting Wokou pirates across surrounding seas.
At first, the Wokou pirates dared to fight back.
After being completely wiped out and brought back to Fishery Island...
The rest turned cowardly. Upon sighting Bay Territory's ships, they fled without a fight.
More naval soldiers gained combat experience and matured rapidly.
More adventurers joined the battles.
Led by Alice, some teams even started requesting to buy the seized Wokou pirate ships.
Yes—after repeated combat,
The adventurers resolved to hunt solo.
Grinning broadly, Manhammer returned to cheerfulness now that the Dwarf Kingdom's war was over.
He happily introduced the magic dwarf cannons produced by the joint factory to adventurer captains.
"Unlike old cannons, no need to worry about rain, wet powder, misfires, or slow loading."
"It uses internal magical fuses that ignite even in damp conditions."
"The magical powder is safe and stable, activated only by special detonators, making storage and transport much safer."
"Rear-loading has obvious advantages—safer and faster."
"And the range? 1,200 meters—easily outmatches the Wokou's outdated cannons."
"..."
Gazing at the standardized cannons, the captains exchanged glances, discussing silently.
They clearly understood the cannons' excellence.
Having witnessed them crush the Wokou, they knew their power.
But the high price still made them hesitate.
Bay Territory soon eased those concerns.
"Bay Territory will expand its routes southward, opening maritime trade with Farsico and the southern nations."
Even this news wasn't quite enough to sway the adventurer captains.
Then, Alice's team used three standard ships with long-range cannon advantage to rout a small pirate fleet.
They sank two Wokou ships and captured a third.
One ship alone was immensely valuable.
Not to mention, they captured four transport ships.
Those carried over two million gold coins worth of rare metal ore!
That haul not only repaid their investment but netted every team member over 1,000 gold coins.
Seeing this windfall, other adventurer teams stopped hesitating and began buying warships and magic cannons.
Leveraging cannon firepower, their fleets began a pirate-hunting frenzy across coastal waters.
Adventurer teams, fond of group combat, used range and numbers to eliminate small pirate fleets.
Smaller pirate fleets didn't pose a serious threat.
If overwhelmed, they could escape before the enemy closed in.
If the pirates pursued—
Without absolute speed, they'd have to endure dozens of cannon volleys first.
Some pirates, mid-chase, found themselves badly damaged.
The "fleeing" adventurers then turned and struck with deadly force.
More and more teams succeeded, killing pirates and capturing warships and transports.
With such profit on display, other adventurers naturally followed suit.
Of course, the cruel and cunning Wokou pirates weren't helpless.
Sometimes, they too bared their fangs.
Familiar with the seas and islands, they set traps and ambushed several adventurer warships.
If not for timely distress calls and the quick arrival of Bay Territory's magic ships...
If it weren't for the timely arrival of the Gulf Territory's magic warships in response to their distress call, the losses might have been more than just half the personnel or a nearly sunken warship.
After this lesson, the adventurer fleets became alert again.
Their opponents were not ones to be taken lightly.
A single moment of carelessness could cost their lives.
The Gulf Territory also conducted some pre-battle training for them.
Especially the "simplified naval guerrilla tactics" centered on attack range advantage and coordinated action.
This opened a new world for many adventurer fleets.
It was the first time they realized battles could be fought this way.
"Don't go head-to-head with them. They can't reach us anyway!"
"If things look bad, don't worry about the loot—just retreat and regroup. We can always fight again."
"Always survey the terrain before battle. The naked eye has limited range, but flying pets and visibility-enhancing skills can help detect ambushes."
"When in doubt, fire a couple more rounds of cannonballs. Ammo may be costly, but lives are priceless."
"Explore more islands and record the information. The territory will purchase the data."
"Watch the weather closely. On rainy days, they often can't counterattack. Use this to your advantage..."
"..."
After training, adventurer fleets stopped charging in recklessly like before.
They integrated their knowledge from land warfare into naval battles.
Soon, unprepared small Wokou pirate fleets suffered major losses.
Instead of just two or three adventurer ships, now seven or eight gathered together.
This was righteous ganging-up.
They had just laid the trap and bait, waiting for prey to take the hook.
Suddenly, four or five warships charged in and devoured the "bait."
A larger encirclement was already in place, swallowing their trap.
By the time they realized, they had become the bait themselves.
Another half month passed.
In the coastal seas of the eastern region, the once swarm-like small Wokou fleets had significantly dwindled.
Many had become spoils of war for the Gulf Navy and adventurer fleets.
Others chose to flee the dangerous area.
Why fight to the death here when there were other seas to plunder?
No need for a futile struggle!
However, despite the Gulf Navy and adventurer teams causing a huge stir, they still couldn't root out the medium and large Wokou pirate fleets.
These fleets not only had numerous ships but had also upgraded some of their cannons in a timely manner.
After some engagements, where they didn't gain much advantage, the Gulf Navy withdrew its probing from the deeper seas.
In the United Factory—
A batch of magic cannons salvaged from medium Wokou wrecks was being examined and studied.
Matthew stroked the intricately patterned, aesthetically pleasing magical cannon, a smile tugging at his lips.
"The Cole Elves sure know how to invest."
Nearby, Annie recalled the magic cannons that had appeared recently on the battlefield and snorted coldly.
"Their performance is good, but it's obvious each was built separately, costing immense manpower, resources, and materials."
That was exactly what Matthew wanted!
The more resources the Cole Elves invested in the Wokou, the less pressure on the Ail Elves.
On the side, Manhammer, equally disgruntled, grumbled—a grudge-holding dwarf quickly connecting the dots.
"The Cole Elves would rather support Wokou scum than help us dwarves..."
"Some allies they are... heh."
Mage Dunkan rubbed his chin, intrigued as he examined several key formation runes.
"The Cole Elves' tech is solid and runs on a different path than ours. There's a lot we can learn."
Seeing the objective achieved, Matthew left the batch of materials to the United Factory and began preparing the trade route.
The Wokou pirates had "delivered" not only 15 warships but 32 transport ships.
While the adventurers divided the warships, all the transport ships were claimed by the Gulf Territory.
Each transport ship could carry nearly 200 tons of cargo.
A single trip could haul a quarter of the Gulf's monthly goods.
Such valuable assets would never be left idle by Matthew.
Soon, thanks to Silverleaf Family's channels in Farsico, a large batch of orders came in.
Valued over 5 million gold, the orders accounted for a third of the Gulf's monthly production—an enormous deal.
To ensure safety and build connections in Farsico, Matthew decided to organize a large cargo fleet for a trial run across the Caribbean and Sea of Death.
April 13th.
Gulf Territory.
Clear weather.
The scorching sun gradually revealed summer's power.
Waves of hot wind stirred endless fields of green rice shoots into rippling waves.
On a railway connecting Gulf City to the docks, a golem-powered train hauling twenty containers sped forward.
The golem train moved at nearly 200 km/h.
Protective iron fences lined both sides of the track, preventing collisions.
After 15 minutes, the train arrived at a massive lake in the middle of Silvermoon River.
It quickly passed inspection and entered a bustling shipyard.
One by one, large containers were loaded onto a massive transport ship.
Unlike other ships, this one had a full metal exterior.
This was a steel ship!
With over 1500 tons of displacement, the transport ship was affectionately dubbed the "Big Fish" by Yaya.
It looked like a full-bellied fish.
While its name was silly, everyone who saw it couldn't help but marvel.
Many Gulf members unfamiliar with "buoyancy" continued praising the power of magic.
Beside the Big Fish were six brand-new magic warships, also clad in thick iron armor.
Their defense had tripled, weight increased only by 0.5x, and speed dropped by just 20%—a full upgrade.
To propel these 300+ ton ships swiftly across the sea—
The Gulf had equipped them with large steam engines, courtesy of the Yao Moon Family.
Carlos, who provided the blueprints, forced himself not to question how steel floated on water.
As he eyed box after box of cargo, he curiously asked:
"Why prepare so many battle supplies? Isn't Farsico still at peace?"
Matthew shrugged, not about to reveal the upcoming turmoil in Farsico.
Who could say whether the Yao Moon Family would try to steal business after noticing the situation?
So Matthew casually verified the checklist while replying:
"That area's hills and woods are still plagued by Draconic Madness. Combat supplies are in high demand."
"Besides, several big clients already paid half upfront. We just need to deliver."
After calculating the value, Carlos couldn't hide his envy and eagerly asked:
"That last training session went great. When's the next one?"
Paying to fight and still eager for more?
Watching the final container board the ship, Matthew casually replied:
"No problem. The northern barbarians are already rushing toward us."
"We've built strongholds and forts all along the Silvermoon River. Perfect for rookie combat training."
Carlos nodded excitedly, eyes fixed on the neatly assembled soldiers, and asked spiritedly:
"Are these the elite troops heading to the New World?"
Matthew observed the newly upgraded warriors and smiled.
"That's right. They need tougher enemies and harder battles to hone themselves."
Carlos was speechless. He couldn't understand why these elite Gulf warriors didn't just stay safe.
He didn't know that true elites could only be forged in war.
Thinking of the New World, Matthew murmured to himself:
"The demons there... are the perfect opponents!"