Exploring Technology in a Wizard World-Chapter 711 - 709: Sea Blockade

Standing on the deck of the Queen Victoria, looking straight ahead, a large swath of red ship silhouettes appeared as far as the eye could see.

The hull was red, the deck was red, and even the hoisted sails were red, a crimson mass that resembled burning flames.

Each ship was smaller than the Queen Victoria, but there were more than a dozen of them, arranged in a neat triangular formation, majestically approaching through the waves towards the Queen Victoria, forcing it to halt.

The female captain of the Queen Victoria—Victoria Eliza, looked at the crimson fleet, her forehead gradually furrowing.

At that moment, a middle-aged man wearing a tricorn hat appeared on the deck of the leading Red Ship. Emitting the strong mana fluctuations only a wizard could possess, he walked to the forefront of the deck, took off his hat, and with a bow, said politely to Victoria, "Lady Victoria, I believe you might have heard of my name. I am Alafa, the leader of the Blood Sail Fleet. I have heard that there is a precious item aboard your ship, so I’ve come specifically to ask if I could have a look. I hope you would agree."

"Of course, you also have the right to refuse," added the middle-aged man, Alafa, pausing slightly, his tone shifting slightly, "but if you do, there might be some unpleasant incidents. After all, many of my men are eager to see that item, and should you refuse, it will certainly upset them. Then, I’ll be unable to control them, and it’s hard to say what crazy actions they might take."

As he spoke, numerous figures appeared on the decks of the more than ten Red Ships. Some were wizards, openly emanating mana fluctuations, others were clad in red armor as Magic Knights, and the rest were fierce-looking pirates wearing red headbands.

The so-called Blood Sail Fleet was actually the Blood Sail Pirate Group. However, this pirate group was far stronger than the previous ones, with many wizards and Magic Knights, and their strength was on par with a formidable Wizard Organization.

The Blood Sail Pirate Group was a detestable and headache-inducing presence on the high seas. They would do anything for money, including committing murder without batting an eye, and they had an infamous reputation. The only way to avoid them was to be completely penniless, making them uninterested in plundering.

Now, the Queen Victoria being targeted by them, it was obviously difficult to escape.

Aware of all this, the female captain Victoria, deeply furrowed her brow and was about to speak to Alafa when suddenly, something caught her eye from the corner of her vision, and she turned her head to look to the side.

Alafa noticed as well, and turned with Victoria to look in the same direction.

They saw, from the north direction, two sleek, dark black ships swiftly approaching. At the bow of the leading ship, a gaunt old man stood, unsmiling, with a stern expression as if someone owed him money and hadn’t paid back. His body emitted a chilling, decayed aura, like a corpse that had crawled out of a coffin, sending shivers down one’s spine.

To the north, another five snow-white ships approached in formation, arriving near the Queen Victoria and stopping at about the same time as the dark black ships. On the largest of the snow-white ships, a giant black man like a tower stood, his muscles bulging, with a monkey perched motionless on his shoulder.

The tiny monkey, in stark contrast with the giant muscle-bound man, was comically incongruent, inviting laughter. However, up close, no one could laugh, for the monkey exuded an extremely dangerous aura — this was no ordinary pet monkey, but a powerful Demonized Creature that even a first-level wizard would not dare to provoke lightly.

Along with Alafa’s earlier Blood Sail Pirate Group, three factions had now completely blocked the Queen Victoria’s path. The representatives of the two factions that arrived later also didn’t beat around the bush, making their demands clear in a few words, similar to Alafa’s, each wanting to "borrow" a precious item from the Queen Victoria.

The female captain Victoria’s frown deepened into a knot.

The situation was clear, one ship, the Queen Victoria, was no match for the three factions’ strength. And even if it were, what then? The Queen Victoria was a passenger ship, and should it come under attack, a large number of passengers would certainly be injured or killed. Even if they won, the Wizard Organization behind the Queen Victoria would have to bear a great loss of reputation.

"Phew—"

Lady Victoria, the captain, took a deep breath and swept her gaze over the middle-aged man, Alafa, the elderly Shamman, and the burly Takta, speaking slowly, "So, you are determined to oppose the Blue Nightingale Alliance that I represent?"

"Heh, don’t misunderstand, Lady Victoria." Alafa, who should have been the most ferocious pirate leader, was exceptionally polite at this moment, "Please believe me. I truly have no intention of offending your organization. I merely wish to borrow an item from your ship to admire for some time and will certainly return it intact when the time comes."

Old man Shamman also spoke, his voice sinister, "The same goes from my side, just lend us the artifacts from the ship for a display, and we guarantee no overstepping."

"Just taking the stuff and we will leave," said the burly Takta more directly.

"Squeak squeak!" His shoulder monkey also called out twice, as if to bolster their presence.

After hearing the trio, Victoria suddenly laughed and asked them, "It seems you all want something from my ship. But here’s the problem, there’s only one item, how should I divide it among you?"

This was clearly a very obvious means of sowing discord, quite primitive, yet sometimes quite effective.

However, at this moment, the tactic did not work, and the representatives of the three forces remained eerily calm.

As if having agreed beforehand, Alafa spoke to Victoria, "Lady Victoria, you needn’t worry about that. Just hand over the item to us, and naturally, we will sort out the distribution amongst ourselves, maybe even taking turns admiring it, hehe."

Victoria’s expression changed, she stared at Alafa for a moment and said, "And what if I firmly refuse to hand over the item to you?"

"Then there’s no helping it," Alafa sighed and looked at Victoria, "Really, if that’s the case, our three forces will simply have to measure our strength against yours. Perhaps... I alone am no match for you, Lady Victoria, but all of us together, you will find it hard to withstand us. As I said, it’s better to be sensible. It’s good for you, good for me, good for all."

While saying this, a formidable aura burst forth from Alafa, the aura of a Third-level Wizard Middle Stage!

The old man from the black ship, Shamman, and the burly man from the white vessel, Takta, also released their powerful auras, similarly at the Third-level Wizard Middle Stage, in a harmonious echo, directing a clearly threatening tone towards Victoria.

"Being sensible, huh, unfortunately, I don’t want to," Victoria said. Her gaze suddenly sharp, her own aura erupted and skyrocketed, instantly reaching the peak of a Third-level Wizard, directly opposing Alafa, Shamman, and Takta. A great battle seemed imminent.

Just at that moment, with a "boom," lightning cracked across the clear sky.

Then, a sudden gale arose, dark clouds gathered, and the sky turned visibly darker at a visible pace.

When the last ray of sunlight disappeared, the entire sea looked as if it had leapt from daylight into night, with lightning wildly leaping between the dark clouds and thunder rolling, as if heralding the end of the world.