Amid the escalating tempest, the layered, towering waves of the Stormy Ocean gradually built up into a seemingly endless chain of rolling hills upon the sea.

As waves breached their peaks, the seafoam whipped up by the wind twisted like countless white serpents surging atop the wave crests.

"Wind from the north, force seven, speed 32 knots, starboard Qiangfeng—close-hauled! Secure the T."

"Port Qiangfeng—close-hauled! Secure the T."

In the instant they spotted each other, Byron and Pizarro simultaneously issued the same command.

The two warships, like elegantly dancing partners, one to the east and one to the west, began to simultaneously Qiangfeng in the massive waves, ready to seize the weather gauge at the first opportunity.

The Golden Deer’s mixed sail configuration, with both square and fore-and-aft sails, made it far more efficient at ’zigzag’ Qiangfeng than ships solely rigged with square sails.

The Thirteen Braves, with its full square sail setup, had a close-hauled angle of nearly 60°.

Meanwhile, with its mixed sail configuration, boasting a vast mainsail and three lift sails, The Golden Deer’s close-hauled angle was less than 30°.

That’s not even taking into account the South Wind Girl figurehead’s inherent ability to twist the wind direction by 30°: the Wind Conductor.

Anyone with a basic understanding of the Pythagorean theorem would realize just how desperately wide the gap was between their efficiency in vying for the windward position.

It could be said that in the race of Qiangfeng, even without the supernatural effects of being the "world’s fastest ship" and "See Ship Fast," The Golden Deer, as a Tudor Hybrid Sailboat, was a reigning king!

Although The Thirteen Braves was initially closer to the north and nearer the windward side, it was quickly overtaken by The Golden Deer.

"Rigging master, take down the mainsail!"

"Aye, taking down the mainsail, preparing for battle."

The mainsail, located closest to the deck on the mast, not only hinders combat but is also the most susceptible to being ignited by gunfire. Hence, it must be taken down before engaging in battle.

As the distance closed, they also caught sight of each other.

Byron presented his appearance as the Native Youth, [Lord of Heaven], to Prince Atahualpa alone. To others, he still looked like Byron Tudor, as altered by ’Cognitive Revision.’

"Kingdom of Castile, ’Plunderer’ Francisco Pizarro, prepare for the end."

"Kingdom of Hightens, ’Sea Hunter’ Byron Tudor, you are impressive! A scavenging hyena that picks at the flesh behind Castilia, daring to bare teeth at a lion."

CRACKLE! POP!

The gazes of the two captains, both Mid-Sequences Transcendents, clashed, and electric sparks seemed to burst in the air filled with relentless rain.

"Load Solid Bullets in all port-side guns! Prepare for double-bullet fire on my command!"

Byron, with his hand on the wheel, extended his extraordinary control with Divine Sight through the transcendent abilities of ’Storm Admiral’ to every part of The Golden Deer, making each component his eyes, ears, hands, and legs...

The Grand Ship Saint, having transcended the original limitation of only being able to summon a sky-descending sword strike, began to gradually reach the state of ’One with the Ship’—not quite a Ship Spirit, but close to it. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

He was going all out right from the start.

This proactive challenge against the Castilian adventure ship was not a mere whim, but a tacit understanding among adventurers from various nations.

The strategic goals of the nations had always been clear.

The People of Castilia were constantly thinking of driving everyone out of overseas territories to monopolize all benefits for themselves.

Constructing maritime walls, blockading shipping routes, setting up tolls, annihilating Native Empires, spreading epidemics on a large scale, struggles over ecclesiastical authority...they employed countless overt and covert tactics.

Although, with the ongoing progress of the Great Nautical Age, opportunities and resources for all nations were increasing, making this goal seem more and more unachievable, their action-oriented approach never changed, and they would mercilessly sweep other nations aside if the opportunity arose.

Other nations did the same, with an unspoken anti-Castilia alliance always present, ready to kick Castilia when it was down at any opportunity.

Although it was like slowly cutting away at them, as long as everyone did it together, there would eventually come a day when the leader would fall, and they could rise to the top.

No wonder Castilia was too domineering; its lexicon had never included the phrase "win-win cooperation."

Byron’s act of kicking a man when he was down was politically correct!

He still had gaps in hard power.

Though he had secretly built the Pioneer Guiding Colonial Trading Company’s Privateer Fleet, seized control of the Phantom Fleet with The Blue Dragon King, and laid a solid foundation with the millions of people from two large Native Empires, his development time was too short, and he still did not match up to the established national powers.

If he lacked the strength to stand alone, he had to strike a balance, silently strengthening his forces.

With his current abilities, hindering the People of Castilia was certainly feasible.

It’s easy to spoil things, but difficult to accomplish them.

Especially upon realizing that the Sun God Inti, who ruled the Sun Empire and intimidated the Ancient God’s Chosen Races along the East Coast, might be more than just a Fifth Order [False God].

Byron immediately changed his established battle strategy, reverting to his previous approach before the conquests of the Aztec and Taya Empires:

—seeking collaborators, nurturing proxies, and carefully maintaining a balance amidst the lurking behemoths, all while gradually accumulating strength.

This was after all one of Byron’s most adept skills.

Divine Sight’s comprehensive vision swept over that observing Native Prince in the sky above, and he nodded silently to himself:

This Prince Atahualpa, the heir to the Sun Empire, is clearly a most suitable candidate.