The Kingdom of Castilia’s crude colonial 1.0 model was no longer suitable for an era that had changed but not completely. I connected with him as the Sacred Golden Emperor under the guise of a ’Northern Relative.’ The best outcome would be to support him in his bid for the throne later on, and at the very least, I could use him as a stepping stone to find a suitable proxy. In the future, it might even be possible to form a close collaboration with the new king, uniting the Golden Empire and the Sun Empire into a flexible alliance of Native Empires. Even when facing the colonial powers of the Old Continent, and those Kin from the East Coast whose depths are unknown, this was a force that could not be ignored. From then on, two native families working together for mutual gain meant no one would dare to speak loudly to me... us two anymore. In the subsequent development of the Southern Continent, I was always going to be profitable, preying on my predecessors, then my ’compatriots,’ and then those of my ’own race.’ I would never lose.

Of course, the plan is good and might succeed in the end, or it might fail. After all, where in the world is there a business that only profits without loss? But from the prince’s performance thus far, he had already proved to be a lot more straightforward and civilized than those faraway colonizers. And the Thirteen Braves, the Castilian ship that Atahualpa almost counter-sank, would serve as my target to demonstrate my strength to my future ally. It’s just bad luck for them.

This was The Golden Deer’s first one-on-one engagement with an evenly-matched warship since its launch. If this supposedly evenly matched opponent hadn’t already been beaten half to death by others, Byron would certainly not have chosen to duel him.

Pizarro, on the opposing ship, didn’t feel there was anything wrong with Byron taking advantage of his predicament either. It’s The Golden Deer and Saint Byron from the intelligence reports, the ones who just made a name for themselves in the Nightmare Triangle. They only took over the whaling grounds a few days ago, and now they’re suddenly on the West Coast, trying to grab our territory. Doesn’t this guy ever rest? For a commoner-born privateer captain, he sure is overexerting himself for the Kingdom of Hightins. Does Edward IV even know how hard you’re working? One is busy making children with the First Beauty of the Strait Islands, while the other toils and risks his life overseas. The throne might as well be yours, you fool!

He didn’t even ask why the other party was attacking; he immediately assumed a fighting stance, not even sparing a thought for the Sun Chariots above his head. After all, any Fourth Order Transcendent from the five great maritime powers would have made the exact same choice without hesitation. If he himself had encountered a damaged adventuring ship from another country, he would have immediately struck the downed opponent.

However, understanding did not equate to calm acceptance. His face was as steady as an old sea dog’s, but inside, he was nearly about to cough up blood from rage. Against those natives who had never fought a Transcendent of the Ladder of Glory sequence, he might have escaped by catching them off guard. But facing other colonizers who knew his capabilities, he wouldn’t be so lucky.

The two ships continued to draw closer. Due to the lamentable speed of Sail Battleships, naval battles of this era often meant that from the moment a target was spotted, the chef would start cooking. Only after the meal and a short nap could the engagement truly begin.

One ship was heading 60° northeast, the other 30° northwest. After a long chase, they met at a perpendicular angle. The Golden Deer, being marginally faster, seized the initiative and crossed the "T" of its opponent.

At this moment, the roar of the wind, waves, storm, and tide seemed to recede rapidly. The two warships had eyes only for each other. All onlookers instinctively swallowed hard.

GULP.

Byron, now one with The Golden Deer, decisively seized the opportunity. His body erupted with Divine Light, his Starlight Body merging with the warship. "Stormforged Weapon Enchantment! Artillery Range Extension! Command Storm Spirits! All gun crews, adjust elevation! Fire!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!...

As The Golden Deer passed the bow of the enemy warship, the 18-pounder and 32-pounder Carronades arranged on its broadside fired sequentially. In the heavy rain, muzzle flashes lit up the gloom. The storm-enchanted cannonballs, carrying immense kinetic energy and fierce, spiraling air currents, tore white trails through the curtain of rain, landing precisely on the bow of the Thirteen Braves.

The deceleration zone created by the "One-Third Speed Reduction Pocket Watch" and the water curtain held up by the "Agate Jellyfish" had already been severely damaged by the assault of the Fourth Order Mythical Creature [Son of the Sun] and had not yet recovered. Now, struck by a barrage of cannon fire no less devastating than a meteor shower, they finally gave way. The defenses shattered in mid-air by the fourth shot, and subsequent cannonballs drilled one after another into the poorly protected forecastle, which lacked substantial hull plating.

The Golden Deer, having had its deck leveled, was already significantly shorter than other Garen-type ships. After breaking through the defenses, it shot forward with a piercing screech, bouncing as it went, and crushed the already heavily battered Castilian colonizers along an entire line into a blood mist.

On the Thirteen Braves, only two 6-pounder cannons on the forecastle could return fire, their lethality negligible. The long-range attacks from several bizarrely shaped Treasure Elves caused some trouble, but most were blocked by the Rapid Water Ring summoned by Little Snail. Even if a few attacks slipped through, the double-digit number of Mid-Sequence Transcendents aboard could handle them with ease.

By the time the eleven cannons on one side had finished firing, The Golden Deer had successfully reached the upwind position. After turning into the wind, it was almost parallel to the enemy ship.

"All gun crews, reload! Switch to chain shot! Elevate barrels! Fire!"

The two warships, only a hundred meters apart, were heading towards each other at close range when they simultaneously issued the command to fire. Dozens of orange-yellow muzzle flashes suddenly illuminated the dark sea. Large clouds of white gunpowder smoke billowed up, only to be blown by the wind into the faces of the crew on the downwind Thirteen Braves. For a moment, even the torrential rain could not extinguish it.

The Golden Deer’s cannonade was noticeably faster, denser, and more accurate.

BOOM!

A round shot struck the outer hull of the Thirteen Braves, instantly creating a high-speed shockwave at the point of impact. This wave spread in the blink of an eye to the joints between the oak hull’s layers and was then reflected. The shockwave propagated extremely fast. When the reflected wave struck the cannonball again, the ball deformed and tore apart. In an instant, a large amount of irregularly shaped, deadly spall—fragments of both wood and cannonball—erupted from the inner side of the hull, flying in all directions. These fragments were equally lethal.

"AAAAAAH...." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Nearby gunners were instantly riddled like sieves. Their agonizing screams made even their battle-hardened comrades tremble. A sailor, cut in half by wooden shrapnel, crawled tragically on the deck, leaving a large trail of blood. A comrade quickly put him out of his misery with a shot before he was thrown out the gunport. This was standard wartime procedure to prevent bodies from hindering cannon operation.

"Return fire! Return fire!"

The Thirteen Braves was also a Wonder Battleship, its cannonballs equally fierce and powerful. But even when its shots landed on The Golden Deer, a warship protected by Sacred Relics with an "Everlasting" effect, it was like hitting iron armor. Even if shrapnel was produced, it wasn’t a fatal wound to the crew, who, clenching Aztec’s Cursed Coins in their mouths, had become "Wings of Death" living dead.

Unwittingly, they had grown to this point. Even when battling a Wonder Battleship commanded by a Fourth Order Transcendent, they could achieve nearly zero combat losses.

At the same time, "Katyusha," the exclusive background music for Byron, a sufferer of "firepower insufficiency phobia," began to play melodiously. The sound of violins and a pleasant female voice echoed across the battlefield. The intensity of the warship’s already formidable broadside fire increased explosively.

WHINE...

The piercing shriek of the cannonballs instantly made scalps tingle.

"Friendly cannon loading efficiency and firepower density increased by 50%. All cannonballs have a tracer effect and Organ sound effect. Upon hitting the target, there is a 5% chance of converting kinetic energy into thermal energy, causing an explosion. Enemy fear level and morale collapse rate increased by 50%!"

The next moment, a chain shot—composed of iron chains and cannonballs—tore off the opponent’s mainmast. It then exploded with a roar, and the scorching wind blasted a swath of nearby crew members away. They were shredded into bloody tatters before they even hit the deck. They had somehow turned ordinary solid shot into devastating shrapnel shells.

"This is bad! Carpenter! Damage control team, quickly!"

The Thirteen Braves was already caught in The Golden Deer’s downwind wake, its maneuverability severely hampered. Now, with its mainmast destroyed, its mobility plummeted further. It instantly became a sitting duck for The Golden Deer.

Even as some still called for the carpenter to repair the ship, all the experienced old sea dogs felt their hearts sink. They knew the enemy would not give them any more chances, and despair filled their eyes: The Thirteen Braves... is done for!