Damn it! You lazy bums! All of you, get up and tighten the ropes! Tighten them! I want full sails, full sails, do you hear me?
Rain and seawater poured onto Mills' bald head, ran down his cheeks, gathered on his standard Norvos beard, and then soaked his collar.
Although Mills came from Norvos, an inland city-state of the Free City States Alliance, he was a man who loved the sea deeply, having sailed for thirty years since his first voyage as a teenager.
He hoped to save enough money to buy a ship, hire a group of daring sailors, and then sail west, through the Sunset Sea, to discover a new continent and open a new route.
However, his luck was always a bit bad; every time he saved a certain amount of money, it would be spent for some inexplicable reason, but fortunately, he was always able to find a well-paying job after his money ran out.
For example, he was currently serving on the Golden Ram, belonging to Governor Tydeus of Pentos; a year ago, he was still the boatswain, but now he was the new captain of the Golden Ram.
The Golden Ram originally specialized in the White Harbor route, but half a year ago, it switched to the Miracle Port route, and it was when he switched to the Miracle Port route that he was promoted from boatswain to captain.
Only after becoming the captain of the Golden Ram did he realize how enormous the profits were on this new route; for instance, the profit from shipping a boatload of white wine and spices from Pentos to Miracle Port was double that of shipping to White Harbor, and he could easily make a fortune with just one trip.
After learning about the profits, Mills also took advantage of each voyage to put some goods in his captain's cabin to earn some extra money for himself; he felt that in at most another year, he should have enough money to buy a ship.
However, he was not content with buying an ordinary sailboat; he wanted to buy a large sailing ship that could cross any waters, like the Red Prince, a three-masted galley.
Therefore, relying solely on his current method of secretly carrying goods on each voyage, it would be difficult to buy his desired sailboat in his lifetime, so he wanted to find another way to see if he could get involved in the Seven Mystery Medicine business.
The Seven Gods Church monk he befriended in Miracle Port last time was a monk from the Miracle Sanctuary specifically in charge of the medicine warehouse; according to the information revealed by this monk, he had an excellent relationship with Bishop Josais, who was in charge of medicine orders, and as long as he could connect with that bishop, it might be possible to obtain a batch of Seven Mystery Medicine from the Miracle Sanctuary, and then when he returned to Pentos, he could easily make a few hundred gold dragons by reselling them.
The Seven Mystery Medicine from Miracle Port was definitely the most expensive and best-selling specialty among the many specialties in the Godsworn's territory; one dose of the medicine cost ten Westeros gold dragon coins, and this was the wholesale price; when these medicines were shipped across the sea to the continent of Essos, the price could increase by four or five times, or even ten times.
When this medicine was first sold, it was marketed as an aphrodisiac, but the effect of this medicine was much better than the aphrodisiacs in brothels, and it did not harm the body; after taking it, there would be no feeling of weakness like with other aphrodisiacs, and one would still have vigorous spirit and strong energy.
Therefore, the Seven Mystery Medicine was highly praised by those nobles who enjoyed frequenting brothels for a period, and its price rose from fifty silver stags to one gold dragon, but what truly made the Seven Mystery Medicine a miracle drug praised by countless nobles in Westeros and Essos was the discovery that this medicine had the effect of bringing people back from the dead.
Marqho Chekeda of the Tiger Party, one of the three Archons of Volantis, was the youngest Archon, but due to years of campaigning and injuries, his body was also the worst; during a routine public speech, he directly collapsed on the podium.
When Marqho was carried home, he was almost at his last breath, and all the physicians believed he was beyond saving, but his son, Magistrate Illyrio Mopatis, came up with an alternative method: he ground a Seven Mystery Medicine that he had bought before into powder and gave it to Marqho to eat.
As a result, Marqho, who had just taken the medicine, actually came back to life; although his body was still weak, he was much more energetic than before, his old injuries did not recur, and some even saw him frequently entering and exiting brothels in the city until he died half a year later from assassination by political enemies, and he even fought back and killed two assassins before his death.
Everyone who was aware of Marqho's physical condition knew that his previous body clearly could not have had such ability, so they all believed it was the effect of the Seven Mystery Medicine.
For this reason, some interested individuals also conducted some tests, and the results were as they expected: as long as it was not a fatal injury or some special disease, taking the Seven Mystery Medicine could save a life.
Because of this, the reputation of the Seven Mystery Medicine resounded throughout Essos, and this wave of fame even spread back to Westeros, which in turn made the Seven Mystery Medicine the most popular medicine in all of Westeros, with basically all nobles carrying one or two doses.
Precisely because of this, every batch of Seven Mystery Medicine produced was already divided among various nobles before it even reached the medicine warehouse of the Miracle Sanctuary, and the number of medicines circulating on the market was very small, and their prices were also much more expensive than the normal price.
Mills' boss, Governor Tydeus, also wanted to do business with the Seven Mystery Medicine and even more wanted to use it as a gift to befriend the nobles of Pentos, but he could not find any way in; only Governor Illyrio in all of Pentos could occasionally obtain some Seven Mystery Medicine from the Miracle Sanctuary and use it to befriend nobles and strengthen his power, which was why Governor Illyrio had been able to stand out among the many governors in Pentos over the past year.
Just as Mills was fantasizing in his mind whether he should sell the batch of Seven Mystery Medicine at a high price directly or offer it to his boss, Governor Tydeus, in exchange for appreciation and greater power, a sudden horn blast came down from the crow's nest at the top of the mast.
The lookout, tied to the mast, was blowing the horn in his hand while pointing towards the ship's right oblique direction.
Mills immediately felt a bad premonition, and without minding the wind and waves on the sea, he skillfully grabbed a rope and climbed up the mast, looking in the direction the lookout was pointing.
He saw more than a dozen black-sailed longships approaching them; judging by their speed, they must all be galleys, and these ships, built specifically for pirates, were extremely fast on the stormy sea and could easily catch up to any sailboat.
"Can you see what flag is on the ship?" Mills shouted loudly to the lookout.
The lookout looked carefully and shouted loudly, "Sea Hag, it's a Sea Hag ship."
Hearing the lookout's words, Mills breathed a slight sigh of relief, quickly descended from the mast, and shouted loudly to his boatswain, "Quickly go and get the red-bottomed longsword flag from Miracle Port and our goat's head flag, and hang them at the bow."
The boatswain heard the order, immediately ran to the cabin to retrieve the well-preserved red-bottomed longsword flag and the goat's head flag, and inserted them into the specially designed base at the bow.
Soon, more than a dozen black-sailed pirate ships had arrived alongside Mills' Golden Ram; they sailed alongside the Golden Ram for a distance, and after seeing the flags at the bow, they blew a horn, turned their ships, and passed by the Golden Ram without plundering it.
"Phew!" Although he had already guessed the outcome, Mills still couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
Two years ago, no one knew who the strongest pirate in the Stepstones waters was, but now the strongest pirate in the Stepstones was undoubtedly the Three Sea Monster Alliance.
This Three Sea Monster Alliance has occupied half of the Stepstones islands; only Grey Gallows, controlled by Dorne, a small part of the islands controlled by Tyrosh, and a portion of small islands near Essos controlled by the Pirate Alliance have not been occupied, while the other islands are all under the control of the Three Sea Monster Alliance.
The Three Sea Monster Alliance is mainly composed of three great pirates: Asha Greyjoy the Sea Hag, Dagmer Cleftjaw the Deep One, and Beller Blackhands the Sea Dog.
This Three Sea Monster Alliance appeared two years ago and immediately showed immense power; with three hundred longships, they defeated the pirate king of the Stepstones from Torture Abyss, conquering more than a dozen islands and their surrounding waters in just a few months; a few months later, even the islands controlled by the Iron Throne were captured by them, at which point they had occupied nearly half of the Stepstones islands and waters, with thousands of ships of various sizes under their command.
Everyone thought the Three Sea Monster Alliance would take advantage of the situation to conquer the entire Stepstones, but the Three Sea Monster Alliance stopped expanding.
Afterward, they established strongholds and ports on three islands: Torture Abyss, Bloodstone, and the newly named God's Grace Island, built fortresses and docks on other surrounding islands, and opened fishing grounds in the controlled waters, etc., looking like a lord managing his territory.
Just when everyone thought the Three Sea Monster Alliance's next step was to consolidate their territory and then continue to conquer the Stepstones, the pirate ships of the Three Sea Monster Alliance appeared in the conflict between the Miracle Fleet and the Dorne Alliance fleet, assisting the Miracle Fleet in defeating the Dorne Alliance fleet from Torr City and Soul Hill, and then helping the Miracle Fleet control the Grey Gallows Reef and the Storm's End Archipelago at the northern end of the Dorne Sea, completely allowing the Miracle Fleet to control the entire Dorne Sea.
At this time, those with keen minds realized that the leaders of the Three Sea Monsters were the offspring of the great lords and the lords themselves who had been handed over to the Earl of Summerhall, Linde Terra, for supervision during the Iron Islands rebellion, and they also discovered that the Dorne Sea had now become an inland sea completely controlled by Lynd.
Afterward, the Three Sea Monster Alliance and the Miracle Fleet cooperated with each other to annex some islands of the Pirate Alliance, and the Miracle Fleet also established a naval base with several thousand people on a large island in the Stepstones; everyone believed that it would not be long before the Stepstones would be completely controlled by the Lind the Chosen.
For merchant ships sailing in these waters, Lynd's control of the Stepstones was more beneficial than detrimental; as long as they established trade relations with Miracle Port and their trade volume reached a certain level, they would receive a flag representing a trade partner, allowing them to pass through these waters smoothly without being attacked by pirates.
If they were attacked, they could also find the corresponding trading company in Miracle Port and ask the Miracle Fleet to help recover the stolen goods; generally, even if they could not recover everything, they could recover a part, recouping some losses.
The only drawback was that the trade partner flag's validity only lasted for half a year, and after half a year, the trade volume had to be re-evaluated and the partner qualification re-determined.
As the Golden Ram entered the Dorne Sea, the wind and rain gradually subsided, and the waves on the sea began to calm down, as if a fierce beast had been tamed.
"To Cry Town." Mills looked at the sky and said to the helmsman, "We'll rest in Cry Town for a night and depart tomorrow."
Hearing Mills' order, the helmsman immediately turned the rudder to adjust the direction slightly and, following Mills' loud commands, directed the sailors to adjust the sails, keeping them at full power.
Before dark, they had already seen the coastline of Storm's End and also the castle of Cry Town built on the hillside, as well as the Miracle Fleet naval base on Long Cry Island opposite Cry Town.
A few months ago, after the Miracle Fleet occupied Long Cry Island, they built a fleet base there, with thousands of people gradually moving in, including a thousand naval soldiers and the rest being artisans and their families.
Cry Town was naturally very dissatisfied with this and wanted to appeal to Duke Renly of Storm's End, the Iron Throne, but the appeal was ultimately not submitted because they discovered the benefits of the Miracle Fleet base being established; firstly, the base soldiers would visit Cry Town during their leisure time, bringing a large amount of tax revenue to Cry Town, which benefited everyone in Cry Town.
Secondly, many ships traveling to and from Miracle Port would choose to stop in Cry Town for a night because it was safe under the protection of the Miracle Fleet, which also brought enormous benefits to Cry Town.
In just one month, the tax revenue Cry Town received exceeded that of an entire year in previous years, and this was just tax revenue; various taverns, inns, etc., controlled by the lord also brought huge profits, which made Baron Whitehead no longer have any dissatisfaction with the construction of the Miracle Fleet base.
In fact, to accommodate more ships, Baron Whitehead even hired artisans from the base to expand the Cry Town dock, transforming it from a small dock that could only berth a few ships into a large dock capable of berthing more than twenty ships.
Because the Golden Ram arrived too late, the available docks were already occupied by other ships, so they could only anchor near the harbor's bay and let the sailors go ashore in shifts to rest.
"Captain, look, look over at the base!" Just as Mills was deciding who would go ashore to rest and who would stay on board, the lookout, who was about to untie the rope and descend from the mast, suddenly pointed in the direction of the Miracle Fleet base and shouted loudly.
Mills went to the ship's helm platform and looked in the direction the lookout was pointing.
He saw, on the distant sea, seven or eight hundred-man galleys dragging a battleship with four decks, four mainmast sails, and fore and aft rigged with jibs; this type of battleship was the main armed battleship of the Miracle Fleet, with a total of six, each equipped with forty giant ballistas capable of killing whales, usually manned by seven hundred people, and known as a sea fortress.
However, this sea fortress was now in tatters, with a large hole in its hull that almost broke the entire ship in half; the fore and aft sails were still intact, but the four middle sails were completely broken; the only fortunate thing was that the main keel was still intact and could be repaired, which was why it was being dragged back to the base.
"Did it encounter a sea monster? It's so badly damaged." A sailor who clearly saw the situation couldn't help but murmur.
"No, it's not a sea monster! It's a sea dragon." Mills exclaimed in surprise after seeing the obvious giant beast claw marks on the ship's hull.
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