Chapter 22: Decision and Usurpation (Part 1)

  Duke of York's Territory, Dam City, Admiralty House.

  This is a rather spacious room, the top of which has a relief with a strong epic style, and the floor is covered with thick red carpet, filled with luxury and wealth. On the north wall of the room hangs a huge oil painting, the man in the painting wears a crown on his head, holding a long sword, it is the coronation portrait of King Dardarko of York. Below the painting is an ancient red wooden desk, on which are placed a navigation instrument and compass, as well as a pen holder with a goose feather pen inserted.

  An old man about 1.7 meters tall, with a face full of wrinkles and a refined appearance, is sitting in front of this desk, with one hand's fingers gently tapping on the desktop.

  This was originally Admiral Tony Wormald's desk, but when Viscount Byng of Vimy came here it was temporarily taken over and became his temporary office desk.

  Bisaiyu, an evergreen tree on the political and military stage of the Kingdom of York, was born into a noble family, with deep strategies and extremely favored by the emperor.

  More than two months ago, he privately received an extremely secret message: the treasure map of Pirate King Atos was true and it was in the hands of Pirate Bar!

  It was also because of this that Viscount Byng used his personal influence in the military to privately mobilize the Yorkshire coast guard to capture the pirate Baal.

  And pirate Barbossa is all too familiar with it.

  The two men had met more than ten years ago, when Beatty was approaching fifty and had just taken up the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet.

  One of his important works during his tenure was to crack down on the increasingly rampant pirates.

  As time went on, the deterrent force of the Hamilton Code also became smaller and smaller. Some newly emerging pirate forces did not take this illusory Hamilton Code seriously at all. They ravaged the maritime defense line of York State at will, burning, killing, looting, and doing all sorts of evil.

  The Emperor of York Kingdom, Dardako, in a fit of rage, ordered his most trusted minister, Bisselieu, to eradicate the pirates with all his might.

  Under the brutal and merciless blows of Viscount Bise, the pirates of the Duchy of York were almost completely wiped out, with the only exception being the old pirate Bal.

  At the mention of this old friend, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Bisai's mouth.

  At this moment, a "knock knock" sound came from the door.

  "Please come in!" said Bisai Lu.

  It was Admiral Walman of the Dam City Navy, a man wearing a navy triangular hat on his head, dressed in a crisp sky blue naval uniform, with golden medals shining brightly on his shoulders and chest, dazzling people's eyes. He walked in, the golden wheat ear embroidered with gold thread on his collar slightly swaying, revealing a unique pride and untamedness of the Navy.

  Wolman was not tall in stature, with dark skin, but looked strong and powerful. He entered the house, bowed, and his eyes quickly flashed over Bisai Liu's body.

  This white-haired old man wore a white pleated long shirt inside, with a golden purple jasmine flower embroidered on the handmade lace at the cuff, showing his royal background. He was wearing a light purple silk outer garment outside, with white embroidery at the buttonhole, revealing a strong and oppressive noble atmosphere.

  He sat in front of the desk, with a faint smile on his face, and his eyes seemed to see through people's hearts. He only glanced at Wollman, and this somewhat arrogant man lowered his head.

  As Wolman lowered his head, his eyes swept to the left and right of Bissell, revealing a look of shock and fear.

  Bisai Luguang was indeed powerful, but the two people beside him shocked Wolman even more.

  To Baisuo's left was a tall, large man wearing a dark blue tight-fitting warrior suit. A long double-handed sword hung at his waist, and his hands were inserted into his chest. His muscles, constrained by the tight clothing, looked like a pile of hard stones, containing a terrible power.

  The man's appearance was not particularly impressive, but his eyes were extremely sharp. He stood with an air of nonchalance, exuding an inexplicable confidence and arrogance from head to toe.

  This is Sergey, the illustrious Wind Sword Fighter of the Imperial Capital, a man renowned for his arrogance and bravery. It's said that he will soon break through to the 4th rank of swordsmen, reaching the highest rank of swordsmen in all of York Kingdom - the 5th rank.

  The Duchy of York is not a large country, it is just a vassal state under the Empire of Ponde, its territory is like a belt, flat on the west side of the Ponde mainland, and every place borders the ocean.

  This also led to a shift in the composition of the country's military towards the navy, which did not produce many swordsmen.

  So, even if he was the Emperor of York State, his royal guards were only three fifth-level swordsmen who were about to break through to sixth level.

  In the peaceful town of Dam City, suddenly seeing a 4th-level sword fighter is enough to shock anyone!

  But all of this was nothing compared to the shock that another person brought to Wolman by staying beside Bisai!

  This person wore a black cloak, his entire body hidden inside, unable to see any of his features, only that he was short and thin, as if a gust of wind could blow him away!

  However, this person's wide sleeves had five scarlet flames embroidered on the cuffs, bright and fiery.

  This is a fifth-level fire-element magician!!

  Wolman was shocked almost beyond words, this was the first time he had seen a fifth-level magician in his own territory since he was over forty years old!

  Even if a swordsman and a magician were to engage in close combat like this, the 5th level magician would likely die under Sergey's sword.

  But what made Wolman feel shocked and wildly excited was that in the world of the Navy, there was a saying: "Whoever gets the magician will get the world!"

  Unlike on the mainland, once a magician boarded a sea ship, the combat power of this sea ship would be multiplied several times, and the magician's power would also be multiplied several times.

  In land warfare, mages are often hiding under the protection of numerous troops, releasing various magic at a distance. Their role is like a fixed artillery position. When swordsmen appear in clusters or with superior strength and achieve a breakthrough, those mages will be slaughtered en masse.

  So, in the war on land, mages do provide a powerful firepower for an army, but what often decides the outcome of the battle is the strong and brave, highly mobile swordsmen!

  But all of this is reversed in naval warfare!

  Under the same level, one hundred swordsmen may not be a match for a magician, and even a third-level magician can possibly take down a terrifying eighth-level swordsman!

  Because all of this is decided by the attacking range of the magician!

  The magician's attack range is twice as far as a warship's cannon!

  In other words, if two warships are fighting, one ship is fully loaded with powerful swordsmen, and the other ship has only one magician, then the ship carrying the magician can use the magician's attack distance to fight while retreating, dragging the opponent to death until the opponent's ship sinks, without having to face the opponent from start to finish!

  Once a swordsman falls into the sea, they are even more helpless than sailors. All their strength comes from breathing, and in the water, they obviously can't turn their lungs into gills. The raging waves will mercilessly devour them, regardless of whether they are powerful swordsmen or not.

  And even if a magician boarded the most tattered sailboard, while his opponent was a large warship, as long as both sides were not within range at the beginning, this sailboard could still rely on the magician's power to exhaust the opponent to death!

  This is the famous Sea Law: whoever gets the magician, gets the world!

  The magician on the ocean is the most terrifying mobile artillery with the longest range!

  Wolman's gaze returned from the fifth-grade magician, his heart trembling with fear.

  He had made up his mind, no matter what he had to give in exchange, he was going to get this fifth-level magician by his side.

  This is also why he went all out to complete Bisque's orders.

  He coughed, clearing his throat, and suppressed his inner thoughts: "Bisai Ryuudou-sama, the person you asked us to apprehend, we have already arrested him. Do you need me to bring him before you?"

  Bisai stayed as Wolman just walked into the door, he saw a series of eyes and changes of this man at that moment, he was good at observing facial expressions: "What reaction did his entourage have?"

  Wolman raised his head, sneered and smiled: "A group of pirates, not worth mentioning. If it weren't for the fact that they didn't have any outrageous evil deeds on ordinary days, and in Dam they were considered to be following the rules, I could crush them all to death! Of course, if Your Excellency the Duke doesn't want these flies to trouble you in the future, I can..."

  Bisaiyu still smiled and said, "Since I said I would let them go, then I will let them go. Without Bal, they are nothing but headless flies, no need to bother with them."

  Vormann saw that Baisaliev didn't mention a word about the captured Bar, so he took the initiative to bring it up: "So, Mr. Baisaliev, what do you want us to do with the person you asked us to capture?"

  Bisai's body leaned forward slightly, his eyelids drooping lightly, making it impossible to see the flash of tension that flickered in his eyes for a moment.

  This time he pursued, purely using his own strong influence in the military to conduct a private act, with the sole purpose of obtaining Atos' treasure map.

  Now that Ball has been caught, the fewer people who know about it, the better. He can't be interrogated here either. Who knows what tricks this old fox Ball will play when he falls into their hands?

  For his old friend Bisai, Lu Xun could be said to know him inside out.

  Bisai thought for a moment and smiled slightly: "I heard that Jailaura is a bit idle recently..."

  Wolman nodded immediately, a smile spreading across his face: "I understand, I'll do it according to Mr. Bisai's wishes!"

  He bowed deeply, his eyes finally sweeping over the fifth-level magician with a fervent and greedy gaze.

  As long as I can get this done for His Excellency the Duke, this 5th-grade magician will be under my control from now on!

  I don't know what that old man with a big beard did to offend Mr. Biseliev, he's actually going to be locked up in the Gerarun prison, huh, he's done for!

  Wolman backed out respectfully, casting a glance at the door and whispering a few words to someone on the left side of the entrance. The old captain, Barl, was then thrown into the notorious Jeluran prison.

  It is notorious because all the serious offenders of the State of York are imprisoned here, and most of them are political prisoners!

  Because most of its inmates were opponents of the king, the king spent a lot of money to build it into a fortress! It's strict and harsh, hard to imagine, from the time the prison was completed, there has never been a precedent for prisoners to successfully escape, anyone who is locked up can only take two paths.

  One is to commit suicide immediately, and the other is to wait for death slowly.

  A prisoner in Jailbreak's cell once joked that the only free creatures in this prison are flies. Any animal slightly larger than a fly, as long as it is not living in a cage, will be mercilessly killed!