Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

But with strong winds at sea and sails fully spread, the Bandit Gull swiftly sped along, leaving those unfamiliar ships with only a glimpse of her masts before falling far behind.

Just like the boastful fat captain proudly claimed, "This is the best clipper on the Inner Sea."

However, the Bandit Gull's detour added three days to its journey, leaving the unprepared Major Moritz, who lacked flexibility in his provisions, to run out of his stock of alcohol.

The warrant officers watched as the once gentlemanly major's lips grew increasingly chapped and cracked, and his temper became more and more irritable, even his mental state began to become abnormal.

The major was either stumbling and banging about on the ship every day, or pacing back and forth on the deck in the middle of the night with a "thump thump thump," causing all the warrant officers to suffer insomnia with him.

Who isn't afraid of mental illness? Even Major General Layton began to intentionally avoid Major Moritz, leaving the warrant officers under even greater pressure.

But fortunately, they finally arrived safely at Sea Blue City, and upon seeing the landmark lighthouse of Sea Blue Port, the warrant officers couldn't help but shed tears of relief.

Their reasons were not just the excitement of returning home, but more so the "small fortune" of finally being able to get away from the severe alcoholic, Major Moritz.

The closer they got to Sea Blue Port, the more Winters could feel the prosperity of this, the largest port of the Alliance.

In the last stretch of the shipping route, the Bandit Gull could no longer intentionally avoid other vessels even if it wanted to. With Sea Blue Port as the center, the routes of hundreds of ships formed a fan shape, all heading to or just leaving the harbor.

Winters even saw a true warship patrolling the nearby seas, a substantial behemoth. Compared to the towering superstructure and enormous hull of the other vessel, the Bandit Gull was simply a child.

However, to the surprise of the warrant officers, the Bandit Gull did not proceed directly into the harbor but instead anchored on the open sea outside the port.

The acting captain was immediately surrounded by warrant officers eager to get home.

"The gentlemen officers must understand that a major port like Sea Blue Port does not allow small merchant ships like ours to dock at will," the acting captain said with a wry smile, explaining the maritime rules to the land army as he wiped the spray from his face. "Sea Blue Port hasn't been expanded for over a decade, there is a shortage of berths, and merchant ships must wait at the outer anchorage and queue to enter the port. We'll anchor here, and soon a customs official will come by boat to inspect the cargo. If the gentlemen officers are in a hurry to go home, you can ask the customs tax collector if they can make arrangements for you to take their boat ashore."

But the warrant officers soon fell back into disappointment when they realized the "customs boat" the acting captain mentioned was really a "small boat."

This small boat was hardly bigger than a canoe, about the width of two people and less than three meters long. The boat was packed full with two tax collectors and two rowers, and at most, one more person could squeeze in.

Watching the small boat bob up and down with the waves, Winters truly worried that the next second, the customs officials' boat would flip over.

"Is the first mate playing with us?" Andre was almost driven mad with anger: "They expect us to take this tiny boat home? I'd rather swim back!"

"Can you swim?" Bard asked nonchalantly.

Andre instantly fell silent and after a long pause, he replied awkwardly, "No."

But not one to concede, he shot back at Bard, "Can you swim then?"

"I can," Bard replied calmly.

"What are you bragging about?" Andre burst out angrily: "When did the military academy teach swimming? The largest pool there is the practice room's bathtub. Don't tell me you learned it at the Monastery?"

"Monks do not teach swimming, nor do they swim," Bard said with a smile: "But monks like to eat fish, and the Monastery has its own fish pond."

Whether in the Orthodox or Catholic traditions, fish hold a special religious status. During the Ancient Empire era, when the Western Church was still an underground organization intermittently subjected to persecution, it used the symbol of fish and wine cup as a secret sign. So Bard wasn't just bluffing Andre offhandedly.

"Even if you can swim, it's not possible to swim back, the distance to the shore is not short," Winters quickly interjected to end the debate on swimming skills: "Actually, doesn't the Bandit Gull have a small boat?"

"Where?" Andre instantly perked up.

"Hanging right behind the sterncastle."

At the news, Andre ran towards the sterncastle with a surge of excitement, and Winters and Bard reluctantly followed.

But upon seeing the boat, Andre couldn't help but be greatly disappointed again, for the Bandit Gull's small boat was even smaller than the customs' boat.

The customs boat could maybe fit five people with some effort, but the Bandit Gull's was like an oversized bathtub; it looked like if three people got on, there wouldn't be any room left to stand.

"This boat is even worse than the customs one," Bard said with a rueful smile.

Yet Andre began muttering calculations: "It can fit three people at once, including the two officers we have thirty-six, thirty-six divided by three is twelve."

He slapped his thigh excitedly: "Twelve trips back and forth would get all of us ashore, actually not that troublesome. It won't take much time!"