Captain – Chapter 421 – “Turmoil” During the Disappearance

Without the accompanying curse and pursuit target, the Mermaid’s journey away from the far northern waters could be described as smooth sailing, although this phrase might not be very suitable for a pirate ship, especially Captain Roy’s vessel.

Like the journey there, after nearly half a month of sailing, what appeared before everyone’s eyes was finally no longer the endless sea, but instead a coastline that occupied the entire field of vision.

And in the center of the coastline, in front of where the warship was heading, was a patch of gray-green.

Those mountain bodies standing on both sides, towering into the clouds, were the gateway through which Roy and her crew had entered the icy sea—the Boen Grand Canyon.

Although the journey in the icy sea after exiting that canyon had lasted less than five months, to the pirates it felt like several full years had passed. That feeling of bitter cold and desolation was truly difficult to endure.

Therefore, at the moment they caught sight of the coastline in the distance, the people on duty on the deck could no longer suppress their emotions and began to cheer.

Then, the wooden door connecting the deck and the cabin was flung open with a boom.

Even sailors who were resting, upon hearing their companions’ cheers and faint shouts of “land,” rushed up to the deck, even though the ban controlling the number of people hadn’t been lifted.

For a time, the deck was crowded with people, presenting a scene of great excitement.

“Bang!”

The door of the captain’s cabin was roughly pushed open.

Roy rushed out fiercely, her clothes slightly disheveled, her hair even more so, though most of it was concealed under her triangular hat. The smoky circles around her eyes, however, couldn’t be hidden at all.

Clearly, this was again the irritable captain in a state of waking anger.

Although the winter sun was already high, and it was no longer early, for the sleep-loving young woman, it was still a time to catch up on sleep.

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“Captain.”

Seeing the scene of the sailors making a commotion, knowing the captain would inevitably be awakened and then fly into a rage, Ben had been waiting outside the door early on, just waiting for her to come out so he could explain things to her beforehand.

Compared to Old John, this current Bosun of the Mermaid, although far inferior in gathering intelligence and playing tricks, exceeded him in terms of execution ability and reputation among the sailors.

Because in a situation like the current one, Old John would definitely drive away the sailors by force to appease Roy, but Ben wouldn’t do so.

He would determine the severity of the sailors’ mistake before deciding whether to punish them or to bear the captain’s temper himself.

In this case, the situation was understandable and wouldn’t have serious consequences, so Ben chose the latter, also allowing the sailors to release their stress.

“Oh, so they’ve spotted land.”

After hearing the Bosun’s report, Roy brushed aside the hair on her forehead, thought drowsily for a moment, and then, under Ben’s somewhat surprised gaze, waved her hand and said: “Then let them make their noise.”

Perhaps due to the guilt in her heart, the young woman rarely quelled her anger.

“Make noise, make noise!”

The raven, which hadn’t left the room for a long time due to the warship’s southward journey and warming temperatures, finally reappeared on the captain’s shoulder.

At this moment, it raised its head and called out as if issuing a decree on behalf of the young woman.

The enthusiastic cheers gradually subsided, and the young woman, after judging the time, returned to her cabin to catch up on sleep. It wasn’t until after noon that she was driven out of bed by her First Mate, who could no longer tolerate it.

The day passed unnoticed amid the young woman being woken up several times and having a minor quarrel with the young man.

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During this time, the Mermaid successfully passed through the Boen Grand Canyon.

When this warship, etched in the hearts of all Auran soldiers, appeared again in the alerting range of Fort Haynes after nearly half a year, those on duty couldn’t help but show surprise on their faces.

Especially those soldiers who had once inspected the Mermaid, been transferred multiple times, and returned here, found it even more incredible, unable to imagine why the Mermaid would stay in that icy sea for so long.

It should be known that even dedicated fishing boats wouldn’t venture deep into that ghostly place, let alone stay there for a full four months.

In the soldiers’ view, the Mermaid entered the far northern waters only to facilitate travel to some northern city of the Empire or Federation.

Those with ulterior motives also used the same explanation when reporting to various places.

The Mermaid’s status in the eyes of the Empire and Federation had already changed, no longer just a simple legendary pirate’s vessel.

Whether it was the instructions left by the founder of the Black Raven Society and the head of the Shelley family, the favor of the young Auran Emperor, or the two young men on that ship who were classified as top secret, everyone had to take it seriously.

But no one had expected that the Mermaid’s true destination was actually the icy sea.

In nearly five months, neither the northern coastline of the Empire nor the Federation had caught sight of it, let alone recorded it.

This naturally caused problems.

And rather absurdly, while the Southern Islands were unfazed by the Mermaid’s disappearance, showing no reaction as if it were commonplace, the Federation and Empire became anxious first.

Pronora was somewhat better, after all, no matter how deep the Anderson family’s foundation was, it was mainly expressed in economic aspects, far less powerful than the Shelley family in terms of authority, unable to sway the council or influence the military.

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Because of this, even if the head of the Anderson family was anxious and angry, all he could do was to search using his spies, not even mobilizing his private soldiers.

But Auran’s reaction was much greater.

In terms of family background, Caine might not be equal to the ship doctor, but his hidden importance and symbolic significance were enough to move the Auran upper echelon.

Just being the only child of the current only Governor of the Empire was enough to firmly attract the attention of those who wanted to climb the social ladder.

Not to mention his past in the military.

So after two months, confirming that the Mermaid hadn’t docked at any Imperial or Federation port, with no news from anywhere in the world, various parties in Auran took action, and the scale wasn’t small.

First, they recalled the soldiers searching for the Mermaid, and when no issues could be extracted from them, they utilized the fleet stationed in the north to conduct a search.

After nearly a month of searching with still no news returning, they determined that the ship had truly entered the depths of the icy sea, and the military finally gave up.

Afterwards came the torturous waiting.

The Empire even sent envoys to inquire with the Federation and Southern Islands, hoping to obtain exact information, but to no avail.

It was said that because of this matter, Governor Naren’s brow hadn’t relaxed for a long time.

Now, the Mermaid finally showed itself again, with many dark bullet marks visible on its hull, how could the soldiers not be surprised?

In a very short time, various letters left the fortress, being delivered to St. Caloie and Hipalia at the fastest speed.

Moreover, shortly after the Mermaid successfully passed the inspection from the fortress and before it could sail far, it was intercepted by the Auran fleet led by the Pilgrimage, and underwent another routine inspection.

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Of course, this time it wasn’t a search of the ship, but a check of the people.

Even Admiral Merri boarded the ship escorted by soldiers, with a furrowed brow as if having suffered a sudden raid.

After confirming the young master was safe and sound, the Admiral’s locked brow relaxed somewhat. He showed no particular reaction to their claim of heading north to hunt precious whales, although…

The pirates did indeed bring out several barrels of whale meat.

But please, just from trading treasures within Auran, the gold coins the Mermaid earned were already enough to fill the hold, so why would they need to labor and venture deep into the far north to hunt whales?

Moreover, this meat had obviously been processed not long ago.

Admiral Merri didn’t care much about the young master’s poor excuse, as long as he was safe. But his relaxed mood completely vanished when he heard their next stop was the Federation.

“Young master, do you know…”

The Admiral said a lot, but obviously couldn’t change Caine’s mind. Only when he became annoyed did Caine finally write a letter.

A letter to Governor Naren.

The Admiral left the ship with the letter, and the Mermaid parted ways with the Auran warships, slowly sailing southwest along the Federation coastline.

Five days later, the sail shadows ahead of the Mermaid gradually filled the view, and on the side coastline, ivory-white buildings lined up in full.

The great port of Hipalia had arrived.