Captain – Chapter 716 – The Emperor’s Personal Arrival

Knowing the candidate, the ship’s doctor’s furrowed brow relaxed, then lifted slightly.

He thought to himself: Didn’t you say all important figures wouldn’t be going? Then what does this one count as?

Knowing what the young man was thinking, Rowell didn’t keep him in suspense, stating directly: “That young master will go, and in the end, it’s no different from your imminent succession.”

“It’s just that you’re inheriting a family, while he’s inheriting the entire Federation. The achievements required and risks taken are naturally greater, and he must consider much more in terms of world affairs.”

Hearing the words “world affairs” and thinking of the negotiations that would very likely take place in the old seas after everything concluded, Anderson’s brow fell back, showing some understanding.

“You mean to say that the Shelley family head, or rather the Assembly and all the great families, intend to hold that post-victory banquet for dividing the ‘spoils of war’ in the distant seas?”

“Even on that very island?”

Upon hearing this, the family head nodded slightly: “Correct. If negotiations are to be held, that would be the best choice—far from the present world, and with no truly important Auran figures present.”

“Having that young master carry Bartholomew’s will and settle matters directly under tripartite witness would naturally be the most advantageous situation for us.”

“After all, it’s better than negotiating with the Empire—which has been keeping a low profile for over a decade and now arrives with heavy military presence—at some seemingly fair but actually unfavorable location in the present world.”

After listening, Anderson wasn’t particularly surprised, as he had already reached this conclusion moments before. However, there was still one aspect he couldn’t understand, so he asked: “But would the Empire agree? And even if they did, they would surely consider this factor.”

“So when they deploy troops, they would naturally commit sufficient weight. Wouldn’t the situation still be the same?”

If the Empire dispatched a sufficient fleet, still led by that military star, then even if the Federation could gain some advantage in personnel selection, the situation wouldn’t change much.

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“Of course not, because you’ve been overlooking one point all along.”

To this, the family head only shook his head, saying with a half-smile: “That is, while this appears to be a three-way negotiation, it’s actually… only two sides. No matter how the world situation changes, no matter how clearly diplomatic lines are drawn, the Islands and the Federation are on the same side.”

“This was true in the past and present, and it will be true in the future.”

This related to old affairs, to the hidden and complex connections left by the past, but more importantly, it was due to interests—for maintaining balance or survival.

For this reason, the two somewhat weaker parties would inevitably join hands to check and balance the strongest, regardless of which of the three powers held that position.

Throughout history, the strength of the Empire, Federation, and Islands had shifted, wars had erupted, but none had ever truly fallen, precisely because of this principle.

However, except for the golden age of pirates when Edward was present, Auran had generally been the most prosperous, which was why the family head spoke as he did.

Just like that world war decades ago—Pronora appeared not to send troops, but secretly provided the Islands with vast quantities of supplies, weapons, and even warships.

Auran knew this clearly, but what could they do?

This time was a similar situation, only now the matter was brought into the open.

At this point, the ship’s doctor naturally understood everything and asked no more questions.

Knowing that since all three parties were well aware, and they had two votes here, the Empire would have to compromise no matter how unwilling—after all, Auran wasn’t strong enough to fight two families.

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Moreover, given the Empire’s consistent pride and the reason for dividing the cake, they wouldn’t turn hostile over this.

It was originally about finding a way forward.

Though this night conversation was important, touching on many major affairs and the games played beneath the surface, it should end here. However, the ship’s doctor couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

“But old master, don’t you think it’s too early to think about these things when we haven’t even won yet?”

“The opponent is Captain Edward, after all.”

Hearing this, even someone as composed as Mr. Rowell lost the contentment from his face, looking at the thoroughly cooled bitter tea and saying: “We can only do what we can do and calculate what we can calculate. As for that war, we can only leave it to heaven’s will.”

“We can only see whether Captain Roy and the Howard family’s little lion can rewrite destiny.”

In the eyes of those who had inherited the old covenant and knew of affairs from centuries past, even if they wagered the entire present world, killing that devil would still be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Even the great ancestors, the gods, and the pirate legends who understood that devil best had failed to finish him. These descendants could only do their human duty.

Nothing more.

The sun set and rose again, and in what seemed like the blink of an eye, five days had passed since that conversation in the deepest part of the Anderson family estate. The Ark had also crossed the boundary marked by Fort Haynes and entered Imperial waters.

Just as when they first approached the Federation, the warship had barely approached Auran’s patrol line when it encountered the Second Fleet, led by the Pilgrimage.

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Oh no—according to the reorganized ranks, this fleet should now be called the First Fleet.

Coincidentally, across three generations of First Fleets: the first had retired along with Governor Naren at the end of the world war decades ago; the second had been firmly controlled by Caine until it was annihilated by the devil’s great power.

And now, though both father and son had left the navy, the honor of the First Fleet had fallen to Admiral Merri, who bore heavy Howard family colors. At this moment, this brilliant young man had already boarded the ship.

“Young master.”

Merri brought his personal guard and stood before Caine, saluting him solemnly.

In the eyes of this admiral and his somewhat informed subordinates, though the young master had been away from the Empire for a long time, he remained the lion who could awe the four seas.

Being able to see this military star return naturally excited those dozen or so personal guards greatly.

Yet Admiral Merri, who through the young emperor’s decree and the military’s recent urgent deployments had guessed at more, appeared quite calm instead.

As if in his view, not only taking orders from the other party, but even handing over his current position and authority entirely to the young master would be no problem at all.

Caine’s return to take control of the navy was naturally a blessing for Auran.

Moreover, though the military didn’t allow mention of factions, he was undoubtedly a Howard family man and had originally been the deputy general that Governor Naren had cultivated for Caine.

Now he was simply returning to his rightful position.

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Seeing this situation, Caine could naturally perceive his intentions. Though he knew things probably wouldn’t go as Merri hoped, he didn’t explain much, only nodding lightly.

After Merri finished his salute and confirmed that the young master had no intention of boarding the Pilgrimage, he also remained here temporarily, only sending several subordinates to report back.

Soon, the warship sailed toward the nearest port under First Fleet escort.

Along the way, the admiral also selected important events from recent years to report to Caine. The military was quite calm, though the political situation had seen some turbulence under the new winds.

However, under the governance of that young emperor, Naren, and a respected new governor, no chaos had erupted. Even that criminal port had undergone earth-shaking changes, with all smuggling channels in the city completely severed.

Of course, these past political affairs, though very important, were now quite distant from Caine, so he only listened quietly without deeper inquiry or comment.

Only when Admiral Merri spoke of recent situational changes and military deployments did Caine become much more serious, and the more he heard, the more surprised he became.

Because those changes clearly weren’t entirely the result of the letter the Islands had sent not long ago—there simply hadn’t been enough time to prepare since then.

He truly hadn’t expected that before his return, Auran had already prepared for expedition. Now four fleets were already waiting at that port or along the surrounding coastline, ready to depart. What surprised him even more was…

Just days ago, that young emperor had personally arrived at the seaport under heavy military guard.

He had come to greet him, naturally.