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A group of Half-Elf crewmen climbed aboard the Black Pearl via rope ladders. This Three-Masted Sailboat was not yet capable of sailing independently.

Most importantly, its three masts did not even have sails mounted on them. The Half-Elf crewmen still needed to hang the sails from the crossbeams during the day, thread all the rigging, and give the stern Steering Wheel a thorough, meticulous overhaul.

Mounting the sails was manageable, but the latter task could only be done in a dockyard at a harbour.

Castleton Harbour clearly lacked those facilities, so Roy had planned to dock at the shipyard on Pattington Island for some basic repairs.

But after the Black Pearl sailed out of Castleton Harbour, he remembered that the repair frame on Pattington Island had long since been dismantled by the Half-Elves on the beach and burned as firewood.

With its stern rudder unrepaired, the Black Pearl could only be towed through the sea by three Imperial Merchants at once. That greatly reduced their speed, but there was no better option.

Unless Roy gave up on the Black Pearl...

Eleven Magic Airships, the living Three-Masted Sailboat Black Pearl, and eight enormous Imperial Merchants formed a mighty fleet.

As soon as the fleet departed Castleton Harbour, it was spotted by a Silver Pegasus Legion.

This Silver Pegasus Legion belonged to the Seventeenth Silver Pegasus Legion. They were normally stationed at Lighthouse Camp, seventy kilometres from Castleton City, and Roy had dealt with their commander before.

When Roy presented the pass personally signed by Earl Swynborne, the knights of the Fifth Silver Pegasus Legion immediately gave him a friendly high-five and bid him farewell.

That was right. In the waters around Castleton Harbour, Pattington Island, and the Empress Ivini Islands, a pass signed by Earl Swynborne was the highest authority.