Escape from the Thunderstorm
Commander Laou Allen's words kept echoing in Edmund's ears, keeping him calm, especially in times of crisis.
"Edmund, you must do your best. You are the heir of the Dragon Blood Orchid Family and the youngest Sub-fleet Commander in the Kingdom Navy. You must make a name for yourself this time and not bring shame to your father and family."
Edmund encouraged himself while directing his men to continue dealing with the extreme weather.
"Where are the Lightning Rod at the stern? Check all of them. If they're not set up properly, put them up right now. And everyone, put on your rubber suits. If you don't, you'll get a beating from my whip."
Because of the unique thunderstorms in the Tears of God Inland Sea, the kingdom, through the joint efforts of naturalists and shipbuilders, created a device to protect ships in such weather, which they named the Lightning Rod.
This device is made using a special tree from the kingdom called Lightning Attracting Wood, a semi-metallic plant similar to Iron Birch. The wood produced by this tree is strong and lightweight, similar to the advantages of Iron Birch Wood, and can be used to make weapons and building materials. However, the disadvantage is that the finished product will also attract lightning during thunderstorms.
The family that produces this plant is the family of the naval vice-commander Laou Allen's in-laws. However, the person Lawrence married was not the head of the Lightning Attracting Wood family. The head of the family was Lawrence's in-law's brother, Duke Harland Lightning Attracting Wood, who was also the largest noble supporter of the Kingdom Navy and a core supporter of the current king.
These Lightning Rod are the core equipment of the Raine Kingdom Navy. It is thanks to them that the Raine Kingdom has been able to explore a safe route in the Tears of God Inland Sea, which is full of thunderstorms. Of course, this is also related to the fact that the duration of thunderstorms in the Tears of God Inland Sea has decreased dramatically in recent years.
However, whether Edmund was unlucky or too lucky, the originally safe route was suddenly hit by a thunderstorm. Fortunately, Edmund was indeed a highly skilled sailor and managed to keep the fleet on a relatively safe route throughout the entire process, even in such weather.
Just as Edmund took out his binoculars again to try and find the exit of the thunderstorm area, First Mate Bertley rushed back to report.
"Fleet Commander, we've received notifications from the 3rd and 4th Squadrons. They've both indicated they'll closely follow our fleet. What's our next move?"
Just then, another rumble of thunder sounded, Bertley had no choice but to shout out his message to Edmund.
"Very well, thank you for your trouble, Bertley." Edmund heard him clearly. Since the other two squadrons would be following him closely, he had nothing to worry about.
After all, these two squadrons were far inferior to his fleet in terms of scale, but they were still Commander Laou Allen's direct subordinates, and their status and rank were equal to his. He was really worried that these two would not listen to him because of their seniority.
If these two fleets were to separate from him and suffer losses due to the weather, he would be held responsible.
Edmund knew that Commander Laou Allen had probably given him specific instructions. Since his worst fears were not going to happen, he could now focus all his efforts on dealing with the natural disaster.
Edmund patted the First Mate's Resin Suit. "Bertley, we're heading southwest against the wind. I think the waves will be much calmer there. Could you go to the cabin and direct the rowers? Make sure they give it their all."
"Leave it to me, Fleet Commander."
After saying that, Bertley ran back to the cabin and down to the lower deck.
As Edmund's flagship began to turn, the ships behind it followed suit, and two other squadrons closed in, with dozens of ships forming three lines and rushing southwest.
A day later, the sea had cleared up, and the turbulent waves of yesterday's thunderstorm seemed as if they had never happened. Only the wrecked decks of the fleet showed what they had encountered yesterday.
"Jingle bells!"
Edmund had by then taken off his Resin Suit and was wearing short sleeves and shorts. He was directing the sailors and shipwrights to begin repairing the ship, and sometimes he would even help out himself.
The sailors respected him greatly; in their eyes, it was rare to see such a noble Noble Army so approachable.
The Raine Kingdom, with its long history, has nurtured the most powerful nation and the most prosperous culture on the entire continent, but it has also brought a heavy burden. The kingdom is extremely hierarchical, with nobles behaving as if they own the common people, and even physical harm to them only results in a fine. Meanwhile, high-ranking nobles can take whatever they want from lower-ranking nobles. The reason why Rossi, a low-ranking nobleman from the Raine Kingdom whom Victor and Alex captured, had his family ruined was due to this. This also resulted in a very stagnant social structure within the kingdom.
This stagnant social environment and culture has even led to the deterioration of the Raine Kingdom. The army of the Raine Kingdom, which originally had an overwhelming advantage over neighboring countries and forces, has seen its win rate decline over the past decade or so, making it difficult to make any progress in its external expansion.
With the Fas Kingdom to the west, the barbarian Barbarians of the Skyline Grassland to the north, and no way to open up the Chaos Lands to the south, the situation was already very worrying in the eyes of the wise men of the kingdom.
Against this backdrop, a new reformist faction emerged within the kingdom. They began to actively distance themselves from the conservatives, advocating for the protection of the personal safety and property of commoners, and that minor nobles also had the ability to maintain their own rights in the face of major nobles.
At first, the conservative nobles naturally wouldn't allow this to happen and launched a heavy crackdown on the nobles who joined the reformists. But gradually, more and more nobles realized this top-down deterioration within the kingdom and began to join the reformists, strengthening the faction and becoming increasingly powerful under the suppression of the conservative nobles.
Until one day, two Dukes in the kingdom openly joined the reformists, marking the complete failure of the conservatives' suppression. In the ensuing battle for the kingdom's succession, the reformists and neutrals joined forces to put the current king on the throne.
With the support of the reform-minded king, the reformists made further progress, including helping the king reorganize the Kingdom Navy and using its power to expand the Raine Kingdom's territory southwards.
Edmund's family also rose to prominence under this trend. Edmund's father, relying on the king's trust and his status as a reformer, rose from a mere viscount to Count and also held an important position in the Kingdom Navy. Later, he repaid the king for his kindness and was very loyal to the reformers who helped him succeed.
Edmund grew up in this context, and under his father's tutelage for many years, he was a reformist at heart, treating commoners equally and showing great courtesy to nobles of lower status.
After he officially joined the navy, he received a very good reputation. He was popular, capable, and many people considered him a rising star of the Kingdom Navy. Given his background, he had every opportunity to become a pillar of the Kingdom Navy in the future.
That's why Count Laou Allen put him in charge of this operation and even specially assigned his elite troops to help Edmund.
Edmund cared deeply about this. He wanted to repay Count Laou Allen's high regard and also wanted to strengthen his family and make his father proud, so he worked even harder and more diligently.
Just as he was concentrating on picking up a plank to repair the hole in the ship's side, Bertley ran over. "Fleet Commander, come and take a look! We seem to have deviated from the course chart; our position here is wrong."
Edmund was also surprised. The navigation chart on the ship was a safe route that the Kingdom Navy had painstakingly investigated and found. It could avoid the thunderstorms in the Inland Sea to the greatest extent possible. In other words, as long as you deviate from the route, you can easily encounter dangerous thunderstorms.
But Bertley claimed they had gone off course. Edmund simply picked up his binoculars and looked around. All he could see was calm seas and hardly any clouds, let alone thunderstorms.
Edmund returned to the captain's cabin, full of doubts, and checked the course map. He began to compare it with the map. Sure enough, just as Bertley had said, they had indeed deviated from the course, and by a great distance. It was likely that when they were sailing southwest last night, they saw the gap in the thunderstorm and rushed out without paying any attention to the course map.
"How is this possible?"
Edmund was quite certain that his fleet had strayed far from its course, so why hadn't it encountered a thunderstorm?
But he quickly realized what was happening and started drawing on the route map. At first, Bertley didn't understand why the fleet commander was drawing on the route map, which was a very valuable map and could not be damaged in any way.
But then he remembered that the Kingdom Navy had a bounty: anyone who found a new safe route could receive a large reward, with no upper limit.
This reward was issued in the name of the Kingdom Navy Commander-in-Chief, meaning it was personally awarded by the King. It was practically guaranteed that the reward would be delivered, and it was even said that one could be granted a title based on this discovery.