Joining the Army

Gabreide Port.

The third largest naval port on the West Coast of the Faletis Kingdom, facing the boundless Black Sea, it has also been one of the most important bridgeheads since the Age of Exploration began two hundred years ago.

Besides being home to the Kingdom's Third Fleet, it is also a vital hub for trade and commerce, with a large population and great prosperity.

Indeed, the substantial revenue generated from maritime trade covers a significant portion of the Third Fleet's military expenses. For the Kingdom, this location is crucial in terms of geography, economic influence, and military power.

Afternoon.

Captain Shelley and his squad were on duty at the port's watchtower. The sun was bright and the sea breeze was gentle, but Captain Shelley's mood was far from pleasant.

My Goddess Katie!

It was the perfect day for a fishing trip, yet here he was, stuck on duty. How wonderful it would be to invite Katie out for a fishing trip on a day like this, spending a beautiful, sun-drenched afternoon together!

Lost in thought, the Captain listlessly scanned the distant sea with his telescope.

The azure ocean, the white clouds, the unchanging scenery, and a... merchant ship.

Nothing unusual.

"Wait, what's that? There's another ship behind it, a bla... black sail!!! It's pirates!"

Captain Shelley, a child of the elite who had barely set foot on a warship, was utterly shocked and almost jumped up.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

The continuous alarm bells echoed across the sea, causing chaos in the port. Gabreide, where pirates had never dared to provoke since its founding, heard the pirate attack alarm for the first time.

The afternoon after the battle with the Blood Anchor concluded, half a day later than scheduled, the Yellow Swan and the Blood Anchor sailed into the port one after the other.

Captain Joseph had never imagined he would receive such a "grand" welcome!

Escorted by two double-decked, sixty-four-gun battleships, the Yellow Swan and the Blood Anchor slowly entered their berths. Goddess, those were two Fourth-Rate Battleships!

If they hadn't already signaled their identity via flag, the Navy on the warships, filled with suspicion, might have sent them all to the bottom of the sea in their overzealousness.

As soon as the merchant ship docked.

The Captain, without delay, leaped off the Yellow Swan with an agility surprising for his age and explained the situation to the Navy officer who came to meet them, thus dispelling the rookie captain's false alarm.

Subsequently, pirate corpses were carried off the Blood Anchor, and the heroic deeds of the Yellow Swan spread like wildfire throughout the port, causing a huge sensation in Gabreide.

After all, even when the Navy warships patrolled the routes, they usually only drove away pirates. In rare cases, they might use the combined firepower of multiple warships to sink them.

It was exceedingly rare to completely annihilate pirates in a boarding battle and capture their ship intact.

Pirate ships, while not excelling in other areas, were top-notch in speed. When encountering Navy patrols or realizing the situation was unfavorable, they would turn and flee. For the safety of their routes, warships found it difficult to pursue them.

Despite the element of luck, for a merchant ship to kill pirates and capture their vessel was enough for this Captain to brag about for a lifetime.

At high-society gatherings, many noble ladies and socialites might even seek him out for a private meeting just to hear his heroic tales. If the conversation went well, a romantic encounter might even be possible.

While Captain Joseph and the crew of the Yellow Swan were enjoying the enthusiastic cheers of the people of Gabreide, Evan, after instructing them not to mention him, had quietly disembarked with his share of the spoils – various gold coins worth two hundred Gold Lions.

However, although Evan didn't want to attract too much attention before joining the Navy, such a sensational event was obviously not easy to conceal.

Like a cone in a bag, its tip will eventually show. His name, along with the incident, had quietly spread and reached the ears of some high-ranking fleet officials, piquing their interest.

Regarding spoils of war, various countries had enacted laws stating that all spoils obtained from combating pirates at sea belonged to the individual and did not need to be handed over to the state.

Therefore, the subsequent disposal of the Blood Anchor, a single-masted fast ship, and the yet-unknown pirate bounty were still something Evan looked forward to.

As for whether Captain Joseph would pocket this portion of the Gold Lions, Evan wasn't worried. This world was, after all, a World of the Extraordinary. The relationships between individuals and organizations were not strictly based on absolute dominance or weakness.

It was possible that, in Captain Joseph's mind, Evan was the more dominant party.

After disembarking, Evan didn't wander around but went straight to his objective.

When asking for the address of the recruitment office on the dock, Evan received enthusiastic directions from the local residents. Not only did they point out the location of the recruitment office, but they also explained the entire recruitment process to him.

Thanking the friendly passersby, Evan, with his backpack, walked through more than ten streets, large and small, finally arriving in front of a somewhat dilapidated courtyard with peeling paint.

After repeatedly confirming that the rusty brass nameplate indeed read "Kingdom Navy Third Fleet Recruitment Office," he understood what the locals meant when they said it was "a bit hard to find."

Evan wondered inwardly, Is being in the Navy this poor?

"Um..."

Evan turned around, and a dark-skinned man, half a head taller than him and built like an iron tower, gave a somewhat shy smile.

"Um, I wanted to ask, is this the Navy recruitment office?"

"Uh... I haven't gone in yet, but the nameplate says it is. Are you also here to join the Navy?" Evan felt a sense of goodwill towards this outwardly simple-looking fellow and said with a smile.

"Yes, that's right. I'm Gary Farman, here to join the Navy. Hello! Hello!"

"Evan Garratt, hello!"

The burly man wiped his hand vigorously on his clothes and shook Evan's outstretched right hand firmly.

After letting go, he suddenly seemed to remember something and looked at Evan with a look of panic. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I got excited and forgot. Is your hand okay?"

Evan spread his clean, fair right hand. There was no abnormality, but a prompt popped up in his Data Vision.

Name: Gary Farman

Gender: Male

Identity: Reserve Navy

Attributes: Constitution 0.7

Strength 0.65

Agility: Unknown

Intelligence: Unknown

Skills: Unknown

These Constitution and Strength stats are about the same as an Apprentice who has undergone several years of orthodox Knight training.

Evan understood. Another guy with Innate Divine Strength, and even more monstrous than his first opponent, Black Bear Billy.

Seeing how he couldn't even control his own strength, Evan knew this guy's might was absolutely natural. It wasn't like himself, relying on systematic training and cultivation to accumulate bit by bit to reach his current level, without any issues of being unable to control it.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have to worry about injuring someone just by shaking their hand.

"I really should go out and see more of the world." Evan sighed inwardly.

It had only been a few days since he left Leopold's small town, and he had already encountered so many powerful individuals. His future days would surely be exciting!

"My hand is fine, you don't have to worry about my strength being great too. But you really should be careful in the future, it could break someone's bones!"

He smiled at Gary nonchalantly, Evan's expression was a bit strange. Such a tall and sturdy person could actually blush? It was truly rare.

"I... I'll be careful." He scratched the back of his head. This guy was clearly unsure of himself too, and his promise was spoken in a very small voice.

"Let's go. Since we're already at the entrance, let's go in and take a look!" Evan took the lead into the small courtyard, walking along the long corridor lined with shrubs on both sides towards the depths of the yard.

A moment later.

Evan sat upright on a wooden chair, facing a stern-faced Major in uniform who was quickly writing something on the paper before him.

"Name?"

"Evan Garratt."

"Age?"

"Fifteen."

He glanced up at Evan, said nothing, and the officer lowered his head to continue filling out the form.

"Hometown?"

"Leopold."

"Specialties?"

"My swordsmanship is decent, and I know some Navigation Knowledge and Potion Knowledge."

The officer put on an understanding expression and concluded his questioning. He wrote his name at the bottom of the form and, without asking the obvious question of whether Evan could read, had him write his name on the form as well.

"Take out the items!"

"What... Ah, oh, oh." Although he didn't know how the officer knew, he remembered Viscount Andrea's instructions before he left and obediently took out the so-called "Letter of Introduction."

Sensing Evan's confusion, the officer rolled his eyes at him. "Do you Children of the Elite not realize the difference between your appearance and demeanor and that of ordinary young people?

You spend your days thinking about pretending to be ordinary and forging a career without relying on your families. Don't you know how much trouble you cause for our work?"