Conflict

The day to board the ship finally arrived amidst the anxious wait of the new recruits.

There was no grand ceremony as they had imagined, because all the warships that needed to replenish their crews actually had their own missions. The world's oceans were vast, and a single voyage could last for months, making it impossible to gather everyone for a grand ceremony.

However, besides Eugene, the Third Fleet still dispatched a civilian Lieutenant Colonel to be responsible for sending each batch of new recruits onto the ships, showing their importance.

The boarding plan had a schedule, and those whose assigned warships had not yet returned to port continued their training, waiting anxiously. In reality, most of these enlisted recruits would start on smaller Sixth-Rate Ships like Single-Masted Sloops, unless they performed exceptionally well during their training period.

Of course, if they were children of the elite or outstanding graduates from the Royal Naval Academy, that would be another matter entirely.

It wasn't until a week after the boarding activities had gradually begun that Evan, as the top recruit in comprehensive training, was directly awarded the rank of Ensign (Cadet Officer) and entered the combat sequence, stepping onto the cruiser "Silver Wing."

Evan also knew that without the Viscount's letter of introduction, things wouldn't have been so simple. Because most of the cadet officers on board were descendants of the elite or graduates from academies, ordinary civilian recruits, no matter how capable, would have to endure two years of rough seas first.

Unlike most of the sailors from his batch who boarded Sixth-Rate Dispatch Vessels, the Silver Wing was a Fifth-Rate Cruiser. It was forty-five meters long and carried forty cannons, and it was also one of the main warships of the "Privateer Fleet" that existed tacitly among various countries. Its complement was 250 people, but its actual crew was less than 200.

Among the Navy's Sixth-Rate warships, the top four rates were Battleships, fully named "Main Line Battleships," which were the main combat units qualified to participate in large-scale fleet battles.

Although the Silver Wing did not reach the battleship class, it was only second to them. But since Eugene had solemnly stated that he would arrange it, the warship's special nature was naturally not limited to this; more accurately, the Silver Wing's captain, Colonel Gell, was more than that.

Colonel Gell was highly capable, not only a powerful veteran knight but also a former captain of a Fourth-Rate Battleship. It was only because his original warship was severely damaged in battle (in reality, this was just the official explanation to the public, the real reason was inconvenient to disclose) and the warship was sent back for major repairs, and the Third Fleet temporarily had no replacement Fourth-Rate ship, that he condescended to temporarily use this Fifth-Rate ship.

Otherwise, under normal circumstances, it would not have been so easy to send Evan directly to a Fourth-Rate ship as a cadet officer.

However, he didn't know that the "things" he would gain from this warship would be far more than he could imagine.

Moreover, Evan found Colonel Gell, whom Eugene had mentioned, somewhat familiar, but he didn't think much of it. After all, there were countless people with the same name in the world, so encountering a familiar name was quite normal.

When Evan boarded the Silver Wing with Gary, carrying his personal belongings, he discovered that out of the thirty supplementary personnel for the Silver Wing in his batch, only he and Gary were new recruits; the other twenty-eight were veterans transferred from Sixth-Rate Dispatch Vessels.

Although they were called "veterans," they were not old, with the oldest possibly being twenty years old. However, after spending a long time at sea, they looked much older than their actual age.

This group of veterans looked at Evan and Gary with a subtle gaze. They didn't dare to make any overt moves, but they subtly excluded the two of them from the main group. The tradition of veterans bullying new recruits existed in every world, let alone the fact that an opportunity they had earned after years of service was easily obtained by two newcomers, naturally causing resentment.

However, the two of them were not afraid at all. Let alone Evan, a peak Apprentice Knight, even Gary, a newcomer who had just embarked on the Extraordinary Path, could easily defeat them.

Since Captain Gell had gone to the naval base to report after the ship docked, the new recruits didn't have a chance to meet the Captain yet. So, after Eugene's brief handover with the Silver Wing, the new recruits were led by the Silver Wing's old crew members to their respective cabins to settle down.

Evan's cabin was at the front of the ship, a private room specifically for the ship's officers and cadet officers, with much better conditions than the crew crammed into the public cabins in the lower decks.

Although Evan was not someone who couldn't endure hardship, thinking of dozens or hundreds of men, possibly not bathing for months and smelling foul, crammed together, Evan was extremely grateful to Viscount Andrea and Colonel Eugene.

However, Evan's joy was clearly premature. He was satisfied with his own environment, but Gary's situation might not be so good.

To be honest, Evan had anticipated this situation, but he hadn't expected the conflict to come so quickly!

It was already a favor for Major Eugene to send Gary along, considering his exceptional talent. But without that ability, he wouldn't have given him the rank of Ensign, so Gary naturally went to the same cabin as the "veterans" who had just boarded.

The cause was not important; as long as someone wanted to pick a fight, even an honest person like Gary, in Evan's eyes, could have his nerves easily provoked.

"Beat him up, let this kid know who's in charge on the ship from now on."

"If you dare to disobey, you'll be sleeping with everyone's toilet from now on!"

"You're just a mere new recruit. When we were fighting pirates, you were still drinking milk."

It was normal for veterans to bully new recruits, and usually, the new recruits, being the weaker party, were the ones who suffered. But in this world, it was different; they had chosen the wrong targets to bully!

As a group of people shoved each other onto the deck, Evan, hearing the commotion, also came out. He didn't immediately step forward to back Gary up but leaned against the doorway, wanting to see the results of Gary's training during this period.

Today, when the Silver Wing docked, most of the crew, except for the necessary personnel on duty, had gone ashore to relax in Gabreid's bustling city. The sailors on duty not only didn't stop them but gathered together in small groups, watching the excitement with great interest.

Looking at the group of veterans surrounding him, Gary chuckled indifferently, "Enough with the nonsense, let's fight! If I lose, I'll naturally listen to you. If I win, you'll have to listen to me."

Evan's "training" included not only swordsmanship but also personality and mindset. Gary, now with greatly improved strength and increased confidence, was not afraid of any peer except Evan.

"Hahaha, has this new recruit lost his mind? Does he think he's invincible just because he's big and strong and learned a few days of swordsmanship during recruit training?"

"Let him taste the power of us battle-hardened veterans."

"Right, right. It's better for him to suffer a little now than to eat lead bullets when encountering pirates later. This kid should thank us."

These veterans were clearly divided into several small factions and didn't have a unified leader, but their opinion was very much in agreement: they wanted to teach this ignorant kid a lesson.

A burly young man stepped forward and threw his military saber to a companion, "Let me." After boarding, everyone's weapons were real. Although they were preparing for a physical confrontation, no one dared to draw their swords.

Without waiting for anyone else's reaction, he assumed a stance and charged at Gary. The veterans slightly pulled back, ready to witness how a veteran would brutally beat a new recruit.

"Hah! Take this punch!"

"Bang!"

However, the guy who came fast also returned fast. Before his fist was halfway through, with a "bang," Gary kicked him back, sending him crashing heavily into the crowd of onlookers.

"Ah! Jason, are you alright?"

As his companion helped the burly young man up, someone else had already rushed forward.

"I'll teach him a lesson."

"Bang!"

Another kick.

"..."

Gary, who had never trained in the Knight Breathing Technique back then, naturally had a Constitution of 0.7. How could he be a match for these ordinary people whose highest Constitution was no more than 0.5?

Think about it, how unstoppable was Krulu, the First Mate of the Blood Anchor, on the Yellow Swan, when his Constitution was only 0.6 and his Agility was at most 0.7. Gary was no worse than him now.

"Everyone, attack together! Avenge our brothers!" someone in the crowd shouted. With a whoosh, they all charged forward.

"Jealousy is indeed one of the original sins!" Seeing this, Evan sighed softly, took off his sword, and charged forward as well.