Conflict

As the new recruits waited nervously, the day of boarding finally arrived.

There was no grand ceremony as they had imagined. Every warship in need of reinforcements had its own assignments. The seas of this world were vast, and a single voyage could last several months. It was impossible to gather them all together for a lavish ceremony.

But aside from Eugene, the Third Fleet still sent a civilian Lieutenant Colonel to personally see each batch of recruits aboard, as a show of importance.

The boarding schedule was staggered. Those assigned warships that had yet to return to port continued their training while waiting anxiously. In truth, most new recruits began aboard small Sixth-Rate Ships such as Single-Masted Sloops, unless they had performed exceptionally well during recruit training.

Of course, children of the elite and outstanding graduates of the Royal Naval Academy were another matter entirely.

It was not until a week after the boarding process began that Evan, having ranked first overall among this batch of recruits in training, was directly granted the rank of warrant officer—a Cadet Officer—and entered the combat roster aboard the cruiser Silver Wing.

Evan also knew that without the Viscount's Letter of Introduction, things would not have gone so smoothly. Most Cadet Officers aboard were descendants of the elite or academy graduates. For an ordinary civilian recruit to obtain such a position, no matter how capable he was, he would first have to endure two years amid the waves.

Unlike most sailors from the same batch, who boarded Sixth-Rate Dispatch Vessels, the Silver Wing was a Fifth-Rate Cruiser. It measured forty-five meters in length and carried forty cannons. It was also one of the principal warships of the "Privateer Fleet" tacitly maintained by all nations. Its standard complement was 250, but it currently carried fewer than 200 men.

Among the Navy's six rates of warships, the first four were battleships, their full designation being Main Line Battleships. They were the principal combat units qualified to participate in large-scale fleet engagements.

Though the Silver Wing did not reach the class of a battleship, it stood only below them. Since Eugene had so solemnly said he would handle the arrangements, the ship's special nature naturally went beyond that—or rather, Captain Gell of the Silver Wing was more than he appeared.

Colonel Gell was extraordinarily capable. Not only was he a powerful veteran knight, but he had once commanded a Fourth-Rate Battleship. It was only because his original warship had suffered severe damage in battle—though that was merely the official explanation, and the true reason was inconvenient to disclose—that the vessel had been sent back for extensive repairs. The Third Fleet had no Fourth-Rate Warship available to replace it temporarily, so he had been forced to make do with 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 an officer candidate.

What he did not know was that the "things" he would gain from this warship would be far greater than he had ever imagined.

Moreover, Colonel Gell, whom Eugene had mentioned, sounded vaguely familiar to Evan, but he gave it no further thought. After all, countless people in the world shared the same name. Encountering a familiar name was perfectly normal.

Only when Evan boarded the Silver Wing with Gary and his luggage did he discover that, among the thirty reinforcements assigned to the ship, only he and Gary were new recruits. The other twenty-eight were Old Soldiers transferred from Sixth-Rate Dispatch Vessels.

They were called "Old Soldiers," but none of them were particularly old. The eldest was probably only twenty. Still, after spending so long at sea, they looked far older than their actual ages.

The Old Soldiers looked at Evan and Gary with subtle expressions. They did not dare make any overt moves, but they vaguely excluded the two from the larger group. Every world had its tradition of veterans bullying recruits. They had served for years to earn this opportunity, only for two newcomers to receive it so easily. Naturally, they felt resentful.

However, neither of them was the least bit afraid. Not to mention Evan, a peak Apprentice Knight, even Gary, a newcomer who had only just stepped onto the Extraordinary Path, could easily crush them.

Since Captain Gell had gone to the Naval Base to report for duty as soon as the ship docked, the new recruits had no opportunity to meet their captain for the time being. After Eugene completed a brief handover with the Silver Wing, its veteran crew led the recruits to their respective cabins to settle in.

Evan's cabin was located in the forward section of the ship. It was a private room specially reserved for officers and Cadet Officers, far better than the shared cabins in the lower decks where the crew crowded together.

Though Evan was not someone who could not endure hardship, when he thought of dozens or even hundreds of foul-smelling grown men who might not bathe for months crammed together, he felt immensely grateful to Viscount Andrea and Colonel Eugene.

But Evan had clearly been happy too soon. He was satisfied with his own accommodations, but Gary might not have been.

To be honest, Evan had expected this situation, but he had not expected the conflict to come so quickly!

Major Eugene had only managed to bring Gary aboard because of his exceptional talent. He had no means of getting him a warrant officer's rank as well, so Gary naturally ended up in the same cabin as those newly boarded "Old Soldiers."

The cause was unimportant. As long as someone wanted to provoke trouble, even an honest man like Gary in Evan's eyes could easily have his nerves stirred.

"Beat him up. Let this brat learn who calls the shots aboard this ship from now on."

"If you dare disobey us, you'll be sleeping while hugging everyone's chamber pots from now on!"

"You're just a recruit. When we were fighting pirates, you were still nursing!"

Veterans bullying recruits was a common occurrence, and recruits, as the weaker side, were usually the ones who suffered. But this world was different. They had chosen the wrong targets to bully!

When the group shoved one another onto the deck, Evan, having heard the commotion, also came out. Yet he did not immediately step forward to back Gary up. Instead, he leaned against the corridor entrance, wanting to see the results of Gary's training during this time.

Today, aside from the personnel needed to remain on watch, most of the Silver Wing's crew had gone ashore to relax in Gabreid's bustling city district. Rather than stopping them, the sailors on watch gathered in small groups to watch the spectacle with great interest.

Looking at the group of Old Soldiers surrounding him, Gary gave an unconcerned heh. "Enough 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" had covered not only swordsmanship, but also character and beliefs. Now that his strength had greatly improved and his confidence had risen with it, Gary would not fear anyone his own age aside from Evan.

"Haha, has this recruit lost his mind? Does he think that just because he's big and has learned swordsmanship for a few days in recruit training, he's invincible?"

"Let him taste the strength of us battle-hardened Old Soldiers."

"That's right, that's right. Better to suffer a little now than catch a lead bullet from pirates later. This brat should thank us."

These Old Soldiers were clearly divided into several small factions, without a unified leader, but their opinions were remarkably unanimous. They wanted to teach this overconfident brat a lesson.

A broad, powerfully built young man stepped forward and tossed his saber to a companion. "I'll do it." After boarding, the weapons in everyone's hands were real. Though they were preparing to fight, no one had the guts to draw a blade.

Without waiting for anyone to react, he assumed a stance and charged straight at Gary. The Old Soldiers spread out slightly, ready to enjoy the sight of a veteran brutally thrashing a recruit.

"Hah! Take this punch!"

"Bang!"

But he went quickly and came back even faster. His fist had only swung halfway when Gary kicked him back with a bang, sending him crashing heavily into the crowd of onlookers.

"Ah! Jason, are you alright?"

By the time the broad young man's companions helped him up, someone else had already rushed forward.

"I'll teach him a lesson."

"Bang!"

Another kick.

Gary had never undergone Knight Breathing Technique training before, yet his natural constitution had already reached 0.7. How could these ordinary men, whose constitutions were at most 0.5, possibly contend with him now?

Just think of how unstoppable Krulu, the first mate of the Blood Anchor, had been aboard the Yellow Swan when his constitution was only 0.6 and his agility only 0.7. Gary was no worse than him now.

"Everyone, get him! Avenge our brothers!" someone in the crowd shouted. With a rush, they all charged at him.

"Jealousy truly is one of the original sins!" Seeing this, Evan sighed softly, removed his sword, and charged in as well.