By then, whatever Shark Tooth Pirate Gang vice captain or "White Shark" Skuk, invincible at Knight Tier, would be nothing but passing clouds to him.
He would be fully capable of going anywhere he wanted, building a pirate crew that belonged to him alone, never needing to heed anyone's mood again.
Most importantly... the farther away from that already-crazed captain, the better!
Caressing the black statue, he knew clearly that within this shipwreck-shaped sculpture hid an evil undead creature filled with hatred for order and the civilized world, always seeking to unleash the most horrific revenge upon the Human World.
But whether it was recklessness, confidence, or simply having nowhere else to go, it gave him confidence that after changing professions, he would be able to suppress it completely.
"With this, I, One-Eyed Beck, will surely become a powerful extraordinary person! One day, I'll sit upon the throne of the Black Sea Pirate King!"
Greed made him throw caution to the wind. The reason was that the effects of this Oceanic Secret Treasure were simply too powerful.
For every warship from the civilized nations of the Order World it sank, the pirate ship holding it would receive a certain degree of enhancement. So long as it kept hunting warships, even becoming a true Legendary Battleship would no longer be a dream.
Combined with Shipwreck Wailer, an extraordinary profession symbiotic with a vessel, Beck was confident that sooner or later, he would become the ruler of the Black Sea.
All of this had led him to openly attack a warship. Having succeeded once, he now intended to cast a vast net across these waters and complete another hunt!
"Captain, word from the lookout post: they found some rubbish discarded from a ship on the sea. We've been chasing in the right direction!" The first mate aboard the Warrior reported to his captain with equal excitement.
"Hahaha! Order the Sail Master to proceed at full speed. Don't let that little rat slip out from under our noses."
"Yes, sir!"
Heave-ho! Heave-ho!
Soon, energetic shouts came from outside. The entire crew was fired up, as though the bounty were already theirs for the taking.
Their captain had always told them that One-Eyed Beck had once fought a warship and suffered eight hundred losses to inflict a thousand casualties. There was no way he could be a match for them. Once they found him, they could defeat him, and the merits and bounty would belong to every crewman who contributed.
In truth, the Warrior's captain had risen to his current position through genuine ability. He was not simply fooling his crew; he had made a reasonable judgment based on common sense, and he firmly believed that judgment could not be wrong.
The wind direction and wind speed were both favorable. With all sails spread, the Warrior reached a speed of six knots. Two hours after separating from the Silver Wing, it finally "got its wish" and caught up with the Black Sail pirate ship it had anticipated.
The pirate ship was stopped near one side of Chaotic Rock Island. It seemed they had never expected anyone to discover them, and only began raising anchor and sails when they saw the Warrior charging over in an imposing manner.
They hastily prepared for battle!
Seeing the pirates running about the pirate ship in panic, the naval officers and sailors aboard the Warrior were even more spirited. They immediately turned downwind, preparing to cut off the pirate ship as it slowly got underway in an attempt to flee.
The gunports opened, their weapons ready to strike!
"Tsk! Do they really think they can take us so easily? Those idiots have fallen into the trap without even realizing it." The Pirate Executives hiding in the shadows aboard the pirate ship all revealed bloodthirsty sneers, looking at the Warrior as though it were livestock awaiting slaughter.
Since all the power of a Sailing Warship depended on the wind, the importance of wind direction in naval combat was beyond question. Neither upwind nor downwind held an absolute advantage; each had its own strengths under different tactics.
Although attacking from downwind allowed the Warrior to open both decks of gunports, fully unleash its firepower, and block the enemy's escape route, it had unknowingly played right into the pirates' hands and fallen into their trap.
Beck lowered the spyglass in his hand.
"Gagon, your prophecy was well done this time. All captured navy men are yours!" One-Eyed Beck was extremely pleased with the Ga Gong Wizard's prediction. Before the battle had even begun, he had unusually promised him the spoils he desired most.
"Cackle, cackle, cackle. Thank you, Captain." The brown-skinned old man, his face shriveled and covered in all manner of bone ornaments, opened his wrinkled mouth and gave a strange cackling laugh. His tongue, teeth, and mouth were all black, as horrifying and disgusting as a black mamba.
"Open the gunports. Slow down a little. Don't scare our guests away."
"Yes, Captain!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!...
The fierce artillery battle began first. Cannonballs flew and ricocheted, decks exploded, masts snapped, and unlucky men on both ships were occasionally crushed straight into pulp.
"Ah—"
"My leg..."
No matter who was hunter and who was prey, artillery battles at sea were brutal. In that regard, they were equally fair to pirates and navy alike.
Using its advantage in the wind, the pirate ship upwind slowly closed in on the Warrior, assuming a desperate posture as though it intended to force a Boarding Battle.
The Warrior, meanwhile, wanted to make full use of its cannons' performance. It fought while retreating, employing a seaborne version of kite tactics.
"Hold steady! Master Gunner, fire every shell we have in reserve! If they want to compete with a warship in firepower, they're decades too early!"
"Yes, sir!"
Amid the flying cannonfire, the two ships gradually sailed away from their original waters. Once they passed the rocky arm extending from Chaotic Rock Island, they would return to deep water.
At that moment, something strange happened that puzzled the officers and sailors aboard the Warrior.
The pirate ship's sails began to furl, and the vessel slowly decelerated.
"Strange. What are they trying to do?"
The Warrior's bearded captain lowered his spyglass. He could not make sense of the pirates' intentions, but to keep the enemy within cannon range, he too had no choice but to slow down.
"Sail Master, lower—"
Bang! With a thunderous crash, the Warrior jolted violently. The enormous force even hurled many sailors from the deck into the sea.
"Bad news! We've run aground!!"
The crew's shouts made the bearded captain's face turn deathly pale. He had been so focused on keeping the pirate ship from escaping that he had forgotten to observe the sea conditions, committing the most unforgivable mistake of all.
The navy men aboard instantly descended into chaos.
No one understood better than him the consequences of losing mobility during a pursuit battle. The bearded captain closed his eyes in anguish. "Keep firing to stop the pirate ship from approaching! Send a distress signal! Inform the entire ship to hold their positions and await Colonel Gell's rescue!"
For someone as proud and self-important as him, this was a difficult choice. But compared to their lives, face no longer mattered.
As a blazing red signal flare shot into the sky, the pirate ship also made a new move.
Seven or eight small, specially made wooden boats were lowered into the water. Each held three pirates: one carried a torch while the other two rowed. Something covered with canvas also lay inside every boat.
This time, even without an order from the bearded captain, the experienced officers knew exactly what those damned pirates intended to do. These were fucking fire ships!
What kind of grudge was this? Their warship was already stranded on the reef, and they were still sending a suicide squad to burn it down?!!!
"Quick, fire! Sink those fire ships!" The Master Gunner's hysterical command was nearly distorted beyond recognition, but the gunners' emotions were no better. They rapidly loaded ammunition and fired madly toward the distance.
But because it had run aground, the Warrior had tilted sideways. Every broadside gunport facing the pirate ship was aimed at the sky. When the fire ships had only just been launched, they had gotten lucky and sunk two of them, but once they drew close, the cannons could no longer hit them.
Moreover, throughout the entire process, the pirate ship's cannons had not rested at all. The unbroken barrage pinned the officers and sailors aboard the Warrior down so thoroughly that they could not raise their heads. Even the lifeboats they lowered were focused down first, completely cutting off the sailors' hope of escape.
"Madmen, madmen! They actually dared to store so much flammable oil aboard their ship! Aren't they afraid of turning themselves into fireballs too?!"
But at this point, no matter how vicious their curses were, they could not save the Warrior from its destined fate.