Fishing "Law Enforcement"

From the captain's indifferent tone, Milta heard a gnashing hatred. It was the first time he had seen the captain with such an expression and tone.

Milta's expression turned solemn. He didn't speak, but his teeth were clenched, veins bulging on his forehead. He pounded his chest, picked up his wine glass, and downed it in one go.

The captain's enemy is my Milta's enemy!

Seeing Ian's demeanor, Lia's heart tightened.

Reality is always more absurd than fiction. Lia thought of her father and family, their circumstances so similar.

Lia turned to look into Ian's eyes, her expression playful, but her tone was more serious than ever: "Your will is my mission, Captain."

Ian smiled faintly: "After dinner, let Milta show you around the ship to get familiar with it. No need for watches on board; Leviathan will inform me if there's any situation."

After dinner, Milta and Lia cleaned up the dishes. Ian returned to his "space" to continue researching the Alchemy Cannon.

"Wawa...(A ship is following us...)"

Wawa's message pulled Ian out of his alchemical thoughts. Ian stood up, and the "walls" surrounding the space gradually "disappeared," revealing the sea conditions around the warship.

Two armed merchant ships were several nautical miles ahead of Leviathan, one to the front left and the other to the front right.

The wind and waves were gradually increasing, about a level four or five, but visibility was quite good. It was clear that both merchant ships were flying the flags of both the Hansa Trading Company and the Royal Niger Company simultaneously.

This also made Ian suddenly recall that the Hansa Trading Company, where Captain Homan was, had been acquired by the Royal Niger Company. It seemed these were exclusive supply transport ships for the New World's expansion.

At this moment, Lia and Milta were also standing on the Forecastle, constantly observing the movements of the two ships ahead. It was clear they had also sensed something unusual.

Following Wawa's description, Ian understood the situation.

After lunch, the northeast wind grew stronger. Although sailing against the wind, Leviathan's speed not only didn't decrease but actually increased with the help of the sails.

It wasn't until other sailing ships vaguely appeared in the front right of their route that Leviathan deliberately turned towards the front left, and the Propeller's power was significantly reduced.

This was, of course, Ian's order. Leviathan's astonishing speed could only be hidden for a while; this way, they could achieve surprise during a sneak attack.

These two sailing ships were small galleon-type armed merchant ships, visually slightly larger than Leviathan.

These two sailing ships also noticed Leviathan and deliberately or inadvertently adjusted their course towards them, and also slowed down, as if deliberately "waiting" for the galleon sailing ship behind them, which had only raised two sails.

In the Sea of Miracles, besides "professional" pirates, many merchant ships and whaling ships would often act as pirates when encountering "soft targets."

Pirates would disguise themselves as merchant ships and even have official permits. Merchant ships could also be pirates, with black flags prepared on board. This made perfect sense!

Being mistaken for a soft target was within Ian's expectations.

It wasn't that Leviathan couldn't raise all its sails, but it was too troublesome. Constantly adjusting sails according to changes in wind direction and speed, and lacking manpower, was too taxing.

They couldn't have Wawa do everything; Wawa would get tired too.

Deliberately raising sails on only two masts – how could they know this wasn't a form of entrapment?

The high-class hunter often appears as prey!

Ian grinned: "Wawa, how should a panicked 'prey' react at this time?"

Without waiting for Wawa's response, Ian continued: "Of course, it should try to escape. Stop the Propeller, turn sharply to the left, and 'try' to break out of the encirclement."

Following Ian's command, Leviathan sharply changed course, relying solely on the power of its sails, heading northwest.

On the merchant ship Golden Sail, several nautical miles to the front left, the first mate, who had been carefully observing the sailing ship behind with a monocular telescope, suddenly shouted:

"It's trying to run, Captain--"

"Adjust course and intercept it. Notify Swordfish with signal flags to block its starboard side. Close the distance and prepare to bombard."

Because sailing ships were made of wood, they were often riddled with cannonballs but still wouldn't sink. However, bombardment could break the "prey's" resolve to resist.

The captain of Golden Sail, stroking his messy beard, looked excited. The royal family was now concentrating its efforts on developing the New World, and every ship was very valuable.

"Luck is here, serves me right to get rich."

The sailing ship behind had only raised sails on two masts. Through the monocular telescope, although no damage was visible on the hull, the deck was empty, with no cannons or people. It must have encountered an accident!

"Truly stupid and wicked!"

At this moment, Ian also stepped onto the Quarterdeck platform, lightly murmuring as he touched the rain cover on the Alchemy Cannon.

In fact, Ian had misjudged the merchant ship captain. In the entire Sea of Miracles, having a large ship, many cannons, and many people was the absolute rule, without exception.

A few more extraordinary individuals couldn't affect the overall situation. Extraordinary individuals could only constantly dodge like fleas and still couldn't withstand artillery fire and dense musket volleys.

"How do we fight?", Lia's hurried footsteps sounded from behind.

She was the first to notice the anomaly. The moment she felt [Leviathan] slow down, she knew Ian's intentions.

After all, Leviathan's initial speed easily exceeded ten knots, making it very simple to escape two merchant ships with speeds less than seven knots.

Ian bared his snow-white teeth: "Wait until they get closer, then kite them! Not one will escape."

Twenty minutes later, Ian was getting impatient. The two armed merchant ships, which had changed to pirate flags, "slowly" formed a "pincer" on the left and right.

"Wawa... (one nautical mile)," Wawa estimated the precise distance again. Ian's extraordinary eyesight could already clearly see the expressions of the sailors on the merchant ship opposite, who were standing ready.

One nautical mile is approximately 1852 meters. The maximum range of 9-pound to 32-pound ordinary cannons is between 1300 and 2000 meters, with 24-pound cannons having a maximum range of 1600 meters and an effective range of 400-1200 meters.

The merchant ship opposite only had 12-pound cannons at most.

"Prepare to fire—load, await my command!" Ian and the others quickly pulled off the rain covers of the cannons.

Leviathan used anchor chains to operate the two 24-pound Alchemy Cannons at the bow and stern. Ian and two others worked together to operate the 18-pound Alchemy Cannon under the main mast.

On both sides of Leviathan's bow, two chains like black snakes flew out. One crossed the deck to operate the stern cannon, and the other operated the bow cannon.

The chains were a bit thick, and their movements were slightly sluggish, but the rhythm was steady and the procedures were standardized. It only took twenty seconds to complete the loading and aiming process.

Lia had just joined, and this was her first time cooperating, so they lacked synergy. Ian simply had Lia observe the enemy ship's movements from the side.

He and Milta, the two transcendent individuals, only took thirty seconds to complete loading.

At this moment, the waves pushed Leviathan, causing it to sway constantly, but to a much lesser extent than the merchant ship opposite.

Ian and Wawa's Spirituality intertwined, allowing them to tacitly sense the amplitude and frequency of the warship's swaying.

"Fire!"