"Captain, aren't we taking any spoils?" Milta asked, puzzled.
"The biggest prize was that ship, and it's already sunk. We're short-handed, and salvaging those few things would be more trouble than it's worth," Ian said nonchalantly.
Milta's mouth fell slightly open as he watched the wreckage of the Golden Sail recede into the distance. They'd won, but there was no loot. Somehow, that took a lot of the fun out of it.
He'd spent so long on merchant ships that he didn't see any problem with treating people as merchandise. The barrels of wine and fresh water, the canvas, the ropes—those could still be useful.
It wasn't until near dusk that Ian finally spotted another sailing ship, the Swordfish. Using its remaining mizzen sail, it had actually turned around and was running downwind toward Paradise Island.
They weren't far from Paradise Island, but unfortunately, they were "drifting" far too slowly.
Almost the instant the Leviathan appeared, the Swordfish's only remaining sail came down. Several sailors stood high up, frantically signaling with flags.
Ian and Milta didn't know flag signals, so Ian looked to Lia.
Lia observed them through her spyglass. "They're surrendering. They've given up resisting. Don't fire..."
The Swordfish's captain knew the strange ship nearby had very few people aboard. To put the other side at ease, he not only lowered the sails but also turned all the cannon muzzles away from them, pointing them inward instead. Every crew member threw down their weapons and stood on deck.
Ian watched the Swordfish's captain go through the motions with some amusement. He was certainly eager to stay alive!
The Swordfish had fired only one volley from a distance, then spent the entire time running.
"Approach slowly. Load all the cannons with light canister shot. If anything goes wrong, fire immediately!" Ian planned to board with Milta, while Lia stayed aboard the Leviathan to keep watch.
Canister shot consisted of a thin, cylindrical tin canister with an iron base, containing 20 to 200 iron balls between 10 and 50 millimeters in diameter. The immense pressure difference inside and outside the cannon shattered the tin casing as the round left the barrel, sending the balls scattering into a disk-shaped spread.
Light canister shot contained over a hundred balls. It had a shorter range but covered a larger area.
At close range, a full broadside from the Leviathan's eight alchemical cannons could turn the Swordfish into a sieve. Within the crossed field of fire, low-sequence Extraordinary individuals were no different from ordinary people.
The Leviathan circled the Swordfish twice. After confirming it showed no signs of hostility, she slowly drew alongside.
As the two ships approached, the Swordfish's captain got a clear look at the silver-gray sailing ship and the three Extraordinary individuals on its main deck, whose spiritual auras were on full display.
Several long-barreled cannons, clearly unlike ordinary guns, were lined up along the ship's centerline. No matter how the Leviathan moved, their muzzles remained firmly trained on the Swordfish.
With those cannons pointed at him, every hair on the Swordfish's captain's body stood on end. His spirituality warned him of extreme danger.
When the ships were only two hundred meters apart, two "giant snakes" came flying from the Leviathan's bow, "baring their fangs and brandishing their claws." Amid the sailors' horrified cries, the "snake heads" snapped onto the Swordfish with a clank and dragged it toward the Leviathan.
The sudden, powerful pull sent the Swordfish shuddering violently, throwing people across the deck.
The Swordfish's captain's last bit of scheming vanished in an instant. He steadied himself and finally saw what they were: two anchors attached to long chains.
With a "bang," the ships bumped together—not too hard—and their sides pressed against each other.
Milta carried an alchemical flintlock Ian had custom-made for him, one that looked like a hand cannon. Two short firearms loaded with ammunition hung at his waist. He was the first to climb over the bulwark.
He jumped onto a gun carriage on the main deck and aimed his weapon at the startled crowd.
Ian had already cast Emergency Guard on himself. Carrying an alchemical flintlock, he climbed over right after Milta.
Ian's sharp gaze swept over the crowd. The Swordfish's slightly portly captain stood unarmed at the front and was about to speak, but Ian raised a hand to stop him. In a cold voice, he said, "To avoid any misunderstandings, please don't resist."
Ian swept his left hand, and Activated Rope shot out from behind him, darting straight into the crowd. Amid cries of alarm, it bound the crew members' hands behind their backs one by one.
Activated Rope wasn't any good at handling cannons, but when it came to tying people up, it was more skilled than anyone. In the blink of an eye, every crew member except the Swordfish's captain was bound.
"I request to pay a ransom for my release!" Unable to endure the tension any longer, the Swordfish's captain stepped forward and spoke with forced composure.
At that moment, Wawa was using its immense spirituality to scan every inch of the Swordfish. Only after Wawa sent word that it was safe did Ian step forward.
"First, tell me about yourselves—and about the ship we just sank."
The Swordfish's captain had been startled by Wawa's spirituality and was somewhat flustered. He couldn't tell who it had come from, only that it had come from the other ship.
"My name is Sam. I'm the captain of the Swordfish. The Swordfish used to belong to the Hansa Trading Company, but it was recently bought by the Royal Niger Company..."
The Swordfish and the Golden Sail did indeed belong to the Royal Niger Company. They'd been returning from Paradise Island to Storm Cape, planning to load supplies and take them to the Lucia Archipelago. Of course, they intended to stop at Paradise Island and other islands along the way to resupply.
The Golden Sail's captain had come up with the idea of playing pirate and attacking the Leviathan. The Golden Sail was the flagship of this little fleet, so the Swordfish had no choice but to obey. Sam had been forced into it—or so he claimed.
Ian rubbed his chin and suddenly asked, "How will you pay the ransom? Are you only paying for yourself, or for your ship and crew too?"
The crew shifted uneasily at his words, but none of them looked particularly excited. It seemed they didn't expect anyone to ransom them, either.
Perhaps sensing that he might be able to buy his freedom, Captain Sam sounded a little more animated.
"I'll pay to ransom myself, and if the price is right, I'll ransom the ship too! I have friends I can borrow money from. We can sign an agreement with the Extraordinary Professions Union. I admit that I attacked first, and I'll accept the punishment. I won't retaliate afterward."
That wasn't entirely a lie. At that moment, Sam truly had no thoughts of revenge.
Ian pondered. He wasn't afraid of retaliation; he was considering whether it was feasible to tow the Swordfish back.
The Swordfish was 34 meters long, nine meters longer than the Leviathan and close to the standard size of a sixth-rate ship. Even damaged, it was worth at least several thousand gold coins.
Since it was on its way back, it didn't have many supplies aboard, but they were worth something. Then there was the large crew. By common custom, if nobody ransomed them, he could sell them.
Add the captain's ransom, and the take would be substantial. Ian almost regretted sinking the Golden Sail earlier.
The only problem was that it would anger the Royal Niger Company. They were used to throwing their weight around and wouldn't care who attacked first. Their interests had taken a hit, and their plans for the New Continent had been delayed.
Ian's lips curled up. "But I don't care. After all, you're one of my prey, too!"
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