Whooo!
Fierce winds howled and torrential rain poured as the three-masted sailing ship rose and fell between one mountainous wave after another, like a toy tossed up and caught by a giant, then caught and tossed again.
The crimson faded from Alger Wilson's eyes, and he found himself still standing on the deck, with nothing different from before.
Immediately afterward, he saw the oddly shaped glass bottle in his hand shatter with a crack. The frost and snow turned to water and mingled with the rain.
In just two or three seconds, this ancient curiosity lost every trace of its existence.
A crystalline, six-pointed snowflake appeared in Alger's palm, then rapidly faded until it vanished, seemingly withdrawing into his flesh.
Alger gave an almost imperceptible nod, as though considering something, and remained silent for a full five minutes.
He turned and walked toward the cabin entrance. Just as he was about to enter, he encountered a man coming out, likewise wearing a robe embroidered with lightning patterns.
The man, who had soft yellow hair, stopped, looked at Alger, and raised his right hand, holding his fist against his chest.
"May the storm be with you."
"May the storm be with you." Alger's rugged, deeply etched face betrayed no unnecessary emotion as he likewise clenched his right fist and struck his left chest.
After exchanging salutes, Alger entered the cabin and followed the passage toward the captain's quarters at the far end.
Along the way, he encountered not a single sailor or crew member. It was as quiet as the inside of a tomb.
The door to the captain's quarters opened, revealing a soft, thick, dark brown carpet. Bookshelves stood on one side and a wine cabinet on the other. Books with yellowish covers and bottles of dark red wine gleamed strangely in the candlelight.
On the desk that held the candles were a bottle of ink, a quill, a black metal telescope, and a brass sextant.
Behind the desk, a pale, middle-aged man wearing a captain's hat marked with a skull watched Alger approach step by step and said through angrily clenched teeth:
"I won't submit!"
"I believe you can manage that." Alger was as calm as if he were commenting on the poor weather.
"You..." The middle-aged man froze, seemingly not having expected such a response.
At that moment, Alger bent slightly and suddenly lunged forward, instantly closing the distance between them until only the desk remained.
Snap!
His shoulder tightened, and his right hand shot out, clamping around the middle-aged man's throat.
Without giving him a chance to react, illusory fish scales appeared on the back of Alger's hand, and his five fingers tightened furiously.
Crack!
Amid the crisp sound, the middle-aged man's eyes filled with astonishment as his entire body was lifted into the air.
His feet kicked violently, but soon grew still. His gaze went blank, his pupils began to dilate, and his crotch gradually grew wet, giving off a foul stench.
Holding the middle-aged man aloft, Alger bent his back and strode heavily toward the nearby wall.
Bang! Using the middle-aged man as a shield, he slammed forward, his arm as thick as a monster's.
The wooden wall shattered, and violent wind and rain swept inside, carrying the briny dampness of the sea.
Alger twisted his waist and swung his back, throwing the middle-aged man out of the cabin and into the succession of mountainous waves.
The sky was dark, the wind and rain howled, and nature's mighty power buried everything.
Alger took out a white handkerchief and carefully wiped his right palm before tossing it into the sea as well.
Stepping back a few paces, he patiently waited for his companion to enter.
"What happened?" Within ten seconds, the man with soft yellow hair rushed inside.
"The 'captain' escaped," Alger answered breathlessly, sounding frustrated. "He actually still had some Beyonder powers left!"
"Damn it!" the yellow-haired man cursed under his breath.
He approached the breach and stared into the distance, but could see nothing except wind, rain, and waves.
"Forget it. He was only incidental." The yellow-haired man waved his arm. "Finding this ghost ship from the Tudor era means we'll only receive credit."
Even as one favored by the sea, he did not dare rashly dive into the water in weather like this.
"Besides, if the storm continues, the 'captain' won't last much longer either." Alger nodded and noticed that the breach in the wooden wall had begun writhing shut at a visible pace.
He took a long look at it, then instinctively turned toward the helm and sails.
Even through the layers of wooden planks, he knew clearly what was happening there.
There was no first mate, no second mate, no crew, no sailors-not even a living person!
There was nothing there. The helm and sails were eerily adjusting themselves.
The figure of The Fool, shrouded entirely in grayish-white fog, surfaced in his mind again, and Alger suddenly sighed.
He turned toward the fierce winds and towering waves outside and spoke in a dreamlike tone filled with both anticipation and fear:
"A new era has begun..."
Queens Borough, Backlund, capital of the Kingdom of Loen.
Audrey Hall pinched her cheeks, unable to believe what she had just experienced.
On the dressing table before her, the ancient bronze mirror lay shattered into pieces.
Lowering her gaze, Audrey saw "crimson" flowing across the back of her hand, like a "tattoo" of stars.
The "crimson" gradually dimmed, finally sinking beneath her skin and disappearing.
Only then did Audrey become certain that she was not dreaming.
Her eyes shone, and the corners of her mouth slowly rose. Unable to help herself, she stood and bent to lift her skirts.
After curtsying to the empty air, Audrey moved with light steps, turning as she began the Ancient Elf Dance, currently the most fashionable dance at court.
As she danced gracefully, her face was filled with a radiant smile.
Knock, knock, knock! Someone suddenly knocked on the bedroom door.
"Who is it?" Audrey abruptly stopped and assumed a refined posture.
"Miss, may I come in? It's time for you to get ready," her lady's maid asked from outside.
Audrey tilted her head toward the mirror on her dressing table and quickly restrained her smile, leaving only a faint trace.
She looked herself over from both sides, making certain there was nothing wrong with her appearance before speaking gently:
"Come in."
The handle turned, and her lady's maid, Annie, pushed open the door.
"Oh, it's broken..." Annie immediately noticed what had become of the ancient bronze mirror.
Audrey blinked and said slowly:
"Uh, yes, um, Susie came in earlier. You know how she always likes breaking things!"
Susie was a large golden retriever of less-than-pure pedigree, a free addition when her father, Earl Hall, bought foxhounds, but Audrey was very fond of her.
"You must teach her a proper lesson." Annie deftly cleared away the bronze mirror's fragments, afraid they might injure her mistress.
Once she had finished, she looked at Audrey and asked with a smile:
"Which dress would you like to wear?"
After a moment's thought, Audrey said, "I like the one Mrs. Genia designed for my seventeenth birthday."
"No. People will wonder whether the Hall Family is having financial difficulties, wearing the same dress twice to formal occasions!" Annie shook her head in refusal.
"But I really do like it," Audrey emphasized gently.
"You can wear it at home, on less formal occasions." Annie adopted an attitude that left no room for discussion.
"Then the one Mr. Sides sent over the day before yesterday, the one with ruffled cuffs." Audrey took a discreet breath, maintaining her elegant, sweet smile.
"Your taste is always so outstanding." Annie smiled and stepped back, calling outside, "Dressing room number six-never mind, I'll fetch it myself."
The maids began bustling about. One took charge of the gown, one the jewelry, one the shoes, one the veiled hat, one applied Miss Audrey's makeup, and another considered her hairstyle.
As the preparations neared completion, Earl Hall appeared in the doorway wearing a dark brown waistcoat.
He wore a top hat of the same color as his clothes and sported two handsome little wings of mustache. His azure eyes were full of smiles, but slack muscles, a protruding belly, and increasingly pronounced nasolabial folds mercilessly undermined the good looks of his youth.
"Backlund's most dazzling gem, it's time for us to leave." Standing at the entrance, Earl Hall lightly knocked twice on the open door.
"Papa, don't call me that." Audrey rose with her maids' assistance, deliberately showing a little distress.
"Then, my beautiful little princess, it's time to leave." Earl Hall bent his left arm, inviting Audrey to take it.
Audrey shook her head with a faint smile.
"That is the place of Mrs. Hall, the countess, my dear mother."
"Then this side." Earl Hall smiled and bent his right arm as well. "This is a father's pride."
Royal naval base, Oak Island, Pritz Harbor.
When Audrey stepped down from the carriage with her arm linked through her father's, she was suddenly stunned by the behemoth before her.
In the naval harbor not far away lay a towering warship, its entire body gleaming with a metallic sheen. It had no sails, only a lookout platform, and had gained two lofty smokestacks and two open-air gun turrets, one fore and one aft.
It was so majestic and immense that the sailing ships of the line moored nearby looked like newborn dwarves clustering around a giant spirit.
"Storms above..."
"Oh, my Lord."
"An ironclad!"
Low exclamations of wonder mingled together. Audrey felt the same shock. This was a miracle created by humanity, an unprecedented miracle upon the seas!
After an unknown length of time, the nobles, ministers, and members of the House of Commons finally recovered. Just then, a black speck in the sky grew larger, gradually occupying a third of the heavens and filling everyone's view, abruptly making the atmosphere solemn.
It was a gigantic craft floating and flying through the air, with exceptionally smooth, graceful lines and an overall deep blue finish. A sturdy yet lightweight alloy framework supported cotton fabric enclosing hydrogen gasbags. Beneath hung a gondola with machine-gun ports, bomb bays, and direct-fire cannon ports. The exaggerated humming of its high-phlogiston steam engine and the furious whirring of its tail propellers formed a stirring symphony.
The airship carrying the royal family had arrived, bearing the majesty of looking down upon everything from on high.
On both sides of the gondola, an emblem of the Sword of Judgment, pointing vertically downward with a ruby crown at its hilt, reflected the sunlight. It was the longstanding symbol of the Augustus Family, traceable to the previous epoch.
Audrey was not yet eighteen and had not attended the "presentation ceremony," in which she would formally enter Backlund society under the queen's guidance and announce her adulthood. She could only quietly observe from where she stood and could not approach.
However, she did not mind much and even felt relieved that she did not have to face the princes.
The "miracle" of humanity's conquest of the skies landed steadily. The first to descend the gangway were spirited young guards wearing red military dress coats, white trousers, and sashes, with rifles in their hands. They formed two lines, quietly awaiting the appearance of King George III, the queen, the princes, and the princesses.
Audrey had seen important figures before and had no interest in this. Instead, her gaze wandered toward the two black-armored knights who stood like statues beside the king.
In this age of steel, steam, and firearms, there were actually still people who insisted on wearing full suits of armor!
The cold metallic sheen and the deep black helmets gave an impression of weight, majesty, and obedience that could not be refused.
Could they be higher-Sequence Punisher Knights...? Snatches of her elders' conversations flashed through Audrey's mind. She wanted to see for herself but did not dare approach.
With the royal family's arrival, the ceremony finally began, and the incumbent prime minister, Lord Agusid Negan, walked to the front of the gathering.
He was a member of the Conservative Party and one of only two men thus far to have become prime minister without being a noble. He had been granted a lordship for his outstanding contributions.
Of course, Audrey knew more. Agusid's elder brother, a major supporter of the Conservative Party, was Pallas Negan, the current Duke Negan!
Agusid was in his fifties, tall and thin, with sparse hair and sharp eyes. After surveying the gathering, he said:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I believe you have already seen it. This is an ironclad, an ironclad capable of overturning an era. It is 101 meters long and 21 meters wide, with a high-freeboard design, a main armor belt 457 millimeters thick, and a displacement of 10,060 tonnes. It carries a total of four 305-millimeter main guns fore and aft, along with six quick-firing guns, twelve six-pounders, eighteen six-barreled machine guns, and four torpedo tubes. Its speed can reach sixteen knots!"
"It will be the true overlord. It will conquer the seas!"
A stir ran through the nobles, ministers, and members of parliament. The prime minister's description alone was enough for them to imagine how terrifying this ironclad was, much less with the actual vessel before their eyes!
Agusid revealed a slight smile, spoke a few more words, then bowed to King George III.
"Your Majesty, please name her."
"Let it begin at Pritz Harbor. Call her the Pritz." George III looked thoroughly pleased.
"The Pritz!"
"The Pritz!"
Beginning with the naval minister and the commander-in-chief of the Royal Navy, the name spread in turn until it reached the ironclad, where officers and sailors cheered in unison:
"The Pritz!"
Amid the celebratory atmosphere, saluting guns boomed repeatedly, and George III gave the order to set sail and conduct a firing trial.
Whooo!
The steam whistle sounded, thick smoke billowed from the smokestacks, and the sound of machinery working could faintly be heard.
The behemoth set sail. When it left the harbor and bombarded an uninhabited island ahead with its two forward main guns, everyone was stunned.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The earth seemed to shake. Dust surged into the air, and hurricane-force winds raged outward, whipping up the waves.
Prime Minister Agusid turned with satisfaction and told the nobles, ministers, and members of parliament:
"From this moment onward, those seven pirates who call themselves admirals and those four pirates who presumptuously style themselves kings can only tremble all over and await their doom!"
"Their era is over. Even if they possess Beyonder powers to varying degrees, even if they have ghost ships or cursed ships, only ironclads will rule the seas!"
At that moment, Agusid's chief secretary deliberately asked:
"Then couldn't they build ironclads themselves?"
Some nobles and members of parliament nodded inwardly, believing the possibility could not be ruled out.
Agusid immediately smiled and slowly shook his head.
"Impossible. Utterly impossible! Building an ironclad like this requires three large coal-and-steel complexes, twenty sizable steelworks, sixty scientists from the Backlund Artillery Research Institute and the Pritz Ship Research Institute, and even more senior engineers. It requires two royal shipyards and their nearly one hundred affiliated component factories. It requires an Admiralty, a shipbuilding committee, a cabinet, a resolute king with outstanding vision, and a great nation producing twelve million tonnes of steel annually!"
"The pirates will never accomplish that."
At this point, he paused, then raised both arms and cried passionately:
"Ladies and gentlemen, the age of great warships and mighty guns has arrived!"