Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

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Four days later, at a dock on the main island of the Taniria Islands, Winters, Andre, and Bard were idly standing at the uppermost level of the ship's stern castle, competing over who could throw a stone the farthest.

"You two are blatantly bullying an injured man," Winters complained, as he had injured his right hand and could only participate using his left, currently ranking last.

"You're allowed to concede defeat. Do you?" Andre said, giving a strong swing and tossing a small stone into a graceful arc, which landed far out on the water.

Bard didn't speak. He weighed the stone in his hand, stood sideways with a stable stance, and using the strength of his waist and abdomen, he threw it powerfully. The stone hit the water's shimmering surface even farther out, so distant that its point of impact was unclear.

Seeing Bard's new record, Winters began to look around thoughtfully. He felt that he could only stand a chance at a comeback if he found some material to make a rudimentary catapult.

"Aren't you from the Monastery? Do monks also practice shot put?" Andre asked cheekily, speaking whatever came to mind.

"Monks don't do shot put," Bard replied with a smile, "but I've herded livestock for them."

Winters sighed—there were no suitable thin ropes nearby.

Warrant Officer Winters was now practically crippled: the spot on his left shoulder where Aike had struck had turned from green to purple, and every movement caused pain;

his right foot had been pierced by a caltrop, but given that he had not developed a fever, it seemed it wasn't too serious. After the wound was cleaned, wrapping it in clean cotton cloth was counted as a solution;

the most frightening injury was a cut on his right arm left by some crazed woman. After the wound reopened several times despite attempts to stop the bleeding, it just wouldn't close. The flesh was turned outwards, constantly seeping blood.

The officers all knew that the wound should be stitched up, but no one dared to do it. In the end, it took Major Moritz downing a bottle of rum, and, bolstered by the alcohol, he took a fish hook and some cotton thread to sew more than a dozen clumsy stitches in Winters' arm;

The pain from his "third hand," or phantom limb, had considerably lessened, but it had started to itch instead. And itching was even more unbearable than the pain.

Furthermore, Winters was still unable to use magic. Any attempt to concentrate would trigger intense phantom limb pain, preventing him from maintaining a state suitable for casting spells.

In the span of one day, Winters had gone from student to warrant officer, in addition to having three injuries and temporarily losing his magical abilities.

"How long has this ship been here? When are we going to set sail?" Winters just wanted to get back home for a good sleep.

Andre also lacked his usual vigor and leaned against the railing despondently.

The ship they were on was called the Bandit Gull, a communications vessel within the Sea Blue navy's inland fleet. The Bandit Gull hadn't taken the trainee officers straight home but instead carried them east across Senas Bay to the Taniria Islands.

Once they reached the Taniria Islands, the Bandit Gull first anchored outside the harbor overnight. The next morning, it docked at this pier and had stayed here for a whole day with no sign of action from the captain.

Since Lieutenant General Layton had strictly forbidden any officer from disembarking, Winters and the others could only watch the bustling world ashore with envy, unable to go down and explore. Eventually, out of boredom, they ended up throwing stones from the ship's stern castle.

"It'll be soon, very soon. The cargo broker will be here any moment," the first mate of the Bandit Gull climbed up to the stern castle and cheerily approached Winters and the others.

For a moment, Winters and his companions exchanged glances, unsure whether to salute. While Winters racked his brains recalling the naval ranking system, Bard spoke first, "This cargo broker you mentioned, who are they? Are they in charge of regulating who enters and leaves the port?"

The first mate didn't answer immediately but instead flipped his hand and handed several yellow fruits to Winters and the others, "Try these, a delicacy from Taniria."

Winters and his companions had never seen these fruits before, and received them with suspicion. They didn't dare eat them, unsure of how to proceed.

"Just eat them directly, or you can peel them," the first mate said, taking another fruit and demonstrating how to eat it for the three young warrant officers. He peeled away the outer skin, revealing the yellow fruit underneath, and quickly ate it all.

Winters followed the first mate's example and peeled the skin, tentatively taking a bite of the fruit. It was sweet and juicy, extremely delicious. He quickly devoured one of the fruits and wanted another.

"What is this fruit called? I've never eaten it before," Winters said, encountering such a fruit for the first time.

"It has no name, the locals just call it 'Sweetwater,' it's a type of berry from the island."

"I've also never had this before, I haven't even seen it," added Andre, while Bard nodded. Clearly, both of them also liked the fruit.

"It's hard to store. Once picked from the tree, it rots in less than a day," the first mate said nonchalantly. "That's why besides the island's locals, only us sailors can taste it."

"What were you guys asking earlier? What does a cargo broker do?" The first mate took more fruits from the pouch he was carrying to distribute to the three, explaining seriously, "A cargo broker helps shipowners sell or buy goods. We don't have time to slowly sell off the cargo in our hold, nor do we have time to buy slowly, so we look for cargo brokers. They have connections and can clear out a ship or fill one up in one fell swoop."

"Wait…" Winters keenly sensed a conflict in the information he'd received, "Aren't you a part of the inland navy? Why would you need a cargo broker to sell and buy goods?"

"Hahaha" Winters' question set the first mate off into a chuckle, "How could we possibly be navy? Look at me, do I look like a naval officer? Then look at the Bandit Gull, does it look like a warship?"

"Isn't the Bandit Gull a navy communications vessel?"

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"It's just a nominal title, with the navy being the minor shareholder of the Bandit Gull."

"Then why is the Bandit Gull the one taking us home?"

"The navy commissioned the work, and besides carrying cargo, we sometimes take on passenger transport like this. Just like now, aren't we carrying a few other people besides you?"

Winters finally understood what those few people on the Bandit Gull were there for; they were neither army soldiers nor sailors. He had originally thought they were the shipowners, but it turned out they were just passengers.

"No wonder," Winters sighed, "I was wondering why a navy ship would be so small?"

In Winters' eyes, the Bandit Gull indeed wasn't big; he had seen many cargo ships much larger than the Bandit Gull.

The Bandit Gull had only two decks, with the topmost being the open deck. Below was another deck, and further down, the bottom of the ship.

Moreover, because the Bandit Gull's freeboard was not high, the second deck was already below the waterline, so the cabins under the open deck could at most have a small vent, not capable of having windows, and naturally, they couldn't be fitted with cannons.

This small ship not only lacked a dedicated gun deck, but it also had no cannons at all. Winters wandered around the ship a few times, and not to mention cannons, he hadn't even seen cannonballs, and now he finally understood why.

"The navy doesn't actually have that many real warships; they're all just nominally commercial ships like the Bandit Gull." Upon hearing someone belittle the Bandit Gull, the first mate was somewhat displeased and tried to highlight the ship's advantages: "The Bandit Gull isn't that small either, capable of carrying a hundred tons or more—how is that small? Moreover, the Bandit Gull's rigging is designed exceptionally well, very easy to control; it only takes about a dozen sailors to handle it well."

"With only about a dozen sailors needed to handle it, that's why squeezing in over thirty more people is nearly killing us," Andre fired another shot.

The Bandit Gull's cabins were meant for holding cargo, and theoretically, they could also accommodate people, but they lacked ventilation, had poor lighting, and the living conditions were extremely harsh.

It was for this reason that an extra forecastle and two aft castles were added to improve the sailors' living environment.

The second floor of the aft castle was a separate small room. It was originally meant for the captain, but the highest-ranking person on board was clearly Admiral Layton. The admiral naturally took the best single cabin without hesitation.

The first floor of the aft castle was a large room, given to Winters and the other injured Spellcasters to stay in;

Major Moritz and the captain shared accommodations in the forecastle;

The other trainee officers could only squeeze into the cabins with the sailors, and after leaving the rainy area, the warrant officers simply opted to sleep on the open deck, following the example of the sailors.

Because life at sea was tough, the Sea Blue cadets always traveled by land when returning home in the past, never by ship. Traveling by ship was not only riskier, but the experience was also inferior. If one traveled by land, they could stay at relay stations, enjoying food and drink all the way home.

This year, however, they were told to take a ship back because "the road is not easy to travel." What was supposed to be a pleasure trip turned into an ordeal, and every time they thought about it, it enraged all the trainee officers.

"Although it's a bit cramped, the Bandit Gull is very fast," the first mate persisted.

"What good is speed if you're going in the wrong direction?" Andre was relentless.

The first mate conceded defeat, feeling in the wrong: "There's nothing we can do, running a direct route between Sea Blue City and Guidao City doesn't make much money, so the ships in the Senas Sea all run triangular routes. Don't worry, we'll head straight for Sea Blue City as soon as we leave port."

"Clomp, clomp, clomp," Major Moritz also climbed up to the aft castle; he was there to ask the first mate to help buy some liquor. Because of Admiral Layton's confinement order, Major Moritz couldn't leave the ship either. Between his own drinking and supplying the Spellcaster students with "medicinal" use, his rum stock had been completely depleted two days ago.

Without the "water of life," the major's spirits had clearly been down over the past few days.

"Mr. First Mate, could you please also replace the ship's water barrels with new ones? The sides of the barrels are covered in green slime. When I touched it, it felt slick and slimy. Aren't you afraid of getting sick drinking that water?" Major Moritz hadn't consumed any liquids for two days, having no liquor and being unable to stomach the ship's freshwater reserves.

Hearing the major's description, Winters felt a chill, as he had been drinking the ship's freshwater these past days.

"Alright, alright, I'll have the sailors clean the water barrels right away," the first mate hurried off.

Vendors on the water near the docks in small rafts were selling local fruits and vegetables to the sailors. The major whistled, signaling one of the rafts to come over.

The major gestured to take everything. No one saw where he pulled a silver coin from, but with a light flick, the silver coin accurately slipped into the vendor's hand.

"You guys go bring his food and drink aboard and share it with everyone," the major, clearly having withdrawal symptoms, commanded, "I'm going to rest for a while. Wake me when the liquor is back."

Although he had just thrown out a silver coin, now the major had another silver coin in his hand, which he played with absently as he left the aft castle.

"Is that some kind of magic trick?" Andre peered out to glance at the vendor and then looked back at the major: "He didn't make the silver coin he gave away reappear, did he?"

"How could that be? It's just one more coin, but I thought the way he tossed the coin into the person's arms was pretty impressive."

Later that day, the Bandit Gull emptied its cargo of ironware and leather brought from Guidao City, loaded up with sugar and tobacco in the Taniria Islands, and set sail for Sea Blue.