Even the drinking water is so bad, not to mention cleanliness. It is normal not to wash or maintain hygiene for several months.
Often after a voyage of half a month, the ship would be filled with a foul stench and everyone would be covered in filth.
But with a wizard in charge, he can directly use magic to distill and purify seawater, and the thing that is most abundant in the ocean is seawater.
The sailors on the Challenger could not only drink water at will, but they could even take a bath, wash up and clean every day. Except for the lack of entertainment activities, their life was no different from that on land.
Such quality of life is extremely luxurious for those crew members who do not have mages on board.
In the next few hours, the Challenger sailed smoothly for more than 50 kilometers in the sea breeze. The surrounding scenery remained unchanged. If it were not for the waves rolling towards the back, it would give people the illusion that it had been staying in the same place.
Life at sea is actually quite boring most of the time.
On a ship far away from all civilized products, sailors and seamen can only pass the time by playing cards, drinking, sleeping and other activities. They can basically only stand on the deck or the ship's tower, staring at the sea and in a daze.
Not to mention other ships, not even birds or fish could be seen in the field of vision - most of the life in the ocean was hidden beneath the sea.
Although there were twenty or thirty people around, one felt lonely and desolate.
After the initial novelty wore off, Qi Ji also became a little bored.
So he could only hold his chin with his hands, forcing himself to ignore the intentional or unintentional glances from the sailors on the deck with green eyes, gradually emptying his mind and entering a daze.
I don't know how much time passed... The sun began to set, and the light gradually dimmed. The sea surface in the east seemed to be covered by a black curtain, becoming difficult to see clearly.
Since the Challenger is currently heading due east, it feels like there is an increasingly dark mass approaching from the front, creating a somewhat terrifying atmosphere.
Suddenly, a rough male voice shouted:
"Due east! Zero o'clock! There seems to be a ship!"
This shout brought Qi Ji back to his senses from his daze.
I saw a skinny sailor climbing to the top of a mast at some point, craning his neck to look toward the bow, and shouting loudly but with an uncertain tone:
"It's a bit dark! It's too far away to see clearly. I don't know what ship it is, but there must be a ship ahead!"
Meili, who had gone to rest in the cabin earlier, appeared on the deck, frowned, and said calmly:
"It could be a merchant ship on the same route. Let's observe the situation first! Confirm the ship's direction and size... Tom, Jefferson, you lead everyone to prepare."
The second half of the sentence was addressed to the first and second mates. Obviously, she could not guarantee whether the ship in the dark was hostile or not. To be on the safe side, the crew had to prepare for a rainy day.
Hearing Meili's words, the first and second mates nodded in agreement. Without further ado, they quickly ran to the cabin and the rear of the deck, respectively, and shouted at the top of their lungs:
"Guys, hold your weapons! If any wimp dares to back off when we run into trouble, I'll smash his balls!"
Chapter 410 Black Ship
Amid their thunderous roars, a series of ping-pong sounds suddenly rang out from the small Challenger, followed by the sound of chaotic footsteps.
In a blink of an eye, more than a dozen sailors rushed out of the cabin, both men and women, all holding weapons, some with gleaming machetes, some with just a wooden stick, but all of them looked nervous and looked around vigilantly.
Qi Ji cast his gaze in the direction the lookout sailor on the mast was looking at, and saw a vague outline in the increasingly dense and approaching darkness in the east.
It was pitch black and I could just make out the silhouette of a ship, which should be facing this side or facing away. However, because it was dark and the sunlight could not reach, human eyesight alone could not make out more details.
"Since we can see them, they must be able to see us with our backs to the light."
Mary stood at the front of the deck, crossed her arms, frowned slightly and thought for a few seconds, then instructed the fully armed sailors behind her:
"Coffey, Jack, raise the flag. And... bring up the cannons."
At her command, several sailors hurriedly climbed to the top of the ship and hung a blue, white and yellow flag on a pole.
Qi Ji was on the top of the ship at this time. Seeing them raising the flag, he asked curiously:
"What does it mean?"
A sailor immediately stopped and explained in a slightly flattering manner and tone:
"Miss, this is a... customary signal at sea. It means to tell the other party that we have sufficient military force on board... such as that cannon, and quite a lot of extraordinary people. It is a warning."
Qi Ji blinked:
"What's the point? Anyone can hang this flag, but how can the other party tell if it's real or fake? How can you prove its credibility?"
The sailor was stunned for a moment, scratched his head in confusion, thought for a few seconds before answering:
"Well, that does make sense... But if we really run into pirates, there's no need to lie, right? What if the pirates are a bunch of reckless people? Isn't that telling them we're rich? Oh, pirates are all reckless..."
"All right……"
Qi Ji really couldn't understand the train of thought of these sailors, so he simply gave up trying to understand them. He stopped communicating with them, and after sending them away with a few words, he lay down in front of the railing and looked down at the deck below.
As soon as she looked down, she saw four or five short, fat and strong sailors with red faces carrying the "magic rapid-fire cannon" that looked like a rotating cannon out of the cabin and moving it to the bow.
With her strong perception, she also heard several sailors struggling to lift several heavier objects in the deeper cabin. Judging from the smell of gunpowder emanating from them, they should be several conventional cannons.
"It's really lively...but I don't know if a fight will really break out."
The sudden incident also piqued Qi Ji's interest. He held his cheeks with both hands, tapped the ground with the tip of one shoe, and couldn't help laughing. He stuck his head out and shouted to Captain Meili, who was directing the sailors to move the cannon to the appropriate position:
"What do you need me to do?"
Meili turned and looked towards the top of the ship, and stared into Qi Ji's shining eyes for a while. She was obviously a little worried, and after hesitating for a moment, she said:
"Come down first. If we really have to fight later...just watch from the side and be careful."
Although Mary now displayed artillery and armed sailors with great fanfare, as if a war was about to break out, she herself did not actually think that a real battle would break out.
After all, as a relatively mature and busy route, it is normal to encounter other ships on the way.
The reason why we are so nervous now is just to be prepared for any eventuality. After all, we are just carrying out a cannon weighing several hundred kilograms. If we find out later that it was a false alarm...then can't we just carry it back?
Seeing this Yao Lingwu looking so excited, like a child seeing a new toy... Meili couldn't help feeling helpless.
"You are still too young..."
Muttering to herself, she ordered the sailors to fix the magic rapid-fire cannon at the bow.
There were holes reserved on the deck of the Challenger for installing cannons. All they had to do was tighten the iron rod at the bottom of the cannon to secure it firmly, so it didn't take much effort.
After all the busy work just now, ten minutes have passed since the ship was first discovered in the distance. During this time, the skinny sailor has been clinging to the mast like a monkey, his eyes fixed on the darkness in the distance.
At this time, he raised his voice again and shouted:
"It's getting closer! It's getting closer! It's coming towards us!"
Meili looked up at him and asked loudly:
"Can you see what ship it is?"
"Can't see!"
The sailor on the lookout looked a little annoyed:
"That guy is really cunning! He deliberately slowed down the boat and stayed in a place where the sun couldn't shine! It looked dark no matter how you looked at it."
Now the sun was setting, and the darkness of the night began in the east and gradually extended to the west. The ship coming from the east was not sure whether it was intentional or just sailing against the wind. It was moving very slowly and was always in the dark sea.
"Windward...galley?"
Meili's expression became much more serious.
The Challenger was now sailing eastward with the westerly wind, and the ships in the distance were approaching them, which meant that it was sailing against the wind.
Although even a sailboat can sail against the wind, it is more likely to be a paddle boat powered by oars.
Galleons are not common on the open sea. In order to save labor costs and cabin space, ordinary merchant ships will choose more cost-effective sailing ships instead of their predecessors, galleys - which are generally only used in inland seas and large lakes.
However, there are exceptions.
There is a group of people who are often loyal fans of galleys...
pirate.
It is obvious that paddle boats, which do not rely on sails and wind direction, are more convenient and faster when chasing merchant ships.
Plus the other party's strange behavior of hiding in the dark...
Many sailors understood these reasons and realized that the ship hidden in the night was likely a pirate. Panic began to spread.
"Why are you panicking?! What is there to be afraid of!?"
Meili immediately shouted loudly to stabilize the situation:
"So what if they're pirates? We have three sixteen-pound cannons, a magic rapid-fire cannon, two mages, and twenty to thirty people on board. Why are you so scared?! If they really are pirates, we'll just rob them!"
The first mate suddenly had an idea and immediately responded:
"Yes, yes, yes! If it really was pirates, you cowards would be so happy. Apart from anything else, a galley alone is worth a lot of money. If anyone can grab it, everyone can get a share! This is the treasure that the 'Poseidon' Deka gave to us for free!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the morale of the sailors, who were originally a little uneasy, immediately increased greatly. Their eyes all lit up and they shouted slogans.
At this time, they looked towards the east towards the black ship that was getting much closer. There was no more fear and tension in their eyes, but excitement as if they had seen a treasure!
"This pre-war mobilization level is not bad. I am a little excited."
Qi Ji happily walked down from the ship's tower, stepped onto the deck, went to the magic rapid-fire cannon on the bow, and looked into the distance.
"Watch me and learn how to operate it."
Meili said as she started to tinker with the huge machine:
“It may be useful in the future.”
She didn't plan to let Qi Ji participate in the battle that might happen next. After all, there was only one magic rapid-fire cannon, and she was enough by herself. The novice rookie was just responsible for watching from the side.
Qi Ji could of course see what she meant, so he asked curiously:
"Then what should I do if a boarding battle breaks out? Should I just stand aside and watch?"
"Boarding?"
Meili was slightly startled, then burst out laughing and said:
"What a joke! With our level of armament, it would be easy to defeat any pirate. Is there any need to engage in a boarding battle?"
This was not because she was conceited. After all, the pirates were just a group of desperate refugees and thugs. Some of them didn't even have many decent weapons, let alone extraordinary people and magic rapid-fire cannons.
They can only bully those small merchant ships that are newly established and penniless. Facing the "Challenger" that is armed to the teeth, it is really "they are the prey and we are the hunters."
Qi Ji shrugged, said nothing, and did not comment.
Mary quickly opened the breech of the magic rapid-fire cannon, loaded the solid bamboo-shaped shells, locked the breech tightly, and carefully adjusted the angle, preparing for calibration shooting.
However, she did not rush to fire. She just pressed one hand on a metal panel at the rear end of the gun, looking far ahead, waiting for the moment when the opponent's true face was revealed.
After all, we cannot be sure whether the other party really has bad intentions, and opening fire without authorization may cause unnecessary conflict.
After such a long time, the shadow of the ship that was moving towards the dusk line had approached within three kilometers. At this distance, even if the other party was still hidden in the night, the Challenger could still see its details.
It was a ship painted black with a pair of "wings" extending from the side, paddling rhythmically on the sea.
And on the mast without a sail, a red and black triangular flag was fluttering in the wind.
"What does this flag mean?" Qi Ji asked with a smile. She had actually confirmed the true identity of the other party a long time ago.
"It means that if we don't surrender, we will kill all of you."
Meili's face was as cold as frost, but she did not show any fear. Instead, she felt a sense of relief as if her boots had finally landed on the ground:
"It's a pirate."
She immediately called upon the spiritual power in her body and tried to inject it into the magic rapid-fire cannon to launch it, but the winged "black ship" opposite suddenly flashed with blue light.
"Bang!!!"
The next second, a loud bang like thunder was heard, and a thick white column of water rose several dozen meters behind the Challenger.
"what?!"
Meili's face changed drastically, and she couldn't believe it for a moment:
"This is impossible!"
The blue flame is what occurs when the magic cannon fires!
Chapter 411: Joining the Board
When they heard the cannon shot, all the sailors on the Challenger looked horrified.
Most of them did not see the flickering blue flame, but the roar of the magic cannon was completely different from other conventional artillery!
