Carlotta's Daily Report
Chapter 71: “What do you think?”

Chapter 71: “What do you think?”

Corwin Draezek was feeling quite flustered at the moment. As the leader of the Gale Pirates, he had roamed the Starlight Sea for many years. It wasn’t that he had never seen an alchemical ship before, but he usually avoided such vessels and had been fortunate enough never to be pursued by one. Thus, his understanding of alchemical ships remained limited.

It wasn’t until today that he realized just how fast an alchemical ship could be once it got going. In the face of such a ship, sailing vessels had no chance of escape.

Who were these people?

Why had they come to Corn Island?

Could they be Velmorians again?

Just the thought of the Velmorians made Corwin feel uneasy. His fleet had already been plundered by those damned Velmorians, and if not for sheer luck, he wouldn’t have escaped.

But could he escape once more?

He looked at the alchemical ship. On its deck, two strikingly beautiful young women led the way as they approached.

...

Amelia’s gaze fell on Corwin. She knew that those who could flee immediately in such situations were likely important figures on the island and would possess the most information.

"Go over and interrogate them. I want to know the situation on this island and the surrounding pirate activities," Amelia ordered the knights.

The knights immediately moved forward, leaping onto the sailing ship.

Seeing this, the fierce pirates did not surrender but instead brandished their weapons and charged forward, shouting.

However, their resistance was feeble. In no time at all, the knights had captured the pirates one by one. Those who resisted particularly fiercely were killed on the spot without a hint of mercy.

As the pirate leader, Corwin managed to save his life by quickly dropping to his knees.

What followed was straightforward. These pirates were not as tough as the Sunset Rose assassins. Under interrogation, they quickly revealed a great deal of information.

When Amelia learned that the Gale Pirates’ fleet had been stolen by the Velmorians, she couldn’t help but feel surprised.

"What are the Velmorians up to? I heard that many of their maritime technologies were destroyed in the ’Starfall Campaign’ twenty years ago and haven’t been restored. They shouldn’t dare to venture into the seas," she mused.

The Starfall Campaign twenty years ago was too famous, and Amelia knew it well.

Carlotta added, "From what these pirates say, these Velmorians seem to be official agents of the Velmorian Empire. They’ve clearly regained their maritime capabilities but are keeping it under wraps. Their ambitions must be significant."

Amelia nodded in agreement.

"I think we’re in some danger," Carlotta continued. "If the Velmorians can take to the seas, then Wales Castle isn’t far from them. They could pose a major threat to us."

"You’re right," Amelia’s expression grew serious.

At the same time, she was puzzled. According to Corwin and the others, after the Velmorians stole the Gale Pirates’ fleet, they began heading south under the guise of pirates. Their purpose was unclear. Corwin, who was very concerned about his fleet, knew that the Velmorians were disguised as pirates.

Carlotta analyzed, "Disguising themselves as pirates might just be for ease of movement at sea. The Velmorian Empire probably doesn’t want to reveal that they’ve regained their maritime capabilities. Even though twenty years have passed and they’ve recovered somewhat from the wounds of the Starfall Campaign, their navy likely still isn’t a match for Wendell’s empire. They wouldn’t dare expose their strength easily."

"So, their destination is Wales Castle?" Amelia frowned.

Carlotta nodded. "That’s highly likely. According to these pirates, the Velmorians’ disguised pirate force isn’t particularly strong. If they are indeed heading to Wales Castle, they probably believe it’s still under Velmorian control. Perhaps we can set a trap."

Amelia pondered this.

She continued to question Corwin about the Velmorians until he had nothing left to say, then turned to the other pirates for information.

As a pirate who had been active in the Starlight Sea until recently, Corwin was quite familiar with the affairs of other pirate groups. He readily provided a lot of information about them.

Among pirates, even if they knew each other and were polite on the surface, that was all it was, surface-level. Once you’re a pirate, you can’t expect many to have any sense of honor. Perhaps a few do, but they are the rare exception.

Corwin was clearly not among them. Having suffered the greatest setback of his life, losing his fleet and being captured by another group, his fate uncertain, he couldn’t help but feel that if he was going down, others shouldn’t fare any better.

So, he provided detailed information about the other pirate groups, their strengths, member compositions, and even the locations of some of their bases, all of which he revealed without hesitation, making Amelia’s eyes gleam with interest.

Knowing the locations of these pirate bases, she could lead her forces to raid them, "plundering" the pirates to fill Wales Castle’s coffers.

But before that, she would first squeeze every last bit of value from the Gale Pirates.

Amelia said unhurriedly, "Where are your pirate group’s treasures hidden? Hand them all over, and I might consider sparing your lives and letting you serve me."

Having the pirates serve her was something Amelia had thought over carefully and deemed feasible.

If the Velmorians could operate at sea, then Wales Castle was no longer a safe place. The current forces, 15, 000 garrison troops, 3, 000 Carnation Knights, and 100 Swan Knights, were not particularly strong.

The pirates might be of some use.

Of course, this wasn’t an easy task. Amelia didn’t have a detailed plan yet but was willing to give it a try, though her final decision remained uncertain.

Next, Carlotta and her group set foot on Corn Island.

The Gale Pirates’ treasures weren’t particularly numerous and were hidden in the island’s forest. Amelia had her subordinates escort Corwin to retrieve them while she wandered around Corn Town, the island’s only settlement.

The island had been occupied by the Gale Pirates, and the residents were essentially half-pirates themselves, possessing some combat skills. In the past, when the Gale Pirates were short on manpower, they would recruit from the locals.

After her tour, Amelia decided to leave a few knights capable of maintaining control here, tasking them with managing the locals and turning the island into her stronghold.

While Amelia was taking people around the town of Corn, Carlotta returned to her bed. Feeling bored, she took out some card-making materials from her collection and started making cards.

She first created the Eagle Eye Card she had thought of earlier. The process didn’t take her too long, and soon a card depicting a pair of glasses was successfully made.

"They say there’s a high failure rate in card-making, but why haven’t I failed yet?"

Carlotta muttered to herself.

She infused mana into the card to try it out. The entire card instantly turned into a nearly transparent hue. She then placed the card in front of her eyes, and the distant scenery was immediately magnified, allowing her to clearly see the far-off landscape.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, Carlotta’s eyebrows raised.

At the edge of her vision, she noticed several ships sailing towards them. Most of them were sailboats, each carrying many people, and the ships were flying pirate flags.

This discovery prompted Carlotta to immediately call over a knight who was guarding the ship. "Go tell Amelia that a dozen pirate ships are approaching."

"Yes, Miss White."

The knight turned and left at once.

Carlotta continued to use the Eagle Eye Card to observe the distance. After a moment of thought, she activated one of the Moonlight’s functions, invisibility.

The Moonlight was equipped with thirty-six alchemical arrays, capable of producing various miraculous effects, and invisibility was one of them.

With just a thought from Carlotta, the entire Moonlight disappeared from the sea, at least to the naked eye.

This invisibility only worked from the outside; from within the ship, the surroundings looked no different than before.

Before long, Amelia arrived after receiving the message.

Seeing the empty harbor, Amelia’s expression remained unchanged. As the captain of the Moonlight, she could sense the ship’s location even when it was invisible. In her perception, the Moonlight was still safely anchored in the harbor.

She didn’t need to make the Moonlight reappear to find her way onto the ship with pinpoint accuracy. When she boarded, the Moonlight’s full appearance was restored.

She went to the deck and approached Carlotta, asking, "Carlotta, where did you spot the pirates?"

"Here."

Carlotta handed over the Eagle Eye Card and pointed in a direction. "Look over there."

Seeing the active Eagle Eye Card in her hand, Amelia was somewhat surprised. She remembered that Carlotta didn’t have this card before, so she must have just made it?

She held the card up to her eyes and had to admit that the Eagle Eye Card was much more effective than a telescope, offering a farther and wider field of view.

With just a glance, Amelia spotted the pirate ships in the distance.

"From the pirate flags, they should be the pirates Corwin mentioned earlier, the Skeleton Pirates, the Rapier Pirates, and the Wavebreaker Pirates. The three pirate crews are coming together, likely targeting the Gale Pirates."

Amelia immediately ordered someone to call Corwin over.

Earlier, Corwin had just taken a team of knights to retrieve his accumulated treasures and was on his way back, so he was brought back quickly.

Upon returning to the ship, Corwin was still marveling at the ship’s ability to become invisible when he heard Amelia’s question, "Three pirate crews are approaching. Do you have any idea why?"

After a moment of surprise, Corwin showed a look of realization. "I forgot to mention earlier that since my fleet was stolen by those damned Velmorians, I reached out to three pirate crews I have good relations with, planning to join forces to reclaim my fleet."

"You forgot to mention that earlier?"

Amelia was clearly not satisfied with this answer.

"Sorry, my mind has been in turmoil, and I didn’t think of it."

Corwin quickly knelt down.

Now that he had disclosed everything he knew and even handed over his treasures, he truly had nothing of value left. His fate was entirely in others’ hands, so seeing Amelia’s slight displeasure made him very anxious.

Amelia didn’t waste time with more words, as the three pirate crews were getting closer.

After some thought, Amelia said, "Alright, Corwin, you and my knights will go ashore first, pretending we were never here. Greet the three pirate crews as you normally would."

Corwin didn’t know what Amelia intended to do, but he agreed without hesitation.

...

Over a dozen pirate ships were sailing towards them at a leisurely pace.

On the deck of one of the pirate ships, three men stood side by side, conversing with each other. They were the leaders of the Skeleton, Rapier, and Wavebreaker Pirates.

At this moment, the three could already see the harbor of Corn Island, with a few lonely sailboats there, completely unaware that they were approaching an alchemical ship.

The leader of the Skeleton Pirates, a gaunt old man named Rin Vos, draped in black robes, chuckled softly. "Corwin is really at his wit’s end. Facing such a predicament, he actually came to us, wanting us to help him reclaim his fleet. Does he think we’re a charity?"

Hearing Rin’s words, the other two pirate leaders couldn’t help but laugh.

"According to our previous agreement, I won’t take any of Corwin’s treasures, but Corn Island will belong to me."

The leader of the Rapier Pirates, Jude Marris, dressed like a gentleman, smiled and said.

"Naturally, Rin and I will split the treasure equally."

The leader of the Wavebreaker Pirates, Taz Voro, smiled.

Taz knew that Jude thought Corwin’s treasures were too little, and even if he took a share, it wouldn’t be much, so he chose Corn Island instead. In reality, no one knew exactly how much treasure Corwin had, and Jude was essentially gambling.

Of course, he and Rin were also gambling, betting that Corwin’s treasures would be more than expected.

The three were each harboring their own thoughts, with no intention of helping Corwin, clearly treating him as their prey.

In the Starlight Sea, the camaraderie among pirates shouldn’t be taken too seriously. This was something Corwin understood, but the loss of his fleet and the collapse of his power had left him somewhat disoriented.

The three pirate crews arrived at Corn Island’s harbor without any obstacles, and Corwin, following Amelia’s orders, greeted them with a smile.

"You’ve finally arrived. You... are here to help me reclaim my fleet, right?"

Corwin asked with a smile.

"What do you think?"

The three pirate leaders smiled broadly.