"Captain! Captain!"
With a loud bang, the door to the captain's cabin was flung open. Jim, who was sitting at his desk writing in his logbook, jerked his wrist, and ink dripped onto the paper, staining the date he had just written, "December 22nd," with a blot of black.
Damn it!
"Thomas, I've reminded you so many times! Knock before you come in!"
Jim didn't look up; he simply put down his pen amidst the reprimand and immediately picked up a blotting cloth and gently pressed it onto the ink to prevent it from spreading further.
"I'm sorry, Captain, there's been an unexpected situation!"
First mate Thomas rushed to the desk in a few strides, causing the oil lamp on the desk to shake violently. Only then did Jim raise his head, and what he saw was the first mate's flustered face.
"It's so late, what kind of unexpected situation could have happened?" Jim frowned, helplessly putting down the blotting cloth in his hand. The ink stains had already spread, and there was no way to salvage them.
"It's the Yan Kingdom fleet we've been tracking. They've dispatched warships, and judging from their current course, they're heading straight for us!" the first mate said breathlessly.
The words had barely left his lips when Thomas's expression changed drastically. He jumped up from his chair and, as he walked out, demanded:
"How many warships are coming?"
“Judging from the lights, there should only be three ships,” Thomas said, following behind Jim.
"Three ships?" Jim jogged out of the captain's cabin and quickly arrived on the deck. He looked into the distance and sure enough, he saw several lights moving on the vast sea in the dark night.
Further away, there was a hazy cluster of lights, which, from Jim's perspective, looked like a swarm of fireflies—the Yan Kingdom fleet sailing by.
Despite the approaching Yan Kingdom warships, Jim felt relieved once he saw the firefly was far enough away.
He breathed a sigh of relief; after all, it wasn't their main force that had arrived.
"Look! Captain, they are indeed coming towards us." The first mate's face was still somewhat flustered. After all, the Battle of Bohr that he had learned about earlier had made him realize the strength of the Yan Kingdom's navy. Now that he saw them sending warships over, how could he not feel nervous?
"So what?"
“Although they are heading towards us, they only sent a few warships, which means they must want to negotiate with us,” Jim concluded.
Three days after receiving orders from Colonel Arnold, Jim led the twenty-four warships on a long-range tracking and surveillance mission. To prevent any unexpected situations, Jim instructed the warships not to travel too fast, only to keep the Yan Kingdom fleet at the furthest point in their field of vision. In this way, if the Yan Kingdom fleet made any moves, they could react in time.
Now, the Yan Kingdom has only sent three warships, which clearly means they are only here for negotiations.
"It seems our surveillance has had a certain warning effect," Jim said in a deep voice, crossing his arms.
Hearing this, the tense expressions of the surrounding soldiers eased somewhat, and the first mate followed up:
"So, Captain, what will they say in their negotiations this time?"
"What else could it be? Just coming to say a few harsh words."
They sail so openly on this sea, isn't it just for show?
"Considering the supply issue, they should leave soon. And we've seen these past few days that they have no intention of intruding into our territorial waters. Clearly, they know where our bottom line is."
At this point, Jim's face darkened, and he said coldly:
"No matter what, we cannot back down an inch when they come to negotiate. We must show our attitude and not let the Yan Kingdom people look down on our Sa Ri Kingdom."
"Losing to them twice is perfectly acceptable for our country. We will not show weakness in front of them just because of this."
"Yes, sir!" Jim's words undoubtedly boosted the soldiers' confidence. The country was right behind them; this was their home turf, so they should act like masters.
As time passed and the night grew ever deeper, the Yan Kingdom warships sailing on the sea drew ever closer.
Jim, however, became uneasy.
"Aren't they going a bit too fast? And it's not even with the wind at their backs!" Jim frowned, leaning on the railing as he watched the Yan Kingdom warships getting closer and closer.
The lights emanating from the three warships grew clearer, and Jim could already make out some of their outlines in the darkness.
"It was precisely because they had more advanced warships that we lost to them before," the first mate reminded him from the side.
Jim remained silent, his face grim.
After some time, the outlines of the three Yan Kingdom warships became clearer and clearer, and Jim also saw the wisps of gas floating above them.
This surprised him, but just when he thought negotiations were about to begin, the three warships inexplicably reduced their speed.
"What do you mean? Are you suggesting we go over there?" Jim muttered, then said coldly, "Hmph, what a big shot."
With a loud "whoosh," as the ship's horn sounded from afar and drew nearer, the first mate pointed ahead and shouted:
"No, sir, they've stopped."
Jim narrowed his eyes: "What the hell are you up to?"
"Three warships? That doesn't look like a combat formation..."
However, this strange behavior alerted Jim, who immediately ordered the sailors on the ship to prepare for a possible surprise attack.
However, this seemed to be an unnecessary worry, since the three Yan Kingdom warships did not make any strange moves after stopping their voyage, and the distance was still quite far.
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