Chapter 76: Move the Ship Closer!
Sag scanned the warship ahead, a red glint flashing in his eyes. After probing forward with his Kenbunshoku Haki, he shook his head and walked towards the captain's quarters.
"Lily, I'll leave it to you."
What his Kenbunshoku had detected wasn't anything particularly strong.
He had no interest in opponents of this level.
He wasn't a battle maniac; who fights every day with nothing better to do?
With that time, it was better to sip some wine and admire his own treasures.
Sag's captain's quarters were on the second floor of the deck structure, occupying an area no smaller than the first-floor banquet hall. The layout inside was simple; besides the captain's office area, there were only a bedroom and a bathroom.
The modification for the collection display cabinets Renettia was supposed to make hadn't been completed yet.
Against the wall of the captain's quarters were piled the fine collectibles sent here.
Unlike the gold coins, jewels, and Beli piled in the treasure room, the items placed here were carefully selected good things from the Nattia Kingdom and Loguetown.
Now that he had money, he needed to select some collectibles for viewing.
Sag first sized up a gold crown inlaid with gemstones, its craftsmanship quite beautiful. He nodded, then turned his head, picked up a glittering gem the size of a pigeon's egg, and played with it in his hand.
He walked to the desk, sat down in the chair, smoothly picked up the wine bottle placed on the table, poured a glass of clear liquid into a gem-inlaid silver wine cup, took a sip, and revealed a satisfied smile.
This stuff, Lily had looked at the bottle's name and said it was something like 'Dom Pérignon'; it seemed to be high-grade stuff.
Anyway, it tasted better than those countryside rums.
This was life...
"What a bland life I lived before."
Sag tutted. "This is the life I should be living!"
His body rotated with the chair, facing the window. He rubbed the gem, took a sip of wine, and began to watch the show.
Outside, the abrupt appearance of the Death Omen Star also prompted action from the opposing warships. Lily saw the Marines moving through her telescope and shouted, "Port side!"
The subordinates ran frantically on the deck, pulling rope sails, turning the ship's rudder, coordinating with the pirates controlling the engine room, bringing the ship to a quick stop and then rapidly sailing across the sea surface.
Boom boom boom!
The three warships fired their main cannons. The cannonballs smashed into the sea, splashing water, but couldn't even touch the edge of the Death Omen Star, easily avoided by the ship possessing rapid speed.
Even without Renettia using her ability, as long as this ship's power system was deployed, it would be more agile than ordinary ships.
Coupled with Lily's command, it was quite difficult for the three warships to hit them.
Although the theory she learned was mainly navigation, it didn't mean she hadn't encountered other theories; she also knew sea battle theory.
It was just that she hadn't had much opportunity to practice.
In the East Blue, they encountered many warships, but they had too few people to operate properly, and at that time, Sag was still angry and wanted to find the person who made him take the blame, solving everything himself.
After obtaining the Death Omen Star, there hadn't been many opportunities either. This was the first time testing this ship's combat capability since leaving the East Blue for the Grand Line.
The feedback so far was not bad...
A beautiful arc curved on Lily's lips. She commanded loudly, "Port side again! Turn back! The opposing warships have turned broadside!"
The Death Omen Star, sailing left, continued left, quickly completing a circle. Meanwhile, the three warships, after firing their main cannons, also quickly adjusted, aiming their port sides and firing a dense barrage of cannonballs.
From a ship's perspective, although the main cannon's caliber was larger, for a concentrated attack, the broadsides were certainly more convenient.
Boom boom boom!!
However, the position where these cannonballs fell was coincidentally avoided by the Death Omen Star, which had turned back in a circle. A large number of cannonballs fell into the water and exploded, creating what seemed like a heavy rainstorm in the surroundings.
"Ara, commanded well. The ship's performance is also very good. Was it built as a warship from the beginning?" Marika asked in surprise.
"I originally wanted to build an ordinary ship, but that damned old pervert from Nattia Kingdom said warships would attract more attention. If the warship was well-made, others wouldn't doubt the ability to build ordinary ships, so I built a warship."
Renettia puffed out her small face, but then revealed her small tiger teeth and laughed, "Forget it, isn't this being put to good use? Otherwise, if Sag had encountered it, maybe it would have needed modifications anyway."
She was also observing the ship's performance. After all, it was the first time it was used in actual combat, and she wanted to see if there were any shortcomings.
"Aim left! Deck grapeshot! First layer chain shot! Fire!!"
The Death Omen Star had four levels in its hull. Besides the cannons installed on the uppermost deck, the first and second levels of the hold were also equipped with cannons, one hundred and fifty on each side, arranged in upper and lower rows.
And in naval warfare, cannonballs were also divided into types.
Besides the most basic cannonballs, there were also pure solid shots that didn't explode, used to pierce ship hulls.
Chain shots were solid shots connected by iron chains, used to destroy masts and sails, disabling ships.
And grapeshot were cannonballs composed of a large number of lead pellets. One shot could split into countless pellets, used against personnel on the ship for casualties.
What Sag wanted was a Log Pose. She didn't know how big that thing was, but since it was a 'pointer', it certainly wasn't very sturdy. It was impossible to sink the ship and then look for it. They could only disable the enemy first.
The vast majority of battles at sea still relied on ships. It was not only a symbol but also a sharp weapon in naval warfare!
The pirates ran desperately, getting into position on the deck and in the hold, loading cannonballs, and firing.
Bang bang bang!
The cannonballs formed two rows, upper and lower, in the air, heading straight for two of the warships. Chain shots flew through the air, impacting the masts, damaging the masts on the warships. The sails were torn with hole after hole.
And the grapeshot quickly blossomed in the air, fired onto the decks, instantly felling a row of Marines.
"Hit!" Renettia cheered.
"Maintain course! Circle the warships, one more time!" Lily continued to command.
The Death Omen Star circled the three warships from a distance, waiting for the pirates to reload the cannonballs.
Until the black ship reached a suitable angle, Lily seized the opportunity, waved her arm down, "Fire!"
Bang bang bang!
Boom!
Grapeshot and chain shot were fired again. This time, the chain shot broke the foremost mast of one of the warships. The canvas, riddled with holes, was torn apart as the mast broke.
However, at the same time as firing, two cannons on their own deck suddenly exploded. The fierce impact sent two pirates flying, crashing hard onto the ship's railing on the other side.
*A barrel explosion?*
Lily lowered her telescope, glanced sideways, and saw two cannons blown open, turned into scrap.
"How could..." she murmured.
She had chosen the timing perfectly, giving the gunners enough time. A barrel explosion shouldn't have happened.
She scanned the cannons and the personnel behind them, suddenly realizing – they didn't have enough people!
To operate the cannons of a sailing warship, at least three people were needed: one responsible for loading cannonballs and gunpowder and lighting the fuse; one responsible for aiming and firing, and preventing accidents like air self-ignition during loading; and another responsible for quickly cleaning the cannon barrel after firing, checking for residual gunpowder and sparks.
But now, they didn't have enough personnel!
Of the more than six hundred people on the entire ship, some were knocked out by Sag's Haoshoku Haki, some were in the control room, and some were responsible for adjusting the sails. Even without using the cannons on the second level, the remaining people were not enough to operate the cannons on the deck and the first level. That would require three hundred people just to barely operate one hundred cannons.
The number of people they currently had available was completely insufficient, far less than three hundred.
And to operate all the cannons on the ship, calculating based on one hundred and fifty cannons per side, with personnel moving back and forth between the front, rear, left, and right cannons, would require at least five hundred people!
Being a gunner was also a coordinated technical job. Not everyone's coordination level was that high. Even if Lily had allowed enough time, without familiar coordination and enough personnel, barrel explosions were inevitable.
The standard crew for the Death Omen Star was one thousand people, with a maximum capacity of fifteen hundred. But it couldn't be calculated that way; the maximum capacity would be somewhat crowded. For a ship, overcrowding was not a good thing. It was basically calculated based on the standard amount.
Even if they recruited the full standard crew, having half the people as gunners wouldn't quite work either.
"Ah!"
Renettia also discovered this point, clenched her small fist, and slammed it down into the empty air. "Miscalculated! The ship was made too small, and too many cannons were installed!"
"Modifying it will be fine. I think the cannons on the second level aren't necessary and can be removed," Marika said gently. "After all, rebuilding the ship would consume too much time and money, and we might not have that many good materials."
"Hmm… I'll ask Sag later," Renettia nodded.
Marika looked at Lily and asked, "Boarding action? This time, I'll join too."
Gin silently took out his tonfas. Pearl found his secretly repaired iron shields and put them on.
Although he had practiced Tekkai, he always felt that adding another layer of iron shields would be safer.
The other pirates also looked towards Lily at this moment, waiting for her command.
Lily scanned them all and nodded heavily.
Since Sag didn't seem concerned, it meant they could handle the people on the warships.
Their combat capability was unquestionable. For these people recruited from Bridge-Top Kingdom, whose wills and bodies were tough, fighting was absolutely not a problem!
"Move the ship closer!"
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