Part 1 The Joker Chapter 8 A New Era
Woo!
The wind was howling, the rain was pouring down, and the three-masted schooner was heaving from wave to wave, like a toy thrown and caught and tossed by a giant.
The crimson faded from Alger Wilson’s eyes, and he realized that he was still standing on the deck, no different from before.
Immediately afterward, he saw the oddly shaped glass bottle in his palm click and shatter, and the frost and snow turned to water and blended into raindrops.
After a short period of two or three seconds, this ancient curiosity completely lost all traces of its former existence.
A hexagonal crystal snowflake appeared in Alger’s palm, then quickly faded until it disappeared, seemingly shrinking into flesh and blood.
Alger nodded imperceptibly as if he were thinking about something, and remained silent for a full five minutes.
He turned his body towards the entrance of the cabin, and just as he was about to enter, he was met by a man also wearing a robe embroidered with lightning bolts.
The man with soft yellow hair paused in his steps, looked at Alger, extended his right hand, made a fist and placed it on his chest and said:
”The storm is with you.”
”The storm is with you.” Alger’s rugged and profound face did not show any unnecessary emotion, and similarly clenched his right fist and struck his left chest.
After saluting each other, Alger entered the cabin and walked down the aisle toward the captain’s cabin on the far side.
Surprisingly, he didn’t run into any more sailors or crew members along the way; it was as quiet as the inside of a tomb.
The door to the captain’s cabin opened and a soft, thick, dark brown carpet appeared in front of him, flanked by bookshelves and a wine cooler, with a book with a yellow cover and a bottle of wine with a dark red color shining under the glow of candles with a strange luster.
On the desk with the candles were a bottle of ink, a quill, a black metal telescope, and a brass sextant.
Behind the desk, a middle-aged man wearing a skull captain’s hat and a pale face watched Alger step over and angrily gritted his teeth:
”I will not give in!”
”I believe you can do it.” Alger was as calm as if he was saying it wasn’t a good day.
”You ……” The middle-aged man was stunned for a moment, as if he hadn’t expected such a reply.
Just then, Alger’s body bowed slightly and suddenly charged forward, instantly closing the distance between the two to just the desk.
Snap!
His shoulders tightened, and his right hand violently probed out, pinching the middle-aged man’s throat.
Without giving the other party a chance to react, slices of illusory fish scales surfaced on the back of his hand, and his five fingers exerted crazy force.
Ka-ching!
In a crisp ringing sound, the middle-aged man’s gaze was greatly stunned, and his body was lifted up as a whole.
His feet jerked violently, but quickly regained their composure, his pupils began to disperse amidst his blank vision, while his crotch position gradually became wet, with a foul odor emanating from it.
Alger lifted the middle-aged man, crouched his back, and stepped away with his feet in stirrups, approaching the wall next to him.
Bang! He used the middle-aged man as a shield and slammed it hard into the front, his arm as thick as a monster.
The wooden wall shattered in response, and the violent wind and rain swept in with the fishy smell of seawater.
Alger twisted his waist and swung his back, throwing the middle-aged man out of the cabin and into the huge waves that came one after the other like mountain peaks.
The sky was dark, the wind and rain howled, and the greatness of nature buried everything.
Alger pulled out a white handkerchief and wiped his right palm with his heart, then threw it out to sea as well.
Taking a few steps back, he waited patiently for his companion to enter.
”What’s wrong?” In less than ten seconds, the man with soft yellow hair from earlier rushed in.
”‘Captain’ escaped.” Alger gasped and replied with chagrin, “He even retained some of his extraordinary power!”
”Damn it!” The yellow-haired man cursed under his breath.
He came to the breach and gazed into the distance, but he couldn’t see anything but the storm and the waves.
”Forget it, he’s just incidental.” The yellow-haired man waved his arm down, “We’ll only get credit for finding this ghost ship from the Tudor era.”
Even as the favored one of the sea, he wouldn’t dare dive into the water in this weather.
”And the storm won’t last long if it continues, ‘Captain’.” Alger nodded, noticing that the breaches in the wooden walls were beginning to creep back together at a speed visible to the naked eye.
He took a deep look at it and subconsciously turned his head, looking to where the rudder and sails were.
Even through the heavy planking, he could clearly tell what was going on there.
There was no first mate, no second mate, no crew, no sailors, not even a living soul!
There was nothing there, the rudder and sails were adjusting themselves strangely.
The “Fool”, whose body was covered with a gray mist, appeared in his mind again, and Alger suddenly sighed.
He turned his head to look out at the wind and waves, and said in a dreamy tone of anticipation and fear:
”A new era has begun. ……”
……
The capital of the Kingdom of Ruin, Berkland, Queens.
Audrey Hall pinched her cheeks in disbelief at what had just happened to her.
On the dresser in front of her, the ancient bronze mirror shattered piece by piece.
Looking down, Audrey saw a “crimson” running down the back of her hand, like a star tattoo.
”Crimson” gradually dim, and finally hidden in the skin, disappeared.
Until this time, Audrey is sure that she is not dreaming.
Her eyes eyes flow, the corner of the mouth a little upward, can not help but stand up, bend down to raise the hem of the skirt.
A bow to the air, Audrey’s footsteps light, body rotation, jumped up the most popular court “ancient elf dance”.
Her figure was fluttering, and she had a bright smile on her face.
Knock, knock, knock! The bedroom door was suddenly knocked on.
”Who?” Audrey brushed to a halt and assumed a civilized stance.
”May I come in, miss? It’s time for you to get ready.” The valet asked from the door.
Audrey looked sideways at the dresser mirror and quickly tucked her smile away, leaving only a light smudge.
She looked left and right to make sure there was nothing wrong with her image before speaking softly:
”Come in.”
The handle twisted and her personal maid, Annie, pushed her way in.
”Oh, it’s broken ……,” Anne said as she took one look and saw what had happened to the ancient bronze mirror.
Audrey blinked and spoke slowly:
”Uh, it’s, um, Susie came in earlier, you know, she always likes to destroy!”
Susie was a large golden-haired dog of less than pure blood, a gift her father, the Earl of Hall, had received when he purchased a foxhound, but very much Audrey’s favorite.
”You’ll have to teach it a lesson.” Anne gathered up the shards of the brass mirror familiarly, fearful of hurting her lady.
This done, she looked to Audrey and smiled inquiringly:
”Which dress would you like to wear?”
Audrey thought briefly and said, “I like the one Mrs. Ginia designed for my seventeenth birthday.”
”No, people will say if the Hall family has suffered a financial crisis, a dress actually worn a second time on a formal occasion!” Anne shook her head no.
”But I really like it.” Audrey emphasized in a gentle tone.
”You can wear it at home, for less formal occasions.” Anne posed the matter as non-negotiable.
”Then the one Mr. Thaddeus sent over the day before yesterday, the one with the ruffled cuffs.” Audrey drew in a covert breath, keeping her elegantly sweet smile in check.
”You always have such an excellent eye.” Anne smiled and stepped back, calling to the door, “Cloakroom number six, never mind, I’ll get it myself.”
The maids began to get busy, one in charge of the long dresses, one in charge of the jewelry, one in charge of the shoes, one in charge of the sarongs, one applying Miss Audrey’s makeup, and one considering the hair.
As the preparations drew to a close, the Earl of Hall, in a dark brown vest, appeared in the doorway.
He wore a bowler hat of the same color as his dress, had two beautiful moustaches, and his azure eyes were full of laughter, but flabby muscles, a bulging stomach, and the beginnings of noticeable lines of decency mercilessly marred his youthful handsomeness.
”The brightest jewel of Berkland, it is time for us to depart.” Earl Hall stood in the entryway and tapped twice on the open door of the room.
”Papa, don’t call me that.” Audrey stood up with the help of her maid, deliberately showing a few signs of distress.
”Then my beautiful little princess, it’s time to depart.” Earl Hall flexed his left arm, signaling Audrey to take it.
Audrey shook her head with a light smile:
”This is Mrs. Hall, Countess, my dear mother’s place.”
”This way then.” Earl Hall smiles and flexes his right arm again, “This is the pride of being a father.”
……
Port Pritzker, Oak Island, Royal Naval Base.
As Audrey stepped out of the carriage on her father’s arm, she was suddenly shocked by the behemoth in front of her.
Not far from the military harbor, there was a towering giant ship with a glittering metallic glow all over, it had no more sails, only t-lookouts, and two more towering chimneys and two more open turrets divided fore and aft.
It was so majestic, so massive, that the sail battleships anchored nearby looked like newborn dwarves flocking to the giant spirit.
”The storm is upon us ……”
”Oh my Lord.”
”Ironclads!”
……
An exclamation of awe intertwined low and Audrey felt the same shock, a miracle created by mankind, a miracle of the sea like no other!
After an unknown amount of time, the nobles, ministers and members of the House of Commons recovered, and at this time, a black dot in mid-air changed from small to large, gradually occupying one-third of the sky, occupying everyone’s line of sight, making the atmosphere steeply solemn.
This is a floating flying in mid-air huge thing, it has extremely smooth and beautiful lines, the whole painted in dark blue, strong and light alloy skeleton supports the cotton cloth equipped with airbags, underneath it hangs the compartments with organic gun ports, bombing ports, and flat-firing gun ports, the exaggerated humming sound of the high combustibility steam engine and the frantic rotating sound of the tail paddle make up the shocking music.
The King’s family arrived in a flying airship, with the majesty of a man towering over everything.
A “Sword of Judgement” insignia with a vertical downward-facing, ruby-crowned hilt reflected the sunlight on the sides of the compartment, a symbol of the Augustus family’s long lineage dating back to the first century.
Audrey is not yet eighteen years old, has not yet participated in the “introduction ceremony”, led by the Empress to officially enter the social occasions of the Bakerland, declared adult, can only be quiet in place to observe, can not get close to.
However, she didn’t mind too much, and even felt relieved that she didn’t have to face the princes.
The “miracle” of mankind’s conquest of the skies landed firmly on the ground, and the first to descend from the escalator were the handsome young guards, dressed in red uniforms, white pants, with sashes and rifles in their hands, lined up in two rows, waiting for King George III and the Queen, Princes and Princesses to appear.
Audrey, not having never seen a big man before, was uninterested, instead her eyes wandered to the two black-armored knights who seemed like statues next to the king.
In this age of steel, steam and guns, there were actually guys who insisted on wearing full body armor!
The cold metallic luster, the deep black helmets, all gave off a heavy, majestic, and must-be-obeyed feeling.
”Could it be the higher sequence of ‘Knights of Punishment’…… ” Audrey’s mind flashed through the only words of the elders at home gossiping, having the desire to see, but not daring to approach.
With the arrival of the King’s family, the ceremony finally began, and the current Prime Minister, Lord Agusheid Negan, stepped to the front of the crowd.
He was a member of the Conservative Party, the only other big shot to become Prime Minister so far as a non-noble, and had been made a Lord for his outstanding service.
Of course, Audrey knew better; Agusheid’s brother, a major supporter of the Conservative Party, was called Pallas Negan, this generation’s Duke Negan!
Agusheid was in his fifties, tall and thin, with thinning hair and sharp eyes, and after looking around the room, he said:
”Ladies and gentlemen, I believe you have already seen, this is an ironclad, enough to overturn the times, 101 meters long, 21 meters wide, high drydock design, main armor belt 457 mm thick, displacement of 10,060 tons, a total of four 305 mm main guns fore and aft, in addition to six rapid-fire guns, twelve 6-pounders, 18 six-barrel machine guns, four sets of torpedo tubes, and can reach a speed of 16 knots!”
”It will be a true hegemon, it will conquer the sea!”
There was a commotion among the nobles, ministers and councilors, the prime minister’s description alone was enough for them to imagine the terror of this ironclad, not to mention the fact that the real thing was right in front of their eyes!
With a small smile, Aguschid gave a few more speeches before saluting King George III:
”Your Majesty, please name it.”
”From the harbor of Pritz, let’s call it the Pritz.” George III’s look was quite pleasant.
”The Priz!”
”The Priz!”
……
Starting with the Secretary of the Navy, the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Navy, the name spread in turn, eventually coming to the ironclad, cheered in unison by officers and men:
”HMS Pritz!”
A salute was fired amidst the festivities, and George III gave the order to set sail for a test firing.
Whoop!
The whistle blew, a plume of smoke poured out of the chimney, and the movement of the machinery could be heard.
The behemoth set sail, and everyone was shocked when it sailed out of the harbor and blasted the uninhabited island ahead with its two main bow guns.
Boom! Rumble! Rumble!
The earth seemed to shake, dust rushed up into the air, and a hurricane swept outward, raising the waves.
Prime Minister Aguschid turned his head in satisfaction and said to the nobles, ministers and councilors:
”From now on, those seven pirates who call themselves generals, those four pirates who arrogate the title of king, can only tremble and wait for the end!”
”Their time is over, even if they have more or less extraordinary powers and ghost or cursed ships, the only ones that will crisscross the oceans will be ironclads!”
At this point, Agohid’s chief secretary asked deliberately:
”Then can’t they build their own ironclad ships?”
Some of the nobles and councilors nodded secretly, thinking that this possibility could not be ruled out.
Aguhid immediately shed a smile and slowly shook his head:
”Impossible, never! To build such an ironclad would require three large coal and steel complexes, twenty steel mills of more than one size, sixty scientists and more senior engineers from the Beckland Artillery Institute, the Priz Ship Research Institute, two Royal Shipyards and nearly a hundred parts factories attached to them, a Ministry of the Navy, a Shipbuilding Committee, a Cabinet, a determined King with a brilliant vision and a great nation producing 12 million tons of steel a year!”
”The pirates could never do it.”
Here he paused for a moment, then raised his arms and cried out in a rousing voice:
”Ladies and gentlemen, the age of giant ships and cannons is upon us!”