"This situation is really too bad." After receiving the news, Captain Caplin frowned and knocked hard on the guardrail on the poop deck. When the sailors of the 'Iron Curtain' completely took over the pirate ship, Knight Morpheus and Barrett naturally returned to the deck of the ship, and by the way, they also brought what they had just obtained to Captain Caplin on the poop. Known news. Then the scene in front of him appeared. Knight Morpheus's face was also not very good at this time: "I have thought about it so much before, but I really didn't expect that this kind of problem would arise." "Are you going to prepare to clear out the pirates next? Maybe prepare a long-term escort?" Barrett on the side was able to express his opinions freely because he did not have such a heavy burden on him. "These two tasks are very difficult to perform, and the effect is hard to say." Captain Caplin felt like he was about to have a migraine. ¡°If it had been known in advance that the area to be sailed next would be a ¡®safe haven¡¯ for pirates, the Bolum Fleet would have re-planned the route of the waterway long ago. But if we change it now, judging from the state of the three frigates, it will be really difficult for them. As for bypassing this area, it is also unrealistic. After all, judging from the information obtained, those pirates all have their own secret sea charts. How large their roaming range is in this area is really a matter of accuracy. Since the area that needs to be avoided cannot even be determined, the option of detouring becomes quite difficult to achieve. And if you choose to suppress bandits, the difficulty will be even more amazing. Not to mention that the three frigates at the moment were not in good condition at all due to the previous battle. With such a team, it is indeed possible to bully a pirate ship acting alone, but if the number of enemies increases, it will be difficult. At the same time, as the operation to clean up pirates proceeds, it is absolutely certain that those pirates will assemble a fleet to fight in order to seek self-protection. By then, even if these three frigates are in good condition, they may have no choice but to break out and seek refuge in the port of Tutkel Commercial Republic. What¡¯s more important is that even if the navies of the Bolum Territory and the Tutkel Commercial Republic are deployed, they still cannot clean up those pirates. When the troops are pressing down on the border, the opponent can break into pieces and play hide-and-seek with you on the sea, but neither the Bolum Territory nor the Tutkel Commercial Republic can allow the fleet to perform such a task for a long time. Bolum Territory needs the navy to help maintain the security of the port and escort some particularly expensive military supplies. For the Tutkel Commercial Republic, the importance of the fleet is far greater than that of Bolum. The world-class navy is an important guarantee for the security of its maritime trade and an important cornerstone of its foothold in the Balt Alliance. There will be political and strategic problems alone, not to mention the huge expenses caused by concentrated fleet operations, which is enough to make the financial officers of both sides lose their hair. The pirates could afford to delay this matter, but neither regime could. Not to mention the hatred that a large-scale bandit crackdown might bring. Although most pirates do not have the habit of rewarding their companions, as long as there are one or two different ones, or those who increase their own prestige in the name of revenge. Then the maritime trade of Bolum Territory and Tutkel Commercial Republic will be greatly affected. As for long-term escort, although the risk is relatively small, the manpower and material resources required over time are equally staggering. And although the number of warships being restrained at one time is not large, if you want to keep trade flowing smoothly, you have to maintain it for a long time. There is even a risk that hostile forces may seize the pattern and ambush you. So when faced with this embarrassing situation, the big shots on board who were responsible for this operation had very troubled expressions! After all, we have paid such a heavy price till now. If we had to choose another route, we would have to start over. Not to mention the lack of time, no one wants to mention the existing losses alone. Seeing the embarrassed expressions of the two men, Barrett couldn't help but said: "There must be a special reason why the pirates chose this sea area as their resting place! Otherwise, there are so many sea areas far away from the waterway, why? Why is it here? If we find the reason, we might be able to find a new method. "Now let's wait and see what information the Marine interrogator can get!" Captain Caplin turned his attention to the pirate ship. The Marines at work. One after another, the pirates were searched for their belongings, tied up tightly and thrown into the cabin. The sailors from the three frigates began to receive the dilapidated pirate ship. Although it was firmly tied to the frigate in front with a rope, it could only be used as a tow. Someone still needs to be in control to be able to move forward together. Although this pirate ship seems to be old and broken, it is the biggest gain of the Bolum fleet after this trip. Even with the poor condition of this pirate shipAfter entering the port, you can easily sell it in Tutkel Commercial Republic for 25,000-30,000 gold coins. This does not include other cargo on the ship. Of course, the merchant who took over this pirate ship cannot suffer a loss. After renovation, the price of turning it around will be 50,000 gold coins. This can be said to be a source of wealth that many shipyards are willing to compete for. It would be even simpler if the buyer uses it for themselves. Of course, Barrett can also make a lot of money from this trophy. In any case, they are the ones who solve the main battle. Further information after the interrogation was quickly completed was also sent to Captain Caplin: "It's actually fresh water? In the ocean nearby, there is a spring of a large underground river! No wonder those pirates chose this place, it turned out to be Because of this." "Fresh water fountain on the seabed?" Knight Morpheus also raised his eyebrows at this time, "I didn't expect to encounter such a situation. This seems to be able to open up a group of allies." The fresh water replenishment point can almost be regarded as the finishing touch in the channel. With this, the value of the entire waterway will be greatly enhanced. It serves as more than just a new trade route between the Borum Territory and the Merchant Republic of Tutkel. It can even be expanded into a new trade route. ¡°In this way, both Bolum Territory and Tutkel Merchant Republic can find new participants, so that the cost of dealing with pirates will be greatly diluted. It is indeed a feasible route to solve the current problem. "That can solve part of the problem, but the waterway we have worked so hard to open up must be shared by others." Captain Caplin still felt a little unwilling. Barrett interjected at this time: "I don't think the earl will open this route to others for free. There will definitely be an exchange of interests. Otherwise, just those Nagas will cost them a lot of time." "That's right." Captain Caplin's mood immediately improved a lot. Through the information confiscated by the pirates, the fleet took some time to determine the location and range of the sea area where fresh water could be obtained. Then they continued to move towards the Tutkel Commercial Republic according to the established plan. I don't know if it was because of the bad luck that happened before, or because the pirates were busy hunting. The rest of the Boreham fleet's journey can be said to be uneventful. Night is a time for rest, but the waves under the night sky seem to use endless strength. They roll and push against the side of the ship. Let the frigate weighing hundreds of tons move in the direction of your strength. At this time, the three frigates were like three giant monkfish, except that their lanterns were hung on their tails. The oil lamps lit on the stern deck of the battleship can effectively prevent ships from colliding with each other during night sailing. The poop allows this special oil lamp to stay bright and stable for a long time. Their fuel is often whale fat instead of ordinary lamp oil. Moving a boat at night is not an easy task. The helmsman on the night watch must act according to the instructions of the navigator. Navigators always pay attention to the pointer in the 'compass'. At the same time, his assistant observed the surrounding environment with a special telescope. After all, it is quite difficult to see clearly when sailing on the sea at night. Fortunately, as long as the sea is vast and there are no other ships nearby, there is no need to worry about loading or stranding. However, for the Bolum fleet, maintaining a safe distance between ships has become the most important job of seafarers on duty. During sailing, two illuminated meridians on the ship were used to confirm the course. And that kind of special monocular telescope called a "night goggle" is used to detect the surrounding movements at this time. This kind of 'night mirror' allows people to see more clearly at night, but the scene they see is upside down. Suddenly, the sailor who was holding the "night goggle" tightly found a bright light in his eyes. He put down the "night goggle" and rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Then he confirmed that he had not just hallucinated: "Lighthouse! There is a lighthouse ahead at 10 o'clock." After hearing this sound, the people on duty on the entire poop deck became excited. Although they have only discovered the light of the lighthouse so far, they have not seen the lighthouse itself. But this also shows that they are not far from the land. Because buildings like lighthouses are generally built along the coast, especially in ports and docks. On the one hand, this kind of building is to give instructions to sailing ships. Because there was a lack of maritime positioning technology in ancient times, routes were all along the coast. Setting up lighthouses helped ships not lose their way at night. On the other hand, it is to prevent ships from running aground or running aground when entering the port. But most of the time, operating a lighthouse is a huge expense. The cost of long hours of work and dedicated maintenance personnel to keep the lights bright and ever-burning doesn't even make much of a difference in the cost. So it??It is impossible to guide people along the coastline like a beacon tower. Instead, they are dotted on several coastal islands or piers. So usually, if you see the light of the lighthouse, it means that the nearest port is not far from the fleet. This is quite encouraging for people who have been wandering on the vast sea for dozens of days because land is already close at hand. As the ship drew closer, the lighthouse in front of us gradually began to show its outline. Because of the darkness, even with the light of the lighthouse itself, the sailors on the frigate could only see an outline. The towering tower resembles a tilted cone, and the top of the tower resembles a battlement with a roof. The navigator who had an impression of this lighthouse immediately opened the chart under the light: "Yes, that's it, Jolif Lighthouse. If we continue to go south, we should be our destination, Port Wilbos. Here. The ships behind are signaling, and everyone is preparing to anchor and wait until tomorrow morning to enter the harbor. "Although according to the speed of the Boham fleet, it will be able to sail into Wilbos Harbor tonight. But they were unable to do this. Instead, they had to stop and wait until dawn before taking action. The main reason for this is that almost all ports in the Western Continent prohibit ships from entering at night. This practice is entirely for safety reasons. The first is port security, which can effectively prevent pirates and other hostile forces from launching attacks at night by indiscriminately attacking ships entering the port at night. The second is to be responsible for the safety of the piled ships. Waiting for the upper supplement because the buildings such as lighthouse are generally built along the coast, especially on the port and dock. On the one hand, this kind of building is to give instructions to sailing ships. Because there was a lack of maritime positioning technology in ancient times, routes were all along the coast. Setting up lighthouses helped ships not lose their way at night. On the other hand, it is to prevent ships from running aground or running aground when entering the port. But most of the time, operating a lighthouse is a huge expense. The cost of long hours of work and dedicated maintenance personnel to keep the lights bright and ever-burning doesn't even make much of a difference in the cost. Therefore, they cannot be used to guide people along the coastline like beacon towers. Instead, they are dotted on several coastal islands or piers. So usually, if you see the light of the lighthouse, it means that the nearest port is not far from the fleet. This is quite encouraging for people who have been wandering on the vast sea for dozens of days because land is already close at hand. As the ship drew closer, the lighthouse in front of us gradually began to show its outline. Because of the darkness, even with the light of the lighthouse itself, the sailors on the frigate could only see an outline. The towering tower resembles a tilted cone, and the top of the tower resembles a battlement with a roof. The navigator who had an impression of this lighthouse immediately opened the chart under the light: "Yes, that's it, Jolif Lighthouse. If we continue to go south, we should be our destination, Port Wilbos. Here. The ship behind sent a signal and everyone was ready to anchor and wait until tomorrow morning to enter the harbor." (To be continued.)