Bring the Ship Closer!

Sage glanced at the Warship ahead, a flash of red light flickering in his eyes. After probing forward with Observation Haki, he shook his head and walked towards the Captain's room.

"Lily, it's up to you."

What he had detected with Observation Haki revealed nothing formidable.

At this level, he had no interest.

He wasn't a battle fanatic; who fights every day without reason?

With that time, he might as well enjoy a drink and admire his treasures.

Sage's Captain's room was on the second floor of the deck building, no smaller than the Banquet Hall on the first floor. The interior was quite simple; apart from the Captain's room, there was only a bedroom and a bathroom.

The renovation of the display cabinet for the collectibles that Renetia was supposed to do was still incomplete.

Against the walls of the Captain's room, high-quality collectibles that had been sent here were piled up.

Unlike the gold coins, jewelry, and belly piled in the Treasure room, what was placed here were all fine items filtered from the Natia Kingdom and Log Town.

With money, one should select some collectibles for appreciation.

Sage first examined a beautifully crafted crown made of gold and inlaid with gems, nodding in approval. He then turned and picked up a crystal-clear gem the size of a pigeon egg, playing with it in his hand.

He walked over to the desk and sat down in the chair, casually pouring a glass of clear liquor from a bottle on the table into a silver cup inlaid with gems. After taking a sip, he revealed a satisfied smile.

This thing, Lily said the bottle was called 'Winter Peri', seemed to be a high-end product.

Anyway, it was much better than that rural rum.

This is what life should be like. "What kind of bland life was I living before?"

Sage clicked his tongue, "This is the life I should be living!"

He turned the chair to face the window, rubbing the gem, taking a sip of his drink, and began to watch the show.

Outside, the sudden appearance of the Death Star Ship prompted the Warship across to take action. Lily, spotting the Navy moving with her telescope, shouted, "Port side!"

Her subordinates were running wildly on the deck, pulling ropes and sails, turning the helm, coordinating with the Pirates controlling the engine room, allowing the ship to quickly come to a stop and sail rapidly across the sea.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The three Warships fired their main cannons, and the shells splashed into the water, but they couldn't even touch the edge of the Death Star Ship, which deftly avoided them with its high speed.

Even without Renetia using her abilities, the ship's power system, once activated, would be more responsive than an ordinary ship.

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 been exposed to other theories; she also understood naval combat theory.

It was just that she hadn't had many opportunities to practice.

In the East Sea, they encountered quite a few Warships, but they were too few in number to operate effectively, and at that time, Sage was still angry and wanted to find out who was to blame, handling everything himself.

After acquiring the Death Star Ship, they hadn't encountered many opportunities; this was the first time testing the ship's combat capabilities from the East Sea to the Grand Line.

So far, the feedback was quite good. Lily's lips curled into a beautiful arc as she commanded loudly, "Turn to port, turn around, the opposite Warship is side-on!"

The Death Star Ship sailing to the left quickly made a turn, while the three Warships, after firing their main cannons, quickly adjusted, aligning their left sides to launch a dense barrage of shells.

From the ship's perspective, although the main cannon had a larger caliber, for a concentrated attack, the side-mounted cannons were certainly more convenient.

Boom! Boom! Boom!!

However, the shells fell precisely where the Death Star Ship had just turned, causing a large number of shells to splash into the water, creating a scene as if it were raining heavily around them.

"Ah, the command was excellent, and the ship's performance is great. Was it designed as a warship from the start?" Marika exclaimed in surprise.

"I initially wanted to build an ordinary ship, but that damned Old Glass from the Natia Kingdom said a warship would attract more attention. If the warship is well-made, others won't doubt the strength of an ordinary ship, so I went with a warship," Renetia said, puffing up her cheeks but then revealing a small tiger tooth smile.

"Well, it just happens to be useful now; otherwise, if Sage encountered it, we might have to remodel it again."

She was also observing the ship's performance, as it was the first time using it for actual combat, wanting to see where it might fall short.

"Target the left! Deck shotgun! First layer chain shot! Fire!!"

The Death Star Ship had four layers of cabins. Besides the top deck equipped with cannons, the first and second layers also had cannons, with one hundred and fifty on each side, arranged in upper and lower layers.

In naval combat, shells were also categorized.

Apart from the basic shells, there were solid non-explosive rounds used to pierce the hull.

Chain shots were solid rounds connected by iron chains, used to damage masts and sails, rendering the ship immobile.

And the shotgun shells were composed of numerous lead pellets, which could split into countless projectiles upon firing, used to inflict casualties on personnel aboard the ship.

Sage wanted the Log Pose; he didn't know how big it was, but since it was a pointer, it couldn't be that sturdy. It was impossible to sink the ship to find it; they could only first incapacitate the enemy.

Most battles at sea still relied on the ship; it was not only a symbol but also a weapon of naval warfare! The Pirates scrambled to position themselves on the deck and in the cabins, loading shells and firing them.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The shells formed two rows in the air, directly targeting the two Warships, with chain shots flying through the air, crashing into the masts and damaging them, while the sails were torn with holes.

The shotgun shells quickly blossomed in the air, landing on the deck, instantly knocking down a row of Navy personnel.

"Hit!" Renetia cheered.

"Maintain course, circle around the Warship, and do it again!" Lily continued to command.

The Death Star Ship spun around the three Warships from a distance, waiting for the Pirates to reload the shells.

Until the Black Ship reached the right angle, Lily seized the opportunity, swinging her arm down, "Fire!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Boom! The shotgun and chain shots were fired again, this time the chain shot broke the foremost mast of one of the Warships, and the sail, full of holes, was torn apart as the mast snapped.

But at the same time, two cannons on the deck suddenly exploded, violently throwing two Pirates against the side of the ship.

A misfire? Lily put down her telescope and glanced over, seeing that two cannons had blown up, turning into scrap.

"How could this happen..." she murmured.

The timing she had chosen was perfect, giving the gunners enough time; it shouldn't have misfired.

She scanned the cannons and the personnel behind them, suddenly realizing they were understaffed! To operate the cannons on a sailing warship, at least three people were needed: one to load the shells and gunpowder and ignite the fuse, one to aim and fire while preventing accidental ignition during loading, and one to quickly clean the barrel after firing, checking for residual gunpowder and embers.

But now, they didn't have enough personnel!

With over six hundred people on board, some were knocked out by Sage's Conqueror's Haki, some were in the control room, and some were adjusting the sails. Even without using the second layer of cannons, the remaining personnel were insufficient to operate the cannons on the deck and the first layer; they would need three hundred people just to barely operate one hundred cannons.

The number of people they could currently mobilize was far less than three hundred.

To control all the cannons on the ship, calculating with one hundred and fifty cannons on one side, personnel would need to be positioned around the cannons, requiring at least five hundred people!

Gunners were also a cooperative technical job; not everyone had such a high level of coordination. Even if Lily had given enough time, without familiar cooperation and personnel, a misfire was inevitable.

The standard crew for the Death Star Ship was one thousand, with a maximum capacity of one thousand five hundred, but that was not how it should be calculated. The maximum capacity would be a bit cramped; for a ship, overcrowding was not a good thing, and it was generally calculated based on the standard number.

If they only recruited enough standard personnel, having half of them as gunners wouldn't work either.

"Ah!"

Renetia also realized this, her small fist punching down into the air, "I miscalculated! The ship is too small, and there are too many cannons!"

"Just make some adjustments; I think the second layer of cannons is unnecessary and can be removed," Marika said softly. "After all, rebuilding the ship would consume too much time and money, and there might not be enough good materials."

"Okay, I'll ask Sage about it later," Renetia nodded.

Marika looked at Lily and asked, "Should we board? This time, I'll join in too."

Akin silently pulled out his cane, while Paru found his secretly repaired iron shield and donned it.

Although he had practiced with iron blocks, he felt that adding an extra layer of iron shield would be safer.

The other Pirates also looked at Lily, waiting for her orders.

Lily scanned them and nodded seriously.

Since Sage didn't care, it meant they could handle the people on the Warship.

Their combat capability was unquestionable; for those strong-willed and physically resilient individuals recruited from the Bridge Kingdom, fighting was completely not a problem! "Bring the ship closer!"