After that, the sailors, under the command of their first mate, Perry, started to clean up the mess.
After being attacked by the sea monster, the damage to the Silver Wing was not serious, and after a simple repair, the ship resumed normal sailing as it dragged the corpse of the impacted conch behind the ship with a net.
Sea monsters were creatures that were born extraordinary. No one could easily give them up. Fortunately, the creatures were caught near land. If they were caught far away from land, only a portion of the core materials could be harvested and their value would not be comparable to that of a whole.
Although the damage to the ship was rather significant, the corpse of the sea monster alone was worth the price of the ticket. It was more than enough to pay the pensions of those who sacrificed their lives and the rewards of the survivors.
With such a big guy, it was difficult to continue the rest of the cruise. Moreover, it was inconvenient to show the sea monster to ordinary people, so Gull simply ordered the ship to return to land.
Woosh…
After the sea monsters died, the fog on the surface of the sea also gradually dissipated. The Silver Wing drew a graceful arc on the surface of the sea and moved to another fast route with fewer shipping vessels as it returned to the dock at full speed.
On deck…
First Officer Perry patted Alvin's shoulder and said mysteriously, "Let's go, Warrant Officer Alvin, get some rest. We'll give you a taste of our ship's speciality at lunch, it's a rare delicacy."
The experience of working together and the distinctly different attitude of Captain Gull towards Alvin made the first officer, who was known to be stern and unsympathetic, uncharacteristically amiable to Alvin.
"Is that so? Very much looking forward to it!" The opportunity to better integrate into the group was one that Alvin would not miss.
Indeed.
At the subsequent celebration banquet prepared for victory, in addition to the ship's original stock of high-quality ingredients and fresh fish, the chef also served a mysterious plate covered with a lid to each table.
This was the special food that the first mate said was rarely seen anywhere else.
Curiously, Alvin opened the metal lid in front of him.
A large piece of snow-white meat soaked in ginger sauce accompanied by a few slices of green vegetables. The unique aroma made one's mouth water and appetite whet.
It was a "sea monster meal" made with sea monster tentacles. It not only tasted delicious and crispy, but also had the miraculous effect of slightly improving one's health.
In the past, when they were on a class 4 ship, they could enjoy it once or twice a year. Even on a class 5 ship, the rationing was much better than others. However, it was the first time Alvin and Gary got to enjoy it.
They enjoyed the hot currents flowing in their bodies.
Alvin even imagined that if he could eat this kind of meat every day, he should be able to reach his mortal limit soon, right?
On second thought, he knew that was impossible. Sea monsters were the rulers of the sea and top predators, so it was understandable that one would fight to the death if one encountered them accidentally. However, one would be courting death if they hunted them down intentionally.
However, if one only ate one or two meals, the meat of sea monsters was no more beneficial than the supplements. The meat would only serve to satisfy one's taste buds.
Even so, Alvin finished his share as quickly as possible, leaving no scraps behind.
Sitting at the officers' table, he began to talk while they were all slightly drunk and in a good mood.
Alvin was curious to know about the old officers' past experiences in the deep sea.
Alvin had cut off three tentacles of the sea monster by himself and saved at least a dozen crew members. Whether or not he had a special relationship with the captain, he had been recognized by most of the crew on the ship.
"You're asking the right person if you ask me. I was one of the first to follow the Captain on voyages." Sailing Master Theroux had been drinking quite a bit.
"Remember, young man, there are many great beasts in the sea, but not all of them hate humans.
"The coexistence of shells and tentacles is the characteristic of the sea monsters under the Mother of Sea Monsters, and their hatred of humans is an instinct that cannot be changed in any way. Nevertheless, there are other wild sea monsters.
"To these wild sea monsters, humans are no different from other creatures. If one has the ability and means, one can even tame them like a hound."
At this point, Theroux cut a chunk of raw, white sea monster meat, dipped it into the soup, and stuffed it into his mouth. Then he took a big gulp of rum before burping.
Seeing that Theroux was drunk, Sailing Master Chris joked, "And, as our brave sea captain has taught you from his experience, powerful sea monsters have one more thing in common: they're all delicious!"
The entire table laughed.
"I miss the days when we were on a class 4 battleship. We could send the smaller species of sea monster to the bottom of the sea with just one round of flush fire. Why would we need our captain's help?"
The Artillery Captain took a sip of amber rum and sighed.
"When will we be able to get hold of a large wild sea monster? By then, our days will be… tsk tsk tsk…" the Coxswain interrupted.
"In your dreams! You need nothing else apart from a large sea monster like this to compete for a quasi-legendary battleship."
The others laughed at the Coxswain for being unrealistic.
Unlike the impact conch, which could be killed by a single man with a special javelin, other large species of sea monster had the ability to destroy a battleship by themselves (if there was no powerful supernatural being on board).
Even decades ago, the Kingdom of Helius, which had a lot of power, said that when they first sent the battleship as a weapon of mass destruction to the sea, "The only thing that can resist a battleship in this world is another battleship and…. large species of sea monsters!"
The large species of sea monsters were the kind of terrifying monsters whose length at least exceeded the length of a first-class battleship. Together with human command, their power could no longer be described simply by "one plus one is greater than two".
Although they were not at the level of "legendary battleships", which were used by countries as weapons of mass destruction, they could easily surpass the level of first-class battleships and reach the level of quasi-legends.
This meant that the combination of humans and large sea monsters was enough to defeat more than 90% of the ships in the sea, which was extremely terrifying…
Alvin did not interfere—he listened attentively to the officers' conversations while stuffing himself with all kinds of food as he satisfied his increasing appetite.
In addition to some general knowledge related to sea monsters, he gradually understood the strength of the officers on the ship.
The power of the individual was small when one was on the sea, but it did not include the Extraordinaries. According to the rules of employment in the Kingdom of Phaletis, every captain of a battleship should be at least an Extraordinary Knight!
This was the force that allowed the battleship to overcome the harsh natural environment and the deep sea monsters.
The Extraordinary Captain had a varying number of trainee knights (corresponding to the captain officer) and a large number of regular sailors, with the help of the ship's guns and various weapons. This was the main force of the battleship.
The officers were all qualified to practice the real Extraordinary Sword technique, the Phaletian Army Saber Technique. However, many of them, either because of their age or aptitude, or the lack of ambition, were not able to surpass ordinary people and reach a certain threshold.
After all, at their age, most of them had already reached the peak of their career paths. They had given up on their own paths long ago and placed hopes on the next generation.
Among them, Uncle Gull, as a captain, was their representative and a powerful existence of a formal knight. Moreover, the navy had a rule that apart from civilian positions, if a martial arts officer wanted to be promoted to the rank of school officer, he must have the rank of full knight.
First Mate Perry was one of them. Although he had not reached the rank of a knight, his rank should not be too low. The other was Sailor Chris, who led the charging team. Alvin felt that he was physically stronger than Gary but was not as skilled.
However, in terms of development potential, both of them were too lacking.
First Mate Perry was already over thirty years old and most of his physical qualities had been achieved through the years. It was almost impossible for him to advance to full knighthood.
Sailor Chris's situation was slightly better. However, if he did not try to break through within two years, he might never have another chance again.
He was not only less qualified than Alvin, but also Gary.
Theoretically, as a former member of a class 4 battleship, an officer should be more capable than that.
From their chat, Alvin unexpectedly learned that there was actually another knight on the class 4 ship who gave them strength. However, everyone was tight-lipped about this former colleague. Perhaps he had sacrificed his life or was transferred to another department.
The conversation was short but deep, and after a few moments of silence, Alvin did not ask any further questions.
"Come, let's continue drinking!"
"Warrant Officer Alvin, welcome to the Silver Wing."
"With Warrant Officer Alvin's skills, he will be the one in charge of physical fights in the future."
A celebratory feast was held to integrate Alvin into the new group.
…
The return voyage was much faster than the patrol. However, the Silver Wing's destination was not Gabred's naval base. Instead, it was a secluded island outside the harbor that was off the normal course.
After handing over the body of the impact conch to the sailor stationed on the island, the officers and crew of the Silver Wing were given a generous amount of credit and bonus. In the future, this would be the credentials for rank advancement, redemption of training methods, and various training resources.
With Alvin's outstanding performance, he definitely had his share too.
If he could do it again, he would be able to become a captain, the same rank as the sailing master and first mate.
After returning to the naval base and reporting the sea monster incident, the Silver Wing was given an extra commendation and the crew was given three days of break per week after the last docking.
After a thrilling battle with a sea monster, the crew could not wait to relax in the bustling city of Gabred.
Alvin, however, frowned slightly as Uncle Gull was called away alone by the Third Fleet command. He felt that the sea monster's raid on the merchant ship was not as simple as he imagined and that there might be more behind it.
However, it was not his job to worry about such matters. Instead, another matter was more urgent.
Only those who had been drifting on the sea for a long time could appreciate the beauty of having one's feet on the ground, not having to worry about being overturned by the bed board when one slept, not having to worry about the ink bottle tipping over at any time, not having to worry about…
Perhaps Alvin would get used to this kind of life at sea in the future, but land was more attractive now, and it would be nice if there was a large serving of salad with all kinds of seasonal fruits and vegetables to satisfy his craving for vegetables.
Given that he was going to be hanging around Gabred for a long time, Alvin felt the need to address the issue of his accommodation on shore. He could not go to a hotel every time he came ashore, right?
Renting a house as a place to live on shore for the next, possibly very long period of time he was on shore, became Alvin's primary goal.
Calling Gary along, they disembarked from the Silver Wing and wandered around Gabred. It was at this point that he realized that he had been in Gabred for months and had never had the opportunity to visit the city.
"Come and look at the special fruits from the Southern Continent!"
"Look, this exquisite piece of floral cloth suits you so well, beautiful lady!"
"Selling glass mirrors. They are sold at one Silver Bull Coin in the capital, but I am only selling for 90 Copper Livre!"
No wonder it was a famous center of trade and commerce. One could find any commodity you could imagine, whether from a nearby nation or from a distant colony.
In addition to bulk trade, markets of all sizes also flourished due to the large flow of people. There were fruits, vegetables, ornaments, clothing, and so on. Although it was slightly cluttered, the place was full of life.
It was a refreshing sight for someone who was used to the monotonous scenery of the sea.
"Gary, what kind of house do you think we should get?"
"Uhm… Something cheap?"
"Cough, cough…" Alvin felt speechless. He knew that Gary would not give any reliable advice.
"Rental fees isn't a problem, just leave it to me." Alvin knew about Gary's family situation. He had many brothers and sisters and he probably wanted to save his salary to send back to his family.
Alvin was not lacking in money. He still had the spoils from the Blood Anchor and 2,000 gold notes in his pocket.
It was a huge amount of money anywhere he went.
Trade was developed, and so was real estate. After finding an agent that looked quite pleasant, the two of them followed a young clerk to start a half-day trip in Gabred.
The other world's black-hearted businessmen had yet to extend their claws into the real estate field. There was no speculation fever. Even in the more prosperous seaport city of Gabred, the prices were not very expensive, and rent was naturally cheaper.
It did not matter if the location was good or bad, because they were on a boat most of the time and would not have to think about commuting every morning.
From upscale condominiums in busy areas, to luxury villas in the suburbs, to ordinary homes in the common areas…. Finally, after turning halfway around the city and touring almost all of Gabred, they finally found a satisfactory place near the beach.
"Yes, this is it!"