Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Winters stood up at the sight, took out a small knife, and pried off a rib along the seam of the bone to place it on the blond child's plate.

The kid, dressed in a blue naval officer's uniform, stood up and said politely in a child's voice, "Thank you, Your Excellency from the Army."

Watching these children, Winters thought of Benwei's brother, Xial, and thus he rolled up his sleeves and began to tear off pieces of meat from the roasted pig to distribute among the few children.

Each of these children dressed in naval uniforms was very polite, rising to give thanks every time Winters placed meat on their plates.

Although they were only eleven or twelve years old and hadn't even reached puberty, they belonged to the same military rank as Cage, as navy officer candidates, and Cage had been just their age when he first came aboard.

This was Vineta's method of training officers, with the Army running military academies, while the Navy sent these eleven or twelve-year-olds directly onto warships. To the Navy, a warship was the best kind of military academy.

These children left their parents at the age of eleven or twelve to live on ships. As trainee officers, they learned by the captain's side how to use sextants and nautical charts, how to navigate the wind and waves at sea, and how to earn the respect of sailors.

By the time they reached twenty—if they managed to endure the hardships of life at sea—they would become tough, tenacious men.

Then they would be eligible to undergo the Naval Committee's assessment, and after passing, they would step into the true ranks of naval officers as lieutenants.

But for now, these trainee officers before Winters were just children.

"Do you want anything else to eat?" Winters asked after he had filled each child's plate with meat.

The blond curly-haired child exchanged glances with his companions, stood up again, and bowed slightly, saying, "This is plenty, thank you."

Winters found the child even more endearing and reached out to pat his head, smiling, "No need to be formal."

But this affectionate gesture only angered the little officer. The golden-haired child, who had been nothing but polite, swatted away Winters' hand in annoyance, "Don't treat me like a child, I am a naval officer!"

Winters laughed heartily. He was not only not offended, but he also found this little grown-up even more adorable.

Andre stood up laughing too, lifting his wine glass and saying, "On his behalf, I apologize to you, gentlemen of the Navy."

After speaking, he downed his entire glass of wine in one go.

The blond curly-haired naval candidate officer, not to be outdone, poured himself a full glass of wine and drank it all in one tilt of his head.

Winters punched Andre lightly, then bowed sincerely to the young naval cadets, "I was presumptuous just now, my apologies."

Then, from the direction of the dinner tables at the bow, there came another round of raucous laughter. The Navy and Army officers were laughing so hard they were gasping for air, pounding the tables with their hands.

The admiral stood up with a beaming smile, raising his glass high, and toasting aloud, "To our lovers and wives—may they never meet!"

This witty remark set off a fresh wave of hearty laughter in the cabin, and all officers raised their glasses in unison, "To our lovers and wives—may they never meet!"

Then everyone drank it all down.

Suddenly, there came the sound of singing from above; the sailors on deck, having had their fill of wine and meat, began to sing a shanty in harmony:

"Back in the quiet homeland,

Let the ocean roar, my friend!"

Admiral Nalesho, caught up in excitement, followed the sailors' song:

"After countless storms,

We've safely reached the shore!"

All the navy officers smiled at each other and stood up, joining in the singing:

"Don't forget your old shipmates!
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La la la la la la la, aye-oh!"

Antonio also stood, clapping his hands to the beat of the navy officers' chorus. Inspired by him, all the army officers stood up to clap along.

"We manned the guns together,

We scrubbed the decks side by side,

I cleaned the cannon while you loaded,

And triumphant we returned from the fight!"

After a few seconds of pause, the sailors on deck and the navy officers in the cabin sang together:

"After countless storms,

We've safely reached the shore!

Don't forget your old shipmates!

La la la la la la la, aye-oh!"

Everyone refilled their glasses, waiting for the two generals to make the toast.

But suddenly, as if from the distant sea, there came a sound like thunder.

The festive atmosphere of the feast cooled rapidly, and the previously noisy cabin fell silent in an instant. The officers knew all too well what that sound was.

"Thunder, or cannon fire?" Winters suddenly realized, trying hard to discern the origin and direction of the sound.

Then came a succession of thunderous booms.

It was cannon fire, Winters was certain of it, and it was coming from the sea.

Why would there be cannon fire? Could it be that the Tanilia Federation was repeating an old trick?

The silent cabin became noisy again in an instant, the officers cursing as they searched for their swords and coats.

"Quiet!" Admiral Nalesho bellowed.

All the officers in the cabin froze in place and turned to look at Admiral Nalesho.

"The Falcon and the Amelia reported that since the day before yesterday, two fast ships had been trailing us at a moderate distance. Therefore, General Serviati and I thought it better to create an opportunity for them to decide the battle with us than to go looking for pirates!" Admiral Nalesho said calmly, "Tonight, the wind, the tide, and the formation are all disadvantageous to us. The pirates from the Federation must think they've grabbed a godsent opportunity, and tonight we will take back the first blood debt!"