Blue Sword

The Tyrrhenian Sea is a sea area located west of Italy, Canada and Sicily.

After the Normans occupied Sicily, the cargo ships that crossed the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Holy See had to pay two taxes: one was the commercial tax on goods purchased from the Holy See, and the other was to be handed over to the Normans. Maritime protection fee”.

If the lord of the place where they are sold is relatively evil, then they may have to pay three taxes. Such multiple layers of complicated exploitation have almost eliminated the trade of most cheap goods, leaving only one type:

Namely, the Templars' global trade network.

As we all know, all the high-tech or precision industrial products of the Holy See cannot be exported directly to foreign countries through Italy. Instead, they must be transported along the Templar trade network to the diocesan branches in various countries, and then selectively sold to some The local nobles with "devout faith" used this so-called double-sword tactic, that is, using the "secular sword" of Christ to open the way for the "spiritual sword" of Christ.

The last time Asker helped the Holy See clean up Raphael, the Templar trade license he requested was the authority to purchase these technological items.

Since such goods are scarce and irreplaceable, prices outside Italy and Canada are often extremely high. For example, an ordinary knight's power armor sells for up to 200 Lorraine gold coins in the Shinra Empire, of which the power servo system imported from the Holy See costs 140 gold coins.

The high selling price brought high profits, allowing the cargo fleet to accept exploitation from many parties, and also made the Normans become extremely financially dependent on the so-called "sea protection tax", because after all, the money came from It's too easy.

Because of this, once the undead fleet reaches the Tyrrhenian Sea, the cargo ship trade will probably be cut off. After all, the undead do not accept bribes, they only know how to kill, and the undead lords are even more happy to plunder the industrial products of the Holy See and "recruit troops" from the crews of these cargo ships.

This will greatly affect the financial revenue of the Kingdom of Sicily, so the Normans will never sit idly by. As for using it as a test for the young Normans, it can only be said that this is the usual arrogance and arrogance of the Normans.

Following the Hauteville family's order, a large number of Norman ships left the port of Palermo and began sailing towards the northern ocean. Many young people from the family seemed to be going to sea for the first time. They were lying on the side of the boat excitedly, looking at the waves rolling under the bottom of the boat. Some people even suffered from seasickness and hurriedly hid in the cabin.

Demigod William was riding on the last flagship, silently watching the performance of these family descendants in the distance.

Although the ancient Vikings were famous for their pirates, the Hauteville family had been away from piracy for many years. Even now that they have occupied Sicily and established a larger navy, they have actually not experienced many large-scale naval battles.

This is true for the army, let alone the young people in the clan.

After secretly taking note of the seasick juniors, William continued to scan the nearby waters and suddenly noticed a small ship on the right wing of the fleet. The crew seemed busier than other ships.

"Pull up the sails! Are you going to be out of touch with the fleet by driving so fast?" The woman's scolding voice kept sounding, and as a one-handed battle ax was inserted into the mast, the sailors quickly executed her move order, lest he would suffer the same treatment as the mast.

"Right rudder sixth! Stay away from the ship on the left, don't get hit by them! What if the person at the helm of them is an idiot?"

"Wipe the floor clean so that you don't slip and fall down during the next battle, and send your throat to the enemy's blade in vain!"

"Carry twenty barrels containing ballast and pile them on the side of the ship! You can use them as bunkers later!"

The white-haired Norman female warrior kept scolding, and almost no sailor could survive her angry scolding. However, despite being scolded, the overall preparations of the sailors were carried out extremely quickly, and their progress was even far ahead of the entire fleet - you know, the captains of other fleets are almost all navies of the Hauteville family. A veteran!

Hidleyfa, is Robert's daughter? William secretly refreshed his understanding of this woman...Such a tactical quality could never be cultivated on a merchant ship or a passenger ship.

The emphasis on preparations for boarding battles, the distrust of wing ships and the distance control of the entire fleet are not like those from regular naval academies in various countries. Those academics put more emphasis on strict discipline and strict execution of codes of conduct, but this person's style is unruly at first glance.

In other words, do you have any experience as a pirate?

The demigod William had also asked people to investigate the experience of this Sidrifa. Last year, she was in a mercenary group called "Blue Sword". Before that, she seemed to be in the corner of Constantinople. Registered with the Fighters Guild.

Considering the situation in the Eastern Solomon Empire, maybe she also tried to sign up for the Royal Varangian Guard, or maybe she became a gladiator after failing the interview.

Pirates, gladiators and mercenaries, if there is someone who has survived so many high-risk professions, then this guy is definitely a veteran. Even if you are an unclassified ordinary person, you have to be careful on the battlefield - you might just pull out a gun and shoot someone in the head.

What's more, this person is already a Level 10 transcendent... William narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking that this year's Viking Trial would most likely have a pretty good result.

To please Navia Bone Tooth, or even... gain its approval.

Of course, regardless of whether she can make Navia Bone Fang recognize her as its owner, considering that she also owns another Beryl Ax, William must deal with her in a certain way.

After all, it is an extraordinary artifact related to the wolf that shakes the earth. It must not be easily handed over to an uncontrolled member, even if she is a member of the Hauteville family.

William, who was thinking this way, clapped his hands gently, and several Norman knights carefully moved a body out of the cabin.

The corpse was that of a young Norman man, whose whole body had been frozen and turned into a mummy. There was a necklace hanging around his neck, which was made up of a hemp rope strung with thick bone teeth. Each bone tooth was turned upside down and penetrated deeply into the blood vessels of the mummy's neck.

As the frozen corpse was moved to the deck, under the sunlight, the frost on the surface of the corpse also glowed with colorful luster. The cold air on it seemed to roll up tiny vortexes in the air, and gradually gathered into the bones and teeth. In the necklace.

It was as if a man-eating monster was greedily sucking blood.

On the deck of the ship in the distance, the Normans' exclamations sounded again. Because the ghost fleet of the Kingdom of the Undead has appeared on the horizontal line where the sea and the sky meet on the left.

Their ships are made of rotting planks, seaweed, and bones, like abandoned tombs. Countless banshees and vengeful spirits were hovering over the fleet, making eerie and eerie cries that could almost make people feel the shivers and stinging deep in their souls.