Sage glanced at the warship ahead, a red glow flashed in his eyes, and after probing forward with Observation, he shook his head and walked towards the captain's cabin.
"Lily, leave it to you guys."
What Observation detected didn't seem impressive.
At this level, he wasn't very interested.
Not a battle maniac, who's always up for a fight every day?
With that time, might as well have a drink and admire one's own treasures.
Sage's captain's cabin was on the second floor of the deck structure, taking up as much space as the banquet hall below. The interior was simply furnished, besides the captain's cabin, there was only a bedroom and a bathroom.
The renovation for the display cabinet that Renedia wanted to do was still incomplete.
By the wall of the captain's cabin, there were still some fine collections piled up.
Unlike the Treasure Room full of gold coins, jewels, and Belly, the items here were carefully selected through Nadia Kingdom and Logue Town.
Having money means selecting some collectibles to admire.
Sage first took a glance at the beautifully crafted, gem-studded golden crown, nodded in satisfaction, then picked up a pigeon-egg-sized, lustrous gemstone to play with.
He walked to his desk, sat down, picked up a bottle of clear liquid from the desk, and poured it into a silver goblet embedded with jewels, took a sip, and showed a satisfied smile.
Lily mentioned the name on the bottle, 'Domperi,' seemed like some high-end stuff.
Certainly better than those rural rums.
This is what life is about...
"What kind of bland life was I living before?"
Sage clicked his tongue, "This is the life I should be living!"
He turned with his chair to face the window, rubbing the gemstone, took a sip of the liquor, and started watching the show.
Outside, with the sudden appearance of the Death Star, the opposing warships also moved into action. Lily, upon seeing the Navy's movements through the telescope, shouted, "Port side!"
The crew ran frantically on the deck, pulling ropes and sails, turning the helm, cooperating with the Pirate in the power room, allowing the ship to quickly maneuver, rapidly sailing on the sea.
Bang bang bang!
The three warships fired their main cannons, the shells splashed water where they hit, but they couldn't even touch the edges of the Death Star, dodged easily by this fast-sailing ship.
Even without Renedia's abilities, the ship's power system, when fully operational, would be more agile than ordinary ships.
Coupled with Lily's command, hitting them with three warships was indeed a challenge.
Although her studies mainly focused on Sailing Techniques, it didn't mean she hadn't come across other theories, including naval battle theories.
She just never had much opportunity to practice them.
In the East Sea, they encountered quite a few warships, but they were too few to handle them, and at that time, Sage was set on finding the person responsible for framing him, solving things himself.
And after acquiring the Death Star, there hadn't been any opportunities; this was the first test of its combat abilities since leaving the East Sea for the Grand Line.
The current feedback wasn't bad...
Lily's lips curled into a pleasing arc, and she commanded loudly, "Port side again, turn back, the opposing warships are side on!"
The Death Star, sailing to the left, continued left, quickly circling around, while the three warships, after firing their main cannons, swiftly adjusted, aiming their left hulls to fire dense cannonballs.
From a ship's perspective, although the main cannon's caliber is larger, for dense attacks, the side hulls are, of course, more convenient.
Bang bang bang!!
But the shells landed in places that were just avoided by the backward-circling Death Star, with many shells hitting the water, causing explosions like a downpour surrounding them.
"Oh my, the command is impressive, and the ship's performance is outstanding. Was it built as a warship from the start?" Marika exclaimed in surprise.
"I initially wanted to build an ordinary ship, but that damn old glass from Nadia Kingdom said that warships would attract more attention. If the warship is well-made, others won't doubt the capabilities of ordinary ships, so we built a warship." Renedia puffed out her small cheeks but then revealed a grin showcasing her little canines. "Well, it turned out to be useful, or else if Sage had encountered it, maybe we'd still need to remodel it."
She was also observing the ship's performance, as it was the first time it was used in actual combat, wanting to see any deficiencies.
"Port side ready! Deck scattershot! First layer chain bullet! Fire!!"
The Death Star had four layers of cabins. Besides the top deck cannon installation, the first and second layers of the cabins were also equipped with cannons, with a hundred and fifty cannons on each side of the hull, arranged vertically.
And in naval warfare, cannonballs also have types.
Besides the basic cannonballs, there are solid shot rounds that don't explode, used to punch holes in the hull.
Chain-shot are solid bullets connected by iron chains, used to damage masts and sails, rendering ships immobile.
Grapeshot is made of numerous lead bullets that scatter into countless pellets when fired, used to kill personnel aboard ships.
Sage wanted the Log Pose. She had no idea how big it was, but since it was a pointer, it couldn't be that sturdy. They couldn't sink the ship before finding it; they had to disable the enemy first.
The vast majority of battles at sea still rely on ships. They're not just symbols but crucial tools for naval warfare!
The pirates desperately ran about, taking positions on the deck and below, loading and firing the cannons.
Boom boom boom!
The cannonballs formed two rows in the air, heading directly towards two of the warships. Chain-shot flew through the air, striking the masts and causing damage, while the sails were torn into holes.
The grapeshot bloomed in the air, blasting onto the deck, and instantly a row of navy personnel fell to the ground.
"Hit them!" Renedia cheered.
"Keep sailing, circle the warships, and do it again!" Lily continued to command.
The Death Star circled the three warships from a distance, waiting for the pirates to reload the cannons.
Once the Black Ship was at the right angle, Lily seized the moment, lowered her arm, and shouted, "Fire!"
Boom boom boom!
Crash!
Grapeshot and chain-shot fired again. This time, the chain-shot broke a mast at the front end of one of the warships. The sails, already full of holes, were torn apart as the mast broke.
But just as they fired, two cannons on the deck suddenly exploded, violently propelling two pirates who crashed hard against the side of another ship.
Did they misfire?
Lily put down the telescope, glanced over, and saw two cannons blown open, reduced to scrap.
"How could this..." she murmured.
The timing she chose was perfect, giving the gunners ample time. Misfiring shouldn't have happened.
Scanning the cannons and the personnel behind, she suddenly realized—they didn't have enough people!
To operate cannons on a sailing warship, at least three people are needed. One loads the cannonballs and gunpowder and lights the fuse, another aims and fires while preventing accidents like air ignition during loading, and a third swiftly cleans the barrel after firing to check for leftover gunpowder and sparks.
But now, they lack enough crew!
With over six hundred crew members, some were knocked out by Sage's Supreme King Haki; others were in the control room or adjusting the sails. Even with the second-tier cannons not in use, those remaining aren't enough to operate the cannons on the deck and first tier, which require three hundred people to man a hundred cannons.
They barely have three hundred active crew members now.
To control the ship's full array of cannons, with one hundred fifty cannons on one side, moving personnel back and forth requires at least five hundred people!
Cannoneering is a team effort, not everyone coordinates well. Even with Lily allowing enough time, without familiar teamwork and personnel, misfires are inevitable.
The Death Star's standard crew is one thousand, with a maximum capacity of fifteen hundred. But the maximum capacity is too crowded for a ship, and it's typically managed based on standard numbers.
If they merely reached the standard crew, having half as gunners wouldn't be practical either.
"Ah!"
Renedia also realized this, clenching her small fist and hitting the air, "Miscalculation! The ship is too small, and there are too many cannons!"
"Just modify it," Marika suggested softly. "I think the second tier of cannons is unnecessary and could be removed."
"It's too time-consuming and expensive to rebuild the ship, and good materials aren't always available."
"Hmm... Let's ask Sage about it later." Renedia nodded.
Marika turned to Lily and asked, "Should we board? This time, I'll join too."
Gin quietly brought out his staff, while Pearl found and donned his secretly repaired Iron Shield.
Although he practiced Tekkai, Pearl felt more secure with an additional Iron Shield.
The other pirates also looked towards Lily, waiting for her command.
Lily looked around at them and nodded firmly.
If Sage didn't mind, then the people on the warship were manageable.
Their combat capability was undeniable, and for these tenacious recruits from the Bridge Kingdom, fighting was not an issue!
"Bring the ship closer!"