Houses were ablaze, and the cries of men, women, and children intermingled in a cacophony of despair.
A coastal village was being raided by pirates.
Numerous pirates searched the village, packing the plundered goods into wooden boxes to be transported to their ships.
Other pirates gathered the villagers to select slaves.
One pirate took a fancy to a teenage boy, pulling him out of the crowd.
The boy, overwhelmed and trembling, watched helplessly as a woman clung to his legs.
"Please, don't take my son. He's all I have left", she begged, her eyes brimming with tears and terror.
"Let go! " the pirate who grabbed the boy shouted at her.
But the woman, still pleading, clung tighter to her son, refusing to let go.
Impatient, the pirate swung his knife-wielding hand, and the woman fell into a pool of blood.
"Mom!!!" The boy, gripped by the pirate, screamed in anguish and despair, "You monster! "
He bit the pirate's arm fiercely, a desperate act of resistance given his small stature.
The pirate, in pain, cursed and knocked the boy unconscious with his fist, then tossed him at the feet of another pirate.
These young, mentally undeveloped boys, lacking the ability to resist, were prime choices for slaves. Once on the pirate ship, if they quickly adapted to the harsh environment, they could become reserve members of the pirate crew and eventually full-fledged pirates. If not, they would remain slaves for life.
The other villagers, sitting on the ground, watched in fear, too terrified to resist, praying that misfortune wouldn't befall them.
The pirate selecting slaves approached the crowd again, looking for the next victim
On a nearby high ground, Mudfish Gaden stood, watching the fiery blaze engulfing the fishing village with a smug expression.
At that moment, a subordinate ran over from the village to report to him
"Boss, we've nearly finished looting.
We should leave now before Duke Farl's navy arrives."
"Don't worry, Jack. We have ten Galleons and thirty Schooner ships. So it will take a few more days for Duke Farl's navy to prepare themselves to fight with us." The pirate leader said with a slight smile, a look of confidence in his eyes. He is a Beastmen with an eyepatch. His name is Dem, part of the Black Fleet pirate organization
"Still, boss, we have looted many villages and small towns in this region. We think we should leave this region now, and focus on something bigger. Like imprisoning that prince"
"Are you talking about the former Prince of Latvia?"
"Yes, Boss. I heard that the reward for his capture has been increased. The King of Latvia will reward 200,000 gold coins to whoever captures Prince Eric and his companions alive." The pirate's voice was a little excited. The greed for money shone in his eyes.
"200,000 gold coins!" The pirate leader's eyes widened. The look of disbelief was clear on his face. "That's equivalent to the total annual income of a small country."
"So Boss, what do you think about this?"
"Hehe, it's a jackpot. Plus, Big Father will be very happy." The pirate leader grinned, showing his teeth. A sinister plot was evident in his eyes.
"But boss, I don't think it will be that easy. According to the information I received, the prince hired Blue-flag mercenaries for his journey. Also, Big Head's team failed to catch them. Although they sank many of the Blue-flag mercenary ships, at the last moment, someone used teleport magic and the remaining three Blue-flag mercenary ships were teleported away. Now We do not know their location.
"Teleportation magic!?"
"Yes, Boss. It might have been the prince's sorceress Hanna. I heard that she is a 7th circle mage"
"Hmm.... Jack, I'm not as stupid as that Big Head. We'll take the help of that guy to find their location and capture them."
"Are you talking about that guy?"
"Yes, I'm talking about that guy."
"Boss! Boss!"
Then another pirate came running there.
"Hmm? What's up?"
"The ships almost loaded. It's time to go."
"Alright, let's board."
Dem led the remaining pirates briskly towards the shore.
They boarded a small boat, rowing vigorously towards the larger vessels. Due to the heavy load, the pirate ships couldn't approach the shore too closely to avoid grounding.
Reaching the big ship, they climbed the rope ladder to the deck.
A subordinate approached and reported, "Boss, everything was ready."
Dem commanded with gusto, "Set sail!"
The 40 ships started moving. Newly captured slaves, now serving as rowers, began their miserable fate amidst whips and curses.
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Bernard Empire
Alberto stood in the heart of the Imperial Space Command Center, a massive, state-of-the-art facility he had personally commissioned to bring his empire into the space age. The vast control room was alive with the hum of supercomputers, the flicker of dozens of monitors, and the disciplined murmurs of engineers, scientists, and mission specialists working in perfect synchrony.
A man in a crisp uniform approached, saluting. "Your Majesty, welcome. You are early—launch is in forty minutes."
Alberto nodded, his gaze fixed on the towering main screen, where a live feed displayed the Alberto-1 rocket standing tall on the launchpad, steam venting from its powerful engines as final checks were underway.
"I wouldn't miss this for anything," Alberto said. "This is the first step towards an interconnected empire."
In his past life, the concept of satellites and global communication had been nothing more than fiction. When Alberto first read the satellite overview, he was very excited because, in his past life, they did not have the Internet and satellite. So he bought a communication satellite to use the Internet. However, since his level was not that high, the satellite he bought would only be able to provide 2G speeds. Still, this slow internet was like a dream for him.
Alberto was waiting patiently as this was the first time he would see a rocket launched into space in real life.
The Space Centre and launching ground were located 250 Kilometres to the west of the Capital; it was flat land surrounded by high hills, making a good camouflage in the eyes of people.
A voice came over the speakers. "Final system diagnostics complete. T-minus five minutes to liftoff."
The tension in the room thickened. Engineers made rapid adjustments. Mission directors gave final confirmations. The Alberto-1 rocket, a three-stage behemoth, stood ready to carve through the heavens.
"Your Majesty," one of the lead engineers said, "everything is green across the board. We are ready for launch."
Alberto didn't reply immediately. He simply watched, hands clasped behind his back, as the countdown began.
10…
On the screen, the launchpad trembled as the rocket's engines ignited in controlled fury. Massive clamps still held the structure in place, restraining the raw power contained within.
9…
Superheated steam billowed around the base, a swirling storm of white and orange.
8… 7… 6…
The deep rumble of the engines grew, shaking the ground even from hundreds of kilometers away. Energy condensed, waiting to be unleashed.
5… 4… 3… 2… 1…
Ignition.
The clamps released. The Alberto-1 surged upwards with an earth-shaking roar, its engines spitting fire as it ascended beyond the pull of the world. Shockwaves rippled through the atmosphere, a testament to the sheer force of its departure.
In the control room, all eyes remained locked onto the data streams. Numbers flickered across the screens: velocity, altitude, trajectory—all progressing flawlessly.
"Stage One separation in T-minus thirty seconds," a voice reported.
Far above, at the edge of the stratosphere, the first-stage boosters had expended their fuel. Explosive bolts detonated, and the massive fuel tanks disengaged, falling back to the planet below. The second-stage engines ignited immediately, seamlessly continuing the ascent.
"Stage One separation confirmed," the mission director announced.
Alberto watched in silence. This was no mere spectacle; this was history in the making.
"Alberto-1 is approaching the thermosphere," another voice echoed.
The rocket pushed past the ozone layer, soaring through the mesosphere and into the thermosphere, where the last wisps of the planet's atmosphere began to fade. Soon, it would reach the exosphere—the threshold of space itself.
"Telemetry stable. Engine efficiency at 99.7%. Orbital injection sequence begins in two minutes."
In the vast darkness of space, the rocket now drifted into its calculated orbit. On command, the final-stage engine burned, adjusting its trajectory with surgical precision. Every move had been pre-calculated to ensure the perfect deployment window for AetherNet-1.
"Preparing for satellite release," the lead engineer announced.
The rocket's protective shell detached, revealing the satellite within. A quiet, almost ceremonial pause followed. Then, a gentle release mechanism engaged, and the satellite separated from the spacecraft, drifting into its designated orbit.
"Satellite deployment confirmed."
A ripple of applause spread through the control room.
Alberto exhaled slowly, his expression unreadable. Yet, deep inside, he knew what this meant. This was only the beginning. The Bernard Empire had taken its first step into space, and soon, it would take many more.
He turned to his lead scientist. "Three hours until activation?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. The satellite will fully synchronize with our network, and the first transmission tests will begin."
Alberto gave a slight nod. "Good. Make sure the next launch preparations start immediately. One satellite is not enough. We will build an empire that reaches beyond this world."