“That is true.”
“Change is rapid. The future isn’t far off. A weapon worthy of your title will one day sail these seas. When that day arrives, you’ll forget how many ships the current Imperial Expeditionary Fleet even had. And even if you do remember, they’ll seem small and insignificant.”
I boarded the flagship.
Following me, my 560 subordinates dispersed to board the rest of the expeditionary fleet.
The crew bustled about, loading wooden crates filled with 10,000 matchlock muskets and 82 disassembled cannons onto the transport ships. (Matchlock muskets were early firearms that used a burning wick to ignite the gunpowder.)
“Raise the sails!”
A crew member seized the folded sail below and unfurled it with practiced ease.
As all the sails billowed open, catching the wind, the ship slowly began to move forward, cutting through the waves.
Thus, the first expeditionary fleet of the Human Empire commenced its voyage.
The destination: the Mycenaean Empire, the formidable stronghold of the vampires.