Mystery: The Last Shepherd

Chapter 479 Vanster Nelson

The passengers on the Dorset had experienced far too much joy and sorrow today.

Initially, their ship encountered pirates during their voyage. As the pirate ship, flying a black flag, drew closer, a sense of panic involuntarily arose in everyone's hearts.

Despite the captain's efforts to organize a resistance, the Dorset ultimately could not escape its fate. The captain and sailors who dared to resist were all killed in the battle, and they would subsequently face the full force of the pirates' malice.

But just then, the navy arrived.

The naval cannons, whose firepower far surpassed that of the pirate ships, fired a single salvo, and the once incredibly ferocious pirates were reduced to screaming for their mothers. When the soldiers, wielding powerful steam rifles, rushed onto the deck, the pirates surrendered without hesitation, abandoning all resistance.

"Thank you! Your Excellency Lieutenant Colonel! And thank you to your brave soldiers!"

The captain was dead, and the remaining second mate and surviving passengers gathered on deck, facing the navy, and showered them with praise. Some wept quietly, relieved to have escaped, while others cursed the bound pirates and tried to attack them.

Unfortunately, they seemed to have celebrated a little too soon.

The lieutenant colonel, who was also the captain of the warship, merely glanced at the passengers with a cold and authoritative expression, ignoring them, and instead looked at someone behind him.

"Your Excellency Vanster."

He said in a deep voice, "What do you mean?"

"This batch is of good quality."

The man standing behind the lieutenant colonel chuckled, his gaze shifting between the passengers and the pirates. Although he had disembarked from the warship, he wasn't wearing a military uniform, but rather a well-tailored white tuxedo. He had a charming smile on his face.

Vanster Nelson, head of MI9's second group, was one of the entourage members who accompanied Deputy Chief Chunas to the Sunya Sea.

"it is good."

The lieutenant colonel said in a deep voice, and with an expressionless wave of his hand, the soldiers surrounded him with their rifles.

Gradually, the passengers began to realize that something was wrong.

Ok?
Why are you surrounding me too?
These men watched helplessly as the soldiers raised their rifles, aiming them at both the pirates and them. The gleaming blades at the tips of the rifles sent chills down their spines.

“Lieutenant Colonel, we are lawful citizens of Rune!” the second mate quickly called out upon seeing the situation. “We can provide any identification you need! You can also search the cargo hold; there are no contraband items inside!”

The second mate began to feel scared. Had he encountered a ruthless navy that planned to kill him and impersonate a pirate to increase his military merits?
"That's right, we are innocent!"

My friend knows the Lord Fast of Arhovashire.

The passengers panicked and shouted to prove their innocence, making the deck noisy.

"Quiet."

Vanster spoke with a smile. His voice carried an undeniable authority that instantly silenced everyone.

"Gentlemen, the royal family and His Majesty need you. The time has come to show your loyalty to Rune," he said to the people. "You will go to Backlund to work for the King."

Soldiers nearby were building a pontoon bridge to connect the merchant ships to the warships. It seemed they intended to have these people board the warships as well and transfer them away.

"But we want to go home."

Among the passengers, someone boldly spoke up.

Is this your shared wish?

Vanster Nelson asked with a smile, "Back to your home, back to Rune?"

With a hint of anticipation, everyone nodded. The next moment, Vanster reached out, as if grabbing something from thin air.

"brush!"

Something seemed to have been distorted and confused, imperceptibly. The passengers' eyes became hazy, and they obediently followed the soldiers' instructions to board the warship, where they were guarded in the lower cabins along with the pirates.

—The “Distortion” of the “Chaos Mentor”. Vanster twisted everyone’s thoughts, reinterpreting “going home” as “returning to Rune”, and boarding the warship would just take them back to Rune.

“Sink the ship, leave a few pirates behind, and say it was them who did it.”

Vanster Road.

Because of the Blood Monks, the three major churches intensified their surveillance of the royal family. Human trafficking within Rune was forced to cease, forcing them to turn to the sea, using various methods to abduct people and fill the population gap.

Of course, this was only one of the purposes.
"A ship is approaching!"

As Vanster pondered this to himself, he suddenly heard the soldiers shouting, "They've raised their black flag and are charging this way! They're pirates!"

pirate?

Is it a move aimed at the Navy by raising the black flag?
When Vanster heard this, he almost laughed.

Not to mention that there are two extraordinary individuals here, myself and the lieutenant colonel, just the warship's powerful guns and steam power are not something ordinary pirates can handle. Are these pirates crazy?
Looking up, I saw three ships sailing towards me in the distance, with a black flag fluttering in the wind atop the mast of the lead ship.

With such audacity, is he a notorious pirate at sea?
After arriving at sea, Vanster did his research. He carefully examined the paint scheme of the lead sail, and the blood-red sail did not belong to the flagship of any of the great pirates he had heard of before.

There's not much to say about that; they're probably some bewitched pirates who've gone mad and are trying to attack.

"Lieutenant Colonel Lyon."

He turned to the warship captain beside him and said, "The rest is up to you."

Dealing with a group of pirates wouldn't warrant the intervention of someone as extraordinary as him.

"I see."

The lieutenant colonel answered in a deep voice, and only then did he finally reveal a hint of disgust before striding back to his ship. As a navy that had originally been independent and autonomous, now having to take orders from the other side, he naturally harbored resentment.

Vanster pretended not to see and followed behind onto the warship.

Under the command of the lieutenant colonel, the ship quickly began to change course, and amidst the metallic clang of the cannons being adjusted, it aimed its cannons at the oncoming pirate ship.

"Woo——"

The engine room spewed out a large amount of white steam, propelling the warship toward the three pirate ships. The pirates, however, were quite audacious; instead of fleeing, they simply sailed head-on towards it!
"Humph."

Inside the captain's cabin, Lieutenant Commander Lyon watched the pirate ship gradually become clearer as it approached, estimated the distance between the two sides, and gave the order, "Fire."

"boom!"

The solid shell accelerated inside the barrel, eventually blasting out with tremendous energy, crossing the sea and creating a waterspout in front of the "Hind".

The fight is really about to begin!

Splashed by the falling seawater, Philia, clutching the cannonball, stared in disbelief at the warship that was pressing down on her.

(End of this chapter)