--on the open seas--

.

The calm waters rushed against the corners of the ships that were currently docking below.

On the seas, all 21 ships had docked in formation.

And turn by turn, many jumped into the water for no more than 3 minutes before getting yanked back up.

On a ship, freshwater in barrels was used for cooking and drinking.

And as required, at least once in 2 weeks, the men had to take their baths by diving into the seas.

Of course, they didn't stay too long in the waters because firstly, salt was very drying to the skin.

And accidentally taking it in could make a man sick, especially on the seas.

Second, there might be dangerous and deadly sea creatures around.

That said, because there were many people on board, only a few could take their bath now, and next week, another batch would take their bath.

Just like that, the selected batch of people jumped in for a quick rinse, and that was that.

And as the crew continued their biweekly rinse, their 'Primate' in charge of all 21 Captains that led the ships was currently having a meeting with his Captains.

And who were these people?

Well, they were the group that the Temple of Dragmus appointed to claim Baymard in the name of the temple.

The various elders won the auction of several properties months back, and their team had been dispatched to conquer Baymard.

With the number of ships and people present, they were very confident about their victory.

And who was their commander?

They had brought 150,000 people for the battle against a puny empire.

It sounded more like overkill to them because they even doubted if that little empire that overly relied on Carona.

But they weren't complaining.

They had to come out victorious!

.

As for their Primate, he was the one in charge of this operation.

One could say Primate was more like a rank or title that was bestowed on some people by the temple.

It was very similar to a Bishop rank or title.

And Primate Jimosen the 3rd had all power and authority to bring glory and honour to the temple.

Funny enough, when they left the shores sometime in August, the Baymardian soldiers arrived a few days after them.

They were heading to Baymard to wreak havoc, but little did they know that their bases would be no more by the time they even reached Baymard.

"Primate Jimosen, we are advancing just as planned."

"Good.

In this way, we will be able to reach Selo village in the west of Carona.

There we will wait for the Primate Linvor and his men from Deiferus.

I heard that he should be bringing 27 more ships, so in total, we might be hitting Baymard hard with over 300,000 men.

They won't stand a chance."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

That tiny place wouldn't be able to survive after this.

As for why they couldn't just head on to Baymard first, that was because the leaders from each camp and each empire wanted things to be fair.

Who knew if those who went first would rob them?

Even though they all worshipped the same temple leader, each base wanted more benefits and would hate to get cheats out.

So after the bidding war, they all decided to send their captains to ensure they got what they deserved.

And for all bases, their Caronians were placed under Primates, who were neutral and weren't under any bases since they worked directly with the leader.

The ships and Captains leaving Yodan were under one Primate, while those leaving Deiferus were under another.

They agreed to meet up and arrive at Baymard at the same time to ensure no cheating or stealing of goods took place.

More still, Primates were here to ensure that the bases didn't get their hands on whatever was locked up in the lower regions.

Their leader would have to be informed of the findings first before anything there could be touched.

They had planned and divided the Baymard to its last bits, which undoubtedly proved how overly confident they were about their victory.

.

As for the village that they would stay in, it was very far away from the coastal city that had the Trans Bay-Caronian ports.

Bringing this many people would hint others about their movements, and they didn't want the enemy to prepare against them.

So they chose to take over a tiny village West of Carona and wait for the other ships to join them.

One of the men couldn't help but voice his opinion on this matter.

"Primate, I still think that we should've stayed in another place rather than that village.

Because of its location, it's famous for having pirates over there.

It's the perfect stopping point for those loathsome fellows.

So I'm afraid that if we stay there, we might end up wasting our time and effort fighting those bastards."

Jimosen looked at the Captain and rubbed his chin playfully.

"Hmm.

You do have a point.

After all, we already have a terrible history with those lowlifes who call themselves pirates.

But it's too late to change our plans now since the other Primate will be heading towards the village.

That said, I see your worries.

We might spend several weeks waiting for the other ships to reunite with us.

So during this time, we might be battling there nonstop.

But why should we be afraid?

We have the temple's blessings with us.

So nothing will happen."

Everyone's eyes widened as they looked at the fat blue ruby ring on their Primate's finger.

.

"Yes, this was given by the leader as a guarantee of our victory through his blessings.

With this, no one will be able to stand in our way."

Everyone was very excited and filled with awe.

"As expected of the leader!

He is kind through and through."

"I can't believe he gave us the famous ring of victory that was said to have been a spiritual artifact that led to our victory since our temple's creation."

"That's right.

This ring is the reason why we've never lost any major battles.

So with it here, we will definitely conquer Baymard."

"Our Leader is great!"

"Our Leader is great!"

"Our leader is great!"

(^_^)