World Development System 162 93. Shannon's Warning.

Erin was in a low mood because of all the men they lost. However he still headed to the palace to meet Duke Fjord,
As he entered the meeting hall, Duke Fjord greeted him cheerfully.
An enthusiastic Duke Fjord greeted Erin and welcomed him as they got to the main topic, "Vice-admiral Erin, you did quite a good job in acquiring those ships in the previous operation. Even your Master had quite a hard time against those ballistas."

Erin accepted the praise and spoke politely, "Thank you, Milord, it would not have been possible without master's help and his precautions when he made the plans for the raid. This plan was specially crafted by Master as he didn't want to take any chances. I was only there to execute the already made plans. So I think this victory goes to Master and his plans. Additionally, I lost a lot of men in my operation. So I don't think I executed them perfectly."

Fjord furrowed his brows a bit but he kept his tact and agreed with Erin, "Yes Indeed, Shannon's experience comes in handy as he never takes any chances when he makes an Ambush and this time was the most challenging raid. He also groomed a capable admiral for our future as you were able to command the whole fleet according to your own judgment when you guys raided them. So this shows the results and grooming of Admiral Shannon. It was not your fault that you lost a lot of your men in your operation. It was to be expected that we would lose quite an amount of our men after Admiral Shannon's operation. So we can't hope of the impossible from you."
Fjord continued with rage as he remembered about Shannon's battle and the humiliation they faced, "This time we will take our revenge using those same dreaded ballistas which he used against us in our last battle. though imperfect they might be, they will still come in handy for us the next time. We also have the advantage of numbers so we are in a good position."
One of the ministers greeted Erin and gave the heartfelt praise before he spoke, "Lord Erin, We already got news about you earlier so we have already hired all the craftsmen in the domain to replicate this weapon. Those 10 ballistas will come in handy for our future operations and making of the prototype as well. Making the Projectiles of those ballistae would be easier for us on the other hand."
Duke nodded as he dreamt of conquering North-frontier Domain, "This time, our 5000 men will be avenged by raising his whole city in the ground that would be laid in ashes. He will regret the day he offended the laguna family. I have already had enough of his antics with that bullshit newspaper slandering me every fucking day with his propaganda."

Erin was a bit confused about newspapers of Count Joh but he still agreed and spoke, "Yes Milord, this humiliation to my master will be avenged in kind. The very fact that Count John employs pirates in his navy is a stain to our aristocratic world. This thuggery can't be tolerated at all. Now I have no doubt that this count killed Lord Evan in his anger and rage because he targeted a mere slave of his."

Jonas added as he saw the chance and gave his opinions, "Yes, this time we will move against them politically as well as militarily. We will not stop our raids on the ships going north or south. We will make sure that the eastern seas will be a graveyard for any ship traveling from here. We will continue our small raids, This time we are going to employ some mercenaries to do our dirty work. This time we will make it a war of attritions and divide our forces instead of concentrating them."
Duke fjord added with a cunning smile, "Yes! Lets see how he handles the mercenaries who will create havoc in his domain. This time I have already 4 mercenary groups, 2 of which were already funded by us."

Jonas asked about an important matter, "Lord maybe we can contact prince hector and time our attack this time around. You know they are still waiting for our answer."

Fjord furrowed a bit but spoke decisively, "Okay, but we will continue with our operations. If they don't agree then they can piss off."

Watching all this drama, Admiral Shannon furrowed his brows as he thought that civilians should not be targetted intentionally for personal grudges.

After the meeting ended, Shannon and Erin headed to their training quarters.
Erin asked Shannon after they were alone with no ears prying, "Master, I felt you were being somehow outlined during the last meeting. Is everything going well?"
Shannon gave a weak smile as he explained, "Well, they are cautious about it. I guess it is because of my differences with Grim and Darius. This is the reason why they are targeting me intentionally."
Erin furrowed his brows as he heard about them, "Grim and Darius? Are the newspapers that are spreading those messages about Grim and Darius reporting truthfully? Are they really correct?"
Shannon spoke with some anger in his tone, "Yes, My last mission also failed because of their selfishness when they joined the operation and overrode my orders. We would have lost much fewer men if they hadn't disrupted the whole order fleet. You should remain careful of both of them. Also don't get emotionally involved in this war just because I lost a war because you will be used like a pawn if you do so. This is also one of the reasons why I want you to always remain in control of your emotions and think with a calm head when dealing with the political circles. I have been a pawn a lot of times because I didn't understand politics when I was young. This time I have also decided not to chase after my men who have decided to leave the Navy. They certainly felt cheated because of previous betrayal. I guess I can't express this opinion publicly. However, I won't be leaving this war. Since I had joined and made my oath to laguna house I will be battling till my last breath and die with honor in this war."

Erin nodded as he got to knew about other events, "Okay, as you say, master, I never expected lord Grim and Darius to desert a battlefield. I was certainly wrong about them. I will consider your words seriously and remain cautious with them."
Shannon sighed and spoke, "It is Jonas which you should be more cautious as he is the one who strategizes for Grim. This time I think the war will be most brutal in our current century as that is a lot more mysterious and unpredictable. So you got the gist of it."
"Okay."
"Come, lets start your training."

Erin murmured as he heard his master, "I guess I need to see those newspapers from now on to hear about other news as well. And It seems I have consider master Warning very carefully."

Chapter end