Chapter 4791 — Honorary Vice-Captain

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"Be that as it may, on behalf of everyone aboard this ship, I must thank you properly for saving our lives, Young Hero Lin. Without you, none of us would be standing here safe and sound."

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The sight left everyone dumbstruck, every face wearing the look of one who had seen a ghost. This captain had clearly meant to step in for Ren Zhongyuan and put Wei Zhao in his place—how had the story turned into this?

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And what was this about thanking Wei Zhao on behalf of all of them for saving their lives? What exactly had happened just now?

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The crowd was utterly baffled, and Ren Zhongyuan gaped at Oda Ba, so astonished that he nearly jumped out to demand an explanation—except that before he could open his mouth, a stern look from his Uncle Oda silenced him into sulking retreat.

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"No need. We are all on the same ship; I did it only to save myself," Wei Zhao said with a wave of his hand. Truthfully, had there been any other way to guarantee the safety of Ning Xuefei and the others, then given Oda Ba's conduct up to now, he might not have been so willing to step forward and turn the tide.

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Even if Wei Zhao himself had been willing, Gui Dongxi might not have been so diligent about helping. After all, the foe on the other side was a Sea Dragon with ties of kinship to him. Who in blazes would volunteer to help humans fight their own relatives—even if it was a distant branch of the family that barely counted, they still shared the character "dragon," didn't they?

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"Young Hero Lin is too modest. Whatever the case, I must thank you properly," Oda Ba said, still every inch the picture of sincerity. "I am well aware that a man of your ability is far too good to serve as a mere danger lookout, so I now invite you, in the name of the captain, to join my warship. With your seamanship, I cannot promise anything else, but a vice-captain's post in the future—that I can promise you!"

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An uproar swept the room. The whole affair was growing more incomprehensible by the moment. Not only had Oda Ba stopped scheming against Wei Zhao, he had turned around to court him, bending his own dignity to honor the worthy—and had even dangled a post as lofty as vice-captain!

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The onlookers were merely enjoying the spectacle, but Ren Zhongyuan's jaw had practically dropped off his face. Staring in disbelief at the utterly transformed Oda Ba, he wondered: just what was Uncle Oda playing at?

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What he did not know was that Oda Ba's earlier willingness to help him deal with Wei Zhao had been purely out of respect for his father. But after last night's battle, the value Wei Zhao had displayed far exceeded his father's. If he did not scramble to change course now, that would prove only that Oda Ba was a fool.

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To a man like Oda Ba who had spent his life upon the sea, a navigator of extraordinary talent was worth more than anything else in the world—a seventh-rank alchemist or the like could not even compare. This was a navigational ace who could let him sail the seas free of all worry!

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Oda Ba's invitation moved even Wei Zhao. A vice-captain's post was essentially on par with that of a vice-director of the East Continent Academy. To win him over, the man was willing to pay a bloody price.

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Yet moved as he was, Wei Zhao had never harbored any such ambitions, and so he would not accept this sudden invitation. He shook his head mildly. "I am sorry. My ambitions do not lie there. The captain had best seek someone else."

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Oda Ba's expression stiffened at once. Even if the other man was the promising son-in-law of West Island, he was, as of now, only a mid-Nascent Soul expert. Offering a high post like vice-captain was sincerity enough—and yet it had been refused without a moment's hesitation. Truly, men of caliber were not so easily summoned.

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"In that case, I shall not force the matter," Oda Ba said with a bitter smile. Disappointed as he was, he knew that someone like Wei Zhao had to be befriended by every means possible; perhaps a sliver of a chance would remain in the future. To keep offending him would only earn him an unimaginably formidable enemy.

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Given Wei Zhao's astonishing performance in last night's battle, Oda Ba could not help but begin to doubt the young man's background. Of one thing at least he was certain: this was no simple son-in-law of West Island and disciple of North Island. Behind him there must stand a force far stronger and more fearsome!

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Otherwise, it would have been utterly impossible for him to take up the Starfall Formation so adeptly from the very start—such a thing was hard to come by on either West Island or North Island.

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Still, Oda Ba was not one to give up so easily. He tried again. "This ship has been badly crippled this time. Without a strong hand at the helm, greater chaos may well erupt along the way. So I have a presumptuous request—I hope you will give it serious consideration."

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"Oh? Speak freely," Wei Zhao said with a slight frown. His view of the man had changed a good deal by now; at least he no longer loathed him as before. If the request was not excessive, granting it would not be much trouble. After all, he and his companions were still aboard this warship—if something went wrong, they would inevitably suffer along with it.

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"I would like to invite Young Hero Lin to take control of this ship alongside me. Rest assured, there will be no repeat of that blunder from before. Every crew member aboard will follow each of your orders to the letter. Might I trouble Young Hero Lin for his help?" Oda Ba paused, then added, "Of course, this calls for a proper title, and an honorary vice-captain's post should serve nicely. Rest assured, it will not interfere with anything else you wish to do. You may leave whenever you like, no strings attached."

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"Take control of the warship alongside you?" Wei Zhao's eyes lit up. An honorary vice-captaincy meant nothing to him, but the chance to command an ancient warship of this scale—that interested him greatly!

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Even without a sailor's dream of roaming the seas, any man is instinctively drawn to such things—guns and cannons, chariots and horses, and above all a super-class warship that embodied ultimate military might. It was written into the bones, and Wei Zhao was no exception.

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Wei Zhao, who had begun as an assassin, had flown planes and fired cannons in the secular world—but he had never commanded a warship! And especially after personally operating a killing formation on the level of the Starfall Formation, truth be told, he had developed rather a fondness for it that he was loath to let go!

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Even though at the time he had only placed the pieces at Gui Dongxi's direction, to duel through the Starfall Formation against a maritime overlord of the Sea Dragon's caliber and even send it fleeing in panic—that feeling was utterly intoxicating beyond compare, impossible to tear himself away from.

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If only I had a super-class warship like this one! That was the first thought in Wei Zhao's mind when he walked out of the command room. Of course, it was only wishful thinking—but now that the chance to command an ancient warship had come again, he would certainly not let it slip by. Once this chance passed, there would be no second one.