Lucien stood up, "Before we begin, I would seek permission to you all, to break the decorum of the Onyx Gallery just this once and allow my adjutant, Rena Tharford, to assist me in this presentation. I could not have prepared this in such a short time without her. So…"
Lorian had no time to waste, so he signaled Lucien to bring her in. Rena entered and quickly bowed to everyone. Then, with Lucien's permission, she stepped up to the large stone table in the center of the hall. She unrolled a large, handwritten map of the Western Sea and weighed down the corners with heavy iron daggers. The room went silent; everyone was ready to learn about the true face of the enemy.
"My Lord," Lucien began in his steady but grim voice, "Rena and I have compared every fact, figure, and detail from the last two hours of breaking down the statements from the eight prisoners. What we found is…. something much much bigger…. in scale; than we could have imagined. It completely rewrites everything we thought we knew about the Red Sails."
He tapped a finger on the center of the map, "First of all, the Red Sails are not led by a council, nor are they led by a man. For years, we believed their leader was an enigmatic man, or a rotating group of captains. We were wrong. The undisputed ruler of the entire syndicate is a woman. Her name is Elina Redhair, known to her people as the Pirate Empress."
A sharp murmur rippled through the High Council. Admiral Vorlag shifted uncomfortably in his bandages, his one visible eye was widening as if it would pop out soon.
"Years ago, before they were the Red Sail Pirates," Lucien continued, "they were the Redhair pirates- just another small, ordinary gang. They were nothing special, just common sea rats trying to survive. But then, everything changed. A noble from the mainland arrived and joined them. Our prisoners do not know his name or his face; they only know he was an outsider with deep pockets and a highborn accent. This noble married Elina Redhair, and that is when the nightmare began."
Lucien looked directly at Lorian. Lorian kept his face perfectly calm, but his mind was racing. An outsider noble. Who?
"Rumor is, the noble brought three things to the table," Lucien explained, "Brilliant military strategy, massive amounts of gold, and some strange, advanced technology that the common sailors didn't understand. With his guidance, the Redhair pirates started a campaign of absolute assimilation. They targeted small pirate crews first, giving them a choice- join or die. Once they absorbed the small ones, they used their combined strength to crush and absorb the larger fleets."
"Basically, it snowballed." Lorian commented.
Lucien nodded in agreement, and resumed, "Within a decade, they became the undisputed rulers of the Western Sea. They took the name the Red Sail Syndicate to hide their true origins, feigning incompetence to keep regional navies like ours completely blind. And once the job was done, this mysterious noble vanished, leaving the empire in his wife's hands. However, rumor is, he had returned not alone but with their child along with him!"
Lucien took a deep breath, his expression hardened further, "That brings us to the present crisis. According to the prisoners, few days ago, another mainland outsider had arrived at the Queen's secret island stronghold. Again, the common sailors don't know his identity. But the moment he spoke with the Queen, Elina Redhair made a sudden, shocking decision- she ordered the entire armada to launch a full-scale invasion to capture Veridia once and for all."
Lorian clenched his fist tightly under the table. Another noble? Who? Arihan Aghaz? Or someone else?
"This decision almost broke the syndicate," Lucien said, "Many of the High Pirate Lords and senior captains fiercely opposed the plan. They argued that they are pirates, not conquerors. Capturing cities and holding territory is not their strength. They were perfectly happy fleecing trade routes, looting treasure ships, and extorting protection money from trading companies. They didn't want to rule a kingdom, let alone fight a real war with a kingdom. But Elina Redhair did not tolerate this insubordination. She did not argue. She ruthlessly executed every single captain who spoke against her, hung their bodies from the rigging, and forced the entire armada to sail."
Admiral Vorlag was getting restless, "Enough with the history lessons! Our problem at hand doesn't change depending on the gender of their leader or the nature of their leadership. We can have history lessons when the present crisis is over!"
"Lucien," Lorian said in a firm and commanding voice, "Give us the exact numbers. The pirates who are fighting us right now- is it really just a fraction of the real armada? If yes, what is the true scale of the armada we are facing?"
Lucien picked up a piece of charcoal and quickly wrote two figures directly onto the wooden border of the map- 280 and 21,000.
"What do they mean?" Gravil asked in a cold voice.
"According to the cross-examinations, the total strength of the Red Sail Syndicate is roughly 280 warships and over 21,000 battle-hardened men."
"Any further details?" Vorlag asked, his fist clenching.
Lucien had a "now-you're-asking" expression written all over his face. He commented, "They divide this force into three distinct operational fleets to manage their oceanic empire while keeping their true numbers hidden from the world.
"First is The Crimson Tide, the Home Fleet. This is their core. Roughly 140 ships based in their secret, heavily fortified island strongholds deep in uncharted waters. They guard the syndicate's wealth, hoard their food supplies, and protect their main shipyards.
Then there is the raider force, The Ghost Fleet. About 80 ships scattered across the world's trade routes. They intentionally act like small-time, disorganized pests to keep regional navies complacent and distracted. Their job is simple- loot, harass, and collect protection money from traders.
And finally, there is The Iron Vanguard. A specialized fleet of 60 ships composed of their heaviest vessels and elite shock troops. This is the detachment currently attacking us."
Vorlag stared at the numbers and pressed on, "Have you enquired further? Can you break down the ship types and the crew math? I want to know exactly what kind of teeth those sea scums have."
Lucien nodded, "Of course. After all, it was our Lord who asked for these specific details in the first place. He is too meticulous- we know that by now!" He continued, "The syndicate's entire naval force relies on three types of ships- Caravels, Brigs, and Carracks. In that sense, they are no different from any traditional navy or pirate group.
Their core strength is a fleet of 200 Caravels. These are their core strikers. Each caravel carries about 70 men, including sailors, oarsmen, and archers. That makes 14,000 men.
Then there is the staple ship for any pirate gang, the Brigs. The pirates have 65 of them. These brigs are night raiders and stealth boarding specialists. Each brig carries 45 highly aggressive fighters. That equals 2,925 men.
However, interestingly, unlike most other pirates, they have a good number of Heavy Carracks- 15 to be precise, though most of them are stolen. These are their dreadnoughts, heavy artillery ships that they captured from broken regional navies over the years. Each one is packed with 150 to 200 heavy shock troops. That adds another 2,500 men."
Lucien paused to take a breath, then resumed, "When you add up the sailors, the raiders, and about 1,500 logistics workers, shipwrights, and shore guards on their islands, Elina Redhair commands a total standing army of 21,000 men."
Lucien paused, letting the heavy numbers sink into the minds of the council. Theron Valerius shifted in his seat, "What do you know about their internal organization?" he asked.
Lucien replied, turning his gaze toward Vorlag, "I was going to tell you that earlier, but I was told it wasn't important!"
Lorian raised his voice in annoyance, "We are in the middle of a life-and-death situation! This is no time for ego battles! And Admiral Vorlag, remember one thing…" He turned his gaze sharply toward Vorlag, "Information is one of the most valuable weapons you can have against an enemy. The difference in the amount of information two armies have about each other can be the single deciding factor in a war."
"And…" Rena Tharford opened her mouth, but quickly remembered her station and checked herself.
Lorian looked at her and ordered in a grim tone, "Speak!"
The girl gulped and nodded, "We are against an enemy that overwhelms us in numbers. Fighting them directly is just a war of attrition- which is exactly what the enemy is doing to our navy right now, chipping away our strength slowly but surely. When they destroy our navy and make landfall, they will apply the same tactics to our land forces. They will chip away our smaller numbers with their overwhelming force. The only thing we can do is either find a strategic weakness in their ranks, or single out their leadership and obliterate them."
Vorlag frowned, "Cut off the head of the snake, and the snake dies! This is preliminary textbook military strategy that even a grunt knows! You think I don't know that, girl?"
Lorian was getting quite irritated at this point. He wanted to humble the veteran admiral a bit and decided to bring up a lesson, "Suppose there is a multi-headed snake. No matter how many times you cut off its head, a new head grows back to take its place. How are you going to kill it? Is there a strategy written for that in your military textbooks?"
Vorlag was shocked and couldn't find a single word to reply. Nobody could.
Lorian resumed, "Only if you had the proper information would you know that burning down the severed neck to cauterize the cut stops any new head from growing, killing the beast! So, we need every single detail we can get about the enemy to end their menace once and for all."
Vorlag lowered his head, "Got it, my Lord. Thank you for the guidance."
Lorian nodded, "It's okay." He signaled Lucien to continue.
Lucien nodded and pointed to a diagram Rena had drawn of their leadership hierarchy.
"The organizational structure seems to be highly functional," Lucien said, "At the top sits Queen Elina. Beneath her is the Iron Council, made up of six High Pirate Lords. The most important among them is a woman named Madam Kirin Von, the Asset Master. She doesn't sail anymore; she just manages the money from their secret capital. She is the one who runs the black market, launders stolen cargo, buys off corrupt politicians in the Seven Cities, and manages the massive food supply chain. Oh, and the unmanned fireships that blasted our harbor yesterday morning- that was her idea.
Anyway, the invasion force at our doorstep is split between two commanders hand-picked by the Queen.
First is Captain Varen Brock, also called the Leviathan. He commands the heavy assault ships and captains a stolen heavy Carrack called The Bloodhound. He is a brute who relies on raw power, heavy boarding actions, and breaking the enemy's spirit through brutal public executions.
Second is Captain Santor Thorne, called the Whisperer. He commands the faster, agile Caravels and Brigs. He is younger, highly deceptive, and a tactical pragmatist. He is the mastermind behind the wind-shifting fire arrow attacks and the fake retreats that outmaneuvered our fleet during the day. Rena believes he is the one currently trying to outsmart Vespera Thal."
Lucien stepped back from the table, folding his hands behind his back.
"My Lords, that is the enemy. We are currently holding off 39 remaining ships under Brock and Thorne. But if they clear the harbor, the rest of those 21,000 men and over two hundred ships are waiting to sail in and swallow Veridia whole."