"No need to get your hands wet?" Captain Tieye retorted: "The first lesson every naval officer learns on deck is that 'as long as you're on the ship, it's impossible not to get your clothes wet,' let alone your hands."
"But getting your hands wet is better than soaking your entire body," De Bal responded with calm dignity, "isn't it?"
Wetter Pisani and Lorenzo Tieye both turned their gaze to the admiral.
Martino Dandolo is already sixty-four years old this year.
When he first stepped onto a deck, the Vinea Republic did not yet exist, the Sea Blue People were engaged in fierce battles with the Nasriya people, mercenaries formed the backbone of the army, and the tedious city-state wars seemed never-ending.
At that time, had anyone claimed, "The city-states openly and covertly struggling today will eventually be unified into a new nation," they would have been ridiculed.
Unlike generals on land, few naval commanders live to the age of Martino Dandolo.
