On August 20, Hadava arrived at his destination—Toulon.
The port was relatively small, with a population of only a little over a thousand residents.
Not long ago, the Duke of Provence had received orders from the Emperor. He dispatched one thousand soldiers and three thousand laborers to construct stone walls, dry docks, warehouses, and other essential infrastructure in Toulon.
At the same time, large construction projects were underway on the cliffs flanking the harbor. Fortresses and large trebuchets were planned to seal off the entrance to Toulon Bay and prevent surprise attacks from the sea.
After surveying the surrounding terrain, Hadava lavishly praised the Naval Ministry's foresight. The location's natural advantages made it arguably the finest military harbor in all of Francia.
After resting for more than a week, Hadava received news from Marseille.
More than twenty pirate vessels had reportedly been spotted near the mouth of the Rhône, and reinforcements were requested.
This was the Royal Navy's first operation in the western Mediterranean, and Hadava did not underestimate the enemy.
He left behind two twin-masted warships that were in poor condition, then set out with the remainder of the fleet toward the reported location.
Along the way, coastal outposts communicated with the fleet through flag signals, relaying the pirates' movements and helping Hadava maintain the pursuit.
On August 30, the fleet caught up with the pirates off the coast near Montpellier.
Because the pirate vessels were loaded with plunder, they sailed slowly. No matter how desperately their crews rowed, they could not escape the Royal Navy's pursuit.
"Ram them! Crush them!"
The three-masted warships possessed large and sturdy hulls.
Hadava personally took the helm, leaving the rest of the fleet behind as he drove his flagship forward at maximum speed toward the pirate ships.
Before long, the Blue Parrot slammed its bow into the side of one of the pirate vessels.
The impact produced a sickening groan of splintering wood.
The pirate ship's fragile hull shattered like an eggshell. Water rushed through the massive breach, and the vessel began to sink.
Terrified pirates screamed and leaped into the sea. Some were dragged into the whirlpool created by the sinking ship, while others managed to escape.
"Loose arrows!"
The marines fired their crossbows downward at the swimmers.
To Hadava's surprise, many of the curses and screams were in Frankish.
"Franks?"
He scratched his head in confusion before quickly realizing the answer.
Large numbers of Frankish refugees had fled to northern Italy. Reduced to poverty, many had naturally turned to piracy.
At that moment, two nearby pirate ships became enraged.
Instead of retreating, they took advantage of a faint crosswind and rowed furiously toward the Blue Parrot.
Dozens of grappling hooks flew through the air and latched onto the flagship's rails. Scores of pirates began climbing the ropes, attempting to seize the ship through boarding combat.
On deck, twenty marines clad in standard brigandine armor efficiently slaughtered the boarding parties.
The Frankish assault crashed against them like waves against a cliff and quickly lost momentum.
When the rest of the warships joined the battle, the surviving pirates broke.
Some scrambled back onto their vessels, while others threw themselves directly into the sea.
Hadava signaled the fleet.
"Each ship pursue independently!"
He guided the Blue Parrot after the largest pirate vessel and watched as its crew frantically threw overboard sacks of grain, barrels of wine, and all manner of cargo.
Gradually, the pirate ship gained speed.
The Frankish rowers strained themselves to exhaustion and slowly pulled beyond the range of the Blue Parrot's ballistae.
Hadava still refused to give up.
He continued the pursuit, sailing eastward for an entire day and night until a large landmass appeared ahead.
Consulting his charts and estimating his route, Hadava concluded that he had reached Corsica.
He carefully navigated the Blue Parrot through the coastal waters.
Two hours later, the ship rounded the island's southwestern shore and spotted a harbor in the distance.
Hadava intended to avoid it, but a small sailing vessel emerged from the port and headed directly toward him.
As the vessel drew closer, Hadava recognized the clothing of its crew.
"Moorish attire? They actually have a base on Corsica?"
Soon, a middle-aged Moor boarded the Blue Parrot and questioned the Vikings about their intentions.
Hadava gave the official answer.
"We are suppressing pirates and maintaining order along the coast of Provence."
"We haven't attacked Provence in over a year. You should be looking for other pirate bands—or the Franks."
The Moor gestured toward Corsica and claimed that his group was occupied with affairs on land.
"How goes the fighting?"
Hoping to gather intelligence, Hadava produced a treasured bottle of whisky from his cabin and plied the man with drinks until he was half drunk.
In return, he obtained a collection of rumors and information of uncertain reliability.
During Charlemagne's reign, Corsica had supposedly been incorporated into the Frankish Empire.
In reality, however, the island remained extremely fragmented.
For the past half century, pirates from Iberia and North Africa had repeatedly raided Corsican shores.
Their objectives were simple: seize valuables and supplies, and capture inhabitants to sell as slaves.
Faced with these threats, many Corsicans abandoned the coastal plains and retreated into the mountainous interior.
As a result, Moorish pirates successfully established footholds along the coast and gradually expanded inland.
"How about this—we form an alliance. We conquer Corsica completely, then raid Pisa, Rome, and other cities. We'll all grow rich together."
The Moorish leader extended an invitation.
Hadava gave no response.
Moorish pirates were the most active maritime threat in the Mediterranean.
If they were allowed to seize Corsica, the duchies of Provence and Toulouse would never know peace.
Leaving Corsica behind, the Blue Parrot circled around neighboring Sardinia.
There they were fortunate enough to capture a fishing boat and obtain information from the fishermen.
Nominally, Sardinia belonged to the Eastern Roman Empire.
In practice, however, four local powers dominated the island.
Facing constant Moorish threats, they had constructed watchtowers and fortifications along the coast and maintained small patrol fleets.
As a result, Sardinia's situation was somewhat better than Corsica's.
In September, Hadava returned to Toulon and learned the final results of the operation.
The fleet had sunk two pirate vessels, captured five, and taken 260 Frankish prisoners.
"Well done. We may be newcomers here, but we cannot afford to disgrace the Royal Navy!"
Over the following months, the Mediterranean Fleet began exploring the western Mediterranean, recording detailed charts and hydrographic information.
Based on their observations, Hadava discovered an amusing fact.
More than twenty years earlier, Bjorn had sailed into the Mediterranean aboard longships and later returned to Britain boasting that he had sacked Rome.
After investigating the matter, the fleet concluded that Bjorn had undoubtedly exaggerated.
The city he most likely plundered had been Pisa.
In late September, the exploration squadron reached the southern tip of Italy.
Curiously, scattered lateen-rigged vessels roamed the surrounding waters, and from time to time they even spotted oared warships flying Eastern Roman banners.
"Their fleets are gathering together. Is a major naval battle about to break out?"
Unwilling to miss such an important event, Hadava lingered in the area for half a day.
From local fishermen, he learned that the focal point of the conflict lay at Syracuse, the major city on the eastern side of the island.
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