Novel Full Chapter 578 - 346: Plunder and Growth
Chapter 578: Chapter 346: Plunder and Growth
The hull swayed slightly as the mast and iron cable occasionally clanged.
A few pirates squatted on the deck, repairing cracks, their tools clanging against the planks, carrying the scent of damp and salt.
The Mad King’s latest order was to take a detour to the southern route, intercept a merchant fleet from the Green Tide Guild, seize the designated cargo and people, and then deliver them to his flagship deep at sea.
Bag was the captain of this small team, but he had no idea what the cargo was. It was sealed so tightly that even they hadn’t caught a glimpse.
Some crew members said it was an alchemical product that could ignite the entire sea. Others claimed it was an offering the Mad King intended to present to some god of the old religion.
No one cared about the truth; it was merely seasoning for their dull days at sea.
The fact was that they had hijacked a Green Tide Guild ship, yet received no loot.
Moreover, a third of their fleet was lost in the attack, with even the first mate falling in that wave.
Now, thirty bodies of their brothers lay in the waters of Breaker Bay, traded for a pile of bottles, jars, and a few captives.
Bag sat in the cabin, picking fish bones from his teeth while slowly chewing:
“Thirty brothers traded for a bunch of ghostly trinkets in iron boxes and a few men—not even half a woman. The Mad King might want treasure, but we don’t even have half a barrel of rum.”
After speaking, he kicked out in frustration, causing a barrel to topple over, spilling the rum mixed with the scent of blood into the seams of the planks. The pirate crew quickly moved to set it upright.
“Boss is right.” A nearby pirate leaned against the barrel, swinging a flask, his tongue slightly slurred.
“Thirty brothers drowned in that godforsaken place for nothing. The Mad King is truly insane. Just finished with the Empire and dared to provoke the Federation; does he not fear getting bitten off?”
“Hmph, it’s not the first time.” A scar-covered helmsman beside him used his teeth to bite off a cork, downing a large gulp.
“The Mad King wants to stuff the entire ocean into his pants but has no understanding of those alchemical things. We lost people and still don’t know what exactly we transported.”
“Maybe he knows.” The old ship’s doctor, sitting by the water hatch, spoke slowly, “We are simply not worthy to know.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, laughter erupted on deck.
“Not worthy, my ass?”
“Am I unworthy of taking a shit?”
“If the Mad King sends me to deliver those ghostly jars again, I’d rather tie a rock and jump into the sea!”
“Who knows? Maybe he really wants us to jump.”
“Hey, seriously, anyone know what’s inside those iron boxes? Could they be the Mad King’s own broken teeth?”
“It’s definitely not gold coins.”
“Then it has no value.”
As they shouted, someone propped a foot on the railing, looking out over the distant gray sea.
“I remember, on the way back after making a delivery last time,” began a young pirate, hesitant but speaking nonetheless, “we saw a rundown port at the edge of the frozen sea on the southern route. I wonder if it’s finished.”
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
“You’re sure it wasn’t a hallucination?”
“There was never a port there before.”
A pirate suddenly recalled, “Wasn’t it because we had to complete a mission that we held back and didn’t raid it?”
“Oh, oh. My hands were itching then, wanted to rush up and grab some women. But the mission took priority, so I just had to watch.” Bag, drunk, but remembered it too.
“Heh, heh, but isn’t this the way back now?” A pirate turned excitedly toward Bag, “Boss, this time, can’t we go in and take a look?”
“Brothers.” Bag leaned against the railing, his voice hoarse and drunk, “Haven’t forgotten, have we? Thirty brothers, and what do we bring back?
A belly full of seawater, a few broken jars, and the Mad King’s remark, ’Well done.’ Can’t come out this time and come back empty-handed, right?
Tonight, alter course, head that way. Whether it’s a new port or a ghost den, let’s go in and take a look. If they really dare receive goods, stockpile rum, and women…don’t blame us for being impolite.”
He shrugged his shoulders: “The rum is yours, the gold coins are mine, the silver coins everyone shares, and the women…grab them quickly.”
Amid laughter, he gritted his teeth, adding: “This trip, let’s scoop something for ourselves too.”
The crew erupted into cheering waves.
“Rum!”
“Women!”
“Silver coins!”
“Boss did good!”
“Mad King wants the jars, we want the beauties!”
Bag hummed under his breath, as if in response or perhaps cursing, “Empire’s new port? Perfect for the brothers’ feast.”
……
The sea fog was as thick as a sticky spider web, with the light barely reaching two steps ahead.
“Light sighted to the south!” Suddenly, a shout came from the top of the mast, the scout’s voice tinged with unconcealed excitement.
Upon hearing the cry, Bag flipped from the side of a barrel, slipped underfoot, and grabbed the mast to avoid falling.
He exhaled, his nostrils filled with the scent of rum: “Where is it?”
In the distance, a flicker of light danced in the fog, appearing and disappearing like a beckoning prostitute, drawing them in.
They approached slowly.
Most of the crew could only vaguely make out the outlines undulating in the fog, the swaying lights, some still wondering if it was the firewood of a fishing village.
“So close and no movement, it’s most likely empty.” A limping helmsman muttered.
“Bull, look at those warehouses in rows, calling it a fishing village?” Another shook his head, eyes fixed firmly on the glow in the fog.
Bag ignored them, lifting his old but polished brass telescope for a clearer view.
The lighthouse was sizable, the seawall extended straight into the sea, the warehouses neatly arranged along the shore, and there were indeed figures patrolling with torches atop the tower.