Chapter 47: Murder and Robbery [VIP]

When he woke up, the scenery outside the window had changed from the lush green Gola Mountains to the vast blue Lunt Ocean. The swaying rhythm of the boat caused by the waves made Xiao Yun, who was spending the night on a boat for the first time, almost fall when he stood up.

"Be careful, Master Claude Shaw."

Lance, the "Blue Lion" who once dominated the Lent Sea, leaned against the door frame and snorted disdainfully.

"Although it's a great honor for them to let us on board, the conditions in this room are terrible! For such a precious person like the young master..."

Monger complained unhappily as he returned to his room with the breakfast distributed by the crew.

As a former freelance mercenary, he could sleep peacefully even in an environment a hundred times worse than the one in front of him, but—

"This ship is a merchant ship carrying goods and slaves to Kukuchia. How could the captain possibly give up the good rooms to a bunch of wandering mercenaries and artists like us who just boarded the ship mid-journey? Unless you charter the ship, but that would reveal our identities and prevent us from sneaking into Kukuchia as originally planned."

"Actually, there's a way to keep your identity hidden while still allowing you to live in the captain's cabin, but you're definitely not going to want that."

Romila, with a cursed chain around her neck, gave an obscene smile.

"Thanks for the reminder. I'm starting to get used to the wobbling feeling."

Xiao Yun took the breakfast distributed by Mengge Yuzhong. It was a bowl of stewed clear soup with a few vegetables and two slices of bacon floating on the surface, and a piece of dry and hard bread with moldy surface and dead insects lying in the holes.

Others also came over to get breakfast.

Habier and Suna, who had covered their barbarian faces with hoods and lied that they were seriously ill when boarding the ship, and who had hidden in the room pretending to be mute after boarding the ship, took a look at the hard-to-swallow food, opened their bags at the same time, and took out handfuls of dried fruits and dried meat.

[These things are too disgusting. The Son of God should eat something delicious.]

"Thank you."

Xiao Yun took the dried fruits and meat and distributed them to others.

Even Romila got a share.

"Don't bother sharing my food. I'll go find the crew members to eat later."

"Can't!"

Xiao Yun said with a straight face: "You will cause trouble for us if you find the crew members to eat on the ship."

"Especially the young master."

Mengge emphasized, "They'll see you're so casual, they'll definitely think the young master can do it too... then..."

"All right."

Romila took the human food, which tasted like wax to him, with a sullen face. Her eyes were glued to the men in the room, occasionally glancing at the dirty and dilapidated room.

This place is more like a narrow space separated by wooden boards than a room. The wooden boards on all four sides are unpainted and covered with dirt, appearing pitch black. The messy sundries piled in the corner emit a rancid stench that is difficult to describe in words.

The bed was made very carelessly, with the sheets sewn from dirty old clothes and a greasy sheen on the surface. Rats, cockroaches and bedbugs could be seen crawling around on the bed day and night.

(So ​​disgusting…)

Xiao Yun frowned and thought.

If he had not had the noble mission of going to Kukuchia to rescue the various tribes of the jungle who were sold into slavery by the Black Earl, he would have wanted to turn around and leave the moment he entered the room.

"Anyway, everyone, just be patient and wait until Kukuchia arrives."

Xiao Yun pretended to be calm.

"Lance, you were once the renowned 'Blue Lion' of the Lunt Sea. Most people on this route know your appearance and that you were loaned to the Holy Duke by the 'Mercenary King.' To avoid revealing your whereabouts, Monger will be responsible for negotiating with the crew during the voyage."

"no problem."

Lance and Monger nodded in unison.

"Habi'er, Suna, this ship has transported the various tribes of the Jungle to Kukuchia for the Black Earl many times. The crew is familiar with the appearances of the various tribes of the Jungle. Please try not to wander around outside and cause unnecessary conflicts."

[All obey the orders of the "Son of God."]

"Romila—"

"I have a chain around my neck, so I must obey your orders. I will sleep with whoever you ask me to."

"Shut up!"

Xiao Yun glared at Romila and emphasized, "Remember, from now on, I am Claude Shaw, the bard who is going with you to the 'City of Joy' Kukuchia to make a fortune. Don't call me by the wrong name."

"I understand~"

Romila made a lewd expression, licked her finger, and said, "Master, although you have a perfect voice kissed by the god of music, in Kukuchia, bards usually don't make money by singing, but by... Of course, with your looks, even if you firmly refuse, men will still bid in public, vying for the right to spend the night with you."

"Cucuccia is indeed a lawless place, whether it's the red-light district or the arena."

Lance, once a legendary gladiator from Kukuchia, smiled bitterly.

…

…

The weather at sea is changeable. It is often sunny in the morning, but suddenly dark clouds gather and heavy rain falls at noon.

Fortunately, the ship Xiao Yun and his companions were on was a super large ship, a rare sight in this era, that could carry nearly 500 people. There were five layers of large sails on the ship, and hundreds of heavy oars extended from the bottom layer of the hull - these heavy oars were connected together by a sophisticated mechanism. Normally, only twenty bottom water oars were needed to rotate the giant shaft to lift and lower them in unison, cutting through the waves and sailing with the wind.

After sailing for three days in calm weather, a sudden wind started blowing on the sea.

Huge waves rolled around the ship, and everyone on the sea and the deck was soaked.

"Reef the sails! Reef the sails! Reef the sails quickly!"

Experience has taught him that

The sailors took off their shoes, climbed up the mast slidably, and lowered the sail.

The second mate rushed into Xiao Yun and the others' room, pointed at Mengge and the others, and said, "Follow me out!"

"Why?"

Munger, who was in charge of foreign affairs, refused to cooperate.

"What do you think?"

The second mate pointed outside: the sky was covered with dark clouds, huge white waves were higher than the layer, and heavy rain was pouring down like a bombardment, making crackling sounds on the top of the cabin.

"Such heavy rain, such huge waves! Now everyone on the boat is either on the deck pulling the sails or on the bottom to maintain the oars. You guys should not be idle either!"

["Son of the Holy One," what are these Ems talking about?]

Suna asked Xiao Yun in a low voice.

"They saw strong winds and waves outside and were worried about the boat getting in trouble, so they wanted us to go to the bottom and paddle."

As they spoke, the wind and waves outside became increasingly violent. The large ship that could accommodate 500 people was still swaying from side to side like a fallen leaf under the push of the huge waves. The waves repeatedly hit the deck, and seawater dripped into the room through the cracks in the wooden boards and fell on Xiao Yun's face.

In order to prevent the crew from having the idea of ​​killing and robbing, Xiao Yun deliberately smeared a layer of wood ash on his face before boarding the ship. He also ordered Romila to hunch her back and keep her head down during the voyage, and not to ask the crew for food no matter how hungry she was.

However, the senior crew members had long discovered that the bard who called himself Claude had particularly handsome profile lines, his skin was gray-black but shiny and delicate, his words and actions were quite well-educated, and he was obviously of noble birth. The five people who were traveling with him were also extremely respectful to him, as if they were his servants and subordinates.

At that moment, sea water dripped through the cracks in the deck, washing the ash on Xiao Yun's face into grooves.

Looking at the fair skin reflecting the soft light in the dim sky, the second mate swallowed.

(He is indeed the young master of a noble family!)

(The waves are so strong right now that even an experienced waterman would be dizzy. When the water calms down, you will all fall into a deep sleep. Then, if we kill the guards, the young nobleman and his handsome attendant will be ours!)

(First, everyone takes turns to taste the noble young master, then extort a ransom. When the ransom is paid, he will be sold to the red-light district of Kucukia!)

With his evil intentions made up, the second mate said hypocritically, "—So it's the young master of a noble family. Well, you guys should close the door and rest! When you disembark, each of you will give me a gold coin!"

After saying that, the second mate left the room and returned to the deck which was being besieged by raging waves.

Xiao Yun, Munger and Lance looked at each other.

Lance stroked his chin and said, "I'm afraid no one on this boat will be able to sleep tonight."

…

…

Under the night sky, the rainstorm gradually subsided. Although the waves were still surging and constantly throwing the boats down, there was finally a sign of tranquility.

Amidst the chaotic noise, several dark shadows came to the dark cabin.

Boom boom boom!

Boom boom boom!

There was no response from inside the door.

The black shadow smiled triumphantly, pried open the wooden door skillfully, and walked into the dim room with a lantern.

He raised the light and glanced inside the house, confirming that the people inside were exhausted after being tossed and turned by the waves during the day. They were curled up on their dirty and smelly beds and were sleeping soundly.

"Move!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the crew members outside the door rushed into the room.

However--

"ah!!"

"you--"

"Wow!"

Habib and Suna, who could see even at night, rushed out like lightning and knocked down the first few crew members who rushed in.

Lance and Mung followed closely behind. One of them used a dagger to subdue the second mate who was holding the lantern, while the other removed the thin wooden door panels to calm the densely packed crew outside.

"Don't move! If you move, your second mate will die!"

"How dare you plot against me!"

The second mate didn't recognize Lance at first and roared in anger.

Lance laughed loudly. "You still have the nerve to talk about scheming! Who's scheming who?! Since you've taken our money and then asked for a gold coin per person as an extra coin, you should abide by basic moral principles!"

"You expect us to uphold our moral principles with just a small sum of one gold coin per person?! A noble young master who can afford mercenaries must demand a ransom of at least a hundred gold coins!"

The captain outside howled.

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and move!"

"Kill them, and all the money and people will be ours!"

"Damn it! Are you trying to kill me?"

The second mate screamed in panic as Lance's dagger was pressed against his throat.

"After you die, I will take good care of your wife and your daughter!"

The captain was clearly impatient.

"You beasts! I'll kill you!"

The second mate was furious.

But it was too late.

The crew, blinded by money, didn't care about the life or death of the second mate. They raised their scimitars, axes, clubs, three-claw hooks and other weapons and rushed towards Mung who was blocking the entrance with murderous intent.

"Go to hell—"