"If you don't want to die, hurry up! Throw all these ballast stones into the sea! Otherwise, if those damn pirates catch up with us, we'll all be finished."

A middle-aged man in his fifties with a thick beard was standing on the deck and yelling at the busy sailors.

It is not difficult to tell from his dress and the way he gives orders that he is the captain of this ship.

The sailors who were yelled at didn't care about their captain's bad attitude.

One by one, they used all their strength to lift the heavy ballast stones from the bottom cabin and then quickly threw them into the sea.

Because the sailors all knew that the old captain was right.

If the pirates behind them caught up, with only the few people on their ship, they would probably be chopped to the ground in a few minutes.

What's more, most of the sailors on merchant ships were just coolies and had not learned how to fight.

But unfortunately, the shape and structure of the ship determined that even if they threw all the ballast, cargo and supplies overboard, they could not be faster than a warship specially modified for pursuit and combat, or a pirate ship.

The distance between the two is still getting closer.

After a while, the owner of the ship, a male merchant in his thirties from Askatra, the capital of the northern Amn Empire, could no longer sit still.

He put down the expensive telescope in his hand, walked quickly to the old captain, and asked in a trembling voice: "Bass, are we finished? What will the pirates do when they catch up? Kill everyone? Or imprison them and demand ransom?"

"I don't know. It depends on which pirate faction they belong to and whether the leader is human." The old captain called Bass replied with a wry smile.

Gulp!

Hearing this, the merchant swallowed his saliva subconsciously and said, "I... I seemed to have seen orcs, hobgoblins and ogres on the pirate's deck just now."

"What? Hobgoblins and ogres!" The old captain opened his mouth in shock and began to curse with gritted teeth. "Damn it! How could we be so unlucky! That must be Bloody Hand Hallett's ship! Only he can control and command those powerful and low-intelligence ogres."

"Bloodhand Hallett?"

When the businessman heard the name, he couldn't help but shudder.

Because any merchant who transports goods by sea in the Sea of ​​Swords would know this notorious pirate captain.

It is said that he was originally the son of a nobleman from the Kingdom of Tethyr.

Later he was exiled for unknown reasons and eventually turned into a brutal pirate.

But they are different from ordinary pirates who only want to plunder wealth.

In addition to plundering wealth, this guy also likes to get involved in things involving conspiracy and betrayal.

For example, accepting a commission from a noble or a chamber of commerce heir and intercepting the target designated by the latter on the sea.

The targets are usually the client’s parents, uncles, husband, wife, brothers and sisters, etc.

As long as these people disappear, the former can immediately inherit the territory, title, chamber of commerce, and an astonishing amount of inheritance.

After completing the mission, Hallett will not kill the captives immediately.

Instead, they will be taken back and imprisoned, and the client will be asked to pay the reward or promise previously made.

The high price is often almost all the savings in a noble's territory, or half of the property of a chamber of commerce.

If the client does not intend to keep his promise, Hallett will make a similar deal with the captives and help them regain everything they have lost.

In retaliation, the pirate captain captured the client who had violated the contract.

Order the victims of the conspiracy to dig out the hearts of their sons, wives, nephews or brothers and sisters with their own hands.

Hence the nickname "Bloody Hand".

"Bloody Hands" does not mean that Hallet's hands are stained with blood, but that he can make other people's hands stained with the blood of their loved ones.

No one knows whether this almost twisted and morbid preference comes from his bad character or his own growth experience.

But in this way, Harlet obtained huge wealth that other traditional pirates could never achieve, as well as a huge intelligence network covering various coastal cities.

"Mr. Bernard.

I think it would be best for us to abandon the ship and all the cargo on board, and escape to the island in a small boat and hide there.

Although distributing those special goods to the sailors might help them resist for a while, defeat was only a matter of time.

And if the pirates suffer heavy casualties, they will certainly kill everyone in revenge, and they might even set fire to the ship.”

Captain Bass gave his advice with a serious expression.

He wanted to use this method to confirm whether "Blood Hand" Hallett was coming for the cargo on the ship, or for the son of the most trusted master of the Roldan Chamber of Commerce.

If it's the latter...

That means that he is involved in a power struggle within the Chamber of Commerce.

The businessman named Bernard obviously realized this. His mind quickly flashed through several brothers and sisters who were in competition with him. He tried to find someone who had the motivation and ability to do this. Finally, he took a deep breath and nodded: "Okay! When the ship is about to run aground in the shallow water, we will row the boat directly to the island.

There is a small problem though.

In order to save costs as much as possible, the ship was not equipped with enough small boats when it set sail.

This means that we have to abandon some sailors."

"What? Not enough boats?"

The captain froze for a moment and subconsciously glanced at the number of small wooden boats fixed on both sides of the ship.

It turned out that except for the four boats near the bow that were frequently used, the rest were just some rotten wood randomly pieced together.

If you throw this thing into water, it will fall apart in less than a minute.

The four small boats, assuming that each boat can carry a maximum of six to eight people, can only carry twenty-four to thirty-two people at best.

This large merchant ship employed more than sixty sailors.

Old Bass couldn't guarantee that when he announced that he could only take half of the people to escape and the other half would stay behind to face the brutal pirates, the angry sailors would not riot immediately.

Bernard noticed the nervousness in the captain's eyes and immediately lowered his voice and said, "We don't really need to tell the sailors the truth. We can just secretly bring a few trusted people with us and take a small boat to the island when no one is paying attention. After all, the fewer people we have, the easier it is for us to hide and the lower the possibility of being caught."

"But doing this will destroy the reputation I've built over the years!" Old Bass growled angrily.

Without a good reputation, it would be impossible to recruit sailors willing to follow you to sea, and you would not be able to gain the trust of employers.

This is undoubtedly fatal to a captain and can even ruin his life.

"At this point, you are still thinking about your reputation. If something happens to me, do you think my father will let you and your family go?

And as long as I return safely, you can not only stay in the Chamber of Commerce but continue to be the captain.

I will also use the rights at hand to help you exchange for a bigger ship and enjoy a higher share of trade profits."

In order to get out of the extremely dangerous situation, Bernard took all the risks, changing his usual gentle and amiable demeanor and using both threats and inducements.

He didn't want to be a prisoner of "Blood Hand" Hallett, and he didn't want to die at the hands of vicious pirates.

After some inner struggle, the old captain finally gave in.

Taking advantage of the panic caused by the ship running aground, he secretly took Bernard, the boatswain and the first mate, a total of four people, lowered a small boat and rowed onto the beach.

By the time others noticed, it was too late.

The helpless sailors could only curse loudly as they watched the pirates who had caught up with them start to board them, one after another climbing onto the deck with shining scimitars in their hands.

(End of this chapter)