Chapter 395: Avoiding War Doll
"Captain, look carefully! It's the White Onyx, the ship of 'Just Ireland'."
The crew member responsible for observing the target slid down the cable to the observation deck and reported the information he saw through the telescope to the captain "Sea Wolf" Johnson standing on the deck.
"Good, a big fish."
Johnson chuckled. He didn't care about the fairness or bias of Ireland. He just wanted to make a fortune as soon as possible and run away before the nearby navy ships or Storm Church ships arrived.
As for the possible resistance from the other side, he didn't take it seriously. His pirate ship could reach a speed of 16 knots, which was much faster than the White Agate, which was just a passenger ship, and it had 40 cannons. If it weren't for the fact that he wanted to rob as much gold pounds and jewelry as possible from the passengers, he could have crossed the bow and sent the enemy to the bottom of the sea with a few rounds of salvos.
"Anderson, full speed ahead! Once you get close, fire a round to scare them, then engage the enemy and burn and loot everything!"
He shouted over his shoulder, drawing roars of excitement from the pirates on deck.
————
"As a general rule, they'll approach first and fire a salvo as a deterrent. Most ships surrender in this situation. A few that resist will engage in a cannonade, but the outcome is always the same: being boarded and engaging in a boarding battle. Then... it all depends on the captain's style."
Standing by the window, Flame Danitz carefully explained the common practice of pirates plundering ships.
"Captain's style?"
Angel asked curiously. She had just glanced at the pirate ship outside the window through Danitz's brass telescope. She could only barely make out the red skull flag flying on the pirate ship a few miles away, and the increasingly thick black smoke coming out of the chimney.
That means the other party has increased the boiler flame to its maximum and is speeding up to catch up with the White Agate.
"Most pirates, at least on the surface, adhere to the code set by the 'King of the Five Seas'. After the battle, they won't kill anyone, only taking valuable cargo and passengers' cash and jewelry. However, some desperate criminals don't care about this. To silence them, or simply to vent their anger, they will drive all survivors to the bottom of the hold after the looting, set it on fire, and burn everything they can't take away.
"Unfortunately, Johnson, the 'Sea Wolf' of the Red Skull Pirates, falls into the latter category."
Danitz spoke of the pirate group and their captain like the back of his hand, and soon even mentioned their bounty: 900 pounds for Captain Johnson and 500 pounds for First Mate "One-Eye" Anderson.
Adding up their bounties, they were not even half of "Flame" Danitz's, but that also meant that the difference in their strength was equally clear. Ranking the pirates by their bounties, while not entirely accurate, was mostly correct.
Angel could render most ordinary pirates incapable of combat within a minute. Although the captain and first mate were Extraordinary, they could not even hold on until the other pirates fell under the attacks of her and Klein.
The premise is that the boarding battle begins...
"What's your assessment of the battle's outcome?"
Holding the telescope he "borrowed" from Danitz, Klein was silent for a moment and asked:
"Red Skull's ship is faster, and the 'Just Ireland' isn't one to simply run away. The two ships will engage in a close-range artillery exchange, and the outcome is unpredictable. Perhaps Johnson will decide that dragging out the battle is too long and will easily lead to the navy surrounding him, so he'll give up. Or perhaps the White Onyx will be caught and slowed down by a bullet, and then be overtaken. In a naval battle, anything is possible."
In other words, this ship is likely to be hit, or even caught up and engage in a boarding battle. Of course, the consequence of a boarding battle is that a Sequence 5 and a Sequence 6 will in turn charge into the "Red Skull" ship, but how many people will be killed or injured on the White Agate before that?
Angel looked at Klein, who looked back. They both saw the helplessness of the other's lack of means of movement and long-range attack methods in each other's eyes.
"So what are you worried about? They don't know we're hiding on the ship. We can solve most of the problems by just waiting for the pirate ship to get closer and finding an opportunity to board it."
Danitz asked, somewhat puzzled. Some pirates would use this method to "fish" for their counterparts, taking away both the people and their ships. It was a classic way of making a small profit with a big investment.
"Are they looking at the White Onyx through their telescopes now?"
Klein suddenly asked.
"Of course, this is basic literacy. Do you see the lookout next to the pirate flag? There must be a lookout standing there, looking over here with a high-powered telescope, observing the deployment on deck."
Danitz was even more puzzled. He pointed at the pirate ship approaching outside the window and replied.
"So, do Sea Wolf and One-Eye know you?"
Angel suddenly understood Klein's thoughts and asked with a smile.
"Every...most people in this sea area know 'Flame' Danitz. I taught those two a lesson at a pirate party. They'll never forget me."
Danitz, who had wanted to say "Everyone knows me," looked at the man and woman in front of him, and finally changed his words after hesitation.
"That's good."
Angel and Klein smiled at the same time.
————
"Full port rudder, starboard ready to fire!"
The captain of the "Red Skull", Sea Wolf Johnson, personally steered the ship and directed the pirates to load the cannons, preparing to teach the White Agate, which refused to surrender, a lesson. The latter also steered to the left, revealing the neat row of gun muzzles on the port side.
Overestimating one's own abilities...
He chuckled to himself.
"Something's wrong, Captain."
"One-Eye" Anderson, who was looking forward with a monocular, suddenly said this. He turned around with a puzzled look on his face.
"There's a man hanging on the side of the ship, with short blond hair. He looks a bit like... Danitz?"
"Which Danitz?"
Jensen asked subconsciously, then realized that the "Danitz" they were talking about could only be one person.
He grabbed the telescope and looked at the White Agate in the distance. Since both ships were in firing positions and heading in parallel, he quickly found the "man hanging" on the side. The blond man seemed to be tied up by invisible silk threads, with his hands pressed against his body and his feet kicking randomly, hanging outside an open window.
It was indeed "Flame" Danitz!
The memory of being mocked and beaten by the other party a few months ago came to his mind, and Johnson almost wanted to shout "fire" and kill the fourth boatswain under "Vice Admiral Iceberg", but calmness and reason stopped him.
What was going on on the White Agate that allowed the "Flame" with a bounty of 3,000 pounds to be hung over the side of the ship like this?
Several people who were hostile to Vice Admiral Iceberg and could easily deal with Danitz suddenly appeared in his mind. They all had one thing in common - they were too powerful to be provoked by the hundreds of pirates on the Red Skull.
Pursing his lips, he took one last look at his prey, which was already so close. "Sea Wolf" Johnson raised his right hand and said:
"Full left rudder, disengage, and leave this sea area at full speed!"
————
"Danger averted!"
Hearing the loud cheers of the sailors on the deck above, and seeing the "Red Skull" in the distance turn around and slowly leave with a trail of thick smoke, Danitz breathed a sigh of relief.
He felt a surge of emotion in his heart, not sure whether it was humiliation or relief.
But in the end, all of this turned into a low roar:
"Shit, pull me up!"
He shouted towards the window above, his voice muffled and panicked, not because he was afraid of falling into the sea, but because he was afraid of being heard by others.
The only witness, "Red Skull", has already gone far away. As long as I return to the cabin now, no one will know that I was hung outside in such an ignominious way, like a piece of... like a piece of bacon!
Feeling the invisible thread wrapped around him being pulled upwards, Danitz felt relieved.
Suddenly, he felt a gaze coming from the side and subconsciously looked over there.
Another window not far away was opened at some point, and a half-grown girl stuck her head out, staring at him with puzzled eyes.
…
Using the silk thread to lure Danitz back to the living room of Room 312, Angel was surprised to find that the hero who scared away the "Red Skull" was slumped by the window, his limbs limp. He looked over here with eyes filled with a bit of resentment, a bit of helplessness, and even a bit of grievance.
With a £3,000 bounty on his head, “Flame” Danitz must be at least a Sequence 7. How could he have become as limp as a dried quail after being hung outside the window for less than half an hour?
"Oh."
Klein, standing by, even sneered, revealing the arrogance of the adventurer Hermann.
It was obvious that the shriveled Danitz was instantly filled with air. He jumped up from the floor, the veins on his neck bulging, as if he was about to have a seizure.
But in the end, he just said with a tense face:
"You are taking advantage of my captain's prestige. She will not remain indifferent."
"'Vice Admiral Iceberg' Edwina Edwards, I remember she has a bounty of 26,000 pounds in Loen alone," Klein said expressionlessly, as if he was only talking about extraordinary materials worth 260 pounds. "Besides, you don't want your captain to know what happened here, do you?"
If those people, including "Flower Tie," "Gourmet," and "Bucket," knew I was hanging outside the cabin like one of Bayam's popular rain shelter dolls, my career as a pirate... no, as an adventurer would be over...
Danitz suddenly realized that everyone who knew about his scandal was in this living room. If he wanted to keep the news secret, he would have to put in a lot of thought...
As for the "Red Skull" pirate group, it is even more impossible for them to publicize the fact that they were scared away without firing a single shot.
The expression on his face changed, finally settling on a forced smile.
"I hope this matter will rot in this living room and not spread outside."
He spoke word by word, believing that he had shown enough sincerity in his expression and tone.
"It depends on your performance."
The beautiful woman chuckled softly, and in Danitz's eyes, it looked like a devil's smile.
Ding-ling-ling——
The doorbell rang, and everyone turned their eyes to the door. To show his "sincerity," Danitz left the window and took the initiative to open the door. Besides, Room 312 was originally his room.
So, how come these two people occupied my living room and sofa like masters, while I was like a servant helping them open the door?
Thinking of this, Danitz stomped heavily on the carpet as if to vent his anger and reached out to open the door.
The girl who had been watching him from the window just now stood at the door with an expression of "as expected" on her face.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
