Chapter 127: 126 Betrayal

When the pirate captain Caspar stepped onto the deck of the Wind Feather, he felt no small measure of pride.

The merchant ship's captain was quite experienced; his response upon discovering them was extremely fast. In the past, it would have taken the Blood Shark half a day of pursuit just to catch up to the merchant ship's stern.

However, with the wind mage he had recruited at great cost, the situation was completely different. An ordinary merchant ship before the full-speed Blood Shark was like the difference in speed between an adult and a child.

Mages are rarely willing to stay on a ship for long.

If only a mage to produce fresh water was needed, that was one thing; a low-level mage could handle it. But to continuously power the sails required at least a Gold-rank mage.

Even without mentioning the harsh life on board, for a mage, improving their magical rank requires a stable environment for meditation, and learning spells requires access to knowledge—things a ship simply does not have.

Generally, among high-level mages, only those who have given up on self-improvement or are in desperate need of money choose to go to sea. Moreover, the ships they join are always proper large vessels. Even ordinary merchant ships like the Wind Feather rarely manage to hire a mage, let alone pirates.

Caspar had just taken command of the Blood Shark not long ago when he recruited a wind mage. The mage, being wanted, was swayed by Caspar to board the pirate ship. Caspar felt this was heaven looking out for him; everything signaled that his luck had arrived.

Boarding carried risks. He did not bring the mage, who was unfamiliar with using ropes, but only the first mate, the second mate, and over thirty subordinates. He had already ascertained the strength on the Wind Feather through an inside man; these men were enough.

The captain of the Wind Feather, Gerhard, and a group of sailors gathered at the edge of the quarterdeck. Although they had already raised a white flag, the swords and knives in their hands were not put down. Clearly, they had not completely given up and still intended to bargain.

Caspar was not in a hurry; he had already decided this ship was his.

A pirate with considerable insight swaggered out, stepped among the sailors, snatched up a stool about as tall as a bucket, and couldn't help but heft it in his hand. It was much lighter than expected.

Lin Jun & Dylan:???

The surrounding sailors looked very tense; many gripped their curved daggers tightly. Yet that pirate seemed not to see them, deliberately walked a circle in front of the sailors, and then, with a look of ingratiating deference, placed the stool beneath Caspar.

After the pirate swaggered away, the sailors' already meager morale visibly plummeted.

Dylan reached out his hand but didn't know what reason to give to stop that pirate. In the end, he could only watch in terror as Caspar sat down heavily.

Caspar glanced approvingly at this subordinate; he was bold and clever. The position of boatswain was still vacant...

It was just that, whether it was an illusion or not, the stool seemed a bit soft?

To avoid exposure, the scout Puji strained his body to keep it rigid.

Caspar shifted his hips slightly without showing any emotion, then felt it was an illusion.

Of course, even if this stool were made of paper, in such a scene he would have to squat in a horse stance and pretend, otherwise the pressure exerted just now would have been in vain.

The effect was indeed quite good.

Seeing the sailors' expressions shrink back, and even the first mate Garon's eyes darting evasively, no longer serving any deterrent purpose, Gerhard had to step forward with a stiff neck.

"Men of the Blood Shark, this ship is delivering the Breath of Oblivion to Lord Glosa. We are willing to offer one-third of the cargo in exchange for our safety!"

Glosa was one of the three major slave masters of the archipelago and the ruler of Silver Sand Bay, Dylan's final destination this time. The Breath of Oblivion was a common potion used to train slaves.

Dylan looked at the captain in some surprise; he truly hadn't known before that this ship was also working for Glosa.

The reason Gerhard mentioned Glosa's name was that pirates in the archipelago had rules. Many pirate captains, if investigated deeply, had some connection to one of the three major slave masters.

These pirates would show no mercy to ships outside the three major slave masters, but when facing ships belonging to the other two slave masters, they would only take one-quarter of the cargo.

This was a method used by the great slave masters to eliminate other emerging small forces in the archipelago, and at the same time, a game of strategy between them that would not lead to an open breach.

The reason the captain of the Wind Feather was willing to offer one-third of the cargo was that the men of the Blood Shark had arrived with such ferocity, seemingly not following the usual procedures, making him unsure of what the other side intended. He could only offer more to buy safety. However, Caspar merely sneered: "One-third to dismiss me?"

"Then what do you want to do?" Gerhard strove to keep his voice steady but could not hide his guilt. At this point, even if Caspar took half, he would have to accept it.

"I want it all!"

"Do you want to break the rules?"

Caspar grinned: "I want not only all the cargo, but your ship and your people as well!"

"You... you want to start a war? Where is Wright? I want to ask him face to face!"

Dylan and the passengers did not know who Wright was, but the pirates of the Blood Shark opposite clearly did.

They exchanged glances and suddenly burst out laughing.

Caspar said even more proudly: "That coward Wright has already been fed to the fish. Now the Blood Shark listens to me, Caspar. What about Glosa? We are robbing Glosa's ship!"

"Shit!" Knowing there was no way to resolve this peacefully, Gerhard raised the knife in his hand and shouted to the sailors, "Pick up your weapons! If you don't want to be tortured to death as slaves, pick up your weapons!"

The sailors, and even several passengers, gripped their weapons tightly—the pirates clearly did not intend to treat them differently.

Gerhard pointed his knife at Caspar again. "Don't force me. If we fight, not much of this cargo will remain!"

Gerhard was also Gold-rank. Even if he could not win, if he was determined to destroy, he might truly sink the ship and achieve mutual destruction.

In this situation, he could only threaten the other side this way.

Caspar watched the performance of the Wind Feather's captain with cold eyes, then raised his right hand. Everyone's gaze was drawn to him, wondering what he meant.

At the same moment Caspar clenched his right hand into a fist, a dagger pierced Gerhard's chest!

"Garon?"

Garon's dagger had originally been aimed at the heart, but Gerhard was after all Gold-rank. At the critical moment, he actually reacted and shifted his body, preventing himself from being killed in one strike, though the situation was hardly much better.

Gerhard's angry strike after turning around was dodged by the prepared Garon. Then, while the others had not yet reacted, Garon quickly ran to Caspar's side and bowed his head, saying, "My lord Caspar, as you requested."

"Good, good, good!" Caspar patted Garon's shoulder. "Not only did you drop the guidance beacons along the way, but you also solved this big trouble. This trip counts as your top merit. When we return, I will definitely recommend you to my lord!"

Hearing this, Garon's mouth could not help but curl up.

"Garon! You bastard followed me for eight years!" Gerhard, lying on the ground, spat blood and cursed.

"Don't say that, Captain. We all came out to mix and just seek wealth. Blame yourself for not being cautious enough." Garon spoke lightly, showing not a shred of guilt.

"You!" Enraged, Gerhard spat out another mouthful of blood. Trembling, he took out a vial of life potion used for saving his life and gulped it down in one go.

The pirates naturally would not wait for him to recover slowly.

Caspar waved his hand. "Take them all! Aaaah-oooooh-oooooh—"

(End of this chapter)