Chapter 279: Don't Shoot Arrows, We're Coming Out Immediately!

Gervas had originally intended to refuse; after all, his own subordinates were sufficient to deal with a band of pirates.

Moreover, if the merfolk were to appear, their best method of combat would be to bore holes through the pirate ships.

But that was not what Gervas wanted.

What Gervas wanted was for all the pirates to be annihilated while the pirate ships remained intact and returned entirely to him.

Of course, under Torka's earnest pleas, Gervas decided to take them along just in case.

Soon, Torka informed the other tribes of the situation.

Upon learning this, the other tribes naturally felt it was their duty.

They had already felt the benefits of trading with Gervas.

Now they were eager to draw closer to Gervas so they could increase trade volume in the future.

Thus, they all cheered loudly, temporarily leaving their goods at Storm Territory and waiting to retrieve them after the battle ended.

"Set sail!"

At Gervas's command, three ships fully loaded set off.

Strangely, surrounding the ships was a group of merfolk leaping in and out of the water from time to time.

Just like that, one hour later, the Storm Fleet arrived at Sugarcane Island.

Since Sugarcane Island was closest to the northern side of the Storm coastline, the pirates would certainly have spotted it first upon arrival.

And indeed, another hour later, at dusk, three black dots appeared on the northern horizon of the island.

"Boss, there's an island over there; it seems to have buildings and cooking smoke!"

"Move in and take a look!"

Following the order, the ships immediately sped toward that distant island.

About twenty minutes later, the island drew closer, and its basic situation became clear.

It appeared to be a deserted island, yet there were over a dozen houses on it.

"Judging by the number of houses, the population won't be too large! Besides, there are no watchtowers or walls, so it shouldn't be those rats from the Skeleton Gang!"

As the third leader of the One-Eyed Gang, Carlos possessed very rich combat experience.

After simply observing the situation on the distant island, he concluded this was not his target.

"Boss, should we continue sailing then?"

"No, it's getting late; let's go to that island and spend the night ashore!"

"Ah, Boss, you're finally showing mercy?!"

The pirates' eyes immediately lit up brightly.

Naturally, they were eager to go ashore; if not for Boss Carlos's strict control along the way, they would have loved to raid those noble territories every single day to feel satisfied.

Today, Boss Carlos finally relented; although it was only an island, it was still better than staying on the dirty and stinking pirate ships.

"Since arriving at this southern coast, we haven't gone ashore in over ten days; I know you fools are about to burst! So, tonight I'll allow you to let loose!"

Actually, the main reason was that Carlos saw the small scale of the distant island and deemed the risk controllable.

"Haha, Boss, you're truly too kind! If there are pretty women later, the brothers will definitely protect them and save them for you!"

"That's right, Boss; be gentle then, just leave us a little soup!"

"Haha! Easy to say! Easy to say! Now, keep observing the surroundings; if there's no problem, go ashore!"

Just like that, the three pirate ships raised black-and-white flags.

On those triangular flags was a pattern of a single eye.

This symbolized the name of the One-Eyed Gang.

After observing carefully for a while and confirming there was no problem, the three pirate ships moved toward Sugarcane Island.

"My lord, they have arrived!"

At the same time, in the sugarcane fields on the island, Gervas and his group had been waiting for a long time.

"Have everyone prepare; remember, do not act until I give the order!"

"Yes, my lord!"

In less than ten minutes, the One-Eyed Gang pirates successfully landed.

Moreover, seeing that the people in those distant houses still had not noticed any commotion, the band of pirates became even more excited.

"Remember, when you start cutting later, keep your eyes open for me; do not accidentally hurt the women! On such a small island, the people are already few; if there are even fewer women, there won't be enough to go around!"

"Rest assured, Boss! We will definitely be careful!"

"Then move out!"

"Hahaha! Brothers, charge!"

Those houses were less than two hundred meters from the shore, so the pirates no longer held back.

Amidst the roaring shouts of battle, the group finally rushed up to these stone houses.

However, upon getting close, the group instead became somewhat suspicious and uneasy.

Because even if the people in these houses reacted slowly, with our shouting and charging like that, they should have noticed by now.

Upon discovering the attack, wouldn't they immediately run out of the houses? Running toward those strange weed forests surrounding the area?

Everyone looked at Carlos.

"Rush in and take a look!"

Carlos looked at the dozen or so stone houses ahead, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.

However, he was not too worried; they had just scouted the surrounding waters, and there were no ships.

Moreover, to be honest, he looked down on the nobles of the southern border.

Because all the nobles on the southern border are minor ones; there are probably not even a few who own ocean-going ships.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Muffled thuds followed one after another as the doors of stone huts were kicked open.

"Boss, there's no one inside, but the furniture and fittings are all there—and perfectly neat!"

"Boss, the stoves inside are still red-hot, and the pots still have fish soup!"

Reports came in one after another.

"They must have spotted us the moment we appeared! They've hidden!"

Caros, however, felt relieved.

Because the reconnaissance showed that just moments ago, the islanders had still been cooking dinner.

And they had done so in an orderly, unhurried manner.

Therefore, these islanders had no prior knowledge of our ambush.

Otherwise, knowing pirates were coming, who would calmly cook dinner instead of fleeing immediately?

"Search them! Go check those strange patches of weeds over there!"

Caros's gaze finally locked onto the sugarcane grove a hundred meters away.

Of course, he did not know it was sugarcane—he took it for some peculiar weed.

And the entire island had only that one patch where people could hide.

In fact, half of Caros's deduction was correct.

The islanders had indeed been cooking earlier, but only after spotting the pirates' arrival did they evacuate the stone huts.

Of course, the islanders had long known pirates were coming, but because their lord had already landed, not a single islander was panicked.

Our own lord has arrived with a great army—what storms haven't they seen? Why fear a few pirates?

……

Soon, over two hundred pirates approached near the sugarcane grove.

Rustle! Rustle!

At that very moment, a sound of rustling leaves and branches suddenly came from within the thicket.

The pirates immediately went on alert, raising their shields and long knives higher; those with bows drew their bows fully taut.

Then they barked, "Who's there? Come out now, or we won't hold back!"

"That's right! Get out quickly, or we'll shoot arrows!"

"No! Don't shoot! We're coming out! Right away!"

At that moment, a voice replied from within.

The voice was filled with panic!

"Damn it, then hurry up, or we won't hold back!"

"Alright, alright! But you have to promise—not a single arrow!"

Knight Mi Gen, in a high-pitched voice, replied again, then couldn't suppress his laughter as he glanced at Gervas.

Gervas nodded with a smile.

Then he led Lei Meng and the others out toward the edge of the sugarcane grove!

"We're coming out! Don't shoot!"

Perhaps fearing the pirates might accidentally loose arrows, those inside the thicket shouted again before stepping out.

The next moment, under the pirates' excited gazes, figures emerged from the dense thicket and appeared before the pirates' eyes.

"Uh…"

But why is this not what we expected?