Chapter 305: Angry Adams!

The pirates outnumbered them greatly; though the Austin soldiers tried to resist, every pirate they cut down was instantly replaced by more leaping forward.

Many pirates merely hung from ropes and swung over like swings, descending from above to attack the Austin soldiers from behind.

"Hurry, break through! Don't worry about them!"

Seeing both warships on either side hopelessly entangled, Deputy Commander Wolf gave no order to rescue them—instead, he commanded to press forward.

Following his order, the fleet continued advancing, while the ships originally on the flanks gradually fell behind, trapped within a dense swarm of pirates.

The cries and screams faded into the distance, but Adams felt no joy from breaking through.

A week ago, he still remembered the joyful smiles of these soldiers as they received their awards.

Now, he could only watch helplessly as the pirates surrounded and slaughtered them.

"Faster! Don't stop—they're catching up again!"

"Commander, our load is too heavy—we can't go any faster!"

"Go as fast as you can! Also, throw overboard everything unnecessary!"

Soon, the shouts of Deputy Commander Wolf and the soldiers jolted Adams back to reality.

Seeing the dense fleet surrounding them on both sides and behind, Adams forced himself to set aside his grief—they were not yet safe.

The four remaining ships were warships, but today, to ensure absolute safety, each carried a full complement of soldiers.

Under normal combat conditions, this would have been a great advantage.

But now, in a breakout and retreat, the heavy load robbed the warships of their speed advantage.

Fortunately, though the pirates' ships were lighter, their vessels were inferior in performance to the Austin fleet, so they couldn't catch up just yet.

Time passed second by second, and the horizon began to lighten with the first pale streaks of dawn.

At last, Adams and his men clearly saw their pursuers.

They were a fleet of at least thirty ships, each flying chaotic, mismatched pirate flags.

"Damn it, Young Master Adams, we've been tricked—there are at least a dozen pirate gangs here!"

Seeing the jumbled pirate flags, Commander Wolf clenched his teeth in fury.

Adams's eyes too burned with bloodshot rage.

"Young Master Adams, Commander Wolf—look, it's our ship!"

At that moment, the lookout's cry came from above.

Under normal circumstances, hearing this would have brought relief—it usually meant reinforcements.

But the direction the lookout pointed was behind them; Adams and Wolf's faces darkened further.

There, indeed, two familiar warships appeared in the distance.

Yet the Austin family banner once flying from their main masts had been replaced by a black skull pirate flag.

"Damn bastards!"

Clearly, the two warships previously entangled had fallen into pirate hands!

Perhaps because their load had lightened, these two ships moved with surprising speed, quickly overtaking the other pirate vessels and closing in on Adams and his men.

Half an hour later, the two captured warships were now parallel to Adams's fleet.

Both sides could clearly see the men on each other's decks.

Then the pirates made an act that made Adams's eyes bulge with rage.

They pushed forward a row of Austin fleet soldiers, their hands and feet bound, lining them up along the railings.

"Young Master Adams, if you want them to live… stop your ships and surrender… otherwise, your men will die—one every ten minutes…"

A faint shout drifted across from the other side.

"Bastards!" Adams slammed a fist into the ship's railing.

Commander Wolf's face turned ashen. "Order the fleet—ignore them, keep moving!"

"Commander Wolf!" Adams's eyes were red with tears.

"Young Master Adams, this is a pirate trick—they want you to stop and walk into their trap!"

"Right now, they only have these two captured ships fast enough to threaten us—we must keep retreating to preserve these remaining vessels!"

Adams knew full well it was a trick—but those living Austin soldiers on the other side…

"Young Master Adams, we'll avenge these fallen comrades soon enough!" Wolf clapped Adams on the shoulder, urging him on.

This was a stage every commander must endure; if Adams survived this, he would surely grow faster in the future.

Soon, the pirates realized their tactic had no effect on Adams and his men.

Yet they did not immediately kill any of the prisoners.

Instead, they tied several soldiers to the railings and dragged them in the water.

Now they were playing a different game of torment.

After securing the prisoners, the pirates steered the two captured ships closer to Adams's fleet.

With too few men, they dared not attack—but they could stall Adams's group.

As they drew within dozens of meters, the pirates began hurling grappling hooks.

This time, their chains were made of iron—unbreakable by blade.

Soon, two more warships slowed and were dragged to a halt.

"Wolf, go save them!" Seeing two of the last four warships now trapped, Adams could no longer hold back.

He knew that once a ship was caught, death was certain.

Three hundred men.

"Young Master Adams, we can't save them—for your safety, we must keep retreating!"

"No, Wolf—I'm not afraid of death. If I flee like this, I might as well be dead!"

"And those two captured ships are fast—if we abandon these two now, what happens when they finish them and come after us again?"

"..." Deputy Commander Wolf fell silent.

Indeed, though escape seemed possible, what if the enemy repeated this tactic with more captured ships?

Unless they transferred crew off the ships to reduce weight.

For example, abandoning most soldiers from the flagship onto smaller boats.

But that would be no different from sentencing them to death.

Even to protect Young Master Adams, Wolf knew he could never bring himself to do such a thing.

"Wolf, no more hesitation—let's charge together! If we die, let it be with honor!" Adams drew his sword, his resolve firm.

Wolf stared at his young master in astonishment.

Though Adams had won the men's respect through shared meals, shared hardship, and generous rewards,

his command abilities had remained unchanged.

After all, growth takes time.

Yet in this moment, Wolf saw in Young Master Adams a rare spirit of courage and unyielding resolve.

It was the most precious quality among noble heirs.

"All right, Young Master Adams! Let's charge together!"