Sail Shadows in the Sea of ​​Fog

Chapter 19: Pirate Brothers and the End of the Trek

Under the command of this "stupid" captain, the Flamingo hoisted the sails and anchored, and under the guidance of Mr. Lu Ting, carefully seized the T-head position of the two pirate ships that had just had their sails burned and were still busy plugging the leaks.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Accompanied by fierce artillery fire, shells hit the waterline of the two ships.

Soon, the two ships began to sink one after another, and the pirates jumped into the sea one after another, looking for anything that could help them float, while also waving the white cloth they had prepared in advance.

"Who's the captain?"

On the open deck, Mr. Luting held up a tin bullhorn and shouted, "Identify the captain and you will survive."

Without any hesitation, the pirates soaking in the sea water pointed their fingers at two people not far away, one tall and one short, one fat and one thin.

"Everyone except the captain, drop your weapons and line up."

Lu Ting issued a new order, "You know who attacked you, so don't play tricks and leave with us, or stay and become a crew member of that ship like those two captains were invited. I believe this is an easy decision to make."

Just with such an ambiguous threat, the pirate sailors immediately swam over like crazy, scrambling to climb onto the ropes and nets thrown down, and let the sailors shackle their hands and feet.

Even under Mr. Lu Ting's questioning, some pirate sailors, in order to avoid being thrown back into the sea, quickly betrayed one of the first mates and the spy he had placed on the ship without reservation.

Soon, the spies on the armed merchant ship Flamingo were also shackled and thrown into several pens with the pirates for strict guarding.

Even so, these pirates who had been imprisoned in the corral many times breathed a sigh of relief. Instead, they looked through the only window at the two captains who were holding the oak barrel on the sea and were at a loss.

"Want to start a bet?"

One of the pirates suddenly suggested, "I guess our captain will have to start as a deckhand after boarding that ghost ship."

"The kitchen helper, it must be the kitchen helper." said another pirate.

"I guess they are carpenters. The two brothers were carpenters by trade."

As soon as these words were spoken, the pirate sailors burst into laughter. The unbridled laughter even passed through the small window and reached the ears of the two captains with dejected faces on the sea.

'They're gone'

The Magic Mirror spoke from the Valkyrie's interior control panel.

“It’s time for us to show up too.”

Although Cheng Lang said this, he was not in a hurry to make the jellyfish covering the entire ship disappear. Instead, he waited for a moment until he was sure that the armed merchant ship was getting farther and farther away, and then he lifted the invisibility.

The sudden appearance of the "ghost ship" immediately frightened the two captains who were still floating on the sea so much that their faces turned pale.

"Swim over here"

Cheng Lang, who had already put on a hypocritical mask, stood by the boat and shouted, "Or die here."

After a moment's hesitation, the two captains let go of the oak barrels they were holding, swam over reluctantly, obediently caught the vines that fell from above their heads, and held them in their hands, then were pulled onto the open deck little by little.

Before they could stand firmly, the big black chimpanzees around them, each about two meters tall and with bloodshot eyes, scared them so much that they sat down on the deck.

"What are your two names?" Cheng Lang asked.

"I'm Kervik, the older brother."

"I'm Belvik, the younger brother."

"We are brothers," the two pirate captains said in unison after introducing themselves.

"Brothers?" Cheng Lang looked at the two brothers with interest.

One of them is tall and thin, the other is short and fat. They don't look like brothers at all.

"We are really brothers," the two brothers said in unison, seeming to care about this matter quite a bit.

"I don't doubt you"

Cheng Lang waved his hand, and two small-sized vine goblins immediately came up from behind him. They stripped the two men of their clothes and even searched carefully through their messy hair.

After making sure they didn't hide anything, Cheng Lang said, "If you want to survive, answer a few questions honestly. We are in the same industry, so I don't mind letting you go."

"Brother," the tall and thin one asked the short and fat one, "Should we answer?"

"What's your question?"

The short and fat brother Kervik asked cautiously, and at the same time he couldn't help swallowing nervously.

"What kind of abilities does the ship's heart give you?" Cheng Lang asked curiously.

After a brief hesitation, Kervik reluctantly replied, "Increase the artillery's range by 50%, but the gunners will become deaf for a day after the battle."

"What about you?" Cheng Lang looked at the tall and thin Belvik.

"Breathing underwater, and increasing a sailor's strength during boarding battles, allowing them to temporarily forget their fear and reason."

Belvek replied, "But within a day after the battle, the surviving sailors would become cowards hiding in the lower cabins."

What kind of funny ability is this?

Cheng Lang grinned, but did not underestimate the two brothers.

In a sense, these two people can be said to be one good at long-range attacks and the other good at close combat. If the two of them cooperate well, their combat effectiveness will be equally terrifying.

"We are willing to pay the ransom. I wonder if you can let us go." Kervik said tentatively.

"I have sunk your ship," Cheng Lang reminded, "and everything on the ship is mine."

“We have other chips.”

Kervik said quickly, "As long as you are willing to send us to the Pirate City."

"We'll discuss your chips later."

As Cheng Lang spoke, he took the things that the small-sized Tengxiao had dug out from the brothers' clothes.

There weren't many valuable items, only 62 gold coins and 58 silver coins in total.

"Let me see your captain's token"

Cheng Lang pulled out a flintlock rifle, and at the same time, a black whip appeared in his other hand. He asked them to take out the captain's token. This was not out of his curiosity, but a reminder from the magic mirror.

According to the magic mirror, many pirate captains will hide at least one inconspicuous small boat, and the heart of the ship that gives them power is on the hidden boat.

In this way, even if the ship they are fighting on sinks, they will not lose the power given by the ship's heart.

Of course, this is not without its drawbacks. If a captain is involved with too much of the ship's core, the power granted to him by the ship's core will not increase, but will weaken instead.

The two naked brothers looked at each other helplessly, and each of them had something extra in their hands.

Kervik had a cannon-shaped pipe in his hand, while his tall, thin brother, Belvik, had a piece of black cloth in his hand.

Without prompting, Kervik began to explain, "I just need to light my pipe to move the ship's center."

"I need to cover my eyes with this black cloth," Belvik explained.

"Quite frank"

As Cheng Lang was speaking, the vine goblins around him had already thrown their vines into the water. Cooperating with the vine goblin who had just secretly jumped into the water, they salvaged cannons, barrels of gunpowder, baskets of shells, and various supplies found on the two sunken ships, and neatly placed them on the open deck.

"Send that short guy to the cabin and keep him under guard," Cheng Lang issued a new order.

Before he could finish his words, two two-meter-tall vine goblins took out a rusty iron chain and locked it around the captain's neck. Before he could try to say anything, they pulled down the legs of his trousers and stuffed them into his mouth.

After the goblins escorted him to the corral at the bow, Cheng Lang looked at the tall, thin, naked captain with interest. He then cleared his throat and said, "Answer me a few questions individually. Let's start with the simple ones. How did you know the location of that merchant ship?"

"My brother's first mate has placed a spy on the Flamingo merchant ship," Belvik answered timidly, his tall and thin body shaking uncontrollably.

"Do you know where we are now?"

Cheng Langman asked casually, but in fact his ears pricked up and he looked at the magic mirror in his hand.

"I know. We are in the northeast of the Suzaku Islands, about two days' sail away." Belvik answered tremblingly.

"Haitu" "Oh!"

The small-sized Fujigo leader Wukong beside him also responded, and soon brought out a sea chart and a pencil.

"Mark our current location."

Cheng Lang said, "I will ask your brother the same question later. If you answer differently, I will have to make you into pickled meat."

After looking at Cheng Lang with fear, Belvik finally knelt on the deck, picked up a pencil, searched on the nautical chart, and drew an X near the edge of the Sea of ​​Despair.

"It's probably here," Belvik said as he handed the map to Cheng Lang.

"Gag him and put an oak barrel on his head." Cheng Lang waved his hand, "Then bring the other one over."

"Oh!"

The vine goblin beside him responded and completed the "packing" with swift movements. He pushed the tall and thin man into the forecastle, and soon brought back the short captain who had just been taken away.

He asked the question again and asked the other party to mark the current position on a new nautical chart. After comparing and confirming that it was correct, Cheng Lang waved his hand and said, "Lock him up too."

"Please wait a moment"

Kervik was stunned for a moment, then quickly said, "What are you going to do with me and my brother?"

"What do you think I will do?" Cheng Lang asked with interest.

"Sell it to the Demon Hunters?" Kervik asked cautiously.

"What else?" Cheng Lang asked back.

"No, I'm willing to pay the ransom. I can offer a higher ransom than selling us to the Demon Hunters!" Kervik said in a panic.

"How much higher is it?" Cheng Lang asked.

"90 no, 100 gold coins?"

Kervik made a price. "The combined bounty on the two of us in the Demon Hunters is only 57 gold coins. 100 gold coins is a very fair price."

"Give me the money!" Cheng Lang simply extended his hand towards Kervik, who had not even a piece of cloth on his body.

"Our money is in the Siren Tavern in Pirate Town"

Kervik said with a slight embarrassment, "As long as you take us back to the Pirate City, I will give you the gold coins."

"This place is quite far from the Pirate City," Cheng Lang shook the sea chart in his hand. "Unfortunately, we are not on the same route."

“We are willing to pay for the boat tickets”

Kervik gritted his teeth and said, "50 gold coins per person, a total of gold coins. This price is already very sincere."

"It will take us a long time to get to Pirate City," Cheng Lang reminded again, "Aren't you going to eat or drink water along the way?"

"Aren't these included in the ticket?"

“Of course not included.”

"I can't give you anything more," Kervik said. "We only have two hundred gold coins stored in the Siren Tavern."

"In that case, how about I provide you with food and drink, and you chat with me whenever I need you?" Cheng Lang proposed a condition that the other party had not expected.

"Yes, but we would like to be able to wear clothes."

Kervik said warily.

"certainly"

Cheng Lang waved to the Tengxiao beside him again and asked, "Why did you rob that armed merchant ship?"

"We accepted the bounty from the Swordfish Merchant Group"

Kervik had no intention of keeping this a secret, but his tone was inevitably filled with regret. "If we sink the Flamingo again, we'll get a large bounty."

"I heard that your first mate planted a spy on their ship?" Cheng Lang asked without comment.

"My first mate was assigned by the Swordfish Merchant Group."

Kervik took the shorts handed to him by Fujiman and put them on while explaining, "He planted the spy himself."

"Do you know what's on that armed merchant ship?" Cheng Lang asked a new question.

“Wine from the Principality of Ricardo”

Kervik said, "There are also several cannons made in the Principality of Rika. These can be sold for a high price in the Suzaku Islands."

"So they're going to the Vermilion Islands?"

"That's right," Kervik replied as he fastened his belt.

"Take our guest to rest, and remember to put the oak barrel on his head."

Cheng Lang waved his hand and said, "Arrange people to keep an eye on them at all times."

Kervik did not resist, but obediently let the vine goblin take him into the animal pen on the forecastle.

He was a pirate, and this was not the first time he had encountered such a situation. In comparison, this rookie captain who looked like a novice was considered docile.

At the same time, Cheng Lang also looked at the things salvaged from the deck.

The most numerous items here are barrels of fruit wine and beer, followed by bacon, bread, barley, various beans in wooden barrels, a small amount of carrots in barrels and buried in the soil, and a large amount of oranges.

Secondly, there were 40 cannons, dozens of boxes of shells, and nearly a hundred barrels of gunpowder.

In general, there are almost no valuable things here, but most of them are what Cheng Lang urgently needs.

"I've been picking up junk all the way!"

Cheng Lang muttered something in his native language that only he could hear, and then ordered, "Throw away all the bacon and bread, and divide the fruit wine and beer among yourselves.

Pick out the better guns and send them to the gun deck, and throw away the rest. No, send them to the lower hold."

"What do we need this garbage for?" the magic mirror asked in confusion.

"So that the ship's center will not need ship repair materials again."

Cheng Lang explained with lingering fear, then changed the subject and asked, "Magic Mirror, do you have any suggestions on where we should go next?"

"I think we can go after the armed merchant ship of the Principality of Ricca first."

The magic mirror said impatiently, "You just heard that their ship has wine brewed by the Principality of Ricca and cannons produced by them. Once we grab those things, we will immediately go to the Pirate City to look for them."

“I didn’t intend to seize that boat.”

Cheng Lang didn't wait for the other party to finish speaking. He turned around and walked towards the indoor driving platform with a mirror in one hand and two oranges in the other. "I plan to buy their goods."

"Buy? Buy it?!"

The magic mirror looked terrified as if the sky had fallen, and said angrily, "Captain! My respected captain! We are pirates! When did we need to spend money to buy things?"

"Since we don't need it, why should we steal so many gold coins?" Cheng Lang asked back.

"Well, this is it."

"I'm not sure if I'm a pirate yet."

Cheng Lang stood beside the steering wheel again and said, "But even pirates need friends, especially a friend from the Principality of Rika who has the ability to obtain cannons forged by the Principality of Rika."

"Oh! My respected! Honorable Captain! Your wisdom is almost comparable to that of Saint Barbara!" The magic mirror once again began to flatter without any money or even spit.

“I think so too.”

Cheng Lang shamelessly answered casually, and at the same time, he peeled the orange and took a bite. The moment the sweet and sour juice entered his mouth, a smile appeared on his face involuntarily.

"Weigh anchor! Hoist the sails! We're going to the Zhuniao Islands!" Cheng Lang opened the window and gave the order, and they finally ended their voyage.

(End of this chapter)