Game of Thrones: The Road to Pirate King

Chapter 379 The Cats - The Death of Redbeard

Orpheus crept back to the lancer regiment's encampment like a ghost, his heart still pounding in his chest.

Euron's second condition concerned the life of another captain, so he dared not be careless in the slightest. He carefully avoided all of the Cats' spies until he was sure it was safe before finding Captain Gillo Reha and repeating Euron's words verbatim in an absolutely private corner.

The only oil lamp in the tent cast a dim light on the face of Gillo Reha, the commander of the Longpole Regiment. He remained silent, his knuckles tapping unconsciously on the rough wooden table, producing a soft, rhythmic sound. The air seemed to freeze for a long time before he finally looked up and whispered a command to Orpheus: "You've done well. Now, quietly go and fetch Commander Pranda of the Raven Regiment, making sure to avoid everyone."

When the sinister figure of Prandah Na Gisen, the leader of the Raven Legion, silently appeared in the tent, Gillo Reha, without any pleasantries, laid out Euron's unquestionable conditions in their entirety.

After listening, Pranda showed no surprise on his broad face, simply saying, "No reward—that was expected. He's already being generous by offering a way out." His gaze sharpened as he turned to Gillo. "As for the other condition—since you summoned me alone, you must have already made your decision."

Gillo Reha met his self-sunlight, a glint of ruthlessness flashing deep in his eyes. His hand, hidden under the table, had already gripped the hilt of a dagger, prepared to silence him should the negotiations fail. "That Redbeard bastard," he said in a low voice, his voice filled with undisguised disgust, "I've had my eye on him for a long time. Arrogant, stupid, lecherous, greedy—he'll drag everyone down with him sooner or later."

Pranda Na. Gison's lips curled into a cold smile as he said coldly, "A fool who only thinks with his muscles, what he did was indeed very suicidal." His tone was contemptuous and certain. "However, it's better for him to die than for all of us to perish with him."

Their eyes met in mid-air, and without needing any more words, a consensus based on the ruthless law of survival had been reached.

"That's settled then, get rid of him!" Pranda Na. Gison said finally, his tone as calm as if he were deciding what to have for dinner rather than deciding the life or death of an "ally".

A glint of cunning flashed in Gillo Reha's eyes as he summoned his trusted aide Orpheus again, his voice lowered to a whisper, like the flicking of a viper's tongue: "Go again. This time, fetch the Cats' vice-captain—Giant Axe" Cassius Frazer. Remember, as before, do not alert anyone, especially—Redbeard."

"Giant Axe" Cassius Frazier was a burly man, not as exaggerated as Redbeard, but with his muscles bulging and his gait steady, he was indeed a fierce warrior.

Cassius was soon secretly led into the tent.

Redbeard was jealous of his abilities and worried that his prestige would threaten his own position. He had long been plotting to eliminate him, but his several attempts to assassinate him had failed. He and the leader, Redbeard, were already bitter enemies, a fact known to the leaders of the Long Spear Regiment and the Raven Regiment, both of whom wanted to recruit him.

Cassius was well aware that Redbeard wanted to kill him and had long planned to leave the Cat Clan and start his own group. However, he never expected that his last mission with the Cat Clan would go so badly, leaving him trapped in this desolate and hopeless city.

When Gillo Reha and Prandtna Gison frankly explained Euron's conditions and their plans, Cassius didn't show much surprise. Instead, a mixture of relief and ruthlessness appeared on his rugged face.

Cassius was silent for a moment, his eyes, which had seen countless battles, swept over the two captains in front of him, and then let out a short, low laugh: "Redbeard—" He chewed on the name, his tone without the slightest hesitation, and said coldly, "This is not a difficult decision."

He raised his eyes, his gaze firm: "I agree."

Gillo Reihar, the leader of the Long Spear Regiment, grinned and said, "Welcome to the Cat Regiment, your new leader!"

Inside the tent, in the dim light, the three commanders silently clasped hands, deciding Redbeard's death sentence for the sake of survival and profit.

The fourteenth day of the siege, at dusk.

Despair, like damp, cold moss, crawled all over every inch of the stone walls of Lotus Harbor.

Five figures silently gathered once again in the hidden hall beneath Lotus Harbor. The flickering torches cast their shadows like ghosts, and the air was thick with the damp, musty smell and a palpable tension.

When "Bloodbeard" saw Cassius Frazier was also present, his red-bearded face immediately showed displeasure, and he gruffly shouted, "Cassius! What are you doing here, you bastard? Can't you see everyone here is a captain? Get out!"

Gillo Reihar of the Long Spear Regiment immediately stepped forward, a seemingly smooth smile plastered on his face, and stood between the two—

"Hey, Bloodbeard, don't be angry. The operation is about to begin, and more men mean more strength. The Cassius brothers are exceptionally skilled; with them, our chances of success are much greater."

Bloodbeard snorted heavily, temporarily suppressing his anger, and turned to Gillo, asking the question that concerned him most: "Enough nonsense! What did Euron say? What price did he offer?"

Gillo's smile faded slightly, and he spoke in as calm a tone as possible, "The meaning of Lord Euron, the Lord of the Sea Beasts—he said he could spare our lives. But there is no reward." He paused, then emphasized, "Our lives are the reward."

"What?! Damn it!" Bloodbeard erupted in fury, like a raging lion, his roar echoing through the narrow underground hall. "Did we all come all this way, so many brothers died, and in the end, it was all for nothing?! Not even a single penny?!"

Pranda Na. Gison of the Ravens spoke in his distinctive, chilling Gislian accent, his voice low but like a bucket of ice water: "Our lives are now in his hands. Leaving this grave alive is the greatest reward. We—have agreed."

"I disagree!" Bloodbeard roared, his eyes flashing with greed and ferocity. He chuckled and said, "Since there's no reward, why don't we do something big before we move out? Let's rob that old bastard Donovan Lyman's vault!"

We can't go home empty-handed!

The atmosphere suddenly became tense in the dimly lit tent.

"Why do you disagree?!"

Cassius Frazier, who had been silently observing, let out a mocking laugh: "Everything Donovan Lyman owns already belongs to Lord Euron, the Lord of the Sea Beasts. What you want to steal is not the fallen monarch of Valano, but Lord Euron's spoils of war."

"Do you think you're tougher than the combined fleet of the Stone Steps Islands, or stronger than those sea king behemoths?"

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Bloodbeard roared in fury, his fiery red beard seemingly standing on end. He took a sudden step forward, his massive body exuding an intense aura of oppression, his hand already on the handle of his axe at his waist. "Shut the hell up! If you dare utter another fart, I'll chop you up first!"

The bald Salo, who had been silently picking his nose, suddenly stopped. He raised his face, which bore a hideous scar, and his sinister gaze swept between Cassius and the bloodbeard before finally landing on the enraged captain. His voice was hoarse and calm, yet carried an undeniable sense of reality: "Cassius is right."

He paused, ignoring the blood-bearded man's face, which instantly turned even more ashen, and continued, "Our current situation is about finding a way to survive, not about creating trouble and courting death."

Gillo Reha's smile became somewhat subtle. He spoke slowly, as if discussing a trivial matter: "Lord Euron—there is a second condition."

"Damn it!" Bloodbeard's anger, which Salo had just suppressed, flared up again upon hearing this, spitting almost onto Gilo's face. "This one is already so tough, and there are conditions?! Does that sea monster want us to be cannon fodder, to fill the moat?!"

"No." Gillo's voice suddenly turned cold, like ice. "He wants someone's head."

"Who?" Bloodbeard asked instinctively, seemingly curious about which unlucky soul had made Euron's death list.

The instant his gaze swept over them, Cassius Frazier, who had been as silent as a stone, abruptly looked up, uttering two cold words as if declaring: "Yours!"

Before the words were even finished!

Standing to the side and behind Bloodbeard, Prandar Na. Gison, the leader of the Raven Gang, flashed a fierce light in his eyes. The dagger that had been hidden in his sleeve was like a venomous snake emerging from its hole. With lightning speed, he plunged it into Bloodbeard's unsuspecting back!

"Ugh—!" Bloodbeard's massive body stiffened abruptly, his face instantly frozen in agony and disbelief. Just as he was about to roar or scream, Gillo Reha, who was beside him, pounced like a cheetah, using all his strength to cover his mouth, forcibly silencing the desperate sound, leaving only a muffled and painful "hoarse" sound from his throat.

Almost simultaneously, Bald Salo crouched down like a ghost, and with another poisoned dagger, he plunged it precisely into Bloodbeard's abdomen from bottom to top at a sinister angle, until the hilt was gone!

Blood instantly soaked through the clothes.

Cassius Frazier was the last to act, but he delivered the fatal blow. He stepped forward expressionlessly, the dagger in his hand, imbued with long-suppressed resentment and ruthlessness, mercilessly plunging into Bloodbeard's still-struggling heart!

Bloodbeard's wide eyes were filled with shock, anger, resentment, and a rapidly fading light before finally dimming completely. His massive body convulsed violently a few times under Gilo's grip before collapsing completely.

Cassius drew his dagger, ignoring the corpse on the ground, turned and walked to the corner of the tent, picking up his signature massive battle axe. He returned, and under the silent gaze of the other three, raised the axe high and snapped it!

With a sickening thud, Bloodbeard's enormous head, still bearing the look of shock, was completely separated from his body.

Cassius Frazier bent down, grabbed the bloodied head, and lifted it high, coldly stating to the red-bearded man's unseeing eyes, "From this day forward, I, Cassius Frazier, am the new leader of the Cat Band!"

The transfer of power, within this confined space, was completed in an instant in the bloodiest and most direct way.