Chapter 71

And so the night passed, the sun broke through the fog, and its rays streamed through the open windows of the cabin, illuminating the crew’s pale buttocks. The newly awakened crew of the Wind Fury had no idea what had happened. Rubbing the sleep from their eyes, they were horrified to discover that their fleet’s formation had undergone a terrifying change—

The original fleet of dozens of ships had suddenly expanded into a massive fleet of over a hundred vessels. Among the uniformly flying German flags, a few Spanish Empire flags appeared at regular intervals, creating an incongruous sight. The Menorca pier was completely packed. When Caesar, with a dark expression, ordered the fleet to set sail, the ships creaked and groaned into motion… The fleet of over a hundred ships had become the undisputed king of the sea, with the ships arranged in perfect order, forming a long, disciplined line. By the time the last ship left the port, the flagship Wind Fury was already several nautical miles ahead—

And beside the flagship and the first mate’s ship, which had once sailed side by side, another three-masted galley, identical to the Wind Fury, had silently appeared.

Interestingly, this three-masted galley had recently launched a sneak attack on the Black Sea Wolf’s fleet. Even if it were reduced to ashes, the Wind Fury’s crew, who harbored a deep hatred for it, would still recognize it—this counterfeit Wind Fury could only be one ship in the entire Mediterranean: the Hornet.

But this morning, they hadn’t heard the red-haired dwarf’s usual overly energetic shouting and yelling. It seemed the captain of the Hornet wasn’t on his ship?

…Confusing.

Before the crew of the flagship Wind Fury could express their shock and protest over the sudden merger with the Hornet, a rough shout came from the side of the ship. Dropping their breakfasts, they rushed toward the center of the gossip, dozens of crew members leaning over the side of the ship, craning their necks to look down, causing the Wind Fury to tilt slightly—

No one noticed that the Wind Fury’s captain, who had just finished his morning workout, shirtless, was standing on the three-story deck, his face already as dark as the bottom of a pot.

“Wow, a woman!”

“A pretty girl! What’s this? Crew benefits?!”

“Hey, good morning, sweetheart!”

…

The crew excitedly discovered that a long, thick rope was tied to the Wind Fury’s starboard side, tightly connecting to a small fishing boat—like a big dog walking a small dog, the Wind Fury was towing the boat steadily forward. The best part was that the well-equipped fishing boat, complete with a cabin, had a young girl on board. At that moment, the silly girl was beaming a bright smile, loudly greeting the overly thirsty pirates with a good morning.

Following the basic rule that women couldn’t board the ship, after buying a pet for the slave, the captain remembered that he also needed to buy a cage for the pet.

So, with a dark expression, Caesar kicked open the door of the already closed ship merchant’s shop and bought a decent fishing boat for Zhizhi, spending another three hundred gold coins.

Spending five thousand three hundred gold coins in one night, even Caesar couldn’t help but feel his face turn green with heartache.

Lighting a cigarette and wiping away the thin layer of sweat from his morning workout, the captain narrowed his amber eyes and silently turned back to the Captain’s Cabin—

It had rained yesterday, and the morning sun had evaporated the moist air, making the cabin particularly stuffy and humid. The Captain’s Cabin behind Caesar was unusually quiet. Except for the slight sunlight streaming in through the window leading to the deck, the room was dark, and the atmosphere was so peaceful it didn’t feel like morning had arrived—on the wide bed, a large lump rose and fell with the steady breathing of the person beneath it.

With a cold snort, the captain found it extremely annoying and averted his gaze. Pulling out a chair and sitting down at his desk, the darkness obscured the man’s facial expression. He lit a candle, and the dim light only illuminated the area around the desk, leaving the direction of the bed completely untouched.

Caesar reached out and casually picked up the mysterious wooden box that had been left on the desk the day before—holding a cigarette in his mouth, he opened a drawer and took out a valuable dagger, carefully starting to clean the seaweed and barnacles off the box. Through the haze of smoke, the intricate carvings on the box gradually became visible…

It was only then that the man noticed the box didn’t even have a lock. It was as if something had been used to seal it shut, as there was no visible seam between the lid and the body of the box… The thought of forcibly breaking it open flashed through his mind momentarily. After so many years at sea, the Black Sea Wolf had seen all kinds of treasures. He wasn’t unfamiliar with the kind of loss that came from violently breaking open a box made by a special craftsman, only to trigger a small mechanism inside that would destroy the precious documents within.

Frowning, the man tentatively gripped the box with both hands and applied a bit of force—three seconds later, the box remained stubbornly closed, and a slightly stunned expression appeared on the captain’s face.

What the hell? It really wouldn’t open. Tossing the box aside, the captain, somewhat bewildered, removed the cigarette from his lips and fell into rare contemplation… He recalled the words of the woman named Zhizhi—people who don’t exist in this world? What the hell was that? Ghosts? Spirits? Or monsters?

Heh, damn it.

With a wry smile, the rarely troubled captain fixed his gaze on a corner of the desk…

Until a loud, grating snore from the bed pulled him back to reality.

“…”

There are always people in the world who, when you’re troubled, will recklessly remind you of how carefree they are. With a cold, demonic smile, the man stood up from the chair, took a few long strides to the bed, and with a strong grip on the corner of the thin blanket, he yanked it off without a word—

His hand holding the blanket froze, and the scene on the bed made the captain’s temple twitch.

In the dim light, cold amber eyes met a pair of calm golden ones.

Seemingly unbothered by Caesar’s sudden move, the red-haired boy lay comfortably in the man’s bed, his hair slightly disheveled from the blanket being pulled off. However, he clearly didn’t care, giving the man a silent, victorious smile. He pulled the black-haired young man, who was sleeping like a dead pig, closer to his chest and pressed him into his arms. Leoza raised a finger and gently pressed it to his lips.

Caesar: “…”

Leoza: “Shh, good morning, bro =3=.”

Caesar: “…”

Miguel: “Big Dog…? Mwah—snore—”

Tsk, idiot. Without a change in expression, the captain raised an eyebrow and silently mouthed to the red-haired dwarf who had somehow ended up in his bed: Get the hell off my bed, trash.

Leoza grinned and, as if holding a treasure, hugged the person in his arms even tighter. A vein popped on the man’s temple, and unable to tolerate it any longer, he reached out to grab him. Caught off guard by Caesar’s sudden move, the red-haired young man instinctively let go of Miguel and rolled off the bed with remarkable agility—

He landed, drew a pistol from his waist, cocked it, and aimed it—all in one smooth, silent motion!

With the barrel of the gun pointed at his forehead, the man showed no fear. Instead, he gave a cold smile and, without even looking, flung the dagger in his hand. With a dull thud, the dagger sent the pistol flying, embedding itself into the cabin wall next to Leoza’s head!

Ah, just the thing to get the blood flowing in the morning. Licking his lips, the boy grinned excitedly and, from his kneeling position, swiftly drew a gleaming dagger from his boot. Arching his back like a nimble feline, he lunged at Caesar—

Just as the gleaming dagger was about to reach his chin, the man’s wrist flicked, and he grabbed the kerosene lamp from the desk, smashing it down on his half-brother’s head without a word!

The lamp shattered, and amidst the broken glass, blood mixed with the sticky, greasy kerosene as it dripped down the red-haired boy’s head—

When Miguel woke up, he rubbed his eyes and saw the fierce battle not far away.

Miguel: “…”

Every morning, he woke up to see brothers trying to kill each other and destroy the house.

Brother, why have you taken this path of no return, raising your dagger against your brother!

Brother, why don’t you use your weathered hands to hold up the sky of this chuuni brother!

The man, expressionless and effortlessly, lifted the red-haired dwarf and tossed him aside without hesitation. With two loud crashes, a wooden box rolled off the overturned desk and across the carpet, coming to a stop at the feet of someone standing barefoot on the carpet.

Miguel looked down and thought the box looked somewhat familiar.

Over in the Captain’s Cabin, the boy crawled out from a pile of nautical charts and stationery, wiped the ink off his face, and charged at the man, slamming into his stomach and pinning him against the wall—

Miguel picked up the box.

He tossed it in his hand a few times, feeling its weight. It was quite heavy, probably made of good wood (missing the point).

Then, as Caesar threw Leoza aside for the second time, Miguel opened it.

Effortlessly, he opened it.

“…” The young navigator was momentarily stunned.

Then he let out a sigh of disappointment, the kind reserved for counterfeit products—

“Huh, why is the lid so loose?”