Captain – Chapter 129 – The Mermaid at the Bow

The breathing of the person beside her gradually became steady and prolonged. The raven was also asleep, hanging on the perch specially prepared for it. But Roy, who should have been entering dreamland due to intoxication, moved her arm upward slightly and slowly opened her eyes.

The captain’s eyes, which had seemed shrouded in mist earlier, were now completely clear. The flush on her face had also faded away imperceptibly, as if she had never drunk any alcohol tonight.

Moving her gaze away from the colorful, star-like tiny gems, Roy looked at her First Mate’s back—not particularly broad, yet especially reassuring—and smiled silently. But soon her smile disappeared, leaving only calmness and rationality in her dark golden pupils.

Her gaze passed over Caine, through the gap in the curtains, looking at the barely visible night sky. She didn’t close her eyes for a long time.

I hope… you won’t regret it, my First Mate.

The sound of wings flapping broke through the night, yet couldn’t reach the distant Banshee’s Eye.

In the dark night sky, a pitch-black silhouette, difficult for human eyes to discern, flew swiftly. It swept past the bright and lively Horn of Plenty, over the square filled with thunderous snores, darting between ships silent as the grave, and finally disappeared into the thick sea fog.

Five days later, early morning, in waters near the boundary between the eastern and western ocean domains—the Prest Boundary.

A medium-sized merchant vessel loaded with Federation specialty red wine pushed through the waves, sailing on a sea surface where sunlight had not yet brightened and morning mist was pervasive.

This double-masted square-rigged ship named Black Prince wasn’t a civilian vessel like the Osprey, but a decommissioned warship purchased at great expense by a smuggler. It was equipped with a full twenty-four eighteen-pound cannons, plus deliberately thickened hull plating, sufficient to withstand attacks from most pirate ships.

“Erwin, how’s the situation?”

Captain Joseph, with a cigar in his mouth, climbed the spiral staircase, boarded the helm, and approached the First Mate who was at the wheel. Looking toward the mist ahead of the brave warrior statue with shield and spear, he lightly exhaled a puff of white smoke and asked with a strong voice.

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The First Mate, called Erwin, turned his head and said with a smile, “Reporting, Captain. If the wind direction and speed remain stable, we’ll reach Tizde in a few days.”

Tizde was also a commercial port in the Southern Islands, established after negotiations and cooperation between a group of merchants and several pirate captains. Although its trading volume, selling prices, and circulation of gold and silver were far inferior to Yadris, it excelled in safety and stability.

Once they entered Tizde’s waters, there would be pirate ships coming to escort them. After that, if any ignorant pirates came to plunder, it would be equivalent to making enemies with all the captains of Tizde.

“Very good. There’s still two weeks until the trading deadline, so it seems there’s no risk of being overdue.” Joseph grinned, revealing a large gold-plated front tooth.

Seeing the captain’s relieved expression, Erwin asked curiously, “But Captain, we’ve always delivered cargo to Yadris in the past. Why are we detouring to Tizde this time? You know that everything there isn’t high except for the terrifyingly high fees.”

Although Tizde would have specialized ships for escort, it wasn’t free. A considerable protection fee was required, and the profits generated from trading in Tizde would have to surrender fifty percent to the several captains who maintained order.

Although smuggling business yielded substantial profits, after deducting this fifty percent, plus the protection fee, their profit would be severely reduced.

Yadris didn’t have this problem. When Captain Roy established the trading rules, she had stipulated that only half a percent of the profit would be collected, and it was net profit. So armed and powerful merchant ships like the Black Prince that didn’t fear raids would generally choose to go there.

“Don’t mention Yadris anymore. That ghostly place can’t be visited now.”

Joseph sighed, saying with a heavy tone, “Coliver wrote in his letter to me that a month after we set sail, Yadris’s original owner, Captain Roy, died in battle with the navy. Now that place has become the Butcher’s territory.”

“The original rules, including the trading code, have all been overturned. The pirates on the island have completely lost their restraints and are rampaging and robbing recklessly. Coliver also said that if he hadn’t run fast enough, he would have been stabbed more than a dozen times and died in the street.”

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“How could this happen? Doesn’t the new master care about Yadris’s development?” Hearing the captain’s lamentation, the First Mate asked in confusion.

“Development?”

The captain snorted, then lowered his voice and said, “That butcher is simply a madman. Never mind the chaotic Yadris, he doesn’t even follow the pirate code. After he became the captain of the Mermaid, every merchant ship they encountered at sea was completely looted.”

“This…” Erwin was slightly stunned. Such exhaustive plundering tactics would be criticized even among pirates.

“And that’s not all. According to a lucky fellow who fell into the sea but didn’t drown, all crew members captured by the Mermaid, regardless of gender or age, whether they resisted or not, would ultimately be exterminated, leaving no survivors.”

Joseph made a throat-cutting gesture. “So we can’t go to Yadris anymore, Erwin. No matter how much we have to pay in fees, we can’t go there anymore.”

The First Mate swallowed and nodded vigorously. “Damn it, it’s just like his title, simply a butcher. What’s the benefit of doing this?”

The captain shook his head, and just as he was about to say he wasn’t clear either, a sudden call came from the lookout post.

“There’s a ship coming ahead, Captain!”

Exchanging a glance with Erwin, Joseph smiled and shrugged, then quickly descended the spiral staircase to the deck. Looking up at the sailor responsible for reconnaissance, he asked, “Can you see the ship’s name?”

“The fog is too thick, can’t see clearly, Captain, but they’re flying a black flag without any pattern!”

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A pure black flag was the most commonly used type by pirates in the waters of the Southern Islands. It both declared the ship’s identity as a pirate vessel yet wouldn’t immediately reveal its exact affiliation—an excellent choice for pirate-on-pirate predation.

It’s not an escort ship.

Joseph frowned slightly. The vessel spotted by the sailor didn’t have Tizde’s public tiger-patterned parrot flag hoisted, so it was obviously not a pirate ship coming to escort them, but possibly a passing raider.

“Have the sailors take their positions, raise Tizde’s public flag.”

Joseph instructed the bosun who had run to him immediately after the unidentified ship was discovered. “Also, open the gun ports, quick!”

Although they were already approaching Tizde’s waters, and in theory, once they hoisted the public flag, ordinary pirates wouldn’t give them too much trouble, pirates were still pirates—a bunch of bastards who would risk their lives for gold and silver. No one could be certain whether something unexpected might happen this time.

Soon, the black flag with a tiger-skinned parrot pattern was raised, and the report from the lookout post allowed Joseph, who had been on high alert, to breathe a slight sigh of relief.

“Captain, they’ve changed to a black and white flag, and they’re turning to the right. If nothing unexpected happens, we’ll pass by each other!”

The black and white flag in pirate code meant intimidation, and was also often used to express mutual non-aggression. Clearly, after seeing Tizde’s public flag, the other party didn’t want to cause trouble and become the common enemy of all captains on that island.

“Well done, gentlemen. Stay vigilant, but don’t show hostility. We’ll pass by slowly.”

Joseph took a light puff of his cigar, exhaled the smoke through his nose, and then smiled as he gave instructions to the sailors.

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Although the other party had already raised a two-color flag, some extremely vicious and unscrupulous pirates would still choose to attack when the other side relaxed their vigilance. They still had to be wary.

However, with the Black Prince’s firepower, it wasn’t something just anyone could touch.

Joseph was full of confidence in himself. He walked slowly to the bow, holding the railing, while looking through the fog at the blurry black shadow gradually taking shape not far away.

As time passed, the fog thinned considerably, and the captain, looking at the silhouette of a ship far exceeding their own in size, unconsciously removed the cigar from his mouth and exclaimed with his mouth slightly open, “Damn it, it’s a large warship. I wonder which captain’s flagship it is.”

Those who could own such a scale of warship were few in the entire Southern Islands, and those people were all famous figures among pirates.

Although he was genuinely shocked, Joseph’s mood calmed considerably, after all, those prominent figures wouldn’t resort to such dirty tricks as attacking after raising a dual-color flag.

Finally, the large warship approached the Black Prince. Although under the cover of morning mist, the name at the stern was still indiscernible, the exquisitely detailed figurehead at the bow was already clearly visible.

Looking at the figurehead that was so gorgeous it seemed almost unreal, Captain Joseph’s face, which had been expressing admiration, turned deathly pale at some point. His gaze followed that figurehead, his neck turning stiffly, and even the cigar in his hand inadvertently fell into the sea.

That figurehead, created by some unknown hand, was lifelike and ingeniously crafted, depicting a beautiful woman with her hands clasped before her chest in a praying posture.

Her upper body was bare, her skin as white as if carved from ivory, while her lower half was a curved fish tail, each scale on it reflecting a rainbow-like glow, just like real fish scales.

She was a mermaid, a mermaid sitting at the bow praying to the sea goddess.