Captain – Chapter 132 – He’s Back

“But Captain, what about the Jenny Skate?”

Cassius placed the falcon on his shoulder and quickly followed behind Richi. His throat bobbed a few times, but he couldn’t help asking this question.

As Old John had reported to Roy, the purpose of the Mermaid’s current voyage was to intercept the Federation’s largest ever treasure ship with the richest cargo—the Jenny Skate. That astonishing sum of money was what they planned to use to repair the damage done to Yadris.

For nearly half a year, they had allowed Yadris to remain in chaos, joined forces with former enemies, drifted endlessly on the ocean like ghosts, devouring every life they encountered, amassing as much wealth as possible and spreading their infamy—all in preparation for a devil who had already been buried at sea.

Now, the long passage of time had proven that the captain could never return. If they could just seize the wealth aboard the Jenny Skate, they could return to their former lives. But at this crucial moment, Richi suddenly ordered a return to port, which compelled the First Mate to speak up.

Richi didn’t answer his question and walked straight out of the captain’s cabin, continuing until he reached the railing of the Mermaid, where he finally stopped, gripping the railing.

“The Jenny Skate…”

The young man repeated the name, then glanced at his First Mate. “To hell with it, Cassius.”

Seeing that rare display of emotion in those blood-colored pupils, Cassius swallowed, knowing there was no possibility of negotiating the captain’s decision. He could only agree with a bitter face. “Yes, Captain, but you see, this ship has no resistance left. Just another ten minutes or so…”

Richi looked at the Fighting Squad members who had already set up gangplanks and were starting to transport barrels of wine, his face expressionless. “Three minutes. I’ll give you only three minutes to get everyone back to their positions. Then, call all the department heads to the meeting room.”

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With that, the young man pushed hard against the railing and walked toward the wooden door leading to the lower deck.

“Cap-Captain, and this ship…”

Hearing the captain’s firm orders, the First Mate inwardly groaned. If they didn’t even take the cargo from the Black Prince, their voyage would be operating at a loss.

Richi paused and turned back to look at his First Mate. Only when the other man had shut his mouth with a trembling face did he rasp, “Leave it. Sink it directly.”

“Yes, Captain.”

As the footsteps gradually receded, Cassius breathed rapidly, suppressing the fear rising in his heart, then shouted to the people on the Black Prince’s deck and those walking on the gangplanks: “Everyone, drop whatever you’re holding and get to your positions!”

“Quickly, quickly, you bastards! Three minutes, we only have three minutes!”

Hearing the First Mate’s roar, the squad members looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what had happened, but they instinctively put down the heavy wine barrels or precious spices they were carrying and hurried toward the gangplanks.

“Put everything down and get back to the ship, move fast!”

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The bear-like muscular Fern had just climbed out of the wooden door when he heard the First Mate’s urgent command. He hurriedly threw down a handful of fine swords and shouted at the squad members who hadn’t yet reacted.

Although he looked down on the effeminate First Mate in his heart, seeing Cassius’s unsettled state made his own mood turn grave.

For someone who valued his image like life itself to be shouting without regard for his dignity, something major must have happened.

The crew of the Mermaid were all well-trained, especially the boarding combat specialists. So although they were caught off guard, they still managed to return to the ship within the three-minute limit and head to their respective posts.

The cannon fire that had ceased for a long time sounded again. In a series of violent explosions, the Black Prince emitted an unbearable swan song, broke in two, and sank into the sea.

Under Cassius’s command, hurried footsteps echoed across the deck. The sailors began to raise the sails that had been lowered to reduce speed, while the helmsman turned the rudder fully, forcibly turning the Mermaid around to head back in the direction they had come, at full speed.

The heavy wooden door was roughly opened, and those responsible for various parts of the Mermaid came to the second deck and poured into the meeting room with its doors wide open. At the end of the long table in the meeting room, the blood-eyed young man had been waiting for some time.

“Bang!”

Fern was the last to enter the meeting room. He forcefully closed the door and took the second position on one side of the long table, indicating that before him, there were two higher-ranking individuals.

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Generally, on a pirate ship, capable people received special treatment, and the leader of the Fighting Squad was second only to the First Mate. But at this moment, someone else sat in what should have been his seat.

He was also a young man, but unlike the First Mate who was as delicate as a woman, he was quite heroic in appearance, with a pair of black eyes as sharp as an eagle’s.

Victor Varen, the Mermaid’s sniper, had been a famed marksman in the Eastern Seas since the days of Red Beard. Earlier, through the thick fog and across a distance of over sixty meters, he had taken out the Black Prince’s two helmsmen with two shots—his handiwork.

Apart from the assistant helmsman who was still at the wheel and the four including Richi, three others participated in this emergency meeting: the bosun, the gunner chief, and the master helmsman—all core figures on the Mermaid.

With everyone assembled, these important individuals all turned their gaze toward the silent captain at the end of the long table.

At this moment, the young man was playing with a sharp dagger that had several deep blood grooves on its blade. This finely crafted instrument of death was identical to the one Roy had left with the proprietress of the Banshee’s Eye.

After some time, just as the atmosphere in the meeting room had become so heavy that it was hard to breathe, Richi spoke.

The emotion contained in his hoarse voice was faint, as if discussing the most ordinary matter, but its content made many present change their expressions.

“He’s back.”

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Except for the still-calm Victor and Fern, whose face showed slight bewilderment as he hadn’t yet grasped the situation, the other four who had worked under Roy all displayed expressions of disbelief, mixed with traces of shock.

Just from this single pronoun, they understood everything.

At this moment, Cassius finally understood the reason for the captain’s earlier reaction. His lips twisted into an ugly smile, and he asked with a slightly trembling voice, “Captain… is the information reliable?”

“Old John’s handwritten letter, Cassius. Our good captain is now waiting for us to return to Yadris.”

The young man leaned slightly forward, staring at Cassius’s somewhat pale face. “What’s wrong? Are you afraid?”

At these words, a flush of red surged onto Cassius’s face. He put away his smile and said through gritted teeth, “Fear? What use is fear? When we did all those things, we never thought of turning back. He… he’s come back at just the right time. If he couldn’t return, wouldn’t all our preparations these days have been in vain?”

The First Mate stared glumly out the porthole, watching the white waves breaking against the glass, as if across countless distances, he could see those unforgettable dark golden eyes, see that devil who had returned from death.

As he had said, they had made many preparations, each arrangement potentially deadly, but when truly facing that person, his heart still lacked confidence, only because that person was…

Captain Roy.