Captain – Chapter 136 – The Only Chance of Victory

After the brief negotiation between Richi and Solomon, the upper echelons of the Mermaid and the Constantine gathered together, making the once spacious cabin suddenly feel crowded.

“Captain Richi, is the intelligence… accurate?”

Arnold, sitting at Solomon’s right, lifted his monocle, his polite smile long gone. He frowned as he looked at the young man who was cutting into a bloody steak, asking in a grave tone.

Seeing that the captain had no intention of answering, Cassius sighed helplessly.

He spread his hands toward the Black Emperor’s crew: “There is no intelligence more urgent or more precise than this, gentlemen. If it weren’t for Old John’s confidential letter, why would we be willing to give up the Jenny Skate to find you bastards?”

“Hey, Cassius, your mouth is still as offensive as ever,” the Constantine’s thin, pole-like bosun grinned with a sinister smile.

Comfortably leaning back in his high-backed chair, Cassius smiled and said, “Thank you for the compliment.”

Arnold raised his hand to stop the bosun who wanted to throw a few more taunts, and asked, “If he has truly returned, we indeed need to take this seriously. So, Cassius, what else did the confidential letter say?”

“Captain Roy wants our intelligence officer to find a way to lure the Mermaid back to Yadris,” Cassius said unhurriedly.

After pinching his chin and waiting for a moment, finding no further information forthcoming, Arnold frowned and looked at Cassius’s languid expression: “That’s it?”

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“That’s it.”

Cassius shrugged: “Before entering Bone Harbor Bay, I already sent him a reply. Given the distance between here and Yadris, I believe the letter has already reached his hands by now.”

“So please be patient, gentlemen. By dawn, detailed intelligence will be delivered to our designated person outside the bay, and then presented before us.”

Looking at the reserved smile on Cassius’s face that seemed to suggest everything was under control, the thin bosun gave a cold laugh: “Old John, Old John… Cassius, if I remember correctly, he was once Captain Roy’s most loyal dog.”

“With someone like that, after seeing the Golden-Eyed Devil, can you really guarantee which side he’ll stand on?”

Hearing his words, the Black Emperor’s subordinates exchanged flashing glances, clearly harboring doubts on this point.

On the former Mermaid, those qualified to stand by Roy’s side, apart from the Blood-Eyed Butcher, were probably limited to just this old man. With Old John’s cunning and shrewdness, no one could guarantee he wouldn’t switch sides at the last moment.

“Alright, alright, Randall, be friendly. Now our two sides are… intimate allies,” Solomon smiled, slowly raising his glass to the Mermaid’s crew, and seeing the Black Emperor’s gesture, the important figures of the Constantine followed suit.

Except for Richi, who was still methodically tackling his bloody steak, the Mermaid’s crew exchanged glances before raising their glasses under Cassius’s lead. Both sides touched glasses across the table.

Everyone drank up.

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Solomon tapped the crystal glass on the table, neither too hard nor too lightly, and looked at Richi with narrowed eyes: “But Randall’s concern isn’t without reason, my little captain. Old John…”

“Is he really trustworthy?”

The evening breeze blew through the slightly open wooden window, making the candlelight flicker restlessly. In the alternating light and shadow cast by the flames was a new piece of parchment, its ink not yet dry, obviously written just moments ago.

The peregrine falcon with sleek, lustrous feathers stood on the perch beside the table, vigilantly watching the unfamiliar figure leaning casually against the bookshelf, as if ready to let out a shrill cry to alert the guards not far from here should she make any suspicious move.

“It’s alright, Jay, relax, she’s not an enemy,” Old John said softly to reassure it, his slightly cloudy brown eyes moving back and forth, scanning slowly over the lines of ink.

This room was small but elegantly furnished, with feather and thread mechanisms set everywhere to prevent intrusion. This was the office in the council hall where the old sailor worked, and the uninvited guest leaning against the bookshelf with folded arms, causing the falcon’s anxiety, was none other than Roy.

“I say, Old John, is this stupid bird yours?” Roy asked with interest, examining the falcon that gradually relaxed after the old sailor spoke.

“Yes, though unfortunately it’s not as clever as Alfie.”

Old John finished reading the letter, pushed it aside, pulled out a blank piece of parchment from his side, picked up a quill, and then turned his gaze toward the young woman: “Captain, Cassius wants specific intelligence about you.”

“Cassius?” Roy was taken aback, seemingly unfamiliar with this person.

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“Cassius Peters, former master helmsman of the Mermaid, now serving as First Mate to Captain Richi.”

The old sailor wasn’t surprised by the captain’s reaction. To Roy, everyone on the Mermaid except for Richi and himself was replaceable. In Cassius’s words, they were just…

Pawns.

“Oh, I remember now, you mean that effeminate one.”

Hearing the words “master helmsman” from Old John, Roy finally recalled, smiling somewhat nostalgically: “I always thought that fellow had ill intentions and was full of schemes, but looking at it now, he seems to be doing quite well.”

The old sailor rubbed his temples with some exasperation: “Captain, now is not the time to evaluate former crew members.”

“True enough, I’ll be seeing them soon anyway.”

Roy smiled and said: “What did he want again? Information about me, right? Then tell him everything, word for word.”

Hearing this, Old John hesitantly asked: “Everything?”

“Yes, everything, but you should exaggerate a bit. For instance, that old wreck of a ship and the crew I’ve recently recruited—you can make them sound more threatening,” the captain added, raising her chin.

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“But wouldn’t that make them more vigilant? And judging from the reply location Cassius mentioned, they’ve likely already made contact with the Black Emperor’s people,” Old John asked in confusion.

“Relax, Old John, it’s just a smoke screen.”

Roy waved dismissively, saying with composure: “You and I both know that whether or not the brat and Solomon can truly align their interests, if the Mermaid and the Constantine join forces in battle, even if just providing distant support to each other, that’s absolutely beyond what forces I currently command can contend with.”

“So only a fool would engage them in naval combat. All I need is to draw their attention as much as possible to the main port of Yadris, that’s enough. After all… Richi isn’t stupid enough to bombard the port directly.”

If the Mermaid truly did such a thing, then regardless of the reason, Yadris would be completely finished. Even the captains who previously used this place as their base would unhesitatingly leave with their people.

Because no one would know whether the Mermaid’s new captain might go berserk again, and who would be the next unfortunate victim.

“Old John, you should know where our chance of victory lies.”

Feeling the young woman’s profound gaze, Old John smiled bitterly, knowing he could not escape this difficult task: “Yes, Captain, our only chance of victory…”

“Is to capture the king.”