Captain – Chapter 164 – My Business With Him

“I thought you’d abandoned me.”

After the initial surprise, looking at Lance and the others who had come up to the deck, then at Old John’s miserable appearance with his broken nose and blood-covered face, Roy quickly guessed what had happened in the cabin. So she shrugged and smiled.

“I… I abandoned you once before, but the facts have proven that without you, the Mermaid and Yadris have fallen into a hell compared to the past.”

Old John’s voice was very hoarse. He struggled to say: “Whether it’s the brutal rule or the endless killing, that was never the result I wanted to see. But… but by the time I realized, it was already too late—too late to change anything, too late for me to have the courage to try.”

“Even when you appeared before me, my only thought was to quickly take my daughter and flee this place, as far away as possible.”

Old John breathed rapidly a few times: “Until I watched you disappear into the rain curtain, watched you alone rushing into this war without the slightest hope, I suddenly awoke. I realized that from beginning to end, everything I possessed—power, wealth, even courage—all came from you.”

“And at the very end, you gave me trust, allowing me to see… your change, to see that you’re no longer as coldly ruthless as before. So I came back, for you, for the children, and for myself.”

In this old sailor’s mouth, all sailors on the Mermaid seemed like his own children.

Hearing this term of endearment, the sailors standing silently behind the pair exchanged glances, their faces revealing complex expressions filled with melancholy and nostalgia.

“Listen, listen! How great, how selfless, Old John!”

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After a clap of thunder, Cassius’s sharp voice suddenly rang out, echoing in the ears of everyone on deck.

The young man stepped forward with a twisted expression: “You despicable, shameless, double-dealing character! You who manipulate people’s hearts, then wash your hands clean—how dare you speak such words? If not for you, that mutiny would never have happened!”

“Yes, because of those meaningless voyages time after time, we were all exhausted, all harboring discontent and complaints in our hearts. But the one who truly transformed these negative emotions into hatred was you, John Davidson.”

“You even had the ability to persuade Captain Richi, the courage to bind the devil to the cross of judgment. But now, you’ve switched sides again, wanting to send us to the gallows. Whose side are you really on? What exactly is going through that rusty old brain of yours?”

Cassius narrowed his eyes slightly, his pupils reflecting cold light and murderous intent: “You think you can turn the tide with those amateur sailors? You think if Captain Roy wins, she’ll just forget everything and let you and your daughter leave to live a peaceful life? How have you become more naive with age, you old fossil?”

After coughing forcefully several times, coughing until the hand before his mouth was covered in blood, Old John was about to say something but was stopped by Roy’s raised hand.

“If I win, my former bosun can certainly have a happy retirement, Cassius. I can still decide that much.”

Roy spread her hands and smiled: “As for changing sides and double-dealing… please, we’re not innocent children, nor are we puppets loyal to the state machinery. We are pirates.”

“Despicable, cunning, brave, free pirates. Among us, betrayal and loyalty always go hand in hand. Whoever is stronger, whoever can bring the crew a better life, the crew supports them. Conversely, they stage a mutiny and drag that person down from their high position. Look, aren’t I the best example?”

Looking at the speechless First Mate, the girl laughed flamboyantly, spreading her arms against the wind and rain as if a deity welcoming worshippers: “So I declare, anyone whose hands aren’t stained with the blood of my supporters, if you put down your weapons now, you will all survive after this war ends.”

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“When that time comes, if you want to leave, I won’t stop you. If you want to continue serving me, I welcome you wholeheartedly.”

The outcome of this war was clearly still undecided, yet Roy had already listed conditions like a victor, preemptively forgiving those whose crimes were not severe.

The girl’s willful and arrogant demeanor seemed to possess a certain magic. Far from making her enemies feel disgusted, it made them deeply believe her, as if whatever she said was forthright and unvarnished truth.

This was the captivating yet deadly charm possessed by the Golden-Eyed Devil.

“Clang.”

After a deathly silence, someone—it wasn’t clear who—took the lead. A curved blade was thrown to the ground. Then one after another, the sound of metal striking wood became incessant.

Cassius turned his head somewhat stiffly, watching those pirates who threw down their blades and walked with heads bowed toward both sides, not daring to make eye contact with him. He opened his mouth as if wanting to say something, but in the end, not a word came out.

The force of more than seventy people suddenly lost most of its members, leaving only the twenty-odd who had blood on their hands and couldn’t escape judgment. Besides them, even those crew members loyal to Richi chose at this moment to be cold observers.

Because in their view, at this stage, perhaps that young man would also change his mind and return to his captain’s side. After all, given the relationship between the two, as long as they talked things through, any problem could be resolved.

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But what surprised many people, and reassured the panicking Fighting Squad members and the Mermaid’s important figures, was that the young man still stood quietly—stood behind them, stood opposite to the Golden-Eyed Devil.

“Well then, the problem is easily solved now.”

Not surprised by the young man’s choice, Roy didn’t even glance at him. She continued to look at Cassius and those beside him, smiling confidently and calmly.

Hearing this, Lance, who had been standing to the side and slightly behind Roy, dragged his curved blade forward, walking toward those people. After a brief hesitation, the sailors also followed his steps.

The opposition had only twenty-odd people left, while they had nearly three hundred.

Even though they were physically weakened by exhaustion and hunger, and most had terribly poor fighting skills, facing an enemy ten times fewer in number, the advantage was still overwhelming.

But just as Lance was about to pass Roy, she extended her hand to stop him.

Almost simultaneously, a gunshot tore through the rainy night, and a small hole suddenly appeared in the wooden plank just one step in front of Lance.

That was an unforgiving shot from the marksman.

This sudden shot made Lance’s pupils contract slightly and successfully stopped the sailors’ advance. Those who knew of Victor’s existence looked with astonishment toward the darkness on the main mast, not knowing what he intended to do.

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“Lance, while I’m very happy to see you again, I don’t want this reunion to be so brief. So, wait a little longer, wait patiently.”

Roy smiled, glancing at the main mast and cursing “stubborn” under her breath. Then she stepped forward and waved at the vigilant people: “What are you all standing there for? Move aside.”

“What?” Cassius frowned slightly, his face full of incredulity.

“Cassius, I think one should have some self-awareness. You don’t really believe that you, Old John, or those fools who wield power but only know how to follow the trend, are the masterminds behind the betrayal, the controllers behind the scenes, worthy of being… my enemy in this game, do you?”

Shaking her head gently, Roy looked at the pale-faced young man with pity and sneered: “Without him, would you have had the courage to betray me? Come on, my former helmsman.”

“This war has always been between him and me, and can only be ended by the two of us. Isn’t that right, you little bastard?”

“Yes, Captain.”

The hoarse voice came from afar as the crowd gradually parted, making way for the expressionless young man.

At this point, after half a year and countless changes, the captain and first mate of the Mermaid finally faced each other across the wind and rain.