Captain – Chapter 85 – Blood Spirit

Unlike ordinary harbors, in Yadris, you didn’t need to present complicated documents or register your name, identity, and cargo with officials. You only needed to pay a trivial docking fee to drop anchor, disembark, and enjoy the unique sights of this pirate city.

Of course, if you didn’t leave some people to guard your ship, it was possible that in the blink of an eye, your beloved vessel would be renamed, change ownership, and sail away. Such situations were common in Yadris, a place filled with pirates, thieves, and criminals.

“Captain, this is the list of people willing to stay.”

Roy held the ship’s wheel with one hand, calling to the sailors to prepare for furling the sails and docking, while slightly turning her face to glance at the parchment in the young man’s hand. “How many in total?”

“Excluding Ben, seventeen in total.”

Caine looked at the ink writing on the yellowed paper and reported each name to the captain: “Erwin King, Rodney Caine… Willie Smith, and that church priest, Philip Arnold.”

Hearing the seventeen names, Roy raised her eyebrows slightly, smiling as she said, “The first sixteen don’t surprise me, as they’ve all been enthusiastic during these two months. But I didn’t expect our dear priest to stay as well. What, does he perhaps want to convert me with the goddess’s precepts?”

“I don’t think that’s the reason.”

Caine put away the list, looking at two figures standing together at the bow, gazing at the busy and chaotic harbor. “Our priest now seems to have become Bivis’s student and assistant.”

“Oh, that’s truly… hard to imagine. I just hope our Mr. Scholar doesn’t lead our poor Philip astray.”

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Roy followed his gaze and then shrugged, expressing a rather pessimistic view.

Who was Bivis?

He was a natural scholar who had survived from hundreds of years ago until today. In that chaotic dark age when he lived, there were no followers of the Auran Goddess, let alone a holy book full of doctrines. So he couldn’t possibly understand any knowledge related to the church.

Besides, most crucially, the scholar was now a devout follower of Lady Annisdora, and that goddess, symbolizing temptation and desire, had always been regarded by the church bishops as the embodiment of evil.

Becoming a disciple of such a “heretic” who worshipped the Lady made the priest’s future look bleak, which was why the captain deeply sympathized with him.

With the sailors’ shouts, the Osprey slowly docked at a pier.

“Well, gentlemen, after about three months of sailing, we’ve finally reached our destination. This captain first thanks you all for your hard work and dedication.”

After securing the ship’s wheel, Roy walked down the spiral staircase and approached the sailors who had gathered together, their expressions mixed with fatigue and excitement. She virtually pressed her left chest and gave a slight bow.

“The successful completion of the voyage is all thanks to you, Captain.”

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“Yes, without you, how could we have escaped that white fog?”

Seeing this, the sailors were slightly startled, feeling somewhat flattered, and then hurriedly responded warmly to the captain, with genuine respect and support in their tone.

“Alright, I won’t stand on ceremony any longer. Since we’ve come to Yadris, how can we not enjoy ourselves? Come up and collect your wages.”

Roy straightened up and casually opened the box that Ben had brought up. Instantly, a silver light flashed, dazzling the sailors.

In that heavy wooden box were imperial silver coins engraved with eagle images and half-body portraits of the current emperor. Under the blazing sun, these symbols of wealth reflected a mesmerizing and envious glow.

After the captain nodded and the first mate smiled and beckoned, the sailors erupted in a loud cheer. They lined up in the order they had boarded the ship, waiting patiently and orderly for their turn.

The distribution of payment went smoothly, and soon all sailors received their share of the reward.

Those who had not chosen to stay saluted Roy and then went ashore, while the seventeen sailors whom Caine had named earlier, their pockets full of silver coins, stood at attention under the captain’s scrutinizing gaze.

“Well then, for those who have chosen to stay, before you officially become this captain’s crew, I have some words for you. Please listen carefully, as it may concern your lives.”

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Roy closed the wooden box, now only half-full of silver coins, with a “bang.” Her trademark smile gradually disappeared, replaced by solemnity and seriousness. “First, this captain’s surname is Roy. Some of you may have heard of my past deeds.”

The sailors looked at each other, and then an uncertain voice emerged: “Could you be the Captain Roy who is wanted by the imperial military?”

The captain’s gaze pierced through the crowd, falling on the priest who was raising his hand slightly, and she nodded expressionlessly. “Correct, I am the Golden-Eyed Devil in the Auran military’s words, the murderous demon who, in the eyes of your church, should be burned by hellfire a thousand times over.”

After Roy’s cold voice fell, a brief silence engulfed the deck. The sailors’ eyes unanimously revealed shock, absurdity, and irrepressible wavering.

Although a large portion of these men were idle, scoundrels, and bullies from Frans Island, deep in their hearts, they still firmly believed that they were part of the Auran Empire and were proud of it.

So upon learning that the girl before them was actually the empire’s mortal enemy, they naturally developed some feelings of rejection. After all, under the military’s relentless propaganda, the Golden-Eyed Devil had been portrayed as a cold-blooded predator who, without regard for right or wrong, specialized in plundering and sinking imperial ships.

Seeing the sailors’ troubled expressions, Roy neither continued to narrate her glorious deeds nor forced them to take a stand, but simply waited quietly.

It wasn’t long before Willie squeezed out from among the sailors and mustered the courage to ask the girl: “Captain, I want to know, are you really as the military says, indiscriminately slaughtering and destroying every ship from Auran? If that’s truly the case, then I’m afraid I cannot continue to follow your path.”

Roy’s gaze lingered on his face for a moment, then swept over the face of each sailor. During this process, no one had the courage to meet her eyes.

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After a moment of silence, the captain raised her tone slightly: “All of you, raise your heads. One by one, don’t you pride yourselves on Auran? How come you don’t even have the courage to look at me?”

As the captain mentioned their homeland, a certain hot-bloodedness flowing in their veins was evoked, and the sailors raised their heads one after another, lifting their chins to look at the girl.

“Very good. Now tell me, do you all want to know the answer to this question?”

“Yes, Captain!” the sailors answered in unison.

“Is this the blood spirit of the Auran people…”

Roy spoke mockingly, then looked at the silent first mate and asked softly, “Do you want to know as well, Caine?”

Caine remained silent for a moment, then nodded lightly, giving the same answer as the sailors.

“Yes, Captain.”