Chapter 835: Mockingbird
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Fred was the captain of the pirate ship Mockingbird.
He had the steadfast face of a typical Ettoman man and wine red hair. His right hand had been lost during a pillage and had been replaced with an intimidating iron hook.
Regarding strength, the team he led was practically the lowest rung. There was simply no way to compare with those pirate teams that had already made a name for themselves such as the Octopus Marauder Team.
Fred’s lifetime wish was to be able to rob a merchant ship that was full of gold, which would enable him to immediately retire respectably.
If this wish did not work out, then he would settle for his second wish of letting the Mockingbird pirates become as formidable and famous as the Octopus Marauder pirates.
However, these two wishes seemed rather out of reach based on the current circumstances.
“Recently, our luck hasn’t been good, and we haven’t been able to find a suitable target…” Fred grumbled while gazing into the distant sky.
He did not dare to head to the bustling Golden Route and other sea areas, so he could only cruise around coastal waters like a vulture looking for rotting flesh.
For matters such as robbery, they were largely dependent on luck.
In fact, pirates living in destitution could be practically found everywhere.
After sensing the low morale among his subordinates, Fred shouted loudly, “Hey… Mates, keep your spirits up and sing!”
The few pirates scrubbing the deck lifted their heads. A pirate folksong brimming with freedom and boldness was sung by a mix of voices, resounding throughout the ship.
“… We are pirates, fierce pirates, with a bottle in the left hand, treasure in the right hand.
“We are pirates, carefree pirates, laboring to survive under the guidance of the skull flag.
“We are pirates, pirates with no tomorrow, pirates drifting in the oceans, forever without end…”
Bang!
Just as Fred was thinking about if he should catch a few fish to improve tonight’s meal, there was a loud bang amid the singing voices, and a cabin door was smashed into pieces.
The pirate song abruptly halted. Two bodies were thrown onto the ground, practically like worn-out gunny sacks.
“It’s the boatswain!”
Fred’s eyelid twitched. He no longer looked at the two corpses and turned toward the cabin door.
A rather thin figure walked out with a haughty expression, as though he were a noble inspecting his territory.
Fred was feeling quite uneasy.
This was because Mockingbird was his possession, and he felt that his authority as captain was under question.
“I remember you. You’re the little chap who was fishing…” Fred maintained a steady tone, but the majority of his subordinates had taken out their weapons and surrounded Fang Yuan. “Seems like you’ve rejected my good intentions.”
“Sorry, I don’t work together with these kinds of dregs!” Fang Yuan shrugged his shoulders and smiled widely. “As for you, captain, how about we make a deal?”
“What deal?”
Fred took out a silvery metal wine pot and casually downed a mouthful of spirits.
Only those most intimate with him would know that this was a subconscious action done when he was nervous.
“Let me have this ship and all your subordinates… In return, I can guarantee your life and appoint you as my chief officer!” Fang Yuan said seriously.
“Haha…” The pirates burst into loud laughter. “Don’t think that getting rid of the boatswain makes you amazing… Thinking of seizing our boss’ place? Butcher! Food is here!”
Bang! Bang!
Amid the sound of heavy footsteps, a tall figure pushed aside the crowd and walked over.
The man was two meters tall and half-naked, exposing his numerous centipede-like scars. He could basically scare a child into tears when he smiled.
As he stared at Fang Yuan, his eyes were brimming with bloodthirsty desire.
“Let me introduce myself. I am Butcher!”
Butcher laughed sinisterly and grabbed the enormous cutlass on his waist. “I’ll give you a quick death. Believe me, it’s absolutely a blessing compared to being forced to walk the gangplank and plunging into the sea to feed the sharks!”
“Oh!”
Fang Yuan took a step forward with his right foot, and then his whole body dashed forward like a cannonball.
Bang!
The crisp sound of bones cracking could be heard from Butcher’s chest. His huge figure flew backward while his cutlass landed Fang Yuan’s hand.
“Surrender? Or die?”
He looked at the surrounding pirates with a hint of blood appearing in his eyes.
Since his powers were borrowed and the buff period was limited, he needed to finish this in the shortest amount of time possible.
“Butcher… was defeated in one move?”
The other pirates were startled.
After all, Butcher was the assault captain and accepted by everyone as the strongest among them. But to their surprise, he was not even able to withstand a single blow when facing this youth.
The scene fell dead silent. Shortly after, the pirates roared while dashed forward.
“Really… acting recklessly!”
The long cutlass in Fang Yuan’s hands drew a subtle arc.
Splash!
The first three pirates dashing forward were sliced in half. Huge amounts of blood gushed out along with their intestines, internal organs, and whatnot all over the floor.
Poof!
Straightening the huge cutlass, Fang Yuan suddenly struck again, and another pirate was instantly sliced in two.
“Save us!”
“He isn’t human, he’s a devil!”
“An evil demon from the seas!”
After seeing that Fang Yuan resembled a butcher even more than Butcher, the pirates were finally frightened, practically wetting themselves.
“These stupid idiots!”
Fred looked at the scene, but his hands that were grabbing onto the railing were secretly trembling. “Immediately mobilize the archers and musketeers. Have people in front act as shields… Be careful, he’s an Extraordinary!”
Extraordinary!
They were a community that was truly high above the masses in this world and possessed mysterious powers.
They were very rarely seen even among pirates.
Even for the Octopus Marauder Team, only their captain had the mysterious power of contracting with a giant octopus as his companion.
As for this type of unknown pirate team, it naturally did not have a single Extraordinary.
Nevertheless, they still had methods of going up against the lowest rung of Extraordinaries.
Simply put, it was to have as many people as possible fight until the Extraordinary died.
“A very smart captain!”
Seeing that the pirates had already taken out a few metal shields, Fang Yuan smiled faintly. “Unfortunately… it still isn’t enough to deal with me!”
His steps were graceful, just like a musician dancing elegantly along with music.
For the average Extraordinary, perhaps only their speed and strength exceeded ordinary people.
However, Fang Yuan was different!
His technique had undergone repeated revisions from his experiences in countless worlds and had become extremely polished a long time ago—it was purely a killing technique.
Solely based on his stats window, his experience in saber techniques was at the Legend level at the very least.
Of course, with only the experience but without the matching strength, he still could not compare to those who could single-handedly subdue ten opponents.
Nevertheless, there was naturally no one among these pirates that was difficult for Fang Yuan to deal with.
Bang! Bang!
Fang Yuan dodged, and the place where he had stood earlier now had a few more black holes emitting green smoke.
“Indeed. There’s not much meaning in killing pirates!”
With a few light steps, Fang Yuan reached the crow’s nest.
Fred’s face instantly turned green. He raised his firearm and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Amid the cloud of white smoke, a lead bullet shot out.
Ding!
But at this moment, Fang Yuan followed his heart to move his hand and slice with his cutlass.
The tip of the blade was almost aligned with the bullet. Fred’s pupils constricted as he watched the unbelievable scene before him.
Under Fang Yuan’s long cutlass, the bullet was sliced right through the middle, not injuring him in the slightest.
“An Extraordinary at this level…”
Although he still had a cutlass in his hand, Fred’s face turned white, having lost all confidence. “W-why did you let us capture you when you were fishing? Were you making fun of us?”
“No. I can only say that you weren’t lucky enough!”
Fang Yuan stepped forward and beheaded the captain in one strike.
Even if he had thoughts of acquiring the entire pirate ship and taking over these pirates, he absolutely could not keep the captain.
Not only the captain, but his chief officer and trusted aides would also definitely have to be sent to the grim reaper’s embrace.
“Captain! The captain is dead!”
Once Fred died, the pirates immediately fell into chaos.
“All right. Now, I want to become a pirate, and all of you will become my subordinates. Any objections?”
Fang Yuan took immediate action and directly used violence to instill fear in them.
A pirate’s loyalty was just like the chastity of a prostitute—both jokes.
When they heard this, their mouths opened wide. It was rather unbelievable, but they still loosened their grips on their weapons.
This man was like a grim reaper, and it was obvious that they were not a match for him. Thus, there was no harm in complying for a while first.
However, it was a joke for them to admit him as their captain.
Nevertheless, Fang Yuan quickly made them aware of his methods.
“Where are your chief officer, second officer, and third officer? Let them step out!”
As soon as he finished speaking, two men were isolated.
“Boss! They’re the chief officer and the third officer. As for the second officer, you killed him a moment ago!” said a pirate that looked like a skinny monkey ingratiatingly.
“Mmm. What’s your name?”
Fang Yuan nodded in gratification. Regardless of his motive, he was the first to take his side after all.
“Bill. My name is Bill!”
The skinny monkey was instantly overjoyed and bowed awkwardly.
“Damn it, this clown! You actually dared to betray us! Where are the gunmen? Open fire together. We don’t have to be afraid of him!” roared the chief officer. But the next moment, Fang Yuan flung a few bullets. The bullets whizzed through the air and left several bloody holes in the two men’s bodies.
“If you want to become my subordinates, then immediately step forward with your cutlasses and cut out a part of their bodies!”
Fang Yuan glanced over the pirates. “I mean everyone! From the pirates on the deck to the cooks and galley slaves, everyone must do so! Of course, it appears that just the two of them might not be enough, but it doesn’t matter. I allow you to expose each other! Find the trusted aides of the previous captain!”
Shortly after, Fang Yuan smiled coldly as he watched over ten unlucky fellows being carried out.
It was only proper to first suppress the former captain’s trusted aides and then promote his own henchmen.
The most crucial point here was that he would then retain a few from these unlucky fellows and even promote them to be a small leader.
The purpose was to intentionally create barriers and conflicts among the pirates.
With these actions and his own strength to suppress them, he had absolutely no fear that this small pirate ship would be able to turn the tables.