Chapter 843: Warship
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Very good, Mr. Wilson. Welcome aboard!”
After a brief chat, Fang Yuan was already certain that Wilson was indeed a talent. Not only did he have ample experience sailing the sea, he even unexpectedly had a little management ability.
Such caliber was more than qualified to be a chief officer.
“I’ll hire you as my ship’s third officer!”
Fang Yuan certainly could not promote a new member to chief officer right from the start. Otherwise, how would the older members like Bill and Butcher feel about it? They were still senior despite only joining a few days earlier.
“As for remuneration, it will be one hundred gold coins as a settling-in allowance in addition to bonuses!”
Pirates naturally did not have wages. Their earnings were totally dependent on the division of the loot after each pillage.
“A hundred gold coins?” Wilson’s eyes brightened. With a tone of urgency, he asked, “Mr. Roche… could I get a thousand gold coins in advance? I truly need it, I…”
Fang Yuan gestured for him to stop, interrupting his words. “Of course I know that you definitely have a tragic story, given that you’re in this state and urgently need a huge sum of money. However, how does this concern me? You’re only a crew member that I’m hiring. A hundred gold coins for a settling-in allowance is already a large sum that I could’ve used to find a whole group of sailors to cross oceans anywhere…”
“You’re right!” Wilson smiled bitterly. “Sorry…”
“As for the rest… believe me, as long as you show enough talent, you can quickly earn a thousand gold coins.”
Fang Yuan smiled. He also really needed someone to take on the role of the ship’s steward.
So much so that if Wilson had sufficient value, he could possibly take action and help resolve his difficulties. Of course, now was not the time for this.
“No problem, Captain!” Wilson saluted respectfully.
“Great. I appoint you as my ship’s third officer. Now, you have one thing to do…”
Fang Yuan looked up and happened to see the bartender leading a bunch of sailors over. “You’re to interview them and select suitable members!”
This was both to test him and to cultivate him.
After Wilson heard what Fang Yuan said, he immediately replied in excitement, “I understand. I’ll certainly do a good job.”
Fang Yuan was evidently giving him a free hand to cultivate his own people.
Otherwise, if a third officer were to head to the ship alone, especially to a pirate ship that was like a dark forest, the best outcome would be becoming a mere figurehead.
He also has some martial skills. That should be enough to keep those unruly sailors under control!
Fang Yuan watched Wilson heading toward the sailors and shouting loudly among them. Losing interest, he turned away and sampled the fine liquor on the table.
“Captain, there’s a situation!” After some time, Bill squeezed in, his face pale. “Michael backed out of our deal!”
“Hmm?”
Fang Yuan looked down, his eyes gleaming.
It was extremely unlikely to renege on a business deal that was already agreed upon unless he was facing external pressure that he could not defy.
“Wilson!” With this thought, Fang Yuan immediately got up. “How’s it going?”
“There are ten people that we can use!” Wilson replied calmly.
“Do you have any matters tying you down here?”
“No!”
“Good. Take those willing to leave with us right now to the dock!”
Fang Yuan took a deep breath, and there seemed to be a hint of bloodthirst in his eyes.
…
This night, the dock was particularly tranquil.
Only the dock and some ships still had some lights.
Fang Yuan took a deep breath. In the night breeze, he could sense numerous eyes spying on them.
“Captain?!” After seeing Fang Yuan board Mockingbird, Butcher was astonished. “Boss, I thought you were going to spend the night in the port!”
“There’s no need for that now! Immediately gather our people and prepare to set off!” Fang Yuan said in a deep voice.
“… Now?” Butcher was rather astonished.
“I won’t repeat my command twice!” Fang Yuan’s voice was cold.
“Understood!”
Butcher licked the huge cutlass in his hand, seeming to have a ferocious tiger roaring within his body.
Suddenly, Wilson’s scalp became numb, feeling as though he had made a mistake but was in too deep to leave.
However, at this moment, not only Wilson, but the other sailors recruited had also already lost their chance to back out.
…
The breeze blew gently.
With Fang Yuan steering the ship personally, the ship slowly sailed out of the port and was soon far into the distance.
“Captain…” Bill gazed at this scene and was stuttering. “Perhaps Michael was merely exerting pressure on us to drive down the price… Dearborn Port and the Rose Chamber of Commerce don’t have any relations. And the navy and the friends of the Ferocious Tiger Pirate Team wouldn’t come to attack us…”
In fact, what he meant to say was that after defeating the Ferocious Tiger Pirate Team, they were already the strongest pirate team in the vicinity.
“I only believe in my own judgment… Besides…” Fang Yuan gazed in a direction. “… We’re already a safe distance away from Dearborn Port, right?”
“That’s right!” Bill subconsciously answered. Shortly after, he saw Fang Yuan produce a ball of bright flames in his hands. It then flew up high into the air and orbited around them to illuminate the nearby surroundings.
An alarmed cry was heard.
A warship had unexpectedly emerged in the horizon.
It was a typical third-level naval battleship. It was hanging the navy flag and aggressively charging toward Mockingbird.
“Impossible… why would the navy appear here?”
Bill’s face was full of despair.
No matter how he thought about it, he just could not imagine Mockingbird having a way out and surviving.
Although the enemy only had one ship, it was much larger than Mockingbird. Merely seeing the approximately one hundred cannons arranged in a row could already cause others to feel a chill down their spine.
It only needed one volley, and Mockingbird would shatter into pieces!
“Gods!”
Wilson could not help praying while, beside him, the sailors that he had brought along were already on the brink of breaking down.
If they had not seen the fireball that Fang Yuan released just now and knew that he was an Extraordinary, perhaps they would have already chosen to rebel.
“Dearborn Port has obviously sold us out… If we had waited until tomorrow to leave, what would have awaited us would not just be one ship but a whole army closing in on us…”
Fang Yuan shrugged his shoulders, yet the smile on his face grew increasingly wider. “Just in time… I still lack a warship right now! Attack!”
“Are you crazy?” Wilson stumbled toward him. “That ship is a third-level naval warship. It has two decks, one hundred cannons, and a crew of five hundred! Both of our ships only have a hundred people combined!”
“My third officer, I will now teach you the number one rule—obey commands!”
Fang Yuan stood on Mockingbird’s deck and looked at the naval warship.
Seeing the light orb dancing around in the air, an uproar broke out on the ship. Shortly after, numerous cannons extended and took aim at Mockingbird.
“And the second rule—anything that catches my eye is mine!”
Fang Yuan laughed heartily, spreading his arms wide open.
The shining light orb in the sky was abruptly extinguished. A cloud of thick white fog emerged, enough to even cover the light from the moon and stars.
Bang! Bang!
Continuous sounds of firing could be heard, but the accuracy was poor.
It’s night right now, and I’ve also summoned a fog to cover us. If they could still hit us… then they must be operating a magical ship!
Fang Yuan turned the rudder.
Mockingbird suddenly separated from Merchant Ship Rose and fearlessly charged forward.
Butcher led all the pirates to stand and wipe the weapons in their hands clean. Eyes brimming with admiration, they gazed at Fang Yuan’s back.
Their captain was not only an Extraordinary but also someone who continuously brought about miracles.
Fang Yuan appeared as though he could see through the fog, and he suddenly commanded, “Get ready for a boarding battle on the right!”
“Wuu! Wuu! Wuu!”
The pirates howled. They quickly took action and prepared weapons such as flying claws.
“What are you guys waiting for? Get moving!” Wilson gulped down his bottle of rum and kicked the stunned sailor in front of him. “This place is no longer inside the port, and we are now fighting the navy. Once they catch you, there’s only one outcome—being sent to the gallows! If you don’t want to die, get moving now!”
“I bless all of you!”
With a flick of his hand, Fang Yuan enhanced various attributes in his subordinates.
This isn’t enough… the difference between us and the enemy is still too great!
Amid the fog, an enormous shadow emerged. The towering hull immediately caused all the pirates to involuntarily swallow their saliva.
“Dream and Armament Master, Fang Yuan!”
He silently called out the phrase that he had agreed on with his main body. A channel appeared and transmitted powers over.
These powers… have already reached the limit that the main body can provide!
Although his main body was comparable to an Evil God’s, it still could not bear the weight of overly strong powers since the channel of faith was rather narrow.
But for Fang Yuan, lasting one battle was already enough.
“Pay attention. Don’t damage my ship!”
Fang Yuan snapped his fingers.
Splash!
The originally calm sea surface instantly had waves surging forth and multiple jets of water soaring up.
Kaboom!
The frightening force rammed into the naval warship, immediately making its sailors’ well-prepared battle formation fall apart.
Poof! Poof!
A cloud of cold air emerged, causing the water arrows to suddenly condense into terrifying ice blades, resulting in blood splattering everywhere on the deck.
As for Butcher and others, they were stunned seeing ice stairs forming in front of them that led straight to the deck of the naval ship.
In previous boarding battles, it was always the defending side that towered above and held the advantage.
But presently, with Fang Yuan’s spells, that advantage immediately disappeared.
“Boss is definitely a sorcerer!”
As Bill was howling and charging forward, this was the only thought that crossed his mind.
“Kill!”
On the warship’s deck, a fierce melee battle immediately broke out.
“Damn it! Block their path!”
Among the sailors, there was someone who looked to be a lieutenant. He was wearing glamorous clothes and brandishing an officer’s sword.
The next moment, Butcher let out a tiger’s roar. His speed rapidly increased, and he waved his huge cutlass once he was in front of a crowd.
Poof!
With a flash from the blade, the lieutenant let out a miserable cry as his body was sliced in half.