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Chapter 18: Unpaid Wages and Empty Promises
Chapter 18: Unpaid Wages and Empty Promises
Kampas Town was sizable, and within this island, there existed more villages and hamlets, although none hugged the coastline.
Pirates, of course, raided along the coast, and venturing deeper would only result in being surrounded.
Water, food, salt, wood planks, and iron nails—the pirates took whatever they could from Sag and stored them in barrels and boxes, loading their plunder onto their ship.
As for Sag and the townspeople, they coexisted peacefully.
How much could a single ship carry, anyway?
Even if the town were destroyed, it would be easy to salvage these goods.
And as for why the townspeople didn't seem to care at all? First, because the pirates had already destroyed their town, and second, wasn't it customary to offer a token of gratitude to those who had saved them?
The town mayor gazed at the nearly dilapidated ship docked at the port and spoke up, "Captain, although we don't have anything too valuable to offer at the moment, we can still manage to scrape together a ship for you."
"Old man, I'm here to plunder!"
Sag's eye twitched, "Are you trying to insult the pirate profession? Regardless, I take pride in my work!"
So, having bad luck meant he wasn't taking pride in his work?!
"What I want, I'll take myself. Hand over the ship." Sag brandished the flintlock pistol in his hand.
It wasn't acceptable for them to give it to him, but if he took it himself, then it was fair game!
"As for the ship, we'll need to wait for the other cargo ships to return before we can spare one. We don't have any extra ships at the moment," the mayor shook his head and explained, "But if you're willing to wait a while..."
"Captain!!!"
A shout came from the direction of the port, and a pirate came running, breathless, pointing out to the sea, "The navy! They're here!"
BOOM!!!
As soon as the words left his mouth, several cannonballs flew in from a distance and hit the ships with unerring accuracy.
The already damaged ships couldn't withstand this final blow—the masts and planks flew everywhere, and the main body snapped in two, becoming part of the port's wreckage.
The pirates who had remained on the ship jumped into the sea and quickly made their way onto the port amid the explosion's aftermath.
"My ship!!!"
Sag's eyes widened as he watched his newly acquired ship sink, unable to process what was happening.
The ship he had just plundered was now gone?!
The navy ship sailed past the wreckage and docked at the port. A group of navy soldiers jumped off the ship and rushed toward them, shouting.
"This is Navy Branch 23. I am the Navy Branch Major. Pirates, you are under arrest!"
The leading navy soldier bellowed and swiftly cut down a pirate trying to escape. Two more navy soldiers from the rear surrounded the pirate, pointing their guns at him.
"Captain Sag, what should we do now?" Ajin stooped slightly, his grip tightening around the walking stick.
"What should we do?"
BANG BANG BANG!
Bullets whizzed by, striking the pirates and felling them.
Several bullets headed straight for Sag, grazing his body. One bullet was about to hit him square in the chest, but he lifted his arm and effortlessly plucked the round bullet from the air with two fingers.
The bullet fell to the ground with a soft thud, and Sag eyed the approaching navy soldiers with a cold smile. "My ship is gone, so now I'll take their warship as compensation! Men, fight back!"
"Oh!!!"
At the captain's command, the pirates beside him roared in unison and charged toward the navy soldiers.
In terms of numbers, the pirates were undoubtedly at a disadvantage. The navy soldiers outnumbered them at least twofold, and in terms of combat strength, ordinary pirates were on par with navy soldiers, if not slightly inferior.
However, if one considered the elites among them, the navy didn't hold the advantage. After all, any pirate with a bounty on their head was bound to be formidable.
BANG BANG BANG!
The sound of bullets rang out once more, but this time, they struck a shield.
Paru rapped on the large round shield in his hand, allowing the bullets to harmlessly ricochet off it, sparking as they did so.
He extended his five fingers and threw a piece of flint onto the ground, igniting a flame that blocked the navy soldiers from pursuing the retreating pirates.
"I am the invincible Ironwall Paru! Your cannons pose no threat to me, and I am both invincible and dashing! How about that, am I seasoned enough for you?" Paru asked with a lopsided grin, his teeth glinting in the light.
The shield on his back had been shattered by Ajin and hadn't been repaired yet, but the shield in front of him was still functional and more than sufficient to deflect bullets.
WHOOSH!
A figure darted past Paru like a cheetah, and Ajin rapidly dove toward the navy soldiers. The iron ball attached to his walking stick furrowed a path in the ground as he rushed forward, and he abruptly flicked it upward as he neared the navy soldiers.
BOOM!!
The ground ruptured, and the force of the blow sent the leading navy soldiers flying.
Ajin stood up straight, and the walking stick in his hand transformed into a circle. With the whooshing sound of the wind, he slung it over his shoulder and eyed the remaining navy soldiers with a smirk.
Clang!
Just as he was about to say something, a silver light flashed beside him, forming a 'Z' shape and swiftly slicing through the center of the navy formation.
It was Lily.
"Piercing the Air," she said as she performed a flourish with her rapier, slinging it to her side before slowly sheathing it. The navy soldiers around her seemed to freeze, awaiting the moment the rapier returned to its sheath.
Clack.
"Cut!"
Szzz!
As the rapier gently slid into its sheath, a spray of blood burst from the navy soldiers' bodies, and they collapsed with blank stares.
"Charge!"
The pirates' morale soared at the sight, and those who had been fleeing found their spirits revitalized. They brandished their weapons and engaged the remaining navy soldiers in close combat.
The clash of blades and the crack of gunfire filled the air, while flames danced amidst the chaos. Sag strolled through the crowd, his cloak fluttering in the wind. With each step he took, the pirates pushed forward, forcing the navy back until they reached the port, where the last of the navy fell.
Against the trio's assault, these navy soldiers stood no chance.
"I am the Navy Major! I will not retreat!"
The remaining Navy Major clutched his flintlock pistol, his hand trembling as he aimed at Sag but hesitated to pull the trigger.
Sag glanced at him but made no move, simply watching quietly.
"I... I..."
Under Sag's unwavering gaze, the Navy Major couldn't bring himself to fire.
Sag smiled faintly, turned his back to the group, and slowly ascended the stairs that had been lowered from the warship.
"My men," he said, facing away from them. "Bring the goods onboard, and let's set sail!"
The Navy Major eventually lowered his pistol. He couldn't afford to fall, as he had to take care of the injured navy soldiers. With a stern voice, he declared, "The Navy will not let you get away with this!"
Sag took a quiet sip of his rum, shook his head, and said nothing.
As if the Navy would let him off the hook if he didn't plunder their warship.
Being a pirate meant inviting the Navy's wrath—there was no possibility of peaceful coexistence.
The pirates loaded the goods they had plundered from Kampas Town onto the ship and set sail from the port out into the open sea.
This warship was a typical patrol ship, capable of accommodating a maximum of eighty crew members. It wasn't large, but it was certainly an upgrade from their previous vessel.
And it had cannons.
Sag relished the moment as he sat in the captain's cabin, uncorking a bottle of rum.
In terms of supplies, the warship was well-equipped, as it was intended to support the Navy's needs.
He finally had the luxury of drinking and smoking, and he even found cigarettes in the captain's cabin.
After gulping down a few mouthfuls of rum, Sag casually lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"Ahh," he sighed, feeling a sudden urge to cry.
It hadn't been easy.
To be able to sit comfortably, drinking and smoking—he hadn't dared to dream of such a moment in the past few years. He had been constantly struggling to start his business, and while he might not have been starving, he had certainly worried about where his next meal would come from.
He had been teetering between hunger and fullness, never quite satisfied.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have had to rob the mountain bandits for their alcohol in Oykot.
Sag picked up a cup and called out to Lily, who was collecting nautical charts and other materials in the captain's cabin. "Would you like a drink? Ah, no, you're underage. You can't drink."
Lily, absorbed in her task, didn't look up as she asked, "Sag, what are we going to do next?"
She didn't see anything wrong with plundering the warship. That was what pirates did, after all.
Besides, they had already committed a grave crime, so there was no harm in further antagonizing the Navy.
In fact, a higher bounty might even boost Sag's reputation.
"We continue plundering," Sag replied, cigarette dangling from his lips as he leaned back comfortably in his chair. "What's the point of just filling our bellies? We still haven't gotten any money. If we can't get it from one town, we'll just move on to the next. We'll find money somewhere!"
Pirates didn't just sail the seas to fill their stomachs; they sought fortune and the dream of finding the One Piece, the treasure that would make them rich beyond their wildest dreams.
His crew, though they were outlaws, had families to support.
Who would willingly go to sea if they weren't driven by poverty?
Sag needed money to realize his dreams, and so did his pirate crew. That meant they would continue to plunder.
You couldn't motivate employees with empty promises; they needed their wages.
(End of Chapter)
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