Chapter 470: Pirate Rules

Chapter 470: The Rules of the Pirates

"Up ahead, that should be an island with regular inhabitants, shouldn't it?"

Muri asked as he gazed into the distance, where the silhouette of an island had emerged. It appeared quite substantial, and as they drew nearer, the number of seabirds sharply increased.

"Nonsense, of course it is!" Purr raised a paw, pointing toward another direction in the distance. "Look over there, aren't there other ships as well?"

Muri noted with uncertainty, "But those ships look a bit strange to me. They don't look like merchant vessels, nor do they look like warships."

"Those are pirate ships."

"Pirate ships?"

"Yes, meow. It seems the young master of the Benda family, raised in the Dingle region, isn't particularly well-acquainted with this world."

Muri nodded and said, "I haven't had the chance to watch films about pirates yet. I'll make sure to catch up on them when I get back, because I've found I rather like it here."

"If you are interested, the Allen family study has many books on ocean exploration, mostly compiled from the journals of our ancestors."

"Alright, thank you, I shall borrow them."

"Your nature must have been suppressed far too much at home during your childhood for you to take a liking to the sea now," Purr teased. "To put it in Karen's terms, is this a form of retaliatory 'living'?"

"I suppose so." Muri did not deny it. "I also feel that I prefer a life now that doesn't strictly adhere to standard templates and rules."

Standing beside them, Ventura warned in a low voice, "But if those are pirate ships, then the island ahead must be..."

"Exactly, a pirate island. A place where pirates go to exchange goods."

"A pirate island..."

"What is there to fear? Strictly speaking, our group's strength—leaving aside artillery—is far greater than that of ordinary pirates, alright?" Purr found it rather amusing. "Right now, we should hope this island is large enough and the pirate activity rampant enough, because that would mean the island possesses one of those smuggling teleportation arrays, which could take us directly from the sea back to civilization."

Ventura worried, "Will there be one?"

"Wherever darkness grows powerful, there is bound to be the support of light."

Purr continued, "Of course, this isn't the light of the Church of Light. But in any large enough venue, the shadows of the churches will always be present; they want to reap profits. If this pirate island is on a grander scale, say if they've organized some sort of pirate alliance, then the island itself ought to have a properly configured and well-maintained teleportation array."

"How should we land on the island?" Muri asked. "Do we ride the sea beast directly to the shore? Wouldn't that draw too much attention?"

"Pirate islands aren't entirely populated by pirates. Besides, it's not as if no one has ever used a sea beast as a pirate mount. As for whether we need to hide anything... personally, I incline toward concealing ourselves first. Mainly, we have no way of communicating with the outside world right now. Without a communication array in hand, you never know what pirates might do."

"Would they dare offend the Church of Order?"

"Openly, of course they wouldn't dare. But some who turn to piracy—you know how it goes—it's highly possible they possess strange former identities, and there's a good chance they hold a grudge against the Church of Order. Though scoundrels do emerge from your Church of Order, it cannot be denied that because of its presence, many in the church circles have been forced to play by the rules over the past thousand years. Those who refused to play along have all... well, a good number must have ended up as pirates."

Karen, who had just arisen, finished washing up with the seawater. Shaking the water from his hands, he asked, "Have you reached a conclusion?"

"My suggestion is to send someone to the island first to scout the situation," Purr said. "If we can pave the way with coupons, that would be ideal, so long as we can use a communication array. Of course, it would be even better if we could directly purchase the rights to use a teleportation array."

"Then let's go scout the situation first. We won't land with the sea beast. That way, if something unexpected happens on the island, we'll still have a support point out at sea. I, Muri, and Philomena will go ashore to investigate. Alfred, you stay here to keep watch and remain ready to support us."

"Yes, Young Master."

"Yes, Captain."

Philomena walked over, somewhat surprised. She subconsciously assumed this was an expression of Karen "showing goodwill" toward her after their conversation that night, a sign of his willingness to accept her into the team. In her heart, she felt a small stirring of emotion.

It seemed that whispering secrets did indeed have an effect.

However, this somewhat withdrawn and split-personality girl had entirely misread the situation. Alfred, who always preferred to remain by the young master's side to protect him to the death, and Ventura, who was equally loyal to Karen, raised no objections to being left behind, because they could see that the young master had simply chosen the two most capable fighters to accompany him.

In terms of the team's strength, Karen and Philomena occupied the first tier, while Muri was the leader of the second tier.

"Captain, shall we swim under the water?" Muri asked.

Karen pointed to a small pirate ship in the distance sailing toward the island and said, "Why waste the effort? We can just hitch a ride. We'll hold onto the hull, and once we reach the port, we can slip away and head ashore. Alright, change out of your divine robes now. Also, bring extra signal flares and black paper for signaling."

"What about me, what about me!" Purr immediately volunteered herself. "It's a pirate island, after all!"

"I'm afraid of danger," Karen said with a smile.

"I can swim."

"Have you ever swum since becoming a cat?"

"No... the family's conditions weren't so poor that a cat like me had to go into the river to catch fish, but I don't think I would drown... probably."

Karen truly had not intended to bring Purr along, because even from afar, one could tell those pirate ships had clearly been modified and undoubtedly possessed ties to the church circles; they were not pirates in the ordinary sense. Of course, if they were ordinary pirates, there would be no point in visiting the island, as a communication or teleportation array would be out of the question.

However, Karen took one problem into consideration: language.

Although the Maclai language family was widely used, there was no telling what language family was spoken in this place. To be safe, it was better to bring the cat along; at the very least, she could serve as a feline translator.

By the time they finished packing and preparing, dusk was approaching. The sea at twilight was beautiful, but Karen and the others were in no mood to admire it. The three of them leapt directly into the ocean.

After swimming a certain distance, Karen looked back and could no longer see the sea beast or the house upon its back. Memphis and Mars had set up a concealment array on the beast, making it essentially the earliest "stealth warship" of this era.

Purr clung to Karen's neck, choking on several gulps of water, and complained unhappily:

"Why aren't you using the Sea God's Armor, meow!"

"Now that my physical constitution has improved, I wanted to swim normally. Did you see how fast I was swimming just now?"

"Abnormally fast."

"Heh."

One had to keep in mind that Karen was still carrying the Sword of Alius on his back.

"But if you don't use the Sea God's Armor soon, I am going to be drowned by you."

Karen summoned the Sea God's Armor, and a barrier immediately formed around his body, pushing the seawater away.

Able to breathe normally beneath the surface of the sea, Purr was still unsatisfied and struck Karen's chest several times with her paws.

Yet, while the skin appeared soft, the cat's paws clearly met with a sort of "hard rebound," creating the illusion of striking a steel plate.

It really is so hard, meow!

"Say, Karen, when you absorbed the divine bone to enhance your physical constitution, you didn't deliberately control your outward appearance, did you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Because I feel you definitely wouldn't like that muscular hunk style."

"There was no control."

"Then the Goddess must like your current style. She didn't think to turn you into a massive muscle-bound man, the kind who can control the twitching of his pectoral muscles."

"Do you often watch that kind of performance?" Karen asked.

"Men are allowed to watch beautiful women dance, so why can't we watch men perform? There are plenty of female pirates, and they have needs too; such performances are never in short supply."

"It seems your past life was rather colorful."

"Indeed, what haven't I seen, meow? Do you know, in that kind of performance, they use two iron wires to tie up a man's little nipples, and then attach them to a steelyard weight. If you add prize money, they add more weight, lifting it up. Hehe, I tipped them before, and as a result, it detached..."

"Smack!"

"Ah, what did you hit me for!"

"Quiet, we are almost there."

"Hmph."

Karen, Philomena, and Muri all scrambled aboard the small pirate ship they had selected beforehand. After exchanging a knowing look, Karen took the lead in climbing to a higher vantage point.

As a result, he happened to "observe" a performance.

The pirate vessel was not particularly large, typically carrying a full crew of no more than twenty sailors. It possessed only a single, old-fashioned magic crystal cannon, and even its muzzle was rusted over. As Karen climbed past the artillery, he failed to sense the slightest tremor of spiritual energy fluctuating within the barrel; it was highly probable that the cannon was nothing more than an ornament.

In the center of the deck, a rather elegantly dressed, white-bearded elder and four youths were bound tightly beneath the flagpole. Beside them stood a burly man, brandishing a magical pistol in his hand as he delivered an impassioned speech.

Predictably, Karen could not understand the language they spoke—it did not belong to the Macrai language family—but the scene itself made the situation perfectly clear. What was unfolding before them was a mutiny.

"This is a common occurrence among pirates," Purr murmured in a low voice. "When a captain grows old or proves incompetent, unable to lead the crew to further spoils, someone new will rise up to overthrow and replace him. Pirates are like a wolf pack upon the sea, adhering strictly to this law of survival of the fittest."

"Perhaps we can alter our plan."

There were only twenty people in total upon the deck. Standing beside the burly man and clearly cheering for him were a mere five individuals; the remaining ten stood off to the side, shrinking back in trepidation.

This signified that although the mutiny aboard this ship had "succeeded," the old captain still retained a measure of prestige. After all, with the outcome already decided, for ten men to remain standing to the side without joining the heckling and cheering was itself a distinct declaration of their stance.

Karen cast a meaningful glance toward Muri and Philomena at his side.

Muri nodded instantly, indicating he understood.

Philomena also nodded, indicating she understood, though her heart grew anxious because she had no idea what she was supposed to understand!

Gripping the ship's hull with his right hand, Karen used his left to lift Purr from his breast pocket, placing the cat upon an extending wooden plank.

The posture exuded a sense of great strength, a feat Karen would never have believed himself capable of performing across two lifetimes. He even applied a slight pressure through his palm, hoisting his body upward so that he appeared to be standing casually in midair.

Perched upon the protrusion, Purr looked down at Karen, her gaze filled with the "doting" affection one might show a mischievous child.

Karen drew the Sword of Alyos from his back, and then, with a sudden leap, vaulted directly onto the deck.

The pirate ship was equipped with an internal defensive formation, but it was currently on its return voyage and in the midst of a coup, so there was naturally no possibility of the defensive array being active.

Muri followed closely behind him, and seeing this, Philomena rushed up as well.

When her feet touched the deck, she happened to see Karen and Muri charging toward the pirates. Philomena immediately dashed forward too, but the direction she charged in was toward the group of ten onlookers standing there as an audience.

Clearly, she had not yet grasped the situation, but fortunately, her reflexes were sharp; upon realizing that her captain and Muri were both charging in the opposite direction, she immediately pivoted her body.

"Enemy attack!"

The burly man roared, and in the next instant, he saw Karen appear directly before him.

A layer of water armor immediately coalesced over the burly man's body, giving Karen a sense of familiarity—it was likely a beggar's version of the "Armor of the Sea God." After all, since the fracturing of the Sea God Cult, its inheritance had long been scattered to the winds.

Karen swung his greatsword downward in a direct cleave. Reinforced by the power of the Dark Moon, the blade instantly shattered the defenses upon the man's body. Before the giant could even aim his pistol at Karen, the greatsword cleaved him entirely into two halves right where he stood.

Having accomplished this, Karen raised his hand to conjure an ice shield, blocking the spraying blood of the burly man so that it would not soil his clothes.

Muri's side was equally swift and efficient. With several consecutive slashes, he cut down three men, then used his shield to crush the head of another pirate.

For the final target, Muri stayed his hand, knowing he ought to leave a kill for the latecomer.

Philomena arrived, delivering a swift kick to the last pirate. Perhaps because she had rushed over too hastily, she failed to control her strength; the moment her foot connected, the pirate's body exploded outright, spraying blood and shredded flesh over her and Muri entirely.

Muri reached up to wipe his face, utterly speechless.

Philomena also realized she had gone a bit too far, and said to Muri, "My apologies."

"It is fine," Muri shook his head. "We will just consider that you were acting as a deterrent."

The effect was indeed present, for a swift, methodical slaughter was evidently far less visually striking than a body exploding and scattering everywhere.

The ten crew members essentially abandoned all resistance to the "enemy attack" and fell to their knees in unison.

Bound to the mast, the white-bearded old captain began to call out to Karen, jabbering a torrent of unintelligible words. Karen frowned slightly.

Promptly, the old captain seemed to realize something and immediately switched to another language. Seeing that Karen still frowned, he switched yet again...

Finally, he spoke the Macrai tongue.

"Thank you for saving me! The Gold Row shall become your private property, and we shall offer you our loyalty!"

Karen smiled faintly. The old captain was playing a little trick on him; his previous jabbering through several languages was clearly a bit of a performance, meant to demonstrate his utility.

This was evident from the words he spoke upon finally switching to the Macrai language family; he had likely guessed the "race" of the three of them long before.

Karen did not find this slight cleverness distasteful; nor did he wish to employ a foolish fellow to assist him. With a swing of the Sword of Alyos, he severed the ropes binding the old captain. The old captain immediately fell to his knees before Karen.

"Can you control this ship?" Karen inquired.

"Yes, without a doubt!" the old captain replied with absolute certainty.

"Then clean this place up, and continue the return to port."

"Yes, everything shall be done according to your command. Please proceed to my captain's quarters, and I shall fetch you fine wine and delicacies."

"No need to trouble yourself. Come inside, I have some matters to ask you."

"Very well, everything shall be as you command."

Karen stepped into the captain's quarters. The space inside was not large, but it was arranged with a quite artistic atmosphere.

Muri and Philomena stood guard at the doorway while the old captain entered alone.

"What island lies ahead?"

"It is Fire Island."

"Fire Island. Is there a volcano on the island?"

"No. According to legend, the God of Fire once descended upon this island, and so the place name has been passed down. Currently, it serves as the main island of the Romaford Pirate Alliance."

"A pirate alliance..."

"It is an alliance initiated and formed by seven great pirates, and it also serves as the trading hub and gathering place for the pirates of these waters. The island has everything."

"Everything... Are there communication formations and teleportation formations?"

"There are, but these two types of precious facilities are under the jurisdiction of the alliance. If outsiders wish to use them, they must pay voucher points, and the cost is exceedingly high."

"As long as one can pay the voucher points, it is permitted, correct?"

"Yes, the alliance places great value on credibility, especially on Fire Island. You can put your mind at ease on this matter. I possess some voucher points myself, and I have some assets stored in the bank established by the alliance. I can withdraw them to settle the bill for you."

"Very well, I understand."

The matter had suddenly become quite simple, though Karen still intended to go ashore first to see the situation with his own eyes before rushing to call the rest of his subordinates up.

"Then after we dock, you shall accompany us to the alliance's location. I wish to see it with my own eyes."

"Yes, of course. I shall serve you with all my heart."

Karen did not ask why his subordinates had mutinied against him, and the old captain did not offer the information voluntarily. As Karen walked out of the captain's quarters with the old captain, he saw that Purr was already standing upon the command platform, a pirate hat commandeered from some unknown pirate perched upon her head.

"Oh, Karen, I feel the power of the family bloodline within me boiling! This is your first pirate ship. Have you thought of what name to give her?"

"No."

"Are you not someone who cares greatly about the sense of ritual in life, meow?"

Cullen lifted Purr into his arms. "We are only passing through. I am sorry, but the situation on the island seems quite stable; there is order here. We will likely be able to depart via the teleportation array very soon."

Purr shrugged. "Oh, goodness, is my pirate adventure being strangled in its cradle just as it began?"

At that moment, the old captain rushed onto the watchtower and instantly shouted in a panic, "Stop the ship, hoist the white sails!"

"What is going on?" Purr asked, bewildered.

Cullen floated upward, stepping onto the railing to look ahead. He discovered that closer to the harbor docks, two fleets had suddenly faced off across a great distance. They were turning broadside, opening their gunports to aim at one another, the atmosphere instantly turning tense and suffocating.

Had the old captain not ordered the ship to stop in time, they might have sailed right into the middle of the confronting fleets.

Then,

A flash of light erupted from one side as a magic crystal cannon fired the opening shot. The two fleets immediately engaged in a fierce exchange, the thunder of cannons roaring violently as the sea churned with crashing waves.

Purr looked up at Cullen, thoroughly perplexed,

And asked:

"So, this is the order you were talking about?"