Chapter 155 - - 155 Eve of War_1

—————✧✧✧✧—————

On Herd Island, most of the comings and goings were pirates who came for resupply, trade, or to indulge and seek pleasure.

The island was dominated by two powers belonging to Mahamadu and Safra, who held the greatest interests.

The commanding officer stationed by Mahamadu on Herd Island was Eddie Harold.

He had fifteen warships under his command. The largest ship carried over 200 sailors and eight huge cannons; even the smallest ship was equipped with a cannon and 20 sailors; in total, there were roughly over 1,500 sailors on his ships.

The commanding officer stationed by Safra on Herd Island was Crister Reedy, who had a similar number of ships and sailors as Eddie.

Should these two powers mobilize, they could easily suppress all the scattered pirates nearby Herd Island.

After all.

Duge’s initial Smile Angel had a meager crew of just 12 people, not even matching the armament of Eddie’s smallest warship.

The Dufei family’s merchant ships and the captured navy ships in the harbor had a capacity of about 50 people each, ranking as a power so small that it could not be smaller.

Even though Duge’s pirate group expanded to 350 men within a day, they wouldn’t stand a chance in a direct conflict with Eddie’s pirates—a volley of cannon fire and they would basically be wiped out.

But after a day’s battle, all the enemies opposing the Sea Fish Pirate Group were plagued with problems, while on their side, apart from a few unlucky ones who fell overboard, they remained unscathed.

Moreover, with the witch’s prophecy, the morale of the Sea Fish Pirate Group almost reached its peak; they believed they were blessed by the Sea God, and under Paul’s leadership, they could rule the seas and be invincible.

…

When Duge abducted He Ya.

Eddie and Crister’s fleets were confronting Antonio.

Herd Island was an important stronghold between the East Sea and the South Ocean, crucial for many pirates’ resupply, and also an economic pillar for Mahamadu and Safra; therefore, it absolutely could not fall into the hands of the navy.

They were awaiting reinforcements from Mahamadu and Safra to attack Antonio’s navy from behind.

Inside and out, they would ultimately lift the blockade of Herd Island.

So.

Even though Eddie learned that the Witch He Ya was abducted, he couldn’t spare any effort to deal with Duge.

However.

He didn’t take this matter to heart either.

After all,

Antonio had blocked the trade routes; that fool who abducted the witch wouldn’t be able to run away anyway.

And he believed that the scattered pirates on Herd Island would return the witch to him. Yet, as successive reports about the Sea Fish Pirate Group reached Eddie, he was finally dumbfounded.

…

“The Fish Era?”

“Paul turned out to be another witch, offering fortune-telling for everyone who sought him.”

“The matter of Mahamadu coercing He Ya into secretly collecting the Destiny Sea Map has been leaked…”

…

“Damn it, Paul, how dare he spread the news about Mahamadu. If Mahamadu finds out, he will kill me.” Under the moonlight, Eddie’s eyes were bloodshot as he roared angrily on the deck, then coming to his senses, he ordered his first mate, “Brown, take five ships tomorrow and wipe out Paul and his damned Sea Fish Pirate Group. Take the witch back; I want everyone to know that the Sea Fish won’t bring them any luck, only bad fortune.”

“Captain, if I take away five ships, Antonio will definitely seize the opportunity to attack,” said the first mate Brown. “Losing Herd Island, our responsibility will be even greater.”

“Then what do you suggest we do? We fight here while watching that guy make mischief behind us?” Eddie retorted coldly.

“Captain, the witch’s mission was to help Mahamadu find the Destiny Sea Map,” the first mate paused, then continued, “Now, all the clues about the Sea God Scepter have been leaked out; there’s actually no need to keep the witch.”

“What are you trying to say?” Eddie asked.

“As I understand it, the bounty on Paul has already reached 80,000 Gold Coins. If we add another 20,000 Gold Coins, there will certainly be someone willing to take the risk and wipe out Paul and the witch for us. The bounty hunter known as Black Magic Hand should take an interest in Paul,” the first mate shrugged and said, “As for Mahamadu’s side, what’s done is done; we weren’t on the island at the time, he surely won’t take his anger out on us because of this, right?”

“That’s the only thing we can do,” Eddie inhaled deeply, forcing himself to calm down, and instructed his first mate, “Find someone to go back to Herd Island overnight and issue the bounty on Paul. Mobilize all the pirate ships on Herd Island to join the battle against Antonio. I have a feeling that Antonio is going to launch a full attack in the next two days; we have to hold out until the reinforcements arrive.”

…

The next day.

Eddie’s bounties targeting Paul and the orders mobilizing the pirates were issued simultaneously.

The pirates of the Fish Era, who had personally experienced the protection of Paul’s lucky patron goddess, remained indifferent to the bounty on Paul.

However, they eagerly joined the ranks against Antonio.

These people came to Herd Island to seek the clues to the Sea God Scepter, and now they had a new mission—find Selma and trade with her.

Naturally, no one was content to be trapped here.

So, breaking through Antonio’s blockade became inevitable.

Every pirate who had changed their name firmly believed that after changing their name, the goddess of luck would be with them.

And those pirates who had changed their names but hadn’t been touched by Duge were in high spirits, discussing how to take down Paul’s head and claim the bounty.

After all,

compared to the elusive Destiny Sea Map and Selma, Paul’s head was genuinely worth 100,000 Gold Coins, and it seemed readily available, just within reach.

They believed that Paul’s luck came from the Sea Fish.

Now that everyone had the name of a Sea Fish, luck was divided equally among them.

At this time,

it was all about who had more accurate cannon fire and who had the sharper blade.

…

At the other end of the sea lane, Safra’s Admiral Crister Reedy was confronting Antonio’s navy, and he too was aware of what had happened on Herd Island.

However,

he wasn’t interested in the witch or Jolly Paul.

Once the pirates of Herd Island were released, the clue to the Sea God Scepter would become an open secret. Safra only needed to offer a reward for the Destiny Sea Map; whether there was a witch or not didn’t matter.

As for the piece of the sea map in Mahamadu’s hands, that was something for Safra to worry about.

Perhaps,

the King of the Four Seas didn’t wish for the Sea God Scepter to emerge.

After the fall of the Sea God, the entire ocean was the domain of the King of the Four Seas. Who would welcome the emergence of a new Sea God with the Sea God Scepter?

In Crister’s view, the matter of Selma offering a substantial reward for a child was more pressing.

After all,

the fortune Selma had amassed over the years was enough to create a new Sea King. The man who gained Selma’s fortune would be the true threat to the King of the Four Seas.

…

To be precise,

it was Duge who triggered the war.

Eddie was waiting for Mahamadu’s reinforcements and for the pirates behind him to gather, while Antonio awaited orders from Admiral Mikaro, as well as movements from Mahamadu and Safra.

Naval blockades are typically coordinated with other branches of the navy.

Otherwise,

if he were to give the order to attack, being attacked from behind by Mahamadu’s men could easily turn an offensive move into a passive pincer situation…

No commander would allow such a thing to happen.

As a result,

when both sides were at a standoff, Duge’s five pirate ships entered their central waters with a brazenly dismissive air, singing and dancing.

On the deck of each ship, crews in pink dresses were dancing strange, eccentric dances…

The pink skull flag fluttered in the wind as if mocking both sides of the standoff.

The constantly adjusting sails were emblazoned with bold letters:

…

“Why not dance together?”

“There’s a mobile 100,000 Gold Coins here”

“You can see me, but you’ll never catch me.”

“Antonio’s ass is red…”

“In the grand Fish Era, the goddess of luck protects everyone whose name contains ‘fish’.”

…

✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦