Chapter 156 - - 156 Maritime Dance Troupe_1

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“What’s this idiot doing?” Eddie stood on the deck, watching the ostentatious display of the Sea Fish Pirate Group, the veins on his forehead throbbing uncontrollably, as Paul’s every action was beyond his expectation.

A competent general despises unexpected situations most of all.

He was not ready, and he did not know whether Mahamadu’s reinforcements had arrived.

At this time, provoking Commodore Antonio, Paul could easily cause unforeseeable consequences.

It is very likely that this would lead to the annihilation of his entire forces.

“Obviously, he is aware of the bounty you’ve put on his head, and he intends to use Antonio to get back at us or, just as he said, to avenge his girlfriend Marsha against Mahamadu. Otherwise, why didn’t he choose to provoke on Triste’s side?”

First Mate Brown explained while watching the performance of the Sea Fish Pirate Group.

Suddenly.

The main sail of the Smile Angel fell for some unknown reason, and a group of people scrambled to hoist the sails. Brown’s mouth involuntarily curled into a smile, and he shook his head, “Such clowns, on the battlefield, they didn’t even check the sail control ropes ahead of time…”

“If he’s provoking, why doesn’t he fire the cannons?” Eddie said angrily, “He can’t possibly think that Lady Luck really is on his side!”

“Obviously, she isn’t,” the first mate chuckled, “The main sail of Smile Angel has fallen three times, the main sail of Happy Fish One has fallen twice, and the sail of Clown Fish One has fallen once. At least eight sailors fell into the sea. If this is called being under the protection of Lady Luck, then Lady Luck must be blind!”

“Open fire and sink them,” Eddie ordered darkly, “having such clowns among pirates is a disgrace to everyone…”

“Eddie, firing the cannons now could very well be seen as a provocation by Antonio,” the first mate said gravely.

“So we just watch him make a fool of himself here?” Eddie roared.

“Clearly, that’s the right thing to do,” the first mate shrugged.

…

“General, shall we fire at that bunch of clowns and sink them?” asked a furious deputy next to Antonio, “He’s dared to insult your behind with such vulgar language, and moreover, he’s forced our port’s garrison to dance on the ships. This is a clear insult to us…”

“Am I missing a piece of flesh?” Antonio said with a smile. He could clearly feel many glances stealing looks at his behind, but to him it didn’t matter in the least, “Is that fellow none other than Paul Wolfs, who’s wanted by Admirals Dufei and Mikaro?”

“Yes,” the deputy replied.

“I remember his bounty being eight thousand Gold Coins, so why is it now a hundred thousand?” Antonio asked.

“General, as far as I know, no one has increased his bounty,” the deputy replied, “Maybe it was Eddie who had him provoke us! General, are we really not going to open fire on them? Their sails have already fallen three times, once we fire, they’ll certainly not escape…”

“Wait a bit longer,” Antonio lifted his telescope, searching among Paul’s several ships for Duge’s silhouette.

At that moment.

An imposing fleet of pirate ships suddenly appeared on the sea, each ship sporting a new and bizarrely colored flag. The one thing they had in common was that the skulls were replaced with images of sea fish on their flags.

Sharks, ribbon fish, octopuses, whales, and more.

Even the names of the ships had changed.

Shark, Whale…

Antonio rubbed his eyes instinctively.

What’s going on?

Were these all members of the Sea Fish Pirate Group?

Suddenly.

The words Fish Era once again intruded into Antonio’s field of vision.

He was silent for a moment, then ordered, “Cecil, relay my command. All fleets move half a league forward, concentrate firepower, and sink the Sea Fish Pirate Group. He’s making a unilateral decision, this isn’t by Eddie’s suggestion…”

…

Antonio’s navy suddenly adjusted its sails to move forward.

Eddie’s face changed accordingly. “Damn that Paul. Brown, order everyone to prepare for battle.”

…

“Paul, are you sure this is okay?” Marsha’s face turned pale as she watched the navy warships suddenly start moving, and their cannons turning towards them. She clutched Duge’s arm tightly, “Why do I feel that today, Lady Luck is no longer on our side, with the sails of Smiling Angel having already fallen three times…”

It would be abnormal if they hadn’t fallen.

Duge sneered to himself, comforting her, “Don’t panic. Keep singing, keep dancing. Then, you’ll see that everything just now was nothing more than a small joke by Lady Luck.”

The Source of Happiness: When you spread happiness, those around you are bound to fall into misfortune;

Muddy Water Touch Fish: In the murky water you stir up, you are always the biggest beneficiary.

If there was only the Source of Happiness, Duge would never have taken such a big risk since it could only ensure that he wouldn’t be the one to fall into misfortune.

But with the addition of the latter, being the biggest beneficiary was not something to be taken lightly.

Now, there were three forces on the sea: Antonio’s navy, the defending island squad of General Eddie, and the scattered pirates who had come for reinforcements…

Among these three forces, he was the weakest.

But the biggest beneficiary, meaning he would be the one to have the last laugh…

…

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The navy had advanced half a nautical mile earlier, and initiated cannon fire immediately.

Eddie, leading his fifteen ships, cursed Paul while retreating; he wasn’t foolish enough to take on hundreds of naval warships head-on.

…

Countless cannonballs fell like raindrops, heavily smashing around Duge’s ships—some hit the deck, some struck the masts.

The masts broke, sails fell.

Out of Duge’s five pirate ships, four instantly lost power and sat motionless on the sea surface.

The deck of the “Clown Fish No. 1” was punctured by a cannonball, and a raging fire started, slowly sinking into the sea.

The dancing sailors panicked, scurrying back and forth trying to find cover.

But on the open sea, they had nowhere to hide.

Having no choice, they manned their cannons to return fire, but their firepower was too weak. Against the mighty Royal Navy, they could not stir up any waves.

Even the range of their cannonballs could not reach the navy’s warships.

At this moment.

Duge’s Sea Fish Pirate Group had become glaringly obvious sitting ducks.

In chaos and utter helplessness.

“Truly a bunch of clowns,”

With that scene unfolding, the navy’s mood grew even more gleeful.

At the rear of Eddie’s fleet, those with flags changed and names of ships altered, all those riff-raffs stood stunned by the scene before them.

The favor of the goddess of luck?

After just one round of cannon fire, they had become live targets…

Or was it that their many name changes indeed shared the Sea Fish Pirate Group’s fortune?

Or perhaps.

The “Fish Era” was simply a hoax.

…

“Is this your so-called goddess of luck?” Marsha, seized by frenzy, stared at the sinking “Clown Fish No. 1,” her face despondent, “I must have had my head slammed in a door to believe in your goddess of luck, to hell with the ‘Fish Era’! Had I known, I would have been better off staying on Herd Island, continuing as my witch, at least, I would still be alive…”

“Marsha, let me stress again, you didn’t come with me voluntarily, you were kidnapped by me,” Duge said with a smile, emphasizing, “And have you not noticed? With so many cannonballs fired, has any hit the ship under our feet?”

“…” Marsha froze, instinctively looking around.

Barry and Wayne, equally panic-stricken, also froze.

The original “Smile Angel” was too small, with very uncomfortable accommodations; members of the original “Smile Angel” had long since switched to “Clown Fish No. 2.”

Only after Duge’s reminder did they realize that out of a salvo of naval cannon fire, while the other four ships were either damaged or sunk, the “Clown Fish No. 2” beneath their feet was completely unscathed.

The goddess of luck was indeed sheltering them.

…

“Heh, the goddess’s protection?” Antonio sneered at the sight of Eddie’s retreating fleet and once again ordered, “Cecil, leave ten ships behind to mop up ‘Clown Paul,’ the rest of the fleet press forward, take Herd Island in one fell swoop. It seems the goddess of luck favors our Royal Navy more, that foolish ‘Clown Paul’ is actually our lucky star, Mahamadu indeed wasn’t prepared…”

Before he could finish.

The roar of cannon fire suddenly erupted from behind the navy.

At the same time.

A long, sonorous horn blasted across the entire sea area.

Antonio’s expression changed as he turned around sharply, lifting the telescope hanging on his chest to look behind.

First appeared a pitch-black pirate flag, followed by a large vessel painted black with a terrifying beast’s head on its bow entering his field of view.

Antonio frowned, “Laurent Swann, damn, what’s he doing here?”

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