Chapter 420 -420-Stirring Among the Pirates
After confirming that there was no danger, the soldiers of the Golden Merry quickly disembarked and took control of the entire island.
From the moment John’s fleet entered the Inferno Pirates’ territory to the moment the Golden Merry successfully sailed into their island stronghold, the entire naval battle had lasted only three hours.
In total, they had destroyed nine enemy large warships, twenty-one medium warships, and thirty-one small warships, while killing more than five thousand pirates.
By now, John had completely occupied the Inferno Pirates’ territory, and his subordinates had already compiled the spoils and brought him a report.
One of them reported,
"My lord, we have seized thirty main combat warships, forty-five auxiliary vessels, and ninety small masted ships. In addition, we captured more than forty-five thousand pirates and acquired an incalculable amount of merchandise, metals, grain, and currency. The island also contains a shipyard, a cannon foundry, and an ammunition depot."
John nodded slightly after hearing the report.
The Inferno Pirates truly deserved their place among the Three Great Pirate Crews of the Heller Kingdom.
At their peak, they were said to have numbered more than fifty thousand people and possessed as many as three hundred warships. Their heavy firepower could even rival that of a small kingdom.
Their combat strength was already enough to clash head-on with the large warships of the Lothar Kingdom.
Of course, what pleased John most was the range of military production facilities on the Inferno Pirates’ island, including the shipyard, cannon foundry, ammunition depot, and more.
When the Golden Merry had first fallen into John’s hands, its ammunition stores had been stocked according to the highest possible standard.
However, after the two battles against the Gale Pirates and the Inferno Pirates, its ammunition reserves had already fallen close to the warning threshold and urgently needed replenishment.
The Golden Merry itself had also sustained damage that required repairs.
Fortunately, now that they had captured the Inferno Pirates, John no longer needed to worry too much. The resources seized from the island were more than enough to make up for every loss, with plenty left over.
John thought to himself,
"These prisoners need to be reorganized into new units and brought under control. The ships need repairs and modifications, while our supplies need to be replenished on a large scale."
The Inferno Pirates controlled a territory far larger than that of the Gale Pirates.
Two days might not be enough, so they would need at least three days to complete the fastest possible reorganization.
John had already studied the maps of the surrounding waters.
This region lay at the junction of three Maritime Kingdoms, making it a natural place for island-based forces to grow and expand.
However, most of that space had already been divided among the Three Great Pirate Crews.
Aside from the Inferno Pirates, the other two great pirate crews were not far from here either.
John’s next step was to eliminate those two thorns in his side.
If the Inferno Pirates had been given enough time to gather all of their forces, then even with the enhancement from John’s passive skill, he could only guarantee that he would not lose.
Actually defeating them would still have been difficult.
And the Gortar Pirates and Logar Pirates, both ranked above the Inferno Pirates, were undoubtedly even stronger.
Defeating them would certainly not be easy.
Fortunately, John had now captured the main islands of both the Gale Pirates and the Inferno Pirates, gaining an enormous amount of resources in the process.
The captured pirates could now be inserted into his sailor ranks whenever necessary.
He also had plenty of warships available, numbering more than eighty in total.
More importantly, under the effect of John’s passive skill, the larger his fleet became, the greater the combat strength it could unleash.
Previously, John had possessed only four warships, giving him a total combat strength of roughly forty, with the Golden Merry alone accounting for thirty.
Now that John controlled seventy-nine warships, his total combat strength had directly surpassed seven hundred and ninety, while the Golden Merry alone accounted for one hundred and ninety.
As the size of his fleet continued to expand, John’s overall combat power grew stronger and stronger.
Even if he had to face the two remaining great pirate crews alone, he still had considerable confidence.
Meanwhile, within the waters controlled by the Gortar Pirates, the second leader of the Inferno Pirates finally saw patrol ships gradually appearing in the distance.
His face instantly turned pale. His eyes reddened, and his nose stung with emotion.
He had finally entered the Gortar Pirates’ territory.
At last, his life was no longer in immediate danger.
"I finally escaped..."
"Big Brother, Third Brother, just wait."
"I swear I’ll avenge you!"
The second leader gritted his teeth as he spoke with determination.
John had led only four warships—the Golden Merry, the Sea Breeze, the Left Heavenly King, and the Right Heavenly King.
Yet with the enhancement of the God of Naval Warfare, the passive skill granted by his tournament privilege, he had annihilated the Inferno Pirates, the third-ranked pirate crew of the Heller Kingdom.
He had seized more than a hundred warships of various sizes and countless supplies.
He had captured more than forty-five thousand people and taken possession of important facilities such as shipyards, ammunition factories, and cannon foundries.
One battle had made his name famous and caused his strength to skyrocket.
However, expanding his territory and maintaining his fleet both required time.
John estimated that roughly three days of rest and reorganization would be enough.
At this very moment, the second leader of the Inferno Pirates, who had sensed that the battle was lost and escaped in a small battered boat, finally reached his destination.
The strongest pirate crew in the Heller Kingdom—the Gortar Pirates!
Inside the Gortar Pirates’ territory, the second leader, normally refined and scholarly in appearance, now looked almost ferocious.
Facing two burly men before him, he burst into tears.
"Chief Gortar! Chief Logar!"
"You have to seek justice for the Inferno Pirates!"
Chief Gortar was the leader of the Gortar Pirates, the strongest pirate crew in the Heller Kingdom.
Chief Logar was the leader of the Logar Pirates, the second-strongest pirate crew in the Heller Kingdom.
The two factions had plenty of bad blood between them and secretly tried to cripple each other whenever the opportunity arose.
On the surface, however, their relationship remained passable.
And when they learned that the third-ranked Inferno Pirates had been wiped out by a mysterious force of unknown origin...
they immediately set aside their grudges and came together to discuss a response.
They had no choice but to put aside their feud.
If even the third-ranked Inferno Pirates could be destroyed, then who would be next?
Would it be the Logar Pirates?
Or the Gortar Pirates?
They both understood the principle that when one’s neighbor fell, they themselves could be next.
After hearing the second leader’s plea, Chief Gortar frowned.
"Tell us everything in detail."
"Be precise," Chief Logar added. "Explain exactly how the battle unfolded."
The second leader answered bitterly,
"That mysterious fleet had four warships!"
"What... only four?"
Chief Logar stared at him in shock.
"I know the strength of the Inferno Pirates. Even if every single one of you were pigs, four ships should have exhausted themselves trying to defeat you. How did you lose?"
"Something is wrong here."
Chief Gortar fixed the second leader with a piercing gaze.
"Even I couldn’t flatten the Inferno Pirates with only four warships. What exactly happened?"
"It was like this..."
The second leader hurriedly explained,
"They only had four warships, but one of them was a Heller-class battleship!"
A battleship was the pinnacle of naval warfare among the major Maritime Kingdoms.
It was a T0-class vessel, standing in a league of its own—an unstoppable monster capable of crushing anything in its path.