Chapter 387 - 174: I’m Really Not Red Hair
"Oh?"
"Very few people know about that incident. The outcome wasn’t good."
Yuan raised an eyebrow. "He lost?"
"How could he?!" Black Jack shot up as if he’d been struck a fatal blow. "Of course the boss didn’t lose! He could never lose! It’s just... he didn’t win, either..."
"A draw, then?"
Black Jack still shook his head, saying resentfully, "The boss has to sleep for half a year, while Suyade fled far away to the Forbidden Sea. His injuries must have been even worse than the boss’s."
Yuan watched him thoughtfully. After a few seconds of silence, he said quietly, "Didn’t Lady Iron Hammer say earlier that the Alanjia has been making a lot of moves recently?"
"That’s what her last letter said. Why?"
"Why do you think they’re doing that?"
"Huh?" Black Jack froze for a moment, then it dawned on him. "Are you saying... Suyade is back?"
"I hope not. Otherwise, that ’big move’ you were just talking about might turn into you walking right into a trap."
The color drained from Black Jack’s face. If that was true, the situation was far more serious than Lodilia had described.
If that person attacked them while the boss was asleep—it would be a catastrophic blow!
"No, that won’t happen!"
"Heh," Yuan chuckled lightly. "Jack, do you remember the first lesson I taught you?"
"The first lesson?" Black Jack’s expression darkened completely, his tone heavy. "On the Cordo Sea, there’s no such thing as luck. Always prepare for the worst!"
"That’s right. Regardless of whether Suyade has returned, we have to prepare as if he has. Next..."
Just then, a pirate in the crow’s nest shouted, "First Officer! We’ve got a situation!"
"Hm?"
"Three-masted sailing ship at ten o’clock!"
"A single ship?" Annoyed that such a trivial matter had interrupted their conversation, Black Jack cursed, "Dammit, you think the Bai Ke Li is afraid of one three-masted sailing ship?"
"N-no, that’s not it," the pirate in the crow’s nest flinched and stammered. "First Officer, it’s the people on that ship..."
Yuan shot to his feet, looking at the approaching vessel. "Red hair... Marco?"
Black Jack paused, also looking toward the ship. He scanned it once over. "It really is that little noble brat from the Secret Investigation Department. Weren’t they saying he was on Dakman Island?"
"Obviously, someone else is on Dakman Island..."
Meanwhile, on the three-masted sailing ship not far from them, several young men were lying on the deck, fast asleep. Among them was Marco, who had only been at sea for ten days.
"Captain!! We’ve got a situation!"
Moskra, who was at the helm, saw the five-masted sailing ship in the distance and his face fell. Even though he hadn’t been at sea for long, he still recognized the famous name and emblem of the Black Pearl.
After realizing this, he rushed onto the deck and kicked everyone awake.
"Ugh, what is it?" Marco stood up, covering his face, and asked blankly, "Moskra, have we reached Avad Island?"
"Forget about Avad Island! Look over there—it’s the Black Pearl!!" Moskra yelled, pointing at the five-masted sailing ship at their four o’clock.
"Wh-what? The Black Pearl?!" Marco was instantly wide awake. He knew exactly what the Black Pearl meant for them.
He followed Moskra’s finger and saw a five-masted sailing ship, far larger than his own Tyrant, heading straight for them.
"We’re done for, we’re so dead." A portly young man collapsed to the deck. "I told you we shouldn’t have set sail, but you just wouldn’t listen..."
"Shut up, Plamon!" Moskra glared at him, then looked at Marco. "Captain, what do we do now?"
"How should I... hmm," Marco’s brow furrowed. Watching the ship under the Black Pearl’s banner draw closer and closer, his mind raced. "None of you say a word later. I’ll do the talking!"
From what he understood, as long as the captain wasn’t someone like Henrik, the other ships of the Black Pearl weren’t too unreasonable. At worst, they would just have to hand over some of the money on board...
"Wait, no!"
Moskra suddenly thought of something, and his expression changed. "Captain, the way you look right now..."
"The way I look?"
’Red hair... Shit!’
It dawned on Marco. He asked anxiously, "Do you have an Illusion Potion? Quick, give it to me."
"It’s too late, they’re already here..." Moskra shook his head slowly, a fine layer of sweat breaking out on his forehead. The situation was clearly worse than he had imagined. "Our only hope now is that they’ll believe you’re Tyrant, and not *that* redhead..."
’Marco suddenly wished he really was the Red-haired Captain... At least if he had that kind of power, he’d have some confidence in facing the current situation.’
’We’re really dead this time.’
"Sigh..."
Seeing this, the others slumped to the ground in despair. But despite their words, none of them had any intention of blaming Marco.
For a moment, the entire Tyrant fell completely silent, as if awaiting the arrival of death.
Before long, the Bai Ke Li pulled up alongside them. Its hull, a full two times larger, enveloped the Tyrant in its shadow.
THUD, THUD, THUD...
Grappling hooks on ropes latched onto the Tyrant’s gunwale one by one. Several pirates, excitedly brandishing their weapons, leaped over. Seeing Marco and his crew, who had already given up resisting, one asked in a disappointed tone, "You’re pirates? Aren’t you going to put up a fight?"
’Fight back?’
Marco and his men looked up at the pirate in unison and collectively rolled their eyes. ’Fight back your ass!’
"Huh? Look at him." One of the pirates noticed Marco and looked at the others quizzically. "I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before."
"Red hair?"
"Wasn’t the guy who killed Henrik a redhead?"