Chapter 494: Hindrances along the way
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
Through his showmanship of grace and might, Sheyan had instilled a convinced and yielding heart within his subordinates by now.
A wonderful aspect happened, where a distinct segregation between the former british marines and the pirates had formed. This foreordained that hidden agreements would be difficult to achieve, thus eliminating the awkward predicament of future mutinies.
Therefore, Sheyan could confer authority to potential subordinates with a reassured mind. In turn, this enhanced the loyalty of the pirates on board the other ships.
The northern wind currently brewed relentlessly. With the various plundered unique storyline equipments and his ‘Pirate Captain’ title, the Hill Maiden was now experiencing a 15% movement speed boost.
As such, Sheyan’s flagship was presently navigating through the sea with an unbelievable velocity.
The razor-sharp narwhal tusk of the ship’s ram tore against the billowing sea waves, as the ship left a long streak of white trail shadowing its stern; stimulated sails swelled abundantly like the voluptuous breasts of beauties.
Under Sheyan’s fluent command, only a measly twenty pirates were hustling around the ship, while the remainder rested indoors.
Though the manpower was at a minimum, everything was executed neatly. Even in the minds of the pirates, they felt their routine taskings had become more efficient.
One must understand, Sheyan was concurrently assuming the three great personas of captain, First Mate* and navigator. Such a scene indeed left the pirates gasping in amazement. It was no wonder when Mogensha overheard the secret discussion of the former british marines; they mentioned that ‘captain’ could even command a fleet with surplus to spare.
(TN:*First Mate is the same term as Chief Officer)
During the voyage, the trio occasionally noticed other contestants sailing towards Tortuga port, in their single-masted boats with turtle-like velocity.
Naturally, the trio wouldn’t throw stones at people stuck in a well, neither were they kind samaritans. While observing the jealous and hateful gazes of other contestants, Reef and Mogensha couldn’t avoid sensing a superiority arising involuntarily.
As the saying goes, sharpening an axe wouldn’t delay the chopping of firewood. Though these contestants had set off 10 hours before them, Sheyan had merely leveraged 5 hours before surpassing them.
Inevitably with such circumstances, there wouldn’t be any suspense in predicting that party Ace would reach Tortuga port first.
"Boss, how much longer do you reckon till we get to Tortuga port?" Brother Black casually asked as he strolled to Sheyan’s side.
Sheyan shook his head.
"I can only observe from this map, but I haven’t gone there before*. What I can say is, if there aren’t any accidents, then roughly within 5-6 hours."
Brother Black responded with shock.
"That fast? You should know, the realm gave us a total of 48 hours eh."
Sheyan nodded and answered.
"The speed of those single-masted lifeboats aren’t slow. I reckon they would at most take 24 hours to sail there."
Brother Black paused briefly before asking.
"Such a slackened duration…...it doesn’t feel like the style of the nightmare realm. Could it be, we will encounter obstacles throughout our voyage, ones that will force us to meander around?
Sheyan chuckled.
"That possibility cannot be excluded. Still, the initial main mission of this world wouldn’t have such exaggerated difficulty as well. It wouldn’t be similar to that high intensity war during the previous world’s realm war right. Oh relax, I also allowed the majority of our crew to rest. If we ever encounter any trouble, they would be able to fight with an optimal state."
Accepting this willingly, Mogensha nodded. After walking a few steps away, he suddenly paused to ask.
"Boss, do you intent to employ that thing in this world?"
Sheyan questioned.
"You’re referring to that ‘Dead Sea Scroll’, Remnant Page?"
Mogensha nodded. Sheyan then inhaled deeply and answered.
"That will depend on whether my plans flow smoothly. I do hope to employ that in this world! Be it good or bad, we nonetheless possess a ship and a crew which can be incorporated as a part of us; thereby apportioning the mission’s difficulty as well, this.... is the privilege of this Pirate of the Caribbean world. Besides, if we seize the authority control of our ship, then we wouldn’t face a situation identical to the Blackthorn tribe of the previous world, where the amount of loots re can rake in were suppressed!!"
Brother Black laughed heartily and agreed.
"That’s right. The enemies these pirates eliminate would equally drop key loots. I recently observed that though most of the loot chest produced garbage, we’ve managed to amass a sump of nearly 20,000 utility points so far. Furthermore, this doesn’t factor in those unique storyline equipment you discovered."
Sheyan chuckled.
"We can’t sell off those unique storyline equipments. Once we bestow them to our crew, we can still acquire their aid the next time we return. We cannot commit the error of killing the chicken to get its eggs."
"Whatever, since you’re in charge of these matters…..all the best boss." Brother Black exposed his set of white teeth and smiled craftily. "I haven’t seen something you can’t achieve yet."
Approximately an hour of voyage later, the pirates ahead had started shouting abruptly. Sheyan strolled over as a surprised pirate greeted him.
"Blimey smokes! The hull struck against something at the bottom. Our speed be slowed."
Sheyan immediate inquired.
"Aye, Submerged reefs eh? I don’t recall the map showing a treacherous region here."
Canbi emerged and shrugged his shoulders.
"Yer memory ain’t wrong, Cap’n. I’ve sailed through this route three times; heard no news of ships touchin’ reefs."
Sheyan nodded.
"Has anyone checked for leaks in the ship?"
When his words faded, Ol’Seadog, while biting onto a knife, had just climbed back up from beneath with a speed remarkable for a person with a single hand. He shrugged his shoulders and informed.
"Cap’n, the durability of the ship’s hull be like the arse of an 18 year ol’ lass."
Sheyan pondered before issuing.
"Light a torch!"
The torches on board ships were all soaked with blubber which wouldn’t emit much fumes, but could remain combusting for long. Moreover, its flame was exceptional bright. Its only shortcoming was the fishy smell it emitted.
Once a pirate shined the torch at the ship’s bow, he instantly realised an abnormality in the supposedly peaceful sea.
The seawater was currently rapidly bubbling, where seemingly large invisible hands beneath were stirring it forcefully. Moreover, the momentum of these hands were facing towards different directions.
Sheyan quickly shot an eye at Brother Black. Mogensha then immediately produced his rifle, took aim and triggered off.
Scorching bullets pierced deep into the abyss of the sea instantaneously, yet not a single trace of blood diffused up.
Instead, numerous haphazardly interwoven black strips rapidly emerged within the sea, as they gradually tangled around the ship’s hull.
On hindsight, they couldn’t see clearly what those black strips were. However, the waves became increasingly turbulent as loads of white foam bubbled up.
Although the seawater wasn’t turbid, the pirates were totally incapable of viewing the specifics beneath the sea surface; due to the reflecting glossiness of the sea at night. Phrasing in a more accurate depiction, it was like the sea was being boiled, as though something was breaking free from the shell of water and devouring it!
Sheayn snorted and commandingly ordered.
"Get more men to light torches and stand by the hull!"
Sheyan’s current prestige was unmatched. With a single announcement, everyone threw their bodies into servitude. Pirates scrambled over speedily. Sheyan tied a hawser* around his waist, before explaining to Reef and Mogensha.
(*ED: A hawser is a thick rope used for mooring or towing a ship)
"I’ll go down for a look, if I enter a near-death state, immediately pull me back up."
The two nodded while the rest of the pirates were utterly alarmed. Especially those wholeheartedly loyal subordinates of Sheyan; individuals like Ol’Seadog and Canbi, they anxiously attempted to dissuade Sheyan from taking this risk.
In the perspective of several old pirates, encountering abnormalities within the sea was an occasional affair.
They claimed those black strips were hair of the dead that floated up from the underworld….desiring to glimpse the moonlight; grievous and missing the living, that was why they pestered ships.
However, they would merely delay the ship for several days before dispersing away. Instead, one would undoubtedly meet treacherous dangers if one went underwater.
Yet how could Sheyan afford to dally for several days? Hence, he insisted on going overboard.
In the end, a one-eyed pirate volunteered to undertake this investigation task with his captain, while boasting about his excellent swimming capabilities.
This one-eyed pirate actually belonged to the earliest batch that followed Sheyan. His performance had been relatively mediocre, and claimed no excelling points to his name.
In spite of that, his willingness to volunteer and guard Sheyan, had evidently revealed his arousement due to the previous event; a desire inspired when Canbi acquired his mysterious strength.
Sheyan naturally was well aware of his intentions, but this was indeed the kind of initiative he was hoping to see. In this world, Sheyan wasn’t afraid of crew members with thriving ambitions, but that his crew wouldn’t possess talents!
Sheyan glanced at him before asking.
"What is your name?"
The one-eyed pirated deferentially answered.
"Call me Blacksail, cap’n."
Sheyan nodded.
At present, every second counted. No time for mindless chatter, they directly leapt into the ocean. No matter how reckless this appeared, Sheyan had already went through careful deliberations.
They were currently undertaking a ‘B-’ difficulty world. Thus, the difficulty of the first mission to initiate the storyline wouldn’t be too absurd. Besides, Sheyan’s swimming was incredibly proficient even in the present world. What more, the title ‘Pirate Captain’ allowed him to breathe for 10 minutes underwater.
Thus, Sheyan retained ample confidence when he dived down. This was absolutely not a bold and reckless operation.
The seawater was a plain of icy chilliness. Sheyan began a fierce cold war as he landed into the water, but rapidly recovered his composure. Soon after, another ‘ppssh’ crashed down from above.
Evidently, Blacksail had followed in his footsteps.
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(TN’s IMPORTANT REMINDER This Tortuga (特图加) is a different Tortuga from the first world’s Turtuga (土图加). Both changed to english is tortuga. HOWEVER, the tortuga (特图加) of this current world should be the one in the pirate of the caribbean movie. The Turtuga (土图加) in the previous world, should be a made up port by author. To prevent confusion, I will address the first world’s one as Turtuga (土图加) with a U instead.