Merchant and Pirates

"Move it if you don't want to die! Throw all these ballast stones into the sea! Otherwise, if those damn pirates catch up, we'll all be finished."

A middle-aged man in his fifties with a thick beard was standing on the deck, yelling at the busy sailors.

From his attire and commanding demeanor, it was clear he was the captain of the ship.

The sailors being yelled at didn't dare to pay attention to their captain's foul attitude.

One by one, they exerted all their strength to haul the heavy ballast stones from the lowest hold and quickly throw them into the sea.

Because the sailors knew the old captain was right.

If the pirates behind them caught up, with the limited number of people on their ship, they would likely all be cut down in a matter of minutes.

What's more, most of the sailors on the merchant ship were just laborers and hadn't learned how to fight.

But unfortunately, the ship's appearance and structure determined that even if they threw all their ballast stones, cargo, and supplies overboard, they wouldn't be able to outrun warships, or rather pirate ships, specifically modified for pursuit and combat.

The distance between them continued to shrink.

Before long, the owner of the ship, a merchant in his thirties from Athkatla, the capital of the northern Amn Empire, could no longer sit still.

He put down the expensive monocular he was holding, quickly walked to the old captain's side, and asked in a slightly trembling voice, "Bas, are we finished? What will those pirates do when they catch up? Will they kill everyone? Or will they hold us for ransom?"

"I don't know. It depends on which faction of pirates they are, and whether their leader is human," the old captain, known as Bas, replied with a wry smile.

Gulp!

Hearing this, the merchant instinctively swallowed: "I... I think I saw half-orcs, hobgoblins, and ogres on the pirate ship earlier."

"What? Hobgoblins and ogres!" The old captain's mouth widened in shock, and then he began to curse through gritted teeth. "Damn it! How could we be so unlucky! That must be Bloody Harlett's ship! Only he can control and command those immensely strong but unintelligent ogres."

"Bloody Harlett?"

When the merchant heard the name, he couldn't help but shiver.

Because any merchant who traveled by sea in the Sea of Swords knew this notorious pirate captain.

It was said that he was originally the son of a noble from the Tethyr Kingdom.

Later, for unknown reasons, he was exiled and eventually became a brutal pirate.

However, unlike ordinary pirates who only sought wealth.

This guy, in addition to plundering wealth, also liked to get involved in matters involving conspiracy and betrayal.

For example, accepting commissions from a noble or an heir to a merchant guild to intercept a target designated by the client at sea.

The targets were usually the client's parents, uncles, husbands, wives, siblings, etc.

As long as these people disappeared, the client could immediately inherit the territory, title, merchant guild, and a staggering amount of inheritance.

After completing the task, Harlett would not kill these captives immediately.

Instead, he would take them back to be imprisoned and demand that the client fulfill the previously offered reward or promise.

The exorbitant price was often almost all the savings of a noble's territory, or half the assets of a merchant guild.

If the client did not intend to keep their promise, Harlett would make a similar deal with the imprisoned captives and then help them reclaim what they had lost.

As revenge, the pirate captain would capture the clients who broke the contract.

He would order the victims who were ambushed to personally dig out the hearts of their sons, wives, nephews, or siblings.

The title "Bloody Hand" originated from this.

"Bloody Hand" did not refer to Harlett's hands being stained with blood, but rather that he could make other people's hands stained with the blood of their loved ones.

No one knew whether this almost twisted and pathological preference stemmed from his own depraved personality or his personal experiences.

But through such means, Harlett obtained immense wealth that other traditional pirates could not match, as well as a vast intelligence network spread across coastal cities.

Even the famous Amn Shadow Thieves occasionally chose to cooperate with him.

"Mr. Bernard.

I think it would be best for us to abandon this ship and all the cargo on board, and then escape to the island in a small boat to hide.

Although distributing that special cargo to the sailors might allow us to resist for a while, defeat is only a matter of time.

And once the pirates suffer heavy casualties, they will surely retaliate by killing everyone, and might even set fire to the ship."

Old Captain Bas gave his advice with a solemn expression.

He wanted to use this method to confirm whether "Bloody Hand" Harlett was after the cargo on the ship, or after the son most valued by the owner of the Roldan Merchant Guild.

If it was the latter...

It would mean he was caught in an internal power struggle within the merchant guild.

The merchant, known as Bernard, clearly realized this. His mind quickly flashed through several siblings who usually competed with him, trying to find someone with the motive and ability to do this. Finally, he took a deep breath and nodded: "Alright!

When we enter the shallow waters and the ship is about to run aground, we'll directly take a small boat to the island.

But there's a small problem.

When this ship set sail, to minimize costs, it was not equipped with enough small boats.

This means we will have to abandon some of the sailors."

"What? Not enough small boats?"

The captain froze, his gaze instinctively flicking to the number of small wooden boats secured along the ship's sides.

He saw that besides the four frequently used ones near the bow, the rest were just makeshift vessels cobbled together from rotten wood.

If these were thrown into the water, they'd fall apart in less than a minute.

Four small boats, assuming each could hold a maximum of six to eight people, could carry at most twenty-four to thirty-two people.

Yet, this large merchant ship was crewed by over sixty sailors.

Old Bas didn't dare to imagine the rage of the sailors if he announced that only half of them could escape, leaving the other half to face the ferocious pirates. A mutiny would surely follow.

Bernard noticed the tension in the captain's eyes and immediately lowered his voice. "We don't actually have to tell the sailors the truth. We can sneak a few trusted men onto the island in the small boats while everyone is distracted. After all, the fewer people there are, the easier it is for us to hide and the lower the chance of getting caught."

"But doing that would destroy the reputation I've spent years building!" Old Bas growled in anger.

Without a good reputation, he couldn't recruit sailors willing to follow him to sea, nor could he gain the trust of his employers.

This was undoubtedly fatal for a captain, potentially ruining his entire life.

"At this point, you're still worried about some damn reputation?

If something happens to me, do you think my father will let you and your family off the hook?

And as long as I get back safely, you won't just continue to be the captain of this merchant guild.

I'll use my influence to help you get a bigger ship and enjoy a higher profit share from trade."

To escape their current perilous situation, Bernard was willing to go all out, abandoning his usual gentle and peaceable demeanor to both threaten and entice.

He didn't want to become a captive of "Bloody" Harlett, nor did he want to die at the hands of brutal pirates.

After a period of internal struggle, the old captain finally relented.

Taking advantage of the panic caused by the ship running aground, he secretly brought Bernard, the boatswain, and the first mate – a total of four people – lowered a small boat, and rowed towards the beach.

By the time others noticed, it was too late.

The helpless sailors could only curse loudly as they watched the pursuing pirates board their ship, one by one, leaping onto the deck with gleaming scimitars.