On the largest pirate ship, a group of men were baring their teeth and leering this way, their smiles wild and unrestrained.
The ship's hull was splattered with blood. A hunting flag fluttered atop the mast, and a huge red infant banner billowed in the wind, striking terror into all who saw it.
Any sea merchant who traveled the West Sea knew that the red infant banner belonged to the notorious pirate Hong Hai'er. It marked his flagship—and the tool with which he roamed the West Sea, burning, killing, and plundering.
Chen Tao glanced at the red infant banner, his calves trembling and his body going limp. If he had not been holding on to the ship's railing, he would have already collapsed onto the deck.
"Manager Zhao, Brother Zhao... If we can keep our lives, then give them these goods..." Chen Tao said quietly to Zhao Dingfang.
Zhao Dingfang sighed softly. Chen Tao was a member of the Chen clan and the overseer of this caravan, a legitimate heir sent to supervise them and ensure they worked diligently without giving them any opportunity to embezzle the valuable cargo. If even he had said such a thing, then it seemed these goods truly could not be saved.
Zhao Dingfang nodded. "We'll do what the situation demands."
"Who's in charge?" a burly man wielding a saber roared from the pirate ship.
Chen Tao shoved Zhao Dingfang. Helpless, Zhao Dingfang could only call out loudly, "I'm in charge! I'm Zhao Dingfang, the manager of the Chen clan's caravan. May I ask why all you heroes have intercepted us at sea?"
"Why? Hahahaha! He actually asked why we intercepted them?" The saber-wielding man turned around and laughed uproariously, and the pirates behind him, each holding a different weapon, burst into laughter as well.