Dissolving the Fleet

The two fleets clashed directly at night, and it was clear that the Doom's firepower was superior, relentlessly pressing forward. Many of the Sea Worm's ships were engulfed in flames, suffering heavy losses. 🍫🍫 🐍🎉

Just as we were preparing to press our advantage, news came from behind that the Ghost Claw fleet had arrived!

Sarah ordered her to ignore the Ghost Claw and maintain the offensive posture to eliminate the Sea Worm first. This would give them a direction to retreat later, otherwise, continuing to escape into the deep sea would be quite dangerous.

As the attack signal rose into the air, the doomed men mustered all their strength and charged forward. But when the fleet sailed up to the burning enemy ship, they found no corpses on board, but a large pile of gunpowder barrels!

It turns out this was all a scheme by the enemy. It seems the Sea Worm and the Ghost Claw have already made their plans and are just waiting for the misfortune to advance!

It was too late to retreat; the flames quickly spread to the gunpowder barrels, and several warships in front were destroyed.

Without a doubt, even if they attack Ghost Claw, they will use the same tactics to deal with it. After all, we are surrounded! Sarah had no choice but to order a retreat into the deep sea again.

Riven and I might be able to turn the tide of battle, but we can't protect Sarah forever. If we want to become stronger, we have to rely on ourselves!

As night fell, the sea grew wider and the waves more turbulent, and the Ghost Claw and Sea Worm finally stopped chasing.

Of course, this doesn't mean they've given up; they're just holding their positions near the coast, ready to attack as soon as they see us return.

"These fools have all fallen for the Daughter of Death's trick and become her henchmen."

"How come I heard that the Misfortune Fleet betrayed them first?"

"We never betrayed them. Those so-called traitors of the Misfortune Fleet were just people sent by Gangplank in disguise. A simple trick fooled them."

"I see. Didn't you explain it before?"

"No, they surrendered long ago. Instead of explaining, they'd rather seize more territory, but now they've lost it all."

We talked with Sarah all night, gaining a more detailed understanding of the past of several fleets. At sunrise, she made an important decision:

Disband the fleet.

Sarah has no interest in running a fleet; all her previous efforts were for revenge for her mother. Now that Gangplank is dead, she has lost her motivation and wants to live the life she wants.

I knew she was interested in being a Bounty Hunter, but I didn't ask her directly, "What do you want to do in the future?"

"I enjoy living alone, a thrilling life, drinking whenever I want, dating whenever I want, and traveling to every continent."

"How carefree! Be careful you don't run out of money." I deliberately prompted him.

"That is indeed a problem, but it's okay, we can just take on some bounty missions to earn some reward money."

After Sarah shared her thoughts with the crew, none of them wanted to leave. Most of these men were Sarah's mother's subordinates and were equally loyal to her; how could they leave in such a perilous time?

They can start a new life after they leave by changing their names, but Sarah can't. With her current popularity, she'll definitely be targeted by all sorts of people, and her name is probably on all the bounty posters right now.

Moreover, we've developed a deep bond over the years; it's not something that can be easily broken up.

Sarah seemed determined to leave. "If we could continue to stay together, I wouldn't want to disband the fleet, but now we're the target of their attacks, and we can't stay adrift in the deep sea forever."

"Then let's go back and fight to the death! We might as well go down fighting to the bitter end!"

"Do you want to walk together towards destruction? Think of your families back home. How long has it been since you last went back to visit them?"

No matter where you are, the bonds of family are the most touching. Many of these people are homeless, but many of them are out earning money to support their families. Everyone was deeply moved when Sarah told them about it.

"Brothers with families can leave, but those of us who grew up on the ship don't need to go. We swear to protect you with our lives!"

"Damn it! How can you protect me with your meager skills? Let me make this clear, you're all a burden. With Yasuo and Riven around, I'm perfectly safe!"

Last night was nothing but fighting and fleeing. Many people didn't recognize us. Now they know that Sarah deliberately provoked them to leave, so they want to challenge us.

Many of these people were very strong, some had extraordinary physiques, and there were even a few mages, but none of them had any special abilities.

I didn't lift a finger; Riven easily defeated them.

Sarah was just as surprised as the others. She had never witnessed our true abilities before, though not now, though we had shown a few more tricks up our sleeves since the escape.

"How are you feeling now? Are you relieved?"

"They are indeed very skilled, but I fear they may have ulterior motives!"

"If they want to harm me, can you stop them?"

These people finally had nothing more to say, and to dispel their doubts, I reiterated what I had said before:

"We're here to find someone. Once we find her, I'll take Sarah away from Bilgewater. Don't worry, no one can hurt her!"

"Sarah? You mean the captain...?"

"Yes, that's me! But the name doesn't matter. I won't use the name 'Miss Fortune' anymore. If the name 'Miss Fortune' appears in the future, that's me!"

After Sarah finished speaking, she pulled Riven and me away. She knew that after her persuasion, people's hearts had softened, and now as long as she left, the Misfortune Fleet could be disbanded.

When the time comes, everyone will be fine as long as they take their supplies and leave by small boat. Even if they are blocked by the Sea Worm and Ghost Claw people, they will not be troubled as long as they surrender.

I rode my motorcycle straight south, and after a few days of travel, I decided to go see Yarlin and Maki. I wondered if they were doing well in the south.

Sarah cried on the way. She didn't seem to care on the surface, but she actually had deep feelings for the Misfortune Fleet. After all, it was where she grew up and was her mother's legacy.

After crying, she shouted a few times, the shrill sound quickly dissipating in the high sky, and she felt relieved.

"The feeling of flying is so exhilarating! When I was little, I often climbed onto the mast, imagining myself soaring through the air like a bird. I never thought I'd actually fly now, much higher than the mast!"

"Haha, look how excited you are. You're still just a kid."

"Does it look like it?" Sarah puffed out her chest and rubbed against my back.

"Steady, I'm driving!"

Luckily, Riven was ahead of us, otherwise we might have had to abandon Sarah.

We arrived in the slums of the south, and many people recognized us, especially the children we had rescued, but everyone looked unwell.

I asked them what had happened, and one of the children told me that Yarlin and Maki had been kidnapped, but he didn't know who had kidnapped them!

The South Passage fleet of the Daughter of Death has already been destroyed by a violent explosion. If the ritual were to continue, they wouldn't just capture the two of them. I don't quite understand it.

"Who are these two children?" Sarah asked me.

"We rescued him when we first arrived in Bilgewater. He used to be the child of a wealthy family, but his family was destroyed, and he became an orphan."

What family?

Their surname is Hailan.

"The Hailan Family, which was destroyed not long ago, that's it! These two children are the real sacrifices!"