Faced with Harkes's sincere invitation, nearly all the pirates gladly accepted. Of course, no one knew how many of them were secretly making their own calculations. In any case, everyone could hardly wait to plunder Ocasuan, the legendary island of wealth.
Yet when the moment came, Harkes was no longer in a hurry. In his words, Ocasuan was right there—it was not going anywhere. There was no need to rush. What they needed to do now was gather enough strength and strip this hidden island clean in a single stroke!
They should not forget that the island lay in the heart of the Trackless Sea, where sea monsters ran rampant. Moreover, the island had tens of thousands of elite troops. With the manpower currently on the island alone, it was a little insufficient to swallow such a juicy prize.
Although quite a few pirates felt Harkes was worrying too much, these ignorant pirates believed there were already more than enough people on the island. They simply did not understand the gap between pirates and a regular army.
Pirates were not nearly as romantic as novels made them out to be. In truth, piracy itself was a miserable job. They had to cram into poorly ventilated cabins, endure the foul body odor of their filthy companions, and go months without bathing. There was little entertainment aboard ship; aside from drinking, there was only gambling. The boredom alone could drive a person mad. At the same time, vitamin deficiencies and appalling sanitation left most pirates gaunt and emaciated, often suffering from all sorts of skin diseases. In short, becoming a pirate had always been a choice born of desperation.
Naturally, those who became pirates could not possibly be elites. If they truly were elites, no matter their character, they could make a