[Du Wei's First Ship]

[Du Wei's First Ship]

Some of the sailors aboard spotted the three on the raft as well. As the ship gradually drew closer, several sailors had already gathered along the rail, eyeing Du Wei and the other two on the raft with great interest.

The two female mages could also tell that this was probably no decent ship... It did not resemble a merchant vessel. Its hull was somewhat battered, and several ballistae had been mounted aboard. Yet it flew no Imperial Navy flag.

"Hey! Look, a few little brats... Oh, and two women! Hahahaha..." The sailors' ghostly howls rang out from the ship, followed by a burst of laughter. More pirates crowded to the side to look down at Du Wei and the others on the raft.

Du Wei sighed and called out, "We were shipwrecked. Can you help us?"

The other side's laughter grew even louder, and it was clearly tinged with ill intent.

Then a rope ladder was lowered. Du Wei let out a breath of relief and glanced at Joanna. Understanding what he meant, Joanna climbed up first.

Joanna was bold because her skills were exceptional. Though her magical strength had not fully recovered, she had regained twenty or thirty percent of it—barely enough to match a low-level mage. At the same time, she possessed superb martial skills!

Such strength might not be enough against true experts, but it was more than sufficient for dealing with a few dozen petty pirates.

Joanna climbed aboard first, followed by Du Wei, with Vivian last.

The sailors nearby all gathered around, laughing boisterously as they watched the three young people, as though looking at lambs delivered right to their doorstep.

"Oh! Look at those two pretty chicks!"

"Yeah! Look at the one on the left—those legs are so long! The captain will definitely like her!"

"Haha, hey brats, you sure climbed onto a fine ship!"

These men were sloppily dressed. Most were barefoot, while some wore tattered coats. Their faces were grimy, yet they bared their teeth at Vivian and Joanna.

Vivian was a little frightened. Her courage was far from matching her strength, and she could not help edging closer to Du Wei. Joanna's expression, meanwhile, had turned ugly. She was already on the verge of exploding.

This violent ice-and-snow beauty had dared to openly assault even an Imperial local garrison camp. What were pirates on a tiny broken-down ship to her?

"Quiet!"

A hoarse voice came from within. Then came the clack of leather boots, and a tall man strode out. He wore a slightly tattered Imperial Navy uniform, except the epaulets and insignia had all been torn off. The uniform was rather dirty, but his shoes had been polished to a shine.

Like an Imperial naval officer, he wore a slender sword at his waist. A captain's hat sat on his head; one hand rested on his hip, while the other even held a pocket watch.

This man appeared to be the captain. Though tall and powerfully built, he had an unmistakably ugly face. Triangular eyes, a garlic-bulb nose, and two deliberately grown little mustaches... The first word that sprang into Du Wei's mind was: sleazy!

"Quiet! Don't frighten my guests!" The captain smiled maliciously, then swept his gaze over Du Wei's group. When his eyes fell upon Joanna and Vivian's brows, a lecherous gleam plainly bloomed in them. But when he noticed Joanna's armor, he paused slightly.

Then he relaxed: How capable could such a young chick possibly be at martial arts? Hmph... She was most likely some noble family's little brat!

As for Du Wei, he was simply ignored.

Du Wei's clothes had long since been ruined. He was barefoot, dressed in rags, his hair a tangled mess. Five or six huge empty gourds were even tied around his body—serving as flotation rings. He looked almost like a wild man.

"Welcome aboard my ship... Let me introduce myself. I am the captain of this vessel. You may call me Captain Morales, or simply Captain." There was a trace of smugness in his voice. "I never expected that in such dreary weather, I would encounter two ladies as beautiful as yourselves... Oh, my captain's cabin is just behind us. I'm sure you two ladies need to change into some lovely clothes first... and then have a good... hearty meal! Am I right?"

Clearly, Du Wei and the others had not had a full meal in days. Even the two beautiful female mages could not conceal their pale, gaunt appearance.

The captain was already dying to thank the heavens.

The past few days had been utterly miserable!

First, an order from Lier Province had somehow mobilized the entire Imperial Eastern Fleet to patrol these nearby waters. Who knew what those naval forces were even doing!

Naturally, that had made life hard for pirates! Just the day before yesterday, the captain's pirate ship had encountered an Imperial Navy warship at sea. After a hasty and humiliating skirmish, the captain had immediately ordered a retreat. Relying on his ship's lighter hull and slightly greater speed, he had led that Imperial warship on a chase across the sea for two full days! One fled, one pursued, until this afternoon, when they had inexplicably sailed into a bank of fog and finally shaken off their pursuers!

These past few days had exhausted him to the bone!

But who would have thought that heaven would immediately reward him by sending these little fat sheep straight to him...

Oh, just look at how soft and tender those two chicks were. They were a thousand times better than the prostitutes at the harbor! If they were stripped naked, washed clean, and pressed onto a bed, what a marvelous sight that would be...

"Come now! Beautiful ladies." The captain had let his guard down somewhat. He even reached out to take Joanna's hand. "Beautiful ladies should not be made to suffer! I'll make you fall in love with my ship..."

The instant the captain's hand landed on Joanna's shoulder, Du Wei sighed. Then he could not help closing his eyes...

A scream rang out!

A burst of light suddenly erupted from Joanna's body! It was unmistakably a skill only warriors above the intermediate level could possess!

Battle Aura!!

Amid the captain's scream, his entire body was sent flying. His handsome hat fell onto the deck... As for the captain himself...

See that arc through the air? Smiling, Du Wei watched as—splash—the captain dropped into the sea...

Everyone froze in shock for a second!

Very quickly, the pirates came to their senses! Every one of them grabbed a weapon and charged forward with shouts!

Joanna merely snorted... The anger she had been bottling up for so many days had finally found an outlet!

She stood empty-handed, wielding no weapon at all. With a casual grab, she seized a man charging at her. The huge fellow was swung about in her hands and used as a human weapon!

Then cries of pain rang out one after another. Amid a flurry of bangs and crashes came the unceasing sound of people falling into the sea.

Du Wei silently counted from one to ten, and a third of the pirate sailors before him had already gone down!

"Enough! Joanna, stop." Du Wei felt that was about enough.

Joanna still refused to stop. With another kick, she sent the man before her flying into the sea. No one remained around her anymore... The pirates stared at Joanna as though they had seen a ghost, their faces full of terror as they retreated far away.

"I said, stop!" Du Wei frowned. He gently raised a hand and caught Joanna by the shoulder. Joanna snapped angrily, "We're no longer on that island. Do you think you can still order me around?"

This woman immediately reached back to grab Du Wei's wrist. Du Wei did not resist, merely looked into Joanna's eyes and suddenly shouted in a low voice, "Look at me!"

Joanna shuddered! Unable to help herself, she looked into Du Wei's eyes...

Was it... an illusion?

Joanna only felt that this boy's eyes had never... never... never been so beautiful!

Those eyes seemed to turn black... a black so profound it made one's heart tremble! It was as if his eyes were as vast as the starry night sky; if she kept looking... it felt as though everything would be drawn into them...

Joanna had only taken one look when she suddenly felt her mind relax, and the strength drained from her hand. She did not even notice that her body seemed no longer to obey her! She simply stood there quietly, staring into Du Wei's eyes...

As if even her soul were about to be sucked in!

"I said, stop." Du Wei's voice was slow, each word extraordinarily clear! Like a hammer, they struck deep into Joanna's heart!

"...Understood." Joanna answered without meaning to. Her tone was meek and gentle, utterly devoid of her earlier overbearing arrogance.

"Very good." Du Wei continued looking into Joanna's eyes. To Joanna at that moment, his voice suddenly became so sweet and pleasant that she could not help wanting to obey anything he told her to do...

"Now stand behind me. Without my word, do not make a move," Du Wei said softly.

Joanna's gaze hesitated slightly. Her stubborn nature seemed to struggle faintly for a moment, but she still yielded to that strange feeling... It simply felt too comfortable!

Joanna obediently stepped back and stood behind Du Wei... Once she was no longer caught in Du Wei's gaze, Joanna immediately felt her mind loosen! It was as if some restraint had fallen away. Everything around her became clear and sharp again, and she was somewhat confused...

What happened to me? Why did I listen to that guy?

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became at herself. She wanted to go up and question Du Wei again, but somehow she could not summon the slightest desire to resist. She only felt that defying Du Wei's orders would make her extremely, extremely uncomfortable... while standing behind him like this and obeying him made her happy.

This feeling was far too strange.

Joanna wore an odd expression, but Du Wei gave her no time to think. He immediately smiled and said, "Joanna, if you keep fighting... with your skills, you might kick everyone on this ship into the sea. That would not matter much, except the three of us can't sail such a large ship by ourselves! We need to leave some people to help us steer it, after all! We still need sailors."

Strange... what do we need sailors for? In another day, I can fly back on my own.

That was what Joanna thought, yet she nodded involuntarily. "All right."

Du Wei picked up the captain's hat from the ground and put it on his own head... With this, he would not have to worry about anyone seeing his horns.

"Listen up, you filthy trash!" Du Wei raised his voice without the slightest courtesy, looking at the frightened pirates around him.

They truly were afraid! Joanna's strength was simply far beyond anything they could resist.

"You! You are a pack of filthy trash! Parasites! A bunch of lowly scum!" Du Wei glared fiercely at them. "You rob, murder, plunder... people like you deserve nothing but to be hanged from the gallows in the end! Now, you have all been captured by me! I misspoke? No! This ship, and all of you—every single one of you! You have all been captured by me!"

Du Wei viciously kicked one of the men lying at his feet, a pitiful fellow whose leg Joanna had broken with a kick. Du Wei stepped on him without ceremony. Amid the man's scream, Du Wei's voice fell into the pirates' ears, each word clear as crystal:

"As prisoners, your fate is in my hands! I can throw every last one of you into the sea right now and leave you to fend for yourselves! Or I can find a port and hand every one of you over to the local garrison, then watch you all hang!" A faint smile rested on Du Wei's face. "But I am merciful! I can spare your lives! Yet from today onward—from this moment onward—you are no longer filthy pirates! You are all my slaves, my servants! Under Imperial law, I, a noble, have the right to dispose of my prisoners however I please! Now, I pardon your crimes and take you in as my slaves and servants! Do you understand me?"

The pirates: "..."

"I'll ask one more time! Anyone who doesn't answer this time can jump into the sea and join your captain!" Du Wei looked at them. "Do you understand?"

"Understood!!" Everyone answered in a frantic rush.

Du Wei nodded in satisfaction. "Now, clear the deck! Throw all these men lying on the deck into the sea!"

Without the slightest hesitation, the pirates moved!

These people were vicious criminals with lives on their hands. Now, in order to save themselves, they immediately turned on their former companions without a moment's hesitation!

One after another, men were thrown into the sea amid miserable screams. Du Wei gave his second order: "Lower two lifeboats."

More than twenty pirates were already thrashing about amid the waves. Seeing two small wooden boats tossed down to them, they immediately swam toward them with all their strength.

"Listen! I should have killed you, but I am merciful." Du Wei stood on the deck and looked down at the pirates who had fallen into the water like dumplings dropped into a pot. "Now I will leave you a way to live... These two boats are yours, so you will not drown... As for everything else, you can leave it to Heaven's will!"

A wave of miserable cries immediately rose from below—some cursed, while others begged.

In the vast sea, with no food and no fresh water, and only these two tiny broken boats... it was practically a nine-in-ten chance of death!

"Of course, I can be a little more merciful..." Du Wei raised his hand and pointed into the distance, smiling slyly. "There, in that direction, is a small island. If you row with all your strength, perhaps you can reach it by noon tomorrow! Go on. This is the last of my mercy!"

Having said that, Du Wei ignored the wailing pirates below. Turning to look at the dumbfounded "servants," he smiled. "Food, and water... the faster, the better! Do you understand me?"

The servants immediately scattered in a mad scramble to prepare them.

"Du Wei... aren't you being too, too..." Vivian looked at Du Wei with some reluctance in her eyes, stammering.

"Too cruel? Too brutal?" Du Wei said calmly. "Not a single one of these people is good. True mercy need not be wasted on them! They are pirates! My poor little Vivian, do you know what pirates are? They sail the seas, attack merchant ships, kill the crew, seize their cargo, and even rape the women aboard! They are locusts of the sea, stained by countless murders and towering crimes! Every person here has been a murderer, a killer, with hands soaked in blood! Do you think I need to show them mercy?"

"But..." Vivian still wanted to argue.

Du Wei sighed and looked at this girl who was pure to an excessive degree. In a low voice, he said, "Do you know... if the people they had encountered had not been us, but three ordinary people... then you two women would already have been lined up and violated in turn by dozens of filthy pirates!!"

This time, even Joanna glanced at her younger sister and said coldly, "He's right."

The food on the ship was not particularly exquisite, but for Du Wei and the others, who had been gnawing on grass roots for days, it was enough to nearly split their stomachs!

Smoked meat, dried fish, some simple dried vegetables—and, most precious of all, there was even a barrel of ale.

Even the two girls had no time to care about their poise or appearance, stuffing themselves alongside Du Wei!

As for worrying whether the pirates had poisoned it?

What a joke! Had Young Master Du Wei studied pharmacology for so many years for nothing?

After eating and drinking their fill, Du Wei gathered all the sailors on the deck to speak.

"Now I declare that your ship is joining my private fleet. You are now also a warship of my Du Wei Roland Fleet! Understand? I'm a noble; under the law, I'm allowed to maintain a private army." Du Wei thought for a moment. "Oh, right. We'll also need to find you a new captain..."

Du Wei glanced over the crowd below, then casually pointed at the fellow who looked the most delicate and pleasing to the eye.

"You! Step forward! Tell me your name."

The man froze for a moment, then took a few steps forward and looked at Du Wei nervously. "I-I'm called..."

"Wait." Du Wei shook his head. "Forget it. Since everything is going to become new, your name should be changed too!"

An irrepressible thrill of mischief suddenly rose in the lad's heart.

"You, from today onward, are this ship's captain. From this moment on, your name will be... Jack Sparrow! Understand? Captain Jack Sparrow! And as for this ship... from now on, it shall be renamed the Black Pearl!"

Watching the dumbstruck crowd below, Du Wei could not help laughing inwardly.

The Black Pearl, Captain Jack Sparrow, the famous Pirates of the Caribbean... Hahahaha... this was the very beginning of my private fleet.