Aboard one of the Fergus Merchant Fleet's merchant ships.
The captain, Sherry, looked grim.
Though they had been extremely careful today, even making slight adjustments to their course in an attempt to veer off the route,
they had still been found by the Undertow Pirate Crew.
And this time, their luck was bad. Even the sloop escort ships had failed to spot the Undertow Pirate Crew's vessels in advance.
Now, the speed at which the sloop escorts were returning was about the same as the speed at which the pirate crew was closing in.
Sherry climbed into the command room of the three-masted ship and said repeatedly, "Quick, turn the ships around. Let's see if we can shake off these pirates."
"At the very least, buy us some time to prepare for battle."
"Yes, Captain!" The second mate hurried off and ordered the ships to change direction together.
Sherry spread out the sea chart, searching for a direction that might lead them to safety.
But as he looked at the chart, all he could do was frown.
There was nowhere suitable nearby that could shelter them.
If they had been sailing close to the coast, they might have found a suitable port to stop at temporarily.
But their current position on this route was already out in the deep sea. Forget a continent—there was not even an island nearby.
The Fergus merchant ships began to pick up speed, but they simply could not go any faster.
This could only delay things by a few hours. They could not buy any more time than that.
Because their armed merchant ships were currently loaded to the brim with cargo, riding deep in the water.
Under such circumstances, there was no way they could shake off the Undertow Pirate Crew's ships.
The sailors