Pirates Really Have Treasure

Ponytail hurried half a step forward and pressed down the crossbow in Baldhead's hands, then whispered to the man on the ground, "Third Chief, you've always treated everyone well. We all remember your kindness, but are you really planning to be a pirate for the rest of your life?"

"Hurry and tell us. Young Master Roger isn't the same useless man he used to be. He said he wouldn't kill you, and he definitely won't go back on his word. He might even set you free."

Roger ignored Ponytail's unauthorized promise and said coldly to the Third Chief, "You pride yourself on being noble, righteous, and brave. These men are brothers who depend on you to survive. If they all die, then you deserve half the credit."

With that, he thrust his right hand into the pirate's wound again. This time, however, the pirate merely twitched a few times, his reaction already faint.

Watching his trusted subordinate, who was practically at death's door, suffer such torment even before dying, Third Chief Olaf felt as though his heart were being twisted by a knife. The last line of defense in his heart finally shattered.

"Oh, God, how could You let such a vicious person crawl out of hell?" Olaf finally broke down.

Last night had been nothing less than an infernal slaughterhouse for him.

He had long suspected that First Chief Ulf had been ambushed and killed by the Second Chief in collusion with Baron John. Thus, after receiving an urgent report from a lowly lackey during the banquet, he immediately drew his sword and fought the Second Chief. Several trusted men who had received his secret orders responded at once, battling the Second Chief's fierce bandits in a tangled melee.

Under normal circumstances, it would have been nothing more than an internal struggle where one side lived and the other died. In the end, one faction would survive and become the core of the pirate gang, then coerce fishermen and recruit bandits to form a new pirate force.

Sea Monster had not become the Second Chief of this pirate band by chance. His fighting prowess exceeded that of the Third Chief. Before they had fought for long, Sea Monster struck Olaf's thigh with a sword, and Olaf instantly lost the upper hand.

At the time, the two factions were locked in chaotic battle, and his trusted men had no time to look after him. Just as he watched Sea Monster's blade thrust straight at one of his confidants, Sea Monster suddenly weakened, the force in his hand dropping sharply, and his sword was immediately knocked aside.

After that, Second Chief Sea Monster repeatedly lost ground, his face growing more and more haggard. After blocking two blows, he clutched his stomach and dropped to his knees, vomiting.

Around that same time, everyone from both factions who had been fighting in the mill began collapsing and vomiting. Before long, the mill was filled with people sprawled across the floor, wailing in agony, including the lowly lackeys who had been cowering in the corners to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

Other than himself, everyone in the mill showed signs of something being wrong to varying degrees.

Just as the sudden change erupted, fire blazed up inside and outside the mill. Immediately afterward, a man wielding a Viking axe charged in, followed by a group carrying weapons of every kind.

At the time, he had collapsed in a corner of the mill from excessive blood loss. Helplessly, he watched those unguarded pirate companions, even those too weak to rise from the ground, get slaughtered one by one by the people who had launched the surprise attack...

He did not wake until the latter half of the night. Someone had already roughly treated his leg wound.

Later, he learned that their group had been poisoned with a highly toxic concoction. The one who had administered it was Ponytail, the thug who had taken several brutal beatings. Ponytail had also treated the sword wound on his leg.

Infighting, a night raid, and the most lethal poison—of the original nineteen pirates, only three and a half lives remained.

The old lackey had been denied dinner by the Second Chief and driven onto the ship to stand night watch, thus escaping disaster. The young lackey had gone out scouting with a trusted subordinate at the time, then encountered the infighting upon returning and hid away, picking up a cheap life. Although the trusted subordinate beside him had escaped the poison, he had been stabbed by a spear during last night's infighting, then tortured again today. Only half a life remained, and he certainly would not survive.

Thinking of his miserable past, then of his current plight, Olaf felt waves of pain in his heart and choked back sobs again and again.

Roger paid no attention to Olaf's countless inner struggles. He stopped what he was doing, picked up the blood-soaked hunting knife from the ground, and without hesitation drove its tip into the dying bandit's heart. The bandit jerked violently, his eyes flying wide open. After a faint twitch, his head lolled to one side and he died.

Baldhead and Ponytail could not help turning their heads away, unable to look at the miserable state of the corpse on the ground.

Roger had gotten into plenty of fights in his previous life, but he had rarely killed anyone. Yet ever since he had killed his opponent while on the verge of death in that black alley, he had developed a strange craving for murder. Now, taking a life with a stab was as indifferent to him as slaughtering a chicken. Even he found himself somewhat deranged.

Brushing aside the stray thoughts in his mind, Roger slowly pulled the hunting knife from the corpse's chest, wiped it clean on the grass, and sheathed it.

"Put some clothes on him later. Dig a separate grave and bury him," Roger instructed Baldhead and Ponytail. He actually admired the fierce bandit somewhat; the man had held out hard for quite a while.

"Olaf, tell me where the gold is hidden. I guarantee that you'll live."

Third Chief Olaf slowly lifted his gaze from the corpse and bared his teeth at Roger, glaring furiously. Yet Roger's narrow eyes and cold face remained utterly unmoved.

After a brief standoff, Olaf finally gave up. The ferocity in his eyes suddenly drained away, his cheeks sagged, and he lowered his head.

"Sea Wolf and Sea Monster have both been pirates for many years. They're suspicious and meticulous by nature, so they scattered and hid the wealth they looted over the years in several places. I only know of one of them."

"Sea Monster might have known every hidden cache, but he can no longer enjoy Young Master Roger's torture and slaughter." Olaf looked toward the row of naked dried salted fish nearby and let out a low sigh. "Three of my companions are among them. Ponytail knows them. Give them a proper burial, and I'll tell you where that gold is hidden."

Roger nodded, indicating his agreement.

Olaf had little strength left. Lowering his voice, he said, "That gold cache is located at..."

Baldhead instinctively wanted to lean closer to listen, but Ponytail immediately grabbed his sleeve and pulled him a little farther away.

Roger did not notice the small movements of the two men behind him. After listening, he asked in a deep voice, "How much money is hidden there?"

"More than forty pounds, I suppose. We just robbed a small merchant ship this spring."

"Only that much?" Roger had thought that pirates, who made their living through plunder, would possess countless treasures of gold, silver, and jewels. Hearing that there were only forty-odd pounds, he was deeply dissatisfied, though forty pounds was already an enormous sum that ordinary commoners could never save in a lifetime.

"If pirates were truly rich, why would they still risk their heads everywhere?"

Roger lowered his head and thought about it. It really was true. He stood, wiped the blood from his hands on his padded armor, then lightly patted his clothes and armor. "Ponytail, call a few men over. Take the Third Chief and the two lackeys, old and young, into the inner room of the mill to rest. Give them some food and drink."

At the mention of food and drink, the old and young lackeys both flinched instinctively.

Roger smiled. "Don't worry. Since I promised the Third Chief, I won't poison you to death again."

Ponytail immediately turned and waved over Old Joey and several others who were patrolling and standing watch nearby. They untied Olaf and the old and young lackeys' legs, helped them up, and led them toward the mill, though their hands remained bound behind their backs.

Watching the surrendered pirates disappear into the mill, Roger turned and glanced at the mangled, bloody corpse on the ground. Shaking his head, he said to Baldhead, "Come on. Let's go check Blackhide Dog's injuries again."

In the latter half of last night, Roger had personally cleaned Blackhide Dog's wounds carefully. He had also found clean cloth on the pirate ship to bandage them and stop the bleeding. There had been no sign of severe infection before dawn. Perhaps Blackhide Dog could still be saved.