Facing Death in High Spirits

The voting proceeded according to procedure, and the Pirate King voted for themselves, including Jack, who also voted for himself. In the end, only Xiao Feng was left.

The pirates prepared for the second round of voting. They knew Xiao Feng too well; outwardly polite and courteous to everyone, but inwardly greedy and capable of anything. Even if they changed the script, let alone the actor, Xiao Feng would never relinquish his throne as Pirate Emperor.

Xiao Feng stood up, looked around at everyone, and smiled mysteriously, "I vote for Captain Barbossa."

With a slight sting to his face, and amidst the stunned silence of the entire audience, the meeting's host, Barbossa, cleared his throat and fairly announced the voting results, "Captain Xiao Feng voted for Barbossa. Barbossa won with a total of two votes. According to the Pirate Code, Captain Barbossa will become the second Pirate Emperor. Now, let's invite Pirate Emperor Captain Barbossa to speak."

After Barbossa finished speaking, he led the applause, smiled, and stepped back to make room. Then, adjusting his hat, he adopted an imperial tone and stepped forward. "Gentlemen, the Pirate Guild faces an urgent situation. As the new Pirate Emperor, I'll just say a few words. First, I order Jack to be sunk..."

"Bang!"

Seeing Barbossa playing two roles with great enthusiasm, even adopting official jargon, the stunned Pirate King finally came to their senses and slammed their fists on the table in righteous indignation.

"Shameless! The Xiao Feng I know would never vote for Barbossa. You two must have made a shady deal!"

"Cheating! This vote doesn't count! Let's start over!" Jack shouted.

Barbossa, the Pirate King of the Caspian Sea, was penniless and had no manpower. He was the worst off among the Nine Pirate Kings, not even one of them. When he became the Pirate Emperor, the others were resentful from the bottom of their hearts.

With a bang, Captain Teague lowered his head to tune his acoustic guitar. "According to the code, Barbossa is the Pirate Emperor, and those who question the voting results are questioning the Pirate Code."

With the vote finalized, no one objected to the result, and Barbossa officially became the second Pirate Emperor.

"Prepare the ships, set sail at dawn for battle!"

Having not slept a wink, the pirates worked tirelessly through the night, loading their ships with ammunition and gathering outside Shipwreck Cove before dawn the next day. Although their flags were a motley collection, the pirates looked emaciated, and their ships varied in size, the sheer number of sailing ships—over 50 in total—made them a formidable naval force.

As the sun rose, the sea fog gradually dissipated. The pirates looked at their fleet lined up in a row, all feeling smug and self-satisfied. The pirate guild was strong and well-equipped; even if things went badly, they could still hold their own against the East India Company for a while.

Perhaps the East India Company, under pressure, would even take the initiative to negotiate peace, be granted a license to plunder, and the two sides would shake hands and make peace, ending in a happy and perfect conclusion.

Happiness is beckoning!

The pirates were happily daydreaming, welcoming the newborn sun with high spirits, a sun that symbolized a bright future.

However, the bright future was merely a mirage. What awaited them was not the rising sun, but rows of imposing warships on the horizon. The black dots merged into one, like a dark, oppressive cloud, sweeping in with overwhelming force.

All of them were battleships, numbering over 200 in total. This super-luxurious lineup, centered around Tier III sailing battleships, represented the strongest and most invincible fleet of this era.

The pirates fell silent, their morale plummeting instantly. The enemy could crush them with just one-tenth of their forces; this wasn't war, it was bullying.

"The British Royal Fleet has been mobilized, just to fight pirates. Even if you have money, you can't just waste it like that!" Russell was speechless. The drastically modified world was beyond words. Putting aside Britain Royal Navy actually had that many warships, the military expenses just for the Royal Navy to make one round trip would be enough for pirates to plunder for a lifetime. What exactly was the purpose of this war?

"I saw the Endeavour, that ship has 100 cannons..."

"We're doomed! They have at least ten First-rate Ship of the Line, plus the Flying Dutchman to help us. We have no chance of winning in a head-on confrontation."

The pirates looked dejected. The disparity in strength between the two sides was too great. The Royal Navy's mere appearance had completely shattered their fighting spirit.

"Perhaps we can request a negotiation!"

"But we need their consent first. They've made it clear they want to wipe out the entire pirate guild. What can we use to negotiate?"

"Shut up, all of you! Losing yourselves will only give the enemy an opening!" Barbossa drew his longsword and shouted at the crowd, "Fools! Face reality! The war horns have sounded, and we have no way out!"

"But Captain Barbossa, a direct confrontation will only lead to death..."

"Who says it's a dead end? The Royal Navy may seem invincible, but it's not unbeatable. We still have our last trump card." Barbossa narrowed his eyes and said slowly, "We have another trump card. Now, as the Pirate Emperor, I order the immediate unsealing of the sea goddess... Calypso!"

Barbossa was prepared for this. After giving a few instructions, Tia Doma was brought onto the deck in no time. The nine Spanish silver coin that had been confiscated during the meeting were all placed in a brazier.

"Calypso, as agreed, I will release you from your mortal body; in return, you must help us defeat the East India Company's fleet." Barbossa reiterated the terms of the deal before lighting the brazier.

Tia Dorma stared at the brazier in front of her with shining eyes. She had waited for this day for too long. She ignored Barbossa's words and harbored a deep hatred for the pirate guild that had sealed her away. She secretly resolved to drown all the pirates as soon as she regained her divine power.

Barbossa, being an old and shrewd man, could roughly guess the goddess's thoughts, but he knew how to exploit a woman's weakness. He took a step closer and whispered, "Calypso, do you know who provided the intelligence that allowed the Pirate Guild to seal you away back then?"

Calypso whirled around, his eyes dark and resentful, and demanded, "Who is it?"

"David Jones!"

After saying this, Barbossa lit the brazier and, after a chaotic and heartfelt confession, successfully broke Calypso's seal.

The flames burned the silver coins, releasing pale purple smoke. Calypso, like an addict, greedily inhaled the smoke, a look of boundless satisfaction on his face.

After Calypso had her fill of the drug, her body began to grow wildly, transforming her into a giantess even taller than the Black Pearl. The pirates panicked and retreated in all directions, fearing that the giantess would trample them to death.

"Great sea goddess, please keep your promise and bring disaster upon our enemies." Barbossa knelt down devoutly, removing his hat in reverence.

Calypso wasn't buying it at all; she had completely forgotten what the agreement was.

She hated the pirates who sealed her away, and she also loathed David Jones for betraying her. She remained neutral in the war, watching them fight to the death. Her enormous body transformed into thousands upon thousands of stone crabs, rolling down the deck into the vast ocean and disappearing without a trace.

Russell witnessed the entire process clearly. Calypso's giantess form was not Titan's body, but rather her final human form during the unsealing process. It was so fragile that Russell was confident he could easily make a hole in it with Mana Bullet.

Calypso has been sealed away for too long, and it will take some time before she regains her divine power. During this period, she can use the Divine Authority of the sea goddess, but she can forget about engaging in the strongest melee combat of the Titan.

The pirates looked at each other in dismay. Calypso had broken his promise and left without a second thought, and their trump card, which they had placed so much hope in, was gone.

"Barbossa, your plan has failed. That woman is completely unreasonable." After saying this, Jack quietly took two steps away, keeping a certain distance from Barbossa.

Barbossa snorted coldly, and seeing the numerous pirates glaring at him, he panicked. Just then, dark clouds swept in, obscuring the sky and the wind shifted, turning the calm seas in favor of the pirates.

"Look, the sea goddess has kept her promise; the winds are now in our favor!" Barbossa urged, seizing the opportunity to boost morale. "With the sea goddess's protection, what are you afraid of? Set sail and fight your way through!!!"

"Oh oh oh——————"

Barbossa's verbal skills are absolutely top-notch, but unfortunately, he's in the wrong genre. If he were in a shonen manga, he could easily trigger David Jones's flashback with just a few words, making him hand over his heartbreak.

On the other side, aboard the Flying Dutchman, David Jones clutched his chest and looked up at the sky. Dark clouds swirled into black vortexes, swallowing the light like black holes and casting a chilling darkness upon him.

"Ka... Rypso!"

The cold, icy rain lashed his face, and David Jones, overcome with grief, uttered the name of his beloved goddess. The merciless storm told him it was all over; it was his lover's curse, hatred like a knife, cutting him to the point of near death.

The torrential rain poured down, the seawater surged and converged, and in sync with the dark clouds in the sky, a powerful suction force was generated in the central area, forming a giant whirlpool. In an instant, the sky and the sea were churned up simultaneously, and all that could be seen were rolling waves and surging billows.

"Charge into the Great Maelstrom and fight to the death!"

With a wave of his hand, David Jones felt his pain needed release, his empty heart needed filling, and he longed to forget his wounds with blood, whether from his enemies or his own.

Almost simultaneously, on the pirate fleet side, the Black Pearl advanced unstoppable, heading towards the Great Maelstrom.