"What's wrong, John? Did you call us here to announce something?"
Soon, one by one, the crew members came to the outer deck at the beckoning of the sailor John. One of the crew members asked him in confusion.
"You should check the situation over there first before you say anything!"
John pointed directly ahead and replied to him.
"This is... pirates?! Oh no! What are you waiting for? Get ready for battle!"
The man stared wide-eyed ahead, and soon saw a bull-headed ship flying a pirate flag approaching them. He hurriedly shouted at it.
The other crew members also spotted the pirate ship in that direction and began discussing it amongst themselves, creating a somewhat noisy scene.
Thump thump thump...
"Quiet down, all of you, quiet down and listen to me."
At this moment, the captain, who was standing at the front, tapped the railing with his finger and scolded.
"The pirates have discovered us and are closing in. Our top priority is to devise a comprehensive battle plan and prepare for battle, not for you to keep arguing here!"
When the captain saw that they had quieted down a bit, he began to speak.
"Captain, what plans matter at this point? Just fight them head-on..."
A burly, strong man spoke up.
"You brute!!"
His companion made a sarcastic remark after hearing his words.
"What did you say?!"
Hearing the insults, the burly man's anger flared up, and he grabbed his companion by the collar and questioned him.
"Alright, stop arguing. Bobby's right, no plan will work now. Let's get back to our posts and prepare to face those pirates!"
Seeing that the pirates were already approaching them, and the crew members were still bickering, the captain covered his face and looked at them with a headache, saying.
"Yes!!"
With the captain in charge, the crew dared not cause any more trouble. After responding, they immediately returned to their posts, ready to face the pirates with force.
Thump...
Thump...
Thump...
Before long, the pirate ship finally arrived near the cruise ship and opened fire on it.
Shells rained down on the sea around it, creating huge waves and startling the passengers inside.
"What's wrong? Why is the ship rocking so violently...?"
The men and women at the ball stopped what they were doing, looked towards the door with worried expressions, and asked in confusion.
"Passengers, I am the captain of this ship. I regret to inform you of some unfortunate news. Just recently, our crew spotted a pirate ship heading this way. We have made preparations in time and arranged for all crew members to be in their positions."
The pirates just attacked us, and the situation is very dangerous. Please, all of you, stay put to avoid being caught in the crossfire. Don't worry, my men and I will handle them."
After assigning all the sailors to their positions, the captain came in to explain to the passengers so as not to cause too much panic and disrupt their operations.
"Captain, since you already knew pirates were coming, why didn't you tell me when I asked you? And how are we supposed to know you can protect all of us?"
At this moment, the gentleman who had spoken earlier once again stood up on behalf of the passengers and questioned the captain.
This shows that he was of very high status, which earned him the respect and trust of others.
" Viscount Kos, I didn't tell you about this earlier because I was afraid you would leak it and cause panic among the crew."
However, please rest assured that we will handle this pirate attack properly. After all, we are the safest commercial cruise ship in the West Blue. Trust my crew members; they are all strong and healthy, and they will defeat those pirates soon.
"Since there are no further problems, I'll go back and take command of them now, Viscount Kos."
Seeing that Viscount Kos, who had originally intended to question him, was rendered speechless by his words, the shrewd captain took the opportunity to excuse himself and leave, lest he be questioned by the group again.
"Is this how the matter ends, Viscount Kos? Do you really intend to let the captain shirk his responsibility like this?"
His attendant asked his employer, unwilling to accept the situation.
"What else can we do? Do you really want to arrest him and hold him accountable? Our safety is all in his hands now, and I can't make things difficult for him any further."
Viscount Kos rolled his eyes at him and then asked a question. Seeing that he had nothing to say, he continued to explain.
"Alright, everyone, quiet down. Since the captain has said so, let's wait here for their good news and let those warriors unleash their full power to ensure everyone's safety."
After explaining to his men, Viscount Kos glanced at the noisy crowd below and offered his advice.
"Yes, since you have spoken, Viscount, we will obey and say no more."
The crowd below reached a consensus, and the scene immediately quieted down.
Thump thump thump...
"Give them a good beating and blow up their fortifications so these sheep won't dare to rebel against us."
On the pirate ship, the captain raised his broadsword and directed the gunners to fire at the cruise ship.
"Counterattack! Counterattack! Quickly... Let these pirates see our power and see if they dare to attack us again!"
On the cruise ship, the charismatic captain, seeing his ship being constantly suppressed, became furious and roared loudly.
"Yes... fire!!"
Thump thump thump...
The two sides fired at each other at close range, and the scattered shells blasted their ships into flying wood chips. Several unlucky sailors were even hit head-on and died before they could even scream.
Bang...
Just then, the pirate ship sailed into the cruise ship, and the pirate crew steered it to ram the cruise ship.
A loud crash resounded, the cruise ship rocked violently, and the sailors lost their footing and fell onto the deck. At that moment, the enemy on the ground seized the opportunity to rush aboard.
"All of you, charge up there! This time I'll allow you to go on a killing spree and wipe out everyone who resists! Do you hear me?!"
Pirate Captain Lucas gave orders to his crew.
"Okay, go!"
"Charge!! I'm going to kill a lot more people, don't try to take it from me!!"
The pirate henchmen charged forward with sinister grins.
Tear...
Some of the pirates who boarded the ship first swung their giant blades and slashed down the sailors in their path.
As screams rang out, more and more crew members were cut down while resisting. Red blood flowed like water onto the deck, causing the other sailors, who had already lost confidence, to throw down their weapons and kneel down, begging the pirates for mercy.
"No!! I surrender, please spare my life!!"
Snap...
Snap...
"I surrender too!!"
"Me too, please let us go..."
Seeing their comrades lose faith and prostrate themselves at the feet of the evil pirates, the remaining soldiers also lost the will to resist, threw down their weapons, and begged for mercy.