British hegemon

Chapter 31 Capture of the Pirate Ship

Under the cold moonlight, a small oil lamp flickered on the pirate ship moored at the sheltered cape.

Three pirate henchmen were left to guard the ship, one of whom was the old henchman who had just been punished by having his dinner taken away and was kicked out of the mill to guard the ship here.

On the night of the feast, those sent to watch the ship were all lowly henchmen among the pirates. While the mill was filled with wine, meat, song, and dance, they could only chew on moldy salted beef, drink bland, cheap beer, and eat a couple of bites of hard bread.

Just now, there was a commotion coming from the mill, followed by the rising of firelight. The men on the ship felt something was wrong, and even those who climbed the mast to the lookout tower couldn't see clearly because of the distance.

The slightly stronger henchman had just slid down from the mast when he shouted at the old henchman, who was huddled in the stern tower entrance, feeling melancholy, "Old man, you stay on the ship and don't wander off. We'll go check what's going on."

The old henchman was utterly despondent. He didn't get up, but just muttered, "The second leader said that at least two people must guard the ship. If you leave me alone to guard the ship, I'll get scolded again."

The two henchmen also wanted to use this as an excuse to get out of the water and go to the mill to freeload some food and drinks. They completely ignored the old henchman's advice, saying, "Just guard it when I tell you to. Why are you talking so much nonsense?"

Having said that, they ignored him and lifted a gangplank from the deck, placed it on the gunwale, and connected it to a rock on the shore. The two of them took the oil lamp, chatted and laughed, jumped onto the gangplank, and stepped onto land. They walked along the path toward the brightly lit mill.

The old henchman glanced in the direction the two had left, too weak to remove the ramp by himself, and buried his head in the darkness, secretly wiping away a tear...

……

Under the cold moonlight, Roger, carrying a blood-dripping Viking battle axe, strode toward Shelter Cape.

If the evening observation was correct, there were only two pirates on the pirate ship, and another pirate went by with a torch at night, making a total of three people. However, the evening observation was not accurate enough, so it was just a gamble.

Roger was followed by four warriors who had just killed someone; five men could easily ambush two or three pirates.

His concern was how to successfully wade across the water and climb onto the ship's side. If they couldn't board, they could only sneak up and shoot one or two with crossbows to prevent the rest from leaving the port. Then they would use a siege tactic to force the pirates on board to surrender or find planks to board.

As they were thinking this, a light suddenly appeared at the bend in the path a few dozen steps ahead, and two figures holding lanterns walked towards them.

"Stop, get into the bushes." Roger whispered, and immediately led the men behind him into the bushes by the roadside. He inserted his Viking axe into its sheath and drew his hunting knife for close combat, holding it in reverse.

On a summer night, amidst the chirping of insects and croaking of frogs, two pirates traveling by night with lanterns were discussing whether to go to Locklanza Village before leaving Shelter Cape, spend half a silver coin to hire a village girl to sneak into a haystack and have some fun.

The two men chuckled lewdly during their conversation.

The lamplight drew closer, the laughter grew louder, and Roger, crouching low in the grass, slightly raised his hunting knife.

"...Gary's daughter is really something else, those breasts are so big you could probably hold them with both hands."

"Now that the chieftain is dead, no one is protecting her anymore. If we could get her out and play with her once, sizzle~" The pirate carrying the oil lamp said, drooling as he slurped and hurried forward.

Just as the two pirate henchmen were indulging in their fantasies, a figure suddenly sprang out from the bushes by the roadside, leaped up, and flashed a cold light in his hand, aiming diagonally at the lantern-bearing pirate's neck.

The pirate carrying the lantern didn't even have time to react; he only felt a sudden chill on his neck, followed by a sharp pain.

The hunting knife blade pierced straight through the pirate's neck, exiting from the left and stopping only after wedging into his left shoulder blade.

The fatal blow left the lantern-carrying pirate no time to scream or struggle. He collapsed sideways, blood gushing from his mouth, making muffled groans.

While Roger was stabbing one of the pirates, Black Dog and Old Joey had already rushed towards another pirate. None of them had Roger's deadly killing skills. The group pinned the pirate down, choking him, punching him in the stomach, and digging out his beads. Baldy's crossbow, which he was holding, was also blocked by the group, so he could only watch helplessly.

Roger had already pulled the hunting knife from the pirate's neck, while the fighting continued silently on the other side.

Roger picked up his blood-dripping hunting knife and walked to the side. He kicked away the gambling addict blocking his way, then crouched down and covered the pirate's mouth, which was screaming incessantly.

"Get out of the way," Roger shouted at the flustered men.

The few men who had failed in their killings quickly retreated to the side.

Roger covered the pirate's mouth with his left hand, while his right hand held a hunting knife to the pirate's neck. "Don't make a sound, or I'll spare your worthless life, you hear me?"

The heavy pressure on the pirate eased, and although his mouth and neck were still threatened, he breathed a sigh of relief and quickly nodded.

"How many people are left on the ship?" Roger asked the pirate in a low voice, then slightly loosened his left hand that was covering his mouth.

"Just... cough cough."

The pirate, who had just been choked, coughed twice. Roger immediately covered his mouth, which startled him so much that his pupils dilated and he whimpered softly.

Roger relaxed a little more.

"Sir, I was wrong, I will never be a bad person again." The pirate was so frightened that he lost his mind, and his crotch was already leaking feces and urine.

"How many people are left on the ship? What weapons do they have?" Roger asked fiercely, his right hand holding the knife unconsciously increasing the pressure, drawing a bloody gash on the pirate's neck.

"Reporting to Master, there's only one, just a useless old man. He doesn't know how to use weapons."

"Please, sir, let me go!"

The pirate's voice abruptly stopped as Roger's hunting knife sliced ​​through his carotid artery and trachea. The sound from his mouth turned into a hoarse, broken voice, and a large amount of blood gushed out in rhythm with his heartbeat, which he could not stop even with his hands covering his neck.

The convulsions subsided after only a few seconds.

Roger then stabbed each of them in the heart.

Seeing that everyone on the ground was dead and confirming that only one old henchman remained on the ship, Roger was basically relieved. He planned to send Baldy and his men to surround the pirate ship and force the remaining old henchman to surrender.

The group walked quickly for the remaining few hundred steps. When they were about twenty steps away from the pirate ship, Roger signaled to the people behind him to approach quietly.

Under the moonlight, the overall outline of the Kirk-type pirate ship with its sails lowered was already quite clear. This wooden sailing ship was the same type as Baron John's "Baron", but smaller in size.

The ship underwent some modifications. The bottom of the fore and stern towers was enclosed to create cabins, and an additional foremast was added. A simple shed made of felt was built in the middle of the deck to store large quantities of cargo that could not be stored in the cabins or to provide shelter for horses and livestock. Since pirates spent most of their time at sea, they rarely rode horses and did not need to store large quantities of cargo. Therefore, this place became the residence for those pirates who did not want to be crammed into the low cabins.

Unlike ordinary cargo ships, this vessel retained small holes for oars under its hull, making it more maneuverable and better suited for pirates to pursue and plunder their targets.

Roger didn't have time to observe carefully. Just as he was about to have the bald man take a crossbow and occupy a high rock, he discovered that a gangplank was still leaning between the ship's side and the rocks on the shore, rising and falling slightly with the tide.

"Is this a trap?" For a moment, Roger thought he had been ambushed by pirates and instinctively switched his hunting knife for a more powerful Viking axe.

"Young Master Roger, is there still a plank that hasn't been removed?" Blackie vaguely saw something connecting the pirate ship to the land.

Roger's mind raced with thoughts. Today's mission was to ambush the pirates, and since most of them had already been killed, there was no reason for an ambush to be set up here.

However, just to be on the safe side, Roger turned around and took the already-loaded crossbow from the bald man.

He hunched over slightly and walked slowly towards the ship's side, stepping onto the rock near the gangplank. After testing the gangplank, he leaped up in a few strides, aiming his crossbow at the cabin, shouting, "Don't move!"

The old henchman, hiding in a cabin in the stern tower, peeked through the crack in the door, only to find a sharp arrow embedded diagonally in the door panel, its fletching still trembling slightly.

......