Pirate Kingship
Chapter 89 - 88: Offshore Balancer, Eat My Stirring Shit-Stick

Chapter 89: Chapter 88: Offshore Balancer, Eat My Stirring Shit-Stick

RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE...

The ’King Edward,’ which had been singled out for special attention, was hit. A 68-pound cannonball, a full 30 kilograms, made even the hull of a second-rate Warship tremble slightly. A wail arose from within the cabin. But their first thought was not to counterattack, but to immediately check for leaks. The contents of the ship’s hold were far more dangerous than any Fortress Cannon!

Young Norwich York in the lower hold cried out in astonishment, "What’s going on? Has the Calamity lost control? It could easily obliterate the Lancaster Family, so why would it fail against mere Bayfolk?!"

The Law Mages tasked with guarding the object were even more baffled. They gripped their staffs tightly, nervously watching every move of the decaying tentacle within the Colored Pottery Jar. They couldn’t help but recall the confidential intelligence they had reviewed when first assigned this task. It was said to have been brought back from overseas by a Great Adventurer:

"Remember, human common law, interests, and emotions are meaningless in the vast expanse of the world. When we cross the boundaries of reason and the levees of the mind, entering the boundless unknown, we must leave behind all our Human Nature and common sense. Compared to ancient beings that span the entire river of human History, we are humble, insignificant, and ignorant..."

One glance at that ruined tentacle was enough to know that there were indeed things in this world beyond the understanding of humans, even of peak Transcendents. Of a Rank at least above the secular Kingdoms’ highest Fifth-order Legendary ’Kingly Title.’ Not communicable, not to be looked upon directly; even human language, impoverished as it is, cannot adequately describe their form. To humans, they are natural phenomena of the Supernatural World and disasters in their own right!

And the object in the box was one of them, or rather, part of an Indescribable entity.Fortunately, aside from their fondness for human flesh, these beings had no subjective consciousness. Yet, they did indeed possess certain objective laws.Just as early humans had tamed wildfires and mastered Fire, thereby stepping into civilization.Find the rules, use the rules, and it might be possible to control this Calamity for our own use.At least the York Family believed they had tamed this power and even prided themselves as the new era’s ’Fire Thieves.’Yet, among all their emergency plans, there was no strategy for what to do should the Calamity’s prey elude it!

And the longer the seal remained broken, the stronger the tentacle’s activity became. An eagle-eyed Law Mage noticed that its main body seemed to have started twitching slightly.

The Archmage realized they could not continue like this. They had to find a way to guide the Calamity to abandon its chosen target and allow both sides to disengage. Otherwise, the Fleet challenging the unsinkable Iron Anchor Bay and its Fortress Cannons had no chance of victory.

He began chanting, holding the ’Second-Class Relic - Pied Piper’s Shepherd Flute,’ designed to counteract the Calamity: "You are the hero who rid us of the black plague of rats; you are the demon star who led away an entire city’s children..."

Every ’Sacred Relic’ carries with it a unique piece of human History and has had a significant impact within a certain region or domain. Activating such a treasure was not like using man-made Miracles with simple severing script; instead, one chanted its legacy, resurrecting History. The History he was chanting referred to an event that took place two hundred years ago in the city of Hameln within the Rhein Alliance. The city was plagued by rats, and the citizens, at their wits’ end, were preparing to abandon it. A Pied Piper claimed he could solve the rat problem in exchange for a fee, and the townspeople agreed. Yet, after he played his flute and led all the rats to drown in the river, the townspeople reneged on their promise. When the betrayed Pied Piper played his flute again, all the children in the city helplessly followed him, disappearing forever into the mountains.

Effect: It can play hypnotic tunes that ensnare all those of unsound mind. It could not control the Calamity as easily as it could a swarm of rats, but the influence it exerted was enough.

The maddening, nauseating flute sound rose once more and indeed had an effect on the tentacle, which was contending with the entirety of Iron Anchor Bay. Although it didn’t truly loosen its grip, the Fleet’s sailing speed finally began to slow. This gave the Navy time to regroup and launch a counterattack against Iron Anchor Bay’s Fortress Cannons.

"Form the battle line, all ships!"

"Load the starboard cannons, windward side! Open fire in retaliation! Hold on, victory will surely be ours! God save the King!"

Using some wondrous artifact, the voice of Fleet Commander Norwich York overpowered the roar of the Fortress Cannons, clearly reaching the ears of every soldier.

"God save the King!"

The Red and White Roses had fought a civil war for thirty years; these were all hardened veterans, their coordination far surpassing that of the great Bayfolk pirates. Dozens of Warships lined up, launching a synchronized fleet salvo, equally formidable in scale.

But the Maze Lock was not just misty vapor; it was also a Transcendent-level perception shield. Without the appropriate authority, even a Third Order ’Navigator’ couldn’t see through the port’s defenses. Moreover, the hit rate of ship cannons was terrible beyond 200 meters, meaning they did little damage against the Fortress Cannons inside the bay. Even if they bombarded like this for ten days or even half a month, Iron Anchor Bay could still hold out.

For the moment, the battle seemed to have reached a deadlock.

If the ’Pied Piper’s Shepherd Flute’ could calm the mindless tentacle in a short time and return it to its seal, the York Family’s losses wouldn’t amount to much—merely Red Beard’s contingent, not a crippling blow.

But Byron, who harbored a blood feud with the White Rose, was not content to let this Strait Fleet return unscathed. Seeing that the enemy Fleet had not been dragged into the Maze Lock and stranded in the complex network of waterways in one fell swoop, Byron inwardly sighed in disappointment.

Even if these traitors have gathered my family’s Fleet, this batch of Warships, especially those Third-Rate Battleships, represents at least a third of their assets. If this Fleet could be wrecked, the newly crowned Edward IV would surely be overwhelmed with trouble. With internal strife and external threats, the situation within the Kingdom would greatly improve for many Vassals originally under Lancaster. In the future, my chances of playing both sides to my advantage would significantly increase. Besides, if you old folks from the York Family don’t die and vacate your positions, how could I, a newcomer ’confidant’ of the York Family, smoothly rise to power?

No sooner had this bold thought emerged than it took root deeply in Byron’s mind, refusing to dissipate. A series of plans swiftly took shape. He pulled Violet aside and whispered a few words to her. Only then did he take out the ’Echo Conch’ and transform himself back into Red Beard’s trusted ’Executioner’ Bill.

He recalled the message from the echo recordings and the specific intelligence about his contact from memory. After quietly composing his words, he spoke in a deliberately panicked tone, "Hello, Colonel Norwich, are you there?"

The two held their breath and waited for a moment. Soon, an obviously surprised voice came from the device, "You are... Red Beard’s man, Bill? I think I’ve heard your voice a few times when communicating with him."

Red Beard was indeed quite admirable, having already passed a detailed list of pirates to the Navy Department. Even Little Norwich knew that Bill was a trusted confidant highly valued by him. Upon confirming Bill’s identity, he quickly asked, "What about Red Beard? Did you secure the position of ’Military Governor’?"

With the spirit of an actor possessing him, Byron’s voice even carried a hint of a choke as he said, "It’s been a disaster, Colonel Norwich. Our ’Goddess of Vengeance’ has suffered terribly. Naively, we were lured by those cunning Bayfolk into the Valhalla Hall of Heroes and then brutally ambushed; my brothers suffered heavy losses. Even the first mate and the captain’s guard perished in battle. However, we have finally triumphed! Upon emerging from Valhalla Hall of Heroes, we saw the port’s Fortress Cannons firing outward and knew you must be in trouble. Without a word, the captain led the crew to block those great Bayfolk pirates and destroyed a portion of the Fortress Cannons."

On the side, under Violet’s direction, cries of battle also conveniently rang out. In the port, a number of Fortress Cannons also abruptly fell silent, as if it were all real. Among them was a Second Order ’Singer’ from the Hall Sequence who imitated Red Beard’s calls uncannily well.

"The captain has asked me to inform you that he is opening the Maze Lock now. Please command the Fleet to come support us as quickly as possible. The Bayfolk are nearly crazed, fighting desperately. Please come quickly to our aid!"

Byron made a signal to Violet, who immediately exercised her powers, causing the opaque white fog forming the Maze Lock on the periphery to slowly dissipate. However, the fog was very dense. It might still take some time to clear completely.

This scheme was not complex; it was simply bait to lure the enemy in. Once they entered the range of the Maze Lock, they could be trapped and subjected to a full-scale, one-sided assault. When the Fortress Cannons were fully activated, they would certainly be able to decimate this Strait Fleet. Or perhaps they could just trap them for a month or two and claim a Fleet for free.

"Alright, hold on; I will report to the Commander for support immediately." The other side ended the communication.

But after a long wait, there was still no change in the Fleet’s formation, not even a flicker from the signal lights. Only a low-level ’Level Six Cruiser’ separated from the main body and cautiously approached.

Byron shook his head at Violet, who looked equally disappointed, "No good. This guy didn’t fall for it; he’s a bit too cautious."

The Direct Lineage members of the Lancaster and York Families were not numerous, each having at most a dozen or so. Byron naturally had a clear understanding of their details. Even without listening to the recordings from the ’Echo Conch,’ he could tell who was approaching just by looking at the Flagship.

Little Norwich is greedy and mercenary. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t miss a chance to turn defeat into victory and recoup losses. Even inducing Old Norwich would be expected. But seeing their cautious behavior now, they probably won’t risk themselves before the situation clears, even at the risk of missing an opportunity. To think more sinisterly, allowing Red Beard’s forces and the Bayfolk to fight to the death, maximizing the depletion of the Bayfolk’s strength, would be in their best interest.

What Byron didn’t know was that Little Norwich had just received a lesson from his old man. The York Family could afford many trial-and-error costs, but that cost could absolutely not be their own lives. And there was one most crucial taboo: "Never, ever let that thing soak in seawater!"

Before Iron Anchor Bay was completely disarmed, the ’King Edward’ would never risk moving forward to be struck below the waterline in a leeward, unfavorable position.

However, while York’s precautions might be watertight, the nefarious schemes in Byron’s mind were also endless. When one plan failed, he immediately concocted another. He took out his octopus silver coin and summoned another Man-Eater Shark. As the union of the Thirty pieces of silver remained incomplete, the Black Mass Ceremony to collect group elements continued.

It must be frustrating to smell the meat but not be able to taste it. But if the ’meal’ is served right up to its mouth, who will it choose to eat first?

If they won’t come over, then I’ll sneak over to them.

Either way, today you *must* take this damned stick down your throat!