The God of Jesters
Chapter 380 - 6.12.4 Betrayed

Chapter 380: 6.12.4 Betrayed

There he was, filled with frustration over the trap he had found himself in, the captain had nothing in his mind but to escape from his place. It’s why his body was currently mutated, lighter than before as if his bones were hollow, he moved in the air like a finch, darting from the ship directly to the floor. And then readying himself to rush out of this encirclement using one of the hidden paths he had been made aware of long ago during prior transactions.

And he would have succeeded, if not for the weird monkey-like man saying. "He is not needed." And that was enough.

He could feel a dangerous gaze lock onto him, followed by a gunshot that would have struck his heart, but due to acting on time, he was able to tilt a bit so that the bullet only punctured his chest, whose momentum caused his body to fly in the air and then crash into the sea.

Pain, that was all he knew at this moment. Blood poured out from his chest as he struggled to breathe under the dark waters.

’Help... he clawed toward his ship’s oar that was sticking out of the ship, but his hands couldn’t reach it.

"Captain..." Some of the shipmates cried, looking at the scene in horror as their captain seemed to be drowning in the war.

"Yes, he is your captain, whose actions that you should not replicate." I say to the ones standing on the deck, who seemed to have lost all their fighting spirit after seeing the "end" their captain was going through.

"So I believe, we are not going to fight today?" I asked, looking down below to the people that have stopped in their tracks. "Which is disappointing." My words contained a hint of mockery in them, which caused some annoyance in Farhad. But that was it. He was smart enough to know that moving would mean death.

"Who are you." Where was the sniper? It was not hard for him to find her location and the same was the case with Remira, she knew where the sniper was hiding, and much to her surprise, she knew who this sniper was. "Sheva." She mounted off the name, that surprised the surrounding ones. While Farhad was even more curious about who these individuals were.

"It would seem there is no point in hiding," Sheva spoke while overlooking the people on the ship was her vantage point, which was a Pulley that was usually used to transfer heavy loads onto the ship, but now it was the place that Sheva used to control the whole battlefield.

She had the high ground.

"Captain, I am glad to see you alive." She said, finding the scenario a bit frustrating.

Jester her master played a dirty game with them. Although she can’t ascertain what and how her master was able to time their meeting so perfectly, one thing was certain, such a coincidental meeting was preordained by him, and considering there are no orders from him, it would mean that Sheva is free to act however she chooses.

"You are glad? This woman is the reason I got shot in the heart..." I say spitting from the top right next to her feet, causing the face of Farhad to twist in anger again, he was almost ready to retaliate but was stopped by my little girl Selene, while Remira, who although feeling disgusted by my ugly action still controlled her emotions enough to ask. "What do you mean by that?’

"Ho... I do recall some men telling you what happened in your prison as they counted your failures. But I guess you were lost in your own world, too selfish to even notice." I laughed, recalling how I had tormented her to the limit that she had shut off all sounds from the outside. All in an effort to break her mind.

But she had sustained herself somehow, that’s how self-serving she was. Not even bothering to face her crimes.

"Crow, just focus on the rest, I will deal with these three," Sheva ordered me, as she urged the trio to get down from the ship.

But I was not in the mood to listen to her. Not with this person. "No worries, talk as much as you want, but after your talk is over, I also have something to say to these three." I put in my request. And knowing my past and Sheva after a thought agreed.

There was no need to deny my request in this case anyway, and besides, they were at an advantage as long as Sheva remained on top of them.

"Master, what is it that you need from us?" The Quartermaster of the ship asked. He was the one managing most of the resources keeping numbers and maintaining the logbook. Pretty redundant to my needs if I might add.

"If you are wondering if I am going to kill you, then you think wrong. I am not cruel, nor is my leader. We only kill when necessary and your drowning captain brought it upon himself." I say looking at the guy who was taken out with a single bullet.

So what if your heart was saved? Breathing is as important to the human body as the heart itself, and when one part of the breathing apparatus is damaged, it makes one’s survival harder. That too when ignoring the blood loss. As the man below was turning weaker by the minute.

"Then what do you need from us?" Asked the First mate of the ship, someone who I actually needed.

"If you didn’t know already, we intend to leave this place and hence require a ship, your ship to be exact." At my words, some among these men took a sign of relief, thinking that as long as they were needed I wouldn’t do anything to them.

But that is where they were wrong. "Just seven will be enough to manage the ship, the rest of you... well"

"The rest of us what?"

"Well..." I paused again, looking at their captain who had stopped struggling. "Well, you should know what will happen." There was no need to speak such dirty words, it’s better if they understand it on their own, and they did understand it.

The realization set in soon what was going to happen to the ones that didn’t make the cut. Many among the ship’s staff clamored over why they were better and needed for ship navigation.

But I stopped them before things could escalate. "I have chosen four." I lied, I had chosen seven. "Among the four, there is First Mate, then the navigator, followed by Two deckhands... " I said pointing to each of them, making some of them take a sigh of relief.

While for others. "As for the rest of you.... Get off the boat and choose it among yourself." I say, breaking a broom on the side and then throwing the sharp side to one of the slavers. "Go and show me a good game."

*****

Remira and Farhad could hear each of my words from a small distance, but they had no mind to give me any attention for one reason only.

"You are working for Jester?"

"There was no option left for me, not after what those two mages tried to do to us." At Sheva’s mention, Remira recalled similar words from Crow as well, which made her wonder what had happened.

"Did they try to kill you?" She asked, finding this hard to believe, as why would people of that caliber even bother doing something so? So inefficient.

Making Remira wonder if the claims of Sheva were true or not. Which becomes higher if you are a mortal and are working for Jester who is infamous for messing with memories.

"Not me specifically, but the boy... One of the women shot the boy in his heart... it’s a miracle that he survived."

Lies, Remira considered these lies.

If Sheva and Crow were not rescued by those two, then it would mean that they were currently working for Jester. And Jester is someone who loves to mess with one’s memories. "Are you sure that you are not fooled by that Wraith? He did manipulate you and ruined your friends’ li.."

"Stop it... it’s better that you don’t speak about subjects you don’t know anything about." Sheva said, exposing a level of coercion that Remira found a bit odd.

This, this coercion was that of a Knight.

"Subjects I don’t know much about? Don’t forget the kind of monster you are working with. He is the enemy, he is the reason for all the misery in Durum."

"And Durum is misery for all the people in Yethel... it goes both ways, Captain."

"But I am not here to argue with you... I am here with a simple offer. Let’s act like we never met, and you go your own way, and we go ours."

"What of the slavers, you are going to work with them, aren’t you?"

"Not work, we are going to use them... we intend to leave this place, and they are our way out." Remira didn’t believe Sheva’s words. Why would she?

The very fact that Jester’s men were waiting for them here was suspicious enough, It proved that they were under Jester’s grasp since the start. It would mean it was Jester who let them leave.

And when they left the borders of Yethel, Jester was free to do whatever he wanted. But obviously, he was not entirely sure of success, hence such a problematic meeting.

This might be a test for Sheva to prove her loyalty.

Which meant that she couldn’t turn her head away from her.