Chapter 101

As the merchant ship was attacked by the pirates, it sustained some damage . Though nothing severe, it was also a bad idea to ignore them . Quickly, the two newly recruited carpenters were asked to fix the ship .

Once Owen was gone, Marvin could finally breathe a sigh of relief . Wiping away the sweat on his forehead, he said, “That was so close . It’s so scary . I really thought that they would have forced me on that small boat . I don’t wish to die there . Luckily, the two of us get to remain on board . On the bright side, though we are now part of a pirate ship, we can at least get to live to see tomorrow . ”

“You looked really nervous on the deck just now . Why? Worried that I might replace you?”

“Huh? No . No . No . I was worried that they might hurt you . All of them are merciless monsters who would kill in a blink! I have to applaud your bravery just now . I don’t even dare to look ’em in the eye when I talk . ”

“Marvin, I’m really curious . What would you have done if I replaced you just now? Will you tell them everything that happened in the galley?”

“What?! How is that even possible? You saved my life . I will never betray you, no matter what!”

“Good . That’s what I want to hear because I can assure you that if you tell them what really happened there, that won’t be a responsibility you can just shake off like that”

Marvin faked a smile, seeming like he did not believe a single thing Zhang Heng told him .

“Do you know why I stabbed the pirate three times with that small potato knife after I killed him?”

“You… you!”

Marvin finally displayed a different reaction this time . Earlier, he could not figure out why Zhang Heng would keep stabbing a dead horse . Right now, he had finally figured out the intention behind his ‘pointless move . ’

“It is challenging to wound somebody from their front and back at the same time . However, this double injury could easily be achieved if a second person attacked as well . If you are going to betray me, you can go ahead and tell your story while I tell them my version of the story as well . In the end, the corpse will decide whose story is more believable . ”

As they were talking, they suddenly heard somebody shouting .

“Victor! Victor! Where the f*ck are you? You ain’t getting your loot if you don’t come out right now!”

A few pirates were in the corridor and were trying to look for Victor . Zhang Heng quickly stood up and fixed his gaze on Marvin .

“It’s getting late . I should be off to claim my gun right now, and you should go and cook . We’ll deal with the body when everyone is asleep tonight . All we need to do is to toss the barrel into the sea, and that’ll be the end of our troubles . ”

After putting Marvin’s mind to ease, Zhang Heng looked for Dufresne, the one in charge of the armory . Upon meeting him, he received a gun and a dagger with a crack on it . He had been entrusted to a new mission even before he could examine the weapons he just got .

And this critical mission was to…

Clean the deck .

On regular days like these, pirates were not very different from ordinary sailors . Frankly, most pirates on this ship had been, in fact, regular sailors before they became what they were . Some of them could not stand their ex-captains, whereas some wanted to go on an adventure . Of course, all some wanted was to get rich fast . Everyone had their own reasons for why they chose the pirate’s life .

Naturally, nobody in their right mind loved to stay in filthy places . Even the sloppy and messy pirates were no exception, and this had nothing to do with the love for cleanliness . There were simply too many things on the high seas that could kill a man . A pleasant and clean environment would surely help to improve morale on board . Besides, a clean ship would surely lower the risk of contracting diseases .

That was why the pirates would clean the ship thoroughly from time to time . This was especially true after a raid, where blood and bodies were everywhere . Zhang Heng and the other five pirates spent a good two hours scrubbing down the deck to make sure every drop of blood had been washed off .

Before sunset, Marvin managed to cook a good meal for everyone as well . The food was surprisingly delicious . It was at that time that Zhang Heng knew Marvin had passed the test . They would allow him to stay on and cook for them .

The value of a ship’s cook was never to be underestimated . The long, endless days out at sea caused unbearable boredom to plague the men . Whey they were bored, they could cause unnecessary problems . An excellent cook could usually soothe the angsty pirates by feeding them delicious food . Often, nobody would complain when the cook received the same reward as cannoneer even though they did not contribute to any battle .

Soon, nightfall . The captain and helmsman returned to the Sea Lion with two-thirds of the pirates . The remaining ones had been asked to stay on the merchant ship under the command of Owen . In other words, Owen had become the temporary captain of this ship .

Almost all the pirates were feeling extremely excited tonight . It was a total victory . In comparison, they shed only a small amount of blood to take possession of the entire merchant ship . In total, there were three dead, and five pirates suffered light injuries .

This achievement had called for a grand celebration .

The place was alive with the roar of loud chatter . Glasses clinked, and bagpipes skirled . The name, Victor, arose amongst them, where most were saying that he had secretly returned to the Sea Lion during the battle .

Some even said that Victor still owed them money, and he might have fled the ship in fear . Everyone kept bursting into laughter at the mention of his name .

Suddenly, Owen entered the galley, causing the commotion to die down a little .

“The Sea Lion has just informed me that they have not seen Victor for some time . Who here saw him last?”

Every pirate looked at each other in bewilderment when Owen asked the question . Victor either had to be alive or killed in action . They had never heard of someone disappearing during a fight .

“Could he have fallen overboard?”

“Not possible . I made sure to check the surrounding waters before I hoisted the sails . ”

“He is right . I saw him running to the lower decks . He was amongst the first to go down there . After that, I did not see him anymore . ”

No one could give a straight answer . That was when Owen turned around to look at his new recruits . When he was still in the kitchen, he saw that there was nothing wrong with them . They behaved entirely differently from the pirates, but it was totally understandable since they were the victims .

“Alright! Who’s managing the booty this afternoon? Meet me in the captain’s quarters in five minutes,” said Owen .