Chapter 137: 137

Tonight, Charleston was not destined to be peaceful . Half an hour ago, an inn caught fire all of a sudden . The residents staying around the place had to work together to put out the fire . Before they could celebrate, though, they heard the thunderous boom of cannons being fired .

A cannonball flew past the wall and landed on one of the houses . And that was just a start . Seconds after that, more and more cannonballs were launched toward the city, leaving all its residents running around and screaming in a frenzied panic . They assumed that French battleships were attacking them . What they did not know was that the pride of the navy, the Scarborough was still docked at port .

Why did the enemy attack the cannons on the wall instead of the Scarborough, which posed a more significant threat? They would indeed have to pay a hefty price for doing that . Not too long after that, the residents of the city received the shocking news . The party that attacked them was not the French but it was the Scarborough at the port .

It was at that moment that the pirates disguised as navy officers revealed their true colors . Without any warning whatsoever, they destroyed the cannons that were mounted on the city wall . During the first attack, half of them were wiped out . The garrison troops quickly realized that their city had been infiltrated by enemies . Immediately, they gathered and planned a retaliation . Before they could do that, however, the second wave was launched, and the garrison troops were once again defeated .

Foreign enemies had never attacked Charleston before . Usually, the garrison troops would alert everyone in the city once they spotted enemy ships . In turn, the people of the town would have sufficient time to retreat to a safe place . The current attack was so sudden that it messed up the strategy of the garrison troops . Even the commander could not figure out why the Scarborough went rogue and attacked its own allies .

The firing of the cannons managed to light up the sky with bright flashes . After five rounds of relentless shelling, a third of the city’s wall located in the southeast of Charleston had collapsed . Unfortunately, the cannons protecting the city didn’t have enough range to land a hit on the Queen Anne’s Revenge . Every cannonball that was launched at them fell short of their target, flying straight into the ocean instead .

After that, the Queen Anne’s Revenge stopped for a moment to cool their cannons . At that time, Charleston’s line of defense was shattered beyond repair . They were no longer a threat to the pirates . Ten minutes later, the pirates followed the plan and started to attack the city .

One of the cannonballs flew past the destroyed walls and landed on a street . Immediately, the residents in that area dispersed and ran for their lives .

As there was some distance between the governor general’s house and the coastline, they were safe from the attack for now . Many nobles and merchants were unhappy with the happenings in Charleston . They were considered highly reputable individuals of the New World and were shocked that the town could come under attack while they were here to attend a wedding ceremony .

20 minutes went by . Still, no one could figure out why the Scarborough attacked Charleston . The guests were worried about their mansions and shops around the town . Of course, they yearned to head back and ensure that their properties were fine but reckoned it was still too dangerous at the moment . Right now, the town was left in utter chaos . The governor general’s mansion had around 40 guards protecting it and was considered the safest place in the city right now .

Watt, the governor-general, was directing the defensive effort on the second floor of his command center . He just received the news that all the defensive cannons on the wall had been entirely destroyed . Strangely though, the enemies did not muster up and invade the city . Perhaps they lacked the personnel for that . However, Watt knew that it would be a huge mistake if he underestimated his enemies right now .

He could care less about the guests downstairs, knowing that his family and Bellomonte were upstairs right now . If something terrible happened to them at his place, Whitehall would definitely not let him off the hook that easily . Exercising the utmost precaution, he contacted the garrison troops and requested another 20 troopers to protect his place .

Knowing that he had done everything he could do for now, he finally let out a sigh of relief .

“Don’t worry . Some of the biggest orchard owners from this place are my friends . They have a large number of armed personnel . I have just sent someone to search for them . I believe they can lend us at least 200 hundred people to help us to overcome this sticky situation,” said Bellomonte calmly .

“That’s great! I have just moved to the New World not too long ago . There are still many things that I’m unfamiliar with . I might need your help again in the future . I heard that Boston is enjoying rapid growth under your care; especially when it comes to the piracy menace, your methods of dealing with them have gained high praise from the military . When I left London, your glorious moment was the talk of the town . ”

Bellomonte smiled as he held a cup of tea . Indeed, it was something that he was really proud of . However, just before the Watt could say something about it, a trooper knocked on the door .

“Governor-general, the reinforcements that you’ve asked for have arrived . They are now waiting downstairs . That was fast . Let me go take a look . ”

He went downstairs and saw 20 troopers standing there with an unfamiliar officer leading them .

“What is your name? Who is your commanding officer? Why have I never seen you before?” asked Watt, his tone reeking with suspicion .

“I think you should hear of the name of our commanding officer . His name is Edward Teach, but most prefer to call him Blackbeard,” said the army officer .

He then pulled out a gun and fired at Watt point-blank . The deafening ring of the gunshot startled everyone in the main hall . When one of the female guests saw the body of the governor-general lying on the staircase, she couldn’t hold herself back and screamed out loud .

Considering they were here to attend a wedding ceremony, none of the male guests carried weapons . They could only feel fear and panic paralyze them as they saw the armed pirates standing before them .

Concurrently, the real calvary that Watt summoned was finally here . Noticing the situation, they instantly drew arms and clashed with the fake troopers! While they fired at each other with gusto, the doors to the second-floor study room were pushed open . Two fake navy officers walked in and talked to Bellomonte .

“According to the governor-general’s investigation, we can confirm that pirates have hijacked the Scarborough! They are dressed in navy uniforms and were the ones who attacked Charleston . You are their main target . ”

“Me?!”

Bellomonte was surprised that the target was him .

“The situation is getting worse now . The enemies are downstairs, but anytime now, they’ll be up here to capture you . The governor-general has ordered us to escort you to a safe place . ”

After that, the two fake navy officers approached Bellomonte and clutched his arms .

“Hold on . My daughter!”

“The sooner you leave, the sooner the people here would feel safer . There’s a horse cart waiting for you . We have to leave through the backdoor . ”

Subsequently, they quickly dragged Bellomonte downstairs . When he saw the broken horse cart, he quickly realized that something was amiss . He broke into a struggle, but it was too late . The two pirates employed their brute force and stuffed him into the horse cart .

Bellomonte instantly knew that his life was in danger . So, he attempted to jump out of the cart . Before he could do so, however, a sharp sword touched the skin of his neck .

“Mr . Bellomonte, we finally meet . ”