Chapter 149

Two pirates were working together at the gunwale . One of them tossed a wood plank with a rope around it into the sea while the other counted the time . Once the time was up, the pirate stopped the rope and calculated the length of rope that was being released into the sea .

“Current speed is 10 knots!”

Most ships from western countries in the 18th century used this method to calculate their speed . Of course, it was not 100% accurate because the sea itself was fluid and was constantly flowing all the time . However, it was more than adequate . A more precise method to calculate speed wouldn’t invented until the 20th century .

Zhang Heng stood on the deck in a black shirt, guiding his pirates in adjusting the mainsail according to the wind’s direction . The Jackdaw had just raised the sails on her mainmast and secondary mast . This allowed them to steam ahead at full speed . However, pushingthe vessel to her limits also caused the masts to be under a lot of pressure . Knowing that they were at breaking point, Zhang Heng instantly instructed the pirates to pull back the ropes and tie them at the stern . As for Zhang Heng, he acted as the helmsman to ensure that the draft was perfectly adjusted .

After a short moment of creaks and violent vibrations, the ship finally adapted to its current speed . Once everything had smoothened out, Zhang Heng passed the ship’s wheel back to the original helmsman . He then instructed the watcher to continue to observe the draft .

Carina was standing at the side and silently observed every move of Zhang Heng . Of course, her mind was in a raging storm as opposed to her calm looks . When she was in Nassau, she had went around asking about Zhang Heng . She got to know that he was initially a passenger on a merchant ship . After that, his masterful marksmanship earned him a place as one of the Sea Lion’s pirates . They told her that Zhang Heng was not used to living out at sea, suffering severe seasickness on the way back to Nassau . It was during that time that he almost lost his life .

In a year, Zhang Heng worked his way from an ordinary pirate to the boatswain of the Sea Lion . Not too long after that, he led a group of old pirates to leave the Queen Anne’s Revenge . By the time he arrived in Nassau, he was already the captain of a battleship with a large pirate crew under his watch . The swift intensity of his growth cast doubt upon the islanders on whether he had enough experience or wisdom to lead a ship full of pirates .

Before all these, Carina thought the same as well . However, her opinion of him completely changed after the two of them exchanged words . The man standing before her was completely different from the pirates that she had encountered before . He wasn’t supposed to possess such a high level of charm and maturity at this age . This was what she thought about him anyway . That said, it did not mean others would feel the same way .

She finally got to see how Zhang Heng led his people now that she was aboard his ship . His behavior did not make him look like a new captain at all . When he was greeted with various challenges, he would somehow look for a way to solve them one by one . After spending a few days with Zhang Heng on the ship, Carina was no longer as surprised as she was, knowing that it would be hard for a man with such discipline not to succeed .

Carina used to see Zhang Heng sparring with Anne before the sun came up . She also noticed that he would always seek guidance from a more experienced crewman on the ship . Whenever he had the time, he would head to the captain’s quarters and go through a bunch of books left by the ship’s previous owner . Before this, the Jackdaw was a corvette, and there were tons of books about warfare lying in the study . Between these books were also manuscripts holding a wealth of descriptions about different places of the world .

He looked at this world with a view from the future, and that helped him to accept that he was not actually in the real world . Though there were still heaps of things that he could not understand, reading those books would definitely help him to blend into this era better . To him, it was fun to learn about foreign cultures and exciting events that happened during this time in history .

On the other hand, Zhang Heng had re-evaluated Carina as well . He found out that she was more decisive than he’d initially expected . He realized why she changed her mind and chose to deliver the news to him personally . She simply wanted to ensure that nothing would go wrong . It also showed that she was serious about this deal . Though black market merchants were a part of Nassau, they lived very different from the pirates . Most of them had families and thrived among the upper society . Their job was simply to buy, sell, deliver and they typically did not participate in raids .

This was to ensure that they could easily cut off all ties with the pirates if things went south . Undoubtedly, it was unwise for Carina to get aboard a pirate ship . Now, that her fate was tied with Zhang Heng, even he had to admit that she had gone all out to win his trust . Carina was born to be a risk-taker . Maybe she would be able to outplay the black market alliance and carve her own path . This, however, wasn’t the time for her to think about something that was so far ahead . When she saw there was nothing on the sea apart from the Jackdaw, she started to grow more and more anxious .

This was the 32nd day that the Jackdaw left Nassau’s harbor . Half the ship’s food and water supply had already been consumed, and there were only some vegetables and dried fruits left . This was Zhang Heng’s first time setting out to sea, and it was impossible for him to anticipate every possibility that might happen . The humidity from the sea had caused the vegetables and fruits to go moldy . Left with no other food, everyone on the ship had to go back to eating dried, smoked fish . Still, that would only last about 20 days . In other words, Zhang Heng had to turn his ship back to Nassau soon, or his crew would starve .

Zhang Heng was frustrated, but there was nothing he could do . He had tried his best to have a backup plan for everything, but still faced all sorts of unexpected events . Even the best captain of the Caribbean could not guarantee that he would be able to return with a ship filled with loot every time . No matter what, Zhang Heng needed to win this war .

As time passed, Zhang Heng could feel the changes in everyone’s emotions . Not only was it evident among the new recruits, but old pirates like Billy and Dufresne also started to lose hope as well . Carine was no exception . Last night, she knocked at the door of the captain’s quarters, telling Zhang Heng that she suspected that everyone from the colony might know about her father getting into jail . There was a possibility that her friend from the customs had betrayed her . The ship that carried nutmeg could be nothing more than a high tale made up by them . In the worst-case scenario, this could even be a trap set by the navy .

“I’ve thought about it over and over again . It’s impossible that our target would have sailed all the way to the New World . There’s something fishy going on here . I remember my father telling me that he has two enemies from Boston,” said Carina in a nervous manner .

“Now, if this is a trap, why would they make up something that is so ridiculous then?”

Zhang Heng proceeded to the galley and poured Carina a glass of rum .