Chapter 174: 174

“How… how is that even possible? How did that ship manage to maintain full speed the entire journey?” asked Vincent .

“If the book’s records were true, it would mean that the ship was at least one and a half times faster than ships of this era . That is just insane,” said Billy .

Among them, Billy was most experienced when it came to sailing . Having spent the better half of his life out in the oceans, he knew all the factors that could affect a ship’s speed . Even if the helmsman and boatswain were extremely good at what they did, environmental factors were something out of their hands .

“So, right now, we have no idea how the ship’s crew suddenly vanished . Then, there’s the other problem . How did the ship move at such incredible speed?” said Anne .

“I think these two questions have the same answers to them . I need you to translate everything that is written in these three books,” Zhang Heng instructed Vincent .

“Sure thing . I don’t have many things to do anyway . ”

“Great! For now, we need to focus on Goddess’ Spear first . I think we have almost caught up with them . Let’s hoist the mainsail when the weather improves,” said Zhang Heng to Billy .

“Understood…”

… . .

The mysterious carrack appeared during the storm, and when it was over, she was nowhere to be found again . The watchers looked high and low for any clues around the area, yielded no results .

It was like a phantom that appeared and disappeared without a trace . If it were not for the silverware they got from the carrack, the whole incident would have quickly been passed off as a dream . After that, Zhang Heng inspected the two boxes of silverware . Just like the ring and necklace, he didn’t receive any notifications about acquiring any game items . It was all expected, though . After all, it seemed that the crew of the phantom ship had encountered some kind of supernatural incident . The Jackdaw could be in significant trouble if a cursed object were among the silverware . Still, he did not expect such an outcome .

Zhang Heng’s curiosity wasn’t the only thing that motivated him to investigate the carrack . He still remembered what the old man in the Tang suit told him . He would eventually unveil the truth that was hidden in the real world through the game . Ever since he participated in the game and was given the extra 24 hours, his life had changed entirely . At first, he thought that the real world had changed, but after the appearance of Moresby and witnessing a wall devouring someone alive, Zhang Heng realized that the world was still the same . The only thing that changed was the way he perceived it .

The truth was always there, only people rarely paid attention to them . Except for the Shadow Moment and Shadow Key, information about the game items that he possessed could easily be found on Google or Baidu . This might not be a coincidence as, during his previous quest, Zhang Heng came across some supernatural items but rarely got the chance to know their background information . If only he could find out what actually happened to the carrack, he might gain a better understanding of the real world . It was essential that he knew where they came from and what their purpose was .

Though the two boxes of silverware were somewhat valuable, it wasn’t quite enough to distribute amongst 62 people . Everyone on the ship had high expectations after the Jackdaw’s first huge success, and Zhang Heng knew that his priority right now was to take down the Goddess’ Spear . Twenty-two days had passed since the Jackdaw left Nassau . It would seem that they were in luck this time . While pursuing the Goddess’ Spear, they came across a couple of merchant ships . Due to time constraints, Zhang Heng did not attack them . On the afternoon of the 22nd day, the Jackdaw finally found her target .

However, the situation was a rather delicate one .

“That’s Black Prince Sam’s ship, the Quidah . This is going to be a problem . I bet they know about Goddess’ Spear as well,” said Billy .

The Quidah was as famous as Black Beard’s Sea Lion in Nassau . They were one of the most powerful pirate groups and was a better vessel than the Sea Lion . The Quidah first entered service two years ago in London . Her name came from a trading city in West Africa, Quidah, and she was the best ship in the fleet to transport black slaves to other countries . The type was known as a galley, and it could travel at breakneck speed . Even during a windless day or heavy headwinds, they could make use of the paddles at the ship’s hull to propel it forward . To make matters worse, they were equipped with massive firepower as well .

Roland, their ex-captain, once told the investors that they would be able to earn an unimaginable amount of money if they invested on the ship . To everyone’s surprise, however, the ship was captured by Black Prince during her first voyage . In the end, the captain was forced to surrender . Though he got to keep his life, the Quidah fell into Black Prince’s possession .

After Billy saw that the Quidah was in the vicinity, he frantically scanned the other directions using his bronze binoculars . Ironically, he saw another pirate ship located northwest of the Goddess’ Spear . That explained why the Quidah did not launch any attacks . The black flag of the foreign pirate ship was something Billy had never seen before .

“That pirate ship… it doesn’t belong to Nassau . ”

The port of Nassau was the most famous pirate-infested harbor in the entire Caribbean . However, that did not mean that all the pirates would make Nassau their home . There were a large number of pirates outside New Providence as well . From time to time, they would come across pirate ships from other places .

The Quidah and the other pirate ship were now in the hunting zone . Still, the Goddess’ Spear did not do anything about it . The number of pirate ships in the vicinity did not matter to them . After being told how mighty Goddess’ Spear was, none of the pirate ships thought that it would go down without fighting . They were simply waiting for the right moment . The more chaotic the situation was, the better it would turn in their favor .

Three pirate ships surrounded the Goddess’ Spear from three different directions . At the same time, they had to watch out for each other as well . The unknown pirate ship was apparently way weaker than the Quidah, and almost lost when it tried to fight earlier . The Quidah’s only concern was that the Goddess’ Spear might escape if it attacked the unknown pirate ship right now . Initially relieved when seeing a third pirate vessel joining the party, they realized that things were about to become more complicated as their competitors had increased as well .