Chapter 189

Chapter 189: Protest

Honegg was getting old . By the time he dealt with all the things at hand, it was already late into the night . He retreated to bed, only to wake up again not too long after he closed his eyes . Perhaps he knew that he did not have much time left . It was common for older people to greatly appreciate the remaining days that they had .

Honegg put on his clothes and tricorne . His mood had greatly improved after gorging on the warm breakfast delivered by one of his men . According to his daily routine, he would head to the city walls after breakfast, looking down over the entire Nassau from where he stood . This was the point where he could feel the joy in his heart . Nassau didn’t have an official governor-general assigned by Scotland . The closest person to that was Honegg . He was given the unenviable task of defending Nassau .

It would seem that Black Prince Sam had somehow ignited his anger . In reality, he was quite happy with his current condition . A very long time ago, when he was still a legendary captain, he had started planning for his retirement . He and Frazer were known to be the two most powerful captains on the island of Nassau . Now, age had taken a toll on him, and he wasn’t as healthy and strong as before . He did, however, accumulate massive wealth after being a pirate for decades . At the same time, he fell prey to certain illnesses as well . Rheumatism was one of the diseases that had been torturing his knee for a long time now .

Eight years ago, Honegg decided that he would quit being a seafarer and, instead, lead his men to take over Nassau . It was then that he embarked on a new life . According to the agreement, he would protect and maintain order in Nassau with his men . In return, the merchants of the isle would pay him a certain amount of money each month as the protection fee .

The fee wasn’t too expensive, and the merchants of Nassau could easily come up with whatever Honegg asked for since they earned considerable profit from their trade . Though it faded in comparison with whatever he made when he was still a pirate, the difference wasn’t much at the end of the day . The most important thing for him, though, was the safety of his pirates . Now, he did not have to put their lives at risk anymore .

Although they lived comfortably at the moment, it did come with its disadvantages . They were forced to stay inside the fortress for a long time every single day . The boredom that resulted from it constantly tormented their minds . Since they no longer needed to fight, their bodies started to shrivel as well . Most importantly, they lacked an injection of new blood . When he was still a captain, he would lose his men in battle from time to time . After that, he would recruit eager younglings to join his ship . It was an effective method to replace the older crew no longer suited for the pirate’s life .

Since they didn’t live on land, most of the men that stuck with Honegg were the last batch of pirates that conquered Nassau with him . Over time, his men started becoming lazy . Nevertheless, Honegg would never fire them since they all shared a profound relationship with him . Of course, he could use the money he collected to recruit a new batch of young fighters, but he realized that he would never trust them the way he trusted his old allies .

Fortunately, his name preceded his reputation, and nobody in Nassau realized that he’d lost his edge . Honegg knew better than anyone that he and his men were now way weaker in terms of combat ability compared to the time when they first arrived here . If he could take down this fortress with his men years ago, other pirate crews could also do the same right now .

In a time like this, he needed to show that he was still as tough as before . That was why Honegg brought his men to the beach when he heard that the Skeleton had opened fire there . As he confronted the young and dominant Wilton, he managed to put on a good show and concealed his weaknesses well . Still, he felt extremely exhausted after dealing with a matter like this .

Luckily, Wilton was willing to take a step back and promised that he would never cause further trouble in Nassau . Since Honegg got what he wanted, he decided that he would not hold Wilton responsible for his deeds . As for Carina’s business, it wasn’t under his jurisdiction . Everyone knew that her career was coming to an end in Nassau . At first, Honegg thought that all problems had been solved . He did not expect that Zhang Heng would return and assist Carina by attacking Wilton’s ships .

The matter started to head in the direction where Honegg least desired, especially when Black Prince got involved . Once the conflict became more significant and he failed to contain it, people would quickly realize that he must have grown weak . That was why he gave Zhang Heng a stern warning .

Honegg could see that Wilton and his crew were only passer-bys and would probably leave once they settled their business . The best-case scenario would be everyone going through this period together peacefully . Sadly, things didn’t turn out the way he wanted it .

He was sitting on his favorite chair, one that was taken from a governor-general’s room during one of his pillages . It was one of the few items that he cared about . When he sat on it, he would start to reminisce about his good-old-days, the days that were filled with pomp and glory . As he enjoyed his peace and quiet, he suddenly noticed a huge group of people gathering at the beach . This time, it appeared that the crowd was larger than yesterday .

“Now… what the hell is going on again?”

A bald plump guy who was behind him simply shrugged . He was the helmsman of Honegg’s ship . During the old days, he was considered one of the smartest men in the area . Now, he had been reduced to a sorry drunkard . He would usually drink until the early hours of the morning to the point of unconsciousness .

“No idea . Perhaps some fishermen have come to sell their catch,” replied the helmsman while burping .

“I have seen fishermen here before, Domingo . I’m pretty f*cking sure that they aren’t selling seafood . Send some people to check them out . This is a delicate time . I don’t wish to see any more accidents happening . ”

“As you wish . ”

Domingo left the place, stumbling around wonkily . Honegg could not help but sigh as he looked at him . Oh, how the great have fallen . Half an hour later, the person tasked to check the beach came back to Honegg .

“Wilton!! Wilton!!!”

“Ah, crap! What did he do this time?”

“No . Wilton is dead!” said the investigator .

Honegg was shocked, unable to believe that the captain of two ships and 200 men had been killed in one night . Above all, he heard something even more ridiculous .

“It’s not only Wilton; all of his men are dead as well! Most had their throats slit . As for Wilton, someone tossed his body on the beach in the exact spot where he executed the sailors . His stomach had been cut open!”