Lord of the Mysteries

“Captain, the Red Skull pirates have fled!”

A sailor rushed into the captain’s quarters.

“They fled?” Elland lifted his telescope and looked quizzically at the calm sea, just in time to see the Red Skull disappear into the horizon.

He frowned, completely unable to understand how such a development could’ve occurred.

From his point of view, the White Agate’s armaments definitely weren’t capable of scaring off the Red Skull pirates. It was guaranteed that both parties would have to circle around each other dozens of times during the skirmish and fire multiple shots in order to ensure that the other party found them a tough nut to crack. Without daring to engage in a prolonged, they would then rationally choose to retreat.

Could it be that the Red Skull was just passing by and had no intention of plundering us? However, if they weren’t here to plunder, why would they enter this sea route? This is the easiest place to be stopped by the naval fleet and the Church’s ships. Even the Four Kings and Seven Admirals would still try their best to keep a low profile when they pass by the surrounding seas… Elland was filled with doubts, and he felt that things weren’t that simple.

Being careful keeps one away from disaster, I mustn’t be carelessness… Elland put away his yellow-brown telescope and paced back and forth.

He half raised his hand and said to the navigator, “We shall dock at Bansy Harbor tonight.

“Report our encounter with the pirates to the Navy and the Church.”

According to their usual plan, the next stop for the White Agate would be the Tiana Port, and it would probably take three days at 13 knots to reach it. From Tiana Port, it would finally reach the capital of the Rorsted Archipelago, the City of Generosity, Bayam.

And there was a faster way to sail from Pritz Harbor to Bayam, which was to stop only once in the middle of the voyage, at Bansy Harbor, about 120 nautical miles from Damir Harbor.

…

“The Red Skull really left?” Donna’s father, Urdi Branch, walked to the window and looked out into the distance.

Cleves calmly nodded and said, “Yes.”

Just as he finished his sentence, a sailor’s shout sounded from outside.

“The danger has been averted! The danger has been averted!”

Upon receiving official confirmation, Donna and Denton finally relaxed and had the courage to approach the window and look outside.

“Are the Red Skull pirates that powerful?” Donna’s eyes widened as she searched for a ship that had already gone far away.

“Very powerful.” Cleves gave his answer.

“How powerful are they?” Denton immediately pressed.

On the other side, the bodyguard, Teague, straightened his hair and chuckled.

“Even if we don’t include the cannons and hundreds of pirates on the ship, just Captain Johnson and the first mate Anderson are extremely powerful on their own.

“Anderson’s nickname is One-Eyed. The bounty reward for him in the kingdom is 500 pounds. All of us in this room added together, together with the help of a few sailors, might be able to defeat him in battle. As for Johnson, who’s nicknamed Sea Wolf, he can easily finish such an opponent. If he were to board the ship, no one would be able to stop him. His bounty is worth 900 pounds, nearly 1,000 pounds!”

“Is that a lot?” Donna was surprised at the potency of Sea Wolf and One-Eyed, as well as their bounty.

In her memory, her father earned a total of 1,500 a year!

“A lot, this is a reward that they or their heads could directly be exchanged for. The items they have on them and the things they’ve plundered will also belong to you. The kingdom will buy it at the market price, and you will still have the chance to obtain the bounties from other countries,” Cecile explained. “On the sea, pirates with a bounty of more than 300 pounds are rather powerful. For those who are close to or above 1,000 pounds, they’ll be rather famous in the sea they plow. And I mean vast sea expanses like the Sonia Sea or the Fog Sea.”

“Therefore, the Four Kings and Seven Admirals are considered famous throughout the Five Seas?” Donna innocently asked.

Cleves replied seriously, “Yes.”

“In that case, are the Red Skull pirates very famous in the entire Sonia Sea?” Donna asked with concise logic.

“Yes.” Teague nodded.

“But why did they flee?” Donna blinked.

“It might not have been them fleeing…” Cecile didn’t know the reason either.

Cleves looked out the window again as he knitted his brows.

“Maybe there’s another reason. Maybe they had no plans to plunder us at all. They just came across us.”

Other reasons? Donna suddenly had a guess.

Could it be Uncle Sparrow’s tall-as-a-house, gentle messenger that scared them away? Yeah, it’s really scary! Donna’s mind bubbled like boiling water.

She turned her head excitedly and looked down to realize her brother’s eyes were shining as well.

The two of them pursed their lips and immediately realized that their thoughts were the same.

“Let’s go out and get some air on this level.” Donna found a reason to drag her brother out of Room 305.

Outside, Denton said in a suppressed voice, “Are we going to find Uncle Sparrow?”

“Exactly!” Donna smiled with a spirited look. “I saw him enter Room 312.”

…

Inside Room 312.

Blazing Danitz, who no longer mentioned Rear Admiral Iceberg, looked at the Red Skull which had turned its bow around and tsked with laughter.

“They must’ve been frightened by the declaration of the Navy’s cannons and the news that a pirate crew had been destroyed recently. They actually took the risk of raiding this sea route in order to earn enough money before leaving the sea.

“Heh, so what if there are giant ship cannons? The Navy and the Church have a lot of powerful things, and they’ve always existed. But never have they made it impossible for us to continue being pirates. We can’t beat them head-on, but we can always escape, right? They can’t possibly stay with the merchant ships forever, can they?

“I know, the ironclad warship is getting bigger and bigger, and the steam engine installed in it will also become stronger. One day, the speed will break through 18 knots, 20 knots, and once they’re on your tail, one can only wait to be caught. However, the sea is so vast. Tens of thousands of ships can’t even fill a corner even if they were all thrown there. There are also a lot of unexplored areas at sea. One can hide in those places after doing something. Although it’s dangerous, there are still opportunities.”

This fellow is indeed the talkative type… Don’t you think that a crazy adventurer wouldn’t care about these things? Klein looked away and scanned the room.

His gaze finally fell on his leather suitcase. He then raised his chin and said, “Wash the dirty clothes inside.”

The expression on the garrulous Danitz’s face froze. He yearned to burn the entire ship down.

He felt that his anger was like gushing steam that had lifted the gate of reason.

Danitz opened his mouth and took a breath before repeating it again.

His flushed face softened as he asked without a smile on his face, “Is that all?”

“Only the dirty ones. The coat just needs to be brushed.” Klein was almost amused by the man’s show of anger, and he felt that this was what Danitz deserved from robbing the innocent.

The clothes in his suitcase were the ones he changed out of last night after a shower. As he felt a little lazy, he had only washed his underwear.

Calm down, don’t lose control. Calm down, don’t lose control… After admonishing himself several times, Danitz walked over to Gehrman Sparrow’s suitcase, opened it, and took out the clothes that needed cleaning.

Just as he was getting busy in the bathroom, he heard the doorbell jingle.

Klein opened the door to find Donna and Denton.

“Uncle Sparrow, I hope I didn’t disturb you?” Donna’s eyes darted left and right.

“No.” Klein stepped aside.

The two little fellows entered the room and were surprised to see Danitz doing the laundry.

“Where are the servants?” Denton asked subconsciously.

“Didn’t bring them along,” Klein answered for Danitz.

Donna asked, in apparent confusion, “But there are laundry maids attached to first-class cabins. They’re charged by the barrel.”

Before she could finish, Danitz froze.

He had been so angry that he had forgotten about it.

Danitz shook the water from his hand, turned, and forced a smile at Gehrman Sparrow.

“Can I hire the laundry maid for help?”

Klein didn’t insist on seeing the pirate make a fool of himself, so he smiled and said, “I only care about the results.”

Phew. Danitz heaved a sigh of relief.

Their back and forth question and answer exchange made Donna realize that something was wrong. The young lady asked in suspicion, “Uncle Sparrow, aren’t you two friends? W-why does he look different from before!?”

Klein found a chair and sat down. Without hiding anything, he calmly said, “To be exact, he’s my prisoner of war.”

“Prisoner of war?” Denton looked around in a daze, not remembering when the two uncles had a conflict.

At first, Donna was puzzled, but then her heart skipped a beat. She cheerfully asked, “Is he… is he a pirate?”

“Yeah.” Klein nodded gently.

“The Red Skull pirates were also scared off by you, Uncle Sparrow?” Donna pressed in excitement.

Klein shot a glance at Danitz and replied without an expression, “In a way.”

Having all her questions answered, Donna felt abnormally pleased. She glanced at Danitz and unknowingly lowered her voice.

“Uncle Sparrow, does he have a name? No, does he have a bounty on him?”

No! I mustn’t let anyone know of what happened to me! Danitz opened his mouth in a bid to answer before Klein.

“I’m Sieg!”

At this moment, Klein said with a fleeting voice, “Danitz.”

“Danitz…” Donna and Denton looked at each other without asking any more questions.

The siblings didn’t stay long and soon took their leave. They kept feeling that the pirate’s eyes were fierce.

When they returned to Room 305, they saw that her father and Uncle Cleves were still in the midst of their discussion. Donna deliberately interjected innocently with a question.

“A lot of people were talking about pirates just now. Someone mentioned Danitz. Is he very powerful?”

“Danitz… Blazing Danitz. He’s Rear Admiral Iceberg’s subordinate, the fourth boatswain of the Golden Dream…” Cleves answered simply.

Upon saying this, he suddenly turned silent as he retracted his gaze, seemingly in recall.

A Pirate Admiral’s subordinate… Donna pressed out of curiously, “How much is his bounty?”

Cleves returned to normal and said in a deep voice, “3,000 pounds.”

Th-three thousand pounds? Donna and Denton opened their mouths, little by little, almost forgetting to close them.

The captain of the Red Skull pirates only has a bounty of 900 pounds, but the man who looks like a servant is worth 3,000 pounds? The siblings looked at each other, unable to utter a single word.

…

At 6 p.m., the White Agate entered a harbor again.

“Bansy Harbor? Elland is very cautious…” Danitz stood by the window, looking out at the darkened harbor and the tall lighthouse.

Without waiting for Klein’s response, he laughed and said, “It seems like there are some nasty legends here.”