As the two blood-sworn brothers conversed with each other, well, actually, only one was talking, while the other was busy changing the color of the sea from blue to yellow with his non-stop vomiting, the sailors on the ship had killed all the remaining pirates who had climbed aboard. The gruesome scene on the deck, with blood flowing like a river and body parts scattered everywhere, was the cause of his sickness. Hols held an ancient, expensive-looking long knife in his hand, bright red blood still dripping from the blade.
"Jump on it! There's no such thing as running away!"
As his words fell, the crossbow cart, which had been loaded at some point, shot its bolts again. This time, the bolts were tied with thick cables. Several of them pierced directly into the enemy's hull, and one cable after another was stretched taut. This restricted the enemy ships while also building a path for boarding.
One by one, the sailors slid down the ropes toward the enemy's ship. Sigurd, patting Ed's back to help him find some relief, said emotionally, "We are not official members of this ship, so there's no need to go to the pirate ship and grab the credit."
"Do I look like I'm in any condition to get down there?" Ed spoke weakly, water coming from his nose and eyes, and showed Sigurd his hands, which were still shaking slightly.
Although, because of his seasickness, he didn't know if this nauseous feeling was from killing someone for the first time, one thing was for sure: he was definitely not going to fight anyone in close combat ever again. It was simply too dangerous and bloody to kill someone with a blade.
The feeling of the blade piercing the skin, hitting bone, and exiting the other side was so weird and creepy that he never wanted to experience it again. If possible, he wanted to buy a gun, the simplest and best way to kill people. Load, aim, shoot, and your enemy is done for. No additional nonsense needed.
Sigurd wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve and smiled, his face still smeared with gore. "It's okay. This is just the first step as a man." Obviously, he wasn't talking about the vomiting.
"The first step for a man is to kill? I thought it was to become rich and have a beautiful wife, so beautiful that everyone around turns green with envy and jealousy?" Ed said with a weak smile, making poor Sigurd's face darken, as he was still envious to death that Ed had suddenly become a rich man, while he remained a poor guy who had to go to his mother for pocket money.
However, Sigurd still decided to continue playing his role as a big brother who had seen the world. "If you want to sail on the sea, then of course. The sea is very dangerous. Either you kill your enemy, or they kill you. There is no middle ground."
Aunt Marcy had asked Sigurd to take Ed on board the boat just to let him experience the dangers of the sea—to let him know what the real ocean was like and what real treasure hunters would have to face. This was not some childish treasure hunt game on the island, but a game of seizing wealth through blood and blades. He needed to face the reality sustained by blood and tears.
Ed nodded thoughtfully and didn't make fun of Sigurd this time. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. The cool touch emanating from the ring accelerated his efforts to regain composure, though he wished it would also work on his seasickness; that would make him happy to death.
"Don't worry, I won't change that easily. And to tell the truth, I didn't like killing people with a blade... I—"
"Haha, that's good. My brother will be a treasure hunter from now on, and a kind one at that. You will surely leave a unique name behind," Before Ed could even say that he wanted to be a long-range attacker, Sigurd, who had misunderstood him after hearing only half the sentence, let out a chuckle and interrupted him, rubbing Ed's hair.
Seeing Sigurd's face, Ed knew there was no need to say anything else. He simply shrugged his shoulders and continued leaning against the edge of the ship, waiting for the next round of empty nausea. After all, there was nothing left in his stomach to vomit out.
Not long after, the sailors who had slid over had already occupied the enemy's pirate ship, tied up the surrendering pirates, taken down the black sails, and re-hung the normal white sails.
Pirates usually had two flags. It was impossible for a pirate to always fly the pirate flag—that was too inconvenient, especially when they approached islands with tight security, where they had to pretend to be good citizens. Otherwise, the officials wouldn't mind hanging their heads at the port.
The two ships then approached each other, and some sailors boarded the merchant ship with several tied-up pirates. Although the pirate ship had many large holes from the crossbows and cannons during the previous battle, the entire hull, keel, and mast were not damaged. The damaged parts could be repaired by a carpenter. It just so happened that both merchant ships and pirate ships carried wooden boards for repairs.
The first mate, Tasi, came over with three unfamiliar, frightened people and spoke beside Hols. "These are the carpenters, doctors, and cooks from the pirate ship."
Looking at the three pirates who were pinned down and kneeling on the deck, Hols saw that the ship had started sailing again. Several ropes were tied from the stern to the bow of the pirate ship, and the two ships were moving forward one after the other.
A sailor inspected the pirates' necks, wrists, and ankles, then shook his head at the captain. Hols then looked at them and asked, "Join us as a sailor, or die. Choose one!"
"I'm in. I'm in."
"Don't kill me, I'll join too."
"I also..."
The three pirates with specialized skills did not hesitate and instantly changed their allegiance. Hols nodded with satisfaction and asked Tasi to take the three pirates to sign the contract. At this time, Sigurd, who was next to Ed, saw his dazed expression and thought he didn't understand what was going on or why Hols was taking those pirates. He explained seriously, if he had known that Ed was simply impressed by the pirates' party-changing skills, he would have surely punched him on the head, as it was not an honorable thing to be impressed by:
"Carpenters are indispensable technical talents on a ship and are of high value. It's the same with the chef. Even though he may not cook delicious food, he at least knows how to deal with food that is about to go bad. This is unavoidable on a ship. As for this pirate doctor, at least he knows something, which is better than nothing... Wait, maybe he knows something about your seasickness? We can ask him about it later."
Hearing this explanation, Ed's eyes began to shine as if he had found a lost wanderer's hope of returning home. He nodded with a delighted expression and couldn't help but hammer his fist on the deck in excitement.
As for technical talents, it was reasonable that they were more valuable than ordinary people and could easily get a ticket to switch sides without doing anything. Ed, who couldn't wait to see the doctor but still had to wait until everything settled down, tried to divert his attention by looking at the ship behind them and the many pirates tied up on it. He asked weakly,
"So, how are they going to deal with them?"
"I heard there's a bounty on these pirates. We can get some money from them. If not, they can be sold to others for some money. The slave traders and mine owners are willing to buy them with open arms, especially the latter. There's always a shortage of people in the mines, and those pirates make excellent miners. This boat is a great harvest. It looks good and can be used for decades after repair. It must be worth a lot of money."
Hearing this, Ed nodded in understanding. They really squeezed out all the value. For a moment, he didn't know who the real pirates were. However, his attention was soon grabbed by two special words: slave traders.
So, there is a slave system? And judging by Sigurd, who was always a kind guy, it seems to be a very common thing... Then can I buy a lot of girls and have fun with them as much as I want? Money... I need a lot of money. I can't wait to get to the island and dig out all the treasure there... F*ck! But first, I have to deal with this damn seasickness... Blurgh!*
At this time, Hols' loud voice was heard from every corner of the ship. "Alright, alright. This is a big victory. Let the kitchen add some hard dishes tonight. Everyone can drink a little. But don't let me catch anyone drinking too much, or that will be hard... VICTORY!!!"
"VICTORY!!!"
"Okay, everyone, that's enough cheering. Now, go back to work. If you are injured, go to the infirmary and get bandaged. If you die, I will pay your family a pension."
As the captain gave the order, the entire ship started running quickly again. Many sailors, under the command of the boatswain, began to wipe the bloodstains off the deck. As for the spoils, they had already been looted, and the bodies were all thrown on the pirate ship, where they could also be exchanged for some bounty.
The destination was not far away and was expected to be reached by tomorrow morning.