blogombal Chapter 81 The Sea of Hell
Chapter 81 The Sea of Hell
Chapter 81 The Sea of Hell
The sound of the wind was like the cry of a baby.
It was tragic and gloomy.
Henry suddenly woke up with a start, his forehead covered in cold sweat, and he was panting heavily.
He turned his head away, and sunlight streamed through the wooden window onto the floor of the captain's cabin, letting him know that it was already daytime.
"Hmm, how long have I been asleep?!"
Henry reached up and rubbed his temples; he felt unusually dizzy.
He couldn't remember how long the Black Goat had been sailing, when he had last seen the island, or even how long it had been since he had eaten.
The only number he remembered was...
two.
He reached into his pocket and touched the cold metal, but for some reason, he felt a warmth inside.
Those were two gold coins.
But he would never tell anyone how he got the two gold coins or who gave them to him.
But he felt at ease whenever he touched those two gold coins.
It was only then that Henry finally understood what he should do:
"We must eat something first."
He stumbled toward the door, pushed it open, and then came onto the deck.
Not far ahead of him, there was a huge gap in the center of the deck, lying across the middle of the ship.
Although Victor has now strapped the ship with coconut fiber straps, anyone can easily tell that the ship is in imminent danger.
There were quite a few people on the board, but they were all lying on the ground, looking listless.
Henry wasn't much better off, but at least he could stand up.
He walked up to the cockpit and saw the burly man Miko still standing in front of the helm, steadfastly holding his post.
As expected of Miko, but judging from Miko's haggard face, Henry judged that Miko wouldn't last much longer. He glanced around and found Benson.
Benson was leaning against the railing at the stern of the boat, resting with his head down.
"Benson—"
Henry called out and sat down beside him.
Benson gently raised his head and gave Henry a wary look:
"Hmm? Boss—"
Benson's lips were chapped and his complexion was very bad, almost green.
"Benson, get me something to eat."
"Food? Boss—if I had even half a potato, I wouldn't be in this state—"
"Haven't you caught any fish these past few days?"
"Fishing?"
Benson gave a weak laugh.
"Heh, boss, that was more like feeding the fish. The other day, we suddenly caught a long-winged fish that ate two of our crew members. Luckily, that monster seemed interested in alcohol, so we lured it back into the sea with our last few sips of beer—heh heh, otherwise, boss, you and I might be turned into that monster's fish poop by now..."
Hearing this, Henry recalled the terrifying scene from the day before yesterday.
He thought they had caught a fish they had never seen before.
It resembles a giant squid, but its entire body shimmers with a dazzling array of colors, and it has a pair of transparent fins on its wings that resemble waves.
Everyone was seeing this creature for the first time, but when extremely hungry, it could eat anything.
A pirate, wielding a large sword, was about to cut the strange fish into pieces, but the fish suddenly wiggled its fins, allowing it to swim briefly at low altitude.
Then, it suddenly opened its huge mouth, which was located directly in front of its head, and a strong suction force made everyone in front of it unable to stand still.
Of course, the fact that everyone was extremely hungry and exhausted was probably the more important reason.
But no one could deny the horror of the scene—a pirate was instantly sucked into the monster fish's gaping maw.
Then, the monster, as if returning to its old home, dozed off on the deck.
Henry then ordered a pirate to attempt to ambush the strange fish.
As a result, the monster instantly regained consciousness, and the pirate suffered the same fate.
If it weren't for a sailor accidentally spilling some of the beer he was using to boost his courage, that fish would probably still be staying on the ship, treating it like a buffet!
Henry remembered that after the monster disembarked, he felt completely exhausted and went to bed to rest.
So, he's been unconscious for almost two days?
The ship's food supplies had long since run out.
It's a miracle that the lambs have survived this long.
Therefore, they must sleep day and night to reduce energy consumption and allow themselves to last longer.
But Henry was truly surprised that he slept for so long.
"Boss, you shouldn't have headed west," Benson said, looking at Henry. "Anyone who makes a living at sea knows that the West is nothing but sea; there's no way for people to survive there."
Henry was well aware of this, but he didn't have many options to begin with.
Before Natalie left, she left him two things.
There was one thing Henry didn't want to mention, and another was a letter.
In the letter, Natalie described part of the plan to capture the loyal dogs to Henry.
Henry was then convinced that the loyal dog was undoubtedly a brilliant strategist.
In addition to all his almost foolproof strategies, he also developed many backup strategies.
This ensures that if a plan fails, or if any oversight or unexpected event occurs, it can be immediately rectified.
Henry's actions never deviated from the loyal dog's expectations.
According to the clues provided by Natalie, as long as Henry goes east or north, he will be intercepted and captured alive by the loyal dogs' ambush.
Therefore, his only chance of survival was to sail west or south.
Ultimately, he chose the West.
“I have no choice, Benson,” Henry said, “but at least if we sail west, we still have a chance to survive.”
"But, boss, look where we are—"
Benson looked at Henry, his eyes filled with terror.
"A fish the size of a palm can easily kill an adult sailor; rain like ice blades often falls from the sky; and blazing flames frequently erupt from the seabed. Boss, sea god, are we really still alive? Is this really not hell?"
Indeed, as Benson said, since the start of the voyage, not only has it become increasingly difficult to catch ordinary fish, but the weather has also become more extreme.
Take wind direction as an example; it's simply the wind blowing from the horizontal plane.
Now, we often encounter strong winds coming from directly above or below.
Every time this kind of weather occurs, the already battered Black Goat is on the verge of collapse and breaks completely in two.
All I can say is that this is a tenacious goat.
"We are still alive," that was the only thing he was certain of.
The two gold coins in his pocket were a constant reminder of this.
"Boss," Benson grabbed Henry's chest, "Boss! You're the most legendary pirate I've ever seen. Mattim is nothing compared to you! Hey! Who dares to stand against a fleet of more than a hundred ships! Boss, you've always been right, but this time, this time you're absolutely wrong. We shouldn't have sailed west, we should have gone back—"
"It's too late, Benson," Henry shook his head. "It's too late. We've been sailing west for months."
In our current state, we simply don't have enough supplies to get us back to our original land!
"Hmm—" Benson sighed, "Boss, I am absolutely loyal to you."
Henry placed his hand on Benson's shoulder: "I have never doubted it for a moment."
"But boss, not everyone is completely devoted to you. Besides me, I'm afraid only Miko and Victor are."
It's unlikely they'll betray you, but others—
"To expect all the shrimp to be loyal is to not become an octopus," Henry replied.
"But you know what? Yesterday—either around noon or in the evening—a few people got together and discussed the matter of the ship returning to port."
Hearing this, Henry took a deep breath.
Yesterday... he was fast asleep!
Henry sensed something was wrong and hurriedly asked:
"Who are they?"
Benson opened his mouth as if to answer, but first heard another voice:
"master!"
Henry looked up and saw Victor running towards him in a panic.
But Victor was holding Henry's axe.
"Why are you holding my axe?"
"We went to your captain's cabin to look for you, but you weren't there. We saw your axe and thought you might need it later, so we brought it to you."
Henry took the axe from Victor and said:
"What happened?"
"A group of pirates gathered together, plotting a rebellion."
Upon hearing this, Henry hurriedly got up, wanting to nip the matter in the bud.
But Victor stopped Henry: "Sir, it's too late. They've already taken over the weapons bay."
Upon hearing this, Henry sat down again, his buttocks which had been hanging halfway.
After calming down a bit, he asked:
"How many of them are there?"
"More than twenty, and they're all quite young."
After so many hardships, the Black Goat now had fewer than fifty crew members left.
In other words, the number of rebels was at least half.
Judging from their age, they are unlikely to be pirates from Joachim's era.
Henry immediately made a calm assessment:
"Victor, ring the bell!"
"Huh?" Victor was taken aback. "Sir, this is undoubtedly stirring up trouble. If they realize you've discovered us, they might choose to fight to the death."
"They could attack me at any moment," Henry said with terrifying composure, "and this is the only way to gather the remaining shrimp immediately."
Rather than being persuaded by the rebels, Henry could command the rest with just one order.
Therefore, gathering people together would undoubtedly be more advantageous to Henry.
Victor did as instructed immediately, and soon everyone was gathered on the deck.
Half of the men held weapons, seemingly ready to charge into battle at any moment.
Henry narrowed his eyes slightly, then roared:
"I am Joachim's son, a warrior who fought alongside Joachim. Stand behind me!"
With just one order, many veteran pirates raised their heads and came to the bridge.
Henry glanced around and saw a dozen or so people behind him.
Then he gave his second order:
"Those who are unfamiliar with the rebellion, come up here as well."
After he finished speaking, a few more people came up.
This statement undoubtedly brings the dispute to light.
At this moment, among those who had weapons, there seemed to be a few who were eager to try.
However, fearing that Henry had already gathered some men, they dared not act rashly.
Henry observed for a while longer.
There were about twenty people behind him, and none of them were armed.
The rebels still hold the advantage.
But Henry remained calm: "So, who is the leader of the rebels?"
The people below looked at each other, but no one dared to step forward.
Henry sneered, "Ha! A plan initiated by someone who can't take responsibility, and you're willing to risk your lives for him?"
Upon hearing this, a tall, thin man finally stepped forward; Henry didn't even remember his name.
"It's me!" he said. "Henry, you've led us to our deaths and you won't turn back. We must kill you and then sail back."
Henry ignored the man's explanation and addressed the rest:
"This order is in effect forever. Except for the ringleader, as long as you lay down your weapons, I will not hold you accountable."
Henry observed the rebels' reactions and saw that many had wavered.
He then continued, "I led you here. No one can take you back. Turning back? There's no food on board. Turning back is a dead end."
"But it's your fault!" the rebel leader shouted. "You led us to our deaths!"
"If it's a dead end, I won't survive either!" Henry roared. "Rebellion is futile! You should know we've arrived at a sea like hell. Does any of you possess a strategy for surviving in hell?"
The chief retorted, "Do you have one?"
"Of course I do!" I'm Henry the Liar. "I brought you here because this is our only chance to survive! And only I can lead you to live!"
Henry suddenly raised his hand and pointed at the leader:
"You! Do you also possess the same strategies and knowledge?"
The leader was speechless and couldn't help but take a step back.
Behind him, several pirates had already dropped their weapons.
The leader panicked; he was the only one with no way out, so he could only shout:
"Don't be afraid, he's bluffing! He has no solution! He's lying!"
"joyous!"
Henry suddenly swung his axe and chopped at the railing in front of him.
In an instant, wherever the axe blade passed, the thick logs fell one after another, leaving only a row of neat cut surfaces.
"My axe doesn't lie!"
Henry roared and raised his axe.
"You lot, would you like to test the sharpness of my axe!"
Two more people dropped their swords.
Henry shook his head and sighed:
"Ah, I'm losing my patience. I retract my previous order. Anyone who drops their weapon afterward will also be killed without mercy."
But the person who killed him is an exception!
As he spoke, Henry raised his hand and pointed at the leader.
Upon hearing this, the leader seemed to sense that the situation was about to take a sharp turn for the worse.
If morale is not stabilized immediately, defeat is inevitable. He then shouted:
"Don't be swayed by him—"
"puff!"
Before he could finish speaking, one of the pirates behind him stabbed him with a sword.
Seeing this, the others remembered Henry's last orders and hurriedly thrust their weapons at him to ensure they delivered the fatal blow.
Henry burst into laughter upon seeing this:
"Haha, in that case, those who stabbed him will not be held accountable!"
The rebellion was finally quelled.
Fortunately, the instigator was naive, and Henry discovered the situation not too late; otherwise, it would have been Henry who was stabbed to death.
He dared not be careless and hurriedly selected a few trusted old pirates to strictly guard the armory.
Benson asked Henry, "Boss, do you really have a way?"
Henry gave a wry smile.
He couldn't answer.
He chose West Air following Natalie's guidance; he had no idea what was going on.
Now, all he can do is pray.
He did not pray to the Lord, nor to the sea god, nor to the stars.
Henry prayed to Natalie.
If you are truly my good fortune, Henry thought, please bless me with hope.
Just then, Henry seemed to see something—
Henry raised his hand and pointed to the ram's horn at the bow:
"Look ahead!"
Suddenly, a black dot appeared on the sea surface.
Miko shouted:
"island!"
Then, many more black spots appeared.
Viktor said:
"Archipelago!"
After a while, those black dots connected again, forming a long line that stretched across the sea.
"The mainland! Boss!" Benson jumped up excitedly, "Thank God, we're back on the mainland!"
Henry, however, quietly denied it.
He was absolutely not mistaken; he had sailed westward following Natalie's instructions.
He was certain almost every day that the ship's course had not deviated.
They set off from an unnamed island far to the south of the mainland.
There could not possibly be a continent to the west of there.
Therefore, Henry took a deep breath and continued:
"It's a new continent—"