Behind the ten reserve ships of the pirate fleet stood a massive Galleon. And unlike the other pirate's ships which were all different varieties of thin sleek galleys, the Galleon was bigger, fancier and much better equipped, because, after all, it was the Ravager's personal ship, as such, it had to have the corresponding dignity.
In fact, if it wanted, then this ship could even go toe to toe with two Braavosi warships on its own.
Not that the pirate king Ravager would ever take such risks with his own life.
Standing on the deck of this ship, were all the cruelest, strongest, smartest and most useful pirates in this fleet. Along with their Master Ravager, the only person sitting on the deck, they were silently keeping watch on the battle from afar.
"How much longer now?" calmly asked the Ravager in a low gravelly voice while signalling his aide, a 13-year-old young lad to refill his wine, "You can throw a few more ships at them if this battle can end faster..." he continued callously as if the lives of the pirates weren't worth waiting a few minutes, "...Things could become complicated the longer the battle goes on."
"Don't worry, Master," came the smooth answer from the most well-dressed man on the deck, "We don't need to use more pirates... the battle should be over soon enough." The advisor replied while bowing his head.
"Fine, then." The Pirate King nodded waving his hand indifferently and the advisor turned back to command the battle.
The advisor placed the far-eye back on his eye and peeked closely at the battle in the distance. He was the one who actually controlled the whole attack from his position on this ship.
He was the one who decided when it was time for which ship to retreat and for which ship to take its place.
And he was doing all that using just a few different coloured flags and a few capable subordinates.
The signals he used were so complicated that they completely went above almost every pirate's head, except for the ones he had specially trained to follow his orders.
If someone asked any pirate in this fleet what was the secret behind Ravager's rise to become a Pirate King of Essos in just a decade, then most of them would attribute it to his cruelty, his ambition, his connections, or maybe even the huge number of ships under his command.
But if they asked this question to Ravager himself, then he would unhesitatingly point towards this scholar-like man commanding the battle and looking absurdly out of place in this gathering of fierce pirates.
Ravager was quite grateful for the day when he managed to snag this man from right under the nose of one of Volantis' most prominent Noble families.
Because, if it were not for his man, then Ravager wouldn't have so many ships under his command, if it were not for this man then he wouldn't have a record of winning 9 out of every ten battles his fleet was in, and if it wasn't for this man's ability command a naval battle, then Ravager didn't think that he could have ever become a Pirate King.
And Ravager always made sure that this treasure of a man would never be able to leave his side... 'even if he wanted to,' he thought as his eyes involuntarily went towards his young aide who immediately shivered at his gaze. This young one hadn't left his side since before he was a toddler, as he was the key to keeping this treasure of a man locked under him.
'But it's still not enough...' he thought as his eyes turned back to the battle in the distance. He didn't want to be just a pirate king, he wanted to be the Pirate King.
He didn't want his name to be taken along the likes of Salladhar Saan and Crow's eye, he wanted to be above them, he wanted to crush them underneath him, he wanted to be the only Emperor of the Sea, of all Seas.
He wanted the name Ravager to resound across all the continents, to strike fear in his enemies... from the Nobles of Westeros to the Sealords of Braavos, from the Magister of Pentos to the Great Masters of Slaver's Bay.
The mere mention of his name should be enough for them to piss their pants and offer him all their riches and their wives to him...
And now he had finally learned a valuable piece of information from his worthless, that could give him a chance to achieve this ambition of his. And he wouldn't let go of that chance... at any cost.
Ravager thought while involuntarily making a tight fist with his left hand before turning to the side, "Rulk! What happened to that task I asked you to do?"
A huge black man with his upper body naked and full of scars bowed from behind him and replied, "I sent three of my best men, Master. They should have reached the coast of Braavos by now and should soon send us the location of that Westerosi..."
"Good, that is good," Ravager nodded with a cruel smile on his face, "We not only need to thank that shipping company for this gift of Braavosi merchants but... also show him what happens when someone crosses one of us... Isn't that right, little Jack," he towards his son with clear disdain in his eyes.
"Y-Yes," Even though Jack was as large as his father, he turned into a nervous cat in front of his father, "But didn't the Advisor say that it would be hard to catch them at sea and that we should negotiate with them and buy from them their method of seafaring—"
"Che! He may be a very smart man but... sometimes he makes things too complicated." Ravager snorted with an uncaring look on his face, "I am Pirate King, boy. When I want something, I just simply... take it." He said confidently before turning back to his son with a look of disgust, "Not that a halfwit like you, who was made a fool of by that Westerosi not once but twice, would understand something like this..."
"Haha," The nearby pirates all burst out laughing at that.
Jack gritted his teeth at the humiliation as the surrounding pirates openly laughed at him, uncaring that he was their captain's son, "B-But it wasn't my fault father, it was that cunning Northern Shipping—"
"Don't give me excuses, boy. You whore of a mother gave me enough of them before I killed her," he turned to Jack with a menacing look on his face, "And what have I told you about calling me your father before you have earned the right to it, boy?!"
"T-To not do it."
"So what am I, then?"
"M-Master."
"Good, at least you can learn..."
"B-But, Master," Jack said as he hurriedly tried to change the subject, "Do you think it wise to openly provoke Braavos like this," he asked while gesturing towards the battle in the distance, "Wouldn't they just send their full might after us because of this..."
"And, so what if they did?" Ravager scoffed while comfortably leaning back in his chair, "Where are they going to attack? We're pirates, Boy. I have no home that they can ravage, I have no castle that they can loot, and I have no people that they can capture. The sky is my roof and the sea is my floor... If they attack me in Stepstones, I'll go to Slaver's Bay. And if they still follow me there, I'll just go and reave the shore of Westeros... Their mighty strength has no meaning if they can't attack me..." he scoffed.
"Besides it's their own fault for dangling this ripe fruit in front of me... they can't really expect a shark to spare its prey now, can they?" Ravager finished with a fierce smile and Jack reluctantly nodded his head.
"It seems they are giving up, Captain," The first mate announced while pointing towards the Naval battle in the distance that was finally reaching its conclusion.
None of the Braavosi warships had actually started sinking yet but they had taken enough of a beating to know that it was only a matter of time... So the Captain in charge of the Braavosi fleet decided to cut their losses and run away with all his ships while abandoning all the bulky merchant ships as bait because, after all, their lives were worth much more than the goods and people on those merchant ships.
"Signal them not to pursue the warships anymore and to surround the merchant ships," The Ravager ordered and the Advisor immediately nodded his head before making his subordinate wave a couple of green and blue colours from left and right.
"That took long enough..." Ravager grunted, standing up from his throne before ordering the pirates around him, "Board the ships. Kill every man who resists and shackle everyone who surrenders. If there are women on board then the captains get their first pick and they can use them for three days before they are sold but remember... if anyone wastes a valuable young virgin product once again, I'll string their naked bodies on ships without caring about who they are." he ordered and the pirates around him hurriedly nodded their heads
He then turned to Advisor, "Count all the loot and make sure that no one steals anything, and if you find a thief, just hang them." The advisor nodded as the Pirate King left towards his cabin to rest after giving his last order.
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