"I'm an old woman Sea Wolf, an accomplished one. If you think i'm afraid of death, then you are mistaken." Rachel said, her voice laced with confidence.
Then she turned to Richard,
"This is not where it ends Rich, for me, this is where it ends but for you, death is just a stepping stone."
Richard couldn't muster up courage to speak, his heart sank in sorrow as tears kept running down his cheeks..
Sea Wolf's men opened the cage and tossed Rachel Spencer in.
The pirates watched in sheer pleasure as the lions feasted on her, tearing her limbs, and ending her life.
Richard shut his eyes closed as the lions fought over her body..
"An eye for an eye Richard. Now we are even."
Hot tears gathered around Richard's eyes, his eyebrows furrowed in anger as he clench his fists..
'First,my wife betrays me, now my god mother is dead, my own fate is almost sealed.' He thought to himself.
A thought suddenly flashed across his mind.
He remembered something his father said about him being a merman.
"The powers your mother had, has been bestowed upon you Richard," his father's words to him at the prison.
Richard smiled,he looked at his left hand,nodded his head in relief as he saw the ring on his hand.
"If you want to kill me,why don't you go ahead and feed me to the lions Sea Wolf." Richard said, taunting Sea Wolf to act.
Sea Wolf chuckled, he looked over at his pirates as though reading their minds.
He shifted his gaze back to Richard.
"I must confess Richard, I admire you, in the midst of unsurmountable odds, you still think you can call the shots."
"You know what? I'm not going to feed you to the lions, that's a boring way to die."
"We're going to play a game."
"A game of combats."
"You get to die by the hands of pirates,not by the claws and fangs of lions."
Richard twisted his head to the right in bliss.
"Fair Enough Sea Wolf, fighting you would be fun."
"Oh no Richard, don't be mistaken, you're going to fight three of my best warriors, one at a time."
"If you get to kill one, then you qualify to fight the next, if you're able to kill all three of them, which I clearly doubt, then you get to face me."
The Pirates hollered, with their loud voices they shouted.
"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"
Stomping their feet on the ground as one of their fearsome pirate walked out.
Richard weighed him up with a staunch look from head to toe.
His first opponent is well built, two feet taller than Richard, with a big tattoo of a skull on his bare chest.
"I'm the bull," the pirate said as he tried to intimidate Richard.
"I have never lost a one on one combat and today, my name will be inscribed on the history books as the pirate who ended your life."
Richard said nothing, he turned his gaze to Sea Wolf.
"Loose him," Sea Wolf commanded.
Two pirates quickly moved to set Richard from the chains on him..
The rest quickly circled around Richard and the bull.
Some stood and sat on the lion's cage, eager to watch the battle.
"The rules are simple, no weapons allowed." Sea Wolf decreed.
Sea Wolf knew the Bull's strengths and weaknesses.
The Bull is good with fists and bad with weapons.
So he changed the rules in his favour.
Richard stood firm and ready, boiling with intense rage as he thought within himself.
'Don't worry mentor, i'm going to avenge you, starting with this bull.'
The Bull drew closer to Richard, with clenched fists, waiting for the perfect opening to throw his first blow, he taunted.
"You know what fool, right after I kill you, i'm going to cook you and eat you."
"We are not here to talk, we are here to fight you bullish fool."
Richard threw a fast punch at the bull,aiming for his jaws.
The Bull groaned in pain as one of of his teeth flew out.
The Pirates grunted in displeasure.
The Bull spat blood out of his mouth, he smiled at Richard.
"Good move."
He moved swiftly to punch Richard but was soon greeted by another punch that sent him to the ground this time around.
Richard was simply too fast for him.
The Bull held Richard's leg, and with brute force dragged him to the ground.
He moved on top of Richard, aiming for his neck to strangle him.
"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The Pirates chanted as the Bull's hands strangled Richard's neck.
Richard's face turned red as he tried to remove the Bull's hands from his neck.
Richard was helpless against the Bull's brute strength.
Boom!
A punch landed on bull's throat, causing him to gasp for air.
Richard pushed him aside, stood on his feet.
The Bull held into his neck, gasping for air.
Richard advanced towards him and with a calculated move, twisted his head.
A cracking sound was heard as the Bull's neck was broken.
He fell to the ground dead.
A heavy cloud of silence fell on the pirates as they stood motionless.
Richard breathes rhythmically in relief.
He smiled as he looked at Sea Wolf and the pirates.
He brought his tongue out to taunt the pirates.
"Next," he shouted as he stood with fury in his eyes.
Sea Wolf smiled mischievously.
He expected Richard's triumph over his first opponent.
He was well aware of Richard's strength.
"Tiger, come on, you're next." Sea Wolf called.
The pirates exploded in wild jubilations when they heard Richard's next opponent was a pirate called Tiger.
"Axeman! Axeman! Axeman!" they echoed in unison.
Tiger was remarkable skilled with the axe.
Sea Wolf laughed as he understood what the term 'axeman' meant.
"This time around, you're allowed to use axes."
"Yessess!" The pirates shouted for joy.
One of the pirate dropped two axes on the floor and Tiger hurriedly picked them up.
"I'm confused,where is my own axe?"
Sea Wolf chuckled.
"You don't get to use any weapons Richard, only Tiger gets to use an axe."