On the Denton Pirate Crew's ship, the crew was restless. Due to a lack of supplies, water and food were on strict rations. Ironically, while sailing in this vast ocean, the people felt as though they were in the center of a desert—everyone had cracked lips and haggard faces.
However, perhaps it was precisely because of this that in such an unstable environment, the group of ill-tempered pirates didn't have the energy to argue or fight. Every day, the heavy sails and ropes consumed what little strength they had left.
William and his crew were no different.
Supplies were a major issue for everyone on board, which was why he hadn't chosen to leave immediately.
The small boat couldn't sail far, and it didn't have much room for supplies. Furthermore, to avoid alarming the other pirates, William and the others could carry even fewer supplies. Without a clear destination or knowledge of where to stop for resupply, taking a supply-deprived boat into the vast ocean would be playing with their lives.
Things like navigational logs, which contained precious information on routes and island locations, were usually in the hands of key officers, such as the captain.
Since the last encounter with the Navy, William had noticed that Captain Denton would periodically inspect the small boat. William, understanding his intent, realized that Denton was ensuring the safety of their only escape route. He hadn't expected Denton to remain so calm, though, without taking any action for nearly two weeks.
That night, while keeping watch with Vallon to monitor the small boat, William finally saw the figure he had been hoping for—three tall men were quietly placing things on the boat under the cover of darkness.
Due to his exhaustion, William's reaction was slow. It took him a couple of seconds to snap back to reality. He quickly nudged a groggy Vallon, urging him to wake up Gin and Aramis.
After Vallon hurried off, William cleared his throat and stepped out of the shadows.
In the stillness of the night, the sudden sound of a cough reached the ears of the three busy figures. It froze them momentarily, as though a spell had been cast, before they turned to look at William.
One of them, upon recognizing it was William, muttered angrily, "It's you again!"
William squinted and, realizing who it was, recognized the man as Barmond, the second mate, who he had recently clashed with.
Aside from Denton and Barmond, the other person was the ship's navigator, Gol.
Barmond hated William for interrupting his plans twice. As soon as he saw William, his hand instinctively went to the hilt of his sword, but Denton quickly restrained him with a firm hand on his shoulder.
Denton, watching with a smile on his face as William stood alone facing them with no fear, knew that William understood their purpose and that they couldn't make a big move. If they disturbed the other sleeping pirates, they wouldn't be able to escape.
"William, what are you doing here?" Denton asked, holding Barmond's shoulder tightly. "Weren't you supposed to be on watch tonight?"
"I noticed the captain hasn't assigned anyone for the watch these past few nights," William responded with a low chuckle. "I thought you might have been too worried and forgot, so I decided to take it upon myself to watch over the boat."
Denton and Gol quickly grasped the situation. They realized William must have figured out their plan, so he had been keeping watch.
Gol, with a sly grin, mocked, "I never knew you were this reasonable."
"Captain, are we leaving?" William ignored Gol's mockery, his smile widening as he heard faint footsteps approaching. He turned to Denton and asked, "How about taking us with you?"
At that moment, Vallon's shiny bald head appeared from behind a corridor, followed by Gin and Aramis, who were not fully dressed but tightly holding their weapons. The four young pirates stood behind William, facing Denton's group of three experienced pirates.
As a pirate captain, Denton looked no different from other men of his age who had worked hard for years. His face was weathered, and his jaw and cheeks were marked by stubble, with a few streaks of gray hair that swayed in the sea breeze. If you only looked at his appearance, he seemed like an ordinary fisherman. The only thing that stood out was the cold, lifeless fake eye in his right eye socket.
But at that moment, as Denton's remaining working eye glared coldly at William, the intensity of his gaze was so chilling that it made one question which eye was real and which was fake.
The atmosphere grew silent as Denton seemed to consider William's "suggestion"—or more accurately, his threat.
When William thought that Denton might decide to take action, he increased his guard. But Denton finally spoke, his voice steady: "Alright, I'll take you with us."
"Captain!?" Barmond questioned in displeasure.
"I'm in charge here!" Denton shot Barmond a glare, lowering his voice so only Gol and Barmond could hear. Through clenched teeth, he added, "We'll take care of things once we're ashore."
At the same time, William whispered to Gin, Aramis, and Vallon, "Wait for my signal to act."
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