Episode 109. henry morgan (1)
Pinas Islands.
Located on the sea in the eastern part of the Empire, it is shrouded in gray fog most of the year.
Hence the place which has earned the nickname ‘Gray Zone’.
Thanks to this, outsiders unfamiliar with the surrounding terrain navigated the gray area.
If you set foot on the wrong side of the reef, the boat is often damaged.
Due to the nature of the ship moving forward, the blind area was death itself.
Thanks to that, the archipelago, which was originally inhabited by indigenous people, became a base for pirates.
Even 200 years ago, thanks to the mighty Paladins, battle priests, and the navy of the Cron Empire, the pirates were wandering about without finding a foothold.
However, after Paladin’s death, high-ranking nobles and priests threw away the people and believers and started to fill their stomachs, and the empire’s security became more and more messed up.
In the meantime, the pirates set the Pinas Islands as a new gathering place, conquered it, and ruled as kings, treating the natives like people.
The Pinas Islands, where all five great powers are united.
There was a man called the ‘Pirate King’ who was the most powerful force that unified them for the first time.
His name is Henry ‘Harpy’ Morgan.
Residents of the surrounding archipelago nicknamed him ‘Harpy’.
The two large axes he always carried behind his back were made of a special steel only found in the Pinas Islands, and in the light they looked like the wings of a harpy that is said to eat fishermen from the reefs of the sea.
The place where Henry Morgan is staying is the largest island in the Pinas Archipelago, and it is called ‘Harpy Island’ after his fearful nickname.
Henry Morgan was meeting the Imperial Navy’s eastern scout captain there.
“This will be enough sincerity.”
Suk… … .
A fist-sized sack full of jewels.
Henry Morgan put the sack on the table.
A hearty smile appeared on the lips of the scout captain who saw the seemingly heavy bag.
“Morgan, you are very resourceful. He is truly talented enough to be called the ‘Pirate King’.”
“I came from afar, so it’s not natural. You should take good care of it.”
“Ha ha ha!”
The scout leader nodded, and the adjutant standing behind took the jewelry bag with a firm expression.
No, I was trying to get it.
thud!
“Of course, you will keep your promise, right?”
Henry Morgan gripped the adjutant’s wrist with a savage hand that might have been an iron hook.
The scout captain gulped at his overbearing voice.
“No, of course! In the future, the Imperial Navy’s scout ships will not even come close to the Pinas Islands. Promise!”
“great.”
Ssuk-
When Henry Morgan let go, the adjutant grabbed his pocket.
The adjutant touching the part where his wrist was throbbing.
Seeing that, Henry Morgan chuckled.
“I will not regret being friends with Henry ‘Harpy’ Morgan. Let’s get along well in the future.”
“ha ha ha! It’s me, as long as you pay the money on time, there’s no problem. It’s been a long time since the eastern sea attracted attention in the empire anyway. It’s hard to solve all the political problems that happen in the capital. Unless people like Paladins reappear like in the past, this empire is doomed. It’s cool.”
The scout leader dared to use the word ‘reward’.
The pirates standing behind Henry Morgan twitched their eyebrows.
However, the iron rule of pirates is to never move until instructed by Henry Morgan.
Henry Morgan did not erase the smile from his lips.
“Then I will meet you.”
“Ah, thank you. Without your guidance, it would not be easy to get in and out of the Pinas Archipelago. Then, see you next time.”
The scout captain and his men returned to their ships.
In the meantime, the scout captain thought.
‘You dirty pirates, how dare you show your displeasure? You should know that if it wasn’t for the money, all of you would have been wiped out long ago!’
The Imperial leadership is still unaware that a huge group of pirate kings has settled in the Pinas Islands.
That’s because the person in charge of reconnaissance of the eastern sea is not reporting at all.
In return, the scout captain was taking a huge amount of crones every year.
“then.”
The scout captain’s ship leaves.
Henry Morgan’s right-hand man, ‘Drenek’, looked at it and said.
“How long are you going to keep watching? Why don’t you just kill them all and make the entire eastern coast of the empire your kingdom? Then you won’t have to hand over useless money.”
“Not yet. Didn’t you hear that monsters are swarming inland? I’ll wait for more mess, and when the time is right, I’ll hit it off. It will devour the eastern part of the Empire all at once!”
“yes.”
“At that time, Drenek, you will be at the forefront of the war. Are you confident?”
“Just leave it to me.”
“Good good.”
When two people are exchanging intentions with each other.
The patrol boat that had been patrolling near the archipelago returned.
A pirate jumped out of there and ran.
“harpy! The slave fleet that left for Derdrang has returned!”
“Ohhh, finally!”
Henry Morgan laughed heartily.
However, the expression of the pirates running was unusual.
“How did you say your achievements were raised? I couldn’t afford to worry about security in the surrounding cities in Derdrang, so I could have earned quite a bit.”
“That, that… … .”
The pirate who came running and got down on one knee hesitated to answer.
Drenek pressed him.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and report it.”
“Ha, only one boat has returned.”
“… … ?!”
“What are you talking about?”
A vein stood on Henry Morgan’s forehead.
“Ten ships went and only one returned?”
“Sah, that’s true, harpy! Besides, the flag was also hung with a different one. It looked like something round was floating on top of the horizontally drawn line… … .”
“Dawning School?!”
The symbol the subordinate was talking about is definitely the Divine Mark of the Dawning School.
That’s hanging on the pirate ship that left the slave trade?
Something was strange.
“Drenek.”
“yes.”
“You go yourself. Lead two ships and go check it out properly. What the hell happened, where is the captain in charge of the business and what is he doing?”
“All right.”
Drenek nodded to the other pirates around.
“let’s go!”
Power that can be said to be the core of the pirate fleet in the Pinas Islands.
They followed Dranek.
***
“knife! Come on out! Two ships with open fire are approaching!”
Two ships appeared with their backs to the hazy fog.
There were no patterns drawn on the sails that symbolized the affiliation.
In most cases, these are merchant ships that roam the distant sea and engage in ocean trade.
Cretan old man asked Carl after he came out of the captain’s room.
“Are there paintings on the sails?”
“no. It is a white sail without any pattern.”
“Then it must be a merchant ship. The fact that they are opening fire means they are wary of us being pirates.”
The Cretan old man was as knowledgeable as his age, and he was quite quick-witted about sea life.
“Of course you can. Maybe not.”
“hmm? What do you mean?”
“The cannon placed under the gun gate is shining brightly. That means you’re usually good at managing your cannon. There are probably shells that can be fired immediately around the cannon.”
“Um… … .”
“In addition, there are traces of recent repairs all over the ship.”
“How can you be sure of that? Don’t you know if it was recently repaired or if it was repaired a long time ago?”
“You can tell by looking at the color and condition of the padded wooden planks. If you’ve been to the sea often, the color should have darkened as the dirt settled, but unlike the other parts of the ship, the wood grain is still clear. This is a battleship that recently fought a battle.”
“Isn’t it a merchant ship?”
“yes.”
“Then why are you hoisting white sails? For pirates, hanging a pirate flag would be much better for their survival and easier for their business.”
“It must be that the pirates are pretending not to be pirates.”
“Um… … !”
Cretan Old Man nodded.
His face was stained with admiration.
“You really… … When it comes to fighting, there’s nothing I don’t know! Whether on land or at sea!”
That was natural, since most of his past life was spent fighting.
both on land and at sea.
It was the sword that had all the experience while fighting against the Lich King’s army.
“knife! People with white flags are coming in small boats!”
Meisa’s cry from the watchtower high up on the mast.
Carl gave her the answer.
“Raise your right hand high and draw a circle in the air.”
People with white flags are coming from ships that have stopped at a distance.
That meant I wanted to board your ship.
Carl had signaled permission to board the ship.
Soon after, a small boat arrived and climbed onto Carl’s boat with a net.
They didn’t have weapons, but they had a great spirit.
‘He’s disguised as a smiling face, but he’s definitely a pirate.’
It was enough without the need for a lot of evidence.
That superhuman sense that Carl accumulated in his previous life!
With that alone, Carl could clearly sense that the people on board were enemies.
“I would like to meet the captain of this ship. My name is Dranek, a native of the Pinas Islands.”
“I am not the captain, but I am the head of the party.”
Carl came out.
Then Dranek, a tall man with a red beard that reached his chest, swung his sword up and down.
‘I hid it with the clergyman’s uniform, but I have quite strong muscles… … In addition, the sword is ready to be drawn at any time. He’s a decent guy!’
gulp!
Dranek swallowed a little.
He approached with a smile on his face and held out his hand.
“Nice to meet you. It’s Drenek.”
“A knife.”
“We, the Pinas Archipelago, always operate a patrol boat around the island. This is to prevent pirates from plundering the inhabitants of the archipelago. But what brought you to the gray zone? This is a dangerous place unless you are familiar with the surrounding waterways.”
“If you go straight through the gray zone, it’s the fastest way to get to Meirium, the city in the easternmost part of the Empire. We are the priests going to Meirium.”
“Oh oh… … I couldn’t believe it when I saw the outfit, but it was like that. Sorry for doubting you.”
“It’s okay. When you’re done with your business, go back now.”
Carl pointed his chin at their boat, which was moored far away.
Drenek laughed.
“It is fate that we met in such a wide sea, how about going to the archipelago for a while and sharing some good words with the islanders? There is no such temple in the Pinas Islands, so everyone will like it.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
“Yes, stop by and relax a bit.”
“Relieve your addiction… … .”
Sureureung!
The sword’s steel sword came out of the scabbard in an instant.
The sword flew in quickly before Drenek had time to react, and aimed at the nape of Dranek’s neck.
“You’re not planning on taking us in and looting?”
Tension flowed across the deck.