Chapter 97 - Black Sail II (2/2)

Instead of making the pointless move of defending the s.h.i.+p, Zhang Heng ran to the captain’s quarters the moment chaos. .h.i.t the boat. Usually, this was the most heavily guarded part on a s.h.i.+p. Right now, there wasn’t a single soul in the room. There were some valuable decorations around, but Zhang Heng did not bother taking them. He wasn’t sure if he would get to keep anything when the pirates boarded them. He then saw a wooden table on his right and quickly opened all the drawers.

Then, he found what he was looking for.

It was the s.h.i.+p’s logbook, a compulsory record for every vessel to have. It was used to record dates, the direction of the wind, weather, and major incidents. The only thing that mattered to him right now, though, was to find out the era he was in and some basic information of this s.h.i.+p.

Opening up the logbook, he started to read through its records. Three minutes later, he heard a loud boom, followed by the s.h.i.+p violently shaking. It was so intense that it almost caused him to fall to the ground. When it had finally calmed down, he opened the curtains and took a peek outside. The first thing he saw was a giant cannon.

Immediately, he shut the curtains! He knew that he did not have much time here. With both s.h.i.+ps getting closer to each other, that would mean a close standoff between two was about to happen soon.

Judging by the merchant s.h.i.+p’s lethargic firepower, the battle would surely end faster than expected.

Luckily, Zhang Heng had scanned through most of the important information recorded in the logbook. It was the year 1712. If he remembered correctly, the 1701 war of succession in Spain had caused the entire country to fall apart. Through a series of treaties, England managed to claim several colonies that had originally belonged to the Spanish. And with that, England became the new king of the sea as time went on. At the same time, piracy saw its most active period as well.

This merchant s.h.i.+p carrying an entire s.h.i.+pload of woolen goods was supposed to travel to Boston. After unloading the goods for sale, they were scheduled to ferry a s.h.i.+pment of tobacco back home. As bad luck would have it, they crossed paths with a band of pirates just as they were about to arrive in Boston. Knowing that they had a slim chance of escaping, the captain decided to fight and protect his s.h.i.+p. After all, he was an ex-navy officer.

Zhang Heng could hear the sailors screaming in agony from the captain’s cabin. It seemed like the captain’s plan had failed miserably. Zhang Heng soon managed to locate the location of New Providence from the map on the table. It was located in the central north of the Bahamas. Na.s.sau, one of its small towns, was located in the north of New Providence. Zhang Heng wanted to study the map in better detail, but there was no time left. The pirates could enter the captain’s room anytime now. Quickly, he returned the logbook back into the drawer and left.

Initially, he wanted to return to where he came from. However, he changed his mind halfway and went to the galley instead. He then took out his Lucky Rabbit Foot, Hunter’s Blessing, and Paris Arrow and hid them under a plank. As he was leaving, he b.u.mped into two men. One of them was running away from the other.

The one running for his life crashed into Zhang Heng, and both of them fell on the ground! The person giving chase was clearly not a crew of the s.h.i.+p. He wielded a b.l.o.o.d.y ax and glared at the plump guy that was crying and crawling on the ground. He was ready to execute him. The moment he saw Zhang Heng, he became even more excited.

Having no room for hesitation, Zhang Heng rushed toward him and disarmed the pirate with a hard sidekick. Immediately, the pirate extended his arm, and a fist landed on Zhang Heng. In that split second, he instinctively extended his arms to protect himself. The blow was so powerful that it temporarily paralyzed his arm. As for the pirate, he suffered no injuries. Seeing that he was unscathed, he grinned and drew his dagger from his waist.

Zhang Heng instantly realized that he was in big trouble. Close-quarters combat was never his forte. Judging from the pirate’s attack, Zhang Heng knew that it was impossible for him to defeat him from such a close distance.