Chapter 147 - Switching Targets (1/2)

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Hunter’s Blessing differed from the Lucky’s Rabbit’s Foot by having a more unusual function, which was why Zhang Heng didn’t get a chance to use it yet.

It wasn’t before the fourth quest, entering the pirate world and bringing the Jackdaw to begin his own hunting journey that he had any use for this item again.

The necklace was useful to him now, increasing their chances of encountering a target every time they got out to sea. On top of that, the Lucky Rabbit’s Foot should also be able to enhance the necklace’s effect. However, probability-based game props such as these generally took effect only after some time.

In fact, in the past ten days, the Jackdaw did not encounter any prey worth capturing, and the Spanish merchant s.h.i.+p that Billy talked about did not appear.

The morale on the s.h.i.+p had diminished to a new low, compared to when they first left the dock. Although the crew continued to carry out their duties each day, they were not as enthusiastic as before. There was even some slacking amongst the men. Nevertheless, as long as everything was kept in check, Billy and the crew said nothing. No matter how outstanding the helmsman or captain was, it was impossible to keep the crew at an excited state forever; unless they had some sort of driving force such as Kidd’s treasure.

On top of that, the newly recruited cook and carpenter seemed a little unreliable, where the chef’s unimaginative cooking caused a lack of appet.i.te among the sailors. Fortunately, the batch of dried vegetables and fruits that Zhang Heng prepared came in handy. The pirates knew how rare those things were out at sea, and the lemonade was a source of relief that greatly subdued the complaints on the s.h.i.+p.

There were also many problems with the resident carpenter. Here was a guy that claimed a flawless resume and excellent theoretical knowledge, but after boarding the s.h.i.+p, he could not even do the simplest of repairs on a barrel. His skills were far from what he had described during the interview.

Of course, Zhang Heng was mentally prepared for this. There were bound to be all kinds of problems with the new recruits. However, having older men from the Sea Lion was much better than building the team up from nothing. In fact, just two days ago, Billy worked with Zhang Heng to disperse a fight among the crew. Because the experienced seamen quickly found out about the brawl, it was resolved before things got worse. Neither party in the dispute used weapons, and thankfully, the damage it incurred was minimum. In the end, they were only punished to two weeks of deck cleaning.

In general, the atmosphere on the s.h.i.+p was manageable, but on the eleventh day, Billy knocked on the door of the captain’s cabin.

“It looks like we’ll need to change targets.”

The helmsman appeared a little troubled. Situations like this were not uncommon. Most of the information about merchant s.h.i.+ps came from the island’s information dealers, who collected their intelligence mainly from the boats docked in Na.s.sau. Along the lines of transmission, packets of information would be either lost or mistranslated. To make matters worse, last-minute route changes often occurred. Thus, obtaining information did not necessarily mean that they would surely find the target.

To be able to survive the high seas, neither merchants nor pirates had a definite route. Every so often, when the captains found out that their travel plans were disclosed, they would immediately set up a backup plan and divert course.