Chapter 211 - Celebration (1/2)
Black Prince Sam a.s.signed a dozen pirates that could swim well to dive to the spot where the Spanish treasure s.h.i.+p sank. Soon, the divers managed to discover where they stored the gold bars. The next problem that needed solving was how they could salvage the ingots from the bottom of the sea. The crates were located half a nautical mile from the coastline at a depth of about 20 meters.
Such depths were close to the limits a human could dive. It wasn’t just the oxygen starvation, but the water pressure would increase every ten meters. If they continued venturing deeper, the pressure would cause them to suffer from nitrogen narcosis and oxygen poisoning, which could be fatal.
Zhang Heng vaguely remembered that the deepest a human ever attempted to dive without the a.s.sistance of equipment was about 40 meters. He was puzzled as to how the person managed to achieve such a superhuman feat. People like Black Prince Sam and his allies all grew up right next to the sea. Most of them were sons of fishermen, and from a young age, they were already natural swimmers and divers.
Having said that, the divers were forced to resurface the moment they laid their eyes on the crates that contained the gold bars. Only one person amongst them managed to dive to where the boxes were and retrieved a dislodged gold bar.
“It appears that we’re going to be on this island for some time,” said Black Prince Sam.
Despite the losses the pirates sustained, their hunting trip was considered an enormous success. A total of 5,000 pounds of gold divided among six s.h.i.+ps would see every single pirate returning to Na.s.sau with a tremendous amount of wealth.
Apart from the gold, the Spanish s.h.i.+p was hauling a s.h.i.+pment of tobacco as well. Unfortunately, the dried leaves became useless the moment they hit the water. Despite Brook suffering the most damage in this battle, he was happy with the results. The extra 50% of the loot he would receive meant he could fix his s.h.i.+p and even compensate those who were wounded during the battle. And even after everything was settled, he would still walk away pocketing a large sum of money.
Everyone was envious of Zhang Heng and the Jackdaw’s luck. Although he and Brook were both chosen as bait, the enemies, unfortunately, decided to focus fire on the Swordfish instead of the Jackdaw. It was all because the Swordfish looked to be the weaker of the two. After two rounds of bombardment, the Jackdaw received no further damage. When the Spanish convoy of three fell into their trap, Zhang Heng waited until the four pirate s.h.i.+ps attacked them before joining the battle. Amid the cacophony of artillery, the three Spanish vessels weren’t bothered to deal with the Jackdaw anymore.
When the Jackdaw played the bait, Zhang Heng made the right decision by taking every random opportunity that came to avoid taking as much damage as possible. Not only did he manage to confuse the enemies, but it also allowed the Swordfish to retreat. If Zhang Heng didn’t stall the Spanish, Brook and his men would have ended up at the bottom of the ocean.
Brook was extremely grateful for Zhang Heng’s a.s.sistance, going up to him and thanking him personally when they were all on Parrot Island. Before this, Zhang Heng had spoken little to Brook, though, having heard of his name before. Other than his notorious reputation in Na.s.sau, he was one of the captains that vouched for Zhang Heng to join the meeting. To Zhang Heng’s surprise, he discovered that Brook wasn’t as aloof as he seemed to be after talking to him. He was actually quite talkative.
During the meeting for the battle, Brook barely said a word. Zhang Heng thought that it must be Brook’s nature to stay quiet, but as it turned out, he was wrong about him.
“I’m sorry. I’m not trying to offend anyone here, but I have some beef with Dynamite Jarvis.”
Dynamite Jarvis, captain of the Warrior, was also one of the captains that vouched for Zhang Heng. Sam had once told him about wanting to utilize this trip to solve a longstanding conflict between his two friends. It was now apparent that Sam referred to Brook and Jarvis. None would have thought that they would both clash again amid a critical operation.
“I have been friends with Jarvis for decades. I knew him long before I knew Sam. About two months ago, I received a precious lead. A slave-trading s.h.i.+p departed Africa and was heading towards Boston, carrying a decent amount of cargo. Most of the slaves on board were teenagers no older than 18 or 19. They were of good health and had all their teeth intact. I brought someone with me to check on the route this s.h.i.+p would take.