Chapter 222 - Fury (1/2)

“Are we safe now?”

By some miracle, the Jackdaw didn’t sink even after two rounds of intense sh.e.l.ling. Instead, she limped clumsily out of the harbor.

Anne dislodged a large splinter stuck in her shoulder and asked, “Are we safe?”

When the armored s.h.i.+p opened fire, Zhang Heng had to stay by his post, so Anne s.h.i.+elded him. Although fortunate enough to steer clear of the explosion, the shrapnel from the blasts was an even more significant threat. Thus, the red-haired girl bore the brunt of all the flying debris.

It wasn’t just her busted shoulder. Her arm, calves, and cheeks also had varying degrees of chaffs and lesions. Yet, despite the pain, she didn’t whine or complain.

Zhang Heng did thank her – with the relations.h.i.+p they shared; there was no need for verbal expression. Instead, without saying a word, he took off his s.h.i.+rt and bandaged her wound with it.

“I don’t think so. If they didn’t have the upper hand, they wouldn’t have just let us off like that. However, they won’t need so many s.h.i.+ps to fight the people on the beach, so I believe they will split up and send some after us.”

As if a demented prophecy, the silhouette of two armored s.h.i.+ps emerged amid the thick fog of war!

They must have just turned around since they were pretty far away from the Jackdaw. Nevertheless, they caught up to ailing s.h.i.+p pretty quickly.

Zhang Heng wouldn’t typically worry about having a tail. With the Jackdaw’s imposing firepower and a crew to match, he could easily win a fight against two pursuing enemies. Even if the situation did go south, they could just turn away and escape.

Right now, the Jackdaw was in terrible condition. They were understaffed, having practically no gunners on board. At least three masts were damaged, and the leak in the hull was getting worse. The flood had quickly risen by three feet and was already at the danger line.

Under such circ.u.mstances, it would take a miracle for them to make it back to Na.s.sau. They couldn’t fire, and they couldn’t flee. How were they supposed to fight? This was the same situation that hit Dufresne. Even if the Jackdaw could break through the naval blockade, she wouldn’t go any further in such a hamstrung state.

Zhang Heng couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, but since he had put everything he had on this mission, he wouldn’t have come unprepared. He put Anne in charge of the rudder after borrowing her dagger. Then, he went up to the mainmast. Back when he was on the Sea Lion, he was Roscoe’s apprentice for some time and was no stranger to climbing high structures.

Even though he hadn’t done anything of that sort since he became captain, he wasn’t wholly rusty yet. Clamping his dagger between his teeth, he scaled the rickety rope ladder as quickly as he could. Once he was on the top at the crow’s nest, he saw the scratched surface where an ancient Celtic name was once engraved.

Zhang Heng took the dagger out of his mouth. Ironically, being the one who crossed out the name, he was the one to carve it back on again.

Initially, the plan was to communicate with the so-called ‘ancient Celtic G.o.d’ only after he got the Tulewood box, the safest method he could think of. Now he had no other choice.

Zhang Heng had quite a few game props in his possession, but the only thing that could be of a.s.sistance in this situation was the yet to be identified seash.e.l.l.