Chapter 233 - End of The Ken (1/2)

The entire battle lasted around twenty minutes. Zhang Heng managed to deal a ma.s.sive blow to the enemy by taking out their entire gunmen brigade. As it was, Jackdaw’s pirates were determined to avenge their dead. Still, invading another s.h.i.+p had its costs. A bullet grazed Billy amid the battle, hitting his arm and causing a chunk of flesh to tear off. Thankfully, he was alive.

Once both s.h.i.+ps were connected, Zhang Heng instantly joined the fight. The first thing he did after boarding Kent was to look for their commander. However, Worden was hidden securely behind an army of heavily armed navy sailors. At the same time, the men were looking for Zhang Heng as well, intending to kill Jackdaw’s captain and demoralize their crew.

As the two sides clashed, everyone began treading lightly. Zhang Heng relied on his masterful marksmans.h.i.+p to open a path for himself. Worden, on the other hand, had more men than Jackdaw, not to mention that they were extremely well-trained as well. It soon appeared that neither side was gaining the upper hand in the battle.

However, little by little, Jackdaw’s men managed to overwhelm Kent’s crew. It would seem that the navy had lost their edge, and was actually losing to the pirates. Worden had no other choice. He got a few men and hastily retreated to the lower decks. Both sides exchanged fire on the stairs, where a heavy gunfight ensued. In the end, after a good ten minutes, Anne and her team managed to take control of Kent, most of it anyway.

Worden and his men retreated to the s.h.i.+p’s belly, where the captain’s quarters were. Knowing that they had no place to hide, they became like mice in a trap and were extremely sharp at the moment. Naturally, Billy and his men would go after the remaining sailors. However, they were no match for the desperate navy and some were instantly gunned down. Having lost a few good men today, Billy felt dejected and sorrowful.

Nevertheless, Jackdaw managed to take over Kent. In raising the white flag, all their sailors had put down their weapons and began surrendering to the pirates. All that was left was Worden and his merry men, still hiding out in the captain’s quarters.

Billy shouted at them from the outside and urged them to surrender, telling them that it was all over. Unironically, the navy replied in kind by shooting at him. Billy ducked as bullets whizzed past his head. He had already been shot once. Luckily, he wasn’t too close to the entrance. This deadlock had the pirates very impatient. Thankfully, not too long after that, Zhang Heng appeared.

“So. What’s the situation?”

“Initially, I wanted to deplete their ammunition and rush into the quarters. However, it seems like they are holding up real good in there,” said Billy.

Zhang Heng waved his hand, and a young and terrified navy officer was brought to him.

“I want you to talk to him.”

“Captain Worden asked me to drag twelve barrels of gunpowder to the captain’s quarters when they went in just now. He told me that the gunpowder is only to be used for the worst-case scenario,” stuttered the young man, obviously scared out of his living daylights.

“Why does he need so much gunpowder?!” asked Billy.

“Isn’t it obvious? Although he lost the battle, he has no intention to give us the s.h.i.+p!” said a frowning Zhang Heng.

“Worden is waiting for the rest of our men from Jackdaw. Once everyone is here, he will blow everyone to h.e.l.l. It appears he is about to destroy his Kent and kill most of our men. I think we should give up on taking their s.h.i.+p. Call all of our men to retreat! Only leave a few here to deal with them. Before all of you get off, go to the cargo hold and take everything they have, especially the food and water.

“Once we rescue the pirates from Parrot Island, all these will be essential on the s.h.i.+p. We need to move everything back before this s.h.i.+p sinks. Don’t leave behind their gunpowder and ammunition as well. These are the things we need most right now. We have fifteen minutes to do it.

“Once the fifteen minutes are up, I want everyone back on Jackdaw, even if we fail to move everything. Drop whatever you have in your hands and return to our s.h.i.+p. I also want all our cannons aimed at the captain’s quarters. Once everybody is back on Jackdaw, we will fire at them immediately. Since Worden wants to go down with his s.h.i.+p, we shall grant him some a.s.sistance!”