Chapter 215 - End of the Party (1/2)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Zhang Heng entrusted Anne with the two other enemies while he took off his inner shirt and bandaged the wound on his back. After that, he continued running towards the beach.
All in all, his entire trip back to the bonfire party took him less than twenty-five minutes.
Things weren’t looking good right now. The party had been going on for quite a while, and most of the pirates were already gin-soaked. No other pirates successfully robbed a Spanish treasure ship ever before. Everyone, including Sam, was in an extraordinarily cheery mood.
In the past, although there had been joint-operations between Nassau’s pirates before, this was the first time six influential pirates collaborated with each other. Since the partnership was off to a good start, many thought about joining forces again. They also intended to use this as an opportunity to cultivate stronger bonds amongst themselves.
The gold was just a few hundred yards from them, almost within grasp, and the fact that so many were gathered together gave them a strong sense of security.
One had to admit that Jarvis had chosen a good time, a time when the pirates were at their most gullible and susceptible. Other than six people guarding the gold, even the men in charge of patrolling the area couldn’t help but join the celebration.
The sailors were so drunken on rum that they lost the ability to determine one’s own keep. Pirates from different ships had their arms slung around each other’s shoulders, and they were all mixed up. No thanks to all the intermingling, Zhang Heng couldn’t locate Sam.
When someone saw that Zhang Heng had returned, they stumbled over to him and urged him to have a drink.
Instead of accepting the bottle, Zhang Heng grabbed a musket from the pirate and fired a shot into the air!
The camp ran silent for a moment. Then, in all bewilderment, the pirates exploded into roars of laughter, thinking it was a sideshow that Zhang Heng prepared. Some found it so amusing that even they joined in, firing their guns into the sky!
All at once, gunshots rang all over the island, along with the pirates’ loud cheers.
Zhang Heng knew immediately that with the condition they were in, confronting the men wasn’t the brightest option. It was simply unrealistic to expect this group of dazed men to pick up weapons and fight the navy, of all people.
The only viable option was to inform the captains and have them evacuate their people. As he was looking for Harry, Zhang Heng found a dozen men who were not as sozzled. These men should be reliable enough to navigate the Jackdaw. As for whether the other ships could find enough sober men for their helms, Zhang Heng didn’t know for sure. He couldn’t do anything about it either.
Zhang Heng found Billy first in the crowd. Unsurprisingly, he was as drunk as a skunk and was sprawled on the ground, snoring away. Zhang Heng shook Billy hard, hoping to wake him up, but the man seemed to be out like a light. It took a good while before he finally responded. Billy opened his mouth but appeared to completely clueless – like a completely different person from the usually calm and reliable helmsman he was.
Realizing he couldn’t possibly rely on Billy tonight, Zhang Heng searched for a few more sailors. Most, however, were in bad condition. The Warrior’s crew had been coaxing the others to drink the whole time. Now, the people on the beach were no different than Billy, having drowned themselves in rum for a good two hours. Many of them were worse for wear.