Chapter 22 Red-Haired Shanks
A sense of dread continued to spread until nightfall, but the beastmen still couldn't sleep. The unknown future was far more terrifying than their impending death…
Xu Daming had already been thrown back into the cabin, and the cold chains had been re-chained his limbs. He was hung alone by the door...
The biting sea wind blew for an unknown amount of time until the ship began to slow down and docked next to an island.
Lexington —
As a transit point on the westward route of the triangular trade, Lexington was home to troops from all five major races, and cargo ships came and went in a constant stream.
Even though it was late at night, the island was still bustling with activity. As the ship landed at the port, another batch of new slaves were brought aboard.
The commotion woke Xu Daming up, and he shakily raised his head to look outside.
Amidst the clamor and curses, a group of mermaids, numbering two or three hundred, were herded onto the ship. Under the shadow of the whips, they staggered and squeezed onto the deck.
...
"I knew this would happen. Some of the merfolk left Atlantis, unfamiliar with the place, and the other natives probably didn't even know there were merfolk, so they just captured them and kept them as pets..."
"Players who chose the mermaid can now sit with players who chose the orc! They can sit on the table and get eaten!"
"Unbelievable! This is hilarious! Mermaids can still rebuild their kingdom?! We humans are truly fortunate to be one of the five great powers!"
"Did you guys see this in the third closed beta? Don't choose Merfolk or Orc from now on! Unless you're an absolute Mage!"
"Dude, are you alright? Being enslaved and playing alphabet games are two different things (surprised)."
...
The viewers in the live stream didn't seem surprised by this, after all, how good could the fate of a dog that has lost its country be?
"Alas... life is unpredictable! We must resist! The orcs will never be slaves!" Seeing the merman in such a state, Xu Daming suddenly became energized, gritted his teeth and shifted his body.
Once all the mermaids were gathered on the deck, several sailors began to count the number of people, and after confirming that there were no missing ones, they opened the cabin doors.
"Click..."
Xu Daming, who was already tied to the door, was immediately in trouble. Because he was tied up, he couldn't move his cat tail at all.
"Aaaaaaahh ...
His tail was inevitably caught in the pushed-open door, and he howled in pain.
It was late at night, and almost all the slave owners were asleep. Xu Daming's shout woke them all up, and as a result, each of them gave him 100 draws...
"Ugh..."
After being whipped, Xu Daming was thankful that he had turned off his pain synchronization in time and hadn't suffered even a single lash.
At this moment, the beastmen in the cabin all looked at Xu Daming with pity, but that pity was also filled with admiration...
They had long regarded Xu Daming as their spiritual leader, embodying an indomitable and eternal spirit of resistance!
As the mermaids were also herded into the cabin, the already crowded space became even more oppressive, filled with complaints and sobs.
"It's all her fault! If she hadn't brought the Heart of the Ocean into the ruins...we wouldn't be..."
A mermaid, trembling all over, pulled the bracelet that was stuck in her scales out, and then burst into tears.
The other, slightly stronger mermaid gritted her teeth and shifted her body in pain, her jaw grinding: "If I find her on that continent... I will tear her to pieces, skin her alive and pull out her tendons!"
The murmurs of the merfolk quickly attracted the attention of the orcs nearby, and the two different races found themselves discussing the same topic...
"Pfft... Come on! With her looks, she's probably enjoying herself in some human noble's bed right now!"
A middle-aged man from the tiger clan twisted his neck and leaned closer, raising an eyebrow at the strong mermaid.
Upon hearing this, the mermaid immediately laughed: "Hehehe! You mean she's going to give birth to a demi-human for a human?! Is that even possible?"
The tiger-man casually propped his cheek on his hand, his gaze sweeping over the merman beside him: "Didn't you mermen pioneer the practice of giving birth to demi-humans?"
The words had barely left his lips when the surrounding mermaids became instantly agitated, gritting their teeth as if their fury had been touched.
"What do you mean?" Seeing her companion's expression, the mermaid was taken aback and then turned her head away.
"Back then, that Pirate King stole the Heart of the Ocean and then harmed your Queen! You've actually forgotten such a shameful thing!?"
Seeing that the mermaid in front of him didn't know, the tiger-man was initially incredulous, but then patted him on the shoulder and began to talk.
The bull-man standing nearby suddenly slapped his forehead, a flash of inspiration striking him. He quickly stepped forward and chimed in, "Before I was captured and put on the ship, I stayed in the concentration camp for a while. Those demon soldiers mentioned this."
"I heard she even had a son and a daughter, two demi-humans. Their fate probably won't be good..." The tiger clan member put a finger to his lips and lowered his voice first.
"I heard from others that the male of those two demi-humans was captured and taken to the mansion of the Dracula noble family, and the female seems to have gotten together with the red-haired guy from Roger's pirate crew again."
"..."
...
Watching the slaves gossip amongst themselves, Xu Daming silently gave them a thumbs up, even though he wasn't unfamiliar with these kinds of gossip...
"I, Su Yao, am in deep trouble! I've suddenly become a heinous criminal, a villain worthy of countless sins. How is this even worse than Lu Yi's situation..."
He sighed deeply, carefully processing the information he had just received.
Xu Daming's pupils dilated suddenly, and he licked his lips: "Wait a minute! Whose residence is that man being escorted to?"
"Dracula, right? I think I'm going to his place too!" Recalling what the soldier had said earlier, he suddenly realized something.
...
"Su Yao hasn't been live streaming. She hasn't done so since the battle at the Sea of Destiny 18 years ago."
"Old Chen really tricked me, I bet I hate humans now."
"Great! To be able to push an entertainment streamer who's just enjoying the scenery to this point, that takes real skill (thumbs up)!"
"I guess we'll just play battle royale again. After all, I'm a criminal now, and I definitely can't go back to Atlantis (facepalm)!"
...
As the live stream chat buzzed with heated discussions, Xu Daming gradually made up his mind.
If we want to rebel, the orcs alone won't be enough; we definitely need to add the merfolk. We don't have enough intelligence yet…
The only saving grace is that we've arrived in the southern part of the human realm, where the tolerance for orc slaves is relatively good. If we went to the north, we might as well just die.
As he pondered, a massive ship swept through the sea fog, gradually approaching him.
A middle-aged man with red hair slowly placed his hand on the sword at his waist on the bow of the ship.
"Sizzle..."
A violent purple arc of electricity spread out instantly, and an aura unique to an 8th-tier archmage pressed down, causing the entire sea to fall silent.
This awe-inspiring aura instantly awakened everyone on the ship. The lookout on the high ground seemed to have discovered something, and his legs went weak, causing him to collapse to the ground.
"Red... Red-haired... Could it be the one from Roger's Pirates...?" He rubbed his eyes hard and then slapped himself hard.
"Oh no! Pirates! Isn't this a restricted area?! Why are there pirates here?!"
The remaining sailors reacted quickly, turning the 36 cannons on the ship around and watching the approaching vessel warily.
"Quickly, get moving! Fire a signal flare to notify the nearest navy! Everyone get into position!" The one-eyed man who came out of the captain's cabin ignored this and roared angrily while carrying a large machete.
"bump--!"
As a dazzling fireball rose into the sky, the dark sky coalesced into a unique distress signal under the firelight.
Moments later, as the sparks fell back onto the sea, the naval fleet arrived and began to surround and attack the approaching ship.
"boom--!"
The red-haired middle-aged man lightly lifted his thumb, and the moment the blade was drawn, the overflowing fire and lightning magic instantly combined into a scarlet arc of electricity.
"Smack!..."
With a deafening roar of thunder, hundreds of naval ships were instantly reduced to charcoal, and the entire sea was engulfed in flames...
"thump..."
The one-eyed captain, holding binoculars, plopped down on the deck, his forehead and back already covered in cold sweat.
His eyes widened, his hands trembling as he pointed forward, shaking his head in disbelief: "Magic projection?! A Grand Magus! This guy is..."
"Red-haired...it's that guy?!"
Seeing the newcomer's striking red short hair and the unparalleled power in his sharp, hawk-like eyes, he recognized him.
"Red-Haired Shanks! The brat from the Pirate King's ship back in the day..."