Wolves of Hader

Chapter 101

The resumed voyage went very smoothly.

During this journey, I developed a new habit.

Previously, I used to stand at the bow and gaze at the horizon, but now I found myself standing at the stern, watching the white wake trailing behind.

The image of Eilin at the port as the ship sailed away would not leave my mind.

She had stood there, just watching until the ship disappeared from sight.

Since that day, I often went to the back of the ship.

That's how I realized it—not only was the view of the sea from the bow beautiful, but the waves we created were also quite breathtaking.

Eilin couldn't join us this time, but I promised myself she should come along at least once.

The divinity of her sword could heal the souls trapped on Little Devil Island.

Behind our ship, a pirate ship was following.

We deliberately left pirate flags flying on both ships.

Both bore the flag of the Red Beard Pirates.

"Aren't you sending that ship separately?"

"It's coming with us."

"Well, if there are warriors aboard that ship, there shouldn't be a problem."

As Urald said, if we encountered pirates, I planned to put Berserkers on that ship.

After all, if we seized pirate ships, we'd need some crew to run them.

"The volcanic archipelago is in sight!"

Hearing the shout, I headed to the bow.

Countless islands dotted the distant sea.

Among them, a large island was spewing a lot of smoke—that was the Red Beard Pirates' stronghold.

It was just before sunset, so the timing was right.

If all went well, we might even slip into their base without being noticed.

There were plenty of islands around to hide our ship.

"We're going around to the back of their base!"

"Head east!"

"Open the gunports! Extinguish all lights!"

Sailors bustled about.

We readied for battle because we could run into the pirates on our approach to the volcanic archipelago—even though no ships were in sight.

I'd heard the Red Beard Pirates mostly preyed on Tern trade ships, so they didn't come out to the eastern side of the archipelago.

The trading ships usually sailed on the far western seas.

We entered the volcanic archipelago at sunset.

The area was littered with reefs, making it dangerous to go deep, so we hid our ship by a large nearby island.

There was no response from the direction of the pirate base.

Maybe it was too dark, or perhaps they thought we were a pirate ship.

In any case, the stronghold area was brightly lit.

A short while later, both ships tied up side by side.

"Hans! Cross over with two men."

"Yes, sir!"

"The rest of the team, stay and guard this ship."

"Yes!"

Hans and two crewmen placed a ladder between the ships and crossed over.

Donnie and I disguised ourselves as pirates—well enough to be accepted even by ex-pirates.

"Urald. If you get caught, circle the outskirts of the archipelago and lure them out. Keep the gunports aimed at the islands so you can fire as soon as a pirate ship appears!"

"Understood. What do we do about pirates who went farther out?"

"When we send out a trade ship, this ship will escort it—on the way out and when we return, we'll stop here twice. For now, we just need to catch Red Beard."

"Got it! That should be enough!"

The landing craft was lowered.

At that moment, Allen came running up.

"Hey! Let me go with you!"

"No. You stand out too much!"

"But aren't there Dran pirates too?"

"Why would Dran become a pirate?"

"Then let's just say I was the first."

Without waiting for permission, the guy jumped onto the landing craft.

Donnie shouted, "What do you think you're doing!"

"Let me come with you. I'm just bored."

"Are you trying to mess up our plan? Get back on the ship!"

"I'm not ruining anything. Dran could be a pirate, too."

"Get back up while I'm being nice."

I stepped in. "Captain Donnie, let's just go."

"If a Dran's with us, we'll be made immediately. Besides, he doesn't even look like a pirate."

"Let's just try it. I think Allen might be useful."

We rowed out.

It was quite a distance to the main base by landing craft.

Nearly two hours passed.

Reaching the darkened shore of the stronghold island, we tied up the landing craft with a rope.

There was a sizable village constructed on the island, and curiously, no sentries were stationed on the shore.

It wasn't only pirates living here.

There seemed to be ordinary residents as well, plus taverns and inns.

I even spotted a decent-looking castle in the middle of the island.

"Hang on. I need a disguise too."

Allen wandered off to a nearby hut, swiped some hanging laundry, and changed clothes immediately.

Since he wore an adult man's outfit, he had to roll up the sleeves and pants quite a bit.

The rest fit his muscular frame well enough.

"How do I look? Do I seem like a pirate?"

"You stay here a while. If you come with us, you'll ruin everything."

"Fine."

Allen snorted and headed alone into the hills.

We went straight to the village.

Even if he got spotted, he wouldn't be caught.

The village was utter chaos.

The ground was a muddy mess, filth and waste scattered everywhere.

Corpses had been left lying on the streets.

Some pirates brandished knives, rioting, while others dangled people upside down over bonfires for amusement.

The residents were all skin and bones.

"They aren't residents—they're hostages."

Donnie was right.

The huts we'd passed weren't homes for locals but for kidnapped people—the crews of plundered ships or passenger vessel guests.

No one seemed suspicious of us.

It wasn't because we looked like pirates, but simply because no one cared.

Everyone here was struggling to fill their bellies.

"Spit it out right now, you brat!"

A boy was being severely beaten by a vendor after being caught stealing an apple.

Even as his head was stomped underfoot, he did not let go of the apple.

There were quite a few children on this island. They were born to kidnapped women—illegitimate offspring who, in a few years, would become pirates themselves.

It seemed eliminating pirates wouldn't be easy.

"Getting rid of the ships won't end it."

"We have to change the whole island."

"But will it really change?"

I couldn't be sure either.

We could not save everyone on this island. Pirate ships would appear again soon enough.

"Looks like there's beer for sale."

"You think it's safe?"

"What's there to worry about?"

There was a tavern made from logs.

Inside, it looked just like a Western saloon—with a bar and customers to match.

A few rough-looking men stared at us.

All the attention focused on us and the place fell silent.

We were strangers, after all.

Behind the bar was a fat proprietress.

Anyone who had to deal with drunken pirates all day had to be tough.

"Welcome. What can I get for you?"

"Do you have beer?"

"Got money?"

I set two silver coins on the bar.

The proprietress's face lit up and she snatched the coins away.

Pirate eyes gleamed with greed.

Splash, splash, splash—

Beer poured out heartily, and a huge wooden mug landed on the bar with a thunk.

"It should taste good. I'm a decent brewer, you know. So, where are you gentlemen from?"

I took a sip.

It was lukewarm, but tasted pretty good.

The proprietress folded her arms and eyed us.

Behind us, the pirates watched in slouched poses—they looked more like vagrants than pirates.

On my third sip, one pirate, clearly unable to bear it anymore, stood up and slunk our way. The proprietress intercepted him.

"Hey, merlo. Back to your seat."

"What'd I do?"

"If you bother my customers, I'll slit your throat. Just sit down and drink."

At her icy words, the scrawny pirate wilted.

Still, he loitered behind me, and the proprietress quietly picked up an axe.

"Can you hear me? Want me to chop your head off and hang it by the door, like your friend's?"

"Ha ha, why are you picking on me?"

"Pay your overdue tab!"

A rotten tomato flew into the pirate's face.

He looked about to snap, but took another tomato and—with curses—returned to his seat.

None of the pirates laughed.

They were all thinking the same thing.

They might not know who we were, but whoever mugged us first would keep the winnings.

When we left, they'd all follow.

The proprietress spoke.

"Gentlemen."

"Yes?"

"There's a small room here—why not stay the night? If you leave now, you'll lose your limbs."

"We'll be leaving soon."

"What a shame. Where are you from, by the way?"

The pirates listened in.

I was here to make my presence known, anyway.

"We're from the Hader House of the Kadena empire."

"Empire?"

"The empire?"

The proprietress's eyes sparkled with interest, and the pirates drew back a little.

All pirates feared the imperial fleet, but to them, gold in front of their noses was more important.

"Hey! Why are imperial men here?"

"Yeah! How did you get in?"

The proprietress waved her hand and asked,

"What brings imperial men here?"

I smiled at her.

"To cut off the pirates' lifelines."

"What?"

"What did he just say?"

"He says he's here to cut off our income."

"Just the two of them? Hahaha!"

"Hahahahahahaha!"

Laughter exploded in the tavern.

I asked the proprietress, "Where is Red Beard?"

The tavern went silent again.

Instead, swords rasped out of their sheaths all around me.

Had I just touched on something forbidden?

The proprietress didn't care.

"So, you want to meet him?"

"I thought I'd have a cup of tea with him."

"He's always in the castle—go ahead and find him."

"I just have a few questions."

"As many as you want."

All the pirates had stood up at some point.

I looked at them and asked, "How many pirates are here?"

"Do you mean including these drunken fools, or only the real sailors?"

"Are these men not pirates?"

"Half were kicked out of piracy; half have never sailed. They just drink themselves to death or get stabbed—they live and die like this."

Seems that's what passes as a good life for them.

The men snickered.

"How many real pirates are there?"

"Maybe not even five hundred. Lately, since work's been bad, big ships hold 60, small ones 30, I hear."

"If you have too many, there's less loot to go around!"

"Have you ever sailed a ship, you fool?"

"Haha!"

You'd never guess they'd threatened us moments ago.

The Red Beard Pirates had ten ships.

Four big ones. Six small ones.

The pirate ship we seized was a small one.

I asked again, "Surely the pirates don't share their loot with everyone. How do the rest of the people survive?"

"This is a pirate village, but nothing's missing here. We brew liquor, make knives and clothes, and sell to the pirates. These bums just drink and idle away."

"Without villagers, pirates would be in trouble too."

"Where else would they get food? They have to eat what we grow. The women live pitifully—look at their husbands, just like these men."

I hadn't seen any women on my way in.

They must have been busy—farming corn, raising pigs, making clothes.

"How many residents are there?"

"Less than a thousand, altogether. I don't know how many fishermen there are. Maybe around three hundred women? The rest are just kids or lazy men."

"The real pirates must live in the castle."

"That's right. They don't come to this filthy dump—say it smells. That's why the kids all dream of boarding a pirate ship. When they're older, they'll live like this lot."

I spoke quietly, borrowing the proprietress's ear.

"Is there anyone here who's skilled in a fight and trustworthy?"

"You mean a pirate?"

"Better if not a pirate."

"Well... there might be a few."

She hesitated, then said,

"There's a mercenary who was kidnapped here seven years ago. He was a mercenary on a trade ship, and now he makes a living fishing. I hear he used to be a knight from a ruined southern kingdom."

This was the person who could change the island.

I'd wondered if there'd be any like-minded people—and there was.

In fact, I'd thought of leaving Allen behind on this island.

"Where is this mercenary?"

"There's a fishing village on the west coast. But what do you want with him?"

"You'd like to see this village prosper, wouldn't you?"

"Of course, but..."

"Then support us. We'll drive the pirates out and make this archipelago the base for our merchant guild."

The proprietress stared at me, dumbfounded.

I got up and left the tavern.

Pirates tailed after us.

We headed straight west.

This volcanic archipelago, now shrouded in darkness.

I was now the true master of this archipelago.