Chapter 230
Nine days had passed since the battle began .
The navy fleet’s sudden appearance caused the celebrating pirates to suffer massive losses . It was complete chaos on the beach . Under Black Prince Sam’s persuasion, Brooke and some pirates not too sloshed from the drinking launched a bold counterattack against the navy .
However, their valiant efforts were not enough to alter the final outcome . Brooke and Black Prince Sam each lead their men to not only successfully board a pirate ship but also to employ its artillery against the navy . Alas, their attacks only lasted two rounds before the enemy sank their ships .
Some sailors lost their lives to the sea, and some, like Brook, swam to the shore and escaped into the woods . Not long after, they came across the second group of pirates who also managed to escape . They had brought along with them their other drunk men from the beach as well . Owing to time constraints and with gunfire and explosives raining on them, they only managed to bring less than a fifth of them .
Brook looked around him . Including those who died battle, fewer than a hundred men were left from six pirate ships that sailed together . After nine days of starvation and exposure, the one hundred men were frail and on the verge of death .
Due to the hasty retreat, they brought almost nothing with them . Most of the food and water were on the ship which was now at the bottom of the sea, no thanks to the enemy . Brooke knew very well what the navy planned to do – very soon, they would return, and the final battle will ensue . There was nothing he could do, though . He had lost his ship and was stuck indefinitely on the island .
Despite Parrot Island being rather large, it was devoid of freshwater . For the past few days, the pirates could only quench their thirst by licking off condensation on the rocks, much like mountain goats, or sucking on wet earth . The moisture tasted like mud, and there wasn’t much of it either . Brook’s lips were dry and cracked .
Thankfully, they successfully captured a goat last night . Not only did each of them have a piece of lamb, but they also had a drink of its blood . Though enough to relieve their hunger and thirst by a little, the goat was shared among nearly a hundred people . There was barely enough to go around .
To make matters worse, there were not many goats on the island to start with . Most had already been hunted for the party, and now it was becoming more and more difficult to find any of them . The goat they managed to capture was the only one they came across in two days .
Along with the lack of food and water, they were also short on medicine and ammunition .
They had nearly one hundred men but only twenty long muskets and eight blunderbusses . Even bladed weapons such as daggers and scimitars weren’t enough for every man . Whatever remaining bullets they had were used for hunting, and with no medical supplies, the wounded had to get by with simple tourniquets . It was safe to say that they had reached the absolute point of exhaustion .
Of course, the worst part of it all was the devastating blow to their morale . At this point, none could see the light at the end of the tunnel . In the dark of the night, agonized howls of their wounded comrades could be heard, many of them near the brink of mental breakdown . Some, unable to put up with the terrible conditions, threw themselves into the sea . Nearly every day, someone chose to end their life .
Brook got up from the ground and passed the last piece of lamb to Eric, the Quidah’s helmsman . The man had eaten practically nothing for the past eight days . Sitting motionless under a large, shady tree, there was an emptiness in his eyes, as if his soul had been ripped out of his body .
As he knelt beside Black Prince Sam, the most fearless pirate in all of the Caribbean, he broke down and cried like a child . He hugged his captain’s lifeless body, seemingly forgetting that he was still on the battlefield, reluctant to let go until the Warrior submerged under the water .
Thank goodness, one of the Quidah’s men managed to rescue him just as he was about to drown . When Eric came to, the first thing he did was look for Black Prince Sam’s body . When he realized that the captain’s body had been washed away, he completely shut down .
……
Brook pressed the food onto Eric’s lips, but the helmsman did not respond .
In a hoarse, cracked voice Brook said, “If you don’t try to live now, then you will never be able to avenge him . ”
When the helmsman heard those words, something flashed across his pale, grey face . He finally opened his mouth and whispered in a weak, almost inaudible voice, “Revenge… how will we do it?”
“I don’t know, but if you give up now, then it’s over for all of us, for sure . ”
“You haven’t comforted many people, have you?”
“I’m doing my best, but you insist on dying, I have no problem with that too . After all, in the situation we’re in right now, having one less mouth to feed isn’t completely a bad thing,” Brook shrugged .
“Is there only one ship out there?” asked Eric as he took two bites of the lamb . It wasn’t long before recovered some strength, finally turning his attention to the situation at hand .
“Yes . It seems that Jackdaw managed to get away that night, so the navy sent the others to pursue them . ”
“It’s unbelievable how they could break through the blockade . ”
“I guess it should be considered good news… which is rare these days . Unfortunately, it’s no use for us,” Brook smiled bitterly . “It would be great if we had a boat – whatever kind – at least we’d have some hope . ”
While both of them were talking, the pirate on scout duty suddenly shouted, “There’s a ship over there!”
Brook and Eric looked at each other, knowing right away that when the ships sent out to pursue Jackdaw returned, their reckoning had come .
This meant that there wasn’t much time left . The pirates, however, were surprisingly calm even after knowing they were practically doomed . Their time on the island was only getting harder each day . Compared to the endless torment of waiting for death, they would rather die in battle .
But just as Brook and Eric were rounding up the men for the final battle, the spotter suddenly shouted with a look of disbelief on his face, “Jackdaw! It’s the Jackdaw! She’s back!”
“What??? I thought they were gone?!” Brook could hardly believe that Jackdaw had returned . Being able to escape was already a miracle on its own . Had he been in Zhang Heng’s shoes, he would never have returned to Parrot Island, especially since they had no clue about the situation there . There was no way Brook would’ve returned knowing that they risked coming under siege .
Then, as if to thwart his doubt, Jackdaw’s black flag rose to the top of its mast .
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