48 Hours a Day - Chapter 231

Chapter 231

The pirates were greatly moved when they saw the black flag of Jackdaw flapping in the wind . It had been nine days since they witnessed their bitter defeat right before their very eyes . The navy was happily trampling and burning the black flags they were once so proud of .

The saddest thing of it all was the death of Black Sam, one of the greatest pirates ever known . Swordfish, Quidah, and Warrior had been sunk by the navy-pirate-hunter collaboration, and those still breathing were now screaming and crying out for help . However, the navy had no intention to grant them any mercy . The pirates on the beach were forced to watch as their enemies brutally slaughtered their helpless allies . This whole incident left the pirates a deep scar, a memory that would remain with them till the very ends of their lives .

This was one of the largest defeats that Nassau’s pirates ever suffered . For that reason, the atmosphere on the island was one filled with despair and anxiety . Those tough men who braved countless battles had now lost all hope . Whenever they saw anybody wearing red, they would drown in fear, hiding for dear life . Until they saw Jackdaw again, the black flag on her mast was sending the navy a message . The great oceans belonged to no country or person . It would take the side of warriors bold enough to seek freedom .

Worden and his men surrounded the pirates, killing them one by one . Of course, he wouldn’t repeat the same mistake, which was why he docked his ship outside the harbor . The spot was sufficient to monitor the pirates’ movements and, at the same time, a good one to defend themselves from incoming threats . The moment Jackdaw appeared near Parrot Island, the sailors quickly informed their captain of their sighting .

Chris put down his monocular and found it hard to believe that Jackdaw had the nerve to return to Parrot Island . She just wouldn’t quit .

“How… how is this even possible? Why would they come back here?!”

In fact, Chris wasn’t supportive of this whole pirate-hunting plan . He didn’t mind staying alone on Parrot Island to keep an eye on the pirates, confident that no threat would come to him . Thanks to the awful weather that greeted them, Chris figured that it must have brought Jackdaw down to an underwater grave . However, Worden wanted to make sure that all pirates were dead . This was his stand, and nothing could make him change his mind .

Since they had literally nothing to do during their stay on Parrot Island, they figured that it would have been a better use of time to search for Jackdaw . Even if all they found were the ship’s remains, they would still be awarded merits . That was why no one went against the idea in the end .

Chris was baffled, wondering how Jackdaw could actually survive the storm and dodge the ships searching for them . He also noticed that it looked different compared to when it left the island . It appeared that they had it all in for a good fight .

“They got lucky and managed to run the last time . Since they are here now, let’s make sure that they never get to leave this place! Raise the mainsails! It’s time to go and greet them,” growled Worden in a deep voice .

“Yes, sir . ”

Chris was ashamed of himself as he felt panic grip him the moment he saw Jackdaw coming for Parrot Island . Being part of the Royal Navy, this wasn’t the time for them to step back . Though Jackdaw was also a battleship with equal firepower, the navy wasn’t supposed to be afraid of a band of pirates . At the same time, Billy kept his eyes glued at the enemy’s movement . He spoke up when he saw that Kent was on the move .

“The Ford guy wasn’t lying . He was right about their commander’s arrogance . ”

“Considering the feats he achieved in battle, I would say he has all the right in the world to be haughty . I heard that pirates are almost nonexistent in the places he swore to protect . ”

“Why?” asked Harry .

“Because he hung all of them,” replied Zhang Heng .

When Harry heard that, he was frozen in shock and fear . Despite that, he still did his best and squeezed out a smile to show he wasn’t afraid of the commander . Anne knew Harry very well, and no matter how good his acting was, she knew he was almost scared to death . She couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him . Whenever a battle was near, he would pester her to allow hin to join . Now that his wish had come true, fear had gotten the better out of him . Anne was annoyed by his immature antics, and she wasn’t bothered to entertain him .

“Let’s prepare for battle . Remember, we don’t have as much ammunition as them . We will only fire our cannons when we are very, very close to the enemy . ”

“Understood,” nodded Billy .

“How are the cannoneers? Are they ready to put up a hard fight?”

“They are in position . We can begin out attack any time now . ”

Through Ford’s descriptions of his Worden, Zhang Heng understood the commander better now . He wanted to learn the man’s routines and tactics .

Worden was considered one of the most hardened navy officers in the fleet; his strategies just as ruthless as his character was . He enjoyed engaging his enemies at close quarters, where according to him, was the rawest method to test someone’s courage in battle . No fancy outmaneuvering here; only one true warrior would prevail at the end, with the other meeting their demise .

This was precisely what Zhang Heng planned to do . Right now, Kent had more ammunition than Jackdaw . If Worden decided to test them with a few rounds, Zhang Heng would be at a disadvantage since they couldn’t fire in return . Nevertheless, his problem seemed to have sorted itself with Worden wanting to get up close and personal .

Worden had his reasons for would choosing such a risky tactic . Other than his skillful brigade of cannoneers, his gunmen were all well-trained marksmen as well . They would join the battle once their adversary was around forty meters away . With the overwhelming firepower, he would usually be able to pressure their enemies into submission or submersion . After dealing enough damage and taking charge of the situation, he would then declare victory . That explained his extremely high win rate .

Throughout his long and eventful navy career, Worden had only lost two battles before . One was to a French battleship that had almost double the number of his cannons . The other was because of an enemy ambush . This time, he knew that Jackdaw was once a corvette that belonged to the navy . He also knew that it was all alone . Accordingly, both ships held on from firing until they were fifty meters from each other . Then, they turned at the same time and took aim with their side cannons .

Zhang Heng was the first to act . He instantly found the right window and ordered his cannoneers to fire . The swift and powerful assault dealt some good damage to Kent . In times like these, the exceptional quality of Kent’s sailors was on display . Not only did they remain calm, but the first thing they did was to get their wounded to sickbay . The rest continued working the cannons without so much as a flinch . Like a well-oiled machine, the crew ticked like clockwork .

At the same time, Worden’s trusted gunmen could finally be put to good use . Along with Chris’s order, the gunmen in red fired at Jackdaw! To their surprise, the pirates were ready for them . Having brought a shipment of planks salvaged from Miranda, they used it as a makeshift armor to repel the bullets .

Once the gunfire died down, the pirates emerged from their shield and started to fire back . It didn’t matter who took the helm right now . Zhang Heng relieved himself as helmsman and passed the position to one of the pirates . Then, he pulled out his weapon and jumped into battle! This was the best time to showcase his Lv . 2 shooting skill . For this fight, he had prepared a total of six guns for himself . There were also three people standing behind him, helping him to reload those guns .

Within a matter of three minutes, Zhang Heng managed to exterminate all the gunmen on the watchtower . Apart from that, he killed two officers as well . Unfortunately, Worden was cautious enough not to show up after noticing that his men were getting picked off, one after the other .