"Captain, what should we do?"
On the merchant ship, everyone was a little panicked when they learned that the attacking pirate crew was the Dominic Pirates.
"Should we run?" Jozel stared at the captain and asked.
The captain shook his head and said, "Let's not. It won't be like last time. We tried to escape, and Dominic brought his men aboard and killed two people. It's better not to provoke them."
If pirates are spotted early, there's a good chance of evading them if they steer clear in time.
Even if a pirate crew catches up, as long as negotiations are handled promptly, most of the time, no one gets killed.
If murder occurs, the Marines will be notified, and the pirates are more likely to be listed as wanted criminals. Their bounties will increase, and they might even be actively hunted.
However, if it's just a robbery, it's often a case of "better safe than sorry." The merchant association will simply file a report, and the pirates won't be taken seriously.
Therefore, facing the brutal Dominic Pirates, the merchant association had no intention of leaving.
"Then let's just hand over the cargo. It looks like we'll be losing some money again this time."
Jozel said regretfully, then turned to Marcel and said, "Marcel, you go into the cabin."
"I, I'm not scared," Marcel said loudly.
"This isn't about being scared or not."
Jozel rubbed his head and said, "You'll be sad when you see them."
Marcel shook his head and said seriously, "I won't be sad anymore. I'll remember their faces, and someday, I'll kill them to avenge my parents."
"Alright then, but you need to stand far away. Don't get too close to them."
Jozel sighed, gave a reminder, and pulled Marcel to a distance.
The merchant ship lowered its sails, no longer attempting to flee.
Before long, the Dominic Pirates arrived nearby. The pirates on their ship brandished their blades, their faces fierce, and they made strange noises.
Bang.
The pirate ship crashed diagonally into the merchant ship. The pirates leaped onto the merchant ship one by one. Finally, an extremely obese man, with his knees slightly bent, jumped aboard.
Thud.
His body landed on the deck with a dull thud.
This was Dominic, the leader of the Dominic Pirates. He was obese, fierce-looking, wore a vest with three knife scars on his chest, and held a huge saber in his right hand.
Behind him, two men followed closely onto the merchant ship.
One of them was tall and thin with a mohawk and an extremely ugly horse-like face, carrying two samurai swords at his waist.
The other was burly, holding a flintlock pistol in his right hand.
The arrival of these three caused the surrounding pirates to make way.
"It's you?"
Dominic saw the captain, raised an eyebrow, and burst into laughter. "What a coincidence. I met you half a month ago. Since you have experience, just bring out the cargo and hand it over to me."
"Lord Dominic, you see, the frequency is too short. Can you be merciful and let us go? You robbed us last time, and everyone was punished by the merchant association. If you rob us of our money and goods again this time, I, we really won't be able to sustain ourselves." The captain stepped forward, his face ashen, and said.
Dominic narrowed his eyes and said, "Are you saying you want us to have come for nothing?"
"We wouldn't dare."
The captain quickly said, "Lord Dominic, we hope you'll leave the goods for us. We are willing to offer the reward we collected this time."
"Stop the nonsense."
The tall, thin man couldn't help but say, drawing a sword and staring at the captain, "We want the money, and we want the goods too."
"Leo."
Dominic heard this, patted his subordinate, and after a moment of silence, said, "We robbed you half a month ago. This time, if we rob you too much, hand over the money you have on you, and I'll let you go. Oh, and the alcohol, give us the alcohol you brought."
"Okay, thank you, Lord Dominic."
The captain heard this, knowing it was the best outcome, and quickly had everyone take out their money and hand it over to Dominic.
"Too little."
Leo frowned, but Dominic waved his hand and said with a smile, "Forget it, it's not easy for them."
"Someone, bring the alcohol to Lord Dominic."
The captain arranged for people to bring four or five boxes of alcohol from the cargo hold and place them on the deck.
"Good, take it back."
Dominic looked at the alcohol, nodded, and had the pirates behind him carry it back to the pirate ship.
"Then we're leaving."
Dominic waved his hand, and the remaining pirates retreated back to their ship.
Dominic walked to the side of the ship, and just as he was about to leave, he said softly, "Little one, why are you looking at me so fiercely?"
As he spoke, the gunman raised his flintlock pistol and aimed it at Marcel in the distance.
When he heard this, Marcel, who was in the distance, froze. Qiao Ze quickly shielded his body.
"I apologize, Lord Dominic, he's just a child. I hope you can forgive him," the captain said quickly.
"Hmph."
Dominic snorted coldly, waved his hand, and turned to board the pirate ship.
Leo and the gunman boarded the ship, and the pirate ship set sail, slowly departing.
"Marcel."
The captain stared coldly at the boy in the distance and said, "Do you know you almost died?"
"Y-yes, I'm sorry."
Marcel lowered his head, his eyes red.
"Your actions could have endangered everyone else."
The captain said angrily, but then he remembered that his father had been killed by Dominic right in front of him on this very ship. He sighed and said, "Marcel, you need to control yourself. Never reveal your hatred to the enemy."
"I understand."
Marcel nodded, wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. Qiao Ze, standing beside him, rubbed his head.
...
"We didn't get much this time," Leo said with dissatisfaction on the pirate ship.
"Boss, why did you let them go this time? The ship was riding deep in the water, so there must have been a lot of valuable cargo. Why didn't we just take it?" the gunman also asked.
"Let them go? Johnson, I didn't let them go." Dominic sneered.
Leo's eyes lit up, and he asked, "What do you mean, Boss?"
Dominic said, "I ask you, what's the use of us taking the cargo? Most of it is daily necessities, and there's a lot of it. We can't use it all, nor can we sell it. It would just be a waste to keep it. What's the point of taking it?"
Johnson thought for a moment and said, "Last time, we sold the cargo at a discount to a black market merchant in the Goa Kingdom, and we got very little money in return."
"So we wait for them to convert it into money and then rob them?" Leo asked excitedly.
Dominic nodded and said, "Anyway, we know the location of the Shining Gold Merchant Association and where they are going. In about seven or eight days, we'll ambush them and take all the money."
"Brilliant, Boss," Leo flattered him.
"They actually believed you, Boss. They're such fools," Johnson said with a laugh.
"And another thing!"
Dominic's face turned grim. "Next time we see them, kill that brat. I don't like being looked at like that."
As Dominic spoke, a cruel smile spread across his lips.
But just then, a dark shadow shot rapidly from the water in the distance.
"You are my prey, so you shall stay here."
The black fish approached the pirate ship, its huge head smashing directly into the side of the vessel.
*BOOM.*
A loud crash echoed, followed by a crack as the wooden planks of the hull shattered, leaving a large hole.
...
*Note on Revisions:*
Some readers have asked if fish have eyelids. Fish do not have eyelids, but the protagonist does. In the seventh chapter, the protagonist grew eyelids, primarily to defend against the attacks of small fish, and this setting was maintained.
However, the question made me realize this might be an issue. The protagonist had no environmental reason to grow eyelids, nor was it possible to grow them by eating fish. There was also no real need for them. If they were to grow due to inherent evolutionary genes, it would be redundant.
Therefore, I have removed the description of eyelids and replaced it with the nictitating membrane found in sharks, which can be retracted to protect the eye.
The nictitating membrane is a part of the eyelid. Sharks, amphibians, and humans all have them.
Sharks, amphibians, and creatures similar to kingfishers have nictitating membranes that can close horizontally.
Of course, eyelids will appear again in the future. With the foundation of the nictitating membrane, evolution will be a natural progression.
Thank you to the friend "Dao Zhe Qing Xu" for the generous reward.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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