This was not a good situation. In the world of sailing, there existed an unspoken but widely respected rule: sailors must rescue those in distress at sea. No one could guarantee that they themselves would not encounter storms, shipwrecks, or pirate attacks one day, and the hope of rescue was often the only thing keeping a man alive in the open ocean.
However, the people in front of him clearly did not follow such rules.
These men were engaged in illegal activities, and the probability that they would kill someone and dispose of the body afterward was not low at all. In fact, killing witnesses was almost a certainty.
The captain of this sailboat was obviously a senior figure within the Duolun Chamber of Commerce. Long-term maritime trade had allowed such people to accumulate considerable wealth. Whether this mutiny was caused by years of exploitation, resentment, or whether these men were pirates who had boarded the ship midway and seized control, the outcome was the same.
Not everyone was qualified to use the vaults of the Imperial Central Bank.
Only merchants with large capital circulation could open accounts there. The procedures for withdrawing funds were extremely strict, requiring account numbers, passwords, and physical keys. Although Gordon himself had never possessed such qualifications, he had followed the captain in and out of the central bank vault more than once during past voyages and understood the process very well.
Cassian slowed his breathing and movements, then quietly hid himself behind an inconspicuous pile of hay and debris near the cliff. At present, there was only one way for him to leave this island alive: eliminate these rebels and allow the captain to take him away. This was not something that could be done recklessly. It required patience and calculation.
The captain was no inexperienced youth. He had spent more than twenty years at sea and had weathered countless storms, pirate encounters, and trade disputes. Faced with a life-and-death threat, his face was pale, but his mind remained clear. Once he revealed the account number and password, the most likely outcome would still be death.
"Harvey, I've always treated you well," the captain said slowly. "If you let me go now, we can pretend this never happened. If you're short of money, I can give you plenty."
After hearing this, the men responsible for the kidnapping burst into laughter.
"What do you think we are?" the leader sneered. "Street rats with no brains? Stop joking. The purpose is to seize your ship. Your money belongs to Red Beard. We're not interested in your life. Hand over the account password, and you can wait here for another merchant ship to rescue you. We take the money and disappear. But you seem to think I'm joking."
Without any hesitation, the young man known as Harvey thrust his machete straight into the chest of one of the bound sailors. He wanted to give the naïve captain a proper shock.
The shrill scream pierced the air and shattered the nerves of everyone present. The remaining sailor trembled violently. He understood very well that if the captain continued to remain silent, he would be the next to die.
"Captain, Captain, I beg you," the sailor cried as he kowtowed desperately. "Tell them, or we'll all die!"
The captain clenched his teeth, torn by hesitation. He knew the money did not belong to him alone but to the Duolun Chamber of Commerce. Even if he survived and left this place alive, handing over the funds would still mean being stripped of everything by the Chamber later.
Still, he was gambling.
The ship had not arrived at Cayenne Port on schedule. That delay would surely attract the Chamber's attention. As long as he stayed alive, there was still a chance.
Harvey stared coldly at the captain who remained silent, his patience wearing thin. He was the type who would not shed tears until he saw a coffin. He gave a sharp glance to the pirate beside him.
That pirate gripped his knife and walked behind the sobbing sailor. Covering the man's mouth, he slit his throat in one smooth motion. Blood sprayed across the captain and first mate, and the surroundings fell silent once again.
"This is your last chance," Harvey said coldly. "Your first mate has followed you loyally for twenty years. Can you really bear to watch him die?"
The captain turned his head and looked at the first mate, whose eyes remained steady and resolute. This loyal assistant had managed accounts, negotiated deals, and even handled central bank withdrawals on his behalf countless times. Even now, faced with death, he refused to betray him.
Tears welled up in the captain's eyes. How could he allow such a loyal man to die?
With a heavy sigh, he finally spoke.
"The password is—"
"Captain!" the first mate shouted, interrupting him.
"It's impossible. In the end, there's only death."
Having sailed for over thirty years, the first mate understood pirate methods better than anyone. They always dangled false hope, forced victims to surrender their wealth, and then killed them anyway. No one truly survived.
The British Royal Navy's suppression of piracy had become terrifyingly strict. Any pirate whose name was recorded would be hanged upon capture. Being recorded meant being unable to enter any proper port openly, and even docking in secret required constant disguise to avoid exposure.
To avoid this fate, pirates who seized ships covertly would never allow witnesses to live and report them to the Navy.
Just as the captain's resolve wavered and Harvey was about to succeed, he suddenly raised his machete, intending to kill the talkative first mate.
"What—!"
A piercing scream rang out, and Harvey's machete froze in midair.
That scream… was it one of theirs?
Had Royal Navy soldiers arrived?
Panic flooded his heart. His grip loosened, and for a moment he nearly dropped the machete and ran.
There had originally been four men guarding the captives. Now there were only three.
One had vanished.
"You, go check it out," Harvey barked, pointing at one pirate.
The selected man's legs trembled violently. Out at sea, there were beasts, legends, monsters, even tales of ghosts. A living man disappearing with a scream was enough to terrify anyone.
Seeing his hesitation, Harvey cursed and pointed to another pirate. "You go with him."
Under the cover of grass and trees, Cassian had already ambushed the first man. It was his first time doing something like this, and he had not acted fast enough. The wounded man cried out before collapsing. Startled, Cassian pulled back, gripping the machete tightly, and retreated deeper into the grass.
Fortunately, the body fell behind a rock, blocking the view of the remaining pirates.
He lay low in the grass, waiting for the two men to approach.
This was the first time he had killed someone across both of his memories. Yet perhaps because of the slaughter he had witnessed during the pirate attack earlier, he did not feel overwhelming disgust. Only the violent pounding of his heart betrayed his fear.
He knew he could not face multiple enemies head-on. Only through stealth could he thin their numbers and create a chance to survive.
The two pirates cautiously approached the grass and soon noticed their fallen companion.
Blood flowed from the abdomen, the wound clearly penetrative. There was no doubt now.
An enemy was here.
Before either of them could shout, Cassian lunged forward and slashed at the nearest man's ankle with all his strength.
The machete severed the sole cleanly. The pirate let out a scream so sharp it tore the air apart. The pain overwhelmed him instantly, and he collapsed, completely losing his ability to fight.