Chapter 124. Skywater Island
The supply island is called Skywater Island.
Charles stared at the crudely drawn island layout plan before him, courtesy of Kevin.
Due to his status as a slave, he had been locked up in a cage ever since he stepped foot on Skywater Island. As such, he didn't have much useful intelligence to offer. Regardless, little information was still better than none.
He learned that the island, which was half the size of the Coral Archipelago, had been completely occupied by the pirates.
The landmass was shaped like a crab, and the dock was situated right between the island's two pincers. The name Skywater originated from the fact that freshwater flowed down from the sky.
On top of that, there were many pirates on the island. From the moment he alighted the ship up till he was sent into his cage, Kevin had seen at least thousands of them.
They were no mere commoners but pirates skilled at plundering ships. Basically, every single one of them could contribute significantly to a battle.
Charles didn't believe in the off chance that none of those pirates was more powerful than him. It would be a difficult battle, but in the face of such a perilous situation, Charles felt more calm than he initially expected.
At the very least, in comparison to those bizarre and unpredictable unexplored islands, their enemies on Skywater Island were just fellow humans.
No matter how powerful their mortal enemies were, they were still much easier to deal with than unpredictable creatures.
They could at least communicate with each other as well.
The door swung open with a loud clank as Dipp barged into the room. Looking slightly embarrassed, he scratched his nape and said, "Captain, the slave committed suicide..."
"What?! Didn't I pass down the instructions not to let him know that the Shadow Island has sunk?"
Avoiding Charles' gaze, Dipp defended himself with a look of grievance. "I don't know which asshole leaked it out! If I find out which big-mouthed bastard it was, I'll make him wash the toilet for a month!!"
Charles let out a helpless sigh. "Get Doctor to take a look and see if he can be saved."
"Definitely can’t be saved. His brain juices are scattered all over the floor. He suddenly snatched Carre's large-caliber flintlock and shot himself in the forehead. He was too fast and was determined to die." Dipp shrugged.
"Then get the sailors to hold a simple funeral for him and bury him in the sea," Charles said and gestured for Dipp to leave the room.
Charles wouldn't say he felt sad over Kevin's death; it hadn’t been that long since they met, after all. However, he felt a tinge of sympathy for the man. And he felt especially so when he recalled how Kevin talked excitedly about his children, whom he hadn't seen in years when he got on the Narwhale.
However, this was Kevin's choice, and he was in no position to judge others' decisions. Clearing his thoughts, Charles placed his attention back on the crude map on the table before him.
The island was extremely dangerous, but it wasn't as if Charles didn't stand a chance. After all, conquering the island was not his goal; he just needed to get enough fresh water and fuel.
Food was also scarce, but it was not essential for them to resupply it on Skywater Island. After all, their entire fleet was composed of exploration vessels, and the crew could easily handle most creatures in the water. They could certainly get by by catching fish from the sea.
Even if anyone got scurvy due to the lack of vitamins, they could endure for a short period of time. Everything would be resolved once they reached the Land of Light.
Fresh water and fuel might sound like simple objects, but finding them was a challenge. Seventeen ships needed a significant amount of them. It was absolutely impossible for them to just barge in through the island's port and grab the supplies.
They needed to pinpoint the location of the freshwater and where the fuel was stored.
As he looked back at the simple map before him, Charles felt a throbbing headache. Finding things based on this map was indeed difficult.
"It seems like we still need to send people to infiltrate the island and gather intelligence..." Charles mumbled to himself.
Half an hour later, a meeting was convened on the Narwhale once again. The captains gathered and listened to Charles as he explained the next step of the plan.
"That's the specific circumstances. We need to form a small team and infiltrate the so-called Skywater Island and find out the exact location of the fresh water and fuel. Do you have any crew members to recommend for this mission?"
"Me! I'm in!" As per Charles' expectation, Feuerbach was the first to volunteer.
"I'm a good swimmer, and I know some tricks to control the water flow. If you bring me along, I can help everyone sneak in by going underwater," Feuerbach continued.
Although Charles had no idea why Feuerbach was so enthusiastic, he readily agreed for the latter to join in.
"Alright, you are in. Who else?" Charles looked at the other captains.
"I have a sharpshooter on my team with a hundred percent hit rate. Do you need someone like that?" one captain asked.
"I can join. My ability is hard to describe, but according to the warships' ranking, I'm considered Level 4."
"My woman has the Charm ability and can extract information from the pirates."
The captains were quick to offer their services or nominate a crew member. After all, this mission concerned everyone's lives. The absence of one of their own in the reconnaissance team left them with little faith in the intelligence that would be collected.
Soon, Charles confirmed the lineup of the reconnaissance team: himself, Lily, a Divine Light Order disciple with a relic that granted brief invisibility, a woman who could charm others, and finally, Feuerbach.
Since it was an information-gathering mission, the fewer people, the better. Each selected individual also had abilities that could be utilized for the task.
They certainly couldn't steer seventeen ships in broad lighthouse light. As a lighthouse beam swept overhead, Charles instructed the team to get on board a small wooden boat.
"According to the plan, I'll be back in a day. I'll leave the fleet to you."
"Go ahead, I'll hold the fort here," Kord said with a serious expression as he stood on the deck.
For the first time, the alliance between both of them seemed truly solid.
When the wooden boat carrying four people and a bunch of mice was placed onto the water's surface, the Divine Light Order disciple by the name of Ritchie skillfully operated the gear-filled machine at the boat's rear.
The bow of the boat slightly lifted, and the rapidly spinning propeller pushed them toward the lighthouse.
A solemn look settled on Charles' visage. However, Feuerbach seemed not even the least bit pressured. He leaned closer with a warm smile plastered to his face.
"Mr. Charles, can I ask you a question? Which island are you from? Is it one of the islands in the Northern Seas?"
"I don't know what you're trying to dig out, but now's not the time for that!"
Chastised by Charles, Feuerbach flashed a sheepish smile. He then turned to the woman wearing a black leather jacket. "Hey, pretty~ You are so beautiful. If possible, I would love to wake up next to you in the morning."
Charles couldn't be bothered by Feuerbach's nonsense. His eyes remained fixed on the blurry lighthouse in the distance.
As the distance slowly closed, the vague outline of an island appeared before them. They also noticed the sparse number of ships entering and leaving the port.
Apart from the specks of lights on the island, the one thing that caught Charles' attention the most was the various white streaks descending from the sky—it was fresh water falling from above.
"Looking at the flow, there’s probably a large lake above!" Richard made a sudden remark in Charles' mind.
Just as Charles was about to retort in annoyance, a blinding beam of light swiftly swept toward them from the side. It was a searchlight from another ship!
Visit freewe𝑏no(v)el.𝘤𝑜𝓂 for the best novel reading experience