Chapter 58. Dealing Once More
The ship's horn sounded as the larger steamboat approached the Narwhale.
Spotting the white triangle emblem on the ship's hull, Charles had no doubt of the identity of the newcomers.
Not long after, a wooden plank was set between both ships. Kord scampered across the wooden plank with a tense expression on his face.
"Where's the nautical chart? Did you find it!" Kord asked, his voice held a hint of anticipation.
A crazed look of joy blossomed on his face the moment he saw Charles nod in affirmation.
"All glory to the Sun God. We finally found the Land of Light after so many years! Quick! Let me have a look."
Charles remained silent as he stared at the agitated old man before him. He had no intention of retrieving the nautical chart.
"Captain Charles! What are you doing standing there? Hurry and bring the sea chart!" Kord's voice wavered with growing urgency.
"What rights do you have to look at it?" Charles snapped. "Your men didn't act that night and that was why Jerald failed that quickly. Actually, you lied, didn't you? Your plan all along was to have us risk our lives for you. If we succeeded, great. If we failed, you'd lose nothing as well. How scheming."
Kord's expression flickered between a few emotions before he let out a defeated sigh. "I really sent my men. You've got to believe me."
"Do I look like a fool to you? One of my men happened to be a vampire, and I especially instructed him to morph into a bat that day and keep an eye on Sottom from up above that day. Even up till the end of the operation, he saw no Divine Light Order followers!"
Disdain filled Charles' eyes as he glared at Kord. He had considered the off chance that Jerald might back out of the plan. But to his surprise, it was Jerald who fought till his death, and Kord had chosen inaction. He should have known better than to trust this religious hypocrite.
"Are you going to give the map to me or not!" Kord's amicable facade disappeared and was replaced with a fierce snarl.
"Hah. Are you gonna fight me for it?" Charles raised an index finger. His helmsman Bandages saw the signal and immediately sounded the horn. The entire crew of the Narwhale emerged with their weapons brandished.
The atmosphere was instantly thick with tension. The gunners on both ships immediately swiveled their cannons toward the other vessel while the Divine Light Order followers also drew their weapons in response.
"I might have suffered heavy injuries, but I still have enough in me to kill you." Charles declared as he took off his captain's coat. The Dark Blade that was hidden in his boot had already appeared in his grasp.
Kord's expression went through a myriad of changes before he let out a sigh of resignation. "My men obviously disguised themselves! If they had paraded in the open, our Order wouldn't be able to stay in Sottom anymore! What do you want for you to give me the nautical chart?"
"Simple. Compensate me for my losses. Because of you, I almost died in Sottom," Charles retorted.
Kord waved his hand to signal to the cannons behind him to reorient themselves.
"What do you want?" Kord asked. "Relics? Echo? A special skill to enhance your combat power?"
"Help me kill Sonny," Charles stated.
"Are you nuts! He's a fellow believer! How am I supposed to help you?" Kord shouted.
"Please. Don't act as if you two are close. You said that you're of the new doctrine, and he's of the old. You two barely know each other. Moreover, he even requested for me to kill you back when I was still at the Coral Archipelago." Charles scoffed in response.
"Fine! I agree! Let me have a look at the nautical chart first!" Kord's face was flushed with desperation.
Charles looked at him with an amused expression. He had been tricked by this old man once, and he had no intention of falling for it again.
"If you don't show me the map now, how would I know if you are deceiving me? Perhaps you hadn't even found the map in the first place?" Kord roared in frustration.
Charles couldn't be bothered to argue with the old man. He turned and walked toward his resting quarters. "Bring me Sonny's head. Else, you can forget about getting the nautical chart from me. Of course, you can also try to snatch it, but we'll see if you are faster at stealing it, or I'm faster at destroying it."
Inside his cabin, Charles listened as the sound of waves gradually faded into the distance. The corners of his lips lifted into a smile. Kord had silently consented to his terms.
The ambush by Sonny was like a thorn in Charles' heart that he couldn't let go of. Since Sonny had the guts to ambush him, then he had every right to repay the same in multifold.
"Bro, that was the perfect opportunity to blackmail him for a huge sum of Echo! What a lousy deal."
Hearing Charlie's voice in his mind, Charles shook his head. "No. Sonny must die. After this, it's a crucial period where we search for the entrance to the surface world. If he remains alive, he will mess with our plans sooner or later."
"Moreover," Charles paused briefly as he turned his gaze toward the young girl who had just entered the room. "As long as it's true, we won't face any financial issues."
Charles then started to undress. His sudden action startled Margaret, and she was ready to run out of the room. However, the thought of the sailors' lascivious glare left her in a dilemma with her hand frozen on the door latch.
"Don't just stand there. Come over and help me to apply this ointment," Charles instructed.
Hearing Charles' words, Margaret shakily moved toward him. When she saw the extensive wound stretching across his back, she gasped aloud.
Blood was seeping from the wound, forcefully riveted together with metal rivets. The criss-cross pattern of gashes and rivets covered almost his whole back in a hideous sight.
Margaret couldn't fathom the level of pain Charles had to deal with from these serious injuries. She felt that even if just one of them were inflicted on her body, she would surely die of the pain.
"Don't just stand there in a daze. Clean the blood first, then apply the ointment along the sides of the wound," Charles said as he pushed the bottle of medication into Margaret's hands.
Actually, the task belonged to Laesto, but Charles couldn't expect any gentleness from his metal hand. Every time Laesto applied medication to him, he felt like he was going through a new round of torture.
As her hand traced the firm muscles on Charles' back, Margaret's face grew a deeper shade of red, and her heart beat frantically against her ribcage.
"How did the daughter of the Whereto's governor end up in the hands of the pirates?" Charles asked.
Margaret's hand trembled, and she answered, "I read some novels... They said adventures at sea were fun and exciting. So I sneaked out, but it was all lies..."
"Your life was what others dreamed of. Yet, you decided to abandon it."
"I realize that now. The sea is too dangerous. After I return, I will never venture into the sea again. Every man at sea is bad! Sir, I don't mean you. You're a good person."
A bitter smile appeared on Charles' visage, "Yeah, you are right. Every man at sea is bad. Don't return. Continue applying the ointment."
Time at sea flew past. By the time Charles and his crew arrived at the Coral Archipelago, a month had already passed. By then, Charles' wounds had healed significantly. At least he no longer bled at the slightest movement.
The same sight greeted them at the port district of the Coral Archipelago. It was still chaotic and dark. As they walked through the muddy and fishy-smelling street, Margaret instinctively stuck close to Charles.
With her soft body and curves pressing onto his arm, Charles couldn't deny that he was wavered. However, weighing it against five million Echo, he felt that the latter was much more appealing.
After Charles had Margaret settled down in the room next to his in the tavern, he returned to his room. He had barely sat down before he heard a knock on the door.
It was Laesto standing outside the door. His hideous visage was devoid of his usual crazed and wildly animated expression. Instead, his lips were pursed together in apparent anxiety as he held the dead smartphone in his hands.
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