The vast ocean stretches endlessly, finding an island is simple.
But finding a ship...
Boom!
Water splashes from the cannonball near the Black Sail Warship, several cannonballs rush towards the ship in mid-air, a flash of cold light appears, and the cannonballs are cut horizontally, Lily leaps towards the side deck and slowly sheathes her slender sword.
"Fire the cannons."
Following her order, the cannons on the side of the warship fire, hitting the pursuing warship, one strikes the mast, another embeds in the deck, while several hit the hull, exploding in clouds of black smoke and flames.
Lily glanced at the warship that had lost its ability to chase, then turned and walked towards the captain's cabin.
Sage changed into a white pirate shirt opened to his chest, sleeves rolled to his forearms, wide pants on his lower half, boots clinging tightly to his pants, one foot propped on the table in front of him, lounging lazily on a chair that looked like a sofa, a wine glass in his left hand, the liquid swaying with his movements.
"How many ships was that?"
He glanced at Lily entering, and asked.
"The second ship today, in three consecutive days, we've encountered five warships," Lily replied.
Pirate ships on the sea are hard to find, but warships come uninvited.
The Navy in this nearby sea seems to have it out for Sage, chasing the Black Sail Warship like mad dogs, refusing to give up.
"Has the wanted order come out?" Sage wondered.
Lily shook her head, "I've been following the newspaper from the news bird these days and haven't seen our wanted order."
"So..."
Sage took a long drink from the wine glass, slammed it heavily on the table, dissatisfied, "Why are they chasing so hard!"
Lily remained expressionless and silent, but the look in her eyes betrayed her.
It's all because of bad luck...
Ordinary pirates don't encounter warships every day.
Pirate ships are generally small and fast, capable of escaping a warship, but they are on a warship too, with the same setup, unable to evade when encountering a warship, they must engage; prolonged pursuit risks location exposure, attracting more Navy.
Sage understood this point, and knowing his own bad luck, meeting the Navy every day wasn't surprising.
What confused him was why the Navy was intent on chasing him.
Even if he took the blame, only raiding a few towns, pirates like that are all over the sea, so many pirates out there, yet the Navy chooses to chase him, which irked Sage.
He wasn't sure if his days counted as good ones.
If good... the Navy chased daily, sometimes couldn't even sleep well, definitely not good.
If not good...
At least they weren't short on supplies, getting them from other warships kept them sailing, sometimes even acquiring some good stuff, these branch Navy captains ate and wore quite well.
Sage's outfit came from a warship, much better than his previous tattered clothes, even got a few cases of fine wine.
The crew became more experienced due to prolonged encounters with the Navy, especially Lily, now able to cut down cannonballs.
She always had the ability but lacked battle experience; the fight against the Navy quickly made up for it.
Seems there are advantages too.
But...
No money to be made!
He became a pirate to make money, and even if it meant achieving the world's top combat skills, it was to better make money!
"Sage, should we change locations, the Black Sail Pirates... aren't easy to find."
Lily pursed her lips, hesitant to speak, "Also, the crew has been floating at sea too long, bad for morale, we need to find a place to rest."
"Let him roam free while I take the blame? That's not an option, even if it means emptying out Navy's 23rd branch, I'll find someone!"
Sage gestured dismissively, but reconsidered, "But you're right, people need to be on land, let's find a town for a break. Meanwhile, ask if there's news about the Black Sail Pirates, wandering at sea gives no leads."
He shouldn't just focus on others and forget his own business, robbing is necessary.
If a large town isn't rob-able, then rob a medium one.
"Scout out some islands, we'll raid them, not poor folks, they barely have anything, find some wealthy ones." Sage said.
"Understood, poor folks indeed have little money, as for that Arlong you were after, I've heard rumors, apparently his protection fees are hefty. Adults pay 100,000 Belly per month, children 50,000, draining several villages dry." Lily nodded, stared at Sage for a while, almost spoke several times but eventually left.
Sage poured himself a glass of wine, moving the wine close to his lips, suddenly paused, "Was she saying my bad luck is why I can't find them?"
The specific location is easy to find, but without one...
It's just like when he was a bounty hunter seeking pirates, not finding a single one.
Plus, this was an unknown pirate.
As a bounty hunter, Sage remembered all those rewarded in the East Sea, none were described with a black cloak on wanted orders, likely not a well-known pirate, perhaps even a newcomer like him.
Sage wasn't stubborn, upon recognizing this point, he was contemplating whether to give up this target.
The East Sea is vast, no point lingering in this 23rd branch area, there are many targets to rob, staying drains his own time.
He pondered briefly, took a sip of wine, leaned comfortably in his chair, and gazed out the window at the shimmering ocean.
At least pursuing other ventures, he didn't have such treatment before, now has subordinates and a secretary, albeit low-tier, but it's a taste for future life as a landlord.
...
Lily chose an island not far from here, only half a day's sail, an oval-shaped island with several villages residing on it, a sizeable town along the coast.
The island didn't offer much special, just an ordinary town, but wherever people reside, riches surely exist, which was Sage's target.
As for the commoners... as Lily said, combining adults and children costs over ten thousand Belly monthly, after a few months would be bankrupt, nothing to rob.
Pirates truly making money rob merchant ships, ship cargo isn't cheap and less risky.
It's just there wasn't any to resolve at sea, finding towns was his only recourse.
Though towns have wealth, robbing one poses certain risks, bigger towns have strong defenses, once entangled and compounded with Navy reinforcements, it might mean downfall.
But for Sage, it was no issue.
In the East Sea, as long as he didn't encounter those patrolling experts from the headquarters, he was confident of escaping...
At dusk, transition to night, the Black Sail Warship reached the town Lily chose.
Sage emerged from the captain's cabin, watched the town's silhouette become clearer from the railing, saying to Lily beside him:
"Once we raid here, we'll leave this sea, that Black Sail Pirate, might've already left, if not impossible to search, meeting pirates on the sea should stir some noise, opportunity to find later."
Uncharacteristically, Lily didn't agree with his words.
She handed the telescope to Sage, blinking her pretty eyes, spoke strangely, "Seems we've... encountered them."
"Hmm?"
Sage took the telescope swiftly, looked towards the town, first he saw a huge mansion perched high, brightly lit at night, clearly wealthy.
Looking down, rows of houses stood below, and those near the coast were smoking, smoke blowing west with the wind.
Further down, on the sea, where the smoke was blowing, a ship was sailing towards the sea, a twin-masted fast ship, through the telescope deck, many people were cheering.
As for the mast...
Coincidentally, displayed was a black sail with no emblems!
Black Sail!!
Sage crushed the telescope in his hand, teeth grinding, "Change direction, intercept that Black Sail Ship!"
He couldn't find it when he wanted, yet when he didn't, it came right to them!