Chapter 16: Undercurrents of Cutthroat Isle
Narrow Sea, The Stepstones, Cutthroat Isle
The Cutthroat Isle of the evening bore no resemblance to its name at all; at this moment, it was like a serene fairy, appearing exceptionally mysterious and charming under the reflection of the setting sun's afterglow.
The island's scenery was gradually shrouded in a soft twilight as the sunlight faded, and the day's clamor seemed to recede with the tide, giving way to tranquility and contemplation.
Sea and sky shared one color, the evening clouds like fire, and the horizon line blurred its boundaries as the sun slowly sank into the sea level, dyeing the sky with orange-red tones.
On the sea, the setting sun was like blood, the waves shimmering as golden light danced among the billows, as if countless little spirits were frolicking in the water.
The island's vegetation softened in this dim yellow light, the leaves swaying gently and making a rustling sound, as if recounting the stories of the day.
"Everyone, attention! Stand at ease!"
Amidst a high-pitched command, the soldiers of The Chainbreakers in the square within the Pirate Fortress all straightened their bodies.
"Good, not bad! You have all completed the training tasks left by Lord Jon well. Tonight we continue with extra rations; the kitchen is ready, everyone have a good meal."
The speaker was Garo, who had been changed classes to a Pirate by Jon. A Pirate of the system class possesses extremely strong naval combat talent; on ships and at sea, their speed and strength receive a boost.
After the class change, Garo's overall physical fitness was much stronger than before. Although his talent was not as powerful as those in The Ring Guard Squad, his years of maritime experience and combat skills compensated for some of his deficiencies.
It was precisely because of this that Jon promoted Garo to be the Instructor of The Chainbreakers, letting him train all the recruits for combat.
In the early stages, the main work of The Chainbreakers would certainly be naval combat, so besides learning how to handle ships and swim...
The soldiers also had to undergo high-intensity daily training. Of course, Jon wasn't the type to 'expect the horse to run without giving it grass'; before he entered the heart tree to perform dungeon missions...
He had long since handed the training manual to Garo. These materials were written by Jon during his journey south, containing insights from his previous military training, work experience, and management knowledge.
If this information were thoroughly integrated and taken to The Citadel in Oldtown to be published as a book, Jon might even manage to become a Maester, or possibly even an Archmaester.
Information in this world was far too isolated. Under normal circumstances, any excellent youth of the Zhonghua Family from Blue Star could rely on their accumulated knowledge and insight to find a good path in this world.
Although Garo's education was not high, he still possessed normal reading and writing abilities. Coupled with his familiarity with the sea routes near Dorne and The Stepstones, this was why he had been recruited as a subordinate by "Skullcap" Bill.
"Alright, dismissed!"
"Yes! Lord Garo!..."
Looking at the crowd, whose mental outlook was completely different from before, Garo's admiration for Jon deepened even further.
"Eh! Lord Garo! Why hasn't Lord Jon come?"
Just as Garo and Pippin from The Ring Guard Squad were about to leave, a voice suddenly appeared behind them.
As the two looked over, they saw several kids who had just joined The Chainbreakers.
These children looked to be about 13 or 14 years old, but due to years of life at sea, they appeared somewhat older.
These children were native slaves of Cutthroat Isle, or rather, most of them were the bastards of pirates. Since birth control technology in this world was mostly held by nobles, elderly women, and maesters...
Some abducted women would leave behind descendants because of the pirates' evil deeds. Due to the chaotic lives of the pirates, these children were not treated as their own after birth.
Instead, they became beings similar to slaves. Jon's sudden emergence made these children treat him like a hero, especially after they learned of Jon's bastard status.
They took Jon as an idol and a spiritual anchor. This morning, Jon had still come to direct their training, but after noon, Jon had disappeared, leaving many children feeling a bit empty inside.
"You're Lemon, right?"
After seeing this tall child, Pippin suddenly asked.
"Yes, Lord Pippin. I once asked you for advice on swordsmanship; I didn't think you would actually remember me?"
Hearing the other's compliment, Pippin felt delighted in his heart. Although he had not been officially knighted...
As someone who had changed classes to a Knight in front of everyone, Pippin already considered himself a Knight in his heart.
Perhaps due to the system's effect, Pippin's mind was filled with various memories related to knights.
If given a full set of knight's equipment, Pippin could use his skills to easily kill five or six armed men.
"Lord Jon is praying under the heart tree; the power bestowed upon him by the gods needs to be replenished so that he can allow more people to become stronger warriors, just like us."
Thinking of the miraculous change this morning, Pippin's words naturally increased, and Lemon's eyes also lit up as he listened.
Many in The Chainbreakers knew that Jon was blessed by the gods, although there were still some dissenters who were quite indignant.
But most people identified with Jon's explanation, because Garo and the others' class changes were performed in front of everyone.
Although there were no magical light effects like in a game, the comparative test Jon conducted still allowed everyone to see the difference after the class change.
Only, the several people talking didn't notice that after hearing the words 'praying' and 'replenishing,' a different kind of light flashed in the eyes of one child.
"Is that so? Then can we go take a look?"
"No, Narsas has already said that Lord Jon must not be disturbed."
Garo immediately spoke up to refuse after hearing the question.
Although Narsas didn't explicitly say Jon wasn't allowed to be disturbed, as a sailor who had seen much of the world, Garo still subconsciously believed Jon was communicating with the gods.
As a sailor who had traveled between the eastern and western continents for many years, Garo had seen too many miraculous things, such as seeing the legendary Long-winged Dragon on the Sothoryos Continent to the south of Essos.
Another time, a friend of Garo's offended a Shadebinder in Qarth, and that night, Garo watched with his own eyes as he was killed directly by a black shadow.
Magic and gods have always existed; Garo believed this very much. As for those maesters who constantly preach that magic is superstition, Garo always viewed them with amusement.
"Don't worry, tomorrow morning, Lord Jon will come to train with everyone again."
Hearing Garo's words, Pippin also realized he seemed to have been a bit too talkative, so he quickly comforted the children and told them to come back tomorrow morning.
"Okay, Lord Pippin, then we'll go eat first. Goodbye!"
"My lords..."
Years of oppressive living had made these children habitually bow to people; although Garo and the others had spoken about this, they still couldn't remember.
"No more slave bows next time. Go on!"
Garo spoke directly to them after helping one child up.
"Okay..."
After seeing the children leave, Garo also left with Pippin; their quarters were located within the Pirate Fortress.
Jon had only just occupied this place, after all, and the power structure of Cutthroat Isle was very complex, so Jon naturally wouldn't act like those legendary figures who are courteous to the wise and humble to the scholar, eating and living with the soldiers.
That kind of 'putting on a show' was meaningless in Jon's eyes; he'd rather spend that time doing practical things.
His work experience on Blue Star had long ago told Jon that only by maximizing interests can you make others work with total devotion; he had seen for himself that 'money can move even the gods.'
Dinner on Cutthroat Isle tonight was very sumptuous; the supplies the pirates had plundered contained everything. As long as the chef took care to cook them well, the food would make many people eat their own tongues.
The combination of salt-baked seafood, creamy cheese soup, mushroom soup, and black bread made many feel very happy; many of them hadn't had a full meal in a long time.
The place where The Chainbreakers ate was a tavern on the outskirts of the Pirate Fortress. After the pirates were wiped out, this place, usually used for lower-level pirates and outside traders to vent, had become a communal canteen.
And at this moment, in a certain corner, several older members of The Chainbreakers were conversing in low voices.
There were eight of them in total; from the scars on their bodies and the calluses on their hands, it could be seen that these fellows were long-time users of weapons.
The leader looked to be about 50 years old, exuding a fierce aura throughout his body like a monster ready to devour people; a close look revealed that a segment of the little finger and ring finger on his right hand was missing.
"Leader Kapo, what should we do now?"
One of the younger ones suddenly spoke to the leader, subconsciously glancing at the lively crowd while asking.
"We are pirates; the drowned god bestowed upon us the ability to burn, kill, and pillage. I don't want to be any damn 'Chainbreaker'."
Another person of similar age to Kapo also said this after alertly looking around.
"That's for sure. I've already scouted it out. The bastard mongrel from The North is praying under the heart tree. As long as we slaughter him, those fellows who are like us will also rise up in resistance!"
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