BXBX NOVEL Chapter 145 Playing By The Rules
"Captain" Annabelle dragged me out of my train of thought as we walked down the narrow hall. She asked. "Were you trying to test me and get an insight into my capabilities when you attacked me?".
I shrugged. "Yes".
"Was that also the reason why you decided to no longer limit your strength at 1st rank, and decided to increase?"
So, she noticed. I thought that my increase in strength wasn't that obvious since king Ameal didn't seem to notice it.
Maybe he was too afraid and drawn into the made-up conflict between him and the Queen to tell the difference.
"Yes" Regardless, I responded without hesitation.
"I see" Annabelle nodded her head in understanding. She continued. "Have you chosen the best technique that would fit me?".
"Not yet" I shook my head in faked denial. "That was why I just wanted to see a fraction of what you were capable of and quickly make a decision".
"I see" She nodded.
Although I wasn't sure if I was correct, but I felt like she was making a mental note of everything we did, and talked about.
All the more reason that I still had the suspicion that she didn't join my crew because of a mere teaching opportunity.
And the fact that she publicly announced being a part of Captain Crimson's eye crew was all the proof I needed.
Regardless, I am still terribly disappointed in her choice of a man.
There are a lot of women who would effortlessly recommend me as the source of their happiness, so don't ask me the reason for my disappointment!
As soon as we arrived at their door, I nodded at two familiar workers standing at the entrance and flung the door open.
"...."
Bloody hell!
I swung the door close.
I turned my head to look at Annabelle who instantly locked her gaze with mine.
"Are you sure you want to send them on such an important mission?"
I nodded. "Yes".
"Even after what you had just seen?"
I nodded in affirmation. "Yes".
Annabelle pursed her lips and went silent. She awkwardly stood next to me, in between the two workers who remained in their position with a blank expressions, as though none of this was their business.
After a minute of waiting and terribly trying to format everything that I had just seen from my brain, I opened the door again, gently.
"CAPTIAN!!" Nine grown men with bodily drenched sheets tied around their bodies immediately roared in unison.
"Where are Omm and Beric?" I asked, noticing that two more of my crew were missing.
"They are in the other room resting aft --"
"Stop" I didn't need to know the reasons behind that.
"Go and get them" I ordered.
One of them ran out of the room immediately and fetched the other in nothing less than 40 seconds.
"Captain!" The greeted in unison.
I nodded, and then swept my eyes around the room. At the corner of the room, I could see the two women that were being banged by nine men -imprinting a very irritating picture in my brain, laying their back tiredly against the wall.
"I need five of you to head to the ship and one of you will return to the Vrymath Kingdom to report the situation back to me" I locked my eyes on them, and pointed the five out.
They walked out of the line and stood at the corner.
I faced them. "Prepare yourself, you are leaving tonight. And take this too" I brought out two gold coins from my pocket and threw it at them.
They each caught the gold coin, nodded in understanding and ran out of the room without hesitation to prepare. I would have wanted them to leave tomorrow, but after I conned a king -- 'a fallen king' , I needed to be ready to sail out of here at any time.
"The rest of you…." I swept my eyes over them once more.
Their heartbeat raced. Their bodies twitched slightly as they tried to stop fidgeting without control.
I let a smile beautifully adorn my lips before I turned around and strolled out of the room.
At least, the fear and respect were now there. The only left is to ingrain it deep into their heart by being the Captain they would want to follow throughout the rest of their lives.
Difficult? Yes.
Impossible? No.
"...You can go back to doing whatever you were doing?" My voice sounded behind my back.
"THANK YOU, CAPTAIN!" Was the last thing I heard before the door was shut closed.
With Annabelle beside me, I walked through the hall, heading towards the stairs that led to the VIP floor.
"Annabelle" I halted my steps and stared. "Which crew do you belong to?" I asked directly.
Her brows furrowed in confusion as she stared at me. "I don't understand what you are trying to say, Captain?".
I wasn't being impulsive or stupid, there was just something that I needed to confirm, and know before I choose what I would do next.
"What I mean is, if you were asked which crew you belonged to, while your life hung the choice of your answer, between your former crew, the Crimson Blackeye crew, and my crew - the Prince Wyatt's crew…." I explained. "…. which would be picked?".
At the final word, there was silence. Her countenance squeezed until it turned into a deep frown.
Her lips soon parted as she responded. "Although I still don't understand what you mean, isn't the answer already obvious" Her eyes turned fierce "I am now part of Prince Wyatt's crew so, Prince Wyatt's crew would be my answer".
I nodded at her answer and asked another question. "Are there any rules in the Pirate code that punishes a crew for betraying or going against their Captain?"
"It depends on which territory you are talking about, and whether or not they are affiliated with the 9 seas of Depths of Leviathan...." She shook her head and stared at me with her eyes still clouded with confusion. "Why are you asking?".
"Because you're right about some of my crewmen not being reliable enough, and I fear that they might do something stupid before we leave the Vrymath Kingdom" I sighed. "And as a Prince, I am not well versed in some areas of being a Pirate even though I have long become one. So I need that information to know what I am going to do in case something like that happens".
Her expression slowly brightened as she digested everything I had just said.
"I understand" Annabelle responded. Her expression returned to normal as she confidently explained. "Incase a crew member betrays his Captain for either a selfish or doubtful reason, he or she can either be thrown off the ship and fed to the magical beasts of the sea, beheaded publicly, disabled by having one of their limbs removed or having any part of the body amputated, or can be turned into a sea slave and sold for any amount, as long as the Captain is satisfied with it".
My brows rose in understanding. The punishments were as brutal as I had imagined. "How many of the Pirate codes can you remember off hand?" I asked.
"I know all of them, from Rule one to six". She answered.
"Alright. Can you write them down for me?"
I also planned on asking Mad John for his too, and then, cross-checking both of them to see if I can get a better understanding of them and quickly filter any mistakes.
The corner of her lips twitched. "That would take some time to accomplish Captain since some of the rules have their own sub-rules, that include several exceptions and inclusions".
"So, how long would it take for you to be done with it?" I mused.
"Three days for me to fully write down the rules and another day, to correct them before I submit them to you" She replied. "However, those four days are after we are back on our ship".
"Alright. You can head back to the inn and wait for the remaining crew members to come back with the reports"
She nodded her head. "I am staying at the Silver mare inn incase you want to find me. It's not far from here, just ask around for its location and you would easily find it" She walked away after I nodded in confirmation.
I watched as she walked out of the brothel, while her ass swung from side to side along with her robe.
Can be turned into a sea slave, huh!
I focused on the most important aspect of everything she had just mentioned.
Unconsciously, my imagination ran wild as I climbed the stairs and walked towards my room. The only thing I can do right now is figuring out where I can get a slave contract and prepare for whatever malicious plans she has in store before she attempts to do it.
Still, I couldn't help but pondered if the rules of the Pirate Codes, are just rules written on paper that Pirates are meant to follow, or an oath when sworn to, are forced to follow.