Silence did not last long.

But the one who broke the silence was neither Blackbeard nor Feng Bujue, but…

“Captain—” At that moment, a high-pitched, resonant voice came from the crow’s nest at the top of the mast, “Maybe this isn’t the time, but I have to interrupt you.”

“What is it?” Blackbeard’s gaze remained fixed on Feng Bujue, with no intention of shifting, but he still shouted back to the lookout.

“Southeast, there’s a ship heading this way at full speed.” Judging from the lookout’s tone when speaking to Blackbeard, he was no ordinary person either, “If you ask me… they don’t look friendly.”

Blackbeard pondered for two seconds upon hearing this, then adjusted his tone and volume to the appropriate level, saying to Feng Bujue, who was in front of him, “It seems… we’ll have to chat later.”

“No problem, you go ahead and take care of things.” Feng Bujue spread his hands, replying with an indifferent expression.

“Heh…” Blackbeard smiled, “But I still have to confirm something first…” He paused, “While I’m ‘busy’, you won’t take the opportunity to do something that will make me even busier, right?”

“No.” Feng Bujue replied, “In fact, I’m prepared to give you a hand…” He extended a hand, making a “please” gesture, “If possible, I hope you can regard me as an ally, even a comrade.”

“I see…” Blackbeard muttered thoughtfully, “So that’s your ‘mission’ this time, huh?”

“Consider it one of them.” Feng Bujue did not show any surprise at Blackbeard’s wording—even upon hearing the word “mission”, “But the specifics, I’m afraid I can’t explain to you.”

“It doesn’t matter, knowing this is enough.” Blackbeard said, and immediately turned around and left.

His steps were firm, steady, fast, and powerful…

In the blink of an eye, he had walked all the way to the helm station located in the middle and rear of the ship.

Blackbeard stood on high, next to the railing in front of the helm station, standing solemnly under the gaze of all the pirates.

After a moment, he took a deep breath and then shouted, “Thieves! Scum! My little bitches!” At this point, he revealed a smile that could only be described as “狰狞(zhengning - hideous),” “Heh… apparently, a bunch of suicidal bastards are heading our way…”

Just as he began this “pre-battle speech,” the fast ship to the southeast was rapidly approaching; even the sailors with relatively poor eyesight could already vaguely see the shadow of the ship.

However, Blackbeard’s attitude was still very calm…

His composure mixed with a hint of eagerness came from his confidence as a maritime tyrant, and… a primal desire for slaughter.

“I will use their captain’s skull to decorate my bookshelf.

“I will use the skin of that crew to sew battle drums.

“I will collect a hundred spines to make the Queen Anne’s Revenge’s gunwale carvings.

“I will fill twelve barrels with human blood to serve as fuel for Greek fire (a liquid incendiary agent invented by the Byzantine Empire that can burn on water).

“I will put their ship in a glass bottle as a permanent collectible.

“I will deeply engrave fear into the souls of each of them, so that even on the River Styx, my name will be sung!”

Blackbeard’s voice was like thunder, every word of which reached the ears of everyone on the ship; even the pirates below deck and in the cabins heard his declaration.

“Do you… understand?” Blackbeard asked after a few seconds.

“Ho! Ho!” All the pirates on the ship, regardless of where they were, shouted these two words in unison.

“Very good.” Blackbeard’s mouth curled up in a smile, indicating that he was very satisfied with this response; after pausing for two seconds, he spoke again, “Then…”

Just as he said these two words, a long cry of “Yo—” could be heard from the side; immediately after, there was a loud “Boom”.

It turned out… an enemy ship’s cannonball had landed on the sea only a few meters away from the Queen Anne’s Revenge at this moment.

The power of the cannonball was terrifying, and the splash of water shot straight up, like an evil dragon emerging from the water, fierce and menacing.

“Hmph…” Blackbeard only sneered at the sight.

The next second, he suddenly pulled out the Triton (the sea messenger in ancient Greek mythology, the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite) sword from his waist, raised it high into the sky, and continued the words he hadn’t finished earlier, shouting loudly, “Pirates… raise the sails! Hard to port!”

As soon as the captain’s order came out, all the pirates on the ship moved like arrows leaving the string.

Don’t be fooled by how lazy and irritable these guys usually are… at this moment, they would instantly become more efficient than any well-trained army.

In the blink of an eye, the pirates around Feng Bujue and Snow… including Garlic Head… had all disappeared without a trace.

Running, rolling, climbing, swinging…

The pirates were as busy as a swarm of scattering bees or leaping monkeys on the deck.

Under the command of a few “cadres,” these dozens of people quickly raised the sails, set up the cannons, and prepared ammunition, knives, guns, and ropes in a chaotic but orderly rhythm…

In short, everyone was in a state of readiness.

And the attacking enemy… although their identity is still unknown, anyone who dares to attack Blackbeard’s pirate group is definitely not someone to be trifled with.

“Captain—it’s the ‘Brown Algae’!” After a little while, as the outline of the ship became gradually clear, the lookout shouted.

Blackbeard’s expression remained unchanged when he heard the name, he only asked, “Whose flag are they flying?”

“The one-eyed skull flag!” the lookout shouted back, after a second’s pause he added, “It’s ‘Mad Eye’!”

When he said this name, most of the pirates on the deck were slightly stunned.

Feng Bujue and Snow were both good at observing people’s expressions, and they immediately deduced something from the reactions of the pirates.

“You saw it too, right?” Snow immediately asked softly.

“Ah…” Feng Bujue said, “Judging from the changes in the expressions of these people around us… that ‘Mad Eye’ is not easy to deal with.”

“Yeah…” Snow replied in a deep voice, “But no matter how difficult he is to deal with, he can’t be stronger than Blackbeard, right?”

“That’s for sure.” Feng Bujue responded, “But… it’s this kind of ‘enemy who is only slightly lower than Blackbeard’ that is even more troublesome; usually speaking… when two pirate groups with not much difference in strength face off, no matter who wins in the end, it will be a ‘pyrrhic victory’.” Speaking of this, Brother Jue’s eyes moved slightly, and his tone changed, “Also… I’m very concerned about something…”

“Concerned about what?” Snow quickly noticed that Feng Bujue’s gaze was moving downwards, as if he was “seeing through” the things under the deck.

“That cannonball that fell into the sea just now…” Brother Jue murmured, “It’s a bit unusual…”

“Oh?” Snow was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then connected his thoughts and replied, “Yeah… now that you mention it… it is indeed very strange. When that cannonball came over just now, the other ship was still very far away from us; assuming their cannon range is that far, then why continue to approach? Even if they have a reason to approach, then why not fire again during the approach?”

The conclusion that can be drawn from his self-questioning reasoning is exactly what Brother Jue meant just now—that cannonball is “special”, or even “unique”.

But even Feng Bujue does not yet know what its specific effect is.

“Raise the sails! Full speed ahead!” Just as the two players were talking, Blackbeard’s voice resounded throughout the ship again.

At this moment, the Queen Anne’s Revenge had already turned to face the Brown Algae under the previous “raising the sails and hard to port” adjustment; in other words, Blackbeard’s order this time was basically equivalent to letting the crew drive the ship head-on into the enemy ship.

“Captain.” At this time, a black man who had been silently standing next to Blackbeard on the helm station, opened his mouth with a solemn expression and said to Blackbeard, “The other party is now downwind, and… has reached that kind of speed, if we collide with them head-on like this…”

“Urdini.” Blackbeard interrupted him and called his name.

“What are your orders? Captain.” Urdini immediately responded respectfully.

“You don’t need to participate in this battle.” Blackbeard continued, “You… take a trip to the sea first.”

Urdini did not show any dissatisfaction or doubt about this order that sounded like a suicide instruction, he just calmly asked, “What do you want me to do in the sea?”

“There’s something wrong with the cannonball that fell just now.” Blackbeard also replied very calmly, “Go check it out… if everything is normal, then come back and support us.”

“Yes, Captain.” Urdini took the order, and without saying a word, turned around and ran towards the side of the ship with long strides.

When he reached the edge of the deck, he leaped into the turbid and dim sea outside the ship.

…………

At the same time, on the Brown Algae.

“Captain! The other party has turned its head and is coming straight at us!” Their lookout was also shouting to the captain.

“Nonsense, we’re so close, I can see it myself.” At the bow of the ship, a man wearing a dark blue captain’s uniform, with a face full of horizontal flesh and a black eye patch over his left eye, immediately responded to his crew member in an irritable tone.

This man is Mad Eye…

The name “Mad Eye” is obviously a nickname he got after becoming a pirate, as for his real name… he himself has forgotten it.

Although Mad Eye has been wearing an eye patch over his left eye for many years, in reality, that eye of his is not blind.

Seeing this, many people must already be wondering… does he have Sharingan? Is that eye patch a spiritual power control device?

Well… the answer will be revealed in the next chapter.

Let’s continue the story…

After Mad Eye yelled at his lookout, he took two steps sideways and walked to another person.

Then, this dignified captain actually put on an almost flattering tone, saying, “Uh… Master, what do you think… what should we do next?”

The person who Mad Eye called “Master” was wrapped in an ocher Western-style monk’s robe, and his face was completely covered in shadows; in this state, even if you stood in front of him, you couldn’t see whether he was male or female, old or young, human or ghost…

“You don’t need me to teach you this, right?” The Master’s voice didn’t sound anything special either, just a very ordinary male voice, the kind that men between the ages of twenty and forty might have, “You know how to fight a naval battle better than I do.”

“Then… I’ll just improvise?” Mad Eye tentatively responded.

Just as the “Master” was about to answer this sentence, suddenly, he, hidden in the monk’s robe… discovered something unusual, and he instantly thought in his heart, “That’s… Feng Bujue?”

It is unknown what method he used to detect that Brother Jue was on Blackbeard’s ship when the two ships were still a certain distance away.

“Not only that… ‘those two guys’ are also there.” The Master thought again, “No… I can’t contact them in this situation, I have to leave before they find me.”

He made the decision to run almost instantly, and said without showing any expression, “Mad Eye, I’m going to get something from the cabin, you’re in charge here.”

After putting down this sentence, he wanted to turn around and leave.

“Eh? This…” Mad Eye quickly stepped forward and asked, “Master, we’re about to start fighting, what are you…”

“Hmm?” The Master had no intention of explaining anything to Mad Eye, he just spat out a syllable in a displeased tone.

This action alone scared Mad Eye into taking a step back.

“So… sorry, I was being nosy, please, Master…” Mad Eye quickly lowered his head and took a few steps back, “I… I’ll handle things here.”

The Master didn’t say anything more to him and left silently.

It was not until his figure entered the cabin under the deck and left Mad Eye’s sight that the latter breathed a sigh of relief.

“Tch… this bastard, I don’t know what the hell he’s up to again.” Even though the other party had already gone far away, Mad Eye didn’t dare to say these words out loud, he just muttered in a low voice.

It’s not hard to see from Mad Eye’s reaction… he never thought that the “Master” would desert.

In Mad Eye’s mind, the strength of this “Master” was far above Blackbeard, and this was his greatest confidence and reliance for this “attack”.

Mad Eye firmly believed that he, who was already “a little bit” worse than Blackbeard, would definitely be able to seize the title of Pirate King… oh no… Pirate Lord, as long as he had the help of this existence who was stronger than Blackbeard.

Unfortunately… man proposes, God disposes.

Mad Eye never would have thought that just a minute ago, he had become a sacrifice in a “ перемен(bianju - cataclysmic change)”.