N-A-A Chapter 44 The House of Pleasure
Chapter 44 The House of Pleasure
The tall woman seemed very comfortable; she lay in the arm of the man in the tricorn hat, her eyes gently closed, her chin tilted back.
But Henry had no time to indulge in pleasant panting, because the man in military uniform had just made it clear that they were after Henry, and their goal was clear.
"The tsunami will sweep through various ports, and it will also take away schools of fish and shrimp."
Henry put down his wine glass, leaned back in his chair, and said slowly and deliberately,
"It's not surprising that an octopus might get crushed occasionally, but there will always be a new octopus to lead the shrimp population again."
The man in the tricorn hat pulled out his tongue and said:
"Smiling Edwin will never let himself be caught in the tsunami. He will follow behind the giant waves and collect the cargo containers washed ashore safely after everything has calmed down."
"And now he's dead," the man in military uniform added.
"Even horses stumble, gentlemen," Henry said with a smile. "Besides, this is an internal matter of the Black Goat; I don't think it concerns either of you."
The man in military uniform chuckled, "You're wrong, little lamb. This matter really does have something to do with us."
Henry frowned: "I am Henry, and you two are...?"
"Railley".
"Raymond."
Henry nodded: "Then, gentlemen, let me hear your connection to this matter."
Raymond, wearing a tricorn hat, rummaged through the crumpled fabric and pulled out a piece of parchment, which he then slammed onto the thick wooden table.
"You'll see at a glance," Riley, the man in military uniform, gestured.
Henry picked up the parchment and began to read the words on it.
Despite the crooked and misspelled text, Henry was able to read it through without difficulty.
This is a wager between Raymond, the obese man in front of us, and Edwin, the smiling man he's talking about.
Raymond said, "Either bring out ten flags of the Great Kingdom, or you'll have five hundred gold coins."
Henry remained calm and composed, pushing the bet back in front of his opponent.
"This is a bet Edwin made with you. If you want it to be honored, you have to go find him, but right now you'll probably have to chase him all the way to the underwater palace."
"When Edwin signed this bet, he was still the octopus of the Black Goat," Riley said. "But now that you've inherited his ship, you should also inherit his debts and obligations."
“There is no such rule, gentlemen,” Henry replied.
"You're trying to renege on your debt!" Raymond roared angrily.
Perhaps he was too emotional while speaking, which caused him to lose control of the force in his fingers, and the woman in his arms let out a painful scream.
"It's not that I'm reneging on the debt, it's just..." Henry repeated calmly, "There's no such rule!"
"Rules?" Raymond's eyes widened. "Hmph! There's only one rule on the sea: the strong live forever!"
Riley nodded: "Since you don't have the ability to inherit everything from Edwin, you're not qualified to inherit the Black Goat."
Whether we have the ability or not is not for you to decide.
"Then let's settle this with our strength!" Redmond said. "If you can beat me, we'll pretend this bet never happened. If you lose, you either pay the bet or give up the Black Goat."
"I agree," Riley chimed in.
Henry asked, "How do we win?"
"Fight like a man, but if you're not confident in your martial arts skills, you can also assign a henchman willing to die for you."
Redmond replied,
"Of course, we are all pirates, so it is only natural that we fight to the death at sea."
Henry smiled and said, "I think you gentlemen already know that the Black Goat is virtually unrivaled in the entire sea."
"The Black Goat is certainly unstoppable," Riley said, "but gray wolves always hunt in packs, working together."
"This is not fair!" Benson suddenly protested.
"You're demanding justice from the pirates?"
Raymond gave Benson a disdainful look, then continued,
"Only a fool would choose to fight the Black Goat one-on-one! And the octopus that commands that ship is incapable of dealing with the fleet, so he doesn't deserve that position."
So I'm an idiot? Henry felt offended.
Silence fell over the table, but inside the small room, gasps and groans could be heard coming from all directions.
Henry picked up his glass again and drank the wine in one gulp.
He raised his eyes, gazed at the two people in front of him, and a smile suddenly appeared on his face:
"Gentlemen, you keep saying you want me to pay up the bet, but why don't you mention how much gold you'll have to pay if I fulfill the agreement?"
Upon hearing this, Riley remained calm, but Raymond's expression clearly twisted.
"What do you mean?" Raymond asked.
"Before joining China Eastern, Edwin had been robbing passing ships, and there are currently ten naval ensigns stored in the ship's hold."
With that, Henry stood up.
"Prepare your gold, you two pirate lords."
After saying that, Henry left them sitting there in a daze.
He gave Benson a look, then pulled the woman beside him upstairs.
This time, Raymond and Riley's entourage dared not block Henry and Benson's path.
Upon reaching the second floor, Henry tried to push open the door.
The woman following behind Henry reminded him, "Sir, the second floor is full; there are only vacancies on the third floor."
But Henry ignored him and finally pushed open an unlocked door.
Henry quickly led Benson inside, glancing at the man and woman in the room as he did so.
He could tell at a glance that the battle on the chessboard was intense and fierce, and that it was at a critical juncture.
A true gentleman observes a game of chess in silence. Henry offered no advice, went straight to the second-floor window, and led Benson to jump out.
He strode toward the shore, with Benson following frantically behind.
"Boss, what's this?" Benson couldn't help but ask.
"There are many of them, and there are only two of us. It's too dangerous for us to stay here any longer. I have to go back right away!" Henry explained calmly.
"But, boss, didn't you say we had a ship's ensign?"
"Some were burned down," at least Henry hadn't seen them in the captain's cabin.
"So you were just now...?"
"It's a bluff," Henry said, gesturing towards a small boat. "Otherwise, they wouldn't have let us leave so easily."
"What about the bet?"
"It's probably not just a rumor," Henry said. "But we can't hand over the flag, we can't pay the bet, and we certainly can't abandon the Black Goat."
The small boat glided toward the right side of the island, the crescent moon appearing as a blur on the rippling sea.
"Then there's only one option: war," Benson finally concluded.
Henry nodded.
"What should we do, boss?"
"If war breaks out, we might not be a match for Raymond, and Riley is hoping we both suffer heavy losses."
Henry's eyes sharpened as he analyzed the situation seriously.
"Moreover, the Black Goat cannot withstand any more combat in the short term, and the Grey Wolves will not wait for the goat's legs to heal. Once they realize what is happening, they will immediately begin to set up a hunt."
Henry paused for a moment, then concluded:
"The only option is to escape!"
When Henry was still a seabird, the loyal dog would never let go.
Now that it has become a goat, the gray wolf is still eyeing it covetously.
"I feel like I'm always on the run," Henry thought. "Does that really make me a pirate?"
"But..." Benson said worriedly, "The Black Goat is now crippled on both legs, we can't get far."
"Don't worry, I have a way..."
Soon after, they arrived at the port of Right Heart Island.
Victor was still directing the pirates as they worked when Henry stepped forward to ask:
Where are my crew members?
"They're all on the ship, sir," Victor said, bowing.
Henry then ordered the sailors to move all the ship repair materials piled up on the shore onto the ship.
Victor quickly reminded him, "Sir, that would be inconvenient to repair."
"This is the only way to repair a ship at sea," Henry replied.
Raymond and Riley should know that the Black Goat has two giant crossbows, so they dared not pursue it rashly before making sufficient preparations.
Therefore, the Black Goat had ample time to escape.
As long as he can repair the ship at sea, he will have a fighting chance.
Upon hearing this, Victor frowned: "At sea? Sir, we have no intention of going to sea with you."
"I'm not discussing this with you."
"This is abduction, sir!"
Viktor protested,
"Robbery is forbidden on the Burning Heart Isles; it's a tradition, and even your father, Joachim, adhered to it."
"Joachim is long dead."
Henry said,
"Now I will rewrite the tradition!"