Chapter 344 Escaping from the Tiger’s Mouth
“Notify the entire ship and be on alert!”
The captain of the Fortune frowned and asked the crew to prepare.
He turned to Irene and others and said: "Guests, you should go to the cabin."
Irene shook her head and said: "If it is really a pirate, and you are If we can’t stop it, there’s no point in hiding anywhere.”
She patted the sword on her waist - for convenience, she and Liya had been dressed in men's clothing since they boarded the ship - and said: "We know a little swordsmanship, and we can be helpful in conflicts."
< br>Liya on the side nodded, not to mention that she was the princess's guardian knight, even the princess herself had received good swordsmanship instruction and training since she was a child, and was quite confident in her own skills. With a sharp blade in hand, Under the conditions, no one can get close to him.
Otherwise, the two girls would not dare to run away from home casually.
"Uh... okay."
The captain of the Fortune nodded suspiciously.
The businessman Velos on the side said: "Since girls are brave enough to face danger, wouldn't it make people laugh when we grown men hide in the cabin?"
Other passengers responded to Velos. , indicating that he would stay on the deck and share the difficulties.
"Okay, in that case, thank you everyone."
The captain became more courageous, and he ordered the crew to distribute weapons to the unarmed passengers.
The boat sailing out of the West Harbor gradually approached the Fortune. The captain made a rough estimate, including the rowers, that there were about ten people on board. There are more than 50 people on his boat. This small boat alone does not pose much of a threat. But if they are really pirates, there must be more of their accomplices in Westport. He ordered the men on deck to hide their weapons first.
"I am the port officer in charge, requesting boarding."
After approaching the Fortune, a man who looked like a leader shouted to the deck.
"Okay, please wait a moment!" The captain agreed, and he ordered the rope ladder to be thrown down.
The port officer who just shouted climbed up with a few followers.
“Where did you get the boat from?”
The captain frowned and replied: "The Fortune in the Northwest Bay, we have been to Westport several times and registered at the port office. Don't you recognize me, sir?"
The captain's suspicion turned into worry, Quan Feng The shape of the sailboat is very strange to the people of Westport. Logically speaking, it should be highly recognizable. How could the port officials here not recognize it?
Hearing the question from the captain of the Fortune, the man who claimed to be the port officer smiled awkwardly: "Sorry, I am newly transferred to Westport, and I am not familiar with some situations."
< br>Then he changed to a serious expression and asked in a questioning tone: "What do you mean by stopping so close to the West Port but not going in? Could it be that you want to spy on the intelligence in the port? Or even the intelligence of the Kingdom's navy. ?”
“No, no, sir.” The captain of the Fortune quickly [explained], “Our stern rudder is actually broken, and we want to see if it can be repaired before entering the port.”
"It turns out that the stern rudder is broken." The port officer touched his chin, "Well, don't float on the water. Let's use the wind to move to the West Port first. When we get close, we will send someone to drag your boat in. Wouldn’t it be easier to repair in the dock? There are many skilled craftsmen in Westport, even for new ships like yours.” look.
Devilos suddenly said: "Mr. Harbor Officer, say hello to your colleague Mr. Jefferson for me. I have some friendship with him. I will stop by to see him when I come to Westport this time. Look at him."
He said as he stretched out his hand.
The port officer stretched out his hand to shake hands with him, and responded with a smile: "It's that guy Jefferson. Don't worry, I will bring your greetings."
The two sides stopped talking, and the port officer quickly took the lead. With his entourage, he got on the boat and rowed towards Westport.
"Mr. Captain!" Velos suddenly said seriously to the captain of the Fortune: "Turn around immediately and stay away from Westport. Jefferson is a name I made up, and Westport will not really be a coincidence. Is there such a port official? In addition, when I shook hands with him just now, I could clearly feel the thick calluses on his hands. To sum up, there must be someone in Westport. Something is wrong."
The captain nodded sternly: "I originally wanted to turn around and leave, but with your speculation, I became more determined."
The captain quickly gave the order to sail north. Under the threat of pirates, the sailors worked far more efficiently than usual.
At this time, the wind was blowing from the north. They adjusted the angle of the hull and sail to decompose the wind force into two directions of force. One pushed to the side of the hull and the other pushed to the bow. The side force was offset by the resistance of the hull's draft. , another force pushes the hull forward toward the bow.
In this way, the Fortune slowly started to move and sailed towards the northern sea in a zigzag pattern.
This operation is actually quite time-consuming, but it is estimated that the "port officer" who boarded the ship before thought that his performance had been deceived by everyone on the Fortune, and was waiting proudly in the port. He waited for the prey to come to his door, so he made no further moves.
However, after the Fortune turned around and headed north, they finally realized that it was not the other party who had been deceived by them, but themselves.
After a lot of fuss, several large ships were driven out from the West Port and chased after the Fortune.
But because the Fortune was far away from the port, the galleys still failed to catch up.
“What should we do next?”
Looking at the shadow of the boat fading away in the south, Irene asked in confusion. She couldn't help but feel very disappointed when a good trip home turned out like this.
And pirates appeared on the west coast of the kingdom. As a princess, she became worried about the fate of the kingdom.
The captain stated his plan: "The food and fresh water on the ship are not enough to sustain us until we return to the northwest bay. So we must find a supply point north."
Velos suggested: "There are many ports scattered on the west coast. They cannot all be invaded by pirates like Westport. It should be easy to obtain supplies."
The captain groped his chin, "What you said is a reminder. It's better to find a closer port to unload the goods first, rather than transporting them back to the northwest bay. But we have to send people ashore in a small boat to find out the situation in this area."
The sun is setting. Dinner arrangements began on the Fortune, and everyone spent the night with mixed emotions after eating.
Early the next morning, the captain sent people ashore to learn from a fishing village that Westport was indeed captured by a group of pirates who came out of nowhere, and even the Kingdom's navy stationed inside was destroyed. Now Jingyao is recruiting ships and sailors from all over the place, preparing to destroy pirates by land and water.
Everyone on the boat was so frightened that they almost fell into the trap of a tiger.
(End of this chapter)