Chapter 52: Movement and Confusion
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
Sheyan wasted a total of 2 hours using his insight ability to retrieve information. Presently, he still had about 2 guineas on hand, and thus decided to find a tavern to grab a drink. Concurrently, he would fish for any news and also to improve his accomplishment counter of his drunkard milestone; which was just 11/100. Since Sheyan already landed a job, he did not mind spending all his excess cash on rum.
After an hour, Sheyan’s drunkard milestone counter reached 22/100, in contrast, his cash spiraled to a single digit. Suddenly, Sheyan heard a commotion from the outside, looking out from the tavern, he could see a small ruckus happening on the street. The port patrol guards were hurrying to that direction.
Previously mentioned, Turtuga is a neutral port, therefore, its patrol guards did not possess much power, but were supported by the private power who ruled this island. After Bernard Fokke turned over a new leaf and constructed this neutral port, his personal guards monopolized great influence over the place. However, right now, this influence was being deflated like a decompressed pregnant woman’s boobs after breastfeeding.
Sheyan walked to the entrance of the tavern, he didn’t even have to raise his head to observe the towering castle of Turtuga Port enshrouded with thick black smoke!
At present, the entire port had become extremely chaotic, with people running about like a swarm of ants being threatened by a smashing rock. This was a port that had been thriving for a countless years; excluding the citizens, more than 99% were pirates!
They were not a bunch of law-abiding citizens. As such, when Turtuga Port was suddenly thrown into chaos, the ‘gentlemanly’ behavior of these pirates died off, as their underlying wild beastly nature were unleashed. Cruel and hungry, they started plundering to the extent, they even robbed each other’s money pouches!
“Wu…” Only a few were as chill as Sheyan. Sheyan gently caressed his chin as he looked far towards the castle that was engulfed in smoke. Sunk in deep thought, he did not have a single notion of violent conduct in his mind.
All of a sudden, a loud blast erupted from the castle once again; yellow smoke and dust spiralled up 20-30 metres into the air, forming into a mushroom cloud shape. Individuals with amazing vision could see the wreckages of several horse carriage being flung out, as they disintegrated in mid air; even the flesh of horses were mixed within the mess alongside the billowing smoke. The mangled wreckage splattered down like rain, leaving one a bitter taste of tragedy and disgust in their mouths.
Several pirates standing beside Sheyan were gaping with jaws dropped. One of them wearing a greyish wide bandana against his bald head, exclaimed out in shock.
“Good grief, those sons of bitches must’ve more than a hundred buckets of gunpowder.”
Although this brat used the term “sons of bitches”, his vulgarities were not scoldings but just a form of expression. Looking at his appearance, he looked like the kind of crew member who constantly patted his crew members who would say “You F**ING did well mate.”
After listening to him, Sheyan could perceive this was a pirate adept in utilizing gunpowder and cannons. However, his attention immediately focused onto the fogging castle, and the earth-shuddering explosion that had just happened.
Perhaps, amidst the castle and the black smoke, a storyline character had caused this explosion. Nevertheless, this was truly a massive scale explosion scene. It was simply not realistic when compared to the technological developments of this Pirates of the Caribbean era. Just taking that cannon expert’s saying, there must be at least a hundred buckets of gunpowder!
In this era, most things were made with oak, and the total of gunpowder usage would exceed a hundred kilograms to cause such an explosion. Therefore, to a person that have not operated a bulldozer or excavator before, moving a hundred buckets of gunpowder would require exceedingly huge construction equipments or something like that. Unless all the patrol guards of Turtuga were blind, they would definitely have spotted such huge equipment.
Hence, this phenomenon was most likely caused by a contestant. Only a contestant would be able to use such immense powerful explosives, and only a contestant would dare to ruin the peace of a neutral land like Turtuga; which had experienced years of peace. Thus, that contestant must’ve triggered such an explosion to satisfy a personal goal.
Currently, Sheyan had a flicker of inspiration in his mind, as though he had found the key to a particular question that was bugging him. But just as he found the answer, he actually forgot that question.
Presently, the port was a sea of confusion and chaos. A few hasty and urgent figures could be seen scampering away like a pack of frightened mice running from a cat. Those should be the contestants that had committed the act. A group of Turtuga patrol guards were pursuing them with weapons raised.
Having received a killing order, the guards were persistently tailing those contestants. While they were sprinting over, at about less than a hundred metres away from Sheyan; all of a sudden, from the side, a long neighing sound drifted in. This sound sounded like a horse, but weirdly, the people who heard this simultaneously shivered up; as though someone had pour a bucket of ice water over them, and their blood vessels were streamed with chilliness.
A wooden house at the side suddenly imploded within, as wood splinters exploded out disorderly. Then, a huge horse leapt out of it as though it was soaring through the sky. This horse was as tall as two persons. Its muscles bulged and swelled as though they were going to rip through its own skin. Its eyes were covered with a black eye patch, its mane and tail swayed gently and displayed a trail of blue cold air, that spiralled up slowly like fumes. There was a flaming red saddle on its back, as bright as the red cloth used in ox duels.
The horse rider looked roughly 40 years old, he was extremely stable and did not need to hold onto any straps. He had a small moustache that looked like that of spanish nobility, but his chin was cleanly shaved. Wearing a black western-style hat, he had a pair of sharp yet grim eyes. Staring across to the contestants, he pulled out a short flintlock musket!
Present time firearms were the basic primitive manual muskets with a fire string that had to be ignited with a match. To release a single round, it required a long time to prepare.
However, once this rider pulled out his musket, the fire string on his musket automatically ignited; where the spark sped into the black barrel. “Boom!” The carbon fumes rose from the barrel, and Sheyan could feel the hairs on his back slowly stiffening up. His eyes popped wide open as he witnessed the first contestant trying his best to evade. Yet after the gunshot sounded, a part of the top half of his body exploded and was badly mutilated!
This scene was like that of a huge watermelon exploding in an instant, as his flesh and bones miserably fragmented into small pieces. The surrounding people, objects, and shops within a 7-8 metres radius were all covered with a layer of red and gave off a fishy smell!
What was strange was that the contestant’s lower body was perfectly untouched, as his legs further ran a few more steps after its other half’s explosion, before losing its balance and collapsing onto the street. Blood flowed out everywhere, gradually forming a crimson blood pond.
After witnessing this horrific scene, it was unimaginable what the other contestants would feel.
Taking a glance at each other, they cried out frantically as they dispersed to escape. Two of them after running to a nearby shore, immediately started pushing out a small vessel. Feeling anxious like a stray dog, they frantically paddled out to sea. Obviously, they understood the weakness of the horseman, that he was unable to enter the water. That horse galloped rapidly, however, when he reached the shore, the boat was already 50-60 metres and still rowing away.
When everyone thought the rider was helpless in the face of such circumstances, he actually tightened his reins! That horse stood upright on his back heels like a normal person, letting out a mournful neigh, he sprayed out an icy blue cold air from his nostrils. Under the brilliance of the afternoon sun, the cold air was sparkling and translucent. The light it emitted released an impression of an awful frosty feeling.
Following that, the horse kicked off with strength, and leapt into the sea! Its hooves were the size of a washbasin, when it came into contact with the water, the area solidified into a light blue icy layer. It was so clear that the flowing waters below could still be seen.
The horse then broke into a rampaging charge. Beneath its hooves, it left a trail of icy white fog; causing the surrounding 2-3 metres to freeze up. As the horse charged by, the layer of ice behind would quickly melt away. Viewing from afar, it was like a pathway of white ice was forming towards the not so far escaping boat.
Just a mere 10 seconds sufficed for the horse to catch up to the two appalled contestants.
Despite so, willpower still surged within them, as they intended to resist. However, that rider drew out his sword, before swiftly raising it high and slicing down with the destructive force of a thunderbolt! The two contestant’s actions momentarily stagnated followed by a blood bath, they were like grass that was being shred apart by that sword!
“Ah!!!!!” The rider let out a murderous roar which echoed into the entire port. “Receive the full wrath of the Fokke family!! Scum and maggots!”
“That is Little Lord Fokke?” Sheyan overhead a nearby pirate talking to his comrade. His comrade seemed to be pretty knowledgeable. Lowering his tone, he spoke out.
“That’s right, he belongs to the latter generations of the Fokke family, that horse be named Momore. Rumours has it, a demonic spirit resides in it, and might it be Bernard Fokke’s horse! Only people from the Fokke family can tame it and become its master.”