Failure’s Road to the Pirate King

A small wooden boat, towing six rafts made of logs, drifted on the open sea.

Fierce pirates stood or sat on the rafts.

Four people were on the small wooden boat.

Sage sat cross-legged in the center of the boat, staring at the sea surface with boredom.

Lily stood next to Sage, occasionally looking at the sky and then back at the sea.

Ajin stood at the bow, maintaining a battle stance, ready to attack any ship they encountered.

Paru was at the stern, huffing and puffing as he paddled the oar, pulling the rafts behind them.

They had no sails, so besides the pirates on the rafts exerting effort, Paru also had to work hard to help move the rafts more easily.

"The wind direction is normal, the weather is fine, no clouds in sight, especially no cumulonimbus clouds. There's no danger of storms for now," Lily observed for a while before saying, "Sage, we can stay here for a bit."

Sage nodded and asked Ajin, "Ajin, are you sure there will be ships?"

The grand ambitions they had when setting sail half a day ago had now turned into helpless disappointment.

Because no ships had appeared yet. Ajin was certain that ships would pass through this sea area, as it was close to land and islands. Ships wouldn't sail in oceans lacking nearby land, no matter what.

He had it all planned out. This was his first time joining Captain Sage's pirate crew, and their first time setting sail together to plunder. He wanted to perform well, to live up to Sage's enthusiastic invitation.

It should have been the pirate crew's glorious first battle, bringing joy and leading to a dreamy and grand pirate life. But why had it turned out like this? They couldn't even find a single ship.

Such good weather, and in broad daylight too. How could there be no ships?

Ajin turned around, bowed his head to Sage, and said sincerely, "I'm sorry, Captain Sage. My prediction was wrong. We haven't seen any ships. I've let you down."

"People always have unexpected situations. No ships, no ships. As long as you know the heading, it's fine," Sage waved his hand dismissively.

He was an experienced pirate who had been active in the East Blue for years. He was familiar with this sea area, unlike Lily who was just a theoretical navigator.

As long as they could find a town, it would be okay.

"Captain Sage..." Ajin's eyes welled with emotion, "You're not blaming me? You're truly magnanimous!"

It was completely different from Krieg, who would punish them for making mistakes! Captain Sage was indeed a generous man!

Following such a captain wouldn't be wrong!

Lily, standing nearby, pursed her lips as she watched the emotional Ajin, but said nothing.

Sage gave an awkward smile: "Keep up the good work. I have high hopes for you."

How could he be magnanimous? He was simply used to bad luck.

Otherwise, if someone really made a mistake, how could he not punish them?

Did they think his dream of becoming a wealthy landowner was fake?

"Paru, take a break if you're tired. Boys, we're resting for a bit. It doesn't matter if we can't catch any fish!" Sage called out.

The pirates on the rafts weren't just paddling idly. After all, they hadn't eaten for a day, so they were thinking about catching fish from the sea.

But with him around, how could they catch any fish? Paru was also exhausted from rowing. Just as he was about to let go of the oar upon hearing those words, Lily suddenly spoke up, "Sage, I think I see a ship."

"Where?!"

Sage stood up abruptly, looking in the direction Lily was pointing. On the horizon, he could faintly see a protrusion that looked like the outline of a mast and sails. As it became more prominent, the silhouette of a ship gradually appeared!

"A ship! Paru! Keep rowing!" Sage shouted directly.

Paru jolted and tightly gripped the oar he had just been about to release, rowing vigorously. The other pirates on the rafts also grabbed their oars tightly, exerting force in unison. With splashes of water all around, they sped towards the ship's silhouette.

Their rowing speed was certainly not slow. Before long, they approached the outline and could clearly see the ship.

This ship had a two-story structure on the deck, with a mast erected at the front, sails unfurled and fluttering in the wind.

A standard single-masted sailboat!

"Captain Sage, let me be the first to—"

"Moonwalk!"

Ajin took out his cane from behind, but before he could finish speaking, Sage had already stepped on the edge of the wooden boat, soaring into the air, bouncing towards the ship as if climbing invisible stairs.

This scene left everyone dumbfounded.

Captain Sage really flew over...treading on air. Sage's face was full of excitement.

They really encountered a ship!

To prevent any accidents, he directly used Moonwalk to travel.

After all, he was well aware of his own bad luck and feared something unexpected might happen.

Splash!!

Just as this thought crossed his mind, the sea surface not far from the ship suddenly erupted in a huge splash. A bull-headed sea monster, half its body as tall as the ship, emerged with a roar and charged fiercely towards the vessel.

The people on the ship clearly hadn't expected this. They panicked and scattered in all directions.

If it hits, this ship will definitely sink!

"Tempest Kick - Barrage!"

Sage's feet kicked out afterimages, sending a massive number of blue slashes flying out like a curtain of rain, furiously pouring towards the bull-headed sea monster.

Swish swish swish!

The bull-headed sea monster was only a short distance from the ship, its head lowered, its horns about to ram into the vessel when the slashes descending from the sky cut open its upper body. Blood sprayed out as it shuddered and fell back into the sea.

Sage's face was fierce, "Trying to steal my ship? You must not know what death is!"

He had finally found a ship after so long. Even if a meteor fell from the sky, he would have the guts to fight for it! This was about whether his pirate career would get off the ground or not! If his bad luck continued, he'd have no choice but to become a wild man!

Sage descended from the sky, landing swiftly on the deck, surveying the people on board.

They were a group of civilians with no signs of being armed.

However... he looked around, his brow furrowing. This ship had repair marks everywhere. A large number of wooden planks had been nailed to the hull and mast. The left side of the hull even had a large gap with burn marks.

The whole ship was rickety, as if it might fall apart at any moment.

This was a ship that had been robbed before.

"Um..." A civilian approached, trembling as he spoke, "Thank you for saving us."

"Don't thank me yet." Sage pulled out a flintlock pistol from his waist and fired a shot into the air with a bang. He then addressed the bewildered civilians: "I, a pirate, am here to rob you!"

So what if the ship had been robbed before? The ship was still here, wasn't it?

As a pirate, he wasn't concerned with such details. Today, he was determined to make his debut one way or another!

...

"Is this all?" Sage raised an eyebrow as he looked at the items piled on the deck.

Before his eyes, apart from some clothing, there was only a barrel of fresh water.

"Captain, this is everything," Paru answered honestly. The other pirates nearby didn't dare to speak.

They hadn't seen how Sage defeated Krieg, but they had witnessed the captain killing the sea monster. The monster was still floating on the water's surface, its enormous wounds a terrifying sight.

Now with such a pitiful haul, no one dared to risk angering the captain.

"Ca-Captain," The civilians huddled together, their faces pale, almost on the verge of tears. "Please spare our lives. You can't take the water away. Even if we're left with the ship, we'll die without it."

Sailing on the open sea, lack of food wasn't the most serious problem. Lack of water was truly fatal.

Dying at the hands of pirates or dying of thirst - they didn't want to die either way.

"You're thinking too beautifully. The ship is mine too!" Sage sneered and said, "Paru, take some men and start cutting up that sea monster!"

They had a ready source of food. Although the ship was damaged, the kitchen was still intact, and there was even a refrigerator.

Paru led some men to jump onto the sea monster's body. They used swords to cut open its skin and began slicing off chunks of meat.

Among pirates, there were always some who could cook. Though their skills weren't great, they could at least fry the meat. The kitchen still had some seasonings. With a bit of preparation, for them who had been hungry for a day, this was a world-class delicacy!

The pirates eagerly grabbed the meat with their hands and started gnawing on it.

"Sage, here's yours." Lily had also helped in the kitchen. She picked up a fried piece of meat on the bone and handed it to Sage.

Sage took a bite and felt like he could cry.

Not because it tasted bad... but because he was finally eating cooked food! Since arriving in the Oikot Kingdom, he hadn't eaten anything cooked!

The meat was quite good too. The beef flavor combined with seafood, even with just a bit of seasoning, tasted delicious.

While they were eating heartily, the group of civilians watched with longing, involuntarily swallowing their saliva.

Gulp—!

Sage's ear twitched. He looked at the civilians staring intently at the meat and sighed, "Come on, eat something too. How can we let you starve?"

"Captain, you're not going to rob us anymore?" The civilians' eyes lit up with hope.

"I'm still going to rob you, but I'm not interested in poor people. Let's eat first. I'm a pirate, not a murderer. I won't let people starve to death," Sage said.

Given permission, the civilians swarmed over, grabbing meat and gnawing on it.

Sage finished a piece of meat on the bone and promptly picked up another, asking, "Tell me, what do you do? Who robbed you?"