Free Web NovelChapter 115: Intruder
The quiet, smooth way Franky swam under the surface showed how much experience he had in this practice.
As he swam, his mind was focused on the plan. Victor trusted him to free the hostages and neutralize the pirates without causing a stir, but first, he had to find a safe entry point, a way to board the "Traveling Mermaid" without being detected. Quietly, he approached the hull of the pirate ship, searching for that loophole.
I could use my claws, but that would make some noise. I need to be as silent as possible. Franky thought and looked at the five claws in his right hand.
Then he saw a frayed rope ladder swinging gently from the stern of the ship into the water, its end partially submerged. It was a perfect opportunity.
The crew must have spotted the attack before it happened and taken the chance to leave something to help us. Franky thought, knowing that the rope ladder wasn’t there by accident.
Franky approached the ladder with another silent leap, and as soon as he touched it, he began to climb, step by step. The ladder creaked a little and swayed with Franky’s large body, but the sound of the water hitting the ship’s hull and the waves drowned out his noises.
Arriving near the deck, Franky peered over the edge, making sure the stern area was clear of pirates before pulling himself up. The deck was poorly lit, with only a few oil lamps swaying in the wind. He moved stealthily, using the shadows to his advantage, and hid behind the wheel. From there, Franky had a clear view of the entire plundering operation.
Captain Claw, a big, fat, dirty man, stood in the middle of the deck, shouting at Victor. At the same time, the other pirates in his crew were yelling at each other, making it clear that there were slaves in Claw’s crew and not everyone there was a pirate by choice. freёwebnovel.com
"Hurry up, you lazy dogs! We’ve got to finish this quickly!" shouted one pirate, kicking another who was carrying a crate.
With that, Franky realized that his biggest challenge would be to tell which of the looting men were pirates and which weren’t, so as not to attack innocent people.
After observing for a few seconds, Franky noticed that the slaves were the ones who worked with the most fear and hesitation, their movements were fast and uncoordinated, while the pirates, in equally dirty clothes, were more confident and brutal in their behavior. They shouted orders and abused the slaves.
Franky knew he had to act quickly. At any moment, Victor might not be able to distract Captain Claw. So the Iizardman began to move silently across the deck.
As he approached a group of pirates, he hid behind a pile of barrels and heard fragments of a conversation.
"If we finish this quickly, the captain has promised us a bigger share of the loot!" said a pirate with a scar across his mouth.
"That’s if he doesn’t decide to take it all for himself like last time," grumbled another, younger one, with a suspicious look on his face.
"Shhh, watch what you say! If he hears you, you could end up without a head," his companion warned, looking around nervously.
Franky took advantage of the fact that they were both distracted and scratched the backs of their heads, causing them to fall backward as they felt the blow, even though it was only a thin cut.
Since Franky had the ability to secrete a powerful paralyzing poison from his claws, this was very useful in such a situation.
Franky cushioned the pirates’ falls and dragged them behind the barrels where he had been hiding. Then he continued to move around the deck, but there was no way he could deal with all the pirates silently, so he had to ignore some of them and keep moving in the shadows.
Positioned on the deck, he had two choices. He could go to the large trapdoor in the middle of the deck, which led directly to the warehouse, or to the door that led to the other rooms inside the ship, which were more empty. Obviously, he chose the second option and snuck in.
The corridors inside the ship were narrow and poorly lit, and the smell of old wood permeated the air.
Carefully moving so as not to make too much noise, Franky approached the room where water was stored. He believed that this was where the ship’s crew was being held, as it was common for pirates to keep hostages in such rooms. This was a common pirate practice to prevent possible help from firing cannons at the ship being plundered because if the ship began to sink from the bullet holes, the hostages would be the first to die.
On his way through the inner corridors, Franky passed more pirates ransacking the other rooms of the ship, neutralizing them with enough poison to keep them asleep for a month.
Finally, he reached the hold and, looking down the ladder, saw a group of people tied up and sitting on the floor. Their faces showed fatigue and fear, but after working with them for two full days, Franky obviously recognized them.
Before going down, he had to make sure there were no pirates around. He heard footsteps and voices approaching, so he hid behind a wooden pillar. Two pirates passed him, chatting about the loot.
"That was the easiest plunder we’ve made in the last six months! To think that such a wrecked ship could have so many supplies..."
"Captain Claw will reward us well this time. I can feel it!" said one of them, laughing.
"He’d better, or I’ll slit Mouse’s throat and become second-in-command myself!" replied the other, laughing hard.
When the pirates were gone, Franky quietly went downstairs and approached the prisoners.
"Franky, you’ve come to save us!" whispered Jonathan, one of the crew, recognizing the Iizardman.
Franky put a finger to his lips, signaling for silence, and began to cut the ropes that bound them. Franky released the crew members one by one. But the universe always conspires for something to go wrong, and this time would be no different.
While Franky was on his back freeing the hostages, a voice echoed through the hold. freewebnovel.cσ๓
"Hey, what are you doing? The boss asked you to..." As the pirate spoke down the stairs, he became aware of the situation.
When the Iizardman, with his yellow eyes and elongated snout, looked back, the pirate shouted back:
"INTRUDEEEERRR! INTRUDER IN THE HOLD!"
