Free Web NovelChapter 295: Chapter 295 Thieves Also Have Their Way_1
On the following morning, the people who came to visit Rose Iron Prison were surprised to find the prison locked down.
Not only that, a cordon had been put up outside the prison.
"There are internal renovations in the prison; visitations are temporarily prohibited. Please leave," the guard standing watch outside prevented all outsiders from attempting to enter the prison.
"Visitation will have to wait until tomorrow at the earliest. The prison is undergoing significant construction work today, which may be dangerous, so please do not approach," the guards persuaded the citizens to leave, one by one.
At the same time, in the warden’s office.
"Will they really come today?" Veronica asked.
"Given the style of these pirates, they definitely will. I’ve studied the operational patterns of the Red Shark Pirate Crew. They target big prey and even draw their symbol on the sails and deck of the victim’s ship before sending it back. They’re the largest and most brazen pirates on the Silent Sea," Aiden explained slowly, "They’ve announced they’re coming today, so they most likely will. I’ve leaked their announcement to the newspaper, and it made the front page of the morning edition."
Aiden picked up the newspaper for the day and waved it around.
"Here you go again..." Flandre, standing in front of the desk, had a look of resignation, "No wonder so many reporters showed up this morning."
"It’s a precaution. After all the preparations we’ve made, it would be troublesome if they stood us up. Besides, those pirates wouldn’t want the news that they chickened out after making a threat to spread everywhere," Aiden replied calmly, "The nearby establishments and businesses have gotten wind and closed on their own, saving us the trouble of issuing a warning."
"But if anything goes wrong, you’ll bear an even greater responsibility," Flandre reminded him expressionlessly, "I might end up being implicated because of you..."
"Have some faith in your superior, will you?" Aiden shrugged his shoulders, "Learn from Veronica. She hasn’t raised any concerns."
Flandre glanced at Veronica, who seemed to have "I’m a soldier who only knows to follow orders" written all over her face, and shook her head: "I genuinely can’t learn that."
"In any case, let’s just patiently wait for our guests to arrive," Aiden said, glancing at the clock, "Speaking of which, have you had breakfast? I’m planning to head to the cafeteria to grab a pancake to fill up."
"I’ll go too," Veronica immediately raised her hand.
Flandre couldn’t help but recall that just half an hour ago, she and Veronica had breakfasted together in the cafeteria.
However, her accumulated life experience kept her from mentioning this and instead she simply said, "I’ve eaten already, I’ll head back to my post." fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
...
At noon, the pirates appeared.
Due to the morning newspaper’s dissemination and the Heretics’ Tribunal’s coordinated control, the nearby streets’ establishments and shops had mostly shut down, quickly clearing the area.
At this moment, the guards on watch outside observed several carriages charging straight their way—not public carriages, but four freight carriages filled with people.
Just as a guard was about to shout, someone on the carriages hoisted a flag—a pirate flag emblazoned with a shark crest.
"The target has appeared!!"
The on-duty guards immediately tensed up, quickly running back into the prison and locking the main gate tight.
The pirates’ carriages came to a halt one by one, and Navi Drake disembarked. This time, he was dressed in his usual sea attire, wearing a tricorn hat and with pistols tucked into his belt; the others were also mostly dressed as sailors.
Today, they came as pirates, not only to rescue the captain’s daughter but also to raid the very prison.
Meanwhile, the prison alarm bell began to ring.
"Board the ship!" Navi drew his command sword and gave the order, immediately receiving everyone’s response. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
The group charged straight toward the solitary confinement prison gate without carrying battering rams or axes, moving toward it as if they couldn’t see the door at all.
On the other side of the gate, in the corridor leading to the inner part of the prison and the three barred iron gates of the solitary confinement, the duty guards, a dozen in number, gathered in the hall on alert.
Then, to their utter astonishment, they saw the locks on the other side of the bars unlocking all at once, as though an invisible person with the prison keys and all the authority was adeptly opening the doors.
In just two seconds, the gate opened itself before the invaders, and the three iron gates were sequentially unlocked, as if welcoming the invaders’ arrival.
The pirates entered the inside of the prison without impediment, and the duty guards quickly took cover behind the reception desk, aiming their issued firearms at the pirates—this was their instinctive action. In fact, they had received strict orders the day before not to initiate any attack on the invaders before the other party acted, but facing a group of criminals who had effortlessly infiltrated the prison, they all instinctively felt their personal safety threatened.
In the face of more than a dozen gun barrels, the pirates appeared remarkably calm, with only Navi carelessly firing his gun into the ceiling, causing the guards present to instantly hold their breath.
"Try firing, you lapdogs of the officials," Navi said calmly.
A few guards, already with their nerves on edge, reflexively prepared to pull the trigger when a command abruptly surfaced in their minds:
"It’s forbidden to inflict pain or injury on others, whether directly or indirectly, offenders will be punished with corporal punishment."
This command appeared out of nowhere, yet carried an irresistible authority that made most of the guards stop their movement, only one persisted in pulling the trigger.
At that moment, however, the pistol misfired.
As this guard felt puzzled, he suddenly experienced intense pain coursing through his right hand, causing him to instinctively scream in agony and collapse on the ground clutching his hand.
Hearing the scream, the pirates immediately burst into raucous laughter.
"Hey, what’s wrong with you?" a colleague hiding behind the same counter leaned in.
"My right hand hurts so much!" the guard who had just fired whined in pain.
Without seeing a drop of blood, his colleague, confused, asked him to show his covered right hand.
Then they discovered that there were no wounds on the right hand, only many fine black thorn patterns, crawling over the whole hand like tattoos.
"This..." Both of them were stunned.
It looked very much like some sort of powerful black magic curse, yet the entrance to the prison was covered with a barrier sealing magic power, so how could a curse take effect?
"Who told you to shoot?" the person in charge of the watch scolded him.
"Please be at ease, there’s honor among thieves, and pirates have their own code, too. We don’t kill those who surrender. As long as no one plays the hero, all will be well," Navi Drake spoke up, "Now, can anyone tell me where my daughter, Annie, is being held?"
The responsible guard on duty recalled the orders conveyed from above first thing in the morning: "Just hold your post, do not initiate attacks when the invaders come, and if they ask for directions, guide them to the core area."
He then extended his hand from behind the counter and pointed towards the corridor leading to the core area.
