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Chapter 289: Too Despicable, Too Shameless
🕑 Added 2025-02-27 16:09:01 +0000 UTCHerolf, the Golden Ram, was in a hurry to return to Saint Michael Island. His magical alchemical warship sailed swiftly, leaving the rest of his fleet far behind. Meanwhile, Menielman Soumet's fleet had already isolated Herolf’s magical alchemical warship from the twenty-odd regular ships under his command. By the time Herolf realized what was happening, it was too late—under the pressure of three Saint-rank powerhouses, all the pirates aboard the twenty-some regular ships surrendered.
Witnessing this, Herolf hesitated to fight further, his courage failing him. He could only watch as Menielman took the twenty-plus ships and sailed away triumphantly.
Though Herolf felt heartache, he consoled himself with the thought that he still had his magical alchemical warship. Regular ships could always be recruited, and with Saint Michael Island's bustling harbor—filled with merchant ships, warships, and slave-trading vessels—his power could be quickly rebuilt.
However, as he cursed loudly from the skies, something felt off. Why was there no response from Saint Michael Island? According to his arrangements, a few ships should have been left behind, and the slave traders and underground merchants’ vessels should also have shown up in a commotion. But this time, there was nothing.
Landing his warship, Herolf ordered it to head toward Saint Michael Island. When he finally returned to his base and stepped off the deck, he was stunned. The island was utterly deserted. The usually bustling docks, swarming with slaves and low-ranking pirates, were empty. Even the taverns, shops, and trading posts that should have been alive with activity were eerily silent.
Herolf’s eyes widened in disbelief. He soared into the air, surveying the island layer by layer, his heart sinking with each sweep. He could not accept this reality—how had Saint Michael Island become a ghost town? For a moment, he even doubted whether he had landed in the wrong place. But the familiar buildings confirmed he was indeed on Saint Michael Island. Besides, he had already summoned Saint Michael’s Sacred Spirit, which had responded as usual. There could be no mistake.
It wasn’t until Herolf reached the first level of Saint Michael City that he encountered his guards. Their expressions were complicated as they explained what had happened. They too had noticed Menielman’s fleet separating Herolf’s warship from the regular ships. But Herolf had ignored the plight of the regular ships, focusing solely on racing back to Saint Michael Island. This had allowed Menielman’s fleet to ensnare and capture all of them.
Menielman’s tactics weren’t particularly sophisticated—he merely exploited Herolf’s fear and urgency to return to Saint Michael Island. Menielman deliberately avoided heavy artillery strikes, keeping a controlled distance and maintaining pressure. Only after Herolf arrived at Saint Michael Island and activated Saint Michael’s Sacred Spirit did Menielman fully close the net, successfully capturing the remaining twenty-some ships.
By now, there wasn’t a single vessel left at Saint Michael Island. Compared to Menielman, Charlot Mecklenburg’s methods had been even more ruthless.
Herolf’s guards recounted how, while Herolf battled Menielman, Charlot had thoroughly plundered Saint Michael Island, leaving nothing behind. The pirates remarked that Menielman’s victory was a textbook example of naval strategy, effortlessly toying with Herolf as though he were a child.
Menielman’s plan was simple yet effective. By exploiting Herolf’s panic and desperation to return to Saint Michael Island, he delayed his full assault until Herolf had tied his fate to the island. During this time, Herolf missed his chance to reverse the situation by turning his magical alchemical warship back to rescue the fleet. Paralyzed by his fear of leaving the Sacred Spirit’s protection, Herolf could only watch as Menielman secured a decisive and lucrative victory.
With over twenty ships captured, Menielman not only gained substantial spoils but also acquired experienced sailors and skilled mariners. This made his fleet the largest in the Aggras Sea. Apart from lacking a magical alchemical warship, his fleet was now almost flawless.
The morale of Herolf’s pirates was shattered.
First, Charlot Mecklenburg had robbed Saint Michael Island of everything valuable, and now Menielman had wiped out the remnants of the Golden Rams Fleet, leaving Herolf utterly destitute.
Had this been ancient China, such a scene would have called for a melodramatic display of ruler and ministers weeping bitterly together. But Herolf, a mere pirate king of the Old Continent, was left with only rage as his guards recounted Charlot’s deeds on the island.
Charlot had committed these acts in his true identity, and Herolf immediately realized that the same shameless scoundrel who had stolen his Queen Bee ship was behind this.
Herolf’s hands trembled with fury. He had previously inquired about the Queen Bee on Britannia Island but found no opportunity to reclaim it. After all, the ship was now under the protection of Princess May Guillaume, housed in the capital of the Ingrima Empire, where countless Saint-rank powerhouses resided. A pirate king like Herolf had no chance to act recklessly there. Despite his scheming, he had been forced to return empty-handed.
In the process, Herolf also learned more about Charlot Mecklenburg.
Rumors painted Charlot as a notorious figure from the Fars Empire, with scandalous tales about his exploits in Ingrima. The most infamous involved Charlot, a Fars envoy, meeting Princess May and becoming infatuated at first sight. His obsessive pursuit of the widowed princess drew widespread attention.
The young Ban Lamorak, son of Count Lamorak and one of Britannia’s rising stars, challenged Charlot in a duel to defend the princess’s honor. Witnessed by Emperor Alfred Guillaume, Charlot shamelessly used trickery to defeat the young lion.
Princess May had initially scorned Charlot, but his persistence wore her down. Upon learning of her fondness for novels, Charlot even masqueraded as a female author under the pseudonym Annie Mecklenburg, penning four volumes to win her favor.
The scandal of gifting a second-hand carriage only added to Charlot’s reputation for absurdity.
Strangely, his most impressive feat—giving away the Queen Bee—was seldom discussed, as it earned him too much acclaim, which the Ingrima public disliked.
Despite his notorious reputation, Ingrima citizens viewed Charlot with an odd affection, akin to that reserved for a mischievous child. Much of this stemmed from Charlot’s official role in Ingrima’s administration, which made him “one of their own.”
One rumor even eclipsed Charlot’s infamy: a tale from Fars, where he was once chased naked down a street by a gentleman wielding a sword.
Herolf cursed furiously:
“Charlot, you’re too despicable, too shameless! Is there nothing you won’t do?”
“How could you do this to Saint Michael Island? This hatred, this enmity, is irreconcilable!”
“I swear I’ll kill that wretched Charlot, that contemptible scoundrel!”
Charlot, of course, never anticipated the day when he would be cursed as despicable and shameless by a pirate king.
And yet, this was so very Charlot.
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