A smoky seaside tavern in the port of Marseille, known as Topcello, is popular with sailors because of the two things they love, rum and gambling.

Loka's face was a little blue, and her scarlet eyes were fixed on a middle-aged gentleman across from her. He had already lost nearly two hundred gold francs, and with the amount of money that other gamblers had lost to middle-aged gentlemen, the bills and gold coins on the table had piled up.

Loca is the head of the gangsters in this area of the port of Marseille and has been hanging out in this tavern all year round. What he and his men love most is to look for some fat sheep at the poker table. It's best if the cards can win, and if they can't, they'll prefer the violent game that follows.

Loka was very good, but apparently he wasn't lucky enough to meet another opponent who was better than him. The hooligan leader now felt that the middle-aged gentleman with the mustache opposite him was really annoying.

They played a gypsy card game, and whenever Loka got a big hand, the middle-aged gentleman would always get a slightly bigger opponent and eat him to death. Sometimes, Loka felt that his opponent was deliberately teasing him, so that his good mood to find the fat sheep would disappear with the bad hand.

"No more playing!" With a gloomy face, Loka stood up, glanced greedily at the mountain of gold coins on the table, gave her companion a look, and walked out of the bar. They were not allowed to make trouble in the Topcello Tavern, which was the rule of the local gangs, otherwise there would be no sailors coming to the bar to drink and gamble.

Looking at the backs of the group of people in Loca, the middle-aged gentleman smiled disdainfully, took off the authentic Panama cigar he was holding in his mouth, and gently exhaled a string of smoke rings.

"Roland, Henderson, let's go!" The middle-aged gentleman patted a bewitching girl sitting on his lap, picked up a few gold coins from the table and stuffed them into the girl's plump cleavage, "Beautiful baby, thank you for the luck you brought me tonight, this is your dividend!" ”

"This ...... Sir, Loka won't just leave it at that, I think it's better for you to go through the back door of the bar, right next to the toilet! For the sake of the gold coin, the girl smiled and whispered softly to the middle-aged gentleman's ear.

"Hehe, trust me, baby, I've seen more ferocious wild dogs in Port Royal." The middle-aged gentleman pointed his finger at the girl's nose, "Usually, though, they will be pulled out by me!" ”

……

Henry Morgan crouched down, took out a white silk scarf and wiped the blood from the corner of Loka's mouth, and under the frightened eyes of the rogue leader, he took out a gold coin from his pocket, opened his palm, and placed it in the palm of his hand.

"Seeing how much joy you've brought me tonight, I think I should leave you some money to heal your wounds! Ha ha! ”

"Admiral, Admiral, wait for me!" Looking at Henry Morgan, who was walking away, Henderson excitedly followed.

"Joseph, did you say we were looking for the wrong person!" Roland smiled bitterly and threw away the hooligan he was carrying like a broken sack, "For the past two months, we have been wandering around the Mediterranean, drinking and gambling in major taverns with the king of the Caribbean, and we have not been able to find those two targets until now. ”

"Roland, don't you often say that the doctrine of God is to God, and we just need to believe?" A faint word sounded in the void that only Roland could hear, "The two of us don't know anything about naval warfare, Henry Morgan is the king of the sea, so leave the naval battle to him, a professional!" ”

"That's right, but in the past two months, Lao K has made such a big fuss in the Mediterranean, and I haven't seen him go out of his way to find that Swedish battleship for a decisive battle?" Roland said helplessly, "Not to mention, look for the traces of that traitor!" ”

"Hehe, Henry Morgan is the king of the Caribbean, half master of the pirate city of Port Royal, and now he is chasing a ruffian at the poker table, don't you feel a little abnormal?" Joseph said teasingly.

"You mean, Henry is trying his best to suppress his desire to fight in this way?" Roland was startled and quickly understood.

"Yes, Tyrant of the Seas!" Joseph sighed, "The more brilliant Old K's record is, the more fierce the fighting spirit of those naval commanders will be. Even I, a ghost with only a conscious body left, felt the heroism of those sea boys, how could Henry, as the pirate king, be indifferent! ”

"When are you going to engage that Swedish battleship, Lord Henry?" As the group walked to the port, young Henderson finally couldn't help but ask.

"Hehe, Henderson, your patience has improved a lot, I thought you would have asked me this question a month ago!" Henry glanced at Henderson appreciatively, not perfunctory, "Before I answer this question for you, I want to ask you a question. ”

"Excuse me!" Henderson nodded respectfully.

"Our sailors in England are the most elite seamen in the world, how many times do you think they can fight at sea without stopping?" Henry was pleased with Henderson's respectful attitude towards him, and asked with a smile.

"This ...... Four, no, three times! If it is a battle with a large attrition, then I am afraid that after three high-intensity naval battles, the sailors will reach the limit of their physical and mental strength, and they must return to Hong Kong to rest! Henderson frowned and said, although he was very young, after all, he was a regular naval officer in England, and this kind of question certainly did not bother him.

"You're right, I don't have much contact with the Swedish navy, but they can't be tougher than the English sailors!" Henry touched his mustache and said with a sneer, "Judging from the battle report, the Swedish battleship has fought no less than a dozen large-scale naval battles in the past two months, and the Catholic countries on the northern shore of the Mediterranean Sea will never give him a stop and supplies." So what do you say, how is that sea tyrant going to give his crew rest and supplies! ”

"Sir Henry, do you mean that they have been resting and replenishing in the North African ports on the southern shore of the Mediterranean?" Henderson's eyes lit up and he reacted quickly.

"Well, I thought they were under the cover of some European country, disguised as merchant ships and hiding in some North Shore port. However, we have searched almost all the ports on the north shore in the past two months, and I do not believe that the Swedish warship will escape my eyes. In this case, there is only one possibility left, that sea tyrant really got the permission of the Ottoman Empire to hide in some North African port! There was a glint of confidence in Henry's eyes.

"But...... Your Excellency, the Ottoman Empire has many ports in North Africa, and there is also the undefeated pirate Barbarossa Hayreddin! Henderson muttered with an ugly face.

"What does it mean that the Swedish battleship did not last more than half an hour in every naval battle, although there were many ports in North Africa, and that the warships that rushed to rescue its own merchant ships could no longer find its traces?" A gleam flashed in Henry's eyes, "In addition, judging from the sea area of the battle report, the hunting range of the Swedish warships is basically concentrated in the Ionian Sea and near Sardinia!" ”

"Your Excellency, you mean that they are in the ports of Tunisia or Syria!" Henderson pondered for a moment, and then it dawned on him.

"Well, if you want to get rid of the pursuers in such a short time, they must have a supply port with a very close range. And I guess the place where they are must be a big port, so that the ships can be maintained as fast as possible, so that the sailors can get a good rest! Henry smiled and said, "On the opposite side of Italy, the only port that meets these conditions is Tripoli, Syria, where the maritime tyrant is!" ”

"Tripoli is the lair of Hayreddin!" Henderson said in frustration.

"Oh, Henderson, you remember! If you want to be an Admiral of England, you can't be afraid of any opponent on the seas. Henry Morgan's eyes narrowed slightly, hiding his intent.

"Barbarossa Hayreddin is old, and his time has passed! I would make the Mediterranean Sea the sea of England! ”