At dusk, less than twenty nautical miles from the Silent Death, a brig slowly drifted along the sea. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

The hull of a typical brig is relatively long, and this ship is even more extreme in this respect, almost narrower than a sloop when viewed from the front of the bow, but once you turn your eyes to the side, you will find that the length of this ship is almost equal to that of some small three-masted ships.

The name engraved on the wooden board at the stern of the ship also sums up the ship's shape quite accurately: the Mouse Tail.

It stands to reason that a ship of this shape, traveling at such a slow turtle speed, is abnormal from any angle. But Bernard Cook, who was now on deck, couldn't care about that.

"Stew, why haven't they caught up?" Cook's lieutenant looked equally restless.

"Stew" is Cook's nickname, and it's not just because his last name means cook, Cook was really a cook when he first joined the gang at Black Sails.

In the short three or four years he had boarded the Mouse Tail, all those above him, including the captain, deputy, second and deputy quartermaster, had all died until no one could challenge his position. From a cook to a captain, it's clear that in Cook's stew, the seasoning is not so simple.

"Wait, if not, come closer. Of course, Cook knew that his ship was a decoy, and that a basket of flaws was too little, and that the orders of the lovely Devard Hugh were unquestionable, and that he could not run on top of the Pirate Lord's Megalodon to make him a stew, what could he do but act according to an unreliable plan?

"Phew!" Cook spat into the corner of the deck, if it weren't for the flattering villain Mason, how could he have been given such a failed mission?

"Stew!" the first mate called again, and on the rat's tail number, he was the only one who could directly address Cook's nickname.

"What?" asked Cook as he pulled out a chewing cigarette and slipped it into his mouth.

"The ship seems to be moving!" the first mate pointed in the direction of the Silent Reaper.

Cook hurriedly raised the telescope in front of him, and sure enough, after a few hours of hesitation, the Silent Reaper finally turned the ship's bow, it seemed that the greed of the other party was endless, and even such an obvious flaw could not stop their desire for goods and silver coins.

Edward Hugh's order was clear: after midnight to-morrow, before six o'clock tomorrow morning, the great ship must be lured into range of the Gravel Island Battery.

Cook was confident in the speed of his ship, and from the information obtained from the other pirates, the guns on the giant ship, although they had a long range, did not exceed two or three nautical miles, which was still much worse than the heavy mortars. As long as you keep your speed and don't get too close, it's not entirely impossible to get away as bait.

The only problem was that he had been hanging out for a whole day without getting the other party's attention, and now there were only ten hours left before the deadline for tomorrow morning, and he had to make a detour all the way, and he didn't know if the big guy could keep up and get into the trap before the deadline.

Soon Cook realized that his fears were completely unnecessary, the speed of the giant ship was no less than that of the B-class cruisers, and he could barely stay out of range with all his might.

I don't know if it's my own luck or the opponent's underestimation of the enemy, the legendary ice cubes, fireballs have not appeared, the giant ship is unhurriedly chasing the Mouse Tail, and the whirling cannon in the bow occasionally fires a few weak shells, which does not pose a threat at all.

After a night of intense chase, the nameless island that Edward Hugh had just named Gravel Island appeared before Cook's eyes along with the first rays of dawn. He pulled out his pocket watch, the hands pointing to five-thirty.

In a few minutes, the roar of cannon should be heard, and the only thing Cook had to pray to the Lord of the Storm now was that the shells would not deflect into his ship. Of course, with the narrow form of the rat's tail, this should not be very likely.

A perfect trap, of course, is not just as simple as Cook's bait ship and the hastily completed Gravel Island Battery.

Almost as soon as the Silent Death began its pursuit, Edward Hugh's main fleet was also in action. This huge fleet of more than 30 warships divided into four directions and quietly surrounded it from the rear, trying not to give the Silent Death a chance to break through from any direction.

Boom! Boom!

A huge roar came from the direction of Gravel Island, and Cook listened to this voice and secretly rejoiced in his heart, sure enough, it was the most advanced cannon, and this sound sounded extraordinary.

But the next second, when the mortar shell landed on his bow, he couldn't laugh anymore.

"What a hell of a quasi-head!" he cursed a dozen or so swear words in a row, and the command of the rat tail, which could make do with sailing, turned left and right.

When the third shell landed on the ship, Cook finally realized that it was not inaccurate at all, and that the target of the batteries on the shore was clearly himself.

"These rotten tail baboons!" was the last words of Captain Cook before the Mouse Tail broke in two.

Was it Mason's villain who took the opportunity to get rid of him, or was Edward Hugh unhappy with his bait, or was it the stupid relatives and friends who had been poisoned by him who wanted revenge? Cook never had a chance to figure out why.

The fourth shell hit him directly on the head, and neither the stew nor the poisonous vegetable ever surfaced again.

......

Twenty nautical miles from the Mouse Tail, the Megalodon is carrying the most powerful pirate in the waters (Luca wouldn't admit it, of course), breaking the waves.

"What's up ahead?" asked the tall pirate leader as he held up his binoculars.

"Captain, it looks like those island gunners don't have a good eye!" replied Mason, who wore an eyepatch in one eye, and yes, he was the one who escaped before the first battle of the Silent Reaper, and luckily saved his life.

"Hmph, what's not good, I think you're bad!" Edward Hugh didn't give him a good look, if it weren't for Donna's chick being really strong, the pirate leader wouldn't bother to pay attention to this guy who had good eyes but had to wear an eye patch every day.

"Could it be that the people on the shore have rebelled?" said Mason with a smile, touching Edward Hugh's meaning.

The pirate leader shook his head: "They dare too, don't think about it, Gravel Island is now occupied by the enemy!"