"Someone threw a barrel into the water, but why?" said Maffeo to himself, not understanding why. Pen ~ Fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info When the unthinkable happens, Maffeo knows that the day when these guys will act is not far off. But he still doesn't know exactly who and what the plans are, and causing a riot would be almost devastating for the sturdy ship. If they had other ships that could handle it, it would have been a no-brainer to get aboard this one.

"What's the matter, sir?" asked Ludwig.

"There's something weird, I'm going to check it out. As Maffeo prepared to head to the lower cabin, he was able to confirm the exact location of the barrel, which was directly opposite his room.

"Be careful, sir, there are many dangers lurking beneath the dark decks. Ludwig reminded.

"I will. ”

When Maffeo came to his room, Zmailmann opened the door and walked out of his room. When he saw Maffeo, he only said hello briefly and walked briskly to the cook, who could hear the "grunting" sound in the guy's stomach, and it seemed that his stomach was protesting because he was reading.

Maffeo dodged into a utility room across the street from his room when he made sure no one was noticed. There are wooden barrels for food and rums, as well as ropes for securing sails. It was dark, so Maffeo quietly fetched an oil lamp from a nearby table before entering.

With the lights on, Maffeo began to check the inside of the house. There was a gap just right enough for the barrels to be thrown out, and it looked like a crew member had scratched the planks with a sharp weapon. Maffeo also noticed a barrel in front of him with strange symbols carved with weapons, but he didn't know what this fit meant. The symbol looked like a demon, but when turned upside down, it looked like a torch. This gave Maffeo a headache, as he had never been good at solving puzzles. He looked out again against the gap, and the barrels that had been thrown out were still floating on the surface of the sea, as if they were abandoned chess pieces. "Strange, so weird, it doesn't make sense. Maffeo shook his head and left the utility room.

Clues were always limited, and although Maffeo was able to hear some movement every night for the next few days, he couldn't get any useful information from them every time he went to check. He also tried to crouch in the previous utility room and wait for his prey to take the bait, but the other party did not go there as if he knew that there was danger hidden in the dark utility room, much to Maffeo's distress.

"Is there any progress?" Captain Jaeger found Maffeo again in the afternoon of the sixth day.

"It's the same every night, when I look at one place, they drop the marked barrels from another. We need people to be our eyes and ears, and I think Manfred is a good candidate. Maffeo looked tired, he hadn't had a good night's sleep in a few nights.

"Does Manfred know about this?" asked Jaeger.

"He knows, and I don't think you've forgotten that he's the guy who has been on this ship for the longest time. ”

Captain Jaeger poured a full glass of rum and began to drink, he was a real drunkard. "Well, assuming those fellows are using marked barrels to leave trails for possible ones, then it won't be long before the guys who are following us will ......" Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a roar from the cabin. "If an unknown ship approaches the stern, it's about to open fire!"

"What's that?" Maffeo jumped up from his chair, and Jaeger moved faster than he did, slamming open the door and scurrying out like a cheetah. Maffeo tried to follow him, but the cabin was in chaos. The crew flocked to the deck to ward off the enemy, and the travelers who were relaxing in the cabin had to lean against the wooden crates in the corners.

By the time Maffeo managed to squeeze onto deck, Captain Jaeger had already given orders to his crew. However, the ship following the Vengeance had already opened fire first, and Maffeo thought that the opposing gunners must have been drunk, because none of their shells had hit the hull of the Vengeance in the face of such a huge target as the Vengeance, but Captain Jaeger did not think so. "It's a warning bombardment, it looks like they want to force their way aboard!Get moving, boys, turn a quarter of a corner, and prepare for a bombardment!Now, Mr. Fry, get me back to the cabin, I don't want any travelers to be hurt!"

"I can help!" Maffeo disagreed with Captain Jaeger.

"Do you know how to steer the sails?Can you load cannonballs?Have you ever fought a naval battle?I'm afraid not, so get me back to the cabin!" Captain Jaeger was furious, he didn't want to waste his time directing the battle because of a boy who didn't dry up for him, and his barrage of questions did leave Maffeo speechless, so the latter walked silently to the stairs leading to the cabin.

Maffeo was a little frustrated, not because he couldn't witness a naval battle that was so new to him, he wasn't interested in this kind of thing that was still a fight in nature, he just felt uncomfortable because he was being led by the nose all the time.

"Maffeo Frye. It was the first sound Maffeo heard when he returned to the cabin, and it also came from the strange fellow who was always sitting on a barrel and drinking rum.

"You're still here? I thought you were a crew member on this ship. Maffeo whispered. "A ship of guys came who wanted to force their way onto the ship, but strangely there was no sign of mutiny on board, which was so strange that I had to go back to the cabin and rest. He turned and prepared to walk towards his room.

"No, it's not surprising at all. His voice suddenly turned grim, and Maffeo sensed the danger approaching. He dodged the guy's attack, and he slammed his dagger headlong into the wooden wall because he suddenly lost his target. "What do you want to do?" said Maffeo as he watched the guy warily, now he finally didn't look like a crew member.

"Do you really think your affairs on the West Coast will get away with us?" he sneered, pulling out his dagger.

"What do you mean?" Maffeo drew the greatsword behind him, but he didn't attack lightly, because the greatsword was really not a practical weapon in the narrow space of the cabin.

"The city in the sky has given you the answer, and now, we have to get our answer. And our answer is to destroy such beings as you. He swung his dagger at Maffeo, who dodged backwards and distanced himself from the fellow with the pile of cargo. "Who are you?"

"The fire of truth is here for you. His smile went wild, and what followed was naturally a frenzied attack by the dagger.

Now Maffeo finally understood who this guy really was, he was the crazy guy that Marcos had mentioned to himself, the initiator of the First Battle of the Eritar River. But he had always thought that these guys would disappear after that battle, and he would never have imagined that this group of fanatical guys would appear in front of him. "It's the first time I've been in contact with you guys, but Marcos is right, you're a bunch of crazy people. ”

"Die, you goddamn heretic!"

Maffeo decided to put an end to the riots, and in fact all the riots were caused by this guy. Crazy they can slaughter a shipload of people because they have ghost swordsmen on a ship, they can do that. And once on the plains of Amiens, they did such things. Maffeo parried the man's dagger, then disarmed him with the momentum. After losing his weapon, he still tried to attack Maffeo with all the parts of his body that could move, but Maffeo had already stabbed him in the chest with a sword.

The blood he spat out splattered onto Maffeo's face, and in this case Maffeo was able to hear the sound of a spell coming out of his mouth. He was still cursing Maffeo in this situation, he didn't know why these guys hated the ghost swordsman so much, but he believed it must be a bad memory. Maffeo wanted to end his pain as soon as possible, but his hands clung to his sword. "You madmen!" an enraged Maffeo kicked him in the abdomen, then pulled his greatsword out of his chest with a force in his hand.

The guy's hands clutching the big sword were already cut by the blades, and he knelt on the spot and slowly fell backwards. The signs of life were rapidly draining away from him, and his soul never seemed to be at peace, and they would continue to be cursed to accompany all the ghost swordsmen until the day they disappeared from this world.

Maffeo sat down on the barrels behind him, but he knocked them over and collapsed to the ground. The greatsword he held fell limply on the cabin floor, and he gasped as if he had experienced a fierce fight to the death. He swore he would never ever have any more contact with these guys, believing it must have been a joke on him by the gods.

After a while, he slowly stood up, picked up the greatsword and took it back behind him. Turning around, he opened the hatch and walked onto the deck. Now the red-sailed brig was no longer warning of shelling, it was trying to sink the Vengeance with ramming angles. Captain Jaeger wouldn't let it do that, and the speed of the opposing ship slowed down under the influence of the chain bullets, which gave the Vengeance enough time to launch a round of shelling on it.

"Captain!" Maffeo came behind Captain Jaeger.

He looked back at Maffeo disapprovingly. "I told you to stay on the lower deck, wait, what's the matter with the blood on your face?" his displeasure turned to surprise.

"Believe me, there is no crew on this ship who wants to rebel. Everything is ...... How to say it, I don't know the name of the guy, but he always sits on the barrel and drinks. Maffeo tried to explain, but he found it difficult.

"You mean Koch, he only joined us on this voyage, and I've actually always thought that guy was acting strangely. You...... Kill him?" Captain Jaeger looked expectantly.

"I killed him because the guy was clearly hostile to me. After I entered the cabin, he tried to kill me with a knife. Maffeo decided to tell the truth. "Listen, it's all because of me. Whether it's Koch or that ship with red sails, the target is me. ”

"Then I'll hand you over. Captain Jaeger smiled a little coldly, he seemed to be joking but not joking.

"Those guys aren't going to let you go just because they handed me over. ”

"Just kidding, we're close to Ruawa Island, and I think the Imperial warships will come to our aid. Captain Jaeger crossed his hands on his hips, as if there was no suspense in this naval battle. The Vengeance had distanced itself from the other side, and the other party was still in pursuit, and Captain Jaeger only waited for the warships to appear.