Chapter 19: The Letter of Recommendation (Part 1)

  Tang Jie followed Bar onto the deck.

  The Inferno was still sailing with the wind, but the sailors who were busy on deck every day had stopped their work and gathered on deck, whispering to each other.

  After the last sea battle, there were only ten men left on the Hell's Gate, excluding Tong Jie, not even enough to meet the minimum number of sailors required to maintain the ship. Fortunately, as long as the ship was sailing, it could continue to sail with just one experienced helmsman.

  But this extremely dangerous solo voyage absolutely cannot encounter any storms and accidents, otherwise, just a sudden rainstorm at sea can cause the ship to sink to the bottom of the sea, because the helmsman is not possible to spare another person to lower the sail.

  Even if there were just ten people, this would still be an extremely cramped crew.

  A ship needs not only to be driven but also to have logistics, maintenance and more so for pirates who need to maintain a certain number of sailors to ensure their combat effectiveness.

  While Tong Jie was unconscious, Ba Er replenished the ten sailors with a large sum of money, which made the number of sailors on the Hell's Gate not too small.

  These new sailors were all old salts and sea dogs who hung out in dockside taverns, to whom merchant ships and pirate ships were all the same, as long as someone paid them, they would work for whoever did, let alone Captain Bar's generous bounty, so there was no shortage of hands.

  The new sailors gathered on the deck under the command of Vice Captain Nia, exchanging glances and whispering to each other. They had no idea what was about to happen. Occasionally, someone who was well-informed would also not know what this impending event meant for the Hell's Gate.

  They had not participated in that sea counterattack, and they had not experienced the pain of losing their companions, so they would not be like the old sailors on the Hell's number, one by one burning with anger, gritting their teeth.

  Tang Jie's eyes scanned the ship and found that the sailors on board were divided into two groups, one side being Bal's old subordinates and the other side being new sailors who had just been added.

  Barr's old comrades were in an uproar, clenching their fists and shouting angrily: "Who the hell let Jones get away?"

  "God of the Sea Tira is above, can't let Kole and Kroos die in vain! I'm still waiting to use his blood to sacrifice their souls at sea!"

  "This scoundrel has been chasing after our butts for over sixty days, and just as we were about to arrive at the Mausoleum, he suddenly ran away! Hmph, I swear an oath to the Sea God Tira, even if he runs to the ends of the earth, I will still kill him!"

  "Seize this traitor, kill him, chop his body into ten thousand pieces and throw them into the sea to feed the fish!"

  This angry voice broke the calm of the ocean, these sailors who were loyal to Bal changed their usual relaxed and smiling demeanor, they were all wearing scarred upper bodies, with ferocious faces, every line on their faces was filled with a violent aura, the steel knives and giant axes in their hands were polished to a shine, reflecting a piercing cold light in the sunlight, exuding an intense killing intent!

  They can tolerate the pain of losing loved ones, but that doesn't mean they will forget this pain.

  The suppressed emotions in his heart suddenly burst out, and the entire Hell's Gate was filled with a strong aura of hatred.

  If Jones were still here, he would have been pulverized by the gaze of these old sailors.

  Tang Jie looked at these sailors, but did not see Horn's figure, and was shocked in his heart: Could it be that he also escaped with Jones?

  In the midst of questioning, the sailors on deck saw him and Ball walking up together. The old sailors gathered around, asking in unison, their eyes red with anger, who was the traitor that let Jones escape.

  Bar walked into the midst of the crowd, he was highly respected and had a great reputation in the Atak Sea area, whether it was an old sailor or a new sailor who was extremely convinced by him.

  The old captain's hands pressed down on the air, suppressing the excitement of the crowd. When the surroundings were quiet again, he nodded and said slowly: "A hundred years ago, the subordinates of Pirate King Atos betrayed him, letting him fall into the encirclement of the thirteen countries' allied forces. He died a heroic death in battle. The Sea Goddess Tira saw her deeply loved man die from betrayal, and in her furious rage, she stirred up a terrible tsunami that swallowed the combined fleet of the thirteen countries. Later generations called it Tira's Wrath."

  "From now on, the Sea Goddess Thalassa said to her followers: I can tolerate all the greed and ugliness in this world because I am a loving and merciful sea goddess; but the only ugly behavior that I cannot tolerate is betrayal! Anyone who commits this crime, even if he hides in the deepest part of hell, I will kill him with the judgment spear in my hand! Any of my followers can enjoy the power and authority I grant you to slay those wicked villains when facing traitors!"

  Old Bal spoke unexpectedly, not starting with who the traitor was, but instead bringing up a matter that everyone was familiar with 100 years ago. However, no one would question what Bal said because his tone and demeanor could produce a strong shock and attraction. He could always conquer people's hearts through a short speech, inspire their hearts, and make them willingly do anything for him.

  He was born to be a politician and an orator, not a pirate.

  Tang Jie sighed secretly in his heart.

  Although what he said was not the most important thing to everyone, everyone knew what Captain Bar's words implied, and this was just an opening remark, followed by the main topic.

  Indeed, Old Bar saw that his opening words had the desired effect, and every single person was listening to him with bated breath. He continued: "Half a month ago, we encountered a terrible storm at sea in the Atak Sea area where the winds are always changing. In this storm, we lost half of our companions, but in the subsequent naval battle, we fought against the Third Naval Defense Corps that had been chasing us all along. After suffering heavy casualties, we captured the captain of the Plunderer, Jones."

  The deck was quiet, even the seagulls seemed to sense the heavy and oppressive atmosphere on the Devil's ship, and they kept their distance.

  The new sailors listened to Ball's fragmented words, but vaguely saw the thrilling and terrifying night in them. They held their breath and waited quietly for Ball's next words. The old sailors recalled the brutal battle that night, clenched their fists, and gritted their teeth.

  Even Donnie couldn't help but sigh as he recalled that unforgettable night, and when he looked again, he saw Bar almost imperceptibly smile at him, nodding his head, as if thanking him for his bravery and fearlessness that night.

  "But have you ever thought about these questions... " Bar's words turned, and a cold smile with a hint of killing intent flowed from the corner of his mouth. "I've been sailing in the Atak Sea for decades and I've never seen a sudden change in wind direction, let alone a storm that comes out of nowhere. Why did all this happen suddenly?"

  Bar pointed at Tang Jie and said, "Why was it that when our fearless Tang Jie climbed up the main mast to take down the mainsail in the storm, he found that someone had tied a dead knot on the halyard?"

  "What?!"

  Whether new sailors or old sailors, hearing this news was a shock!

  Sailing on the sea, encountered a storm, if not immediately lowering the sails, there would be danger of shipwreck and loss of life in an instant. Who is so cruel as to want to destroy everything?

  The old sailors were stirred up one by one, with a fierce gaze, and even the new sailors who had been somewhat indifferent before were shocked by this sentence, feeling the same way, trembling with emotion, and responding in unison.

  Ba Er saw the crowd's emotions had reached a boiling point, he nodded his head and let out a loud shout: "Bring him up here!"

  As soon as the words fell, twenty pairs of eyes on the deck turned to look at the entrance of the cabin.

  First to emerge was Nia, her pretty face cold as ice, extremely beautiful eyes revealing a strong anger and killing intent. After she walked out, she pulled the rope behind her with her hand and shouted: "Come out!"

  Stumbling out came a man in clerical attire, with a chin strap beard, disheveled and unkempt. Who else could it be but Horn?

  This!

  The sailors on deck were stunned, they couldn't believe their eyes.

  This treacherous and sinister traitor is actually the affable Horn who often has a smile on his face and chats with them in a lively manner?

  Some keen-eyed old sailors on the deck had not seen Horn's figure from the beginning, and they were suspicious in their hearts. They had a very deep relationship with Horn, so they didn't dare to think deeply about it. Now seeing Horn being pulled out by Nia, this was no less than a thunderstorm on a sunny day!

  "Beer Barrel Willie's eyes widened in surprise: 'How are you?!'"

  "Bill exclaimed loudly: 'I remember now, that night was his night shift!'"

  Ba Er nodded at Tang Jie: "Tang Jie, tell them everything you know!"

  Tang Jie knew that this was an opportunity for Ball to establish his position among the sailors, so he nodded and told everything about what happened on the deck that night, seeing Horn's clothes with friction marks left after climbing, and last night in the corridor. He saw Horn having a secret meeting with Jones.

  Even the most suspicious sailors thought that Tang Jie had only boarded the ship more than a dozen days ago, and he had no feud with Horn on ordinary days. Moreover, Horn had saved his life, so according to common sense, Tang Jie had no reason to frame Horn.

  The sailors listened to Tang Jie's words and their doubts were all gone, they couldn't wait to rush up and hack Horn to death with a chaotic knife, venting the anger in their hearts!

  "Captain Barbossa, let me kill this beast!"

  "Let me come, I want to dig out his intestines, dig out his heart, and see what color it is!"

  "No, let's each cut him once and see how many cuts it takes for him to die!"

  Pirates are indeed passionate towards their companions, but when facing enemies, they reveal their most ruthless side.

  Especially when they face betrayal from their own kind, this brutality will know no bounds.

  I sent my wife back to her parents' home and almost forgot to update, sorry!

  Wishing you all a happy New Year! *^^*