A mage's journey begins with a battle mage.

Chapter 6 Shadows on the Ship

"First Mate Baker, are you still there?"

He's gone, but don't worry, you'll see him again soon.

Jiang Shuzhou thought to himself.

Soon, a young man dressed in tattered sailor clothes came out of the cabin.

The young man looked around, seemingly searching for someone.

"Young man, look at the ground on your left. Is that the person you're looking for?"

Jiang Shuzhou provided guidance.

"Thank you, may I ask who you are...?"

The scene that came into view left the young man speechless.

Just moments before, First Mate Baker, who had been braving the wind and rain with them to salvage supplies, was now a headless corpse, his head staring wide-eyed at them from the deck.

"Waaaaah."

Before the young man could even scream, a large hand covered his mouth and nose from behind, followed by a metallic taste in his mouth and nose.

That is blood.

Without hesitation, Jiang Shuzhou slit the young man's throat, and with a final jerk of the axe, a fine head fell to the ground.

The head rolled right next to Baker's head.

Two heads, two pairs of eyes, their eyes meeting, all filled with terror.

"Pah, what bad luck, another penniless wretch!"

"You didn't even have a weapon, going out in the rain without a knife, you deserve to die here!"

After looting the corpse, Jiang Shuzhou only managed to collect 20 copper coins. Luckily, he wasn't after the money, otherwise he would probably be furious.

After stripping the clothes off the corpse and quickly changing into them, Jiang Shuzhou sorted out the items in the bag and tallied up his current gains.

After killing three monsters, he obtained a total of three gold coins and 49 silver coins. He was equipped with a flintlock pistol and a lumberjack axe. The flintlock pistol was the most useless, mainly because Jiang Shuzhou didn't know how to reload, or rather, the reload time was too slow.

It takes about 15-30 seconds to load gunpowder and ammunition into a flintlock pistol. Skilled soldiers can reduce this to 10-15 seconds, while novices may take longer.

So this gun actually only has one chance to fire, since no one is going to be foolish enough to wait for you to reload.

This gun and this bullet can only be used on the captain.

After reviewing his findings, Jiang Shuzhou rested for a few minutes before preparing to launch his attack. After all, the pirate ship was only a dozen meters long, and there were at most a dozen pirates on board. Jiang Shuzhou had already dealt with three of them, one of whom was the first mate. According to the pirate convention that the higher the rank, the higher the combat power, the only one on the ship who could pose a threat to Jiang Shuzhou was now the captain.

"Fortune favors the bold, let's do it!"

Although Jiang Shuzhou could be a deck warrior on the deck, he could make a quick getaway in the lifeboat after finishing this job.

However, it is just a game after all, and as can be seen, there are even more loot in the cabin, and even greater challenges await him.

Without further ado, Jiang Shuzhou picked up his axe and stepped off the ship.

------

Outside, raging waves and a fierce storm raged, while inside, four burly men were completely naked.

Don't get me wrong, they're just changing clothes. After all, wearing soaking wet clothes can cause problems, not only catching a cold, but in severe cases, even hypothermia that can lead to death.

The ocean has always been like this; it never shows mercy to the weak, and even the slightest mistake can lead to your eternal demise.

"This is really weird. The weather was fine just a short while ago, how come a storm suddenly came in the blink of an eye?"

"Yeah, we were planning to have a couple of drinks, but this damn storm!"

"Sigh, what a pity, that kid probably won't survive tonight."

"What the hell? Who is it?"

"That apprentice mage who offended the Mentu family."

"He looks so delicate and fair-skinned. If the captain hadn't told me not to touch him, I would have..."

One of the burly men had a wicked grin on his face.

"Get lost! We try to stay in shallow waters as much as possible, and we only need to go to the port for repairs every month or two at most. Can't you even wait that long?"

"Alright, alright, that's enough. The captain said that after this job, we'll get a bigger one. We can do whatever we want at the port! So stop spewing nonsense!"

"If the storm passes and everyone's gone, will we still get a share of the money?"

"You don't know anything. Just throw them over there. We don't need to care whether they live or die. I heard from the captain that they get more money if they live, but it doesn't matter if they die."

"Good heavens, how did they offend the Mentu family?"

"I'm telling you, you absolutely mustn't tell anyone."

One of the men lowered his voice, and the other three huddled together, the four of them sitting close together, the other three of them pricking up their ears to listen carefully to the gossip.

"That Navis Lebo is something else! This kid used his looks to seduce the fiancée of the young master of the Mentu family!"

"and then?"

"Don't interrupt, let me finish!"

"Then, at first the Mentu family didn't know, but one time the young master of the Mentu family saw his fiancée hugging and kissing Navis Lebo outside, and he became suspicious, so he sent people to investigate in secret."

"Who knew that what I found out was shocking? It turns out that Navis LeBeau had been having an affair with his fiancée for the past two months, and they've even reportedly gone to a hotel together!"

"Can you at least give me a proper name?! Why is it just that guy's name?"

"Nonsense! Do you think I know the name of the young master of the Mentu family? Do you think this is something worth publicizing? The only reason I know about this is because I went on a mission with the captain!"

"Alright, now it's something you're all familiar with. A few of us brothers put a sack over our heads in the middle of the night and captured this sorcerer."

"Where is that woman?"

"You're so stupid! What's their status? Do you really think the person the Mentu family arranges a marriage with would be a commoner? Their family probably has mages backing them up, just like the Mentu family. When something like this happens, they can just laugh it off. What else do you want?"

"Indeed, sigh! That's what a monk is like!"

After hearing the gossip, the group sighed, feeling deeply moved.

The mage family has quite a few troubles, but it's a pity that there are too few details. There's no dramatic plot like in novels or picture books, but it's quite realistic.

"Knock knock knock, knock knock knock"

A knock sounded at the door, and the four of them looked towards the entrance.

Who is it?

"It's me. I just went to call First Officer Baker. I'm coming back to change my clothes."

It's that new young man.

"Come in, the door's unlocked. You're quite polite since you just arrived. From now on, just push the door open and come in. We're brothers, no need to be so formal."

"You still want a future?" Jiang Shuzhou sneered.

"Okay, guys, please forgive us."

Isn't this a bit too cultured and polite? Do we pirates really have such high levels of culture and politeness?

A doubt flashed through some people's minds.

But soon they wouldn't have to think about it anymore.

Because Jiang Shuzhou had already come in carrying an axe.

"Hey guys, you're pretty into this, huh? Staying up so late instead of sleeping, taking your clothes off and doing some exercise?"

"No, we're changing clothes."

Although they didn't know why, they still had a feeling that they wouldn't have peace of mind even if they died if they didn't explain themselves as soon as possible.

"I don't care about you guys! Die!"

Jiang Shuzhou raised his axe and began to chop. The four people in front of him were only wearing their lower bodies and had no weapons. If he didn't attack now, when would he?