According to the information provided by Karina, the Jackdaw was chasing after a ship called the Goddess' Spear.
The Goddess' Spear was a whaling ship that roamed the area. This time, they had been out at sea for more than a year. Finally, their patience paid off.
A few days ago, a ship that returned to port reported that they had hunted and killed a huge sperm whale. The whale was 70 feet long and very cunning. The Goddess' Spear had waited for three months in the area it frequented before it was lucky enough to capture it.
But now, all his efforts had paid off. The whole body of the sperm whale was a treasure. The fat could be refined into whale oil, the whale brain oil contained in the cavity of the huge skull could be used to make whale wax, and the intestines were pregnant with the incomparably precious ambergris.
Ambergris was a kind of gray or slightly black wax-like substance that smelled horrible when it was first taken out. When it dried, it would turn amber and emit a strange fragrance. This high-grade perfume was mainly used as a fixative for perfumes, and its price had already exceeded gold. That was why Zhang Heng's Jackdaw wasn't the only one who had their eyes on the whaling ship.
However, the first pirate ship that caught up to the Goddess' Spear did not end up well. In this era, whaling was an extremely dangerous job, and those who dared to do it were real men.
When they saw the black flag behind them, they did not panic. Due to the lack of cannons on the ship, the captain did not give the order to return fire. Instead, he waited until the pirates boarded the ship before engaging them in hand-to-hand combat. As a result, the pirates, armed with harpoons and nets, beat the crap out of the pirates who were armed with muskets and machetes.
In the end, they captured the pirate ship and removed all the gunpowder and weapons from it. Once the situation was settled, they slit the throats of the surrendered pirates and threw their bodies on the deck, hoping to scare off the rest of the pirates.
This method did indeed have a certain effect. Some of the pirates with insufficient strength saw the piles of corpses and large patches of blood on the deck, and indeed retreated.
However, the stronger pirates were even more excited. This proved that the ship was carrying valuable cargo. Otherwise, the sailors would not have fought so hard. A mere whaling ship was not enough to scare them off.
Zhang Heng's Jackdaw did not withdraw from the battle either.
Thanks to the success of their first voyage, the Jackdaw completed a new round of recruitment, increasing the number of crew members to 62. This time, the quality of the people they recruited was much higher than before, especially the cannoneers. Billy directly poached the chief cannoneer of a veteran pirate group, and Dufresne found a new chef who was very capable as well. The chef used to be the head chef of a hotel on the island. After being out at sea for half a month, his culinary skills were praised by the entire crew. Now, the boring life at sea was no longer that unbearable.
More importantly, both old and new crew members were now full of confidence in their captain.
With the previous harvest as a foundation, Billy did not even need to give a speech when they left the port this time. The morale on the ship was already high, and none of the pirates who saw the massacre on the ship on the way were afraid to fight.
This was also the reason why Zhang Heng felt that he should continue to chase after the Jackdaw. At this time, he could fight one or two tough battles to improve the ship's cohesion and combat experience.
Due to the huge disparity in strength between the two ships, the Jackdaw's previous battle with the Bliss couldn't be considered a proper battle at all. It was more like a shooting practice. Other than a few cannon shots at the beginning, the Jackdaw managed to grind the Bliss to the ground for the rest of the battle. Only Anne, the boatswain, was ambushed by the naval cadets in the cabin.
This time, the Goddess' Spear would not be so easy to deal with.
Compared to the whaling ship, Zhang Heng was more concerned about the situation of his main competitors. Less than a week after they left the port, they encountered a pirate ship. Not long ago, they encountered another pirate ship. Both sides raised their black flags at almost the same time. After that, the helmsman of the other side came over in a small boat and had a brief exchange of information. Finally, they came to a consensus. Both sides exercised restraint and went their separate ways in silence.
It wasn't because they were in the same line of business, but because the other party was afraid of the Jackdaw's firepower. Since both parties had yet to gain anything, they decided to settle things peacefully.
Zhang Heng stared at the direction where the Jackdaw's ship disappeared into. He wondered how Carina was doing in Nassau. Before he left, Carina discussed the next step of the plan with him. Zhang Heng then invested 100 gold coins into the Jackdaw's business. Other than helping Carina relieve some of her financial pressure, Zhang Heng also wanted her to feel more at ease and strengthen the alliance between them.
Other than that, Zhang Heng promised to invest another 800 gold coins in the future. This way, both parties would be tied together. Carina would no longer have to worry about being kicked out of the game, and Zhang Heng would be able to enjoy a 20% share of the profits. This wasn't just about the Jackdaw's income. If Carina could attract more ships to cooperate with her in the future, Zhang Heng would be able to receive additional returns every time they returned with a full load.
Billy was tempted as well. However, he had a family to feed and could not fork out too much money. In the end, he only invested 30 gold coins. Anne, on the other hand, did not need to buy a house for the time being, so she invested 40 gold coins with Zhang Heng. In the end, both of them became minor shareholders.
Other than that, Laeli should also start thinking of ways to contact the tribesmen in Traos Manor.
Zhang Heng's mind wandered for a moment before he returned to reality. There was no point in worrying now. Since he was already out at sea, he could no longer control what happened on land. All he could do was trust in his allies. After all, as a pirate, his focus was on the sea. If it weren't for the black-market alliance, he wouldn't have spent so much effort on land.
The sooner the Jackdaw became stronger and became one of the top pirate groups, the more control he would have over his own destiny. That was why every trip to the sea was important to him. This time, Zhang Heng wanted to capture his prey.
Compared to other pirates, he had the Hunter's Blessing and the Lucky Rabbit's Foot. Without the interference of false clues, these two items should be able to play a role in this chase. Other than that, two days ago, he received a notification from the system that his sailing skill had leveled up to Lv.2.
Now that everything was ready, the Jackdaw could finally show its fangs.
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