Chapter 228

Chapter 228 A Bold Plan

Zhang Heng interrogated the captain, chief officer, and the sailors separately . This was to prevent them from working with each other and fool him with some story . He then compared all the information he collected to verify the authenticity of their stories . Half an hour later, he was about to unveil some shocking news . He quickly gathered Billy, Anne, and the rest of the ship’s senior staff . He even looked for the chief carpenter to join the meeting .

“You wish to return to Parrot Island?!”

Billy was taken aback by Zhang Heng’s decision .

“According to the information from our prisoners, there is one navy battleship, the Kent, docked at Parrot Island . Their defense is at their weakest right now . Perhaps we can take this opportunity to rescue everyone from the island . It’s a double-edged sword . We can also retrieve the gold bars at the bottom of the sea!”

“How do you plan to do that? Judging by Jackdaw’s current condition, I don’t think we can survive another battle . If our ship is fine, we wouldn’t have needed Coral Island to eliminate Miranda in the first place . Once we arrive at Parrot Island, we can’t use its terrain to aid our battles anymore . This time, we can’t just beat them by coming up with another plan to outsmart them . ”

Though Billy was interested in rescuing all the pirates stuck on Parrot Island and retrieving the gold bars, he figured the risks were simply too great . Zhang Heng didn’t respond to Billy’s concerns, and instead, turned to Gale, the chief carpenter .

“With enough materials, how long would it take to fix the ship till she’s combat ready?”

“If I have all the materials and manpower I need… six days . No . I can complete the task in five days . ”

“Where are we going to get the materials we need?” asked Dufresne .

Zhang Heng then pointed at Miranda .

“Cannibalize her, and we will have enough parts . ”

“That is a good idea! If that’s the case, two days would do it, captain,” replied Gale .

“Time is not a problem . The navy sent five ships to pursue us . We managed to eliminate one . Now, they have four ships . They’d all agreed to return to Parrot Island in two weeks to kill the remaining pirates . One day has passed now . Let’s say we take a week to fix the ship . I believe we should have enough time to return to Parrot Island and fight them . ”

Zhang Heng’s plan convinced Billy . Truth be told, the navy didn’t just carelessly leave only one ship to guard Parrot Island . With Jackdaw’s current condition, it would be a miracle if they returned to Nassau . The prospect of Jackdaw returning to Parrot Island simply didn’t cross their minds . One navy vessel was more than enough to keep an eye on the marooned pirates . Zhang Heng’s plan might sound ridiculous, but it was doable . The pirates of Jackdaw were elated when they defeated Miranda and even had even stocked up enough rations to carry on with the voyage . This, of course, didn’t make up for the losses that they sustained .

This time, the entire pirate entourage had almost been entirely defeated by the navy . Not only did they lose their ships, but the gold they worked so hard to get were also about to fall in navy hands . However, if they managed to save all the pirates and take back all the gold bars, it could be a huge turning point for them .

“I think this plan could work . We can start preparing for the next battle . ”

…… .

Soon, everyone on the ship had gotten wind that Zhang Heng was to return to Parrot Island . Just as expected, no one went against his decision . This plan for retribution had everything to do with the pirates’ honor and 5,000 pounds of gold bars . Very quickly, everyone gave up resting and began all the necessary preparations for their next battle .

Since he had all the men he needed, Gale decided to clean up the entire ship . It was littered with all manner of filth, and the hull was smothered by a thick layer of barnacles and seaweed . By clearing them off, Jackdaw could at least speed up by half a knot, a crucial increase in facing their next fight .

While everyone was working hard to patch up the ship, Zhang Heng was nowhere to be found . When Anne finally found him, he was sitting on a rock, gazing at the sunset . His mind was 200 lightyears away from the beach . From afar, he looked like someone from another world . Anne looked for an empty spot and sat beside, passing a bottle of wine to him .

“The repairs are going well . We should be able to complete the whole thing by morning . Gale says the ship will become even sturdier after the repairs . ”

“Great . We’ve spent a little too long on this island . It’s time to leave . ”

Zhang Heng sipped a little wine and passed the bottle back to Anne . The calm sea breeze blew in their hair as they silently gazed at the setting sun .

“How about you? Are you doing okay?”

“Hmm?”

“Aren’t you going to talk about the storm? Everyone said that it was a miracle . They said the Goddess of Ocean, Thetis, must have blessed us . We both know that’s not true . We all heard Seth’s story . I know you engraved the name of the Celtic god on our mast during the storm, right? What’s her name again? Betty, was it?”

“Yes . Look . Don’t worry . I won’t let our Jackdaw end up like the carrack . I just… I don’t remember the last time I sat down quietly to enjoy the sunset . ”

During those critical moments, Zhang Heng did indeed use the shell . He did not have a bitter past, and he was no angry teenager as well . In the end, he had to immerse himself into the world of literature to trigger his anger . He chose the novel, Les Misérables . The main character, Jean Valjean, was jailed for nineteen years just because he stole some bread to help his sister feed her seven hungry children . Before meeting Bishop Myriel, he had been through unspeakable torment, and it made him hate the world and all that was in it .

The method was very effective . Not only did Zhang Heng manage to summon the storm, but he even led Jackdaw to escape their enemies . That was the very first time Zhang Heng came in touch with Betty . He finally knew the reason why the goddess didn’t look for him . She wasn’t trying to be mysterious, nor was it bad timing . It was because she was in a weakened state . After convincing Seth on the carrack, she did not have enough strength to show herself anymore . It wasn’t until Zhang Heng took the shell and engraved her name on the mast that she finally managed to recover some of her power .

According to her, she was way weaker than she used to be . One didn’t have to go as far back as a thousand years when she was at the top of her prowess . Just a hundred years ago, she was even stronger than her current self . That was why Zhang Heng couldn’t control the storm to speed up the ship . The most he could do was to ensure that Jackdaw got out of the storm in one piece .