C196 - Escaping (1)
The pirates fled, unaware that Jin and his companions were secretly following them.
They stopped at a well.
A well that, like most on this abandoned island, had long since dried up and ceased to function. It appeared to be being used as a secret passageway leading somewhere.
The pirates had jumped into the well.
"Hmm."
The team members looked at each other and shrugged.
"Is there a secret space in here and is that captain's intention for them to hide in there?"
"Not likely, since the captain made it sound like they could escape from the regular Vermont fleet, not hide."
"But they don't seem like very smart guys, so maybe they're really just hiding. And they didn't seem to realize why the fleet surrounded the island."
"I guess that's true."
When Kashimir and Alisa spoke, the rest of the companions nodded in agreement.
"Let's go ahead and be prepared to swim if we have to. Let's hope they have some trick up their sleeves."
Soon, they saw an iron lid covering the ground after jumping into the well one by one. It was a door of sorts, handle-less and firmly closed, it seemed difficult to open from the outside without someone opening it from the inside.
Of course, that applied to ordinary people.
Crack!
Jin tore off the iron lid with his bare hands.
"Oh, you've gotten stronger? Brat. Now you can tear off the iron like it's paper!"
Murakan said it like it was no big deal, but Siris trembled when he touched the bent lid.
Just as they were about to go down the passage....
Ssswing! A dagger flew toward them. It had an aura of at least three stars, but Jin deflected it with a simple hand motion and the dagger bounced off the ground.
The pirate who had thrown the dagger didn't even bother to scream.
Jin swung his saber, closing the distance. The pirate couldn't even scream as Jin closed in on him in an instant.
With a snap, Jin caught the pirate in the throat. It was one of the pirates Jin had been chasing.
"Sorry for scaring you, but we won't hurt you. Let's go together, you have some method to get out of here, don't you?"
Pahak!
No sooner had Jin finished speaking. Suddenly, the dark passageway was lit up with torches.
The other pirates who opened the iron lid so that the other pirates could enter lit torches. Jin and his group were surprised to see so many pirates gathered under the shaft.
"How many are there?"
It wasn't one or two. To the naked eye, it was dozens, if not hundreds. It was surprising that so many pirates were gathered under the well, but they were not overwhelmed.
A hundred or a thousand pirates were no threat to the group.
The pirates shone their torches and pointed their guns at Jin and his companions.
"Who the hell was the last one to arrive? Looks like they stepped on his tail," one of the pirates said.
"It was Chikol and Belb, a couple of nasty guys," said another.
"Fortunately, there aren't many who followed us. Captain, what do we do? It would be better to kill them all first."
Chikol and Belb were the names of the pirates Jin and his group had followed. As the pirates talked among themselves, Jin and his friends smiled disdainfully.
"Silence!"
Someone in the crowd of pirates shouted and stepped forward. It was someone Jin knew well, the leader of this pirate gang. Cosmos, the pirate king, the one responsible for this secret passage.
"You seem to be the captain."
Pap!
As soon as Jin opened his mouth, Cosmos' eyes widened.
"Jin Gray...?"
"And who's that, why are you talking all of a sudden, pirate?"
"You bastard, you're Jin Gray!"
Jin pretended not to know who it was, but Cosmos spoke in a firm, confident voice.
"You think I'm going to forget that voice? I'm still in debt thanks to you, so it's good to see you, you bastard!".
"Hey, Cap'n, what do you mean, is that Jin Gray?"
"Jin Gray, last year's winner, the one who put our captain in debt?"
Jin shrugged his shoulders helplessly. Although his blond hair and makeup made him look completely different from his usual appearance, those who knew his real face could recognize him.
"Well, okay, you already know who I am, so we don't need a long story. Cosmos, you know the situation out there, right? There's a whole fleet of the Bellard Empire out there, and how do you plan to escape? I don't think they've all gathered here to hide in this passage."
When Jin asked him bluntly, Cosmos shuddered.
"Whatever it is, do you think I'm going to help you?".
"We don't really have anything against each other, do we, why are you being so curt?"
"Shut up, because thanks to you we pirates keep bringing gold coins to your pompous friend...!"
"My friend?"
"Beradin Zipple, that human demon!"
"Ah, I remember."
-Jin Gray, come on!
He recalled the scene when Beradin bet 100,000 gold coins against Paul Mick (Dante Hairan) while shouting like this. At that time, Jin's win was three times bigger.
After Jin's victory, Cosmos spent its days paying Beradin, who was steadily earning money. The debt was snowballing and Beradin was surprisingly inflexible about money. Cosmos had already paid off the principal, but was still paying higher interest.
For anyone else to swindle Beradin's money "Zipple" would be unthinkable, even for a pirate king.
"...I'm really sorry. Well, not that I'm sorry. Don't you have to take that risk if you want to make money in those kinds of underground wrestling competitions? If Paul Mick had won, you would have been sitting on a mountain of money."
"Watch your mouth!"
"Captain, stop dithering - just kill him! There's no time, we must settle this quickly and get out."
The pirates were shouting furiously and yet Cosmos was calculating in his head.
'It's obvious he's also an heir to a great family like Jin Runcandel or Veradin Zipple. If he were alone, it wouldn't matter, but even those who seem to be his peers are no pushovers.'
As Cosmos thought to himself, Murakan and Quikantel had a similar opinion of the pirates.
''Let's not waste any more time, brat. Let's take a few of them and the captain as hostages and get started, why are you talking to them?"
"I agree. We're running out of time, so let's stomp them. I want to know if there's any way off this island."
As Murakan advanced, the pirates were ready to attack at any moment.
"Hey, Cosmos. If that guy starts shaking his fists, you could all be dead for real, so let me make you a proposition."
"Bullshit!"
"Listen up. We're all down here in the basement trying to get off the island in the middle of a mess, and I don't know what you've got planned, but if you let us out, I'll wipe out all your debts."
"What?"
"Literally. I'm going to wipe out your debts, and I'm going to add a sizable bonus."
Woosh!
The moment Cosmos unsheathed his sword, Jin unleashed an aura that drove back over a hundred pirates.
At the same time, Murakan lunged at Cosmos and broke his sword.
Jin stared at him silently and whispered quietly so the other pirates could not hear: 'I wanted to tell you before you try to refuse or negotiate, my name is not Jin Gray, it's Jin Runcandel. And the Paul Mick I fought in the finals is Dante Hairan.'
Just like when Beradin saved Dante in the tournament final.
Cosmos was someone who assessed the situation very well.
'...Are you saying that you are Jin Runcandel?
'Yes. There's no way that coincidence could have led Dante Hairan and I to meet on the battlefield. Beradin Zipple was also watching.'
Cosmos finally understood.
Why Beradin Zipple had saved Paul Mick, also known as the aspiring flag bearer Jin Runcandel, in the finals. Until now he had only accepted it as a whim or a deal from those living above.
The other pirates quickly realized that Cosmos, who had just been subdued in a second, was looking for an opportunity to escape.
'Come to think of it, the reason the fleet is up is not because of us, but because of you. But there is another condition, Jin Runcandel.'
'Speak.'
'After escaping from the island, swear to protect the safety of our pirate crew. That is, make sure that you, your companions and Runcandel's Guardian Knights do not wipe us out. No problem with the Bellard Empire'.
Cosmos seemed not to know, but not only the Bellard Imperior, but also Vermont, Zippel and Kinzelo would pursue them.
Although he doubted whether he should tell Cosmos that fact or not, ultimately, it seemed better to ask for help first and then talk.
'I swear. On my honor and that of my family.'
Cosmos had no choice. Asking for an oath was nothing more than an empty request, and his fate had been sealed the moment Jin and his group found the well.
"Tch, I accept the offer, follow me!"
When Cosmos stood up and shouted like that, his subordinates bowed their heads as if they didn't understand the language.
"Captain! It looks like they threatened you somehow, so don't try to be heroic. What if they hit us and we can't handle them? They don't seem like the kind of people we can easily handle."
"Jin Gray, he also seemed to be a giant like Paul Mick or Beradin Zipple. Well, there's plenty of room for him."
"Will he really eliminate our debts?"
The previous confident attitude suddenly disappeared. If the leader bowed, his subordinates would follow.
"Anyway, Cosmos, what's the plan, are you sure it will work?"
When Jin asked this as he followed the pirates, Cosmos smiled meaningfully. His attitude seemed to say that even if you were a Runcandel, you would be surprised to see it.
After a moment, they reached the end of the corridor and came upon a cliff. Below the cliff was a cavity, and in the middle of it was a large pirate ship.
It was as if there was a ship somewhere deep underground. Even more pirates were busily working there than those who had come together.
"Her name is 'Order 7'. We'll make our getaway on that."
"What a fancy name, how the hell do we do that?"
"For now, just hop on. It's easy."
There isn't a drop of water underground to keep Order 7 afloat. Besides, there was no way to escape by boat from a cavity sealed on all sides.
Reluctantly, the pirates began to board the ship as instructed by Cosmos. Jin and his companions also hurried to board the ship.
"Blow it up!"
The moment Cosmos shouted, the cliff that formed the cavity began to collapse. The pirates had set off magic bombs they had installed beforehand.
Boom!
At the same time, a literally "huge" jet of water began to flow from the destroyed cliff.
Surprisingly, when the cliff collapsed, the sea appeared directly.
"Fly, Order 7!"
Order 7 was swept away by the stream of water and flew into the sea.