Chapter 73: JACOBS POV.

However, we couldn’t stay hidden forever. A ship is a small place, and the sounds of the struggle, the snapping of the door, and the absence of the guards started to get noticed.

By the time we moved toward the stairs leading to the upper deck, the ship’s owners were already partially aware of our presence.

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"You blooming idiots! You think you won’t be punished for this! How dare you attack our men!" A voice boomed from above. It was deep and gravelly, filled with arrogance and disdain.

The perfect example of one who thought more of their selves when compared to others.

It was a group of human trafficking pirates, maybe ten or twelve of them.

Who were at the top of the stairs leading to the upper deck.

They were armed with sharp, curved swords that glinted in the sun, and a few of them held pistols tucked into their belts.

They formed a semi-circle around the hatch, their faces twisted in sneers and anger.

While some of the guys on my side had gained swords during our little journey through the lower decks, when compared to this group of menacing pirates, they no doubt looked lesser in comparison.

My followers were thin, tired, and dressed in rags. The pirates were well-fed, wore leather armor, and looked like they had spent their whole lives fighting.

The odds didn’t look great on paper.

"To think the lad we poached from the sea would’ve turned out to be such a nuisance," one of the pirates said.

He was a tall man broad shouldered man.

He stepped forward, swinging his sword lazily through the air.

"Ungrateful wretch! How dare you cause trouble on our ship! We saved your life when we found you drifting, and this is how you repay our kindness?" another pirate yelled.

The pirates began hurling insults at me, laughing as if this was all just a minor annoyance they were about to clean up.

They spoke as if I owed them something.

These rotten bastards, they actually dared to make light of wanting to sell me into slavery.

They talked about "saving" me like they had done me a favor by putting me in chains and a cage.

It looked like the saying was true, a fool at forty was a fool forever.

These men had spent so long being predators that they couldn’t even imagine a world where their prey could fight back.

They thought that because they had the swords and the ship, they held all the power.

They didn’t realize that the "lad" they had fished out of the ocean wasn’t just some lucky survivor.

I stood at the front of our group, my bare feet firm on the wooden deck.

I looked at the sea stretching out behind them, then back at their smug, ugly faces.

Their insults didn’t hurt; they just made the situation clearer. There was no talking our way out of this. There was no mercy to be found here.

I didn’t know when, but an annoyed grin soon emerged on my face.

At the same time, I felt a strange sense of calm in this situation.

I mean, why wouldn’t I?

I had faced a supernatural whirlpool and survived. I had dealt with the mood swings of a powerful sea creature. Combated tens of bloodthirsty sharks on my own as well.

Compared to those things, a few guys with pieces of sharpened metal and old looking pistols, didn’t seem so scary anymore.

"Are you done talking?" I asked, my voice steady

The pirates stopped laughing. The man in the lead, narrowed his eyes. "What did you say, boy?"

"I said, are you done talking?" I repeated, stepping forward. I didn’t have a sword. Because I didn’t need one.

"Because you’ve spent a lot of time telling us how we should be grateful. Now I think it’s time we show you exactly how grateful we are."

Behind me, the freed slaves let out a low growl of agreement.

They were leaning forward, gripped by a mixture of terror and fury. They were waiting for me to move.

The pirate captain, or at least the man in charge of the deck, spat on the floor. "Kill the brat. Leave the others alive if you can, they’re still worth money, but cut the loudmouth into bait."

"You heard the first mate! Take him down!" another pirate hollered, his voice cracking with a mix of anger and a bit of fright.

It seemed the first mate wasn’t the only one irritated by this nuisance of a slave who didn’t know his place.

Or I believed that was what they thought of me.

At his command, the rest of the crew came rushing down the narrow stairs.

Their blades were drawn, gleaming coldly in the dim light of the hallway.

The sound of their boots on the wood was like thunder, and the air quickly filled with the smell of unwashed bodies and cheap rum.

My eyes flashed coldly as several of them came bearing down on me.

I stood my ground at the base of the stairs, faced with so many enemies, my heart was thumping hard against my ribs.

I knew i was strong, due to the way i had shattered that door and crushed the previous guard’s, but i wasn’t sure if my skin could withstand those sharp blades. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

I wasn’t a fool; everyone knew that metal was harder than flesh.

The worst thing i wanted was for those swords to draw blood....my blood.

It wasn’t just the pain i was worried about because there was something darker always lurking inside me.

Back when the captives had killed the men on the lower floors, i had already begun holding my breath because i was terrified of my bloodlust rising again.

Even from where I stood now, if i willed it, every scent on the ship could be perceived.

Including the blood that had already been spilled. Smelling that would spell disaster for everyone in the ship, whether friend or foe.

I felt like i was running on dwindling time.

If i didn’t end this quickly, i might lose the "human" part of myself and turn into the monster the pirates deserved.