The pitch-dark rainy night seemed to be warmed only by the flickering firelight inside the numerous tents at the camp.

The sailors on watch looked at the lights in the camp from a distance, huddled with their guns in the muddy water, occasionally taking a sip of liquor to warm their bodies, or quietly grumbling a complaint. However, their situation was much better than those who stayed on the ship, where they not only had to endure the ship's harsh environment but also contend with storms that could arise at any time.

There was a joke in Colin Ishurian, when people were still boys, they dreamed of going on board a ship, but when boys turned to men, they dreamed of getting off the ship.

This spoke to the gap between reality and dreams; even on Earth, ordinary seamen had to endure the secluded life of sailing, and in this era, the survival conditions for ordinary sailors were often even worse—no personal space, no privacy, arduous physical labor, extremely unbearable sanitary conditions, disease and mutiny, and the long maritime life—so standing guard on solid ground, even in the cold rain, was considered a much-coveted blessing for many sailors.

After all, not everyone could disembark when the ship was anchored.

Laughter, lively and cheerful, came from the officers' tents, with the old captain laughing especially heartily, his voice exceptionally loud.

In the center of the tent was a bright bonfire that illuminated the old man's gray and wrinkled face. He laughed heartily, his eyes teasing as he looked at Fang Hong, "You're too lenient with them, kiddo, you've got to know what kind of people these sailors are. A good number of them are idle good-for-nothings, perhaps even including some with criminal records—pirates, villains, or who knows what? How many from ordinary families would become sailors? You've got to discipline them properly. I knew a captain, he was a nice guy too, but do you know what happened to him in the end?"

Fang Hong shook his head.

The old man's gray eyes showed a pained expression, "On the Maya Sea, his sailors staged a mutiny, locking him up, and those who escaped informed others of the incident. Ah, my old friend, he was such a good fellow, not cut out for this life."

Fang Hong frowned slightly, "What happened later, was he rescued? Did those people receive their due punishment?"

The old captain shook his head, "Those people took him and his ship and joined the Pale Pirates; since then I've never again heard anything about him. But mark my words, as long as I'm not in my coffin, one day I'll find these guys, rescue my old friend, wring their guts out and wind them around their necks, hang them from the mast and strangle them, letting the souls of these villains descend to hell."

"But you can't compare everyone the same way, at least Captain, your sailors are excellent, and those ruffians naturally should be punished, but Little Finger, they're not the same," Fang Hong also shook his head as he spoke.

Yes, he had ultimately pardoned Little Finger—or perhaps he had never planned to do otherwise from the start, because he didn't think the other had done anything wrong.

One iron rule on board was the inability to defy superiors, but then again, he wasn't their superior, at best he was just the Princess's guest.

Perhaps Miss Hilveld was, but not him; or perhaps someday he would become a captain, but not now.

Across the fire, the Lion Man took a drag from his pipe, squinting as he looked at Fang Hong and Miss Hilveld sitting next to him.

The lady noble smiled coyly, her eyes as if she were cradling a crescent of light.

The old captain laughed heartily upon hearing this, "You really know how to talk, kiddo, but you're right, my sailors are indeed the best youngsters. But you've got to discipline them, then they'll turn out to be good people, they weren't like this at the beginning, right, Miss Hilveld?"

Miss Hilveld ambiguously replied, "Of course, the captain has the final say."

The old man laughed even louder, "This is really a clever one," he glanced at Fang Hong with a jocular look in his aged eyes, "You're a lucky fellow, young man."

Even if Fang Hong was slow to catch on, how could he not understand the meaning of those words, his face turning red as he glanced at Miss Hilveld.

Lady Noble simply smiled back in response.

Not far from the tent, Princess Briana, who was adjusting her bowstring, looked at the two youngsters and couldn't help shaking her head.

"Speaking of pirates," Fang Hong suddenly inquired, "Captain, could you tell me about the pirates of Eteliria?"

This question had actually been on his mind for a long time; he just hadn't found the right person to ask. Fang Hong had certainly heard of the Pale Pirates, the first pirate group of Eteliria, but beyond that, he knew almost nothing about the powers above the Sky Sea in this world.

After hearing the question, the old captain was silent for a moment, putting a piece of tobacco leaf into his mouth and chewing on it for a while before answering, "The most terrifying pirate group in Eteliria is, of course, the Pale Pirates, which take Hydra as their emblem; their core area of activity is around the Overseas Hanruina but frequently they also enter other maritime zones. Captain Green Beard of the Pale Pirates is an extremely brutal and cold-hearted person, so until you have absolute strength, if you encounter these people, it's best to stay as far away as possible—the further the better—"

"As for the other pirates, the famous ones I've met are not many, and they are just some worthless thieves. But there's a legend that circulates on the Sky Sea about a red-haired female pirate, do you know her name?"

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