Chapter 47: The Last Lesson (Part 2)

  The last flag signal came from the Hell's number, and Tang Jie pulled Nia, pointing to the flag signal and loudly asked: "What did Captain Ball say? Tell me quickly!"

  Nina cried with tears streaming down her face, her voice choked: "Captain Barlow, he said: remember the last lesson I taught you, even a lion must know when to give up."

  "Boy, remember this! Even a lion should know when to give up!" In the Jail of Jerault, Old Barl grasped Tangie's collar and roared loudly "A decrepit lion like me should be abandoned without hesitation!"

  The majestic appearance and demeanor of the big-bearded man are vividly before my eyes.

  Tang Jie was shocked and couldn't say a word.

  A mood that cannot be expressed, a feeling that cannot be described, has been accumulating in his chest, like a suppressed volcano, which may erupt at any moment!

  "What's going on?" Nia cried, throwing herself at Tang Jie like a madwoman, pounding his chest with her fists. "What could have happened to make you two like this? Why didn't I know anything about it?"

  Tang Jie smiled wryly and said in a daze, "Nia, Captain Bar... he doesn't want to drag us down... wants to buy us some time to escape."

  "Escape?" Nia cried out in a shrill voice. "Where can we escape to? They only need one barrage of cannon fire to sink him, and it will take less time than the blink of an eye! How is it possible to gain time to escape?"

  Tang Jie was in extreme pain, with a strong sense of guilt and remorse. He felt that it was his questioning of Old Bar that led to the latter's suicidal charge.

  At the same time, he also knew that this day was inevitable for Old Bar.

  He was wounded in the prison of Jerulan and would never recover for the rest of his life. He is that old, weak and aged lion who has lost his former majesty.

  Tang Jie's eyes widened as he stared at the familiar Hell's Gate, inching closer and closer to Biscuit's warship. The sharp and long ramming beak on the bow of the ship was like a charging knight's spearhead, fiercely piercing towards the opponent's chest!

  A blood-red skull flag fluttered high on the mast of the Inferno, like a fierce fire that would never be extinguished!

  This battered battleship limped along, but its aura was enough to shock the warships on the racing route.

  They waved flags again and again to signal Hell's Gate to stop, turning the bow of the ship back and retreating!

  However, the Devil's Brigade continued to advance, fighting to the death without retreating!

  Just as Bicet's warship was approaching, a huge fireball suddenly flew out and heavily slammed onto the hull of the "Inferno"!

  In an instant, the Hell's Gate emitted a fierce explosion, and wood chips flew everywhere!

  Bisai even didn't give Old Ba Er a chance to die with a little dignity!

  Old Baldy and his Hell's Angels turned into a blazing fireball, vanishing into thin air over the ocean!

  "No!!!"

  Tang Jie let out a heart-wrenching roar: "You bastard, I'm going to kill you!!!"

  Tang Jie rushed to the helm, his whole body trembling as he prepared to turn the bow of the ship. Like a knight who knew he was doomed, he charged forward with the Hell's Gate in a suicidal attack.

  Tang Jie regretted, he was angry, and all he could do was accompany Old Ba to die together. Besides that, he couldn't think of any other way to express the guilt and remorse in his heart.

  Just as his hand was about to move, a hand suddenly landed on his arm.

  Tang Jie looked up to see Nia's face full of tears, her voice filled with pain, but at this moment she had to pretend to be strong and persuade Tang Jie against his suicidal behavior.

  "Captain Tung, you can't just give up like this!" Nia's tears streamed down "You can't let my father die in vain! He sacrificed himself just so we could live on! You have to take us and escape!"

  What an irony!

  He just said something similar to it a few minutes ago!

  Tang Jie glared at Nia with a fierce gaze, but Nia didn't back down and stared right back at him.

  The two men stared at each other for a while, and Tang Jie gradually calmed down. He chose to back down.

  Tang Jie's face twisted, his voice cold: "Are we just going to let Captain Bar die in vain? Do you think that by leaving Biselou like this he will let us off? Have you forgotten that beside him stands a fifth-level flame magician, whose attack range is twice as far as the cannons? If we try to run, this magician can effortlessly blow us to smithereens!"

  Nia smiled wryly: "Then what should we do?"

  Tang Jie stared dead at Bixi Liu's warship, his voice cold as a thousand-year-old ice: "Pass my order, raise the white flag. After approaching them within ten meters, I will rush to Bixi Liu's battleship."

  Niya Zhang opened her mouth wide: "Are you ready for the final close combat to decide the outcome? It's good this way, after all, artillery warfare is absolutely hopeless."

  Tang Jie shook his head, his face gloomy: "No, I'll go alone. If I can catch Bi Saille it's better, if not, I can still escape on my own. Once you see me board Bi Saille's ship, turn around immediately! Get all the sailors on deck, no one stays in the gunroom. You come to steer later, and make sure to leave quickly!"

  Niya's face showed a shocked expression, her hands tightly grasping Tang Jie's arm: "No, I won't let you go to your death alone!"

  Tang Jie brushed aside the scattered golden hair on Nia's face with his hand, and the fierce killing intent on her face gradually dissipated. He smiled: "Don't be silly, why would I go to my death? Don't forget, I haven't eaten you yet, how could I bear to die?"

  Nia shook her head vigorously and cried: "No, you mustn't come back, I won't agree to it, I absolutely won't agree to it!"

  Tang Jie smiled gently: "Didn't you tell me that the Sea Goddess Tira likes brave and fearless captains, and regards them as her own darlings? I won't die, I'm the darling of the Sea Goddess Tira! You have to have faith in me!"

  Niya tightly wrapped her arms around Tang Jie: "That's a story Father told me, it can't be true, you'll die, don't go! I've already lost my father, I can't lose you too!"

  Tang Jie's smile on his face suddenly disappeared, he abruptly pushed Niya away, his face as iron, sternly saying: "Niya Deputy Captain, this is an order! As a captain, I command you to execute this order!!"

  Niya's whole body shook, her eyes staring blankly at Tang Jie, with crystal tears hanging on her cheeks, she opened her mouth, and her plump red lips trembled slightly, her voice extremely bitter: "Yes... my captain..."

  Tang Jie gazed intently at Nia, stroking her golden hair with his hand, and said warmly: "Believe me, I'll definitely come back! Go execute the order, Deputy Captain Nia."

  "Yes, Captain!" Nia choked back tears and stumbled down from the cabin.

  Tang Jie took a deep breath, turned his head to gaze at the sea surface where the Hell's Gate had sunk, and heavily exhaled a mouthful of turbid air.

  Where the hellish ship sank, there is still a whirlpool spinning around, and the wreckage of the ship is spinning in this whirlpool, gradually disappearing.

  Tang Jie stared at the whirlpool, his hands grasping the rudder tightened unconsciously, his fingers whitening with force.

  The old battleship tried to give them time to escape but didn't even get a chance to get close before being sunk.

  That fifth-grade fire magician on the Byakuya ship is truly a terrifying existence!

  Recalling the fire-element mage who killed Bal, Tong Jie's eyes blazed with fury, his face darkening as he gritted his teeth.

  They have to find a way to pull out this nail, otherwise they won't have any chance of escaping!

  The magicians of the sea are their arch-nemesis!

  "Tang Jie! Have you gone mad?"

  William heard the news from Nia and crawled out of the gun cabin, rushing to Tangie's side, grabbing his collar with both hands and shouting loudly: "Captain Ball is dead, now you are our captain, our leader, do you want to go die too?"

  Tang Jie looked at William, whose eyes were almost bulging out of their sockets, and smiled, patting William's hands: "William, do you still remember our time in Dam?"

  William looked at Tangie's calm expression and unconsciously loosened his grip: "Of course I remember, what do you want to say, Captain?"

  Tang Jie turned around, looking at the warship left by Bi Sai, and smiled faintly: "When I was in Dam, I said I wanted to rescue Captain Bar. You guys said similar things back then. But I still made it happen!"

  William's mouth was agape, stuttering: "But this is different! Didn't you see? Captain Ball didn't even get close to Biscuit, and he was sunk by that mongrel!!"

  Tang Jie heard this, the guilt and sense of sin in his heart once again choked his throat, he couldn't help but angrily say: "Yes, you also saw that scene! Don't you want to avenge Captain Bar?"

  William's face suddenly turned purple, he shouted: "Revenge is not to go and die! We are pirates, not knights! Only by leaving our lives can we have the opportunity to avenge ourselves! Don't you understand this truth?"

  The sailors on the deck stared at Tang Jie and William, who were arguing loudly, with a desperate gaze at the approaching enemy ship, a suffocating atmosphere shrouded the sea vessel.

  Bill stood by, looking at William and then at Tongjie, suddenly interjecting: "Stop arguing! Captain Tongjie, do you have a plan?"

  Tang Jie turned his head, looking at the warship left by Bi Xiuluo, and said in a low voice: "My plan is to hang a white flag, lower half of the sail, and use flag language to tell Bi Xiuluo that we are surrendering to them, but only allow this warship to approach, and do not allow other warships to get close. Once they come closer, I will board their warship, find a way to capture Bi Xiuluo, and then use the snake swallowing elephant tactic again!

  "Bill Zhang opened his mouth: 'But, Captain, this tactic of feigning surrender, we just used it once! How could Bisai Liu, that old fox, fall for it?'"

  Tang Jie's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a sarcastic smile: "He'll definitely take the bait! Because I have what he wants in my hands!"

  "What is it?" Nia, William and Bill asked in unison.

  Tang Jie silently took out the treasure map and handed it to Nia, saying: "Nia, this is what Captain Barlow entrusted me to give to you."

  Niya's eyes widened as she stared at the yellowed sheepskin scroll, her expression uncertain: "What is this?"

  Tang Jie lied to Nia because he really couldn't tell her the truth.

  A father can't even trust his own biological daughter, what a cruel fact!

  Can Nia bear it?

  William and Bill exchanged a glance, their eyes immediately drawn to the corner of the rolled-up fur scroll, they had been pirates for many years, with an innate keenness for wealth.

  Tang Jie handed over the treasure map to Nia and slowly said: "This is the treasure map of Pirate King Atos..."

  "What!?" Nia, William and Bill exclaimed in unison.

  "Isn't this a rumor that can't be trusted?" Niya's hands holding the treasure map were trembling, and her voice was also trembling.

  Recently, they have been pursued one after another, all because of the treasure map of Pirate King Atos, but Nia has always believed that they are being framed and her father also told him so.

  But now she actually learned from Tang Jie that Captain Barlow indeed had the treasure map of Pirate King Atos!

  But she didn't know anything at all!

  William's eyes widened as he stared at Nia's treasure map, unable to utter a single word.

  But Bill's eyeballs were rolling around in his eye sockets, and a hint of doubt was deeply hidden in his eyes, but he didn't show it, instead nodded thoughtfully and said slowly: "I see, no wonder we've been chased by the Biscay all along! I suppose Biscay and Captain Bar have the same idea, the fewer people who know about this, the better?"

  He then looked back at the sailors on the deck behind him with a puzzled expression, and said in a low voice: "But Captain Tang Jie, now that everyone knows about this matter, this treasure map is like a hot potato, whoever takes it will get burned! How can we hide it from now on?"

  Tang Jie sighed: "Things have come to this point, how can we still talk about hiding? Have you ever seen paper that can wrap around fire? Let's get through the current crisis first!"

  Bill nodded and asked, "Then, Captain Tang Jie, if you board the Biscay's ship and can't catch him, what will you do? How will you come back? And how will we escape?"

  Tang Jie smiled: "Since I let you do this, I must have a way! I only ask you one sentence, do you believe me?"

  Niya snapped out of her shock and stared intently at Tang Jie: "Of course, Captain!"

  "From the moment you pulled me out from under the iron gates of Jerall's dungeon, my life has been yours, Captain Tung!" William said in a low voice.

  "Me too!" Bill chimed in with a smile.

  Tang Jie looked at them, his heart warm and fuzzy. He smiled and exclaimed, "No, companions! It was you who saved me! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to survive, let alone become the captain of this ship!"

  "Now, in front of us is an unbeatable strong enemy, I must knock him down, or we won't be able to survive! So, I need all of your trust!" Tang Jie's gaze was tightly fixed on Nia and the others. "Once I board the ship, no matter what happens, you all have to quickly escape, flee to that island we saw before! Don't worry about me! Do you understand?"

  "But..." Nia said loudly.

  Tang Jie's eyes widened and he shouted sternly, interrupting her: "There's no 'what if', nothing will happen to me!"

  Tang Jie's words left Nia and the others speechless, they opened their mouths but couldn't say a word, looking at Tang Jie but still unable to utter a single sentence.

  Nia took a deep breath, her eyes gradually becoming firm and determined. She looked at Tang Jie: "I understand! I'll wait for you on the island, whether it's one year, ten years or a lifetime!"

  Tang Jie's gaze gradually softened, and he stroked Nia's golden long hair with his hand: "Nia, wait for me to come back!"

  Scheduled second update...

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