radiothebook Chapter 38 Birds Eating Sheep
Chapter 38 Birds Eating Sheep
Edwin extended his left hand to Henry as an invitation.
However, Henry swiftly swung his axe and cleanly severed the arm.
After a moment of stunned silence, Edwin howled in pain.
He instinctively backed away and frantically brandished the sharp blade in his hand.
Such haphazard resistance naturally posed no threat to Henry.
He easily dodged and gave chase.
With one axe stroke, Edwin's weapon was deflected, and with another, Edwin's right arm was chopped off.
Edwin slumped to the edge of the bed, blood gushing from the gap in his severed arm.
His face was deathly pale, and he seemed to sense that his death was imminent, so his expression was full of fear.
However, his eyes were filled with confusion.
"Why?" he asked.
"Um?"
"You're saying you don't want revenge?"
Why should I seek revenge?
As he spoke, Henry tore off a sheet and used it to bandage Edwin's wounds to prevent him from bleeding to death.
Edwin still has value; Henry needs him to live a little longer.
"I killed your father, took your inheritance, and even tried to harm you. Aren't these enough reasons for your revenge?"
Faced with Edwin's weak question, Henry thought carefully for a while before answering seriously:
"Any decent man would want to hang a pirate, but I can't kill everyone. Although you've seized the Black Goat, I've never coveted ownership of the ship. In my eyes, the Soaring and the Black Goat are no different. As for you killing my father... he was a pirate, so be it."
Edwin's eyes were filled with disbelief:
"But he's your father! Don't you hate me at all? I killed him right in front of you!"
"Perhaps I've had similar feelings before."
Henry crossed the strips of cloth and pulled hard.
"But I don't hate you now."
Henry paused, then added:
"If you ask why, it's probably because I met a more competent father, someone I'm willing to be his son."
He taught me a lot, and Henry misses him dearly, so I absolutely cannot let him down!
"Then why did you still kill me?" Edwin asked unwillingly.
This question stumped Henry, causing him to fall into deep thought.
"There was no particular reason, it's just that when I was feeling lost, the Black Goat suddenly appeared."
"What do you mean?"
"I just need a goal."
Henry smiled nonchalantly.
"You just happened to be my target."
Edwin remained speechless for a long time after hearing this, clearly shocked and unable to accept the reason.
No one can readily accept that they have been defeated by such a trivial reason.
Henry didn't give Edwin any more time. He picked Edwin up and pulled him toward the door.
Upon opening the door, Henry was able to overlook the entire cabin from the captain's cabin door, as the deck had already been destroyed by the "self-immolation" he had given it.
Flames still lingered inside the cabin, but much of the fire had been extinguished. Clearly, in the time it took Henry to come to the rescue, the lambs had regained their senses and started fighting the fire.
Meanwhile, in a corner, localized battles continued.
The last few surviving henchmen under Henry are still putting up a stubborn resistance.
Without thinking twice, he pushed Edwin in front of him and kicked him hard in the knee, causing Edwin to immediately kneel down.
Henry shouted:
"Listen up, all of you!"
In the sea and on the battlefield, apart from the howling and lamenting sea wind and flames, no other sounds could be heard.
Everyone turned their attention to Henry.
They could clearly see Edwin kneeling beside Henry.
The lambs immediately realized that their octopus had been captured by Henry.
But pirates are bandits who fight only for themselves; they may fear and depend on their octopuses, but they are by no means grateful.
Therefore, attempting to coerce them into surrendering by using Edwin is undoubtedly wishful thinking.
Besides, the lambs had an absolute advantage; all that was left was to clean up the mess and trample the chattering birds to death one by one.
Henry was well aware of this, and he would never harbor such foolish hopes.
He simply announced one thing:
"I am Henry Gijano Panza!"
These words immediately caused a stir among the lambs:
"Henry?!"
"Oh my god! Gihano!"
For those who are unfamiliar with the meaning of this name, please ask questions:
"Whose name is this?"
"Gihanno is the surname of the legendary pirate Joachim, and Henry was his son!"
"Joachim built this warship; he was the former octopus."
"Henry is the rightful heir to this ship!"
The veteran sailors on this ship naturally knew who Henry was, and were even more aware of Joachim's reputation.
They undoubtedly looked forward to Henry's return, but were unimpressed by the newly joined pirates:
"I don't care who Joachim is, he's just a dead man. Pirates are all sons of prostitutes and whores, all bastards. We all have dirty blood flowing through our veins. We don't care about bloodlines, we only care about strength!"
"Yes! On the high seas, the strong live forever!"
Henry laughed despite hearing the dissenting voices.
That's exactly what he was waiting for.
Henry shouted:
"That's right, on the high seas, the strong live forever! And I have now captured your leader!"
With that, Henry stomped hard on Edwin's back, then raised the axe high:
"Black Goat, lambs, little shrimps, I was once framed by Edwin, who used despicable tricks to kill my father, Joachim, but now..."
The axe swiftly sliced through the air, leaving a slash mark in the moonlight and firelight.
"Your octopus is back!"
The head fell high from the captain's cabin, landing on the second deck where the cabin was located. It bounced a few times before rolling into the pirates' sight.
A hush fell over the scene. After a moment, the old sailors who had served under Joachim began to shout:
"Henry!"
"Gihano!"
"Son of Joachim!"
Subsequently, the pirates who had joined the group in the past six years were also forced to curry favor with Henry and follow his lead, acknowledging his rule.
Hearing these shouts that echoed through the night sky, Henry closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and took a deep breath.
Finally... it's over!
Henry was extremely exhausted, both mentally and physically, and he wanted to just collapse onto the wooden plank.
But he knew he absolutely couldn't do that; the octopus absolutely couldn't let the shrimp see his weakness.
Moreover, he has many things to clean up.
The first step was to organize efforts to extinguish the fire.
Henry quickly gave orders to extinguish the fires on the ship and to throw the bodies into the sea.
Firstly, sending these warriors back would allow them to travel to the bottom of the sea to find the palace of the sea god after their deaths.
Secondly, it prevented the corpses from bringing plague and disease to the crew on board.
After everything was settled, Henry went to find the seabirds that had fought alongside him to this place.
Apart from Henry, only four people survived.
The birds eventually managed to eat the sheep, but the price the community paid was undeniably heavy.
"I have indeed led everyone to hell," Henry thought. "I really am the devil Henry."
Fortunately, Benson and Miko were among the survivors.
Benson led everyone to kneel before Henry, tears welling in his eyes, and said:
"Boss! I did it! We did it!"
Henry nodded, though he felt unworthy of the honor, but nodding was all he could do for the moment.
"Boss, from now on I swear to follow you to the death!"
Benson seemed to have even greater faith in Henry's pre-war remarks about being the "King of the Seas."
Henry, however, was unsure whether to be happy or sad about this.
In short, he managed to get away with it.
However, Miko did not kneel.
Mi Science doesn't follow the crowd; if you want him to kneel down, all you need to do is give him a clear instruction.
But Henry did not do that.
He said to Mico, "Mico, come with me."
Micoe nodded and followed Henry as they moved through the ravaged ships.
They went to the bridge, and Henry pointed to the helm and said:
"Miko, from now on, you will be the helmsman of the Black Goat."
Mico stared intently at the helm, then turned to Henry and laughed.
"Henry! Henry keeps his word, Miko really is the helmsman again!"
Henry patted Miko on the shoulder, but Miko hugged Henry tightly.
He was very strong, and Henry could barely breathe.
But Henry just laughed a few times.
What a simple and honest "strong man," Henry thought.
Micoe appeared to be only eighteen years old, just like Henry was when he met the curator.
Henry looked at Mico as if he were looking at his former self.
Mico released Henry and walked toward the helm.
At that moment, a ray of sunlight pierced through the sea.
The darkness dissipated.
Miko gripped the rudder.