Silence did not last long.

But the one who broke the silence was neither Blackbeard nor Feng Bujue, but…

"Captain—" At that moment, a high-pitched, resounding voice came from the crow's nest at the top of the mast, "Maybe now is not the time, but I have to interrupt you."

"What is it?" Blackbeard's gaze remained fixed on Feng Bujue, with no intention of shifting it at all, but he still shouted a response to the lookout.

"Southeast, there is a ship rapidly approaching us." From the tone of voice that the lookout used when speaking to Blackbeard, one could guess that he was no ordinary person either, "In my opinion… they don't look friendly."

Blackbeard pondered for two seconds upon hearing this. Then, he adjusted his tone and volume to just the right level and said to Feng Bujue in front of him, "It seems… we'll have to chat later."

"No problem, you go ahead and take care of your business." Feng Bujue spread his hands, replying with an indifferent expression.

"Heh…" Blackbeard smiled, "But I still have to make sure…" He paused, "When I'm 'busy', you won't take the opportunity to do something that will make me even busier, right?"

"No." Feng Bujue replied, "In fact, I'm even prepared to give you a hand…" He extended a hand, making a gesture of invitation, "If possible, I hope you can regard me as an ally, or even a companion."

"So that's how it is…" Blackbeard said thoughtfully upon hearing this, "This is your 'mission' this time, right?"

"You could say it's one of them." Feng Bujue did not show any surprise at Blackbeard's wording—even upon hearing the word "mission," "But specifically, I don't think I can explain it to you."

"It doesn't matter, knowing this much is enough." Blackbeard said, immediately turning around and leaving.

His pace was firm, steady, fast, and powerful…

In the blink of an eye, he had walked all the way to the helm station located in the middle and rear of the ship.

Blackbeard stood high, next to the railing in front of the helm station, solemnly standing under the gaze of all the pirates.

A moment later, he took a deep breath, and then opened his mouth and shouted, "Thieves! Scum! My little bitches!" At this point, he revealed a smile that could only be described as "ferocious," "Heh… obviously, a bunch of guys who don't know the meaning of death are charging at us…"

Just as he began this "pre-war speech," the fast ship to the southeast had already rapidly approached; even sailors with relatively ordinary eyesight could already faintly see the silhouette of the ship.

But Blackbeard's attitude was still calm…

His composed and slightly eager state came from his confidence as a maritime overlord, and… a primal thirst for slaughter.

"I will use their captain's skull to decorate my bookshelf.

"I will use the skin of that crew to sew war drums.

"I will collect a hundred spines to make the carvings on the railing of the Queen Anne's Revenge.

"I will fill twelve barrels with human blood to serve as fuel for Greek fire (a liquid incendiary agent invented by the Byzantine Empire that can burn on water).

"I will put their ship in a glass bottle as a permanent collectible.

"I will engrave fear deeply into the souls of each of them, so that even on the River Styx, the name of our kind will be praised!"

Blackbeard's voice was like thunder, and his every word entered the ears of everyone on the ship; even the pirates below deck in the cabins heard his declaration.

"Do you… understand?" After a few seconds, Blackbeard asked.

"Ho! Ho!" All the pirates on the entire ship, no matter where they were, shouted these two words in unison and loudly.

"Very good." The corners of Blackbeard's mouth curled up in a smile again, indicating that he was very satisfied with this response; after a pause of two seconds, he opened his mouth again, "Then…"

Just as he said these two words, he only heard a long cry of "Yo—" coming from the side; immediately following, there was a loud bang.

It turned out that… an enemy ship's cannonball had fallen on the sea surface only a few meters away from the Queen Anne's Revenge at this moment.

The power of the cannonball was very terrifying, and the splashing water soared upwards, like an evil dragon emerging from the water, fiercely approaching.

"Hmph…" Blackbeard only gave a cold smile upon seeing this.

In the next second, he suddenly pulled out the Triton (the sea messenger in ancient Greek mythology, the son of the sea god Poseidon and the sea queen Amphitrite) Sword from his waist, raised it high into the sky, and continued the words he had not finished saying, shouting loudly, "Pirates… hoist the sails! Hard to port!"

As soon as the captain's order came out, all the pirates on the ship moved like arrows leaving the string.

Don't look at these guys who are usually in a lazy and irritable state… At this moment, they will instantly become more efficient than any well-trained army.

In just a blink of an eye, the pirates around Feng Bujue and Snow… including Brother Suantou… had all disappeared without a trace.

Running, rolling, climbing, swinging…

The pirates were like a swarm of scattered bees, or jumping monkeys, busying themselves on the deck.

Under the command of a small number of "cadres," these dozens of people quickly raised the sails, set up the cannons, and prepared ammunition, knives, guns, and throwing ropes in an orderly rhythm amid the chaos…

In short, everyone entered a state of preparation for battle.

And the attacking enemy… although their identity is still unknown, this kind of role that dares to attack Blackbeard's pirate group is definitely not someone to be trifled with.

"Captain—it's the 'Brown Algae'!" After another short while, as the outline of the ship gradually became clear, the lookout shouted.

Blackbeard's expression remained unchanged when he heard this name, he only asked, "What flag are they flying?"

"The one-eyed skull flag!" The lookout shouted back, paused for a second, and then added, "It's 'Mad Eye'!"

When he said this name, most of the pirates on the deck were slightly stunned.

Feng Bujue and Snow were both very good at observing words and expressions, and they immediately deduced something from the reactions of this group of pirates.

"You saw it too, right?" Snow immediately asked in a low voice.

"Ah…" Feng Bujue said, "Judging from the changes in the expressions of the people around us… that 'Mad Eye' is not easy to deal with."

"Yeah…" Snow replied in a deep voice, "But no matter how difficult he is to deal with, he can't be stronger than Blackbeard, right?"

"That's for sure." Feng Bujue replied, "But… it is this kind of 'enemy who is only slightly lower than Blackbeard' who is even more difficult to deal with; usually speaking… when two pirate groups whose strength is not very different face each other, no matter who wins in the end, it will be a 'pyrrhic victory'." Speaking of this, Brother Jue's eyes moved slightly, and he changed the topic, "Also… I'm very concerned about…"

"Concerned about what?" Snow quickly noticed that Feng Bujue's gaze was moving downwards, as if he was "seeing through" the things under the deck.

"That cannonball that fell into the sea just now…" Brother Jue murmured, "It's a bit unusual…"

"Oh?" Snow was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then connected his thoughts, replying, "Yeah… now that you mention it… it is indeed very strange. When that cannonball was shot over just now, the other ship was still very far away from us; assuming that their cannon range is so far, then why continue to approach? Even if they have a reason to approach, then why not shoot again during the approach?"

The conclusion that his self-questioning reasoning can draw is exactly what Brother Jue meant just now—that cannonball is "special" or even "unique."

But what its specific function is, even Feng Bujue, does not know yet.

"Hoist the sails! Full speed ahead!" Just as the two players were talking, Blackbeard's voice rang through the entire ship once again.

At this moment, the Queen Anne's Revenge had already been turned to face the Brown Algae under the previous adjustment of "hoisting the sails and turning hard to port"; that is to say, Blackbeard's order this time was basically equivalent to telling the crew to drive the ship straight into the enemy ship.

"Captain." At this time, a black man who had been silently standing next to Blackbeard on the helm station opened his mouth with a solemn expression and said to Blackbeard, "The other side is now downwind, and… has reached that kind of speed, if we collide with them head-on like this…"

"Erdini." Blackbeard interrupted him, calling his name.

"What are your orders? Captain." Erdini immediately responded respectfully.

"You don't need to participate in this battle." Blackbeard continued, "You… go for a walk in the sea first."

Erdini did not show any dissatisfaction or doubt about this order that sounded like a suicide instruction, he only asked calmly, "What do you want me to do in the sea?"

"There's something wrong with the cannonball that fell just now." Blackbeard also replied very calmly, "Go and check it out… if everything is normal, then come back and support us."

"Yes, Captain." Erdini accepted the order, without saying a word, he turned around and ran towards the side of the ship with long strides.

When he rushed to the edge of the deck, he leaped into the turbid and dim seawater outside the ship.

…………

At the same time, on the Brown Algae.

"Captain! The other side has turned the bow of the ship and is facing us head-on!" Their lookout was also shouting to the captain.

"Nonsense, we're so close, I can see it myself." At the bow of the ship, a man wearing a dark blue captain's uniform, with a face full of horizontal flesh and a black eye patch on his left eye, immediately responded to his crew member in an irritable tone.

This man is Mad Eye…

The name "Mad Eye" is obviously his nickname after he became a pirate, as for what his real name is… he himself has already forgotten it.

Although Mad Eye's left eye has been wearing an eye patch all year round, in reality, his eye is not blind.

Seeing this, many people must already be wondering… does he have a Sharingan? Is that eye patch a spiritual power control device?

Well… the answer will be revealed in the next chapter.

Let's continue to tell the story…

After Mad Eye shouted at his lookout, he took two steps sideways and walked to another person.

Then, this dignified captain actually put on an almost flattering tone and said, "Uh… Master, what do you think… what should we do next?"

The person who was called "Master" by Mad Eye was wrapped in an earth-colored Western-style monk's robe, and his face was completely covered in shadow; in this state, even if he was standing in front of him, it was impossible to see whether he was male or female, old or young, human or ghost…

"You don't need me to teach you this, right?" The Master's voice didn't sound anything special either, a very ordinary male voice, a man between the ages of twenty and forty could have such a voice, "You know more about how to fight a naval battle than I do."

"Then… I'll act according to the situation?" Mad Eye tentatively responded.

Just as the "Master" was about to answer this sentence, suddenly, he who was hidden in the monk's robe… discovered something unusual, and he instantly thought in his heart, "That's… Feng Bujue?"

I don't know what method he used, but when the two ships were still a certain distance apart, he noticed that Brother Jue was on Blackbeard's ship.

"Not only that… 'those two guys' are also there." The Master thought again, "No… I can't contact them in this situation, I have to leave before they find me."

He made the decision to run away almost instantly, and said without showing any signs, "Mad Eye, I'm going to the cabin to get something, you have full authority to handle things here…"

After putting down this sentence, he wanted to turn around and leave.

"Eh? This…" Mad Eye quickly stepped forward and asked, "Master, the battle is about to start, what are you…"

"Huh?" The Master had no intention of explaining anything to Mad Eye, he just uttered a syllable in an unpleasant tone.

This action alone scared Mad Eye back a step.

"So… sorry, I was being nosy, Master, please…" Mad Eye quickly lowered his head and took a few steps back, "I… I'll take care of things here."

The Master didn't say anything to him, and left silently.

It was not until his figure entered the cabin under the deck and disappeared from Mad Eye's sight that the latter breathed a sigh of relief.

"Tch… what the hell is this bastard up to again." Even if the other party had already gone far away, Mad Eye didn't dare to say this out loud, he just muttered in a low voice.

It is not difficult to see from Mad Eye's reaction… that he never thought that the "Master" would desert before the battle.

In Mad Eye's cognition, the strength of this "Master" was far above Blackbeard, and this was his greatest confidence and reliance in this "attack."

Mad Eye firmly believed that he, who was only "a little bit" worse than Blackbeard, would definitely be able to seize the title of Pirate King… oh no… Pirate King, as long as he had the help of this existence who was even stronger than Blackbeard.

Unfortunately… man proposes, God disposes.

Mad Eye would never have imagined that just a minute ago, he had become a victim in a "change of circumstances."