The sea calmed down finally, and the dark clouds in the sky slowly dispersed, revealing the bright blue sky above.
With the flag flapping high in the mast, the silver-sailed pirate ship left the storm behind and slowly began approaching the five islands circling Letzer Island.
Now that it wasn't raining anymore, the pirates left indoors and quickly ran to check the condition of the rowboat and the young man.
When they reached the back of the ship, they all looked surprised, and smiles spread across their surprised faces.
In the rowboat, Kiernan stood still like a statue. He was drenched from head to toe. However, he survived through the entire storm that lasted about two hours!
"Well, look at that…" Ambrose wryly smiled. "He made it."
"Pay up!" Julian laughed, and disgruntled pirates begrudgingly handed over their coins.
The rope pulled the rowboat back to the ship, and Kiernan hopped back on the deck while feeling somewhat strange.
It felt like he was standing on solid ground instead of the shaking deck.
"There are people who must concentrate while using Sea Steps, but some can do it instinctively."
"It looks like you belong to the latter category."
"I've seen people use Sea Steps on land; is it worth it?" Kiernan asked curiously.
"Depends," Ambrose rubbed his chin. "Sea Steps is not as effective on land as on sea. There are superior footwork techniques to use on land, but in the sea, Sea Steps are unparalleled!"
'I thought so.' Kiernan thought to himself and tapped his feet on the deck. 'Now, I don't have any weaknesses in the sea.'
"The Circle of Five Islands is ahead!" The helmsman shouted.
Ambrose walked to the front of the ship, took out his binoculars, and looked at the islands in the distance.
The five islands seemed empty with forest in the middle of them. They were quite small in size, and it didn't look like there were any ships docked there.
However, then he saw Letzer Island.
It was the first time he'd been in this sea region, and what he saw shocked him to the core.
"Are you actually serious?" Ambrose laughed and turned around to Kiernan, then gave him the binoculars. "Look ahead. What a nice place you chose for us to go!"
Kiernan frowned, took the binoculars, and squinted through them, looking ahead towards Letzer Island.
The island had many ships docked, and he could see people moving around on the docks. Then he looked past that, saw a small and cozy town with brown and red buildings and bustling streets.
The town's roads were narrow, winding, and rock-tiled. In the center of the town was a beautiful tree with lights hanging from the branches.
The winding roads of the town eventually lead to a fortress-like building on the hill that overlooked the entire town and the nearby waters.
The fortress was black and dark blue in color. It looked mighty. However, in the mast, a flag of the navy flapped high and proud.
"Oh shit…" Kiernan lowered his binoculars and sighed. "Is that what I think it is?"
"That's Navy Branch Island!" Ambrose scratched the back of his head. "We're deep in the navy territory!"
When the other pirates heard that, they paled and wanted the ship to turn around immediately.
If they were discovered here, a lonely-looking pirate crew, they would immediately get chased and killed off!
'The difficulty was D, was it not?' Kiernan's eyes twitched. 'I guess it is actually much harder for pirates!'
"Let's turn around!" Ambrose shouted.
Before the helmsman could make the correction of their course, Kiernan shouted.
"What?" Ambrose frowned. "We cannot go there."
"Yes, none of you can." Kiernan looked at the pirates. "However, I can."
"What do you mean?" Ambrose asked.
"Lend me the ship. Take the pirate flag off the mast. I'll go there alone, get the treasure, and leave before they discover my identity."
"This is too much to risk for a chance that there isn't even any treasure," Ambrose said. "If you don't return with the ship and the navy catches you, we will be stranded and eventually caught as well.
"We'll be hanging by the neck before the end of this week."
'This is the worst. How can I convince them?' Kiernan frowned.
"I think this could still work."
To everyone's surprise, Wren opened her mouth, as she wasn't the most talkative kind on the ship. It was already rare to hear her utter a few words in the entire year.
"Wren?" Ambrose raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"A few of us can join Kiernan, acting like tourists. If he goes alone, he will look suspicious, as this ship is too big for one man. However, with maybe four of us, it will look more legit.
"There is a problem with the harbor master checking our identification. Kiernan, and let's say, Julian, can make it through without a problem.
"They have bounties, yes, but they're sketched pictures with fake names on them. The problem is that no one else from our side can enter without getting caught.
"However, let's say I, and Daphne will act as their fiancées. That might be enough to get past without showing proper identification. If that's not enough, we'll stay in the ship."
"Hmm…" Ambrose frowned. "Fine. We're pirates. This is not the worst idea we've done."
Wren nodded and then turned her sharp eyes on Kiernan. She had some black eyeliner smudged under her eye, but it only added to her fiercely beautiful expression.
"Daphne and Julian, go with them," Ambrose said.
Julian said with a nod and turned his head to Daphne, whom he hadn't noticed before.
Daphne nodded. She wasn't as fierce-looking as Wren and looked somewhat dull in her plain brown clothes.
However, her brown bob haircut made her look more approachable and friendly. She had hazel-colored round eyes, a small nose, and squishy-looking cheeks that gave her face a warm look.
She wasn't an out-of-this-world beauty, but still, she had a charming and relatable appearance that drew people in.
"Change your clothes; make yourself look like tourists." Ambrose said.
The ship then anchored at one of the small islands. The gangplank was lowered. The pirates then disembarked, only leaving the four in the ship that was going to head over to Letzer Island.
"Well then, good luck, and bring back my ship!" Ambrose said, and then hopped off the ship.
With that, the anchor was raised back up, and the silver-sailed ship with the pirate flag tossed away started heading towards Letzer Island.