"Boom boom boom boom boom!"
Twenty‑four cannons fired simultaneously, yet from a distance it sounded like only a single boom.
For the past six months Fang Yuan has been studying witchcraft, and the Pirates have naturally been training, becoming extremely proficient.
But to the distant Navy warships, the scene was rather terrifying.
The massive cannon fire drew every Navy soldier's attention.
"Such a loud boom—what kind of battleship is that?" the Captain asked, only to see The Jackdaw.
He was puzzled, then noticed the surrounding soldiers staring fearfully at the sky.
The Navy Captain looked up, his mouth suddenly gaping, his fingers weakly pointing upward.
"What... what kind of cannon is that?"
A single blast sent out more than twenty projectiles—astonishing in an age before the concept of cluster bombs.
The idea of twenty‑plus cannons firing at once was equally incomprehensible to the Navy, so no one thought of that possibility right away.
But the Navy had no time to think of anything else, because The Jackdaw's shells had already struck the warship; all twenty‑four projectiles hit, leaving the crew in utter chaos.
The 100% hit rate shocked the barely‑surviving Navy Captain beyond words.
"Witchcraft—it must be witchcraft!" he muttered to himself.
Believing the enemy had some fantastical cannon technique was one thing; believing they were cheating was far more acceptable.
The Captain shouted loudly, "Quick, retreat!"
He had no hint of naval grandeur now; even though The Jackdaw displayed its skull‑flag, the Navy had no desire to fight back.
Joking aside, their own hit rate was negligible—how could they fight a ship with auto‑aim?
"Uwaa!"
"Hahaha!"
Pirates had never seen a Navy flee in panic; as the warship fled, everyone—including Sakazuki and White—went wild with excitement.
They usually only skirmished with merchant ships; after so much training they still didn't fully grasp their strength. Now a sweeping monk had debuted, instantly boosting their confidence.
"Captain, should we give chase?"
"That ship looks pretty good, too."
Sakazuki quickly reported; they were already fired up, daring to target the Navy warship.
"Snap!"
Fang Yuan slapped Sakazuki on the head: "Just give a greeting. Do you really want to clash head‑on with the East India Company?"
"I heard the East India Company just launched a flagship called Effort, with 104 cannons. Want to take a look?" Fang Yuan said, then slapped him again.
Sakazuki shivered, shaking his head like a rattle.
Fang Yuan finally stopped.
The Jackdaw is indeed formidable—bullying fourth‑ or fifth‑class ships is a joke—but it's still far from a first‑rate battleship like Effort.
Pirates are naturally suited to guerrilla warfare; taking on a battleship head‑on would be sheer madness.
This time White provocatively glared at Sakazuki.
That big oaf, his mind is a single thread—nowhere near as useful as his brain.
Facing the smug White, Sakazuki merely pursed his lips.
The guy who boarded mid‑journey only saw himself getting beaten, forgetting that the Black King only beat him.
"That's how the Black King shows he gets along with me better!"
Sakazuki thought to himself.
Fang Yuan watched the infighting among his subordinates but had no intention of stopping it.
Without worrying about balance, just watching the two perform daily was entertaining enough.
"Back to the Caribbean!"
Fang Yuan then gave a decisive order.
Though the sea is vast, the early core of the pirates of the caribbean series is the Caribbean itself. With nine great Pirate Kings in the World, the Caribbean Pirate King Jack Sparrow has even lost his ship, so Fang Yuan naturally wants to fill that void.
Speaking of Jack, the title of Caribbean Pirate King always seemed odd to Fang Yuan when watching the movies.
Who gave him that title?
Counting all five films, Captain Jack is either searching for the Black Pearl or searching for the Black Pearl again—no matter which film, he's always after the Black Pearl. Why is he the Pirate King?
Is it because he summons so many undead at sea?
Now that he truly is a pirate, Fang Yuan understands why Jack's reputation is so huge.
Although Jack fell into hard times later, after striking a deal with Davy Jones and enchanting the Black Pearl, he genuinely served as Captain for three years.
In the pirate World, someone as trouble‑making as Jack managing to survive three years without being killed is truly legendary.
And now, Fang Yuan is also marching toward legendary pirate status.
At the West Africa headquarters of the British East India Company, Carter Becket unusually slammed the table.
For Becket, who clings to gentlemanly British decorum even when facing death, this was a rare outburst.
But his subordinates could understand him; after all—
"The Navy chased by Pirates? It even made the newspapers?"
Becket wanted to shove the newspaper into the Captain's head; after all, the Captain's mind was full of mush.
"Should I be grateful that the British Empire's Navy escaped the Pirates' clutches and wasn't captured?" he said, clearly dissatisfied.
The warship's Captain could only lower his head, daring not to speak.
He knew that although Becket appeared refined, his actions were ruthless; a single retort could get him cannoned into the sea.
The Captain's approach was very wise, and Becket's attention quickly shifted away from him.
In fact, Becket also knew that this incident couldn't be blamed entirely on the Captain; although the Navy rarely loses to Pirates, it does happen from time to time, since the Navy doesn't have a warship for every man.
Becket's irritation stemmed from the fact that this time it had been exposed.
Normally the Navy just sweeps the loss under the rug, but this time the Pirates chased the Navy and the story was reported by an English newspaper, which undoubtedly dimmed the face of Governor Becket of West Africa.
"Black Emperor Pirates, again they!"
Becket flipped through the pirate wanted list and found the record on the Black Emperor Pirates after only a few pages.
As the only crew in the past hundred years to bombard Pirates on English soil, this pirate group was renowned, and Becket thought he would never have to deal with them, but he didn't expect the Black Emperor's second rise to fame to have his West African Navy as the backdrop.
"Leader Fang Yuan, bounty 4,000 gold?" Becket furrowed his brow and thought, "Notify them that if they capture them within the West African East India Company jurisdiction, I'll add another 1,000 bounty!"
Normally Becket would never voluntarily raise a bounty for a pirate, but now the Black Emperor Pirates' deeds had been exposed, and he felt it was better to be generous than to keep it hidden.
If those Pirates that constantly blacken England were caught on his turf, Becket would finally regain some face!
Unfortunately, Becket's idea was good; after the bounty announcement, the Navy responded eagerly, but in this era the transmission of news still takes time.
In fact, by the time Becket saw the English newspaper, Fang Yuan had already left West Africa; by the time the news of the increased bounty spread, Fang Yuan was already heading back to the Caribbean Sea.
"Caribbean, what a nice place."
Seeing Port Royal draw nearer, Fang Yuan muttered softly.
"Caribbean as well."
"Add 'Pirates' to that name and you get a good movie; add Japan and Korea and you get a cute short film... ahem."
Fang Yuan shook his head, brushed aside some unsavory thoughts, and as soon as the ship docked he stepped onto the pier.
What?
He's a wanted pirate?
Fang Yuan glanced at the bounty poster posted at the pier; the fourth one was a portrait of the Black Emperor Pirates' Fang Yuan.
It didn't make him look like a full‑bearded one‑eyed dragon, but it was still far from his true appearance.
Given the illustration technology of the era, even if Fang Yuan stood under the poster for a whole day, no one would associate him with the famous Black Emperor.
"Please register, sir."
A civil official from Port Royal approached with a handbook.
"And there's a docking fee of one shilling."
"Arthur," Fang Yuan handed over a silver coin and smiled, "Arthur Curry."
He originally wanted to say Bruce Wayne, but remembering this was the sea's domain, he gave the name of Aquaman instead.
The official bowed slightly, "Welcome to Port Royal, Mr. Curry."
After the greeting, he hurried away; why Fang Yuan's ship arrived at Port Royal without unloading cargo was none of his business.
He only collected the docking fee and didn't bother with the rest.
Fang Yuan wasn't at all worried that The Jackdaw would be recognized; after all, it had been over half a year since his last visit to Port Royal, and he had even changed ships, making it impossible for anyone to know.
Moreover, The Jackdaw's cannons had been retracted, so unless someone boarded and inspected, no abnormality could be detected.
Fang Yuan led White toward the Governor's Office; Sakazuki was an old pirate, so people might recognize him, and he was left behind to keep watch.
They waited at the Governor's Office entrance for a while, and as dusk approached they finally saw a plump figure appear.
When he entered the narrow alley, Fang Yuan stepped forward and blocked him.
"It's you!"
Lowry shouted in surprise upon seeing Fang Yuan, clearly shocked that Fang Yuan dared come to Port Royal.
"How dare you come ashore like this?" he asked.
"Oh? Not happy to see me?" Fang Yuan teased, "Or do you not want your 10% anymore?"
Lowry's expression kept shifting, but he said nothing in return.
Relying on his own abilities, Lowry had become the Governor's Assistant in Port Royal, a position with quite good treatment.
But don't forget Lowry comes from a noble family; for a commoner, the role is already very generous, yet he still finds it somewhat lacking.
Even if he could be greedy, nothing would be faster than a pirate seizing something directly.
Moreover, the reputation of the Black Emperor Pirates had long reached Port Royal.
Bombarding London, chasing the Navy in West Africa—Fang Yuan had already proven his strength.
"So you should have some good intel for me," Fang Yuan asked with a smile.
Lowry answered decisively, "Next Sunday, the merchant ship Mary Lady will set sail for London; the Navy will escort her until she passes the Caribbean, then turn back."
"On the 16th, the Royal Barcelona bound for Spain will also depart; although she carries forty cannons, her crew is not very skilled..."
He listed several large merchant ships' movements, even pinpointing the optimal places to strike.
Fang Yuan's face broke into a satisfied smile; indeed, wealth moves people's hearts.
Look at his enthusiasm; he really should have his former boss tied up and taught a thing or two.
You will get 90 chapter ahead for this fanfiction.
patreon.com /AZofficial