**Chapter 109: Seeking One’s Own d*ath**
**2015-03-14**
**Author: Floating Tower**
The Northern People.
This is a very interesting ethnic group, whose physical characteristics resemble those of Siberians, possessing a relatively tall physique and abundant body hair. Northern men are mostly valiant and warlike, likely due to the cold climate necessitating the consumption of strong liquor for warmth, and their way of thinking exhibits some characteristics typical of battle nations (sometimes they can be quite foolish). Northern women have fair skin and delicate features, and if their skin were any smoother, they could easily be regarded as beauties (similar to women from Crimea), with Gloria being a representative Northern beauty.
Moreover, she is of the utmost beauty!
Therefore, in the North, you often see some hilarious situations, with local pirates sometimes seeming a bit eccentric, many of whom are known for their stubborn tempers and inflexible minds, making them difficult to deal with. For instance, during the siege of Soren on Snake Island, among the pirate armada, there was a Northern pirate warship; when others saw the situation turning, they all surrendered, while only they stubbornly charged forward, suffering casualties as they fled.
Because of this peculiar temperament, Northern pirates are among the weakest groups of pirates.
The reason is simple: among themselves, nobody submits to anyone, and almost no strong pirate forces have emerged along the entire Northern coastline; all are small bands of Northern pirates. Given that trade routes along the Northern coastline mainly concentrate around the Arendelle region, which possesses a rather powerful navy, Northern pirates are often seen venturing into other seas to make a living. Although their overall strength is relatively weak, the individual combat power of Northern pirates is generally higher than that of pirates from other regions.
The pirates who attempted to rob Soren were a somewhat average group of Northern pirates.
However, they had a decent Dragon Head Warship, a custom of the Icelandic Vikings who liked to adorn their warships with dragon heads, a tradition inherited by Northern pirates to showcase their strength. The Vikings are the only group of pirates capable of unifying the Northern coastline, but unfortunately, they are quite exclusive within their ranks. Due to their faith in the Battle Spirit Totem, people from other Northern areas are also shunned by them. They are the only group of pirates daring to make moves against Arendelle’s shipping lines; it’s unclear why the princess hasn’t wiped them out.
………………
A cacophony of wails and howls emanated from ahead!
As the Northern pirate warship came into view, a junior leader rushed over to ask Soren for orders. With a somewhat playful glance at the distant pirate ship, he commanded, “Lure them in!”
This time Soren brought along a considerable number of elite pirates, all veterans of naval battles. Upon hearing Soren’s orders, they immediately grasped his intention. Then they saw the junior leader grinning as he instructed the others to act, turning the ship around to create a false impression of wanting to escape, while deliberately slowing down a bit, making the approaching pirates feel they could chase them down.
Sure enough!
The enemy fell for the trap quickly.
A bearded pirate leader, bare-chested with a wolf-head tattoo on his chest, stood beneath the mast of the Dragon Head Warship, shouting at his subordinates, “Don’t fire! Get closer! Their speed can’t match ours!”
“Prepare for boarding!”
“This will be an easy win; we’ll take the cargo along with the ship.”
The spoils of robbing merchant ships are often of varying value. The most valuable may not necessarily be the cargo on board; sometimes the merchant ship itself holds more worth. Therefore, when conditions permit, pirates prefer to engage in boarding actions to deal with their enemies, as this not only avoids damaging valuable cargo but also allows them to capture the ship as well. The pirate leaders under Soren used this point to attract them, making them feel they could catch up, leading the pirates to bring their ship closer for a confrontation.
If they win, Soren’s ship becomes theirs.
If they lose, their ship naturally belongs to Soren.
The sounds of shouting grew closer, and the Northern pirates ahead were excitedly howling, occasionally letting out war roars. They wore expressions of exhilaration because they discovered that there seemed to be few people aboard the ship. Once both sides could see each other, the Northern pirates immediately swung over with ropes.
Bang!
The side of the two ships lightly collided.
About twenty Northern pirates rushed up with a roar, and behind them, around thirty more were preparing to board.
“Clap, clap!”
Soren, who had been watching from the side, finally clapped his hands, and then saw a large group of fierce-looking pirates, all covered in scars, burst out of the cabin. Pirates are quite sensitive to the instincts of their peers. The group of Northern pirates had just swung onto Soren’s ship and immediately realized that it didn’t seem like a merchant vessel. The sailors before them showed no fear at all and even lacked a hint of tension.
Among the scarred sailors, some were even excitedly licking their knives, appearing more ferocious than the Northern pirates, as if they were the ones awaiting slaughter.
“Kekeke!”
A hulking pirate, wielding a battle axe weighing nearly a hundred pounds, charged over. He was the combat captain of this ship and seemed to possess some different bloodline, standing close to two meters tall. He roared with excitement, swinging his axe to cleave one of the incoming Northern pirates in half, then bellowed, “Boys! Take out these fools! They’re seeking their own d*ath!”
“Raise the battle flag!”
“Let these guys d*e clearly!”
The pirates that surged out from the cabin were exceedingly fierce, and in just one round of attacks, they knocked down the oncoming Northern pirates. Then a nimble pirate reached out to raise the battle flag, while others charged toward the opposing pirate ship. The fight, of course, wasn’t about repelling the enemy’s attacks but rather about seizing their warship.
A black flag was hoisted!
On the opposing pirate ship, a slight disturbance seemed to arise, with some recognizing the flag and exclaiming, “It’s the Throat Cutter! It’s the flag of the Southern Pirate King!”
Chaos ensued.
The Northern pirates before them seemed to be greatly frightened, and then with a charge from Soren’s elite pirates, they were immediately thrown into complete disarray.
As the battle progressed, Soren hardly needed to lift a finger himself; the elite pirates he had brought back from the Overseas Islands brought down the opponent with just two rounds of attacks, with some already throwing down their weapons to surrender. However, this ratio was clearly much lower than that of the Southern pirates, as many Northern pirates continued to stubbornly resist despite being weaker in both strength and numbers. This might be related to their traditions, as many Northern people uphold a custom of valuing a warrior’s d*ath, believing that dying in battle is more noble than dying of old age or illness.
In contrast, the Southern pirates often adhere to a custom of fighting to the last breath to survive!
Soren did not participate in the boarding battle himself; his current status was different, and sometimes there was no need for him to charge to the frontlines. However, he still needed to harvest some Killing Experience, so after the battle began, he pulled out the [Elf Battle Bow +2] gifted to him by Andrei Darkblade. Shooting in naval battles with a battle bow is quite exhilarating; Soren specifically targeted injured enemy pirates, and with his outstanding base attributes backing him, his hit rate was remarkably high.
Not to mention he also had a Lucky Coin, which permanently granted a +1 luck bonus to his hit rate.
Soren picked off the Northern pirates one by one, and although his proficiency with the bow and arrow wasn’t particularly high, he wouldn’t mind if he accidentally shot down his own subordinates—after all, he would still gain Killing Experience. Fortunately, such incidents didn’t occur, and he systematically claimed seven or eight pirate heads, shooting down all the Northern pirates who resisted desperately.
The battle concluded.
The entire process lasted less than ten minutes, and the Northern pirates who attempted to rob Soren were instead robbed by him.
Soren’s fleet gained another warship!
………………
“Take them down for interrogation.”
Soren frowned at the bloodstains on the deck, then put away the Elf Battle Bow and commanded, “See if we can extract anything useful, and have people clean up the bodies; make sure all the bloodstains on the deck are erased. We’re heading to the cities on the Northern coastline this time; let’s avoid unnecessary trouble.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” replied the towering man carrying the heavy battle axe, bowing respectfully.
Once he turned around to shout at the other minions to clean up the bodies, his expression became quite fierce and arrogant, slightly tinged with a sense of disregard for others. As elite pirates under Soren, many of them had peculiar tempers; however, regardless of how eccentric they were, they always showed respect in Soren’s presence, only becoming haughty and domineering toward others.
Nearby, some pirates were cleaning the battlefield, collecting spoils from the bodies, while others went to the opposing pirate ship, which they might need to retrieve back to Shipwreck Bay. Behind the deck was a pile of captured enemies, guarded by a grinning elite pirate, while a particularly fierce-looking executioner was interrogating them, occasional screams echoing through the air. After these rounds of combat, Soren’s subordinates had weeded the wheat from the chaff, finally cultivating a batch of capable elite troops.
About a few minutes later.
The pirate responsible for the interrogation ran over and whispered something into Soren’s ear.
Then Soren was seen standing up in surprise, brow furrowed, “A dragon?!”
“Are you sure he’s not lying?”
Standing before Soren was a rather ugly, fierce-looking pirate, who pounded his chest and guaranteed, “Your Grace! With my years of experience, if they were lying, I wouldn’t be able to miss it. Besides, there are others down below who know a bit, and these guys came to the northwest for this matter.”
“Is that so?” Soren nodded slightly, revealing a hint of contemplation.
After a moment.
He raised his head to look at the others, solemnly instructing, “Do not leak this information. Although it’s just an adult White Dragon, it also looks like it’s worth our effort!”
………………(To be continued ~^~)
