Chapter 56: A Battle Royale at Sea

Chapter Fifty-SixA Battle Royale at Sea

Inside the fairly spacious living room, Anna and Joyce, having ended their embrace, sat down on separate sofas, with Anna’s parents between them.

Joyce sighed with visible satisfaction.

“Steam above, how fortunate I am to have returned alive, and to see Anna again.”

“My poor Joyce, what exactly happened to you?” Anna could no longer restrain herself and asked with concern.

Joyce glanced at his fiancée. His expression grew heavy.

“Even now, I still feel afraid. I keep waking again and again from nightmares. Five days after the Clover left Port Caesar, we encountered pirates. Terrible pirates. The only fortunate thing was that their leader was Nast.”

“The great pirate who calls himself the King of the Five Seas?” Anna’s father, Mr. Wayne, asked in astonishment.

Although Joyce had arrived to visit half an hour earlier, he had never gone into detail about what he had experienced. He had been timid, uneasy, and restless, and only after Anna returned and gave him that embrace did he seem truly to have escaped from the disaster.

“Yes. Nast, the King of the Five Seas, claims to be a descendant of the Solomon Empire and observes the virtue of not killing captives. Because of that, we only lost our money. We did not lose our lives. His men even left us with enough food.”

Joyce recalled what had happened over those days.

His body gradually began trembling, but he still forced himself to describe the deepest, darkest nightmare.

“I did not lose too much property. I originally thought the misfortune had already passed. But in the voyage that followed, the passengers and crew of the Clover broke into fierce internal strife. It began as arguments, then fighting, then revolvers were drawn, straight swords raised, and people started killing one another…

“During those days, everything I saw was blood. People around me fell one after another, their eyes wide open as though they would never close, while limbs, hearts, and intestines were sprayed all over the floor.

“We, those of us unwilling to become beasts—the part that still retained reason—had nowhere to hide and no road by which to flee. Around us was the deep-blue surf, the boundless ocean… Some wept, some begged, some sold their bodies, yet their heads were still hung from the mast.

“Anna, I was full of despair then. I thought I would never see you again. Fortunately, even in such a nightmare, heroes still appeared. The captain led us to hide in the sturdy lower decks. Relying on the fresh water and food prepared in advance, we held on until those madmen reached their limit. And Mr. Tris encouraged us. Bravely taking the lead, he led us in an attack against those murderers…

“After a bloody battle I will never forget for as long as I live, we survived. But the Clover had also deviated from its route, and only one-third of the original sailors were left.”

…

While describing the most terrifying and darkest side of the human heart, Joyce could not help thinking of that “hero,” the hero who called himself Tris.

He had a round, kindly face. His personality was shy, almost like a girl’s, and he always liked staying in a corner. Only those who were very familiar with him could understand just how talkative he actually was.

Yet it was precisely this unremarkable boy who had, in the worst and most desperate moment, stood firmly before everyone.

“Oh, Steam above, my poor Joyce. What a heartbreaking experience you had. Thank God, worship God—He allowed us not to be separated.”

Tears circled in Anna’s eyes as she repeatedly drew the triangular Sacred Emblem of Steam and Machinery over her chest.

Joyce revealed a faintly pale smile.

“This is our reward for piety. Later, the Clover experienced storms, lost its way, and broke through trial after trial before finally arriving at Enmat Port.

“Because such a serious blood case had occurred aboard the ship, we survivors were detained by the police and questioned separately. We had no chance to…