Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 122. Commanding Rights

The singled-out captain displayed a visage marked by harsh and intimidating features, coupled with a thick beard. A glinting golden hook served as a substitute for his left hand, and he rose to his feet wearing a somber expression.

Bang!

Charles slammed his prosthetic limb on the table. He stared straight at the captain and made no effort to mask the provocation in his gaze. "I don't like it when people stand while talking to me. Please sit back down."

Captain Golden Hook's eyes widened in shock. His beard quivered due to a stirring wrath. In an instant, the atmosphere in the cabin grew tense.

However, Charles had no intention of backing down. He maintained his provocative glare. In fact, it was a calculated move of Charles; he needed to use this opportunity to seize absolute power over the fleet.

On paper, Charles was the commander of the hastily assembled fleet, but the other captains treated him as just another employer. And Charles didn't want it to continue that way. He wanted to become the absolute leader of the fleet.

At the critical moment between life and death, an employer would only be mercilessly abandoned by these guys.

Only by being their actual commander would these captains become his true support. Otherwise, he would rather not have their assistance.

It was like how a king was chosen among the lions. Humans were animals as well, and some of their habits were no different from other species.

If they were all somewhere else, perhaps Charles would have chosen a softer approach. However, they were at sea, so a direct and crude method was the way to go.

Seated next to Charles, Kord looked haggard with the visibly dark circles under his eyes. He knew what Charles was doing, and as his ally, he wouldn't want to intervene and spoil Charles' plan at this point in time.

"You don't like it when people stand while talking? I don't like it when people sit while talking, either!" Captain Golden Hook walked up to Charles and stared down at him with a condescending gaze.

"Charles, right? I've heard of your name and that you've explored numerous islands. But as your senior, I want to remind you that I allowed you to command the fleet mainly because I was too lazy to fight for it. After all, the employer has the last say. But if you think—"

Just as he spat out his words with a disdainful look on his face, his eyes landed on the strange, black imprint peeking out from behind Charles' collar.

Instantly, the disdain disappeared from his face. As if he had glimpsed something terrifying, a shudder coursed through his towering figure. Looking visibly flustered, he retreated and sank down into his seat.

"Report...Reporting to Captain Charles. Freshwater can easily go bad. We have mushroom wine stored in our water tank. The creatures earlier did not cause any damage to my ship. As for the crew..."

Hearing Golden Hook offering up information to Charles so readily took the other captains by surprise. Even Kord was equally puzzled.

It seemed as if a fight was imminent between the two earlier, but Golden Hook actually backed down just like that.

Charles scribbled away on his notebook as Golden Hook accounted for the situation on his ship. He had no idea why the man suddenly gave in, but either way, his objective was achieved.

After recording all the information, Charles turned to the gloomy-faced young man next to Golden Hook. "It's your turn. Speak."

Being on the receiving end of Charles' intense gaze, the young lad instinctively looked away and started to report in a soft and gentle voice.

Having dealt with the initial troublemaker, things progressed smoothly afterward. Apart from the Narwhale, Charles had acquired various information about the other sixteen ships.

"Armig, your ship has the most freshwater. Share some with Monzi, he lost a bit."

A look of unease appeared on Captain Armig's face upon hearing Charles' instruction, but he still nodded in agreement.

"Great. That's all. Everyone can return. Keep your guard up at all times. I hope that everyone will make it back alive," Charles concluded the meeting.

The captains left one by one, and in the end, only Feuerbach stayed behind. With a warm smile on his face, he said, "Mr. Charles, be rest assured. If they try to do anything funny, I'll report it to you immediately."

Charles cast a glance at the green-haired man. "Are you very close to them? How else would you immediately know if they are plotting something?"

"Heh, I love making friends. My father once told me that one additional friend is one less enemy. I've been mingling with them for a while now, but not to worry. No matter how familiar I am with them, I'm still on your side," Feuerbach said casually.

Charles looked him in the eye and asked, "Have you really only explored one island? You are rather capable. I remember your ship got out of the earlier crisis by yourself."

"Hahaha. It was all mere luck. Good luck. By the way, Mr. Charles, when I was swimming over just now, I noticed that the bottom of your ship's hull was slightly damaged. I happened to have a skilled repairman among my crew. Do you need him to—"

"It's fine. My crew can handle a minor issue like that." Charles turned Feuerbach down with a curt response.

Seemingly sensing Charles' wariness against him, Feuerbach stopped talking. He smiled and bowed before leaving after saying his goodbyes. The incident soon passed, and the fleet continued on their journey. However, there had been noticeable changes among the ships.

The ships typically moved in a dispersed formation. But ever since the recent episode, they began to spontaneously align themselves in a single file behind the Narwhale.

On top of that, rumors started to circulate among the ships that Captain Charles was a key figure in the Fhtagn Covenant.

Furthermore, the fleet was jointly established by the Divine Light Order and the Fhtagn Covenant. Anyone unwilling to end up as a sacrifice should wisely and obediently adhere to their employers' command.

Charles wasn't the least bit concerned about the whispers that played in his favor. Rather, he was more concerned about that man named Feuerbach.

Feuerbach was too overly enthusiastic. He would frequently visit his ships to try to get into his good books and also discreetly pass on various intelligence from the other ships.

Yet another morning, a note had been placed on Charles' desk. It wrote that an underwater creature had climbed aboard Kord's ship the previous night.

They had promptly disposed of the creature, but a follower of the Divine Light Order had lost an arm in the battle.

"Mr. Charles, does he have a crush on you? Why is he penning letters to you daily?" Lily asked innocently as she held a piece of broken cracker in her tiny paws.

Charles' pen stopped in its tracks on the diary. He looked up and stared at his gunner with a quizzical expression. "Why would you think that? Where did you learn that from?"

"I sneaked into the theater and watched a play. That's how the plot unfolds."

Charles gently flicked the white mouse's forehead with a finger. "Go to the mess if you want to eat. Don't drop crumbs everywhere."

He doubted Feuerbach was acting out of such a trivial motive. That man probably had other underlying intentions, but judging from current evidence, it seemed unlikely that he would sabotage his plans.

"I don't like to eat crackers. I'm just using them to grind my teeth. Otherwise, they would grow really, really long." Lily parted her tiny mouth and showed her grain-sized, pearly white incisors to Charles.

Ignoring his gunner's antics, Charles took out the nautical chart and started to calculate the remaining journey.

As they neared the resupply island, he would be lying if he said he was not the least bit anxious. However, he couldn't afford to show it. If he showed any signs of anxiety, the jitters that the crew was feeling would intensify.

Charles placed his thumb and index finger on the chart. His thumb was on the position of the fleet, while his index finger was on the Land of Light. A resolute glint flashed across his eyes.