Reincarnation of a Hunter Chapter 36.1 - The Pirate King’s Sophistry

The port city of Cagliari, home to the Pirate King Luca’s stronghold.

 

Though part of the Odoacer Empire, the city was located on an island beyond the reach of the central government’s power. 

 

Even the island’s lord had to yield to Luca, a testament to his overwhelming influence in Cagliari.

 

Yet the harbor, which should have been packed with pirate ships, was barely half full.

 

This was because Luca had suffered heavy losses in his forces after recklessly attacking the port of Catalonia to rescue his son, Marco.

 

Gazing through the tavern window at the near-empty harbor, Luca, drunk, began to rant.

 

“Damn it, why did that brat Marco have to send assassins after a noble and cause all this trouble?”

 

Despite his words, Luca couldn’t bring himself to scold his precious only son.

 

Now, all he could do was sigh. His first mate, listening nearby, tried to console him.

 

“You need to pull yourself together now. Who could’ve guessed the harbor would be crawling with knights? Just forget about it.”

 

“I don’t make a habit of blaming others, but who the hell am I supposed to vent my anger at this time? This is ridiculous.”

 

The first mate pondered.

 

Blaming the Marquis of Catalonia was out of the question—the man was too powerful. As for Count Marseille, he had spared Marco’s life.

 

In the end, the best course of action wasn’t revenge but simply returning to their usual business of plundering merchant ships.

 

“Boss, I don’t think this is worth agonizing over. Let’s just go after the transport ships coming from the southern continent.”

 

Whether it was the first mate’s words or the alcohol taking effect, Luca clenched his fist, stood up, and roared.

 

“You’re right! We’re pirates! If we don’t pillage, we’re not pirates! Everyone, on your feet! Sing the pirate chant!”

 

“Wooooooh!”

 

The pirates, sprawled out in the tavern since broad daylight, roared along with Luca’s voice.

And together, they sang their pirate chant, “We are pirates! The sea is our home! Even in death, plunder is all we know!…”

Simple-minded brutes, they were.

Yet to merchants, they were objects of terror, and to nations, troublesome pests impossible to eradicate.

Now that they had begun to move, the seas would surely be swept by storms once more.

 

⚔️

 

The pirate fleet of Luca, the Pirate King, appeared in the waters south of Cagliari.

This stretch of sea, roughly 180 kilometers wide, was a route frequented by merchant vessels traveling between the northern and southern continents.

As long as they avoided the navy, it was undoubtedly a goldmine for pirates.

Only a few hours after lying in wait, their prey appeared.

“Portside, 310 degrees ahead, distance 2 nautical miles! A medium-sized carrack spotted! It’s a transport ship!”

A sailor perched atop the mast shouted loudly.

Luca, who had been gazing at the sea from the deck of the flagship, sprang to his feet and bellowed:

“All hands, battle stations! Let’s strip them down to their very souls!”

“Wooooh!”

The flag signal from the flagship quickly spread across the entire pirate fleet.

Each ship’s captain barked orders at their mage-artifact operators.

“Max output on the acceleration artifacts! Target is the transport ship ahead!”

“Unfurl all triangular sails! Catch the crosswind at full force!”

Thanks to the seamless coordination of the crew, the ships adjusted course in an instant. And as the tuned acceleration artifacts roared to life, the pirate vessels surged toward the transport ship.

Meanwhile, the transport ship’s captain, seeing the pirates approach, attempted an evasive maneuver by tacking sharply against the wind to shake them off.

“Tacking! Tacking!”

“Ugh, it’s no use! The sails are dead!”

“Captain, the pirate ships are closing in!”

These pirates were seasoned sailors, masters of ship handling.

Far from being shaken off, the transport ship was quickly outmatched in performance and surrounded in moments.

“Captain, we must raise the white flag! There’s no escaping!”

“…Damn it. They handle their ships like demons. Are those the infamous crews of Pirate King Luca?”

In the end, the transport ship raised the white flag.

 

Soon, hooks latched on, and pirates swarmed across the net bridge onto the deck, threatening the crew of the transport ship.

 

Luca, who had come over from the flagship of the pirate fleet, shouted loudly:

 

“If you stay quiet, we’ll let you live! Don’t act recklessly and get yourselves killed—just bow your heads!”

 

At that moment, a slave trader from the transport ship pleaded with Luca:

 

“Honorable pirate, why must you raid our ship? We have nothing but slaves.”

 

This ship was none other than a slave transport, and the slave trader lamented that they had nothing of value.

 

But Luca only grinned with a despicable expression.

 

“Heheheh, we can just take the slaves and resell them.”

 

“Huh? Do you have a slave trader license?”

 

To prevent even ordinary people from being captured and sold into slavery, each nation issued slave trader licenses exclusively to reputable merchants.

 

Naturally, as a pirate, Luca had no such license. His subordinate standing beside him reminded him of that fact.

 

“Boss, since Young Master Marco was captured, we no longer have a slave trader license.”

 

“Ah, right. That’s true. Damn it!”

 

Previously, whenever they raided a slave transport, they would seize the slaves and hand them over to Marco, who would then resell them for profit. But after Marco’s arrest, that route was cut off.

 

Luca let out a sigh.

 

“Ugh, so now we can’t even raid slave transports?”

 

“Nothing we can do. We’ll just have to thoroughly loot whatever miscellaneous goods we can find.”

 

“Tsk! Boys! Scrape together every last coin!”

 

“Yes, Boss!”

 

After the pirates left, the slave trader’s face turned ashen as he surveyed the ship.

 

The pirates had meticulously stripped everything clean, leaving only a small amount of food and water behind.

At least the slaves hadn’t been taken—that was the only consolation left.