Chapter 5: Seizing the Ship
The Narrow Sea, The Stepstones
The evening sky was like a piece of scorched amber. As its afterglow spilled onto the shimmering sea, the reflected points of light made the horizon look like thick blood plasma, making one's scalp tingle.
After the storm's devastation, the "sea fox" lay quietly on the sea, like a giant beast that had exhausted its energy, silently waiting for nightfall.
At this time, near Jon's cabin, many hirelings from the North had already gathered. Other non-hirelings from different cabins noticed something was wrong.
Their expressions couldn't help but change, and a few clever fellows even quietly ran toward the entrance of the deck hatch.
However, when these fellows moved near there, they were surprised to find that the way had already been blocked by several youths.
"My dear brothers, I unfortunately have to tell everyone that we have been deceived!"
Just as the two sides were in a standoff, Jon's voice emerged from his cabin.
Soon, as everyone turned their gaze there, Jon appeared at the cabin door at the right moment. Under the reflection of the dim oil lamp, his face was filled with anger.
Seeing everyone's attention gathered, Jon spoke again:
"This ship is not heading to Myr at all. Myr is to the west, and we are to the south."
"Then... could it be because the storm blew us off course?"
"Yeah!"
"No way!"
...Just as everyone was shocked by this information, a voice suddenly came from the crowd. Following this voice, a portion of the people also began to ask questions.
"If it were a few days ago, perhaps I would have thought so too. But at normal speed, we should have reached the Sea of Myr five days ago. Yet now, we are still sailing south. Do you think this is normal?"
Jon's words struck everyone's hearts like a heavy hammer. After learning the course was wrong, many people began to feel a bit lost.
"This... what should we do? Lord Jon, you are of House Stark, you must know more than us. What should we do now?"
While everyone was feeling lost, that same voice appeared in their ears once again.
Hearing that voice, Jon looked very satisfied at the figure shouting in the crowd, extremely pleased with this blonde youth named Narsas.
Although Frodo told him that this fellow had some habits of petty theft, the quick-wittedness he possessed was something Frodo and the others lacked.
"These guys are Tyrosh slavers. They want to sell us all to Tyrosh."
"Ah! What should we do?"
"I want to go home!"
"They wish!"
"The Seven will punish them!"
"old gods protect us!"
...Seeing everyone's emotions starting to panic, a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Jon's mouth.
"Awoo..."
Just then, a sharp wolf howl suppressed the clamor of the crowd like thunder.
When everyone's gaze converged, they saw the Direwolf Ghost beside Jon.
At this time, some people familiar with Jon were surprised to find that over this period, Ghost seemed to have grown a lot again. His current size and appearance had absolutely nothing to do with a dog anymore.
It was precisely because of this big fellow's presence that the internal plants left by the pirates did not rise up in resistance.
"My dear brothers, it is impossible for us to become slaves. We are beings protected by the New Gods and the old gods. We are free!"
"Freedom! Freedom!"
Under the agitation of Frodo and his "own people," shouts rang out one after another in the cabin.
"We will make those people on the deck tell us the truth. If they truly are despicable slavers, then we shall represent the New Gods and the old gods to give them punishment!"
"Punishment! Punishment!"
...Under the agitation of Jon and the others, everyone's emotions were completely ignited. These people of the Westeros continent, flowing with the blood of andals and first men, were now like soldiers about to rush onto the battlefield.
Their eyes flickered with unyielding determination and resolve, and the fire of resistance that had been brewing in their hearts for a long time was about to be completely ignited tonight.
"Bang... Boom... Crack..."
Although the deck hatch was made of solid oak, under everyone's forceful impact, the already rusty copper lock was directly smashed open.
The crew members in the deckhouse, hearing the commotion, also ran out all at once, though everyone's spirits were somewhat low due to the influence of the storm.
Because of the storm, these guys hadn't arranged for any patrols or sentries. Although someone had vaguely heard the clamor in the cabin, physical and mental exhaustion made them subconsciously treat those sounds as the calls of whales.
"Crackle..."
As the night darkened, the sea breeze also gradually strengthened. The sea breeze, carrying salt and moisture, blew across everyone's faces in layers, and this moisture also made the torches in everyone's hands crackle.
Surrounded by the crowd, Jon, wearing a leather outfit and long boots, appeared directly at the front of the group. Behind him were several "traitors" who had been beaten black and blue.
"What do you want to do?"
Accompanied by a sudden roar, the thick-waisted, bearded Captain Gusta also walked out from his captain's quarters.
Near the cabin behind him, a few sailors with panicked expressions quietly ran in. It looked like they were going to get weapons.
Gusta looked to be about 50 years old. Years of life at sea had left his face full of furrows, and combined with his bristling beard, he looked like a sea urchin.
"Gusta! Where exactly are you taking us?"
When the rioters heard the other party's words, they all subconsciously shrank back. Only Jon completely ignored the man and shouted back in an equally high-pitched voice.
"Oh! I was wondering who it was."
"So it's you! Jon Snow!"
After recognizing Jon's face with the help of the faint firelight, Gusta reacted instantly.
"Hahaha, Lord Jon! Naturally, I am sending you to Myr. You still have the mission assigned by the noble lords to complete. Why must you come here to cause trouble with these fellows?"
Perhaps out of respect for House Stark, or perhaps for some other reason, the bearded Gusta didn't seem to want to fall out with Jon.
But Jon didn't think that way, because there were nearly 200 able-bodied young men here. As long as Jon could rescue them from this misery, these people would all submit to him in the future.
And Jon would also harvest his first core force since coming to this world. So at this time, Jon absolutely could not back down.
"The old gods and the new will always accept the prayers of every believer, so we are all equal. But you fellows want to strip us of our freedom. That is impossible!"
To ensure everyone on the deck heard his voice, Jon used almost all his strength.
"Therefore, I will not abandon these brothers. I will lead them to gain freedom and hope!"
"Hmph! If it weren't for House Stark and the Manderly Family, do you think a lowly bastard would be qualified to receive such treatment?"
The rejected Gusta was very angry, and appearing along with his curses were some crew members holding weapons.
"Since you want to stay and seek death with this lot, then I'll fulfill your wish!"
Seeing that some of his men had already obtained weapons, Gusta's confidence grew stronger and stronger.
"Kill those few troublemakers, and these guys will behave. You lot! Hurry up and go!"
Gusta's words were filled with murderous intent. Although every slave was worth a lot of money, if he didn't suppress the ringleaders, he would only lose more.
Last year, a terrible plague broke out in Slavers Bay on the continent of Essos. That plague caused heavy losses there and caused the price of slaves in all of Essos to rise several times over.
Since the Summer Isles and other places were controlled by major slave traders, Gusta and these other independent operators had no choice but to unite and pull off this big job in Westeros under the guise of recruiting workers.
Word of today's events must absolutely not leak out. Otherwise, what awaited these independent operators would be total catastrophe.
"You won't have the chance. The gods in the heavens are protecting me, and you fellows who offend the believers of the gods will all suffer a terrible divine punishment!"
"Hahaha, you don't even have a weap— Argh!"
Looking at the righteous Jon, Gusta couldn't help but mock him.
Unfortunately, before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly cried out as if someone had grabbed him by the throat.
It turned out that just now, Jon had actually pulled a longsword out of thin air in front of everyone. This move of Jon's was extremely eerie, directly stunning Gusta's side into place.
"Roar... Howl..."
"Ah... Help... Urgh, ahhh..."
Along with the appearance of Jon's longsword, the Direwolf Ghost behind him also rushed out like a phantom.
Fast as lightning, Ghost took advantage of the moment everyone was stunned and accurately bit into Gusta's neck.
Meanwhile, Gusta's first mate, Odd, was also slashed across the chest by Jon's sword while in shock. Under the impact of Jon's powerful force, he was knocked directly to the ground.
After the man fell, Jon delivered another strike to his chest. Because his miraculous methods were truly too eerie.
This made many people afraid to confront Jon. Coupled with the deaths of Captain Gusta and first mate Odd, these sailors actually didn't know what to do for a moment.
"Either surrender! Or die!"
After quickly dealing with the few people near Gusta, Jon left his back to the Direwolf Ghost, then pointed his dripping iron sword at the surrounding crew members and coldly uttered those words.
"Hahaha, long live Lord Jon!"
The four members of "The Ring Guard Squad," seeing that Jon had already brought the situation under control, cheered and rushed toward the crew members.
Seeing that Jon had succeeded and with someone taking the lead, the Westeros people who had been there to bolster the momentum swarmed forward and subdued all the crew members.