48 Hours a Day

Panda Novel

It was midnight when the Skeleton arrived at Nassau. After enduring a series of events, most of its crew were exhausted when they returned to their ship. Typically, there was no need to patrol the ship at night since it was docked at the port, but ever since the Jackdaw attacked the Skeleton, Wilton decided that he wasn’t taking any chances. He specially formed four teams of pirates to take turns and spy on the Jackdaw, informing Wilton if they saw it attempting to make a move on them.

After that, Wilton locked himself in the captain’s quarters and started drinking liquor. As he sipped on the rum, he could not help but think about the incident that happened on the beach. It made him so angry that he took out his dagger and stabbed it on the table. It was at that moment that he changed his mind about killing Zhang Heng. Now, he was hellbent on torturing him to the point he regretted he was born into this world.

Most of the pirates were already asleep when Wilton was having his 6th glass of rum. None of them realized the imminent threat they were about to face. After taking a look at the time, Zhang Heng stood up and nodded to Anne.

“It’s time. Let’s do it.”

After that, Zhang Heng hid his pocket watch and gun under a rock. He entered the water first with Anne following right behind him. The rest of the Jackdaw’s pirates had all changed into black suits and held a dagger between their teeth. All of them were swimming towards the Skeleton. Hutcheson actually inspired this strategy, and although he didn’t manage to take the Jackdaw down with this method, the 20 enemies that boarded the Jackdaw had completed what Hutcheson wanted. Their job was to stall Anne and the remaining pirates on the Jackdaw, and they actually did it.

If the watchers hadn’t spotted them, the Jackdaw might have suffered an even greater loss. This time, the situation was way different. Hutcheson attacked the Jackdaw in daylight, and their pirates were all armed since they were already in the middle of a fight. This time, Zhang Heng chose to attack the Skeleton at night because it was surely harder for their enemies to spot them. Most of the pirates on the Skeleton were also asleep right now, with only a couple of them guarding the ship. In other words, the ship was at its most vulnerable state.

They would have never expected Zhang Heng to attack again right after the Jackdaw attacked their ships a few hours ago. And, this time, they came well-prepared, electing to bring along silent and stealthy arms. The dagger was their primary weapon of choice. Only a a couple of grenades were carried in case of an emergency. Other than that, Zhang Heng also bought a hunting bow from Baal.

Anne and Zhang Heng were the first ones to board the Skeleton. He immediately crouched down, looked for a corner, and opened up his tarpaulin bag. He then took out the hunting bow and arrows. As for Anne, she silently analyzed and observed the enemies that were standing on the deck.

Wilton formed a group consisting of three pirates to spy on the Jackdaw. One stood on the watchtower, another at the bow, and the last person was constantly on the move. Anne hid behind the rudder as she counted the footsteps that she could hear. The moment she counted until seven, she jumped out and slit the throat of a passing pirate! Then she instantly moved to the pirate at the bow. As luck would have it, he was sound asleep and didn’t realize her approaching him.

The pirate that stood at the watchtower finally spotted Zhang Heng and his pirates. Before he could even sound the alarm, Zhang Heng shot an arrow directly into his heart. At the same time, Anne managed to eliminate the last pirate as well. As of now, all existing threats on the deck were eliminated. Zhang Heng quickly headed back to the gunwale to signal all his pirates to board the ship. After that, all of them stormed into the cabins as fast as they could. Zhang Heng’s orders were reasonably straightforward. Kill everyone on this ship that breathed.

A brutal massacre was about to unfold on the Skeleton. With a team of two, one would cover the enemy’s mouth, while the other would slit their throats, slowly moving from one side of the ship to another. With this method, they made sure that no one was left alive. Soon, the stench of blood wafted across the room. It would seem that Zhang Heng conducted his operation when the pirates of the Skeleton were in deep sleep.

However, an accident was bound to happen since so many people were being killed at the same time. Three minutes later, one of Zhang Heng’s teams failed to inflict a lethal wound on their target. The pirate started to struggle, and the commotion quickly woke the rest of the pirates that were still alive. Unfortunately, it was all but too late as two-third of the Skeleton’s crew had been killed in their cabins.

Before they could even wield any weapons to retaliate, the Jackdaw’s pirates planted daggers into their hearts. Only a dozen managed to get a hold of their weapons and started to fight back, but again, it was all too late. The plan turned out better than Zhang Heng expected, and the whole conundrum lasted for only 15 minutes.

In the end, Zhang Heng and his men had eliminated more than a hundred pirates. When it whole thing was almost done, none bothered to count the enemies that they’d killed. The grenades they carried with them remained unused throughout the entire battle.

When Zhang Heng entered the captain’s quarters, he found no one inside, but the windows were ajar. Zhang Heng quickly peered outside only to see Wilton attempting to swim to his second ship. Calmly, he placed an arrow on his hunting bow and released it.

Thwack!!!

Wilton’s shoulder was hit! Knowing that his life was on the line, he could do nothing but swim as fast as he could. Suddenly, he took in a deep breath and dived below the water. Zhang Heng frowned as his second shot missed its target. Tonight’s plan was only half-successful. Though all the pirates on the Skeleton were all dead, there were still around 60 pirates on the second ship. If Wilton managed to get there, he might be able to flee Nassau. He might even decide to destroy the Jackdaw since it was almost empty now. Zhang Heng and the rest of the pirates would surely not make it back in time if Wilton launched an attack on the Jackdaw.

Without the slightest bit of hesitation, Zhang Heng took out his Paris Arrow and aimed it at Wilton. This item cost him around 400 game points. Previously, he was worried that the waves might carry the arrow away if he used it. That would be a significant loss for him. However, this wasn’t the time to worry about this problem.

Once Wilton emerged from the water to catch a breath, Zhang Heng took a shot with his Paris Arrow. As there was no time for a good aim, he simply fired at will. The arrow flew into the water with a loud whizz!

Moments later, Wilton’s body floated to the surface of the ocean.