My esoteric uncle Jules

Chapter 157 Arrival in London
A lookout spotted the ghost ship making contact with the merchant ship, excitedly lowered his binoculars, and said to the pirate captain:

"Boss, it seems that the ghost ship has now entangled them."

The pirate captain nodded in satisfaction:
"Looks like this method really works. Also, don't slack off, speed up! Who knows if that ghost ship will turn around and chase after us after swallowing that merchant ship!"

"Yes!"

The pirates all wore expressions of relief at surviving a disaster.

At this moment, they were much more relaxed, just like the merchant sailors who had discovered the pirate ship was fleeing for their lives.

Just as the pirate captain was about to return to his cabin to rest for a while, a slightly trembling voice suddenly rang out:

"Captain, it seems, it seems something has happened."

The pirate captain frowned and said:
"What now? Has that ghost ship caught up with us?"

The pirate was silent for a moment, then handed over the binoculars:

"See for yourself."

Upon seeing this, the pirate captain's heart skipped a beat.

He took the binoculars with trembling hands and looked in the direction he had come from.

What came into view was none other than the ghost ship from before.

However, the ghost ship did not tear the merchant ship apart as he had imagined. Instead, it quietly sailed alongside the merchant ship, resembling a frigate.

Moreover, a figure now stands on the previously empty deck of the ghost ship.

The pirate captain, cold sweat pouring down his forehead, roared:

"Fire! Quickly! Sink that merchant ship!"

The pirates hesitated for a moment, then rushed towards the fort in a flurry.

Gunpowder was loaded, and the cannon was aimed at the merchant ship in the distance.

With a deafening roar, several shells pierced through the sea fog, hurtling towards the merchant ship.

On the merchant ship's deck, the sailors, hearing the cannon fire, looked up in terror, their faces ashen.

Having sailed the seas for so many years, they knew perfectly well what the sound of cannon fire meant!
Just when they thought they were about to perish at sea, the ghost ship suddenly started moving.

Beneath the sea surface, dozens of black tentacles suddenly shot out, intertwining in the air like giant pythons, precisely intercepting each cannonball.

With a wave of its tentacles, the cannonballs were slammed away and fell into the sea, creating splashes.

"This……"

The captain's pupils contracted slightly, and he subconsciously looked towards the deck of the ghost ship.

However, he did not see the figure—Jules.

On the pirate ship, the roar of cannons ceased, and the deck was deathly silent.

The pirates stared blankly at the ghost ship in the distance, their faces ashen.

The pirate on lookout duty spoke in a trembling voice:
"Boss... the shells... have all been blocked..."

"How is this possible?!" The pirate captain suddenly raised his binoculars, trying to see what was happening over there.

However, he discovered that the figure on the ghost ship had vanished without him noticing.

His heart tightened, and a chill ran down his spine:

"Where is he? Where did that guy go?!"

He instinctively felt that the other party had definitely not been shot down into the sea!

"Boss, what should I do?"

A pirate gripped the hilt of his sword, his hands trembling so much he could barely hold it, his eyes filled with terror.

Chaos erupted on the deck; some people were cursing under their breath, while others began to hide in the cabins.

If even cannons are useless, they won't have the slightest thought of resisting that ghost ship.

The pirate captain gritted his teeth, suppressing his panic, and roared:
"Don't panic! Load more cannons! We'll definitely have a chance to sink that merchant ship!"

Before the pirates could reload their gunpowder, the seawater suddenly surged, and the ship rocked violently.

A pirate looked down at the ship's side and immediately screamed:

There's something in the water!

No sooner had he finished speaking than a wet figure climbed onto the ship's side and slit his throat with a single blow.

"You think you can just run away after harming someone? There's no such thing as a free lunch."

Jules flicked the blood off his blade and faced the pirates with an air of composure.

When the pirates realized it wasn't a monster, they exchanged glances, their eyes immediately turning sinister.

"You dare to be so arrogant when you're all alone?"

They drew their machetes and surrounded Yu Le, but did not rush to attack.

Jules sneered inwardly, then suddenly flicked his wrist, slashing out a line of blood.

Just as the pirates were wondering what had happened, a pirate who had been quietly raising his pistol and aiming it at Jules screamed as his body was instantly sliced ​​in two!
After the screams, there was only deathly silence.

But this deathly silence did not last long before it was broken—

"Kill him!" a pirate gritted his teeth and roared, charging forward with his sword, followed closely by several others.

Jules moved swiftly, his blade flashing like lightning. The oncoming pirate didn't even have time to scream before his throat was slit, blood gushing out.

Seeing this, the remaining pirates couldn't help but back down, and their attack slowed down.

Jules seized the opportunity to step forward, his blade slicing through the air and creating a cloud of blood mist.

Two pirates collapsed, clutching their chests, their eyes filled with terror.

“Monster…” a pirate’s voice trembled as he dropped his machete and staggered backward.

Chaos erupted on the deck. The pirates' shouts of battle gradually subsided, and fear spread among the crowd.

Someone tried to escape, but Jules caught up with him in one stride, stabbed him in the back with the tip of his knife, and killed him instantly.

Blood stained the wooden planks, forming a stream that flowed towards the ship's side.

The pirate captain stood at the bow of the ship, his face ashen, his hands gripping his pistol tightly, his knuckles white.

He watched Jules move with an air of nonchalance, his throat dry.
"This guy... isn't human!"

He never had the courage to pull the trigger.

He noticed that Jules would occasionally cast seemingly casual glances at him, as if waiting for him to fire.

Finally, after the pirates had suffered more than half their losses, he gritted his teeth and pulled the trigger on Yu Le.

boom--

When he saw that the bullet had not hit Jules, he even felt a sense of relief.

At this moment, none of the pirates dared to step forward, and could only watch helplessly as Jules slowly walked toward the pirate captain.

Seeing Jules approaching, the pirate captain was so frightened that he took several steps back, slipped, and fell to the ground.

He dropped the pistol, his voice trembling:

"Don't kill me! You can have the ship! You can have the treasure too!"

Jules stopped and looked down at him, his eyes devoid of any pity.

Do you think I would care about these things?

The pirate captain gritted his teeth and said:

"I... I work for the royal family. If you kill me, the royal family will not let you get away with it!"

The Royal Family...

Jules' eyes flickered for a moment, and he said:
"On this vast ocean, who knows whether you were fed to the fish or killed by someone?"

The pirate captain lowered his head and remained silent.

Seeing this, Jules was no longer in a hurry to kill him.

Since it might be related to the royal family, we might as well interrogate them; we might get some results.

……

After a while, the pirates were all brought under control.

Most of the pirates were interrogated by Jules, who found them worthless and utterly wicked, and then killed them.

In the end, only the pirate captain remained. Jules gazed at the pirate captain before him, leisurely sipped his tea, and said:

"Now, can you explain what you mean by having connections with the royal family?"

The pirate captain swallowed hard, forcibly concealing the fear in his eyes.

He realized that this guy wasn't afraid of the royal family's name at all!

“I…I do some things for the royal family that they can’t do themselves.”

Although he felt certain he would die, he understood that without revealing some information, even death would be a luxury!
It's better to die a quick death than to suffer endless torment.

Soon, under Jules's intense gaze, he spilled the beans about his sordid relationship with the royal family.

"Is the royal family collecting antiques?"

Jules couldn't help but frown; this did indeed align with Uriel's earlier objective.

The pirate captain nodded repeatedly:

"Our main job is to rob and kill merchant ships, especially those of high-ranking nobles. They provide us with intelligence, and we do the work."

"This time was no different. Everything was fine. We took the antiques and were ready to leave, but we got entangled by that ghost ship halfway there."

Jules pondered for a moment, then said:

"Any other news?"

"That's all." The pirate captain shook his head.

"Very good, your task is complete."

Jules curled his lips slightly and casually slit the pirate captain's throat. The latter accepted death calmly, his eyes gradually losing their light.

He could not let the other party off the hook; both sides understood this.

After leaving the cabin, Jules saw the captain carrying baskets of pirate ship's cargo into the ship, and he couldn't help but wonder:

"What are you doing?"

"Hey, even though these things were stolen by pirates, it's such a waste to just throw them away!" The captain wiped the sweat from his brow and said with a smile.

Jules sighed, not saying much, and let them go.

Now, he has a more important task.

Wearing the ring, he slowly stepped onto the deck of the ghost ship.

The ghost ship trembled violently, but soon returned to calm under his control.

"Interesting, the entire ship is like a giant undead..."

Jules stroked the ghost ship, quietly feeling the connection between himself and it.

He could sense that the silent bone flute's control over him was constantly weakening.

But before that, he had already investigated enough to find out the origin of this object.

"So it really is related to Kurokawa..."

The Heart of the Tide within him had also undergone some changes, seemingly showing a hint of disgust towards the ghost ship, yet also a touch of affection.

Jules tried to control it again with the silent bone flute, but he found that this time it didn't work.

He glanced back at the merchant ship beside him, shrugged, and walked onto the ship.

The ghost ship, under his command, sank to the bottom of the sea, carrying the ring to an unknown distance.

Since he couldn't control it, he decided not to keep it.

As the sea breeze subsided and the fog dissipated, the merchant ships sailed steadily on the calm sea.

The ghost ship had long since sunk to the bottom of the sea, disappearing without a trace with the ring, and never came back to cause them any more trouble.

On deck, the sailors were busy sorting through the valuables they had taken from the pirate ship, their faces showing relief at surviving the ordeal.

The captain stood by the helm, directing the course, occasionally glancing at Jules with a look of awe.

Jules leaned against the mast, his gaze distant, pondering the royal information revealed by the pirate captain, thinking to himself:

"I wonder what the royal family is trying to do with collecting antiques..."

Ram approached and whispered:

"Sir, what are your plans next?"

Jules smiled faintly:
"We'll talk about it in London. The royal family's grand scheme will eventually be exposed."

Several days later, as merchant ships sailed through the waves, a bustling coastline finally emerged in the distance.

The docks of London came into view, with ships coming and going, dockworkers carrying cargo back and forth, and the air filled with the smell of fish and firewood.

The merchant ship slowly approached the shore, the mooring lines were thrown out, and the sailors skillfully secured the ship.

The captain approached and said respectfully:

"Sir, we have arrived in London."

Jules stood up, dusted off his robes, and said calmly:

"Unload the cargo."

The captain nodded, turned around, and shouted:
"Unload! Hurry up!"

The sailors responded immediately and got to work.

The dock management staff also came over and shouted:

"You all know the rules lately, right? London is under lockdown right now. Goods can stay, but people can't!"

Jules led Ram off the ship as if no one else was there, but they were stopped as soon as they stepped onto the dock.

"What are you two doing! These are critical times; no unauthorized personnel are allowed to enter London!"

Jules glanced at the dock management staff and said indifferently:

"I came at the invitation of the royal family."

He didn't say much, but simply showed the envelope in his hand, leaving the administrator stunned.

"The mark of royalty..."

He swallowed hard, quickly adopting a fawning expression, and said:

"I apologize for the intrusion. Is this your servant? You two may enter, but others are not permitted."

Jules nodded and said goodbye to the captain behind him.

"We're leaving first. Bye."

The captain smiled and nodded:
"See you."

Although his real mission was to escort Jules to London, they also brought a considerable amount of goods for trade.

Not to mention, the large amount of supplies seized from the pirate ship earlier all belonged to them.

At this moment, Jules and Lamb, guided by the dock management staff, entered an office.

As soon as the manager entered the room, he bowed respectfully to the elegant man seated in the chair and said:

"Sir Dewell, they claim to have been invited by the Royal Family and have presented letters bearing the Royal Seal, requesting entry into London."

Sir Dewell raised an eyebrow and stared at Jules and Rams with a strange look.

"Can you show it to me?"

He took the envelope from Jules' hand, glanced at it a few times, and said with certainty:
"Hmm... It is indeed the royal mark, not a forgery. Let them pass."

He handed the envelope back to Jules, and said with great interest:
"What brings you to London? Are you here for that grand wedding?"

Jules was about to turn and leave, but upon hearing this, he stopped abruptly.

"A wedding...I guess so." He lowered his eyes slightly, his tone unusually calm.

"Oh, I'm so envious..."

Sir Dewell looked on with envy:
"If I could be invited to a royal wedding, I would die happy..."

Jules smiled and said gently:

"It's just a wedding, there's no need to make such a fuss."

“No, you may not know this,” Sir Dewell shook his head repeatedly, his eyes very serious, “I’ve heard that this wedding may very well be related to the fate of the empire.”

(End of this chapter)