Above Pirate King - Chapter 147
Above the sea, the water surged with waves.
It was an exceptionally calm day with no wind and no waves.
Two ships were sailing on the sea. One was a whale-shaped yacht with a bright red rose flag flying above it, and the other was a naval warship with a naval flag hoisted.
They were the ships of St. Martin and the Marine!
“Ha…”
Arthur yawned lazily as he lay on a beach chair on the deck, feeling bored.
At first, he was delighted about this rare voyage, enjoying the sun and the leisurely time. However, after a few days, he became a bit restless because all he saw around him was just the vast sea!
The thought of enduring this kind of life for another four months made him even more uncomfortable!
He even started to wish for a few reckless pirates to come and kidnap him, just to add some excitement to his days!
Unfortunately, his wish was never fulfilled!
Although they spotted some pirate ships from a distance, as soon as they saw Arthur’s ship, they immediately fled!
“Something’s happening ahead!”
Just then, the voice of Skybreaker, the transformer, echoed out of nowhere.
“What’s happening?” Arthur asked out of boredom.
“There are two pirate ships and one naval vessel ahead, and they are in a standoff!” Skybreaker reported.
“Oh!?” His interest was immediately piqued when he heard this!
He quickly sat up from the beach chair.
Arthur walked to the bow of the ship, squinting his eyes as he looked at the several ships in a standoff in the distance.
The king has been kidnapped!
He made the judgment in an instant!
If the king hadn’t been kidnapped, how could the Marine be facing off against pirates?
The most likely outcome of their meeting would be one side defeating the other, not the current situation.
“Head over there!” Arthur immediately ordered.
“Yes!” replied Skybreaker.
At the same time, the Saints on the ship also rushed over.
Similarly, Aetherton, who was next to Skybreaker on the Marine warship, noticed the situation and quickly ordered his soldiers to sail towards the scene.
Soon, the four ships converged.
Aetherton jumped and ran onto Cook’s ship.
“What’s going on?” Aetherton looked at Cook, whose face was somewhat pale, and asked with a frown.
“It’s like this…” Seeing that it was Aetherton, whom Cook had a good relationship with, he explained the situation truthfully.
“What’s the situation now?” Aetherton asked with a serious expression.
“They are still negotiating. The other side insists on two billion berry, but the Timothy Kingdom’s ship only carries one billion Berry, and the other side is unwilling to compromise. It’s a difficult situation for Timothy!” Cook said with a furrowed brow.
In fact, Cook didn’t really care about the outcome of the negotiations because he knew he was in trouble this time. Regardless of whether the negotiations succeeded or not, he failed to protect the queen and was sure to face consequences when he returned!
On the Gryphon Pirate’s ship.
At the bow, Griffin’s right hand clamped like pincers around the neck of a woman in her forties, dressed gorgeously with a graceful charm. He shouted loudly towards the Timothy Kingdom’s ship, “Old man over there, I’ve said it, I want two billion Berry, not a penny less! Otherwise, I’ll kill her!”
“What should we do?”
“Quick, think of a solution!”
“But our ship only has one billion Berry!”
At this moment, chaos broke out on the Timothy Kingdom’s ship. The important ministers and nobles who came along were all racking their brains to save their queen.
“Silence!” One of the dignified old men among the ministers, dressed in formal wear and wearing glasses, shouted angrily, silencing all the voices on the ship. He was Timothy’s foreign minister, Bentham.
With this angry shout, all eyes on the ship were drawn to him.
“I will talk to them again. If it doesn’t work, call the Den Den Mushi and have someone deliver the money!” Bentham said in a deep voice.
“Okay!”
“We have no other choice!”
“Fine!”
Upon hearing this, the ministers looked at each other, considering the options for a moment, and finally nodded in agreement. They had no choice; their queen was in the hands of the pirates, and they had to do what they could!
“Pirate over there, let me tell you the truth. Our ship only has one billion Berry. If…” Bentham’s words were interrupted by Griffin.
“Old man, spare us the chatter. I said two billion, and two billion it is. There’s no room for negotiation. No matter what, I want two billion, or I’ll kill your queen!”
“You can kill her!” Suddenly, a contemptuous voice interjected into their conversation. “Go ahead and kill her, let me see! If you’re a man, kill her, and if you kill the queen, I’ll reward you with 100 million Berry!”
The one shouting was Arthur!
You see, Timothy Kingdom was one of the two remaining kingdoms surrounding St. Martin, and they had sent people to patrol the waters near St. Martin along with the other kingdom. If their queen were killed, Arthur would be ecstatic!
However, his shout instantly drew the attention of the entire audience.
Both naval warships and the people on two pirate ships stared at him with black lines on their faces.
“What the heck?”
“Do you really want to incite pirates to kill people?”
Meanwhile, the ministers and nobles on the ships of the Timothy Kingdom glared at Arthur in anger after hearing his words.
“Idiot!”
“What are you saying?”
“What benefit do you get from killing our queen?”
“Well, it seems like there might actually be some benefit!”
Fortunately, Griffin ignored Arthur or perhaps didn’t want to pay attention to him. After all, they were still in the kidnapping phase, and they hadn’t received the money yet. He wasn’t in the mood to care about anything else.
“two billion Berry, not a single less!” Griffin said sternly.
“We really have only one billion on our ship. We can’t produce two billion right now. We’ll have to have someone bring it over. It will take some time,” Bentham explained solemnly.
Griffin had already expected this situation. After all, even if it was a king, who would carry two billion Berry on them under normal circumstances?
Timothy was a carefully selected kingdom, and it was considered wealthy, but Griffin knew that even this wealthy kingdom’s queen couldn’t possibly carry two billion on herself.
Just as he was about to agree, the corner of his eye caught sight of St. Martin’s ships. A flash of inspiration struck him, and an idea formed in his mind.
“I said two billion, and I mean two billion! And I want it now. If you don’t have the money, you can borrow it!” Griffin shouted and also looked towards the place where Arthur was, crazily hinting at Bentham.
“Borrow it?” Bentham, who was still quick-witted, caught his hint, followed his gaze, and immediately understood his meaning.
“Your Majesty Arthur, our queen is currently kidnapped. We hope you can lend us one billion Berry, and we will repay it later!” Despite being infuriated by Arthur’s earlier words, Bentham temporarily suppressed his personal emotions and turned to Arthur with a pleading tone.
“Borrowing money?” Arthur pondered for a moment. “Well, it’s not impossible!”
He knew that even if he didn’t lend them money, the two sides would eventually reach a deal. After all, without him, the butcher, they couldn’t eat the pig with its fur. At most, the Timothy Kingdom would send money over.
If he agreed, he could also take advantage of the situation and make some profit.
“I’ll lend you one billion, but you have to pay me two billion, do you accept it or not?” Arthur’s mouth curled up, and he squinted at Bentham, looking as if he had everything under control.
“You…” Bentham pointed at Arthur, trembling with anger. He knew Arthur might take advantage of the situation, but he didn’t expect his appetite to be so big.
That’s one billion Berry!
The pirates kidnapped the queen and only demanded two billion. Now, if he borrowed money, he had to repay one more billion. It was even worse than the pirates!
“Do you want it or not? If you don’t, your queen will be done for!” Arthur pointed at Timothy Kingdom’s queen, who was being held captive by Griffin, and smiled.
He didn’t throw out this price for no reason. He considered Griffin’s thoughts.
For a pirate like Griffin, he definitely wanted to get the money as early as possible and leave. If he waited for Timothy’s people to bring the money, it would take some time.
After all, he had kidnapped the queen of an allied nation. Did they really think the World Government would sit idly by?
The longer this dragged on, the less favorable it would be for him.
As expected, Griffin weighed the options in his mind and decisively decided to help Arthur seize the opportunity. If he left with the Berry now, it would be much safer than waiting for Timothy Kingdom’s people to return with the money.
“Hey, old man, if you don’t come up with the money soon, your queen will be done for!” Griffin said, exerting a bit of force in his hand.
“Ugh…”
The queen of Timothy Kingdom, held by him, was lifted off the ground, making her emit a strangled sound.
“Be…Bentham, agree to him quickly!” The Queen said laboriously.
If the queen agreed, could Bentham dare to refuse?
“Lend us the money! We will pay according to your terms” Bentham gritted his teeth, looking at Arthur.
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