Chapter 102: THIRD POV.

That being said, it still hurt a bit thinking of how she would be abandoning three perfectly fine vessels like these.

To someone like Priscilla, who had spent so much time dreaming about building a massive fleet and ruling the open waters, leaving three fully built, sturdy ships behind felt like a huge waste.

They had good masts, strong wood, and could have easily been used to grow her new pirate empire if they only had the people to steer them.

"Is there really no way for us to take them?" she asked, looking back over her shoulder at the silent vessels.

Clearly, she was unwilling to accept the harsh reality of the situation, her white ears drooping just a tiny bit as she stared at her lost prizes.

"That I’m afraid so, we’ll most likely have to salvage whatever is valuable on them and return to the main ship," Jacob replied, keeping his voice calm and practical.

He didn’t want to argue with her, but facts were facts. They just didn’t have the hands for this kind of work.

However, deep down inside, Jacob felt completely different from his captain. Staring at the ships drenched in blood, entrails, and torn flesh, he felt glad that he wasn’t taking them along with him.

The entire deck of the vessel they were standing on was a literal slaughterhouse.

The smell of copper was so thick it made his eyes water, and the thought of sailing around on a boat that had just been turned into a graveyard was not something he wanted to do.

Who knew if the souls of these deceased barbarians would latch onto them.

Not to mention, Cleaning all of this up would take days, and it was much better to just leave it behind for the sea to handle.

"Then hurry up and collect everything. If you need anything, I’ll be in my cabin," Priscilla said, her voice sounding unusually tired.

The massive burst of anger from earlier had drained her energy, and now that the excitement of the battle was completely gone, she just wanted to rest and get away from the mess she had created.

A mess he now had to clean up himself.

"Alright, Captain," Jacob nodded with a reassuring smile. He stood up straight, preparing himself for the dirty task ahead.

"But Captain," Jacob called out just as she turned to walk away toward the smaller boat.

"Yes?" She paused, turning her head behind to look at him with a sleepy, confused blink.

"Perhaps it’d be for the best if you took a short dip in the sea before returning to your cabin," he said with a polite, awkward smile.

He pointed a finger toward her clothes and fur, trying not to look too rude but making his point clear.

Priscilla glanced down at herself, blinking her large golden eyes before a look of sudden realization emerged on them.

Her beautiful white fur was almost entirely red from head to toe, and her long coat was soaked through with the blood of her enemies.

She looked like a creature out of a scary campfire story. If she walked into the clean cabin of the First Hornet looking like that, she would ruin every single piece of furniture and scare the rescued maids half to death all over again.

She nodded hurriedly, her cheeks turning a tiny bit pink beneath her fur from the embarrassment.

Without saying another word, she ran to the edge of the deck and leaped off the bow, plunging straight down into the cool, blue sea with a loud splash to wash the stains away.

"Good," Jacob nodded to himself, letting out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding.

Once he knew she was taken care of, he shifted his sights to the three ships around him, his expression immediately changing.

"Now, let’s get to salvaging," Jacob cracked his knuckles, a deeply disgusted look on his face as he stared at the blood-soaked surroundings.

Priscilla wasn’t aware of it, but right now, he was still holding his breath.

He was forcing himself to stay completely calm, clamping down on his own dark thoughts.

All of this was to keep the beast sealed deep within. Seeing so much death and blood was a heavy trigger, and if he let his guard down for even a second, his own violent instincts might start to surface.

He needed to stay professional, focus on the task, and treat this like a boring chore rather than a horror scene.

Since he was running on a set time before the dark smoke from the burning wreck attracted any more unwanted visitors or navy patrols, Jacob quickly got to gathering all items of value from the three pirate ships.

He didn’t want to be stuck out here in the open water when the sun started to set.

With his supernatural speed, it didn’t take him long at all. His body moved like a blur as he dashed from the deck down into the dark storage rooms of the first ship.

Since he was running on time, he didn’t dawdle or take the time to admire the interior of the three ships.

Jacob cared not for the layout, decorations, or the creepy pirate flags hanging on the walls. He simply kept his eyes open for anything that looked shiny, heavy, or useful.

He grabbed crates, smashed open locked boxes with his bare hands, and piled up everything that wasn’t nailed down to the floorboards.

And just like that, he moved from the first ship to the second ship, and finally to the third, working efficiently.

He ignored the gruesome sights around him, stepping over broken wood and ruined furniture to get straight to the supply holds.

He was like a machine, picking up heavy objects that would normally take three grown men to lift and carrying them over his shoulders without breaking a sweat.

******

’And that should be the last of it.’

Jacob gently set down the heavy items he was carrying into the First Hornet’s cargo hold, wiping a few drops of sweat from his forehead.