Chapter 214 - Time is of the Essence

Previously, considering that there was no need to keep this operation a secret, Black Prince Sam revealed the travel plans of the Spanish treasure ship to all five captains. If Jarvis did betray all of them, he must have had many opportunities to contact to the navy. From what they remembered, the Warrior was always the one at the back of the line. By doing that, Jarvis would be able to communicate with the navy without anybody noticing. After hearing what Harry’s story, they were sure that Jarvis must have indeed betrayed them. Now, the only question that loomed over their minds was if they had enough time to flee the island.

Under normal circumstances, the naked eye could only spot ships that were about ten nautical miles away. Any prospective enemies should be located at least twenty nautical miles away if they wanted to remain invisible. If someone from the island instructed them to attack the pirates, they would need at least 5 hours to get there and back. In other words, the navy should be arrive when dawn was near.

“I don’t think we have that much time left. It’s dark, which means our visibility is down to a mile or two. This means they won’t need to stay too far from us. If they are fast, they should be able to reach the island within an hour. However, this is only the worst-case scenario. When did you see the little boat leaving?”

“I’m not sure. I was so nervous earlier that I didn’t pay attention to the time. From the moment I fell off the cliff until they left the island, it should be half an hour or so,” stammered Harry.

Harry started shivering the moment a gust of wind blew.

“That means the enemy can appear in front of us any time now!” said Anne.

“We have to quickly inform the people on the beach. Otherwise, we’ll lose this battle! The first thing the enemy will do is to sink our ships. And they can do it from afar. Then, they won’t even need to get on the island. They’ll leave us all here to starve!” exclaimed a distressed Dufresne.

“We spent about an hour coming to this spot. Even if we are fast, it’ll take no less than forty minutes to get back,” Anne added.

“Not everyone here needs to go back to the beach. I’ll go with you first. The others can head back later,” said Zhang Heng while taking off his jacket and draping it on a frozen Harry.

He then handed three of his four guns to Dufresne, keeping one for himself in case he needed it later. He even discarded his sword as well. Zhang Heng realized that he needed to take drastic measures to lighten up if he wished to return to the beach in the shortest time possible. Anne also did the same, stripping off everything that weighed her down. The only weapon she kept on her was a dagger.

After shedding off the heavy iron, the two started running to the beach as fast as their legs could carry them.

When they were living together, Anne spent most of her time laying on a chair like a piece of dead meat. Zhang Heng rarely saw her working on her physique. Somehow, she managed to keep her body fit, where every single muscle on her body was firm and tight. She could sprint better than most men. Apart from her small chest, her body was close to perfection. In her defense, even she paid no attention to the size of her chest, as well.

Her swift moves and light-footedness were like an agile deer in the woods. Anne’s weak stamina had always been her Achilles heel, and although better than most people, her endurance still fell short of Zhang Heng’s marathon prowess. During the first ten minutes, Anne was way ahead of Zhang Heng. However, like an overheating cheetah, she gradually fell behind him. They were not even halfway to the beach at this point.

“You should go first. Don’t worry about me. I’ll catch up with you.”

Anne huffed and puffed, as she stopped to catch some breath.

Zhang Heng nodded in reply. This wasn’t the time to act like a gentleman. The earlier he got to the beach to tell the pirates about Jarvis, the more time they had to prepare for battle. As he swept away the branches that blocked his way, Zhang Heng managed to maintain the rhythm of his breathing, thus, giving his running a constant speed.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, he heard the whizz of a bullet flying past him followed by the unmistakable bang of a gunshot!

Fortunately, the shooter had shot from a great distance, and since Zhang Heng was on the move, even the best snipers would find it challenging to him. The bullet meant for him landed on the small tree on his right. The first thing that he did when the moment he heard the gunshot was to immediately drop on the ground, laying as low as he could.

Then, he remembered the two persons that pushed Harry down the cliff. Whoever that was shooting at him must be Jarvis’ trusted ally. Zhang Heng didn’t expect them to hide in the woods and ambush him. They must have heard his search party shouting out Harry’s name loduly. That was how they discovered his location and ambushed him on his way back to the beach.

Seeing that Zhang Heng had started running, they would have figured that their plan must have been exposed. Hence, they decided to kill him, effectively stopping him from sounding the alarm. Zhang Heng roughly knew the location of the two shooters, catching a glimpse of them when he lifted his head.

They were about twenty meters away from him. One was aiming at him from behind a tree, while the other was frantically reloading gunpowder and bullets into this gun. Without hesitation, Zhang Heng pointed and pulled the trigger on the one aiming at him!

Then, he stood up and charged at the other shooter! Seeing Zhang Heng coming at him, the shooter was so nervous he spilled all his gunpowder. Left with no options, he dropped his gun and pulled out his cutlass to fight. Just as Zhang Heng reached his target, he tossed his gun at the assailant. Instantly, he shielded himself with his saber. Seeing the opportunity, Zhang Heng landed a kick on his wrist, causing him to drop what was in his hands! Within seconds, he also landed an uppercut on the shooter’s chin.

After taking on Zhang Heng’s surprise blows, the man was disoriented. He took a few steps back before he fell to the ground. Zhang Heng quickly jumped at him to continue punching. Before he could do so, somebody jumped down from the tree, intending to slash his back! Zhang Heng did not expect a third enemy in the woods. Harry told him that there were only two of them. Now, Zhang Heng knew that Harry was telling the truth when he said that they were attempting to kill him.

Though he managed to dodge the attack, the third enemy still managed to cut his back. Luckily, it was just a flesh wound. Right now, he had to deal with two enemies at the same time with no weapons whatsoever. He knew some karate, but swordsmanship was the melee skill he trained the longest on. Besides, the enemy ship might arrive on the beach any time now. He couldn’t afford to waste precious seconds on a brawl.

Suddenly, Zhang Heng saw Anne running towards him.

“Go to the beach! Let me deal with them.”

Anne took out her dagger and licked her lips.

“I didn’t have the chance to fight during the previous battle. I hope you’ll allow me a good workout!”