My Villainess Ex Won't Leave Me Alone

Chapter 229 229: 6.39 - Woodhearts

Penn Woodheart was a man in his late forties, with dark brown hair and a cleanly shaved face. His appearance was the only thing that had not changed since he had become a pirate. The rest of him was as ruthless as they came.

He was in his cabin, looking at a map that showed the route the new prey would take. The merchant ships were supposed to pass through the channel between the "Dead Men's Islands" and the "Death's Mist Trench".

They were called so for a reason. The rocky islands were like teeth in a shark's jaw, waiting to crush any ship that dared to enter.

If one didn't want to cross Easter Reavers to reach the Varia Kingdom, they had to pass through the channel occupied by Northern Pirates.

With a common enemy, the pirates had banded together with the East Reavers, forming a loose alliance against the Diamante Kingdom and the Southern Alliance.

"Any sign of the Navy ships?" Penn asked his lookout, who was sitting by the window, "They've tried to send undercover ships before, not that it helped them much."

The lookout was younger than the captain, in his early thirties, brown hair braided at the back, his fingers constantly playing with a coin, flipping it around.

"No, Captain. It's being led by Glory's new Vice, Taran Ashtor, Mad Hatter's son. He believes his money can buy his way out of anything, and bribed a few of our people on land to guarantee his safety."

"Like father, like son, huh? Should we send him the remains of his old man to shake him up?" Penn's lips curled up into a smirk, picking up a skull paper weight from his desk. He tossed it in the air and caught it, "I thought the Glory's founder was smarter than that. Sending an idiot to lead his fleet."

"The bigger the organization, the higher the chances of having a mole. Mad Hatter was also good at pretending to be capable, but he cracked under pressure like a brittle bone," the lookout pointed out.

"Father," a knock on the cabin door made them both look up, "Are you in?"

The lookout got up and opened the door, revealing a woman in her twenties. She looked nothing like the captain, but the "father" address confirmed their relationship.

"Penny, you're up early," the lookout greeted her, stepping aside to let her enter.

The green light emitting from her hair had a life of its own, it breathed with her, shining brighter and dimming in a rhythm. She had pale skin, her bloodless complexion giving her a ghostly appearance.

"Early?" She walked to the desk, ignoring the greeting, "Have you forgotten that we are going to ambush the Glory's fleet? How can I sleep when there's action to be had?"

The lookout returned to his seat by the window, while her father smiled at her enthusiasm, "You're just like me at your age, Penny. Bloodthirsty and impatient. Your mother will have my head if she finds out I took you with me."

"You didn't take me anywhere. I followed you," she said, then turned to the lookout, "I have a favor to ask, Ash."

Ash stopped playing with his coin and gave her his attention.

"Switch with me for the ambush," Penny requested, "I want to be the first to board Glory's ship."

"No," her father answered before Ash could.

"But father—" she protested, her hand on her hip, "You always let me have fun."

"Fun? We are going to war, Penny, not on a picnic," Penn reminded her, "Underestimating your enemy is the first step to failure."

"Then let me scout ahead, like I usually do," she argued, "I'm the best at it, and you know it."

"She's right," Ash sided with her.

Nobody could swim in the deep sea as long as Penny Woodheart could. Her body was accustomed to the water pressure and lack of air, a result of being born and raised as an Easterner.

But compared to the coldblooded nature of Eastern Reavers, she was too hotblooded for her own good. One mishap in deep water, and she could drown before anyone could come to her rescue.

Her father sighed, carving Mad Hatter's name into the skull paperweight with a dagger, "I'm sure we are not the only ones waiting for the Glory's ships, check for any other pirates around and report back to me. Don't engage."

Penny's expression turned sour, "Yes, yes, yes," she said, and left the cabin, the green light from her hair fading as she closed the door behind her.

"Is it wise to send her alone?" Ash asked after a while.

"No. But she's going to sneak out anyway. If worse comes to worst, she can always hide in the sea," Penn replied as he finished carving the name, and put the skull back on the desk. It was going to be his gift to the Glory's Vice, to remind him of his father's fate, "The sea will protect her."

Ash nodded, flipping his coin again, "I wasn't able to identify all of the men the Vice hired, some of them might be undercover mercenaries. With Glory's connection to the south, I wouldn't be surprised if he brought in a few southerners."

"Mercenaries are just failed knights who couldn't make it to the rank of knighthood. But southerners...we might have to watch out for them," Penn continued to play with his dagger, flipping it in his hand masterfully, "Southern slaves are weak, but if they smuggled some hunters, it's going to be trouble."

"Hunters are fiercely loyal to their southern kings, treason is not in their nature. Not even money can buy them out," Ash reminded him.

"Will this be one of Glory's biggest losses?" Penn wondered as he threw the dagger at the target hung on the wall. Despite the waves rocking the ship, he was still able to hit the bullseye.

A young hay head rising to power in such a short time, was either very lucky or very cunning. Lucian Arclight said himself it were the Gods that blessed him with the right opportunities, and his men who worked hard to make it happen.

"Men make their own destiny, and Gods are just stories to keep the sheep in line," Penn said, dismissing the claim, "But I would love to meet this Lucian Arclight, see if his skull is worth hanging on my wall."

He turned around in his chair to look at the wall behind him, which was covered in skulls of all shapes and sizes.

"Nobles' skulls are the best," Penn said, pointing at a few of them, "They scream the loudest."

Ash looked at the skulls as well, "I wonder what kind of sound a Lord's son will make."

"He will beg for his life, just like the rest of them," Penn laughed, "They are all the same when death stares them in the face. Do you think they know why the naval army has such a hard time catching us?"

"It's not a widely known fact. The nobles love to keep their dirty secrets hidden. If people knew that you persuaded me to leave the royal naval force to join your side, the kingdom would lose its reputation."

Penn laughed harder, his hand slamming on the table. He loved to rub it in the kingdom's face that they couldn't even hold on to their best people.

The Glory's ships had better be a naval bait and have some undercover knights in their fleet, so he could bring more people to his cause.

‎