The crew members realized this one after another. Some of them ran to the side, looked down over the broken deck railing, and counted the rows of holes on the waterline of the galley:
"Two, four, six... ten rows. If there are two people on each row, then there must be at least forty rowers under this boat!"
This number surprised everyone.
Forty people! Including a dozen pirates, there were more than fifty captives. Even if the Challenger was stuffed like sardines, it would not be able to accommodate them!
"This is indeed a problem..."
Meili was a little troubled by the current situation.
With so many people, the pirates are not a big deal. It's okay to throw a bunch of murderers into the sea to feed the fish, but what about the rowers? They are also victims, so we can't kill them all, right? If so, what's the difference between them and the pirates?
"Captain, how about this? We have only been out at sea for less than a day and are still very close to the coast."
The crew members were discussing this. First mate Tom thought for a moment and then stood up and suggested:
"We can pick a few people, take these pirates back to the galley, and then have the rowers in the lower cabin row back to the Thousand Sails Harbor, hand the pirates over to the Grace Church in exchange for a bounty, and dismiss the slave rowers right away...how do you think?"
Although countries in the human world cannot directly send navies to completely eradicate pirates, they at least encourage major civilian private armed forces to eliminate them on the surface.
Therefore, governments generally offer rewards for well-known pirates, with the highest reward being tens of thousands of el.
However, for a small pirate like Church who is not well-known and has little reputation, the bounty is very ordinary. Even with his subordinates, it is only a few hundred ells... It is better than nothing.
"Good idea. Then... who's on board?"
Meili nodded, but then raised a very realistic question:
"Others are easy to deal with, but the pirate leader is a righteous warrior. When he wakes up... no one without a second-level transcendent will be able to keep an eye on him. But I can't leave the Challenger and go back, otherwise this voyage will be ruined."
The most important thing is that the most valuable thing on the pirate ship is not the pirate's bounty, but the galley itself and the light magic cannon.
Just exchanging these two things for cash is enough to make a person rich instantly. But what if the sailors who were chosen to board the ship just ran away?
In the vast ocean, who has the ability to hold people accountable? Once they come ashore and sell their belongings and escape into the world, who can find them?
As for her boarding the black ship herself and the crew driving the "Challenger"... that was even more impossible. Sailing without a transcendent on a merchant ship was simply courting death. Even if she proposed this, no one would agree.
Mary felt that the crew members on the Challenger were all very trustworthy and loyal partners, and would not do such a betrayal. However, people's hearts are hidden, and under the temptation of huge benefits and extremely low risks... who can say for sure?
Meili is not that naive.
Most of the crew members could understand these principles, so for a moment everyone frowned in silence and began to feel troubled.
"How about I make a suggestion?"
Seeing that everyone was at a loss, Qi Ji looked around and said tentatively.
"Please speak, Master 105!"
"Great! If it's Lord 105, there must be a way."
"..."
She didn't expect that once she spoke, the response she received would be much stronger than she had imagined. Almost at the same time, the crew members raised their heads and cast expectant glances at her, as if they were looking at an opinion leader.
"Uh, I think I was too high-profile before..."
Only then did she realize that her performance in killing sixteen pirates alone in the previous melee had made her the savior in the hearts of the crew members, and now her words carried great weight.
Even though the battle only lasted two or three minutes from beginning to end, this slender and beautiful figure had quietly become the spiritual pillar for many people on the ship who were fighting to the death.
"Well……"
Only Meili looked a little confused. Although she knew that the key to victory in that battle was 105, she had not seen Qi Ji wielding a greatsword with her own eyes, so she did not have a very intuitive concept of her image.
Now seeing her crew members staring at Yao Lingwu with eyes of extreme admiration, as if saying "I'll totally obey your orders", she, as the captain, always felt something was strange.
However, based on the principle of democracy, since the crew members believed that 105 was more trustworthy, she couldn't go against public opinion. In addition, she was indeed very grateful to 105 for his "favor", so she also looked at him to solicit his opinions:
"One Zero Five, what do you think?"
Chapter 420 Proposal and Allocation
"Uh, it's just a personal suggestion, you can only use it for reference."
Being the center of attention, Qi Ji couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable and scratched one side of his cheek with his index finger.
Because her body was naturally impervious to filth, after wiping her face a few times with a handkerchief, her face had regained its cleanliness and whiteness, looking very sacred in the falling night.
She calmed down her expression and analyzed seriously:
"We can let the galley go with the Challenger to the Star Alliance, and just throw the pirates into the sea to feed the fish. Anyway, you already have this ship and the magic cannon, so you don't need these few hundred ei."
"Forehead……"
Hearing such a suggestion, the crew members all had strange expressions on their faces and looked at each other hesitantly, as if they had heard some very stupid plan, but were embarrassed to say it out loud because of Qi Ji's lofty status in everyone's hearts.
Meili also looked embarrassed. After a few seconds of silence, she chose to point out the problem in Qi Ji's proposal:
"One Zero Five, this is ideal. A pirate galley like this, which is rowed by slaves, has very poor self-sustaining capacity. It usually has to dock for supplies after one or two days at sea. It definitely can't go with us to the 'Steel City'."
Her words were still a bit tactful. If the other party was not 105 who saved the lives of the entire ship, but some other adventurer who made no contribution, she would definitely laugh at the stupidity of these rookies who had no common sense at sea.
First mate Tom also added:
"Yes, and we have injured people. If we continue to drift on the sea... it would be fatal if they get infected."
In this era without vaccines, a small wound could be fatal if medical treatment is not sought promptly, let alone in the ocean far away from human habitation.
"Yes, Master 105, this is not feasible."
"Why don't we go back? We can go out to sea another day."
"Yes, yes, it shouldn't take long..."
"..."
With Meili and the first mate taking the lead, the crew members also expressed their opinions and rejected Qi Ji's suggestion.
"Well, I see."
Qi Ji's expression was calm as usual, and he was not at all embarrassed by being pointed out for his omission:
"So, the problem is that there aren't enough supplies, right?"
Meili looked up at the night sky and thought for a few seconds, then nodded and said affirmatively:
"It can be said that neither food nor medical supplies are available."
"This is easy to handle."
Qi Ji said so, and then in everyone's puzzled gaze, he took out a long...bamboo from under his cloak?
"what is this?"
Meili was stunned. Her inspiration could sense the existence of faint spiritual fluctuations in this thing, so it should be a spiritual item, but she didn't know what its specific function was.
The crew members were curious about other things: How much was hidden under this little girl's cloak?
The big sword was also taken out from it. It was like a treasure bag that could always hold new things.
Qi Ji held the bamboo-shaped spiritual object in his palm, shook it and explained:
"Once this thing is activated, it can continuously release a special...signal. Wild animals that receive this signal will be lured and gather around."
Meili immediately understood what she meant:
"You mean, with this spiritual item... we can rely on fishing to fill the gap in food?"
"Yes," Qi Ji nodded, "With the spiritual strength of the Orthodox Mage, it should be enough to release the 'luring information' that covers a sea area of several kilometers in radius."
"It is indeed enough... But, won't it attract some dangerous... animals?"
Meili's face remained serious and dignified, and she said in a low voice:
"Everything else is fine. We are on the boat and we are not afraid. But if we attract the Siren, it will be troublesome!"
"Don't worry about that," Qi Ji said as he had expected. "The signal released by this thing is only effective against ordinary wild animals. It is useless against extraordinary creatures."
In view of Qi Ji's outstanding contribution to the Challenger, Meili and the crew did not doubt the truth of her words. After believing in the function of this bamboo-shaped spiritual object, a crew member asked:
"Master 105, the food problem has been solved, but what about medical care? Three of our brothers are seriously injured. If they don't receive treatment from professional doctors, they will definitely not survive for more than a week."
As he spoke, he pointed to an area in front of the ship's tower, where several unconscious crew members were lying listlessly. They were covered in blood, their faces were pale, and they had deep scars on their bodies.
"This is easy to handle."
Qi Ji handed the bamboo to Mei Li, and then took out a new item from under his cloak:
"I am a true mage who is good at spells in the 'Earth' domain. With the help of this spiritual item, I can cast spells to greatly alleviate my serious injuries."
What she was holding in her hand was a spiritual object that looked like a glove. The texture of it was like leather, but it was impossible to tell what kind of leather it was made of.
Everyone's mouth twitched when they saw this scene, thinking that this girl had too many new things in her arms, how could that cloak hold so many things?
"Hey, you know the 'Earth' spell?! Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Meili's eyes lit up, and she immediately stepped forward and put her arm around Qi Ji's shoulder, her face full of joy:
"Then you should treat the wounded quickly! I will definitely give you a bonus afterwards!"
Wizards who are good at the "Earth" field are very valuable human resources in adventures - whether on sea or on land. After all, the "Earth" spells that symbolize "success", "completeness" and "richness" can heal pain, relieve fatigue and boost morale.
This is an extremely important and useful skill for adventurers and navigators who often have to face long journeys, long journeys, and dangerous challenges!
Qi Ji agreed with a smile, put on the gloves immediately, walked to the three seriously injured people under the deck, chanted for a few seconds in a pretentious manner, and raised his hand to cast a spell.
An emerald green light shone down from her palm, covering the three people. After lasting for nearly a minute, it slowly faded and disappeared.
"It's ok, just rest for a while and you'll be fine."
Qi Ji put away his gloves and said.
Meili hurried to check the injuries of the three people and soon found out in surprise:
Not only have their wounds, which were so deep that the bones could be seen and would have most likely required amputation even with professional treatment, almost completely healed, but even the weakness caused by excessive blood loss has been alleviated a lot!
"God of the distant stars! Is this the 'Earth' spell? It's amazing!"
Meili laughed out loud with excitement on the spot, and suddenly hugged Qi Ji, who was watching, tightly in her arms, wishing she could treat this magical little guy like a treasure:
"Then it's decided! Let's do it!"
The second half of the sentence was addressed to the crew. With all the obstacles removed, of course no one had any objections, and they all shouted in agreement.
Qi Ji subconsciously wanted to break free from her embrace, but found that Meili's plump, tight and not cumbersome flesh wrapped around him was quite comfortable, so he just whispered helplessly:
"...Okay, I'm dirty..."
However, her voice was muffled and no one could hear it.
……
…………
……
In the following period of time, everyone on the Challenger became busy again.
Qi Ji’s proposal sounds simple, but in actual implementation, there are still many details that need to be considered and improved.
For example, the slave rowers in the bottom hold of the pirate ship could not be treated the same way as before after the pirate ship was recruited by the Challenger.
The pirates treated these slave oarsmen like human beasts:
They were locked up in place, and their eating, drinking, defecating and urinating were all done in the bottom warehouse. They could be whipped and insulted at will. As long as they could eat and drink, it would be fine. If they were sick or seriously injured, they would be thrown into the sea and replaced.
Mary would not allow the crew to treat them like this, so she specifically put the rowers in shackles and used the pirate ship's reserves to give these skinny creatures who had not seen the sun for a month a good meal.
Then he asked Qi Ji to use the "Earth" spell to heal them, so that they would not die halfway through the voyage.
At the same time, in order to demonstrate basic humanitarianism, seven or eight strong crew members were assigned from the Challenger to go to the paddle boat with Second Mate Jefferson and take turns rowing with the freed rowers.
As for the dozen or so pirates... there's nothing much to say. They were thrown into the sea to feed the fish, leaving only one Church behind. After they landed, he was handed over to the local government in exchange for a bounty.
In fact, when discussing how to deal with this guy, not all sailors suggested directly killing the spiritual organization, just like the witcher did, but it was rejected after voting.
Apparently, many of the crew members on the ship hated witchers and had probably suffered greatly from them, and were unwilling to do the same thing as these beasts.
Anyway, after all these things were done, the sky had already turned completely dark. The silvery full moon rose in the night sky, casting down the miserable moonlight, making the sea surface, which had already fallen into darkness, glow like snow.
After working for half a day, Qi Ji was placed in an independent bedroom on the second floor of the ship. He looked out at the sea shining with silver light through the narrow wooden window.
This is the best single room on the Challenger. Next door is Mary's bedroom. However, due to the limited space, it is only about 6 or 7 square meters. There is a single bed and a small table inside. That's it.
