Amidst the pitch-black storm clouds, two bolts of lightning suddenly struck down, one landing on the mast, the other hitting the sail.
The fierce wind carried a torrential downpour, with raindrops the size of beans striking the deck, the water pouring over the sides of the ship like a waterfall, then quickly rising again after being swept into the sea, forming giant waves like the claws of a mad beast battering the ship, pitching it side to side.
Yet amidst this storm, the sound of merriment could be faintly heard.
The structure on the deck had three levels, designed for passenger sailing, so it was quite spacious. The first floor was a hall reminiscent of a schooner yacht's banquet room, which Sage had preserved.
The second floor was the Captain's quarters, which was much larger than the military ship they had seized, suitable even as a living space, naturally belonging to Sage.
The third floor was a combined command, control, and meeting room, where meetings for the officers were planned, with Lily and Renedia in charge of overseeing and maneuvering from above.
As for Sage's treasure, he kept it in the central room on the first floor of the hold, with Renedia adding power to it. The ship's material wouldn't be destroyed by cannon fire, particularly in the central location, and with added power, even if someone tried to force their way in, it couldn't be easily opened.
Of course, this contraption was only a deterrent against petty thieves; in the event of encountering truly strong forces, it would be either the defeated eating dust or the victors taking it all.
"Yo ho ho ho, yo ho ho~ ho..."
"Yo ho ho ho, yo ho~ ho ho!"
The first-floor banquet hall was brightly lit, emitting a golden hue, where a group of pirates feasted heartily and engaged in drinking contests. Though there were only about thirty of them, they didn't occupy much space in the hall, yet the noise they made was quite substantial.
At the head of the hall, beneath the throne, a beautifully adorned round table stood, around which Sage, Lily, and Renedia sat, preparing a hot pot.
Sage wearing a necklace of red jade beads, a thick golden bracelet on his left wrist, a green jade thumb ring, gold rings on his index and pinky fingers, with his right hand's index, middle, and pinky fingers also adorned with gemstone and gold rings, holding chopsticks, picking up meat from the hot pot and stuffing it into his mouth.
Completely unaffected by the storm outside.
Neither Lily, as the navigator, nor Renedia, as the boatman, were panicked.
Instead, they were eagerly using chopsticks to pick vegetables from the hot pot.
"Liven things up!"
Sage poured himself a drink, downed it in one gulp, and shouted to the pirates in front of him, "Sing for me, all of you!"
There were many pirate ballads, and the one they sang now was 'Binke's Fine Wine,' a sea song that, though old, was always popular.
Eating hot pot and singing songs, welcoming the storm, also had its charm.
As for Lily, she occasionally glanced at the storm outside the window, a hint of worry flickering in her eyes.
Renedia didn't seem to mind, her little hands busy with chopsticks, grabbing food with gleaming eyes.
"This is delicious, this is also delicious! It's amazing how good the flavor is with just some spices in the water, so strange!"
"Of course, eating hot pot in a rainy storm is comforting; it's wild outside, but lively inside, how wonderful."
Sage raised a glass to the bustling pirates, smiling, "Days like this, I wouldn't mind living a lifetime."
"Are you sure it's alright?" Lily pursed her lips and said, "Perhaps we should try a little harder..."
"Don't worry! The ship I built can definitely withstand this level of storm without a scratch!" Renedia was brimming with confidence.
Having navigated through such storms ever since Sage departed the Nadia Kingdom, he had almost grown accustomed to them.
Originally, he thought that the treasures hard-earned by raiding in the Nadia Kingdom were in his hands, the ship he built was in his possession, maybe now things were looking up!
After all that misfortune, it should be his turn for some luck, right?
But as soon as he had that thought, fate reminded him that the bad luck was still going strong.
The storm just wouldn't stop.
Initially, Lily was diligent, commanding to furl and unfurl the sails day and night, trying to sail out of the storm zone as soon as possible.
Then...
The storm seemed conscious, regardless of where Lily sailed the ship, the storm would drift in that direction, she clearly accounted for the wind direction, sure that the rain clouds wouldn't move, but as soon as the ship sailed away, even the wind direction shifted.
Whether it was Sage's bad luck, or the ship's ominous aura...
In the end, Lily simply gave up.
Anyway, the ship wouldn't suffer damage, so be it, she's tired.
That's why amidst the raging storm and turbulent waves outside, inside it was a scene of song, dance, and merriment.
Misfortune as it was, the banquet could only be held inside, but with the ship's protection, it didn't really matter.
Just like Sage himself, despite being unlucky, his strength ensured he wasn't greatly affected.
As for the wind direction problem...
This ship, though especially wind-resistant, had its own power system, enabling sailing without the sails by adding fuel for power, and with Renedia present, not even that was necessary.
She herself was a Dynamic Person, always providing power, guiding the ship towards its destination.
As for the storm... no one cared anymore.
Sage even found some spices in the kitchen, made a hot pot, and directly cooked meat in it.
Food for dousing only cared about taste, as long as it could be eaten, a quick dip would make it delicious.
He didn't necessarily have to cook himself; it's just that none of the pirates knew how to cook, they could drink well, but as for cooking, simply making things edible by roasting them was their limit since there wasn't much to eat before.
Now, with many supplies including rare ingredients from the kingdom, simple roasting seemed too indulgent.
Sage intended to enjoy life, not suffer; there was no need to be stingy.
"So being under me, you can enjoy life too!"
Sage raised his glass with a wide grin, "Guys, work hard, and when we get a big territory, we'll have feasts every day!"
"Oh!!" The pirates shouted enthusiastically.
"Sage, not going to try my egg roll?" Lily looked at Sage expectantly.
Sage slightly twitched the corner of his mouth, and said, "I've had enough eggs lately, maybe next time."
"How about you, Renei?" Lily turned to Renedia.
"I'm allergic to eggs!" Renedia adamantly declared.
Around the hot pot were a few plates of what were probably egg dishes.
Because Sage went into the kitchen, Lily got interested too and showed off her cooking skills, with eggs being her favorite ingredient, so she made egg rolls.
As for why probably eggs...
Because they were blackened into pieces of charcoal; if they weren't said to be food, they might be mistaken for fuel wood.
Ordinary egg rolls are about cooking eggs into a delicious dish, Lily's egg rolls... were literally burning the eggs.
And the main issue isn't even that!
Sage distinctly recalled, there were no eggs among the supplies; apart from his lower body parts, not a single egg existed on the entire ship!
What on earth was this 'egg roll' made from?