The Terror of the Pirates

"What a hoot."

The blonde-haired teenager who pushed his way inside the tavern was the Pipe Boy who had just arrived in Mad Hatter Town during the daytime.

He lifted his finger and lightly pressed the brim of his hat, a hint of a smile spreading from the corner of his mouth.

The tavern was basically full, and the table where Alex was sitting, with two empty seats, stood out.

Without the slightest hesitation, Steel Pipe went straight towards the table where Alex was.

Not knowing much about the undertaker's profession, he didn't have any concerns such as obscurity or aversion.

Arriving at one of the empty seats at the table, Pipe glanced at the masked and silent Alex and sat down without saying a word.

This was a free and casual tavern; if you had a seat, you sat, if you didn't, you stood, and no matter where you sat or stood, you didn't need to ask anyone's permission.

Once seated, Pipe kept an eye out of the corner of his eye for Alex's reaction, while waving to the waitresses, who were busy as if they were ants on a hot plate, to signal that orders were to be taken here.

Alex observed the teenager who had just sat down, the darker-colored visor looking out of place in the here and now.

To hide his gaze, Alex ate for the first time the down-home food he had already ordered for a long time.

A few dozen seconds later, a waitress holding a tray hurried to the table and softly inquired what Steel Pipe needed.

Steel Pipe smiled and ordered a root beer and a down-home meal.

"One moment, please."

After ordering, the waitress hurriedly retreated.

As time passed, places like taverns, restaurants, and casinos near the Mad Hatter's Auction House that could be used for a short break were instead in a state of overflowing.

Because most of the potential buyers participating in the auction had basically brought a large group of people with them.

And the auction house stipulates that a guest can only bring two attendants at most, which leads to the other accompanying people having to wait outside first, and the tavern and such resting places are their go-to spots.

If Steel Pipe hadn't sat down, someone else would surely have sat down later, and if they encountered a brash and habitual pirate, they would probably threaten Alex to give up the table.

Side by side, a relatively kindly-looking young man took one of the seats, but this helped Alex eliminate some of the hidden dangers.

After ordering, the pipe lay back but was stranded by the hose behind him, so he simply unhooked the hose and placed it on the table.

Alex looked at the plain appearance of the water pipe, a flash of color in his eyes.

Using a water pipe as a weapon?... That's rather unconventional.

"Don't mind?"

Steel Pipe noticed that Alex was looking at the water pipe and smiled slightly.

Alex stayed silent.

Do it first and then ask if you don't mind. This guy was obviously the type who was capricious and spoiled.

Seeing that Alex didn't say anything, Steel Pipe took this opportunity to strike up a conversation further:

"I've seen several people wearing masks like you on the street today, and I've heard that it's a profession called mortician. So, are you a mortician too?"

While striking up a conversation with Alex, Steel Pipe was distractedly listening to what the surrounding pirates were talking about, attempting to sift through it for some valuable information.

Before the auction officially began, he and Clara split up, utilizing every means possible to gather as much information as possible.

Instead of speaking, Alex nodded in response.

His attention was still more on listening to the information.

In this way, Pipe spoke in one sentence or another, while Alex sometimes nodded, sometimes shook his head, and just didn't speak anyway.

Both of them were like this on the surface, but secretly they were doing the same thing.

One could only say that fate was this marvelous to bring them to a table.

And after a few moments of contact, both Alex and Steel Pipe were soon to notice something strange.

I don't know if it was a coincidence or not, but the two of them quite tacitly glanced at each other, and then their gazes touched and parted, each looking elsewhere.

"This guy..." x2.

Alex's eyes narrowed.

Steel Pipe raised an eyebrow.

"What's it from?" x2.

Alex and Steel Pipe each thought.

The atmosphere at the table cooled to zero.

Crunch—

The tavern door was pushed open.

A man holding a walking stick with a complexion so white that it was demonic walked in.

It was Lafayette, who was known as the Devil Sheriff, quite famous in the West Sea.

He was originally the sheriff of a certain place in the West Sea, but because of his excessive use of violence, he became infamous, and in the end, he was even expelled from the country.

After that, he rightfully became a pirate, but his previous nickname was retained, so it was clear to what extent his notoriety had reached at that time.

Lafayette glanced over and instantly saw the only empty seat in the tavern.

Immediately, he walked towards that empty seat.

And that empty seat was the table where Alex and Steel Pipe were.

Inside the tavern, many pirates who were chatting and drinking were all looking towards Lafayette, all because the other party's indiscriminate killing behavior during this period of time made people unconsciously go on guard.

Lafayette's arrival, just by the murderous name and evil behavior, let the scene of the lively atmosphere slightly stagnant.

Alex also saw Lafayette, and that extremely strong style of dress and appearance made him instantly recognize the identity of the other party.

Wasn't this Blackbeard's accomplice? How could he be here?

Alex's eyes changed slightly.

Even though Blackbeard's associates didn't show up much in the original story, almost everyone possessed a strong personal style.

Therefore, although Alex didn't know Lafayette well enough, he was able to remember them and recognize Lafayette's identity at first glance from the style of dress.

Hmm?

Seeing that Lafayette was walking in this direction, Alex subconsciously looked at the empty seat next to him and instantly felt a bit awkward.

How about slipping away first?

Thinking of this, Alex shifted his gaze slightly and looked at a table of guests five or six meters away without any trace.

That was the target he had chosen after staying here for several minutes.

The reason for this was that the other party had used their own bounty order as capital to brag about it at the drinking table.

And if one let go of prey like this that came with its own cheat sheet, would it be heavenly to let it go?

Originally, he had planned to wait here until the other party left and then follow them out to find a chance to sneak attack.

However, Lafayette's arrival caused Alex to change his attention.

Squatting doesn't have to be at the scene; going outside to find a place to guard is also possible.

Just as Alex's thoughts were coming alive, Lafayette was already sitting down with a flourish.

Alex prepared to retreat.

The steel pipe, on the other hand, had little reaction, in marked contrast to the surrounding pirates.

Facing the many gazes around him, Lafayette looked as if there was no one else around and was about to invite the waiter to order when the door of the tavern, which had just been closed for a short while, was violently slammed open.

The loud noise immediately drew the attention of all the people present, and they all subconsciously looked towards the door.

Only to see two fierce-looking pirates rushing into the tavern side by side.

They didn't let out any harsh words, nor did they throw out any opening remarks, but raised their pistols under the gaze of the crowd that grew to be surprised.

And the direction that the muzzle of the gun was aimed at was clearly where Lafayette was.

Bang bang—

Between the flashes of lightning and fire, two gunshots rang out in the tavern.

When the gunshots died down, the scene was silent.

The two pirates at the door, who had obviously come to seek revenge, were frozen in their expressions, and their bodies froze.

Above their eyebrows, a bloody hole with wisps of white smoke appeared.

As things took a sharp turn for the worse, the many pirates followed the sound of gunshots.

Only to see a masked undertaker putting away two pistols.

"What a fast gun...!"

Someone was stunned.

The steel pipe that climbed up the water pipe with his right hand looked at Alex in slight surprise.

Off to the side, Lafayette, who had taken hold of his cane, looked surprised.