48 Hours a Day

Honegg was getting old. By the time he dealt with all the things at hand, it was already late into the night. He retreated to bed, only to wake up again not too long after he closed his eyes. Perhaps he knew that he did not have much time left. It was common for older people to greatly appreciate the remaining days that they had.

Honegg put on his clothes and tricorne. His mood had greatly improved after gorging on the warm breakfast delivered by one of his men. According to his daily routine, he would head to the city walls after breakfast, looking down over the entire Nassau from where he stood. This was the point where he could feel the joy in his heart. Nassau didn’t have an official governor-general assigned by Scotland. The closest person to that was Honegg. He was given the unenviable task of defending Nassau.

It would seem that Black Prince Sam had somehow ignited his anger. In reality, he was quite happy with his current condition. A very long time ago, when he was still a legendary captain, he had started planning for his retirement. He and Frazer were known to be the two most powerful captains on the island of Nassau. Now, age had taken a toll on him, and he wasn’t as healthy and strong as before. He did, however, accumulate massive wealth after being a pirate for decades. At the same time, he fell prey to certain illnesses as well. Rheumatism was one of the diseases that had been torturing his knee for a long time now.

Eight years ago, Honegg decided that he would quit being a seafarer and, instead, lead his men to take over Nassau. It was then that he embarked on a new life. According to the agreement, he would protect and maintain order in Nassau with his men. In return, the merchants of the isle would pay him a certain amount of money each month as the protection fee.

The fee wasn’t too expensive, and the merchants of Nassau could easily come up with whatever Honegg asked for since they earned considerable profit from their trade. Though it faded in comparison with whatever he made when he was still a pirate, the difference wasn’t much at the end of the day. The most important thing for him, though, was the safety of his pirates. Now, he did not have to put their lives at risk anymore.

Although they lived comfortably at the moment, it did come with its disadvantages. They were forced to stay inside the fortress for a long time every single day. The boredom that resulted from it constantly tormented their minds. Since they no longer needed to fight, their bodies started to shrivel as well. Most importantly, they lacked an injection of new blood. When he was still a captain, he would lose his men in battle from time to time. After that, he would recruit eager younglings to join his ship. It was an effective method to replace the older crew no longer suited for the pirate’s life.

Since they didn’t live on land, most of the men that stuck with Honegg were the last batch of pirates that conquered Nassau with him. Over time, his men started becoming lazy. Nevertheless, Honegg would never fire them since they all shared a profound relationship with him. Of course, he could use the money he collected to recruit a new batch of young fighters, but he realized that he would never trust them the way he trusted his old allies.

Fortunately, his name preceded his reputation, and nobody in Nassau realized that he’d lost his edge. Honegg knew better than anyone that he and his men were now way weaker in terms of combat ability compared to the time when they first arrived here. If he could take down this fortress with his men years ago, other pirate crews could also do the same right now.

In a time like this, he needed to show that he was still as tough as before. That was why Honegg brought his men to the beach when he heard that the Skeleton had opened fire there. As he confronted the young and dominant Wilton, he managed to put on a good show and concealed his weaknesses well. Still, he felt extremely exhausted after dealing with a matter like this.

Luckily, Wilton was willing to take a step back and promised that he would never cause further trouble in Nassau. Since Honegg got what he wanted, he decided that he would not hold Wilton responsible for his deeds. As for Carina’s business, it wasn’t under his jurisdiction. Everyone knew that her career was coming to an end in Nassau. At first, Honegg thought that all problems had been solved. He did not expect that Zhang Heng would return and assist Carina by attacking Wilton’s ships.

The matter started to head in the direction where Honegg least desired, especially when Black Prince got involved. Once the conflict became more significant and he failed to contain it, people would quickly realize that he must have grown weak. That was why he gave Zhang Heng a stern warning.

Honegg could see that Wilton and his crew were only passer-bys and would probably leave once they settled their business. The best-case scenario would be everyone going through this period together peacefully. Sadly, things didn’t turn out the way he wanted it.

He was sitting on his favorite chair, one that was taken from a governor-general’s room during one of his pillages. It was one of the few items that he cared about. When he sat on it, he would start to reminisce about his good-old-days, the days that were filled with pomp and glory. As he enjoyed his peace and quiet, he suddenly noticed a huge group of people gathering at the beach. This time, it appeared that the crowd was larger than yesterday.

“Now… what the hell is going on again?”

A bald plump guy who was behind him simply shrugged. He was the helmsman of Honegg’s ship. During the old days, he was considered one of the smartest men in the area. Now, he had been reduced to a sorry drunkard. He would usually drink until the early hours of the morning to the point of unconsciousness.

“No idea. Perhaps some fishermen have come to sell their catch,” replied the helmsman while burping.

“I have seen fishermen here before, Domingo. I’m pretty f*cking sure that they aren’t selling seafood. Send some people to check them out. This is a delicate time. I don’t wish to see any more accidents happening.”

“As you wish.”

Domingo left the place, stumbling around wonkily. Honegg could not help but sigh as he looked at him. Oh, how the great have fallen. Half an hour later, the person tasked to check the beach came back to Honegg.

“Wilton!! Wilton!!!”

“Ah, crap! What did he do this time?”

“No. Wilton is dead!” said the investigator.

Honegg was shocked, unable to believe that the captain of two ships and 200 men had been killed in one night. Above all, he heard something even more ridiculous.

“It’s not only Wilton; all of his men are dead as well! Most had their throats slit. As for Wilton, someone tossed his body on the beach in the exact spot where he executed the sailors. His stomach had been cut open!”