Dawn of a New World - Akatsuki no Yona

Chapter 41

"Kumji is strengthening his forces." The captain spoke as we all had gathered inside the main room of the ship. We were all in here, including the crew, which surprised me considering the small amount of space. "It's probably because his most important deal is coming up." The captain then pointed to a place on the map that was placed on the bench in front of her. "With the Kai Empire."

"The Kai Empire?" Yona mumbled, gazing at the words that were scribbled on the piece of paper.

The captain removed her hand, before turning to look at Yona. "Just with a group near Awa, actually. They're one of Kumji's regular trading partners."

Yona lent forward. "What makes the deal so important?" She asks, rather curious and also appearing to be quite confused.

The captain, who had placed her pipe to her lips, moved it away as she let out a puff of air. "It's human trafficking." She explained, glancing over to Yona, whose expression had turned to one of complete and utter shock.

"Human trafficking..." Yona mutters in disbelief. To be perfectly honest, we were all rather shocked by this. The idea itself was sickening, and made me actually feel sick to my stomach.

Jae-Ha had his arms crossed, his expression neutral the entire time. "Mostly women and children." He explained. That just made this entire thing a whole lot worse. How could someone possibly be so despicable.

"But slavery is illegal in this country." Yoon then spoke up, his eyes narrowed.

"That isn't their only goal." The captain revealed. "With the forces they've gathered, they must intend to crush us, the pirates who have opposed us for years."

One of the pirates stepped forward, his fist raised in front of him and a grin plastered on his face. "Let's hit him first!" he explained.

"Don't be hasty." The captain immediately shot him down. "If we brawl at Awa Port, the residents will be caught in the crossfire. She pointed towards a part of the map, an area that was just a few miles from the port. "So we'll attack Kumji's ships here, in the ocean between Awa and their likely trading partner, the Kai Empire."

"The question when, and how, they'll act, and which of the ships the women will be on." Jae-Ha added, making an extremely good point. How on earth were we going to be able to do that. I let out a deep, yet quiet sigh, crossing my arms below my chest.

"Yes." The captain agreed, glancing over to Jae-Ha. "Kumji will likely use the people he's selling as hostages, so we mustn't attack recklessly." The captain lent away from the bench, her brows furrowing as she began to think. "Is there anyway to secure the women's safety?

"But if it's an important deal, isn't Kumji likely to be there himself?" Another of the pirates spoke up, also making a rather good point. "Wouldn't it be faster to find their leader and secure him?"

"Yeah, after all, we have powerful allies this time!" Yet another spoke up, gesturing towards myself and the other dragons. Along with Hak.

Ao began waving her hand rather wildly while sitting on Shin-Ah's lap, so I picked her up and placed her onto my shoulder. She immediately nuzzled into my neck, seeking out the warmth from my skin.

The captain hit her pipe against the ashtray on the bench next to the map. "Either way, we need more information." She let go of the pipe, before reaching up into her robe, pulling out a small sheath, that most likely held a dagger. "This is an excellent opportunity for us. We'll beat up Yan Kumji and his officials, who have corrupted Awa and terrorized it's people for over ten years." She began to take out the dagger. " We'll return freedom to this town." She then slammed the dagger down into the bench, piercing the map as she did so. "This time, I'll fight with you. Stick with me until the end, boys!"