area51novel Chapter 76, Scene 1!
Chapter 76, Scene 1!
As the three Niu brothers entered the fray, the pirates presented them with a hemp rope as thick as an arm. Ballast Stone simply tied the rope around his waist and looked at the three men opposite him.
The three Niu brothers exchanged a glance, stepped forward, picked up the rope together, and began a tug-of-war.
"I know the three Niu brothers. If they team up, that fat guy probably can't beat them, right?"
"I don't know. I only know that the three Niu brothers are good fighters, but I don't know how strong they are."
"Big? Of course they're big! I heard those three brothers have never lost an arm-wrestling match in the Black Flag Gang!"
"Really? Then I'll just bet on the Niu brothers to win!"
"You guys are still too young. Who is Zhang Xiaotian? Do you think he'd just send out some useless trash? And this is about competing for the three major islands and the four minor islands—that's a lucrative deal! They'll definitely bet on Zhang Xiaotian!"
"That's right, I'm betting on this side too!"
"Keep it up!"
"Ballast stone, take them down!"
"Keep it up, Lao Niu!"
Cheers erupted from the surrounding area, and some pirates even opened their own dens, ready to gamble and see which side would win.
"No, that's it? Why aren't you fighting?"
Zhang Guohao turned around and looked at Duan Tongtian, not understanding how the pirate duel had turned into a sporting event.
"You two, is this your first time here? Don't you understand? This is a battle of wits!"
There was an old pirate nearby, smoking a pipe with only half a tooth left at the back. Seeing Zhang Guohao and Duan Tongtian's bewildered expressions, he couldn't help but show off a few words.
"Brother, you're very experienced. Tell us about it, tell us about it."
Zhang Guohao offered him a cigarette, but then, feeling it wasn't appropriate, he peeled off the cigarette wrapper, tucked the tobacco into the old pirate's pipe, and lit it for him.
"Alright, then I'll tell you about it. It all started with the Pirate Convention. The Pirate Convention has a history of over a hundred years, dating back to when the foreigners came here."
"Back then, everyone was full of vigor and would fight to the death at the drop of a hat. So, in order to avoid hurting feelings and prevent people from dying so easily, all the major pirate groups decided that no matter how the competition was conducted, the first duel had to be a civil duel, the kind where no one could die."
"When you're out in the world and worship Mazu, you have to know the taboos. If someone dies the first one you visit, who knows how many more will die afterward!"
"Several times, during pirate gatherings, people started dying right away because we weren't paying attention. It eventually escalated into a massive firefight between several pirate crews, resulting in thousands of injuries on one occasion! The surrounding pirates were almost wiped out!"
"So, this literary contest..."
Before the old pirate could continue speaking, the outcome of the battle had already been decided.
The four people on the field were locked in a stalemate for four minutes before a winner was decided. That ballast stone truly lived up to Zhang Xiaotian's choice; as soon as the tug-of-war started, this big fat man squatted down!
However, this squatting is not the squatting in the toilet, but rather squatting in a horse stance and then not moving.
The three Niu brothers over there cooperated very well. They were all in the same direction and did not overlap or misalign themselves. Even so, their strength was mobilized in unison to ensure that they exerted force in one direction.
The three Niu brothers were still chanting slogans, their feet constantly rubbing backward, their cloth shoes almost crushed.
However, the three Niu brothers were unable to budge the ballast stone.
The two sides held out for four minutes before a change occurred. The three Niu brothers were no longer able to keep up, and their steps became unsteady. Even though they were triplets and had a telepathic connection, they were still three people. They could communicate in a short time, but problems were bound to arise over time. The three brothers' steps went from being slightly out of sync to being completely out of sync.
But the reason they lost in the end wasn't any of that; it was something no one had expected: the three brothers' cloth shoes broke!
After using too much force, the cloth shoes broke! Then the three Niu brothers slipped and fell down!
The three brothers fell into a heap!
No one expected it to end like this.
"What?! The shoes of the three Niu brothers are broken?! How is that possible?!"
"Damn it, can't the three Niu brothers even buy a decent pair of shoes!"
"How come that fat guy is alright?"
"That fat guy wasn't wearing shoes, and he's perfectly fine!"
"The three Niu brothers are such show-offs! Everyone else is barefoot at sea, why are they wearing shoes?!"
"Pah! You made me lose money! Damn it! You're useless!"
The pirates who had placed bets outside the arena started cursing when they saw the final result!
In the face of winning and losing, even the greatest pirates were not taken seriously by these gamblers.
It's all because of the Niu brothers' bad luck; they've been rising through the ranks in the gang recently and know they're being groomed for leadership.
Now that a pirate convention is being held, I have to show you my love, dress nicely, and present a good image.
After finally managing to show off a bit, wearing a new outfit and new shoes, who knew that this would cause me to slip!
Most of these people don't wear shoes at sea. The sea is rough, and if you're not careful, you'll get wet and your shoes will get soaked. You'll have to wash your shoes again, so it's better not to wear shoes at all!
The three Niu brothers' faces turned bright red. Hearing the surrounding pirates' laughter, they covered their faces and left.
"damn it!"
The Hokkien boy cursed fiercely, but didn't say anything more. He had lost, but he couldn't afford to lose face.
"Hahaha, Koshima Island is mine!"
Zhang Xiaotian patted the fat man and saw that the fat man's face turned red and he fell backward, it was unknown whether he was dead or alive.
Even if this fat man is incredibly strong, he cannot escape unscathed.
"Take him away."
Zhang Xiaotian glanced at the fat man, waved his hand, and told his brothers to carry him away. He was just a tool for Zhang Xiaotian to use in his territorial expansion, so there was no need to waste time worrying about his life or death. As long as he didn't die, the ballast stone's good days were coming.
"Grass!"
Seeing this, the Hokkien boy cursed again, this time even more furious than the last!
If he had known this would be the outcome, he would have let the three Niu brothers go in barefoot. That fat guy was already at his last gasp, and the three Niu brothers would have had a chance to win!
The Hokkien boy was a little unwilling to accept that he lost like that!
Unfortunately, the outcome was already decided. Even if the Hokkien boy wanted to cheat, he had to consider the opinions of the surrounding pirates. It wasn't just the Black Flag Gang and the Red Flag Gang here.
The Fujianese man could only grit his teeth, sit back down, and scan the other pirate groups to see which group he could snatch back some benefits to make up for the losses on the four small islands.
"Then we, the Blue Flag Gang, will ask for your guidance in the second round, Zhang Xiaotian. Let's have a marksmanship contest!"
Sea Rose stood up abruptly and said to Zhang Xiaotian, "You took the initiative and wanted to compete in marksmanship. You didn't act like the Fujianese guy and let Zhang Xiaotian make the first move. Isn't that using your short weapon against your long weapon?"