Fighters on the Stormy Sea: Prologue

Bane is dead, or at least everyone that saw his gigantic ship “Behemoth” blasted to bits by Franco's beliefs.

After Bane’s death, the old order at the Frozen Sea has changed drastically. In the name of Franco, the fishermen of Northern Vale, long fed up with the oppression from the pirates, grabbed weapons and rose up in revolt against these plunderers, driving them out of almost every port.

However, the nightmare for the pirates has just begun. Bane’s death leaves the pirates nothing but a group of criminals without a leader. Once succumbed to the power of Bane, these pirates now break all the old rules and start a turf war. The old order begins to fall apart.

In the frozen world of Northern Vale, nothing is more important than survival, and it’s no exception for pirates. Without ports as their fortified points, they have no choice but to fight over the islets where once they only went for a temporary stay. The pirates once united under the banner of Bane now break into several factions, who attack other merchant ships while fighting against each other. More importantly, they have to watch out for ambushes from Franco, who had vowed to eliminate all the pirates in the Frozen Sea.

One night, Zygmunt is sitting in his cabin, resting. He and his crew have just suffered a terrible defeat, lost a lot of supplies as well as the island they captured. This is their fifth defeat. Because they still under the banner of the 'Black Shark' pirate group, Zygmunt has become the target of public criticism. Almost all of the people who had been oppressed by Bane vent their anger on them. But what annoys Zygmunt more is that his subordinates do not recognize his leadership, believing that he is not qualified to be the new captain and could not inherit the power vacuum left by Bane's death.

Zygmunt has yet to recover from the confusion and tension of the day's fighting. Looking out at the dark sea from his cabin, he begins to miss the days of Bane's reign.

Although Bane is cruel and cunning, he is indeed a charismatic leader. 'Black Shark' pirate fleet, under his leadership, dominated this vast sea. Wherever they went, almost all the pirates succumbed. Those who did not surrender were hung on the navigation marks of the sea route and left to die.

Just as Zygmunt is lost in thought, the dim candlelight in the cabin suddenly begins to flicker. The deck outside the cabin creaks like a heavy lead-iron cannonball rolling on it.

'Who the hell is making trouble on the deck? I will rip off your head for sure!' At first, Zygmunt thinks it was some crewman and bellowed out his dissatisfaction. However, he soon realizes the difference. It’s the footsteps, despite that no one on his ship is huge enough to make such big noise.

Ignoring his bleeding wound, Zygmunt stands up warily and draws his cutlass from his waist, eyes staring at the door.

'Who's there?'

The sound of the wooden deck being compressed becomes increasingly intense. By the light of the candlelight, he sees a huge shadow getting closer and closer. Zygmunt's hands are trembling and he is gasping rapidly, his forehead covered with sweat.

With a 'thump', the footsteps stopped abruptly right in front of the cabin door. Zygmunt clenches the cutlass in his hand, ready to fight for his life.

Then, as the door is pushed open, a familiar voice comes into Zygmunt's ears.

'Zygmunt, your captain, has returned.'