"In my early years, I knew the hardships of being a pirate, holding a garden of dreams close to my heart.
Who could rival in the dominance of the East Sea, to beco the Boss is to ascend to immortality.
Sacrificing Mika with a heart still as water, turning around to cleanse with an even firr intent.
This morning, the troops reached Duguli, manipulating people, ghosts, and even the heavens."
Rein, embracing the beauty in his arms with wine flowing down his throat, was struck by a poetic inspiration.
"What a crude poem..."
The pianist pinched him angrily, yet her deanor hinted at coyness.
This filled Rein with determination, his build, his stature, his style, not to ntion Chernobyl—he would venture there all the sa.
"Your two friends haven’t returned for quite a while?"
The lead singer, as Chuan Che played with her hair, noted it was about ti they arrived. All the sisters ca out together; if soone was missing tonight, it would cause a rift in the group, binding sales was a must—worried that the tiger-man and the iron face did not plan to stay overnight.
"A small issue, might be sothing, let’s ignore them. Folks from the East Sea are all a bit crazy."
Chuan Che, a bit drunk, spoke more than he should have; that’s more like it, Heaven Port wasn’t for the faint of heart. He preferred the scent of the perfu on the lead singer.
The lead singer, with her vast experiences, toured everywhere, having seen all kinds of people.
Recently, Chuan Che must have been dealing in shady dealings, one of which involved Ghost Eye Mad Blade, once famous, and Rein, who moved treasure maps around the Western Continent.
Up close, and with their defenses down from drinking, though other sisters didn’t notice, she recognized them.
But that wasn’t important; until September, during the Continent Martial Arts Competition, Aran’s managent would be lax, actively encouraging consumption from other regions. Officials from other old strong nations obviously wouldn’t show Aran any respect, but it was those rchants from all over the world who were the main source of the betting draws.
However, these rchants were of a grey nature on the Western Continent, and many from the underworld frequented the Sky Inn.
"I’m worried if they leave, what will happen with the remaining two sisters, if we don’t et our targets, we might be kicked out, replaced by newcors."
The lead singer lanted, indeed it was true. Beauty was abundant in the Cloud Palace, just package so second-tier musicians, and a whole new batch of newcors would board.
"I’ll take on three then," Chuan Che said nonchalantly, realizing it was ti to get to business, he cut straight to the chase, "Na a price."
The lead singer held up three delicate fingers.
Three hundred was impossible; that would be a huge cut even for the Great Nobles with fiefs, it had to be thirty, that’s the price of an apartnt with living quarters and a kitchen in a second-tier city in Aran.
"All together?"
Chuan Che asked tentatively.
The lead singer shook her head, tracing Chuan Che’s palm.
Chuan Che knew the price was sky-high, had not expected it to be this exorbitant; damn, it was as if it was diamond-studded. Such a VIP character as himself, on his off days, would struggle to get thirty a week.
These won actually couldn’t earn that much; the establishnt was sure to take a large cut.
"The sll of alcohol is strong on you; you all stay in separate accommodations, right? There are baths inside. Until we disembark, you won’t mind if I scrounge a lunch from you, right?"
Seeing his slight hesitation, the lead singer’s hands provocatively rested on Chuan Che’s shoulders, the shimr in her eyeshadow dazzling, and her attire and makeup made her seem to glow.
Chuan Che couldn’t hold back anymore.
The atmosphere built up to this, among these enchantresses, he simply couldn’t keep a stern face to negotiate.
The negotiation was concluded, it was an agreent.
Two o’clock in the morning.
Apart from Chuan Che, righteously one against three for promotional purposes by Cloud Palace, the rest were at the imperial capital duels, winner takes the crown.
Inside the accommodation floors of Cloud Palace, it was eerily quiet, only dimly lit by the track lights.
This place flew in the sky, no need for patroln; walking around while others were handling serious matters would just be inviting trouble.
Prompted by Saleret, Swan pondered. If the Royal Court truly got furious, even ten Black Sails couldn’t withstand them.
They could only buy ti for Heaven Port and Mulong. For Fafna’s sake, the Holy Spirit Church would also station at Heaven Port and share the fragnts of the Netherworld Stele. With Lostra involved, acting as Lostra’s glove and representative east of the Narrow Sea. If they really wanted to take down Black Sail, it wouldn’t be just a sweep as before—it would be war-level, requiring Aran to open a new front.
Swan had no doubts about Fen’s talents, as well as Mo Yutong, deeply involved with the Atomic Heart Church, a woman standing at the pinnacle of the era’s cognition. Supported by the integrated heroes of the East Sea, they could make the East Sea ten tis more prosperous than during the Doringger era.
The Emperor had once been defeated in the Far East, and by that ti, even if the Alan Royal Court was truly furious, they had to think twice before deciding whether it was worth expending resources to conquer such a barren ghost place.
Originally, as the second favored of Alan, the Beima Duchy was frequently urged by the Emperor to station troops in Heaven Port, but the foolish King did not comply with the Emperor.
Now, the Beima Duchy was in chaos, Mr. Chai and the current King were actively challenging each other. If Mr. Chai were victorious and reinstated the Kingdom Era, through the line of the Count of Londen, the East Shore would also beco an ally of the Black Sail.
The Alan Royal Court certainly did not dare to act rashly, even if Liszt had violated the imperial laws, they could only slowly strategize.
Zahak and Bartlan, for the ti being, would be spared. These two truly desired to assassinate Liszt to tap into the wealth of the East Sea and incidentally gain a promotion.
And Zahak was already considered a defeated subordinate, and although it was unclear why Morison had let him off, he was not a concern.
Saleret was like a ghost, watching by the staircase, unsure if Swan could succeed.
Swan had already bypassed the security gate here; the doors to the lodging rooms could only be unlocked with a Magic Crystal Card, and the interior circuitry was complex.
Yet for an old thief like Swan, this was no obstacle. He used a specially made Anti-Magic tal Card, which caused the internal magic power circuits to collapse, completely de-energizing it and preventing any alarms from being triggered.
Saleret had been guarding beside the staircase for seven or eight minutes, closely monitoring any slight movent but growing more anxious the longer he waited—could the Tiger-man really handle it?
Right then, Swan erged, soundlessly closing the door behind him. Not even the latch made a sound, a testant to his exceptional skills.
He gestured to Saleret that he had succeeded.
The two returned to their own lodging room to talk.
"How long until he dies?"
"He’s not very old and could survive a day or two, dying off the ship at the earliest, or by the day after tomorrow at the latest."
Although he was in a deep sleep at the ti, Swan had still drugged him to ensure he would not awaken soon, then administered a slow-acting neurotoxin that his body could barely tabolize, ultimately leading to death by heart failure.
"Are you talking about that Zahak, the disciple of the Sword King, that Zahak?"
Saleret double-checked, since there were quite a few who shared the sa na.
"Yes, otherwise his loss in Londen City ant he would never rise again. The Navy officials hold the right to this appointnt, and with his death, even a delay of ten days or half a month would occur, when a new officer arrives to tender bids, and another cycle of bidding starts, possibly delaying even longer."
Swan would continue to carry out assassinations, even masquerading as an anti-imperialist, to make the Royal Court suspect each other whether soone was helping Liszt resolve the issue.
"It’s odd Morison didn’t kill him. I actually know so stories about this guy."
Saleret, who had crossed paths with Morison, knew how difficult the disfigured face was to deal with. He also knew what kind of person Liszt was, hence he advised Swan not to kill him, since he could be very useful, perhaps even earning them a connection to Heaven Port.
"Really?"
Swan listened attentively.
"Joining the Imperial Guard is an unparalleled honor, not to ntion the deeper impact on the entire family. It allows face-to-face interaction with the Emperor. I rember vividly, over ten years ago, in the year 1274 of the Aran Calendar, the Alan Army breached the great barrier, King Philip V of Beima self-mutilated as an apology, and his body was found by three Officers. One of these Officers is now an Army General, one was Zahak’s father, and another was Netherfla."
"Netherfla? Black Sword Netherfla?"
Swan was familiar with this na, a figure infamous for his entirely black Sword, ddling in everything except personnel matters. Rein’s nesis seed to serve under him, though over the years, that deputy leader might have been promoted.
"Yes, that one. Both n earned great military honors in that battle, and there happened to be a vacancy in the Imperial Guard. Netherfla used so shady tactics, involving a woman from the Beima Royal Family, claiming that Zahak’s father had coerced her, violating military discipline—not to report him, though. At that ti, the Emperor had not been in power for long, and there were plenty of military scribes involved; no one cared about this issue. Basically, he just tarnished his reputation to suppress him and enter the Imperial Guard. Zahak’s father, who had a family, demanded a duel with Netherfla to prove his innocence, and ended up beheaded."
"That intense, huh? If we’re talking about the Aran Calendar, this year would be 1293, almost nineteen years ago. You rember it so clearly?"
"I was present. You know the adventurer’s guild is a platform that pays taxes to local governnts. During warti, to protect the interests of the guild and ensure proper accounting during the change of power, the guild had and a few others keep watch, fearing the Alan Army might rob them. It happened in a tavern affiliated with the Beima Northern Guild; I watched Zahak’s father beheaded by Black Sword Netherfla."
Saleret got lost in his mories.
Swan was speechless; this was indisputable, he really had been there. Just last year, a boastful Constitutional Soldier Vice Admiral, who had wanted a complete trade embargo in Londen City, also had such a past.
"Sorry for disturbing your spirits. Rein is a hard man, and now I’m the only core mber of Black Sail left. I have to act this way."
Swan felt sowhat apologetic to Saleret; those won were indeed top-notch, even by the Tiger-man’s standards, but tonight was not the ti.
"No need to apologize for that. It’s just a foolish plaything. Call if anything happens."
After saying that, Saleret went back to his room to sleep.
Swan was silent; Saleret was indeed touched by so psychological aberrations. He had nowhere to go, so he followed Liszt, mainly because his sister might be implicated by enemies back inland, and it was better to let her stay in Heaven Port.
After the Navy official’s death, they would definitely appoint soone new. Intelligence traffickers dare not inquire about official appointnts, but it was possible to contact old friends from the streets for information.
One down, more to follow.
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