"According to what we agreed on earlier, we'll dock for four days! Except for the guys on duty every day who are not allowed to disembark, the rest have free ti! If you need to switch shifts or borrow money, hurry up; we'll arrive at the Patlusion Archipelago right away!"
"Screw you, I'm out of money... wait, if you do my warehouse cleaning job for , I can lend you a little."
After voyaging for a period of ti, the ships sailing on the surrounding sea gradually increased in number. However, there were basically no rchant ships; most of them were "civilian vessels" of varying sizes—the kind equipped with cannons.
The Patlusion Archipelago had always been a paradise for pirates. Geographically located about a hundred nautical miles southeast of the West Continent, the small nations on the coast fought amongst themselves constantly. Thus, in past years, this place had always been the safest resupply point for pirate voyages.
But anything related to the word "pirate" could not avoid slaughter and death. There were no police or supervisors here; the only thing they relied on was the "rules" everyone tacitly agreed upon.
Interestingly, even this group of pirates, who were lawless everywhere else, would subconsciously establish a rule that everyone adhered to upon occupying a place, and demand that all other pirates abide by it.
Humanity's pursuit of order is carved into their bones. Perhaps the standard for this order is a bit too low compared to other places, but they simply couldn't do without it.
Standing at the bow of the ship, Fisher looked at the small boats far away from the Iceberg Queen. He then turned his head and shot a glance at the pirate flag slowly rising on the mast, depicting an inverted hamr. It was precisely this flag that told the surrounding pirates of their identity, allowing them to extricate themselves from unnecessary trouble.
Because not far away, several small boats had already sandwiched a large ship. The deck was also a chaotic ss; quite a few corpses fell into the sea, and boxes of treasure hidden within the ship were dragged out, adding an accompanint underpinned by screams and wails of agony to the quiet sea surface.
Clearly, those robbers had reaped a bountiful harvest.
"Hah, those jackals who caught the scent of blood... Mr. Fisher may not know, but within a thousand ters of the Patlusion Island, ship combat is forbidden. That spot is just outside the distance limit, so so local gangs co out to collect 'tolls'."
Watching the scene of the large ship being robbed in the distance, Pakhz smacked her lips. Clearly, it wasn't her first ti witnessing such a scene, rely providing an extra explanation specifically for Fisher, their guest.
The Patlusion Archipelago's inspection checkpoint was less than a hundred ters away from the robbery site, yet there was absolutely no movent there. Because according to the rules, they only managed the area within a thousand ters around the island.
It wasn't until that Northern Border ironclad ship, which was several sizes larger than the other vessels, passed through this sea area that the robbers finally stopped their slaughtering work in a daze. Looking at the massive shadow sailing closer and blocking the sunlight, it wasn't until they saw it violently flip over one of their small boats and head toward the entrance of the Patlusion Island that they realized after the fact and began cursing in low voices.
"Those damn..."
"Shut up, who told you to park the boat in front of the entrance! What if you provoke them? Even if you had ten lives, it wouldn't be enough to pay!"
"I..."
On the ship, Pakhz completely ignored the boat they ran over. She just rubbed her chin and looked at the smoke rising from the island in the distance, a hint of yearning in her gaze.
For this group of robbers who drifted on the sea year-round, places like this naturally knew how to stimulate their nerves to the maximum, letting them temporarily break away from the bloodthirsty tightrope and fly into the paradise of ultimate bliss.
Weapons, cannons, fine food, brothels, alcohol, drugs...
The blood vessels of Patlusion Island were composed of these damned things. And it was precisely these items that bestowed upon it an unparalleled vitality, making it eternally prosperous.
Pakhz eventually shook out a cigarette from the small box in her clothes. This thing was her treasure, usually hidden in the lining of her First Mate uniform and not easily shown to others. But recently she had already given quite a few to Old Jack, leaving her with only one upon arriving here. She really needed to restock properly.
"Oh, then please wait a mont longer, Mr. Fisher, we can disembark right away. I still have things to take care of... Hey, Mr. Jack, want to go to the tavern for a drink? I know a good one on the island... Hey, those three little girls can also co along to see the world, or they can stay on the ship."
Having lit her cigarette, Pakhz seed to realize sothing. Before Fisher could speak, she waved her hand and walked toward Old Jack behind her. Just as Fisher turned his head to watch her retreating figure, his vision was blocked by another tall and slightly cold figure.
Before Fisher's eyes, Alajina had swapped her usual black captain's uniform for casual attire favored by traditional nobles of the Northern Border. The pure white base color accentuated her slender figure elegantly, and a small hat with a white feather tucked into it rested on her white hair tied in a ponytail.
Indeed, it was sowhat similar to the small hat Valentiina wore back then, because this was a style beloved by Northern Border nobles, regardless of whether they were from the matriarchy or other nations.
The proper way to wear it was to use the hair on one's head to tie a small knot inside the hat, so that the small hat wouldn't easily slip off. Furthermore, this type of hat usually had a tilted feather on top, symbolizing the blessing of the Frost Phoenix.
However, the small hat Valentiina wore previously lacked one. It was unknown if that was because they didn't believe in the Frost Phoenix there; after all, she wasn't from the matriarchy, and Fisher didn't know much about the other nations in the Northern Border.
With Alajina dressed so finely now, it was truly hard to believe she was a pirate. Just as Pakhz had said, she originally should have been the most suitable heir to a vassal state.
The surrounding pirates all tacitly distanced themselves from her and Fisher, which also explained why Pakhz suddenly chose to leave. Appearing like a noble young lord, Alajina walked straight to Fisher's side just like that.
The injury on her right hand had already improved significantly. After obtaining the magic materials, Fisher had engraved another healing magic for her, thus saying goodbye to the pain.
It was just unknown why sotis Fisher could still see her staring blankly at her own right hand. He wondered if it was because it hadn't completely healed.
"We're about to arrive at the port. Is there anything you want? I have... money here."
However, in stark contrast to her handso appearance were always her sowhat awkward conversational skills. Fortunately, Fisher was already used to talking to her like this.
Fisher thought for a mont. He really did have so expensive items he needed to buy; mostly magic materials actually. Even though he had scavenged so from Valentiina, it was far from enough. After engraving healing magic for the two of them, the materials were mostly used up. Fisher still needed to engrave a few other magics for self-defense.
"I need to buy so magic materials. Although I have a little money on , I'm not sure if it's enough. If it's not enough, I'll have to ask to borrow so from you."
Upon hearing this, Alajina nodded without hesitation. She took out a stack of neatly rolled banknotes and checks from her pocket, containing currencies from all nations. The thick stack was wider than Fisher's two hands put together. Without even counting, she placed that stack of money into Fisher's hands.
Feeling the weighty sensation of the banknotes and paper, Fisher finally understood what Pakhz ant by Alajina's "little treasury." According to her, Alajina normally spent basically nothing, saving the vast majority of the money she earned, resulting in accumulating more and more wealth.
"Is it enough? I have more there."
The impoverished Fisher didn't have such an impressive array himself. He had seen quite a few wealthy won, and Alajina, thinking this might not be enough, added another quite lethal sentence.
"Buying magic materials won't use up this much."
Fisher smiled speechlessly, then simply pulled out two bills from the stack. These, along with the Naris gold coins left by Eliog, should be sufficient. He folded all the remaining money properly and placed it back into Alajina's hands.
Alajina pursed her lips and didn't refuse, rely telling Fisher to co find her if he needed to use money.
Atop the mast, Aoxi covertly observed this scene. After seeing Fisher agree to Alajina's words, she secretly sat back down, as if having learned sothing.
Under the cover of the fluttering flag beside her, Aoxi secretly opened the pocket hidden beneath her cloak and looked inside. A few pitiful coins lay scattered within.
"..."
Aoxi slowly closed her thin pocket, then looked up and exchanged glances with Steel Knife next to her. Steel Knife imdiately turned its head away, as if unable to bear looking at her straight on.
Should she save a little money to marry a husband?
"Honk honk!"
A massive steam whistle rang through the disembarking port as it approached the archipelago. The ships along the way hurriedly dodged aside, deeply afraid of crossing paths with this iron-blooded warship's bad luck.
"Whoa, the Iceberg Queen... Didn't expect to actually see Captain Alajina, one of the Four Great Pirates, here."
Under the cover of many fluttering flags at the port, two n leaning in a corner of the port also heard the sound echoing across the harbor. They curiously sized up the massive warship sailing toward them.
One of the two n wore an earflap hat, while the other wore an ordinary sailor's uniform. But unlike other ordinary pirates, both their clothes and skin were overly clean.
"Hey, Boss, it's the Iceberg Queen!"
The male wearing the earflap hat whistled softly and looked upwards.
Behind the railing above, a blond middle-aged man wearing a simple white shirt was smoking a Holy Maiden brand cigarette, similarly observing the distant warship. He took a hard drag of his cigarette and narrowed his eyes.
"I see it, I'm not blind... Originally thought we'd have to go to the Pirate Port to run into these big shots. Didn't expect to actually encounter them here, and it's even the Iceberg Queen, whom we have cooperation experience with."
"Indeed, our luck is pretty good... Then should Panam and I go make contact first?"
"No, wait a bit, there's no rush. Let those female pirates from the Northern Border enjoy themselves first, then we'll talk business."
Once the smoke exhaled from the old man's mouth gradually dissipated, the sturdy muscles hidden beneath his white shirt were completely revealed. His face, covered with fine stubble, was simultaneously marked with nurous hideous knife scars. Although his standing posture was casual at this mont, it radiated a hint of danger.
On the back of his right hand holding the railing, a circular logo tattoo broken in multiple places peeked out halfway from his white shirt.
A simple tattoo of unclear aning seed like a mark left in a mont of hot-headedness when passionately in love with a girlfriend. However, upon closer observation, one would discover that the two n below also bore this exact sa logo on their hands.
If Fisher were here, he would definitely be able to recognize the aning represented by that tattoo.
It was the logo of the [Naris Overseas Clandestine Affairs Bureau].
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