Black Sail

"What's the situation?"

Swan had spent considerable effort to unlock the lock. It was one of the more challenging locks in his career. All that effort for nothing would make him a laughingstock. How idiotic would that be?

Fen entered the treasury, only to find Liszt and Shadi, those two dumb-asses, were acting up again, playing him for a fool.

It wasn't that the treasury was empty.

It was just that the glittering jewelry on a table was dazzling, along with some silverware and gemstones set in rings and pendants. Even in the dim light, their polished facets refracted a gentle, luminescent glow.

Apart from these items, all the expected cash was accounted for, dutifully present.

"Eh, there's no problem at all, not yet."

Liszt pulled a fast one.

Morison: "..."

"There's no tinder to light a torch."

Citing Liszt's own style, Morison saw that Shadi, the kid with bushy brows and big eyes, was also starting to create crap work.

"This is just for everyone to have a good laugh, pop the champagne."

Liszt slipped an intricately carved, elaborate ring for ladies on his finger, playing with it. He was quite pleased. This haul was a bloody fortune.

Fen opened all the drawers, made a rough estimate, and found that the gold coins were a bit less than the account books suggested. He continued to check the half-human-tall hemp sacks in the corner. The silverware and some silver and copper coins seemed about right when added up, and there was even a surplus. Including the unexpected bonus of a small pile of jewelry on the table, the loot was quite a bounty.

Shadi picked up a necklace, not sure how much these trinkets could sell for.

"We need to find a professional jewelry appraiser to estimate the value."

Shadi hadn't expected the extra loot, and the quality of the jewelry didn't seem fake.

"There's no need for that. I know a bit about geology from my time at Pedan National Arcane Academy, and I've studied minerals."

A strand of blood-red flame sprang up on Fen's fingertips, burning continuously and providing ample light in the treasury, as he began to inspect carefully.

"You can't go three sentences without mentioning that crappy school of yours. Are you the only one who's educated or what? We'll probably need a few laborers to carry these heavy hemp sacks onto the ship."

Liszt didn't waste words. He was almost laughing his face off at the sight of all the money, as he began scouring the treasury with the others.

Half an hour later.

All the goods were packed.

Liszt had somehow managed to get eight bundles of hemp sacks onto the ground. The casino had practically closed down. After the number-five men had turned the upper and lower floors into a morgue, seeing the scene outside the door and the few guards who were meant to block and watch over the place, nobody dared to come close.

It was only after Swan fetched a number of laborers from the materials market that they could carry these money-filled sacks back to the ship. These shirtless, dark-skinned, honest folk didn't care what was in the sacks—a generous payment was all they needed to help carry the load, and the more handsomely paid, the harder they worked.

There were still tasks to be done in the city.

They needed to deliver gifts to the sheriff. The secret port was an establishment that the Noble Master above had opened for smuggling to evade taxes. If they didn't clear the air and got their ship confiscated, it would only lead to more complications.

The two bundles of sacks in Liszt's hands were heavy. If the gold coins and jewels inside were exposed, it wasn't unusual to be robbed in broad daylight.

The value of these two bundles, plus a little more, could buy another twin-masted sailing ship.

It was like walking down the street with a small manor on his shoulder.

Liszt had planned to hand them over to Morison to take back to the ship, but after some thought, if that guy ran off with the goods, nobody could stop him. Better safe than sorry; caution ensures a long life at sea.

"You and Shadi go back first; I'll finish the business here."

Liszt handed a bundle to Shadi and another to Fen, keeping Morison by his side.

Liszt knew Fen wouldn't mess around. His record was notorious—even the neighboring countries of Pedan wouldn't go near him. He had said goodbye to the mainland for life, left to make his way on the sea.

Also, Fen was one of the earliest crew members. Although bonding with a fugitive was utterly stupid, after six years, they had developed an understanding that made for more efficient collaboration.

"Alright, be careful in the city. I don't have time to bail you out. If you get detained by the noble master, I'll just sail away."

Fen half-jokingly said, although being a Magician, he was strong enough, lifting the money sacks with ease.

Liszt had a vein popping on his forehead. No one on the ship ever uttered auspicious words.

"With Brother Sha covering me, I'd dare to visit the Empress's bedroom, let alone this small Londen City. There's nowhere I can't go."

Although the masters in Londen City were loaded, Liszt didn't take them seriously. He had been seeking stability lately. The last time at Blue Bay Port, things blew up quite a bit. He heard from a reliable source that the East Coast Governor had set his eyes on him, and the naval forces were tightening their surveillance. If not for the need to kill off a few local tycoons and spread some money around to thank everyone, he would have been in more trouble.

Seeing those laborers whose bare feet had calluses thicker than pancakes, and the dense array of scratches on their shoulders from the hemp ropes, one could tell that making a living was not easy. The thing was that there had been no natural disasters in Beima Duchy in these years; it was a time of plenty. But the East Coast's strategy was like electrifying a fish pond with a high-voltage shock. Whether through fire, water, forests, or even under girls' skirts, it was exceptionally hard work, but they had to collect taxes, aiming to master civilian management.

"To be honest, I'm not very good at this menage a trois. The Empress... that'd be like being run over and flattened by a steamroller."

Morison let slip an explosive comment. Although he didn't know what the Empress looked like, since she was the wife of the man who reigned over the Western Continent, he imagined her bust would be as big as papayas.

Fen narrowed his eyes, tasting a different flavor in the words.

Morison had been on the ship for over a year. Setting Liszt aside, he was now, apart from himself and Ox, the most influential talker on board.

It wasn't that Fen was overthinking; Liszt did have that intention to find a capable outsider to balance the War Merit Faction on the ship. That way, giving orders wouldn't involve losing face and there would be a middleman.

Fen didn't say more. It was a good thing Liszt had such insights. One couldn't survive as a pirate based on friendship and loyalty alone.

Stability, these two words, were of utmost importance. That was the key to longevity.

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Black Sail was a group that placed themselves on a death list, with their interests tightly bound and completely nailed down. If anyone lost their head, the navy would hunt them down and string them up on the gallows together. Only together could they be as solid as iron.

In the end, according to Fen's observation, Morison was just a simple day-to-day person.

"Let's go."

Fen gave a shout.

"See you at the secret port."

After Shadi spoke, the two of them didn't say much more. They needed to get going quickly. It was not a good idea to show off around town with so much money.

Liszt gave a gesture with his hands, signaling them to get lost.

The guard captain at the entrance of the gambling house watched as a group left, laden with large and small bags, feeling somewhat bitter. Who could blame them; these guys were experts in killing and looting. There were at least twenty or thirty thugs in the gambling house—some even from the escort business formerly—and this group had slaughtered them all without breaking a sweat. With what had happened, the gambling house would struggle to do business for at least the next half year.

"What the hell are you looking at? Get in there and clean up," Morison shouted at the guards without a hint of politeness. Those guards were just connections from the city, piled in there. They were not on the same level as the military-trained regular army. Put simply, they were just biding their time, like oxen or horses.

The guard captain's brain went blank, and though he was steaming inside, he didn't dare show it. This gambling house had its backers, and these desperados were carrying out the orders of a noble master from the opposition. They had their protection too, and even the sheriff's office was entirely in their pocket.

Liszt was speechless. Morison was okay overall, it was just that he sometimes had a mean streak in his heart and could be as aggressive as a madman. There should still be some rule of law.

"The sheriff is waiting at the usual place?" Liszt calmly asked the guard.

"Right, he said he will be at the theater all day waiting for you guys," the guard replied, not daring to show annoyance at Liszt, who had a warhammer on his back.

"I see. Things are quite a mess inside the gambling house, especially the basement. Thanks for your hard work." Liszt counted out more than thirty silver coins from his own purse. "Have you guys get a good meal and maybe a massage after you're done."

"How could we accept this..."

He said this, but he took the coins unreservedly and smiled naturally. That's why the man was a captain, after all.

The purchasing power of thirty silver coins was enough for an ordinary family to live on for a few months if they were frugal.

With the money in hand, the guard captain worked more efficiently, ordering a few subordinates to go in and deal with the bodies.

At that moment.

As the ground trembled slightly.

A member of the Black Sail Pirate Group finally arrived.

Wolman was over three meters tall, covered in black chitin scales except for his belly. He came from the Sub-dragon people of the Great Wetland in the far south of the Western Continent. With eight spike-like horns behind his flattened head looking fierce, and explosive muscle lines, just his heavy tail alone must have weighed several dozen pounds.

The oversized double-edged battle axe, which would be used by common folks, seemed like a one-handed axe in his grip, and his pants and boots were all custom-made by tailors; he couldn't find his size off-the-shelf.

Sub-dragon people were on average just a bit taller than humans, but Wolman was special due to his innate gift, standing out even in his homeland.

"Where are they?"

Wolman approached the two men.

"It's all over now!" Liszt felt a wave of frustration on his forehead.

"I came here for nothing, then. I'm going back to the ship," Wolman replied nonchalantly.

"What are you doing on the ship?" Liszt asked irritably.

"I've been reading 'Acania Travelogue' lately." Wolman replied earnestly.

Morison suddenly showed respect; 'Acania Travelogue' was a masterpiece written by a famous literary figure of the Aran Empire. The book, with millions of words, intricately described the magnificent and tumultuous history of the Western Continent eighty years ago. Some scholars interpreted it in extremely obscure ways, or in Liszt's words, it was pretty abstract and pretentious.

"You finished the book, so you're preparing for graduate school?" Liszt teased.

"I must say, except for the First Officer, I'm probably the most educated person on the ship," Wolman said with a hint of pride.

Liszt's fist clenched. This big lizard used to be an officer of the Wetland Rebel Army and became an exile on the East Coast after the rebellion was suppressed. Before the rebellion started, he had self-studied for a middle-level history degree in a neighboring country—not a genius, but still a graduate from a lesser-known institution on the Western Continent, which didn't match his wildly savage appearance at all. Liszt found himself at a loss for words.

"Hehe, so it's just the two of you who have studied, huh? Well, I've been to college. Do you understand spectroscopy? Know anything about the wavelength of electromagnetic waves?" Liszt started to brag.

Wolman looked confused, and Morison pondered with his chin in his hand.

Liszt had a sharp mind and was known for his golden phrases. His speech was quite cultured, but when it came to literacy level on the ship, he ranked second to last. The very last was a low-level member of the Demon Clan from who-knows-where. Any word that was slightly uncommon, Liszt couldn't recognize. He needed Fen to read some contracts for him because they contained too many technical terms. He was the most illiterate one amongst them.

"Spectroscopy, huh... Not very familiar with it," Wolman figured Liszt had started dreaming about non-existent degrees, which was quite pitiful. "I'll go with you to the theater."

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