Black Sail
Chapter 107: CVII. Big Brother

Chapter 107: CVII. Big Brother

The thawing room was filled with smoke, and everyone inside was a desperado hovering on the brink of life and death, none were afraid to die.

There was no more dangerous gathering than this one.

The table only held tea and wine, and shining, keen-edged things, certainly not placed there to invite Liszt for dinner.

"Captain Liszt, really so imposing, he doesn’t consider us at all," someone said.

The Skull President was not very burly.

His hair was tied into braids, and his face was painted with red war stripes, possibly because he had been in prolonged contact with hallucinogenic plantations; his expression was a bit languid, with very heavy eye bags.

But in his eyes was still an indifferent, cold-bloodedness toward life or death.

"Did you not tell Liszt about ’not waiting beyond the appointed time’?" he asked the person who had gone to send the message.

But how could the messenger dare to answer no? Inside this stringent Killing Formation, the room was full of the smell of gunpowder, and anything could set it off, anyone could take his life.

"I did tell him, ’not waiting beyond the appointed time,’ and that it was specifically at eight o’clock tonight, but..."

The messenger boy was lying.

"Is that so, let’s hope so..."

The Skull President glanced at the messenger.

He was so scared that he couldn’t even stand straight, shivering; those who trafficked in hallucinogens were terrifying, with all kinds of tricks.

Liszt had left the entire table hanging for a whole two minutes.

"Since Liszt isn’t showing up, and isn’t giving his colleagues face, there’s nothing else to say, let’s start then."

Only one of the Twin Pirates had come, the twins were identical except for the older brother’s face had a scar like a tiger scratch, which made him easily recognizable.

"No rush, this is no small matter, worth discussing carefully, no need to ruin the good atmosphere over a few minutes." Qi Li said coldly.

"If that’s what you think, I’ll give you face, we will wait three more minutes, but if..."

The Skull President didn’t finish his sentence.

Someone flung open the curtain of the thawing room and walked in.

It was Liszt.

Following behind him were Fen and Morison.

Hundreds of dangerous glances that could make wild beasts instinctively retreat scrutinized the three.

But having mingled here so long, what kind of formations hadn’t they seen?

As soon as Liszt entered, the place that had been bustling with the chatter of equipped subordinates, quieted down instantly.

Deadly silent.

Liszt surveyed the people sitting around the table, the arranged deadly tools, and the empty main seat, thinking, so they really were setting him up to be roasted.

"Well, what’s the situation, what happened, my friends, are you all here to honor me as your boss?"

Liszt was not intimidated; he himself had neatly sorted out the Constitutional Soldier’s generals, these folks were nothing in comparison.

Everyone present was incensed, and there were not a few who wanted to chop Liszt down right there.

But the aura of the disfigured face standing behind was simply too terrifying.

"It’s not about honoring you, has not Heaven Port already taken the name ’Li’? You sitting in this seat, everyone... approves."

The Pirate Captain of the Shattered Ice Pirate Group, whose territory was most swallowed up in Liszt’s expansion, laced his words with sarcasm, unable to swallow this provocation.

"Damn, since everyone has chosen me as the boss, then I have nothing to say."

Liszt sat down in the main seat nonchalantly, picked up a dagger laid out on the table, and toyed with it.

Although Liszt appeared too composed, the atmosphere was actually very delicate; tea was served in front of every seat except the main one, the implication was clear.

Everyone at the scene was holding back a fire in their bellies, and many had anticipated that there wouldn’t need to be any yielding, as a captain’s dignity cannot be challenged, and Black Sail was indeed tough to deal with. They thought to discuss it together and raise the price so everyone would be happy.

But as Liszt walked in, there was an intent to show him who’s boss.

The situation had already changed, and it seemed Liszt was determined to stand his ground, predicting a bloody night ahead.

"Now that the captain of Black Sail is here, let’s get to the main topic. Gentlemen, relying solely on hijacking ships obviously won’t suffice to get us by. Let’s discuss the protection fees collected this month, so all the captains here can weigh in on the situation at Heaven Port."

The captain with the most seniority, who had been at Heaven Port the longest and had the tightest relations with the big shots, spoke. His temples were graying, and now his son was running the ship.

He was the most appropriate person to speak, his seniority in the underworld was even higher than that of Twin Group of the Skull Club.

The protection fees were indeed antiquated. We’re all "high-end individuals," so it should be called a management fee.

"I’ve collected over three thousand silver coins on my side."

"I’ve got over two thousand on mine."

And so they began reporting, one by one.

Not just those sitting at the table, but also some standing pirates who had territories under their control, yet none could match Liszt.

One must recognize that the fees Liszt collected were far less than those present, less than one-third to be exact, purely charity work. But unfortunately, his empire was too large, none could compare.

Finally, it was Liszt’s turn, sitting at the head of the table.

All eyes turned to him, the time to speak had come.

"Captain... Is something troubling your heart? Don’t want to speak? Or... too scared to?"

The most senior uncle-figure questioned Liszt.

Just when everyone thought Liszt would soften,

Liszt remained silent for a while.

"I’ve been away for three months, came back to find nearly two hundred Golden Dragons, indeed you all should recognize me as the big brother."

With a bang...

Liszt knocked over the tea cup of the retired captain with his finger, drenching him.

"What are you doing!"

Of course, someone burst with rage.

"Who dares to make a move?"

Morison pulled out a Flying Knife, ready to skin someone.

"It’s fine, it’s fine..." the old captain suppressed his anger, "We brought you here to drive up the price, everyone at the same rate, harmony brings wealth."

At this point, everyone’s fury was boiling over, and the uncle-figures had lowered their stance. This was the final ultimatum. If you, Liszt, don’t show some respect, don’t blame us for getting fired up.

Liszt chuckled coldly.

"My principle in doing things is to ensure everyone gets to eat, but only after I’ve eaten my fill."

Liszt spread his hands and surveyed everyone at the table, not putting anyone in his eyes.

"Don’t be too arrogant. No one here is afraid of you. If it has to come to blows, just say the word, whether to raise the price or not."

Skull President’s hand was already on the ax.

"If you raise the prices, although your empire might shrink a bit, the total revenue will be higher. If you insist on doing this, it’s difficult for us."

A captain also put down an ultimatum.

"Difficult? Then let’s not do it."

Liszt stood up and flipped the table, tea cups and wine bottles shattering everywhere, the clinking sounds reverberating nonstop in the Thawing Room as fragile items were smashed to bits.

Everyone sitting at the table instinctively stood up.

No one knew where Liszt’s confidence came from, to be this audacious.

"Are you determined to oppose everyone? You’re crazy, Liszt. By midnight, I could wipe out everyone on your side, whether they’re under your protection or in your shop. Aren’t you afraid to have your corpses strewn across the wilderness and blood splattered on the streets?"

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