Black Sail
Chapter 159: CLIX. Blood-colored Album

Chapter 159: CLIX. Blood-colored Album

The time had finally come to the afternoon.

Liszt had locked down all the details.

He had obtained the art exhibition’s schedule, the public exhibition would end at six in the evening, while the private showing would finish by two in the afternoon, followed by the auction.

No need to rush.

Considering Weber’s height issue, this guy had the physique of someone who eats protein powder like rice, so neither Mika nor Morison could disguise themselves as him.

They had to pick a muscular man who was over two meters tall from the pirates they brought along to play Weber.

Morison would play Gawain.

Five admission tickets, Liszt and Swan would definitely go, bringing Swan along might even lead to unexpected gains.

The last slot was given to Meredith, to get her hands bloody first; Liszt didn’t trust her otherwise.

Mika stayed behind to watch over the real Gawain and Weber, who were so sick they couldn’t leave their beds. A dose of tranquilizer made them little more than useless.

The first floor of the slum inn.

The tables and chairs weren’t exactly broken, but they were filthy and shabby, one swipe with the hand left it covered in grease, and only stale food and low-quality drinks were sold.

The sporadic patrons were of poor quality too, spitting blood-stained saliva onto the floor.

The overweight middle-aged woman smoking a cigarette smashed a glass onto Liszt’s table, then proceeded to pop open the bottle with a fork, showing considerable strength, before taking her cigarette and leaving.

Liszt didn’t mind, drinking the two-copper-coin-a-bottle, throat-burning, strong liquor distilled in the lousiest way.

"Got any news?"

Liszt asked a pirate, having sent someone to gather information on Gawain and Weber’s relatives as they were Heroic-Level adventurers, not minor characters, and quite famous. No need for an elaborate intelligence network, a little money offered to the information brokers, who were well connected with each other; if one didn’t know, a call to a few friends usually did the trick.

Especially in a major city like Duguli with an adventurer’s guild surrounded by brokers, one could hit eight with a single brick.

"We’ve got it. Gawain has a younger brother studying at an ordinary university in the Southeast Province. Weber’s an orphan raised in an orphanage."

The pirate replied.

Liszt thought it over, an orphan was not too bad. The orphanage, run by the Church Court, aimed to increase influence by promoting the blessing of deities. In Aran, that might be manageable, but in other places, it equated to sweatshops for children, and who knows if the priests and nuns were part of some twisted cult.

But it didn’t matter. By the time Weber could get out of bed, he’d be on the SS Fuma Keqing Revenge.

"Alright, you two shouldn’t get involved in the operation here. Take these three as your travel expenses and fetch Gawain’s brother to the ship. With his family by his side, Gawain would be at ease becoming a pirate. Once the job’s done, I’ll give each of you... eight more."

Liszt pondered for a moment and settled on a number he considered fair, after all, he had taken some from those three and put it to use.

The pirate thought for a moment; while missing out on participating in the operation and the guaranteed high bonus of ten Golden Dragons, this side was much safer and the profit quite substantial. Too good, in fact.

He nodded.

"You don’t need me to tell you what to do, do you?"

Liszt asked casually.

"Of course not. We’ll treat him to a few days of food, drink, women, and gambling. A student untouched by vice is easily swayed. Once he’s short on money, he’ll naturally look for solutions, and we can take him to Heaven Port to earn big. Or we can be direct and tell him his brother’s in trouble and needs him to rush over. If that fails, we’ll use this."

The tattooed pirate showed a length of rope, his expression grim.

Out of the fifty who robbed the train, Liszt had picked the capable and sharp-witted ones; he was confident in them handling this.

"I’m doing this for Gawain’s sake too. A family reunion makes for a happier New Year’s celebration; otherwise, if the main breadwinner dies, his brother might not even be able to pay for school."

Liszt spoke earnestly, not wanting the pirates to misunderstand. Besides, what future could his brother possibly have studying in that poor excuse for a school? A professor at the Pedan National Arcane Academy, one-on-one guidance from famous teachers, that would be impressive.

Gawain was probably a brother-obsessed moron, his brother not so promising, an ordinary university with no chance of holding office, no different from an illiterate. Coming out to do some garbage clerical job at best, or trade at the ceiling, I’d take you to trade well.

"Understood!"

The two pirates did not delay, gave a holler, and set off immediately. Damn, eight Golden Dragons each; back in Heaven Port, they’d have a ball gambling and whoring, not even knowing how to spend it all.

Besides, they were all fugitives with charges on their heads, with nowhere to go; Liszt wasn’t worried about them causing trouble on the way.

With that, all arrangements were in place.

"Where’s Swan?"

Liszt asked Mika, who was beside him.

"He’s gone to buy supplies for disguises and some thief tools, all kinds of flashy stuff."

Mika had cleared his strength at noon, completed his daily routine, and had to keep a close watch tomorrow; tonight he couldn’t afford to have a divided heart.

Meanwhile, at this very moment.

Heaven Port.

At the end of the Fourteenth Month, it was already a pretty chilly season. Spring would start in January, and it would warm up around February.

The sky here was overcast, as if a light snowfall was imminent.

Inside the Black Sail Inn.

Dreya managed all affairs at the inn, but in reality, there wasn’t much to handle. Under the pressure of the three big players, the Skull Club and Twin Group wouldn’t dare to act recklessly.

Qi Li had struck it rich this month; half of the protection fees from two-thirds of the island’s territories were his, and it was a stable income every month. He was dreaming of joy.

He had to thank Liszt as well. He sent his men with gifts to the Black Sail Inn, precious ones including jewelry and tea cigarettes. It’s all about authenticity in Heaven Port, and they even delivered fifty Golden Dragons.

Qi Li was completely unaware that after the new year, Liszt was going to push him into fighting the Boss.

Not only in Taylor’s mind, but under the recent alliance, everyone believed Qi Li and Liszt were as close as two peas in a pod.

An unbreakable alliance, it seemed to be.

Ox wasn’t inside the inn. He was someone who couldn’t stay still, swimming vigorously every day for exercise.

Goria was learning how to mix drinks from the Dark Elf signboard girl, always finding a hobby to enjoy.

Wolman had totally led Fafna astray.

Fafna sat boldly on the couch, clad in a crocodile skin coat, with a few Flying Knives hanging around her waist, her feet propped up on the coffee table and shouldering the Special Large Sword Ox hadn’t taken out.

She had been injured before, but after the crazed fanning and pampering recovery, her Qi was terrifyingly strong, enabling her to wield Ox’s weapon.

Her current look was the spitting image of a "data monstrosity" and a "Supermodel Card" combined.

"Sit properly, straighten your back!"

Goria scolded.

Fafna had become more and more insolent. It had only been a few days, and she was already hitting her rebellious phase? Goria had long said not to let Wolman lead her astray.

"Heh, those who achieve great things needn’t bother with trifles. Two thousand years ago, the Overlord started off with the Triad Gang, a paragon for posterity."

Fafna nodded, using phrases without understanding their meanings.

Goria was truly at her wits’ end with Wolman’s odd bits of culture, always saying the strangest things.

"If you don’t sit up straight, there’ll be no dinner for you tonight."

Goria was speechless.

"Ah?"

Fafna’s face fell. She put down the Special Large Sword and sat down demurely and ladylike.

Meanwhile, Dreya was experiencing some headaches as she encountered a rather prickly matter.

A letter had arrived that morning.

It was a letter from the Count of Londen.

Since Liszt had not gone to receive the privateer certificate from the direct descendants of the Beima former royal family, the Count thought something might have gone wrong and had written to ask about it.

The Count of Londen, was also a member of the multifaceted alliance.

She needed to ponder well before putting pen to paper.

Lostra was quite distant from here, so she could bluff for the time being.

After composing the letter, Dreya assured the Count not to worry: the handover was complete, and they were already on their way back. As for the privateer certificate, they had decided to forgo it, as Black Sail had other plans and wouldn’t trouble His Highness with it anymore.

After finishing the letter,

Seeing her own handwriting was too elegantly beautiful, she thought it inappropriate, so she found a waiter in the inn who had failed prenatal education to copy it. Only then did she seal the letter and mail it back.

After completing the task, she stretched and gazed out the foggy window.

The snow was about to fall. She idly supported her chin with one hand, a bit lost in thought.

She wondered how Liszt was doing; if all went well, he should be within Aran’s territory by now.

Dreya didn’t believe in gods, but the Blood Clan’s founders were godlike in stature, though praying probably wouldn’t be of any use.

She was deep in thought.

Goria, wiping glasses, noticed Dreya’s expression and fell into a similarly somber mood.

It was the season of the white album once again.