Black Sail
Chapter 271: CCLXXI. Atomic Heart

Chapter 271: CCLXXI. Atomic Heart

Within a tower office of the castle, the view outside the window was endlessly delightful. The room was filled with bookcases, as well as various specimens of small magic beasts. The air was also permeated with the scent of compounds.

The Warlock Council, Tower Alliance, and the fugitive Mo’er were working in the office.

His face was covered in stitches, as if his head had once shattered into multiple pieces and been forcibly pieced back together. Cloaked in black robes, his presence was deeply somber.

"The list has been made; just double-check those sea beast materials. If there’s no problem, ship them directly to Aran. That gentleman always pays upfront—truly a big shot."

Mo’er set down his feather pen.

Heaven Port’s surrounding waters also boasted specialty sea beasts, only to be caught in this region—a rare commodity supplied to the entire world, much sought after by many magicians.

This was a lucrative piece of business. Doringger provided Mo’er with it, and Mo’er’s research also required funding.

"What kind of big shot? Dammit, he’s taken over most of the goods here."

Once a Peak Competition Captain now the Chasing Wind Pirate Group Captain, he marveled, sporting a suit and shiny, slick hair, a complete transformation from his past self.

Back then, he was highly successful, with annual sales of two or three thousand Golden Dragons, even once seizing a royal treasure ship of the Southern Continent. He had thought to cross paths with Doringger and was subsequently recruited by him.

"You’d be scared if I told you."

Mo’er prepared a handwritten letter expressing greetings and sealed it with a wax stamp.

It was just a superficial thank-you, all for the sake of business.

"Just say it; who is it?"

Captain Chasing Wind, unconcerned, was about to sit down.

"Word is, it’s the chief of the Aran Imperial City’s New Industrial Zone, also a favorite of the Emperor. Do you know how the Aran National Bank president Cicero rated him?"

Mo’er had his concerns. At Doringger’s level, he naturally heard some rumors: ironclad ships might become a reality soon, immune to 32-pound cannons, which at best would only leave a dent.

Of course, this was a rumor with a very limited circulation, not even guaranteed, but there was a faint buzz about it. An enigmatic military factory had opened at Chenxi Port along the Aran coast, right by the sea. If it was for weapons manufacturing, there was no need to build it by the seaside.

Doringger realized that pirates’ good days might be over. Wooden ships could be built by civilian shipyards; cannons could be carried by thugs and bandits. But once that kind of technology appeared, only state agencies could frolic with it—it couldn’t be concealed. Spies from other countries in Aran would find ways to steal the technology. Once widely available, the East Sea would no longer be lawless, and power would extend far and wide.

Even the Mirror Sea Alliance would suffer, and the Far East Islands would no longer be a free-for-all. Doringger had an urgent need to transform, far greater than ever before. With the emergence of the New Continent, he contemplated one last gamble, trying to completely legitimize himself, without losing the opportunity to become a lord.

At Doringger’s level, if a royal amnesty decree were issued, it would far exceed a Duke’s rank, although not as high as royal relatives’, but still among the elite.

Moreover, Mo’er had heard that a new religious movement called the "Atomic Heart" Sect had been rising through Pedan’s ranks, clashing with the Eternal Sect, claiming that the Dragon Lord’s word doesn’t determine whether trains can move—the original Will does.

This Sect worshipped the original Will, believing in a god that is impersonal, broadly similar to Buddhist karma but without Buddha. Here, karma was related to good and evil and everything else—firewood and vegetables used in cooking were expressions of karma; the world simply followed immutable laws as set by the indifferent Will, which had no personal preferences and required no worship—a sort of pragmatic scientism. Everything was centered on the common people’s well-being.

Simply put, it was the old Peidan’s anti-religious madness: there were no gods, only laws, and faith in gods was less reliable than gambling on luck.

How could the leading religious authority in the Western Continent tolerate this? It accused the Atomic Heart Sect of harking back to a supreme Will from a thousand years ago, of imitating the Divine Mother Sect, the Miracle of Suffering, of being anti-human and anti-social.

In short, the two factions had begun to clash, currently limited to verbal battles, but it was just a matter of time before they escalated to physical conflict.

The Atomic Heart Church had issued a fierce declaration: whatever Aran could do, it claimed it could do too. Railways were laid, with operations starting at the end of March.

The rise of the Atomic Heart Church indirectly confirmed the rumors about ironclad ships that Doringger had heard, weighing heavily on him.

Captain Chasing Wind, upon hearing about the Imperial City Industrial Zone and the Emperor and Cicero, promptly stood up instead of sitting as intended.

This very person was manipulating the changing dynamics of the world, truly capable of overshadowing heaven with one hand.

"How did Cicero describe him?"

Captain Chasing Wind asked.

"He said this man is more useful than a Tower Master."

Mo’er chuckled. Although Cicero was the National Bank president, his words didn’t sound very cultured since he came from a rebel background. But now, the Emperor’s name was renowned across the Four Seas, having turned Aran into a war machine. People had probably forgotten by now that he once too was a rebel leader of Old Aran.

"Better than the Tower Master?"

Captain Chasing Wind was greatly shocked. To the common people of the Western Continent, what the Tower Master of the Tower Alliance represented was akin to that of a prophet.

And this person in charge of the so-called industrial zone was probably not just a prophet of prophets, but a Church Leader of Church Leaders, likely with extraordinary intellectual prowess.

"Indeed, that’s what is being said. If there’s nothing else, be on your way, I must continue my studies."

Mo’er had been conducting experiments with death spirits driving hybrid Magic Beasts, achieving significant results. One beast alone could contend against a hundred men.

"I have something to say. Lord Dor hasn’t issued any orders these past few days, and that lad outside, he’s getting too brazen."

Captain Chasing Wind was somewhat concerned. Although he knew Doringger would always take care of such matters, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this time it was different.

"There are things you’re not seeing clearly... If Doringger wanted him dead this morning, he wouldn’t live to see noon."

Having followed Doringger for so long, Mo’er had his hunches.

Doringger had planned to completely cut ties and stop dealing in stolen goods; now controlling key positions around the East Sea, his base was too large. Even without this business, the loss would be minor.

With the opening of the New Continent, it inevitably would attract outsiders. If the resources proved to be overly abundant, national governments would intervene.

And Doringger, like Liszt, were both thieves.

What is it that should kill thieves?

It’s naturally the officials who kill thieves.

To raise the army of righteousness at the critical moment, to bless the East Sea, to execute the thieves, and to stand paramount among the subjects—wouldn’t that be splendid?

The more outrageous Liszt acted, the more justified the cause.

No matter how audacious he was, could he guard the strategic passways surrounding the East Sea? Could he become the tax collector for prosperous islands? Could he boast of underworld connections reaching to the heavens? All the islands, big and small in the East Sea, paid tribute to Doringger.

The difference was as vast as that between heaven and earth.

To Doringger, the three ringleaders involved in fencing were but ants. One should not think that by driving away some corporate representatives, one matched him in power or inflicted significant damage.

Even without these corporations, Doringger could handle it all alone—A new! Continent! A new! Heaven Port!

A new! East Sea!

"This is what they call cultivating the power of a potential enemy."

Mo’er knew Liszt and his ilk were already dead in the water, no need for worry.

"I’m just afraid of nurturing a tiger that turns on you," said Captain Chasing Wind, sensing something extraordinary about that person, not just any ordinary creature of the pond.

Mo’er’s eyelid twitched slightly. Though indifferent to omens, those four words sounded truly inauspicious.

It was not only Liszt who could play dirty; Mo’er himself was a master in this game.

Doringger was a good leader; there was nobody else in the East Sea as reliable. In order for his own experiments to continue, Doringger could not fall. Precaution was necessary.

"I also have extensive connections. It’s time for the troublemakers at Liszt’s side to be dealt with."

Mo’er had a strategy sure to succeed. Liszt was defeated before the fight began, daring to shelter Pedan, a first-class political prisoner and a target of the Magic Energy Industrial Committee, as well as a high priority on the Tower Alliance’s urgent list—an expert Black Mage, no less.

Truly reckless.

"I’ll write a letter. Don’t send it now, but when the time comes to send it, it must be done quickly. For now, let it rest at the post office near the garrison island close to East Shore. When necessary, have someone deliver it with utmost urgency, day and night, even if the horses run to death, to the... Tower Alliance."

Mo’er wrote swiftly and to ensure it was recognized as his own writing, he sealed inside a strand of his spell power, transforming it into a single feather, and affixed it with a wax seal.

"Mr. Mo is truly above us all."

Captain Chasing Wind glanced out the window at the Inner City, in the direction of the Black Sail Inn. Ignorantly unaware of the heights of the sky and the depths of the earth, some things... are beyond human reach, the way of nature.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.