Black Sail
Chapter 286: CCLXXXVI. Mobile Fortress

Chapter 286: CCLXXXVI. Mobile Fortress

When the two returned to the banquet,

"Who is the groom for tomorrow’s wedding? I asked the servants to prepare in advance to get ready for the ceremony," Taylor asked, a banquet indeed needed to be held within the estate to dispel the somber atmosphere.

Claude’s expression was somewhat embarrassed, but he still nodded to Taylor.

He had prepared all the work already, the location had been chosen to be at a tavern in the Inner City; he didn’t mind either way, but to provide a better experience for his wife, holding it in the estate wasn’t a bad thing, and it was safer, too.

The ceremony was to be quite simple the following day, January 7, belonging to Caroso, one of the thirteen Holy Spirits, the god of love, who would act as the officiant to contract the marriage. Musicians would be invited to play music, friends and relatives would give their blessings, and then a grand feast would be held, with many guests in attendance, for a joyous day, and all would be well.

But the ceremony lacked its most important part: the bride’s father, or at least an elder from the bride’s family, should hand over the bride to Claude.

However, this condition was clearly unrealistic—the coffee shop’s proprietor had no relatives, having been under the protection of the Black Sail for years.

Thus, the glorious and arduous task fell upon Fen.

Liszt had been reluctant to come forward out of concern for creating a rift with Claude, not wanting him to feel beholden.

"Is there going to be a cake at the wedding?" Fafna asked with her mouth full of seafood, still chewing furiously, her words somewhat unclear.

"Cake, cake, always cake—if you shout one more time I’ll bake you up and eat you," Morison teased the child, his preferred method always being threats.

But Fafna was only childlike in spirit, in truth a beautiful young woman with ample curves.

"If you eat me, you’re going straight to Hell," Fafna declared fearlessly.

Shadi was shocked; she had leveled up too fast.

Ben, accustomed to the shadows, snickered in a corner. Now, he had officially become a double agent for the Great Thief Guild.

Finding himself in a mound of sludge was a beautiful thing indeed.

He had already shaken some of Doringger’s intel loose for Liszt but hadn’t spilled everything. The items guarded by Ghost Eye Mad Blade were, of course, not to be divulged.

One of Doringger’s trump cards was a capacious ship, combined with the most advanced Magic Energy Industry to create a super colossal behemoth; although it had never been shown to the public, such a mobile fortress truly existed. Doringger had been bleeding the East Sea for over a decade to build this unstoppable monster.

Saleret, the Ghost Eye Mad Blade, though not very knowledgeable about external affairs, knew Doringger through and through.

What was hidden in Doringger’s room was too terrifying, which was why his gaze was not limited to a corner of the East Sea. He planned to use that terrifying mobile fortress to dominate the Four Seas and gradually encroach inland.

That was the true nature of the iceberg.

Listening to Saleret’s grand talk, Shadow Messenger Ben had believed that Doringger could use this monster to dominate all coastal areas without issue, but he couldn’t understand why Doringger changed his mind abruptly to transform, indicating deep waters.

Only Mo’er truly knew the real situation, and with his brains and status as a trusted confidant, he could largely guess that Doringger’s transformation was due to the fear of the yet-to-be-seen ironclad warships, which necessitated an urgent shift in strategy and a reconsideration of his grand ambition.

It’s just that Doringger was born in the wrong era; had he been born decades earlier, he would have been able to establish a nation in the Western Continent and his name would have lived on forever.

Ben, as a double agent, betting on both sides, stood to lose nothing, regardless of who won.

If Liszt won, Ben couldn’t imagine—but there would be a move into a castle and acquiring a mobile fortress.

And gaining a Dragon on top of that.

Liszt himself was at a nation-founding caliber, too.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Deep within the high levels of the manor’s tower, a place where no one goes.

Liszt could never have imagined things would have come to this, "Who am I, where am I?"

Am I really Liszt? No, that is just a codename. Anyone can be called Liszt; remove the codename, and who am I?

Does the universe have an end, does time have a length, where does the past vanish to, and from where does the future cease, is the question I raise at this moment the same one you just heard?

Was it I who fucked Dreya, or was Dreya who fucked me?

It was I who fucked me!

Liszt was nearly going mad.

He told Dreya not to mess around, now was not the time. Today, a serious incident happened in Tani’s family, anything else would have to wait until later.

But Dreya apparently had other plans.

She could feel that Tani wasn’t a virgin, likely spoiled by her own husband, but that was okay; though the quality of blood might be slightly inferior.

But it could be compensated in other areas. As the gentlewoman she was, Tani had a nutritionist in the manor. Her delicate and untouched upbringing also made her blood of the highest quality.

Dreya directly began her seduction of Tani. With her shrewd ways and having survived countless departures and bereavements, she handled the matter with ease.

Liszt held no hope. Tani was indeed a straight woman, what decent person would mess around with their personal contacts with you.

"Humans are such creatures, they can vent their dissatisfaction like rabid dogs, curse their fate, but in the end, they must let go. It’s just a matter of sooner or later. The world itself is incomplete, and life is bound to have regrets. The important thing is not to think about how to make up for what can’t be recovered. No one knows why he has come to this point today. The important thing is... to keep living with that sentiment, that’s all."

Dreya, as if comforting her own sister, held Tani’s head in her arms, softly stroking her hair.

Liszt was dumbfounded. If he were to say his combat power was only eight thousand, hers was ten thousand, what the hell?

Dreya gave Liszt a look. What was he doing standing there foolishly without catching the mood? He should leave quickly.

With a vacant gaze, Liszt left the place, soullessly. He had come at the wrong time.

As the night deepened.

The banquet gradually dispersed, but everyone was waiting for tomorrow’s feast. The servants of Taylor were also cleaning up, preparing the site for tomorrow’s wedding.

The Black Sail group returned to the Black Sail Inn, and Liszt, being an outsider now, could only dejectedly follow the large group back.

Fen informed Liszt of Taylor’s conditions, and naturally, Liszt was overjoyed. This was far more effective than trading money. After all, the money invested was for strengthening power, but this directly skipped the process and strengthened it at once.

In Taylor’s office, an uninvited guest arrived.

"Really? Well, that’s good. The Heaven Port is not safe these days. This time it’s my turn; next time, it may well be hers."

Even Taylor took a deep breath. The people on the island would stop at nothing. Tani leaving was also a good thing.

And this woman, Taylor had heard of her before, one of the gods of the island, and her relationship with Liszt seemed quite complicated.

"I will take good care of her, not just in terms of safety. She also needs to lighten her heart."

Dreya was stroking Tani’s hair.

Taylor was stunned. Something seemed off; had Tani learned something not so good from Aran?

However.

Out at sea in the East Sea Domain.

Lostra’s people could not find the Dragon Girl, so they asked the Count of Londen City. After receiving a reply almost a month later, they learned the specific coordinates and which force to connect with. Then they dispatched Hall-level adventurers and several secret intelligence personnel to Heaven Port.

They were already on the way.