Black Sail
Chapter 292: CCXCII. The Storm Approaches

Chapter 292: CCXCII. The Storm Approaches

The next day.

Liszt led the large fleet he had rented from Taylor, all sorts of crew along with the SS Fuma Keqing Revenge, a total of sixteen ships, moving mightily towards Iron Soul Island.

This was no makeshift assembly of dinghies but an organized force, complete with sail battleships and fully-armed escort ships, as well as lightweight patrol vessels.

A force capable of taking on the navy in direct combat.

Control of Iron Soul Island was of utmost importance. Liszt, with Haywood, now understood that he wasn’t just talking big—he was going to sit in the seat of the East Sea King.

Wolman set out with the Dawn Breaker, and Ox with the Daffodil, each heading off to accomplish great things.

The Black Sail Inn was deserted.

Fen was in charge of the overall situation.

"The situation is as follows: I will continue to deploy personnel to join your operations. Under the banner of the Black Sail, all ships will henceforth bear the Black Sail flag," Fen said to Qi Li and Wen Kui. The company’s emblem had yet to be decided; they still used the old flag, which was designed by Rein with a dagger running from the chin through the crown of a skull.

Pirate flags are typically only hoisted when taking a ship, to intimidate the merchant ships into paying up and avoiding disaster—so they’re designed to be somewhat terrifying.

"Rest assured, reinforcements will not be cut off. Remember, do not kill the local fishermen, or even buy their fish—don’t commit the act of robbing the poor. Kill only Doringger’s dogs on those islands, and the transporting merchants. Make those merchants pay us tribute, of course, smaller shares than Doringger’s. Keep killing until they’re willing to pay tribute to us."

Fen had already spread the news, offering heavy gold to recruit fellow inhabitants of the island for a grand undertaking. By this morning, the threshold was nearly broken down, and pirate gangs with ambiguous attitudes had come sniffing around as soon as they heard there was money to be taken.

Of course, this wasn’t like the castle banquet that invited people to explore the New Continent, which was mostly for show, at twenty Golden Dragons a month. But now, it was different; money was on the line, and only to be earned by killing.

Qi Li and Wen Kui were also secretly shocked, watching the never-ending stream of visitors downstairs. Liszt was truly a miracle worker.

Not just pirates, but as time progressed, more and more adventurers and outside forces came to the island. Having heard of the situation at Heavenly Port, they had to either mix with Doringger or with Liszt—they had to choose a side, or both would come after them.

Of course, there were those who chose Doringger’s side, after all, a terrifying man who had dominated the East Sea for over a decade.

But Liszt had his advantages, namely throwing money around in heaps.

To earn money from gold seekers, Doringger had tolls to pay, each one a Golden Dragon. But Liszt was waging a price war, with no such threshold price of a Golden Dragon; if they discovered something and sold it to him, there were channels galore—Liszt had connections that reached to the heavens.

Many adventurers were attracted by this.

Of course, the smart ones knew it didn’t really matter which side they chose; it was just for the registry. Whoever found something would sell to the highest bidder.

Besides, the New Continent was a lawless land, once on the island, there were no authorities. You seek gold, I seek people, and right next door is the eternal lord.

It was a place where murder and plunder were rife.

In the last few days, Fen and Mo Yutong had also recruited some clerical staff. The Black Sail Inn no longer provided accommodation, being completely converted into office space.

In Fen’s mind, the ideal situation was for Doringger’s castle to become the base for the core members of the Black Sail, and that so-called mobile fortress.

To serve as the headquarters for the Black Sail Trading Company—it couldn’t be more perfect.

But everything was predicated on first getting past the current difficulty.

"This is really fucked." Wen Kui, chewing on a betel nut-like addictive substance, looked at the continuous stream of visitors outside. "Where do you all get so much money?"

Wen Kui couldn’t fathom, it seemed like the sum you’d get only after robbing several nobles’ houses in succession.

Fen pondered for a while. On January 25th, Diaz would make the entire train heist public, completely out of his mind, as this could also be seen as a slap in the Emperor’s face.

Other countries, aside from Aran, have been propagating that the train was robbed, but without conclusive evidence.

But with Diaz’s move, the criminals were all brought to light. A simple check within Aran and the Great Wetland would reveal the truth.

It was no longer possible to hide it.

Fen decided to be upfront about it, as Qi Li and Wen Kui were important allies.

"Since you are now working for the company, the train heist in Aran was our doing," Fen said calmly.

Qi Li raised his eyebrow, but was not too surprised; outside the castle banquet he had already guessed as much, but it was only now that he got full confirmation. Liszt was ruthless indeed; it figures that he would have made it this far.

"Dude, are you fucking kidding me?" repeated Wen Kui, echoing his classic line. This was his subconscious reflex when his brain crashed.

Fen was speechless. Everyone on the island was sick in the head; could they stop being so damn childish?

"It was nothing, not worth mentioning." Fen took a sip of water.

Upstairs, Mo Yutong was working in the office. Izumi, who used to be a Cult member, never imagined that during the New Year’s dumpling-making, the one who best integrated wasn’t the crazy Fafna, but Izumi. She felt a strong sense of belonging and was hired as a civilian employee by Black Sail, handling human resources work.

Fen always carried the Netherworld Stele with him.

The last time he faced Joshua, Fen used the most basic Magic Technique, Soul Arrow.

Even now, if Doringger showed up, Fen wouldn’t be afraid at all. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to unleash a wide-range Magic Technique with the Stele.

Would it turn everything around here... into flat land?

"Fucking epic, shit, haven’t people from Aran come to kill you guys?" Wen Kui scratched the back of his head.

"It’s complicated, you wouldn’t understand. The urgent task for you two is to focus on the fishery work. The sooner you set off, the better." Fen asked Mo Yutong how many Pirate Gangs were willing to go to the fishery islands to kill.

Mo Yutong listed the names as if reading off a menu, naming over a dozen Pirate Gangs.

"Alright, don’t get into the names. In short, you two are now the managers of these Pirate Gangs. More people will be involved later, and you must take good control, seeing as you both have a stake in this, too. Moreover, with the registered capital unchanged, the sooner you go there, the better. Whether you rob Doringger’s dogs or the transport merchants, you can invest any seized money or equivalents. Once it reaches four thousand Golden Dragons, I will recommend you both for a spot on the board of directors, entering the decision-making layer. As for the future domination, you two will have a share."

Fen tempted them skillfully.

Wen Kui gasped, "Fucking hell, all this talk of four thousand Golden Dragons, who the hell has that kind of money? And if I had four thousand Golden Dragons, why would I still hang out with you? I’d just run back to the inland, buy a high position in a small country, and not worry for the rest of my life."

"Four thousand... Golden Dragons, I want to confirm one thing: the current board members, the core of your Black Sail, they’ve invested the same amount, right?" Qi Li inquired. He roughly estimated that there were twelve core members of Black Sail, and each putting in four thousand seemed about right.

Fen nodded.

"Heh heh..." Qi Li chuckled coldly, "I’ve always known Liszt was no ordinary man. Four thousand, is it? I’ll be sure to bring it back within this period."

Having said this, Qi Li left without looking back, summoning his men and the pirates recruited by Liszt, ready to kill their way to the four fishery islands.

Wen Kui was clueless, but damn it, whatever, Qi Li was definitely smarter than him; following him was sure to be right.

After all the arrangements were made, Fen also breathed a sigh of relief.

"You guys won’t beat Doringger with this kind of play," Hened realized that these pirates were ultimately after profit, lacking one thing: the absolute courage needed to achieve great things.

"Oh? Do you have any wise advice, senior?" Fen inquired.

"I’m old, but I have brothers all over the world. I write a few letters, and Doringger is just a dog."

Hened drank his wine as things were getting more interesting. The East Sea was such a big piece of meat; he had to take care of old friends.

And at this very moment.

At the Heavenly Port Pier, Lostra led the Hall-level Adventurer’s Dragon Seeking Team, already blending into the New Continent Gold Seeker’s craze.

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