Black Sail
Chapter 305: CCCV. Self Exposure

Chapter 305: CCCV. Self Exposure

The evening had arrived.

The Black Sail group had lit a campfire, resting in the jungle teeming with danger; nighttime movements were not wise, especially given the complex terrain frequented by fierce creatures.

During the afternoon of the day, they had discovered an ancient-looking stone Spirit Temple, with an age so old that the soil buried much of it, and large trees grew on a thick layer of soil covering the stone structure.

After surveying by Celeste and others, this substantiated the historian Liszt’s daytime guess and similarly uncovered a stone-engraved map.

Though the map was quite crude, only depicting rough coastlines and some mountains,

it allowed one to roughly estimate the total area based on the mountains as reference points.

Geologists initially calculated it to be around 86,000 square kilometers—a fairly large island indeed, yet it still couldn’t be considered a New Continent. In the vast East Sea Domain, its size didn’t even rank in the top five.

By now, a part of the mysterious veil had been lifted.

Shadi felt bored, without the fabled daughter country he had imagined. Reality was just that dull—a common uninhabited island related somehow to the Miracle of Suffering, truly unlucky. At first glance, identified as Teyvat Continent.

"Damn Miracle of Suffering, turning into something neither human nor ghost; what’s so good about being called ’Saint’? These people really never get things done."

Liszt was also down and dirty, having experienced the life of an adventurer, realizing how wise his decision had been years ago—to never become an adventurer, as it was too torturous.

He sat by the campfire, eating smoked meat and dry rations, occasionally taking a sip of wine.

Liszt was preoccupied with heavy thoughts.

They planned to head to the Central Temple indicated on the stone map, to see if there were any more discoveries; otherwise, this place could only be treated as a purely resourceful island, still with profits to be made.

Liszt planned to turn this into a viral tourist spot, creating a "Die-V̶i̶r̶t̶u̶a̶l̶-̶R̶o̶a̶m̶" amusement park. Mo Yutong was now a great benefactor of the Atomic Heart Church, practically a Divine Mother.

During the New Year’s celebration, he had approached through the Divine Mother’s back door...

Liszt thought about it, feeling it was a far-fetched idea, suddenly missing Mo Yutong immensely, but the thought quickly faded.

What was important was the "Die-V̶i̶r̶t̶u̶a̶l̶-̶R̶o̶a̶m̶" amusement park, inviting Atomic Heart to bring in some technology, boosting infrastructure, adding roller coasters, pirate ships, thrilling experiences, and draining the nobles’ gold coins.

Liszt couldn’t help but speculate about Doringger’s intentions; they were also exploring, and he didn’t know their progress. If Doringger changed his mind and didn’t turn good, how should Liszt respond?

The order to cleanse the East Sea had been sent out, and there was no turning back.

The insect noises were somewhat annoying.

The exploration team had set up simple mosquito nets to prevent being drained dry while sleeping. The night deepened gradually.

Except for a few guards rotating patrols, the rest occasionally crawled into their tents to sleep.

However, Celeste was continually seeking an opportunity to make her move,

For the past two nights, she had been extremely hindered by bizarre events, allowing Liszt to remain at ease for so long.

Since Liszt stubbornly refused to leave the group, on the first night, Celeste attempted to seduce him by suggesting they talk about something in the woods outside, filled with implications.

Trust had been gained; should Liszt disappear, these people wouldn’t immediately suspect her.

Naturally, Liszt happily agreed, overjoyed.

But Mika interrupted.

Mika verbally criticized, "Don’t act like idiots in horror films splitting up. It’s your responsibility if something happens, huh? What if we encounter a murderer?"

In fact, Mika’s intentions were easy to guess; harming others without benefiting oneself.

Celeste had grown indifferent to Mika’s recent attempts to curry favor; whether diagnosing hidden injuries or offering massages, Celeste found it utterly disgusting.

Moreover, Shadi told Celeste that Mika was a universal seducer, conservatively estimated to have been involved with three thousand people, which led Celeste to steer clear of him.

With Mika’s interference, the seduction tactic failed.

On the second night, Celeste decided to simply sneak into Liszt’s tent while the others were in a deep sleep, directly taking him hostage to reveal the whereabouts of the Dragon Girl.

As for the others, it was straightforward—just kill them decisively. Whether Celeste or the five people she brought, each was an expert in their own right.

Celeste had almost poked her head into the tent.

But Liszt, as if he had sensed her presence, reached under the pillow for the hidden dagger.

After thinking it over, Celeste left the tent. It wasn’t a big deal; she could just explain it later. Her initial intentions were indeed pure, and so far, there were no slip-ups, nothing had been exposed.

The albino Dark Elf noticed Celeste and advised that if she wanted to deal with Liszt, it was best to do it during the day and not approach him while he was resting.

Because he entered the Main God Space when he slept.

Celeste clearly did not understand what the Main God Space was, so Shadi had to explain that Liszt was like that, with poor sleep quality and a mild condition of somnambulism, and it wasn’t impossible for him to suddenly kill someone.

So, she had no choice but to give up for the time being.

More than a dozen campfires lit up the jungle; the climate here was hot. The fires were not for warmth but rather for light and keeping beasts at bay.

Although the roasted python meat wasn’t great, it was all they had under the circumstances, and it was better than the dry rations they had brought.

Continue lounging, Celeste kept her eye on Liszt, pondering how to proceed.

"General Fen released information about what I did ten years ago, and with Hened and others backing him, I don’t know what the situation will be like when I return to Heaven Port next time. It’s very likely that a full-scale war will break out immediately."

Liszt, smoking a cigarette, was giving Haywood and others a heads up; it was already past midnight, strictly speaking, it was already the 18th. In another week, Diaz was also going to release news.

By that time, his reputation would be completely tattered.

"Let the battle commence. Wolman is almost at the Great Wetland, and maybe Ox has already dominated Dead Man Bay. Qi Liwenkui and the forces hired by the Golden Dragon are also slaughtering wildly. Cutting off Doringger’s reinforcements is just tough because of the so-called mobile fortress. But by then, we will be in Heaven Port, so Doringger certainly won’t fire at his own home; the showdown will have to be in the outer or Inner City."

Shadi expressed his opinion.

Liszt thought he was right, wondering how Heaven Port was now.

He was pleased with the situation on Iron Soul Island. If it was purely a wasteland, Doringger might change his mind; if it was a legitimate New Continent, he might not be able to handle it himself. Now, this medium size was just right.

After days of marching, both Shadi and Mika were quite exhausted and went to sleep.

Celeste’s subordinates, based on the stone reliefs, also drew a simple map; walking southeast for another three days would get them to the Central Temple, the endpoint of this expedition.

Liszt glanced over at Celeste, noticing she was watching him.

Hmm...

She had already tried to seduce him the night before last. It was time to show her some colors; fortunately, the two troublesome stars had gone to sleep.

Liszt voluntarily approached Celeste’s group, camped at the edge of the team.

He casually sat down beside Celeste.

He was very fond of this group; the quality they had shown in the recent days was strong. No matter what means were used, he needed to keep these people and have them work for him.

He went straight to the point.

"Fen, I told you before that there’s a chance for a permanent position. He ranked your team second among the Gold Seekers, which shows lack of vision. In my opinion, you are absolutely qualified to be first. I have decided to formally hire you; name your price."

Liszt was a generous man, understanding that one has to give to receive.

"Really? Right now, you’re paying us ten Golden Dragons a week for the whole team, which indeed counts as a high rate. But to keep us in the long term, it won’t be at this rate. It means we will stop all our external activities and give up all the connections and statuses we’ve accumulated so far. And this is, after all, the East Sea Domain."

Celeste spoke as a high-ranking official of Lostra, understanding that, dirty as her job was, it was still far better than working under pirates.

No matter what Liszt said, it would only be a verbal agreement at most.

"Right now, too many of my subordinates are illiterate; they can’t accomplish great things. I need talents like you. Just say the word, and I will make an offer. I’m even willing to share some secrets that could influence the world..."

Liszt spoke calmly.

It was still his typical method of forcefully recruiting. His statement was clear: now that you know, there’s no walking away, or else he would have to kill you to keep you quiet.

Celeste was somewhat shocked.

Was he about to... expose himself?

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