Black Sail
Chapter 317: CCCXVII. Stage Strategy

Chapter 317: CCCXVII. Stage Strategy

January 28th.

Aran had estimated his return to the port for the end of January, but he hadn’t come back himself, staying at Dead Man Bay, busy with his own affairs.

The Daffodil had already docked at Heavenly Port Pier.

Morison Archer and his party had returned, back to the Black Sail Inn.

"How is the situation progressing?"

Fen had been exhausted recently.

Taylor and another big shot from Heavenly Port, after hearing about Liszt’s current reputation, which they might have originally thought had only a thirty or forty percent chance, suddenly felt it reached sixty percent. They both urgently invested—Taylor put forward his entire saving, eight thousand Golden Dragons, and the other big shot followed with an urgent investment of four thousand.

By now, they had a stronghold solid as a barrel.

The big event was coming. Human efforts have reached their limit, and now everything that could be arranged had been. It had all come down to a combination of meticulous planning and fate. Whether it would succeed or not was now up to fortune.

Fen also tried to stir up internal chaos, attempting to poach people from Doringger’s ranks, but the progress was unsatisfactory, despite the rise of Liszt.

But Doringger had been deeply rooted in the East Sea for more than a decade, and they leaned towards continuing to follow him.

However, there were opportunists everywhere. Fen had also gathered some fence-sitters because Liszt’s current momentum was too frightening, as if he intended to challenge all authority. Placing bets on both sides, they couldn’t lose whoever died.

And the people in the castle, after hearing the rumors, finally started to take Black Sail’s group seriously.

Furthermore, with the frequent bad news coming from the four fishing islands, the islands were in turmoil, filled with a somber atmosphere.

They just had to wait for Doringger to return to Heavenly Port.

The big event was about to happen.

Fen was just as anxious, having Mo Yutong and Izumi on standby in the inn at all times. He carried the Stone Tablet Fragments with him, fearing that someone would come for them at any second.

But the opponent was strong; they held firm, waiting for the decisive moment.

In Liszt’s strategy, he had to take down Doringger before the end of April. After April, it would be utterly hopeless, and they could not outlast the enemy. It had to be a short-term surge of troops and a swift offensive.

Plans could not keep up with changes, and Fen believed it was not just the end of April that was doubtful, but even the end of March was precarious. He estimated that within no more than forty days, war would break out.

In recent times, the number of Yisu people on the island had increased, making it difficult to discern which were Gold Seekers and which were officials from Yisu Country.

Now Liszt’s influence had reached its peak.

If Doringger was to kill the bandits and become an official, it would have to be soon.

"Heh, Brother Sha struck him down with a single blow; what’s there to talk about? So-called Dead Man Bay’s number one fighter is but a small matter."

Archer had his arm in a cast hanging from his neck and had not fully recovered from the bruise on his forehead, still smeared with ointment.

Clearly, he wasn’t very persuasive.

And the large group of Heroic Level adventurers he had taken with him were also injured, some more severely than others, except for Weber, who was completely unscathed. He was of the brute type, dressed in Super Heavy Armor—as long as his defense wasn’t breached, he could wreak havoc.

Morison was also unharmed.

"Calling it a small matter is too reckless; it’s more like a significant concern."

Morison had an intuition that the island was becoming increasingly ominous. Now that the new year was over, and having used the Maple Forest, he’d be flattened by the moving fortress again and again.

"Aran is currently staying at Dead Man Bay... hmm, did something happen to Pawel?"

Fen inquired about the details.

Aran was not likely to betray them; his money was still staked here, and without Black Sail’s help, holding Dead Man Bay was of no use.

"Heh, with a snap, Pawel was split in half at the waist by Brother Shark, damn it."

Weber remembered the scene with some trepidation.

If it were a normal combat situation, the battle wouldn’t have been so devastating. The number of casualties was because they were fighting away from home; the environment of Dead Man Bay was too harsh, with heavy indoor humidity, not to mention the constant downpour outside.

The Merfolk were terrifying in such an environment, with the strength of one equivalent to two average adult men.

Aran was definitely a mainstay among the main forces. In the rain, his already terrifying physique seemed to bulk up even more. They had never seen such a formidable creature—right hand wielding a Special Large Sword, left hand grasping a streetlamp, yanking it straight out of the concrete, swinging it to smash seven or eight people into a pulp with a series of loud crashes.

"Pawel was just a petty man compared to Brother Shark’s prestige, which was off the charts. I didn’t even need to go to Pawel Mansion to sense that he had already lost half of the battle. That was really both tall and strong."

Weber sighed, hearing about Aran’s past exploits from the merfolk of Dead Man Bay; it was just too formidable.

In the past, poachers had entered the Mirror Sea to capture mermaids. In order to rescue their kin, Ox led a team of soldiers. Those poachers were extremely skilled.

According to what those surviving mermaids said.

The entire squad was left with only Ox. Even though he was underwater, he was pierced through the thigh and the fin at his elbow by two harpoon chains shot from above the surface, which rendered him immobile. They dragged him along for two miles.

Ox managed to hold onto the harpoon chains and slowly pulled himself onto the ship before slaughtering all the poachers.

Damn, Mirror Sea got its own Superman.

The athlete among athletes.

"Really?"

Fen neither confirmed nor denied, the trade volume between the Mirror Sea Alliance and the outside world was not great due to some of their internal policies. If Ox could create an opening using the East Sea as a springboard, then that would be the time for endless money.

Morison asked about the recent situation on the island.

Ben had been ordered to report.

Ben was bitterly wiping down the table with a rag, looking displeased as he began to describe the battle situation. Now it seemed that Liszt might win. Should he fully report everything, or should he conspire with Saleret, Ghost Eye Mad Blade, Brother Dao, and just hide the truth, directly entering the upper echelons of Aran’s power?

That was the question.

Morison was shocked.

"Damn, now he’s truly Brother Li."

Morison imagined Liszt sitting in Doringger’s position, operating abstractly, which felt somewhat incongruent.

"The Seventh Amendment, people from the Cangshan Tobacco Company will also be arriving soon. Now the piece of meat that is the New Continent has attracted many external forces, which are all eager to come in droves. Many Yisu people have arrived on the island; I suspect they are officials invited by Doringger."

Fen frowned and pondered.

It was very likely that after Doringger returned, he’d host a grand oath-taking ceremony. Liszt had indeed become a target for everyone, the scenario that Doringger wanted to see.

Once the farewell ceremony began, the official battle would commence.

"Everyone’s... looks have been poor lately, can I help with anything?"

Fafna said, her mouth full of cake crumbs. She hated this atmosphere where everyone’s faces were gloomy. She just wanted this period to be over quickly.

"No, there’s nothing you can help with. If it really comes to a fight, I’ll find a safe place for you; you just need to take shelter and wait for it to end."

Caroso suddenly appeared, speaking coldly.

"What do you mean?"

This displeased Fen; in his eyes, Fafna was a property of the Black Sail.

"Just as it says literally. Experts from the Holy Spirit Church are coming to verify, and based on timing, they should be arriving in the next few days. Given the uncertainty of victory or defeat, Fafna is crucial; she won’t be fighting for you, it will have to be after."

Caroso’s expression was extremely cold.

"Is that so, it sounds... fair."

Fen thought there was some sense to that, Fafna had great potential, she shouldn’t be cut short or exposed at this time.

"But..."

Fafna wanted to say something else.

"There are no buts, don’t you listen to me?"

Caroso rarely used such a stern tone.

How could Fafna argue? It was Caroso who had brought her, fighting their way out of Aran, and crossing who knows how many miles, to reach the East Shore of Beima Duchy.

"My guts are turning."

Morison too was waiting for a satisfying conclusion; this oppressive situation had to end soon, he didn’t even have time to play cards.

"Fafna may not enter the battle, but as a substitute, both you and the individuals from the Holy Spirit Church must fight. You should know, with my current power, I can completely... kill all those coming to steal the dragon, you included."

Fen spoke calmly to Caroso.

"Hey, hey..."

Weber sensed that the atmosphere was off. There was a world of difference between a pirate gang and an adventure group; people were always ready to chop one another.

"It sounds quite fair."

Caroso responded as such.

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