Black Sail
Chapter 328: CCCXXVIII. Civil Strife

Chapter 328: CCCXXVIII. Civil Strife

The same day.

Heaven Port, Black Sail Inn rooftop.

"Fuckin’ hell, we’re pirates now."

Archer was using binoculars on the rooftop, observing the central plaza in the Inner City. Good gracious, those were genuine government officials; these scumbags came onto the island in plain clothes and turned into the navy of Yisu Country with a quick change into their little navy uniforms.

"Weren’t we always pirates?"

Morison was gnawing on an orange by the railing at the edge of the rooftop, skin and all.

A grand departure ceremony was taking place in the central plaza; with a special loudspeaker in use, the voice of the speaker was quite loud, so it was audible even from here.

Heaven Port was entirely under Fen’s management.

Having received two confidential letters this morning, he was now on the verge of a breakdown.

The first letter was from an old acquaintance from Pedan Palace; she had used her influence to stop the pursuit of the Tower Alliance, warning Fen to take care and never to return to the mainland.

Fen took this matter to heart; he was determined to return to the mainland and make a comeback.

But that meant someone else had sold him out again, surely someone from Doringger’s side, stopping at nothing—it was most likely that Mo’er guy causing trouble.

The second letter was from Alanee of the Astalia Family; she had used her influence to trip up the task force pursuing the train case, with her people among them, advising Fen to be extremely cautious.

There was no time to waste; Fen had to deal with Doringger in the shortest time possible.

Over there, the departure ceremony was underway, and since there was rice and food to be had for crowd-rousers, the audience was packed. Doringger wasn’t showing his face, only the navy of Yisu Country and former General Beima Horace, having farewell drinks with a bunch of heroes.

Among them, Fen recognized two; they were once renowned figures. Unexpectedly, they had been taken care of in Doringger’s place, both godfathers.

Fen had already ordered martial law across the city, ready for battle at any moment.

"What do we do? Shall we just get a jump on them?"

Swan asked Fen.

Fen pondered for a moment; the departure ceremony didn’t name names, it only spoke of sweeping away pirates, getting rid of the biggest scoundrel in the East Sea.

It’s the same old Cthulhu that’s been around for millennia, no need for fancy craftsmanship.

Everyone on the island was an old-timer with a recognizable face, who didn’t know about the incident between Doringger and Liszt, just a show.

And Doringger had laid out his gamble wisely; by not naming names, besides Liszt, there were other key members of Black Sail—Taylor and another boss, Qi Liwenkui.

They were still... negotiable.

Not to put it that way, it wasn’t quite negotiable, but there was just enough time to save their own skins.

Old tricks—intimidate some, make some defect, split some up, consolidate some.

"Liszt is probably more dead than alive by now; send a ship immediately to bring them back. Morison, Claude, the two of you take a ship and go."

Fen’s expression was grave, unaware of how things were with Liszt.

"It’s not that I don’t want to go... It’s just that I think someone needs to keep an eye on the stash of Golden Dragons we’ve got hidden in the cellar."

Morison spat out a few pips from the orange, indicating he wouldn’t leave Heaven Port. He could guess that Doringger’s envoy would soon arrive, and with Liszt not on the island, it was a good time for someone to take over.

You should know, with Qi Liwenkui’s stake in the business and the investments from Taylor and another boss, even if 7,000 to 8,000 Golden Dragons were allocated out of the 20,000 budget for the fishery island project, there’s still just over 60,000 left. It’s a terrifying concept.

Apart from Liszt, he didn’t trust anyone; Fen, Ox, Wolman, they all harbored their own schemes, and Swan was no more than Fen’s mouthpiece, someone in Fen’s pocket. Claude had a family, seemed controlled by Liszt, but who knew if he’d choose to save his own skin at a critical moment? Only Mr. Archer was true blue.

If something happened to Liszt and the Golden Dragons in the cellar were lost, that’d truly be the sky falling in.

Morison was opposing Fen, who was acting as the overseer.

Caroso and several high-ranking members of the Holy Spirit Society standing by were all dumbstruck, keeping quiet but cursing inwardly; what a damn bunch of scattered ruffians. While others were drinking to good fortune, there were already signs of internal strife among them.

Fafna was no ordinary dragon; could these brigands truly be trusted?

Fen and Morison locked eyes, the former as calm as a still well, the latter with a smile that did not reach his eyes, facing off against each other.

At that moment, Mo Yutong ran frantically onto the rooftop.

"The envoy from Doringger... is dead."

She spoke anxiously, her face losing its color.

Those on the rooftop, looking out at the central square, all turned their heads, stunned.

They reached the first floor of the inn.

A body lay across the doorway, stabbed chaotically and left for dead, too quickly even for Old Wei to intervene. It was a horrific scene, and afterwards, it was discarded in the street like a dead dog.

"Before Liszt returns, to prevent any unpleasant incidents from occurring, we will kill all envoys from Doringger," Mad Tiger licked the blood off his dagger, his expression ruthless.

Standing beside him was Liszt’s closest confidant, Fish Seller Fei.

Both men owed their lives to Liszt.

And so,

Fen’s backup plan was strangled before it could take root.

He also changed his phrasing.

"There’s only one way forward now; if Doringger has made his move, then he has already acted. Inform Taylor and another person to immediately begin the battle for recovery; the Seventh Amendment members, Cangshan Tobacco Company, among other investors, are also on their way. Qi Liwenkui and the local pirates of Heaven Port have already cut off most of Doringger’s reinforcements. As long as we break the unknown mobile fortress’s blockade outside of Heaven Port... Doringger will have no chance of survival. First, we must try to avoid fighting on the island. What we need is to secure the route from the outside world to here and locate the elusive mobile fortress."

Fen issued his orders, yet he himself was uncertain, as his investigations so far hadn’t revealed the actual location of the mobile fortress but had only unearthed some bizarre rumors.

Some of the old sailors on the island mentioned encountering strange fogs at sea under cloudless ideal weather, covering only a few miles. They suspected it was some kind of auspicious marine creature.

He couldn’t help but speculate that the huge vessel had the ability to alter the weather and conceal itself, which was terrifyingly powerful.

In the end, all he could do was pray that Liszt was safe; without him, those rallied under Hened by Liszt’s name wouldn’t lift a finger; there would be no point.

Black Sail had only recently emerged, but Doringger had been the top dog, firmly seated, for more than a decade.

With just their forces, storming the fortress was impossible.

February 3rd, afternoon.

Inside the castle.

Horace and others who had made an appearance at the farewell ceremony had not departed. This was merely a ceremony legitimizing Doringger’s cause. Now, with this act, Doringger had become a local magnate of Heaven Port, funding the suppression of pirates, which naturally ushered him into the Governor’s role.

"The envoys we’ve sent... have been killed. Shall we move immediately?" Horace received the news and reported to Doringger, who was in conversation with Yisu Country’s Admiral of Sea Affairs.

"There’s no rush; it’s only the loss of some errand runners. No need to sacrifice our elite combatants in vain. Once Liszt dies, all these worms will scatter. Wait until February 5th; once the Sea God returns, we will make our move."

Doringger didn’t take those people seriously; it was only unexpected that Liszt would have such a background, his influence even overshadowing Doringger’s, calling on a huge assembly of friends. Nonetheless, it was of no consequence.

With the invincible Sea God anchoring at the docks, they could face enemies from afar, and with the pirates on lockdown on the island, news of Liszt’s death spread.

They were merely lambs corralled for slaughter.

Not just in sea battles.

Doringger’s sprawling estate was, in essence, a significant military fortress that the Emperor once used as a bridgehead for eastern expeditions, and his followers were numerous experts, some worth a thousand men.

A king.

How could he... be insulted by mere brigands?