Black Sail
Chapter 329: CCCXXIX. Spring Rain

Chapter 329: CCCXXIX. Spring Rain

February 5th.

Black Sail was in utter chaos.

Although Doringger hadn’t made a move against them in the past couple of days, the situation was dire.

A fast ship they had sent out found the SS Fuma Keqing Revenge five hundred nautical miles away, its rigging completely damaged, and its hull wrecked by one-fourth. Currents had nearly swept it off course, lost contact entirely; there were many driftwoods and fragments of other ships nearby.

Liszt...was most likely dead already.

February 8th.

The news spread back to the inn.

It reeked...of defeat.

"Clearly, you’ve failed to fulfill your duty to watch over Fafna; we will take her back to the Holy Spirit Church."

Although Fen had done everything in his power to keep it under wraps, especially from Taylor and another fence leader knowing.

Still, the high-ranking members of Black Sail, including those from the Holy Spirit Church, had all become privy to the news.

"Whoever dares to leave, I’ll kill them! This isn’t over yet!"

Fen lost his temper for the first time, appearing borderline insane, determined to keep Fafna by any means.

"I won’t believe Liszt is dead until I see his body."

The Mad Tiger duo knew how tough Liszt was; he wouldn’t be taken down that easily.

Mo Yutong, being a woman, had no say among a crowd of crazed desperados, and Dreya had been gone for a month now. The current situation... was truly desperate.

"Off to Hell then."

Morison had long realized that all the good things he had enjoyed over the past half a year, all the blessings, wouldn’t wait until the end of April; by the end of February, they’d all be minced meat by Doringger’s hand.

Claude set out to sea with his family to look for Liszt. To prevent Claude from deserting, Fen had specially appointed Swan to watch him on the ship. They also assembled many small, scattered Mixed Brand Pirate Groups who were still searching for traces of Liszt, checking if he was hiding on some other island in the East Sea Domain.

At the same time.

Inside the castle.

It wasn’t just internal chaos within Black Sail.

Doringger Castle was also filled with a chilling mania, a palpable unease.

Because...

The Sea God should have already returned to port, to suppress the enemies from all sides, but he had not!

February 10th.

Dark clouds loomed heavily.

A week had passed since the encounter.

Both factions were searching for their respective targets, neither daring to step out of line, both believing they showed signs of defeat—a pirate-style Cold War.

Fen feared Liszt’s death would lead to Black Sail’s collapse, so all operations aimed at avoiding conflict and stabilizing internally.

Doringger shared the sentiment. In their view, they had failed to intercept and the Sea God was nowhere to be found, possibly controlled by Liszt; they too held caution for Liszt’s influence, some of his friends hadn’t arrived yet, but with no Sea God to block them, some had already made it to the island.

Over a thousand Sub-dragon people had arrived on the island, said to be renegades from the Southern Wetlands, a volatile bunch, all of them rebels bent on restoration.

Even the fortitude of the Eastern Sea Lord was being tested at this point. The Sea God had a magic-powered device that could create smoke screens, casting an ethereal fog while sailing to hide its presence.

In the high latitude and perpetually misty sea region north of Heaven Port, it could sail virtually invisible.

Yet there was no need for such tactics in Heaven Port, where the climate was distinct with its seasons, and in the clear blue skies of spring, those in the know could still spot the Sea God.

But after dispatching a large number of ships that searched for five days, without any news, it was as if the Sea God had sunk without a trace.

Horace and Mo’er couldn’t understand; sea monsters, the Sea God, Kolon Hanno, coupled with a top-tier god, simply should not have failed. Even the Royal Family of a medium-sized sovereign state engaging them in maritime conflict should have been left lamenting.

Inside the castle.

On the open-air balcony of the Main Tower.

Doringger stood there, overlooking the East Sea, his eyes growing increasingly somber.

If he didn’t act soon, it would be too late.

By the time Liszt and his vile cohorts arrived, the leading figure among the underground world’s big brothers, whose reputation was immense, would see his own power, cultivated over the years, destroyed in an instant.

"Order all personnel on the military reserves islands to move out. Block all external assistance to the Black Sail, reclaim the fishing grounds, and get those scum from the poison pin supply chain to help. By the end of the month, I want an accurate response from these people about whether the interception was successful."

Doringger gave his orders to Horace.

Horace’s face beneath his Heavy Armor helmet had turned dumbfounded. Doringger... was shaken. In his view, was this also a battle for survival?

It seemed Doringger noticed Horace’s thoughts.

"Do you find it unworthy? Once, you were an attendant to the old King of Beima, east of the Giant Wall, over vast territories. He died a righteous death, a hero in sorrowful song, truly a ruler. And I’m just... a bandit from a corner of the East Sea."

Finally.

Doringger’s facade of the loyal elder was slowly peeled away, the sharpness between his eyes returned as if it were over a decade ago in the tumultuous East Sea.

He seemed to once again become the notorious ringleader of pirates, known across the Four Seas, extreme in violence, who could tear apart sea monsters with bare hands, and dominate the East Sea by crushing all his rivals.

A tense and deadly atmosphere pervaded the earth and sky.

With the sound of the wind,

spring rain started to fall.

Such was the might of a quake.

Horace did not reply. The rain fell with a patter on his armor.

"Saleret, you’re an outsider looking in. Do I qualify as the Eastern Sea Lord?"

Doringger gazed over Heaven Port, not actually needing anyone’s answer, for he had his own certainties.

"It depends on the aspect. At the very least, it’s been stable for over a decade, but as for reputation..."

Ghost Eye Mad Blade Saleret always wore an iron mask, and what he had been through with Ben was also kept hidden.

"Is that so... Your words are sufficient," Doringger had no interest in what aspect, "Heroes are judged by success or failure, not by reputation."

Doringger was only concerned about the foundation he had built and the peerless treasures hidden within the Main Tower.

The so-called East Sea.

No matter how many times it was thrown into chaos,

he was always able to suppress it.

February 15th.

Twelve days had passed since the interception battle.

North of Heaven Port, about a thousand nautical miles away.

The Sea God Ship’s sides were connected with alchemy boilers powering the Magic Energy-driven nozzles, emitting a continuous mist, making it completely concealed within this gloomy maritime domain.

This terrifying ship, typically manned by thousands to operate, was equipped with sails and rigging that utilized the highest wisdom from Pedan’s Magic Energy Industry, automated raising and lowering, and its other devices were quite modern, also semi-automated. Even so, it still required thousands to be stationed at their posts at all times.

However, the ship’s underlying logic had not escaped the limitations of the times. Many of its structures were built simply by piling up money and resources.

Even without utilizing the Magic Ship Cannons, just normal sailing would consume thousands of Blue Crystals a day.

Blue Crystals are much inferior to Purple Crystals, but for an average family, they represent a tremendous burden. A standard sailor of the Beima Duchy’s navy would have to work for most of a year to earn such a stone, valued between forty and sixty silver coins.

Even with the assistance of hundreds of sails, the ship’s consumption was astronomical.

Fortunately, the huge cargo hold was stocked with a terrifying quantity of Blue Crystals sufficient for over half a year’s use.

On deck.

Fortunately, all devices had excellent noise reduction functions—you could hardly hear any mechanical operations.

Rein had thought to come up to enjoy the scenery, only to find nothing but white mist all around. He looked at where his hand had been severed, his entire forearm had been chopped off, and the stump was wrapped in bandages. He smoked a cigarette with his remaining hand.

Regrettably, this era did not provide suitable medical treatments for such injuries.

"It’s just a hand; I’ll find you a new one another day."

Shadi came up to get some fresh air too.

"Fuck, I was better at jerking off with my left hand."

Rein was somewhat depressed.

"Is this really about whether you can jerk off or not?" Shadi was taken aback. "Celeste said she knows someone with the skills to fix you up with something fancier. An historian working under Celeste had both hands severed and now has Mechanical Arms. Do you understand Magic Energy Industry?"

"Iron? Isn’t that going to be uncomfortable?" Rein was at a loss for words. "How’s Liszt doing?"

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