Black Sail
Chapter 39: XXXIX. Outlaw

Chapter 39: XXXIX. Outlaw

A week later.

The secret port was utterly desolate.

All the smugglers’ ships, pirate ships, had taken to the sea.

Only the SS Fuma Keqing Revenge and a few semi-scrapped empty ships were left behind so as not to attract attention.

The sinister Sea Erosion Cliff Giant Cave, with its rolling black waves glimmering on the water, reflected the cold, artificially carved traces on the walls.

This port, which was privately established and not documented, had now become a wild harbor, an unmanaged mooring place; the Earl had completely withdrawn from this affair.

According to the East Coast Maritime Department, this ship was now bearing the dual crimes of illegal entry and illegal mooring, and the navy had the right to kill first and ask questions later.

The damp and cold of the East Coast monsoon penetrated to the bone.

The deck of the Black Sail was crowded with fugitives from all over the world, noisy and vulgar in conversation, with perverse and cold-blooded faces—now that they had torn open a breach, they might as well take in the previously organized gangs.

It was very quick to find people through the information peddlers; they had already met the expected number, one hundred and sixty people, plus Claude, there were more than one hundred and eighty in total.

On the deck, individuals of various races were equipped with scimitars and axes, leather armor, sound fire—Yisu people from the Southern Continent, Half-Beasts who had fled the Northern Realm, Tiger-men and Leopard Men from the Aisnor Province under the Empire—who made up almost a small half.

As well as the remnants of pirate gangs that had already been raided by the navy.

Second Officer Ox, sailor Rein, and Quartermaster Wolman, even amidst such a crowd, were particularly notable.

Tied to the mast with hemp rope were three hooded individuals in Leather Armor, all scouts from the Thief Guild, who had discovered the connection between the Black Sail’s First Officer and the traitor Swan.

Fen had once dealt with the Thief Guild during his tenure at the Magic Energy Industrial Committee, assassinating other committee members, and the responsible thief was naturally Swan.

Swan fled to the East Shore and had now eliminated all other related parties; he had no one left to turn to but Fen.

Four thieves sneaked onto the ship last night and triggered the spell power silk lines Fen had set up, caught red-handed.

One thief was extremely skilled and managed to escape; the Black Sail was now completely targeted by the Thief Guild, doomed to a fight to the death.

"Our companion has already returned to report back; Diaz won’t let you off, hand over Swan and the goods, and you may conceal this matter; once you cross the Thief Guild, there’s nowhere to hide."

The leading thief spoke coldly, confident of victory, though tied with hemp rope—on this stretch of the Western Continent, no one dares to defy Diaz. The saying went: in Aran Border, by day, the Guan Emperor rules; by night, it is Diaz.

Liszt and his companions fell into silence for a moment, ephemeral.

Rein, Wolman, and the others couldn’t contain themselves and burst into derisive laughter, their wide-open maws terrifying to behold.

"You haven’t spent much time on the East Shore, have you? Look at my crew; does anyone here fear you? You’ve made us all laugh."

Liszt grabbed the thief’s hair and whispered coldly beside his ear, "Pitiful small fry; you don’t even know what Swan truly stole."

Liszt released the thief’s hair.

"Once you’re on the pirate ship, you’re a pirate, a pirate of the Black Sail; whoever gets killed or tied up or blocked on the road loses my face. How would I survive in these waters then?"

Liszt extinguished his cigarette end.

An Ivy League exchange student, from the Applied Optics Department; but his career path: pirate captain.

Bang!

Liszt gripped the Frost Rhododendron Blood-crying and stabbed it directly into the skull, splattering a few drops of blood on his face, unblinking as he stared into the thief’s eyes until the gaze slowly lost focus and turned completely dim.

The other two bound thieves became unsettled.

Swan was a decisive man; with two swift slashes to the throat, the thieves couldn’t even shout before blood froth bubbled from their severed tracheas.

"You lot, toss them overboard, let the fish here have a taste of their insides."

Liszt called over a few pirate sailors, and they quickly untied the ropes, efficiently dumping the bodies into the sea.

"You, come here."

Liszt gestured, signaling the tattooed brute to take out all the Wood Elf Fruit Wine and high-grade tobacco from the storeroom—every gift sent by the Earl—and distribute them to the brothers, leaving nothing behind.

The tattooed brute did not disappoint; all supplies were now ready on the ship, down to the last detail as listed, with everyone pulled in seasoned seafarers, leftover from pirate gangs; managing the sails, coordinating the sailors, none of it a problem, ready to sail at any moment.

These high-quality luxuries were originally meant to be enjoyed the day before battle, but they couldn’t wait any longer.

It hadn’t even been the tenth day.

Now, a problem had arisen—the Earl’s thousand Golden Dragons had all been delivered, with the amount for the remaining three days included.

It was indeed a major task.

It turned out to be far more thorny and complicated than Liszt’s worst predictions.

There were men responsible for buying newspapers in the city every day and gathering information. Yesterday, a group of Constitutional Soldiers from Aran arrived. These Constitutional Soldiers, being the military that managed other military personnel, came to Londen City’s great port bearing an edict from the highest commander of the Aran Constitutional Guard.

The current state of Beima Duchy was that of an Affiliated Country of the Aran Empire, equivalent to a Vassal State—although the treaty didn’t allow Aran to station troops here, there was no control over the Constitutional Soldiers. Officially, they were a special organization to maintain the Empire’s authority and did not belong to the formal military.

The entire great port was subjected to a comprehensive search, and even a total embargo for a week was imposed, forbidding all ships from setting sail.

The Admiral of Londen City hadn’t reached his position simply through connections. With the noble factions within the country all preparing to declare their interests and objections, a complete embargo was utterly ludicrous.

With thousands of ships coming and going from the official port of Londen City and the terrifying trade tax revenue that kept the lifeblood of the Duchy flowing, how could a stoppage for a week be tolerated? Without seeking instructions from the East Coast Governor, one knew that if the traffic were to halt, one’s own head would roll, so the proposition was squarely refused without a second thought.

The two parties were still in the midst of a quarrel.

Liszt understood that an embargo was out of the question, but a comprehensive carpet search was inevitable. The person they were to receive hadn’t arrived yet, but Aran’s hand had already reached out, far more severely than the Earl had mentioned without any flaws—worsened by tens of thousands of times.

Even though those Constitutional Soldiers were from Aran, unfamiliar with the local area, with a little money and some probing questions, nearby secret ports could be found. It was only a matter of time before Black Sail was discovered.

But for now, there was no issue—as long as their target "off-the-books residents" were not on board and had no ties to Black Sail, the Aran people wouldn’t dare overstep their boundaries. Killing pirates on someone else’s territory, which were set to be eradicated by others, was an unnecessary action for those who were bored.

As long as Caruso Golia hadn’t arrived, Black Sail would be safe.

Inside the navigation room.

All eleven core members were gathered, the atmosphere was extremely grave.

Liszt had already devised a strategy.

"Receiving the person is easy, but getting them out to sea is difficult. The hardest part is, the road from the secret port to Lavender Town must be completely unobstructed. Aran Military Officials have already started patrolling around Londen City, and there’s a very high likelihood that they’ll resort to killing. We must ensure that we annihilate all pursuers on this route.

Wolman, Mika, Haywood, you three will stay on board. If any outsider dares to come to the secret port, kill first, ask questions later."

Liszt made such a judgment.

"You call the shots."

Wolman knew his bulky appearance was not suitable for reception duties; he was too conspicuous.

Mika and Haywood nodded in agreement as well. Mika’s combat strength was not as high as the others; his skills lay elsewhere, whereas Haywood was by all means a typical utility man.

"Rein, you’re faster than a horse when you run. Along with Archer and ten others, stay on the outskirts of Londen City. It’s a journey of over an hour from Londen City to the secret port. Report any signs of disturbance at any time. On the day we receive the person, cut down the small fry immediately, but if it’s a big fish, stall for as long as possible."

Liszt gave such an order.

"The big task is a go!"

Rein was about to say something, but Liszt hurriedly stopped him.

"Ox and Morison are the main force; take all the sailors you can kill to ensure the road is clear. Fen has secret techniques, able to transform into a Spiritual Body, offering support on three fronts. I’ll take the most agile Swan and Shadi with me to Lavender Town to receive the person. We can’t wait until the agreed day anymore; we must go now as the plan can’t keep up with changes."

Liszt finished saying.

Everyone agreed.

The arrangements were set. As for the members of the Thief Guild, although they could cause endless trouble, they were setting sail in a few days, and their reach wouldn’t extend to Heaven Port, the well-known Pirate Nest of the world. Matters of the future would be dealt with in the future.

Inside the Captain’s quarters.

Prior to setting out, Liszt still had things to do.

He lit two candles. One thousand two hundred Golden Dragons were not enough; ten core members each had their ambitious, who would want to mix around at the East Coast Heavenly Port? It had been many years, and it was time for a transformation. If he didn’t take this job, he wouldn’t be able to convince the rest, and he had to take this job regardless.

"Second Brother, although I am in a different world, I don’t know if you can bless me from here, and I won’t bother with empty words. If I survive and prosper, finding all those... classmates, let’s say, and return to Earth, our old home, I will definitely offer huge incense sticks at the Guan Emperor Temple."

Two candles, three sticks of incense.

But there were no such things as incense sticks in the East.

Liszt lit three cigarettes sent by the Earl instead, letting Emperor Guan taste the foreign goods from the Cangwu Mountain range.

With everything ready, it was time to depart.

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