Chapter 410: Chapter 56 Stephen’s Day
The gentle sea wind blew over port Mordor, and the sound of waves beating against the rocks came from afar.
There were people coming and going from the port. A merchant ship loaded with goods was parked near the port. Occasionally, a group of armed and expressionless guards passed by. When the merchants saw them, they couldn’t help but get out of the way in awe. Occasionally, there were legendary Drows here, but they did not seem as evil as the story said they were; they just seemed a little cold and indifferent. These Drows were very strict about law enforcement, and the means used to bribe other guards did not seem to have much effect on them.
Stephen Hogg came down from the deck. After getting on land, he touched his money pouch and walked toward the pub.
This was a pub run by a priest from the Sea temple.
On the other side of the pier was the more luxurious Golden Crown Tavern, the best place to spend money in Mordor for the most expensive wine and the most beautiful maidens. But Stephen was just an ordinary pirate. He couldn’t afford to go to that kind of place for consumption; he could only occasionally drink some rum in the pub. He was also a family man, so he needed to be careful, so after thinking about it, he decided to go straight to Mordor city.
“Forget it.”
Stephen lowered his head and murmured, refusing the invite from his friends. As he went back to his residence, he thought to himself, “I think it’s about time I spent the money; I roughly have 300 gold Deralhs now. That’s enough to buy land in the city.”
“The mainland seems to be getting more and more dangerous; I better get my family over as well.”
While thinking this, a smile appeared on Stephen’s face.
He was not young.
In fact, he was already 35 years old. He was quite old among pirates. As a human, when Stephen was around 30 years old, he felt that his physical strength and energy drop. Although he had the power of a grade 2 pirate and rich combat experience, age was unforgiving; even for advanced professions, this was also true. Last time, Stephen was stabbed in the abdomen in the battle with Ashrod, the pirate king. At that time, he lost a lot of blood. Although he had recovered now, he was still not at his best.
Stephen had been wandering on the sea for a long time.
He had been tired of so many years of killing, so he planned to apply to become a city guard after finishing the task- switching to a more stable job.
In Stephen’s pirate career, he had followed a lot of pirate leaders, but there had never been anyone like Lord Soran, who made him feel like there was hope in the future.
Orderly.
Everything in port Mordor was in order because there were strict rules. Although the law had not been completely established, the rules set by Lord Soran had been strictly implemented. Anyone who challenged the rules would be mercilessly crushed. Stephen had never seen a pirate leader like Lord Soran in so many years, managing the unruly pirates. Although some of the processes were bloody and cruel, that was just a small problem.
When they got used to Soran’s rules, they would find that life was not that bad.
He no longer needed to worry about getting drunk, being robbed, and thrown in some stinking ditch. Nor worry about his hard-earned wealth falling into other people’s hands.
Working hard meant getting rewards.
Any work in Mordor allowed self-sufficiency. Even the most humble slaves could get freedom from hard work and live a good life in Mordor.
Why would Stephen think that he would not have a better future than those slaves who were free?
“I almost have the money now.”
There was a paved road leading to Mordor city from the port. The neat road was repaired every other period of time. Stephen had no education, so calculation, which was a bit complicated, was a bit troublesome for him. Although he had been spending money on learning recently, it was a pity that Stephen found it hard to learn since he was old. He could now only calculate with his fingers as he walked along the road, “With my past achievements, I should be able to buy a piece of land south of Mordor city at the most favorable price.”
“I could probably get 15 Mu of land?” (Note: Mu is a similar unit to an acre; one Mu is roughly 6 acres.)
“These lands had been reclaimed by slaves. Looking at the growth of the land, we should have a good harvest this year. After buying the land, I will spend some money to buy two slaves from Shipwreck Bay to cultivate it, and even if I am old, I will have a good life in the future. ”
“After I get the title deed, I bring my family over. Then, I’ll spend some money to hire a priest to hold a wedding. Hehe!”
Stephen’s face showed an honest smile. It made his left face, which had some scars seem less scary.
He had someone he liked.
She used to be a wanderer in Shipwreck Bay. Her husband used to be a sailor but died in a shipwreck. After her husband died, she was struggling to raise her two children by herself. In the end, she made a decision to make money by prostitution. Then she met Stephen, a fierce-looking pirate who treated her very gently.
After Stephen helped her get rid of a drunk harassing her, they got on good terms.
She was a gentle woman.
She wasn’t very beautiful and was soft-spoken. She was 26, and her waist was a little thick. Her skin was white and was gentle, good at housework, and was good at cleaning. As for her previous prostitution, Stephen didn’t care so much. He respected a woman who could make money to raise her children.
He was only a pirate.
He wasn’t a stone-cold killer, but there were definitely a lot of people who died under him.
Some deserved to be killed; some were innocent.
Occasionally he would go to the temple to confess his sins and once cried like a child in her arms.
Perhaps he was getting soft.
This time, when he went to Shipwreck Bay to escort the goods, Stephen encountered a young thief. In the past, he would have chopped off the hand of the kid. But this time, when he saw the child’s face was yellow and thin, he could not help but think of the two children she had. He not only let the thief go but also gave him some silver Deralh.
Stephen was tired now.
He was not young now. After a few more years he would be 40.
After a man was 40 years old, he could only rely on rich experience to fight. He now wanted a more stable life.
A woman.
Some active children.
A stable job and a house.
After so many years of wandering on the sea, he had been honed into a real man. He could fight bravely without fear of death, but that didn’t mean that he would want to live an uncertain life all the time.
He was a little different from other pirates. Maybe when other people got to his age, they would become eager for all this.
In front was the gate of Mordor city.
Stephen couldn’t help but speed up his pace and rush to his own residence. He had his own house, although it was only a small brick house, it was something he got after battling so much. But most of the time, he still stayed in his small residence, because the house was empty. It was also not as convenient as the residence.
“I should also get some furniture later on.”
Stephen was thinking so much in his heart. He showed a smile after thinking of something, then he said, “Hehe, there are three rooms, maybe I should buy a bigger bed.”
Just then, there was some noise coming from outside Mordor city.
Then saw a large Quetzalcoatlus climbing out. It was much bigger than a cow. It had a rope around its neck and seemed to be led by someone. Quetzalcoatlus swaggered forward without looking around at the guards. When it got out of the gate, it could not wait to flap its wings and fly up.
“Alright! Alright!”
“Stop it, Blacky! I’ll let you out and play now!”
A childlike voice came from behind. Although the child could not be seen, Stephen quickly bowed down and knelt down on one knee and said, “Young Madam!”
She was the treasure of Mordor.
Basically, she was a princess of Mordor. Everyone knew Soran loved her very much.
“Huh!”
The Quetzalcoatlus flew to the sky.
Then Vivian, who was standing at the gate of the city in a black princess dress, appeared in front of Stephen’s eyes. The little girl didn’t notice Stephen kneeling on one knee at all. After releasing the rope of the Quetzalcoatlus, she patted her hands gently and said in a crisp voice: “Come! Lulu! Today I’ll take you to catch fish! ”
The petite and exquisite cat girl happily nodded and said, “Meow!… Catch fish!… Lulu wants to eat grilled fish! ”
Under the sun, Vivian led the little cat girl to the seaside, and Stephen quickly got up and headed to his residence.
He still had something to do.
After countless battles.
Countless slaughters.
After so much blood, slaughter and death; countless merciless battles, Mordor finally stood upon this island.
Soran not only changed Vivian’s destiny.
This vibrant city had changed the fate of many people.
Vivian finally had a peaceful place to grow up; finally having the luxury to live the life she should be living.
Happily.
Without worry.
Living just like a child.
As for Soran,
He needed to continue the slaughter.
