Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
A certain large port in Ettoman.
Fierce flames were raging near the wharves. The wreckages of a few warships had been set on fire.
In the nearby sea, there were a dozen or so pirate ships, looking like wolves surrounding their prey.
“Go straight for it, and take all the treasures and women…”
Wang Zhi grinned. Under his command, the five special cannons on Five Mountain fired a terrifying blast.
Although his extraordinary ship was not as powerful as the legendary ships, it was still very powerful. After all, it was a pirate governor’s flagship, just like Monster.
A mere port was no match for the direct subordinates of a pirate governor.
He conquered the port and the port city in less than two hours. Excited cheers from the pirates echoed throughout the area.
“Great Governor…” An Eastern pirate’s eyes flashed. He asked in the Eastern tongue, “What should we do now?”
“Hehe…” Wang Zhi stroked his beard, his eyes gleaming with cunning. “There are still five to six ports assigned to us by the Pirate King. We’ll rob them one by one…”
“However… according to the Pirate King’s orders, we need to control the army by pretending to attack it…” said a man who appeared to be an adviser hesitantly. “I’m not speaking for the Pirate King. I’m saying this in consideration for you… If we don’t succeed, the Pirate King can just retreat, but then he would have a score to settle with us!”
“That’s true… I was almost too smart for my own good…” Wang Zhi broke out in a cold sweat. “We’ll first send a thousand men to first survey the port’s situation and its surroundings. Then we can kill some of the people in power… In that case, no one would be able to say that we Eastern pirates weren’t trying our best. At the very least, we’d have put in more effort than the other governors… That’s the least we must do!”
“Understood!”
A giant sea eagle began circling the skies above the port immediately after the pirate received the order and stepped back.
“Great Governor, word from the Pirate King!”
Although Fang Yuan had invented the shell phone, its range was limited to a few dozen nautical miles. Large-scale, long-distance communication was still a big problem. The problem could be overcome if they asked the Dream and Armament Master to pass messages for them, but that was obviously impossible.
Wang Zhi’s pirate group favored sea eagles for this purpose. These extraordinary creatures were shockingly fast. They also had some special qualities and were well-suited to act as messengers.
“What’s the situation?”
The sharp eyes of the sea eagle found its caretaker and landed on his leather shoulder guard.
Upon hearing the governor’s order, the caretaker swiftly untied the bamboo container on the eagle’s leg. His eyes widened in surprise. “It’s news from the Pirate King. The Pirate King’s main forces have already conquered the capital of Ettoman, Glass.”
“What? How is that possible?” Wang Zhi’s eyes widened. “I thought… that brat…”
“Great Governor, be careful with your words!” The adviser standing nearby approached him hurriedly and extended his fan. “Our previous plan of not using our full power is no longer feasible!”
“That’s right!” Wang Zhi sank into his seat, his face covered with shock.
The loss of a few ports was nothing critical to Ettoman, but it was an entirely different matter to have its capital conquered.
Perhaps this Pirate King Roche could accomplish this grand undertaking.
If he really succeeded, then he would have a huge country with a great geographical advantage. He could then control all the ocean trade of the Opher Continent. These profits could eclipse even the total profits of all the pirate governors combined and make them incredibly jealous.
Not to mention that Ettoman was extremely famous throughout the world. If someone were to become a noble with authority in Ettoman…
Wang Zhi immediately found himself breathing heavier. He drew his cutlass and swung down fiercely. “Damn it, let’s do this!”
“Governor’s orders, attack! Attack land!”
…
With the power of the Sun Crown and the alliance with Hermes, nothing could stand in the way of the pirates’ invasion of Ettoman.
In less than three months, the pirates had attacked and sealed all of the ports, cutting off all means of escape and communication with other countries for Ettoman.
Then, at the end of the year of World Calendar 669, with the fall of Ettoman’s last remaining city, Akmundo, all of Ettoman had fallen under the pirates’ control!
Duke Ham, who was serving as a diplomat, disappointedly found out that the fruits of his negotiation efforts with Cecil were for naught, for his country had fallen.
Cecil, embassy residence.
A thick layer of snow covered the grounds outside. There were even a few trees decorated festively. However, the atmosphere remained gloomy. None of the officers bothered to open the presents under the tree.
“Good day, gentlemen!” Donald entered the mansion, took off his cloak that was covered in snow, and casually shook the snow off his cloak.
Guided by his religion, he had long since brought his entire family to Cecil. He even advised some of the other officials with the same religion to do the same. He was currently smiling brightly without any worry.
“Who would have thought…” In the office on the second floor, Duke Ham raised a cup of red tea, clearly lost in thought. “The Queen and the prime minister sent me to discuss naval matters with Cecil, but before we could sign the treaty, those pirates… No! Those rebels attacked Ettoman. I’m in charge of the mission to discuss borrowing military forces, but our country fell just as the representatives from the furthest country arrived. The queen and prime minister are going to assemble a government in exile… That’s right. They don’t even dare to go to the colonies! However, my family, pride, lands, and mansion are all in Ettoman…”
“Pardon my blunt words, Your Excellency, but we still have a chance!” Donald’s voice was rich and filled with passion. “This is not a normal war. It is not a country that is conquering another, but pirates instead! A band of scum, trash! I believe that no country is willing to see something like this happen!
“In fact, we no longer even need to offer them incentives to help us. The envoys have already sent word back to their countries, and they want to form an alliance to suppress the pirates!”
“Yes, suppress. As long as we can regain Ettoman, any treaty, no matter how humiliating, is worth agreeing with!” Duke Ham’s face flushed red. “Regarding the navy, although the Pirate King has the most powerful extraordinary ships under his command, we have the joint power of all our countries. It should be an even match. After that is land warfare… have we found ways to deal with the Sun Guards? After all, you are… a pope!”
A long time had passed, enough for the countries to understand the details about the Sun Crown.
“I’ve prayed to the Lord and received his reply. These kinds of soldiers are physically strong, and each of them can handle ten elites. But they consume a great deal of energy from the Sun Crown. Extraordinaries can also get rid of them easily, given that they aren’t surrounded by the monster army beforehand… As for large-scale attacks, we need a lot of Extraordinaries on top of our biggest cannons! Perhaps even something more powerful…”
“The legendary Evil Gods?” Duke Ham mumbled to himself. However, he was not shocked by the suggestion.
He came from a long line of nobles and held a position of great power. As a result, he came to know some secrets and was less susceptible to being shocked than ordinary people.
“However, making a deal with Evil Gods usually ends up terrible. Furthermore…” Ham shook his head, his gaze becoming serious. “We suspect that an Evil God is supporting Pirate King Roche. It could even be the Dream and Armament Master! Men!”
“Hmm?” Donald’s pupils shrunk, and he backpedaled.
Bang! Bang!
In an instant, the surrounding wooden planks split apart. A few men in black robes appeared, wearing masks that looked like poker cards.
“Your Excellency, what is the meaning of this?”
Donald had retreated to a corner, and a membrane of water covered his body like an invisible layer of armor.
“You still want to argue?” Duke Ham said angrily. “I have witnesses and information to prove that the Pirate King… No! Arcane Trickster Roche had used the insignia of the Dream and Armament Master to fight! Don’t deny it!”
“I didn’t plan to. Since the duke is so sure about this, then it must be true!” Donald was unfazed. There was not even a hint of tremble in his voice. “However, I am nothing but a sheppard for my Lord. He might not even know about me… Regarding those supreme existences, we mortals don’t matter much. The Dream and Armament Master was originally a religion from the seas, so it’s very well possible that he’s bestowed powers to the pirates!”
“That’s true!”
Duke Ham nodded, and the black-robed men stopped their advance. However, they did not back down either.
“I’ve received some powers from the Lord. As for the Pirate King, the Arcane Trickster, perhaps something similar happened… ” Donald chose his words with great caution. “Perhaps we can use a ritual to ask the Lord about this.”
“All right, do it here!” Duke nodded dignifiedly.
Donald grew silent and grabbed the insignia of the Dream and Armament Master.
A bright, sacred light suddenly appeared from the insignia and continuously emanated waves outward.
Buzz buzz!
The light and heat made Donald realize that he was in an extremely dangerous situation.
Step! Step!
A man approached slowly from the end of the corridor.
His clothes were wet, and there was a strand of seaweed dangling from his shoulder. It was as though he had just come out from seawater.
His eyes were bloodshot.
“Deep Sea Wanderer, the nemesis of the Lord!”
In a split second, Donald received the crucial information, and his face filled with resolution. “The Lord has instructed me to… leave immediately!”
Rumble!
As soon as the words fell, he waved his hand swiftly.
A layer of moving water appeared under the carpet and enveloped the two black-robed men.
“Get him!” Duke Ham roared.
Donald headed for the windows as fast as he could and then looked back.
The Deep Sea Wanderer ripped off his robe and revealed his scales. Then he lunged at Donald.
“Duke Ham, you have allied with alien species and attempted to damage the country. I will make sure that everyone knows about this!”
Donald jumped out of the window after he finished speaking and disappeared in the snow.
