“Alright, stop bragging. Tell us, where are the buyers here? We need to move our merchandise,” Aniya said. She believed this guy was a pirate, as this city was full of them, and many old pirates who could no longer fight came here to live in seclusion.
Judging by his strength, he was at most a captain of a small pirate ship. To claim to be a great pirate was pure boasting; he lacked the ability.
“Moving merchandise” was another term for selling stolen goods. When the pirate managing the dock heard the woman use pirate slang as soon as she spoke, he knew she wasn’t a newbie. He asked, “What kind of goods do you want to sell? What kind of merchants do you need?”
“Someone with a tight lip, discreet, and preferably capable of transporting goods to the outer sea. We don’t mind the price. We’re selling, anything and everything,” another pirate first mate said. These were the priority conditions we set from the start.
The pirate was immediately surprised and then felt a chill down his spine. Requiring a tight lip and discretion was a common request among most pirates, as no one wants their plundered ships or bad deeds to be made public.
Furthermore, the Pirate City was a melting pot of people, with spies from various countries lurking here, and countless pieces of intelligence circulated. If one wasn’t careful, their actions could quickly become known to everyone, which was why caution was necessary.
This requirement was normal. The next one, however, was strange: the demand to transport goods to the outer sea. The Baltic Sea was an almost completely enclosed inland sea. To reach the open ocean, one could only pass through the three straits controlled by Denmark.
Although there were other unconventional methods, since they had arrived at this Misty Island, their purpose was naturally to ask if the buyers could transport the stolen goods out of the Baltic Sea region. This implied that the buyers needed some official background or a legitimate front.
The subsequent request, not to mention the price, was even more unusual. Most pirates lived quite frugally, and their stolen goods were often sold at a discount. Even so, they claimed not to care about the price, indicating they truly didn’t.
Finally, selling “anything and everything.” Considering all the requirements, the pirate quickly formed a conclusion: they had indeed pulled off a major heist and were eager to unload the stolen goods without attracting attention.
Just as he was thinking this, a tall woman in a black robe, with a noticeable bulge on her back, spoke coldly from among their crew: “Stop overthinking. Unless you don’t want to live.”
Her words seemed to echo from the Underworld, filled with icy coldness. The pirates couldn’t even meet her gaze, feeling as though a single glance would send them plummeting into an ice cave, their bodies trembling.
“Yes! Yes, I won’t say anything I shouldn’t. No! I don’t know anything!” the pirate immediately replied. He had been a dock manager for so long that he knew many things, like never to be suspicious of other pirates’ secrets.
The pirates here were all desperadoes who would fight at the slightest provocation. They had no sense of honor or bottom line; they would resort to poisoning and assassination by any means necessary to eliminate someone. Many of their colleagues had already mysteriously disappeared.
“The pawnshop in Fish Alley, the owner of the Sunken Ship Bar, and the admiral of the Swordfish Pirate Group are quite reliable and should have some means and background,” the pirate added hurriedly. Failing to satisfy the client was also a common cause of death.
“Very well. Remember to keep everything about us a secret,” I said, flicking a silver coin as I spoke, a combination of soft and hard tactics to achieve the best results.
The pirate eagerly caught the silver coin and said obsequiously, “Yes! Of course, I understand. Thank you, boss. Do you need any other services? I can contact people to resupply cannonballs, repair ships, and replenish fresh water. I guarantee it’s all very cheap.”
“We need fresh water and vegetables, fruits, and beans. Fill up all seven ships. You discuss with the quartermaster. We don’t need anything else for now,” Admiral Deng said. He was well-versed in the supplies needed for sailing and the current condition of the ships.
“Alright,” the pirate said excitedly and went to contact the supply merchants. Seven ships – that was a huge business, and he could get a good amount in kickbacks alone.
After the pirate walked away, I said, “Luckily, resupplying food and water here won’t raise suspicion. We must fill up this time. We’re preparing to negotiate business.”
“Hey! Boss, can we go ashore? The lads on the ship want to go ashore and have some fun. Staying on the ship continuously can drive people insane,” the Viking Captain shouted.
I took a look. It seemed the other captains had the same attitude. After some thought, I said, “Yes, as long as you keep your mouth shut. Also, at least half of the crew must stay on board to guard the prisoners, and a captain must be in charge. Absolutely no one should escape.”
I wasn’t worried about the Undead Sailors at all; they were under my control and could only follow my commands. With just a magical restriction added, they wouldn’t reveal our secrets even if they were drunk.
The people who were always a concern were humans. Most of the Qing people were fine; they couldn’t understand the language and knew the importance of this matter, so they probably wouldn’t say much.
I was more worried about the minority of Glutton believers. Although half of them had left, many still worked under me. Lester, who managed them, was left at the secret harbor to maintain and shelter those who came to meet us.
These Glutton believers were accustomed to a life of freedom and self-indulgence. They loved to eat and drink, and lacked honor or a sense of responsibility, making them the most likely to reveal things when drunk or bragging.
However, I couldn’t keep them confined to the ship. These Glutton believers would surely cause trouble. Moreover, their enormous appetites would deplete the ship’s supplies. Only by letting them go ashore with their own allowances to eat could they be slightly restrained.
After settling matters on the ship, we walked onto land along a long bridge spanning the bay. Many felt a bit dizzy upon setting foot on land after being accustomed to the sea, feeling as if it were still rocking.
I felt nothing because as an Ethereal Walker, I was always floating. I didn’t touch the ground and couldn’t feel the change from being on the ship to being on land.
Misty Island, a renowned pirate port, gave me my first impression of being dirty, chaotic, and noisy. Shouts and roars created a cacophony of sound, mingled with the stench of vomit and urine. Most of the houses I saw were simple wooden and iron sheet structures, dilapidated and worn-out.
It felt like a dream back to the slums of Cando City, even evoking childhood memories. However, the scale here was much larger, with an endless expanse of rundown houses, ragged crowds, and streets flowing with sewage, making the entire large city look like a slum.
Pirates were a rough sort, generally living in poverty. expecting them to build a magnificent and clean city was unrealistic.
