Chapter 67

As everyone stared at me in horror, I felt displeased.

Then what did they think we had been doing until now?

The Black Company had been funding itself by hunting the pirates of the Golden Sea.

But the lifespan of that business model was slowly coming to an end.

Therefore, it was worth considering a slight change in the direction of the business.

Coolly speaking, there was no essential difference between pirates and the merchant ships of other countries.

“Kruk, he always says something to me, but that guy has the most pirate-like personality.”

Ishmael, who was a former pirate, sent a jeer.

“It's not a bad idea, but I think it's hopeless. If we start that, we'll have to fight the Levonan fleet, and we don't have a chance of winning with our fleet yet.”

Eleonor, who had a sense of reality, showed a pessimistic reaction.

The reactions of the other people were also the same.

I scratched my cheek, embarrassed for having brought it up.

“That's a valid point. It's not easy for us to do piracy. And it's hard to handle the aftermath. It's just a possibility.”

In fact, it was also a rather difficult path.

The mercenary fleet had never been fully completed.

It wasn't that Fasa didn't give enough budget, but it was because we had hunted Tospol faster than expected.

Thanks to that, warships were still being built in the dry dock, and the construction of the Crescent Island fortress was not yet complete.

The plan to take control of the Golden Sea was still far off.

“And dealing with Admiral Gian is……”

“It won't be easy.”

“Ugh. It's a crazy thing to do. I've never seen a person who smashes a ship with a hammer before.”

In fact, that ruthless brute force was at a level that no one could handle.

Still, there was one person who could possibly face him.

As I looked at Theo with shining eyes, Theo had a look of ‘no way’.

“You're not going to tell me to fight, are you?”

“Why can't you?”

“Captain, can you win?”

“Of course not.”

“?”

Theo glared at me, but I had something to say too.

Then what do you expect from someone with a mere 5 in martial power?

“Just think of this as a last resort. If we start piracy, the navies of other countries won't stand by.”

The reason the nations of Apennia couldn't subjugate the pirates was because they didn't know their location, not because of the cost.

Of course, it was also because there were as many pirates in the Golden Sea as there were cockroaches.

On the other hand, Fasa was a well-known place.

If the Black Company started piracy, the neighboring countries would form a coalition army as if to subjugate Dong Zhuo and burn Fasa down.

“Kruk, then what's the second one?”

“We have to send people to find out where the pirates went. Those guys wouldn't have just disappeared into the ground with some trick, would they?”

I called the expert on this kind of thing.

“Selvi.”

“Yes, Captain.”

The vampire, who had his face buried in the desk, lifted his head as if he had never been dozing.

He was always in that state these days, no matter what he was doing.

“How much of the information network has been established so far?”

“A considerable surveillance network has been established in Fasa, and it is gradually being formed in other countries of Apennia as well.”

“It's already like that?”

I knew he was competent, but the progress was much faster than I thought.

Anyway, it was a good thing.

“Then contact the information network and have them investigate any new ships or people who have recently appeared in cities or towns. There must be pirates mixed among them.”

“You think those guys are hiding in the city? Is that possible?”

“Well, we don't really know the faces of the pirate captains, do we? The same goes for their subordinates. If they sneak in pretending to be outsiders or merchants, who would know?”

“Well, that's true. I'll look into it immediately.”

Even in , there were random encounter events where bandits who had infiltrated a city caused trouble.

Considering that, there was a slight possibility that the pirates had hidden in the city.

If not, the only other possibility was that the pirates had all used a warp drive and migrated to another parallel dimension universe.

That's how nonsensical it was for the pirates to disappear from the Golden Sea.

“Then today's meeting is over!”

***

A small city a little south of the Republic of Fasa.

Avellino.

The small city was bustling with the visit of an unexpected merchant fleet.

The merchant fleet had entered the port flying the flag of distant Illyria, and they were all wealthy and had a good spending habit, so they were welcomed by the citizens.

But in fact, their identity was not merchants, but the pirates led by the notorious pirate Yoken.

Yoken was sitting in a tavern in Avellino, sipping beer.

‘Boring.’

There was no telling when the combined fleet that had shattered Tospol would come after them.

If he had his way, he wanted to leave for the Black Sea quickly.

But the reality was that he was stuck waiting until the ocean current changed.

The Golden Sea never smiled upon those who went against the flow.

If he made a mistake, he could be hit by a headwind and be swept away to Sierra or even sink.

It was better to stay put than to force a voyage and have the fleet sink.

Yoken thought so and was just killing time.

‘I can just plunder Avellino before leaving. Let's endure until then.’

Avellino was not that tempting of a target, but if he plundered it once, he would be able to endure the itching of his hands for a while.

In Yoken's eyes, someone was seen entering the tavern.

Yoken's eyes widened.

‘A vampire? What's he doing in this southern land?’

Vampires were a rare race to see in Apennia.

Those gloomy races preferred the dark northern lands where the sun never shone all year round, not the bright and clear southern lands.

So much so that there was even a joke that vampires melt under the sun.

But the guy who had appeared now was quite splendid, like a rooster on a festival day.

‘I stared too much.’

As his eyes met the vampire's, Yoken quickly turned his head.

No matter how rare vampires were in Apennia, it was not an important issue right now.

Nothing good would come from getting into a fight for no reason.

However, in the end, the vampire betrayed Yoken's expectations and approached.

“Let me have a word with you.”

“What? Get lost.”

He deliberately responded roughly, but the vampire looked at Yoken nonchalantly without batting an eye.

The feeling was not good.

Yoken felt an unknown pressure and pulled his body back.

Suddenly, the vampire spoke.

“It's you.”

“What's me? Are you crazy?”

“You're the person I was looking for.”

Yoken, as his ominous feeling came true, stealthily brought his hand to his waist.

A hand axe was caught.

There weren't many people who would come looking for him here.

If they did, it couldn't be for a good reason.

“Who are you? Who sent you?”

As the atmosphere became unusual, the subordinates sitting around stood up all at once.

But the vampire moved nonchalantly even in the face of numerical inferiority.

“Haha. These trashy bastards are so confident just because there are a few of them. If you quietly drop your weapons and surrender, I'll spare your lives.”

“You crazy bastard!”

“Yes. This is why you shouldn't use nice words with thieves.”

“Die!”

Selvi, who had tracked down the pirates, smiled, baring his fangs.

His form changed into a mist and then passed through the pirates.

Every time, a white light flashed.

CRASH! CRACK! CRUNCH!

CRASH! CRACK! CRUNCH!

Yoken couldn't even properly see Selvi moving.

The moment he thought something was moving quickly in the air, his subordinates were rolling hard on the floor.

“What?”

In the middle of the chaotic tavern, Selvi stood leisurely and looked at Yoken.

It was a sight that made even Yoken, who had overcome all sorts of hardships and risen to the top of the Golden Sea, feel afraid.

“Tracking, assassination, and surprise attacks are our clan's specialty. It might be different if you're at sea, but now that you've been spotted, you can't escape.”

“I have no connection with vampires! I've never done business in the White Sea or the North Sea!”

“Let's leave finding that out as a pleasure for later. I'm just doing as I'm told.”

“Damn it!”

Yoken quickly made a judgment and turned his back.

One must also know when to retreat when necessary.

That was how Yoken had survived until now.

Of course, there was no law that said that would work forever.

Thwack!

Yoken was hit in the back of the head and was subdued in an instant.

And he became a piece of luggage being carried by the vampire.

Having a smelly hood thrown over his head was a bonus.

Although what had happened to him was unpleasant, Yoken had no choice but to highly evaluate the kidnapper's guts and boldness.

At the same time, he realized how disappointing the level of his subordinates was.

‘They're very bold. To invade someone else's base, break through the subordinates' security, and even kidnap me. Who are these guys? Were there guys like this?’

Yoken, even in his hazy mind, felt his body gradually descending and at the same time smelled a damp smell.

‘A basement?’

He instinctively thought of the torture, violence, and threats that would take place there.

Yoken was sure that the kidnapper and his gang had the skills of professionals.

‘What kind of guys are they?’

“Delivery's here.”

The vampire kicked the door open and went inside.

Yoken, feeling himself being forced to sit, the dampness he felt on his buttocks, and the presence of people around him, wondered what he should say first.

What do the kidnappers want?

Can I get out safely?

Or would it be easier if I said I'd spill everything I knew right away?

Then someone took off the hood that was covering his face.

As his vision suddenly brightened, Yoken frowned.

Only after his eyes had adjusted to the light could he look around.

‘What?’

There were more people than he thought.

From the vile vampire who had kidnapped him, to the half-elf with hair that burned like a flame, the tall and threatening-looking Snow Elf, the Kobold who didn't seem to fit in with this group, and finally, the young human man who looked like a boy and a young man at the same time, staring at him.

His gaze was filled with interest.

As expected, the human man spoke to him in a friendly manner.

“Nice to meet you, orc friend. Sorry for inviting you here in such an unsavory way. But there was no other way. You were being too cautious.”

Then he poured a drink and handed it to him.

Yoken took the cup in a flurry and was flustered to see that it had a good aroma.

‘To give such a good drink to a victim. Maybe he didn't kidnap me with bad intentions?’

As a liquor lover, the instinct of a person who shared the same hobby was about to be triggered.

Yoken barely regained his hostility and spoke.

“Who are you?”

“Who do you think I am?”

“Playing with words……”

“Use your head a little. Try using what's on your shoulders. You're smart. Think about what kind of guy could come all the way here and kidnap you.”

As he said that, Yoken felt a chill.

Thinking about it, it was a scary thing.

No matter how careless he had been, if kidnapping was that easy, would Yoken have survived until now?

Yoken racked his brain.

There were almost no clues, but he could infer.

There was only one person who was hostile enough to pirates to do something like this and who had recently come to prominence.

“Could it be that you're the leader of that Black Legion? The one called Leon Gryph?”

“The title is a bit grand, but yes. I am Leon Gryph.”

Yoken trembled.

He had heard many rumors about Leon Gryph, but he had never thought he would be such a small human.

Rather, the people around him could be said to be much more heroic.

But that didn't change the fact that Yoken had become Leon's prisoner.

“W-Why did you kidnap me?”

“I'm curious about what's going on in the Golden Sea.”

Yoken felt like he was going to lose his mind.

Because the reason was unbelievable.

“You kidnapped me just for that?”

“This sea was overflowing with pirates. But where did all those guys go? Thanks to that, I'm in a very difficult position. My business has become a complete mess. Theo, put away the axe. It's not time to use that yet.”

The Snow Elf stealthily took out his axe and then put it down.

Then he didn't forget to look at Yoken once as if it were a shame.

Yoken got the creeps.

That Snow Elf was definitely a bloodthirsty murderer.

Leon Gryph, who had such a guy as a subordinate, was definitely a more dangerous guy than him.

Leon Gryph looked straight at him and spoke.

“Yoken, you, the wisest of the five captains of the Golden Sea, must know the answer. Hurry up and tell me. Words that can convince me.”

For a moment, Yoken thought he saw a purple flame flicker in Leon's eyes.

But he didn't have much time to think about it.

If I don't speak, I die.

Only that thought filled his head.

Yoken, forgetting everything he had thought of before being dragged here, quickly nodded his head.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.