Pillars of Ita

The Seven Seas Traveler sailed quietly into the port. There were no lights in the port. Only an old sailboat from the Port Authority passed by. The other party used the lights on the ship to signal them. Seeing that it was a ship of the Holy Chosen, they no longer cared. .

Under Catherine's instructions, they slowly moored into a private pier - according to the smuggler lady, this port was owned by an 'old friend' of hers, but her tone was teasing and she couldn't tell the truth. Fake.

But it is indeed more remote here, better concealed from others, and easier to unload. Those people wouldn't mind - those were her words.

"who are they?"

"Some of my competitors may be more happy to see me die in the mouth of a sea monster, or fall into the hands of the Oshu people. Of course, it's the same for me, but if there is business, these guys are willing to cooperate. of."

"The relationship between you is really... a bit unique..." Tian Lan blinked her big eyes.

The group of people was leaving the port and walking along a dark alley. The boatswain was still on the ship, and Miss Tata did not follow. Sylvide, Siesta, Miss Mia, Luo Hao and the box also stayed on the ship. Adapt to your circumstances aboard the Seven Seas Traveler.

Dense steps lined up to form a staircase, and the road soon turned upward. There were some households on both sides, surrounded by white stone walls in the dark to form small courtyards. There were flowerbeds of vegetation on the walls. There were no lights, and everything was dim.

There was only a little firelight in the distance, vague and uncertain.

Catherine turned back to look at Tianlan, pretending to smile maliciously: "This is the law of survival for people like us, lovely little girl, in fact, I am the same. You must not relax just because I stand with you. Be vigilant, nothing is certain in the air and sea, pirates are bloodthirsty and cruel, and smugglers are greedy and ruthless. For those of us who walk on the edge of the law, the only question is whether the price is appropriate, and the rules are just a joke. "

Sky Blue is a little hairy.

"But you won't betray us, right...Sister Catherine?"

"I owe you a favor and a life. I will try my best to help you complete this business, but that's all."

Fang Yu shook his head slightly. Although Catherine deliberately spoke in a rude manner, they were not defenseless.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"A friend's place," Catherine turned around and replied with a slightly more sincere tone: "Let's find a place to stay first and get some information. We won't be in a hurry to deal with those people. Patience will give us the upper hand. Even if time is tight, we can still do it." We can’t let those old vultures see it.”

Fang Plover nodded.

The distant light was a hotel, the light shrouded the dilapidated storefront, the door was covered with a layer of moss and traces of erosion, and a black panther was painted on the sign.

They quickly approached, and Catherine glanced left and right to make sure no one was following her before walking forward and knocking on the door. Not long after, a lazy voice came from behind the door: "It's full, please find another place. "

"Stop talking nonsense and open the door, Edward."

The door suddenly opened, but first a narrow light pierced out from inside. Fang Plover's eyesightened, he recognized it as a dagger - but Catherine reacted faster than him, a thin sword appeared in her hand, and she used the cage handle to strike at The next set held the edge of the dagger and pushed it aside.

A long spark shot out into the darkness.

The sparks reflected the man's face, and Fang Yu could clearly see the scene inside the door - a man missing a leg, wearing a greasy coat, missing an eye, wearing a black leather eyepatch, holding a handful in his hand The dagger coldly blocked everyone from the door.

"Hey," the other party whistled: "Isn't this Sister Catherine? You're not dead yet. What brought you here? Are you planning to pay back the money you owe me?"

"Stop bragging. Let's talk about this when you can kill me. Edward, prepare a room for me, and help me find out what's going on with the Imperial Army outside. I want to make a deal with those old vultures. Are they on the island now?"

"Why?"

Catherine tossed a few imperial eagle-headed gold coins over, "I'll pay in cash this time."

The expression on Edward's face softened slightly, and he looked at Fang Plover and his group, joking: "Who are these people?"

"My clients, don't ask more questions than you should, Edward."

"Your 'client'?" Edward looked at them strangely, as if he had heard some funny joke, "I have never seen a 'client' like you, Catherine... I mean, Uh, such a free-spirited 'customer'?"

Catherine glared at the other person angrily: "Shut up, Edward."

Edward half-smiled, but didn't say anything more. He moved half of his body to let everyone in. When Miss Naturalist passed by him, he tried to reach out to wipe the oil, but Catherine had quick eyes and quick hands to grab his hand. He glanced at him coldly:

"Edward, if you don't want to die, just restrain yourself."

Edward wanted to say something more, but Fang Yu gently stretched out his hand to touch the sapphire on his collar. In a bright blue light, a dragon hunter holding a single blade appeared silently aside. The former's eyes shrank and he subconsciously closed his mouth. .

"A respected alchemist."

He put his hand on the left collar of his coat and bowed.

Jita was startled, turned around, adjusted her glasses and looked over gratefully.

Tian Lan, who was following closely behind, gave the man an annoyed look, pulled Miss Naturalist and walked through him.

Edward straightened up, and his eyes met Alyssa behind him. The cold breath of this beautiful Miss Nightingale made him wake up immediately. After being startled, he subconsciously took a step back, allowing the other party to pass him and walk into the hotel.

Before Fang Yu entered, he heard the other party whispering to Catherine:

"My dear, a high-level combat craftsman and a shadow dancer. Where did you find these people?"

"I dare tell you the origins of these people, but do you dare to listen, Edward?"

"Oh, I didn't mean it," Edward raised his hands, "I didn't see anything, just pay and remember my interest, Ms. Catherine."

Catherine walked over with a stinky face, and Fang Plover looked at the wooden stairs leading to the second floor - rickety in the dark - and the group stopped in front of the porch. Even Mei, who was always not picky, was interested in the interior of the hotel. Chen Xi frowned slightly.

Cui Xisi had a look of disdain written on her face, and her brows were squeezed together - Can people live in this place?

"Okay, everyone, let's make do with it," Catherine said: "Our status is not safe in other places. Most of the regular hotels are spies of the Imperial Army. Only in this place can I trust him."

"Who is he?"

"Edward, a pirate... to be precise, a former Blood Shark pirate. People like him rarely get off the ship safely, but he has this ability, so he can afford to open this hotel here... smuggling Businessmen and pirates all settle here. He has some connections in the local area, so he usually can't check this place. "

Fang Yu nodded. As he expected, the man's habits were that of someone who had been in the air and sea, either a sailor or a pirate. 'Disembarking' is a term used exclusively by pirates to refer to quitting the ship. This term has a long history, but in order to prevent betrayal, not many people can actually successfully 'disembark'.

Therefore, he chose to believe Catherine's words. The fact that a former pirate could establish a legal business here showed that his status was extraordinary. But she can recognize a blood shark pirate, and he obviously has a story.

Catherine remembered what Edward had said before, frowned, and explained: "For people like us who live on the fringes, if we want to beg for food from the Empire, we naturally have to make friends of all kinds. I actually spent some time on a pirate ship.”

Fang Plover nodded.

Catherine handed him a set of keys.

"Your room is on the second floor, at the end of the corridor, near the window. There are several suites inside, which should be enough for you to stay and rest."

"There is a small forest behind it. If there is any emergency, it is easy to escape. I specially asked Edward to free up. Remember to leave a room for me. I have told Edward. Generally, he will not take the initiative when nothing happens. I'm going to bother you."

Fang Yu took the key and asked, "Do you want to leave?"

"I'm going out to get some information, and also contact my 'old friends'. Our ship anchoring on their territory will cause alarm. I have to give them an explanation, inform them of my purpose, and also check their voices. ”

She looked at Fang Plover: "If you don't trust me, you can send one person to accompany me, or two people."

Fang Yu shook his head, "No need. Don't trust people you employ, don't use people you doubt, Ms. Catherine."

Catherine gave him a somewhat surprised look.

"I really don't know whether to call you naive or bold."

"neither."

Fang Yu looked at her and replied: "It's just that the imperial army on the island and your 'old friends' can't keep us. Under such circumstances, I believe you will make the right choice, Ms. Catherine."

Catherine was startled.

Immediately, a look of admiration emerged from her ambitious eyes. She couldn't help but look Fang Yu up and down, and said with a smile: "Very good, I like to cooperate with such a partner, and I will give you a satisfactory result." "Yes, let's go, I'll take you to your room first."

Tian Lan dragged her suitcase - which contained her change of clothes and three or two musical instruments - she said with some difficulty: "Sister Catherine... can you help me?"

Catherine readily agreed.

He took the suitcase with one hand and put the other hand on the back of the suitcase to hold it up.

The group of people came to the room that belonged to them. It was a suite with a huge living room. The facilities were a bit older, but it was relatively clean compared to the hall. There was a thick carpet in the middle and several pictures. Fabric sofa.

The living room leads to three rooms, and it happens that men and women live in one room each, leaving one room for Catherine.

Cui Xisi made a bitter face and patted the sofa with her hand. A layer of dust immediately rose up. Seeing this scene, Tianlan also took two steps back. Only Alyssa silently spread a tablecloth on the sofa and sat down. Go down.

Parker walked aside and glanced out of the floor-to-ceiling window, and indeed saw the woods - a small orchard. He quickly closed the curtains, and then looked at Jita aside. Miss Naturalist understood and opened the magic book.

An invisible barrier enveloped the entire room. She checked the surroundings carefully before nodding to Fang Plover to confirm that there was no surveillance magic.

Trixis also released her elf puppet 'Azure' to float in mid-air to check whether there were any extra 'eyeliners' in the room, but the direction the silver line was connected to was a void, "There are no other constructs."

She looked at the one next to Fang Plover - except this one.

Fang Yu nodded and couldn't help but remember that Luo Yu was actually responsible for this series of work in the past. When he thought of this long-lost companion, he couldn't help but fell silent. After a while, he said: "What do you think?"

"She doesn't look like a smuggler at all to me," Parker sat down on the window sill. "This place looks like a dark shop. We might be surrounded by a group of pirates at some point. Look, Its boss is a blood shark pirate. "You're kidding, this is the territory of the empire, and it's not the pirates' turn to surround us." Trixis shook her head.

"But she really doesn't look like a smuggler," Alyssa looked at Fang Plover, "I've never heard of a smuggler coming out to work alone. She said she took a shuttle boat from the Giant Tree Hill to come here. What do you think? What, Captain?"

Fang Plover looked at Tianlan.

"She is indeed from the Giant Tree Hill. I just gave her the luggage on purpose. Only the elves can carry luggage like this, and some of the Sandshak nobles can. I have never seen anyone carrying luggage like that elsewhere. "

Tian Lan whispered: "And... I don't think Sister Catherine will betray us."

"She recognizes Minmir and recognizes us. She does not seem like someone who would do such short-sighted things. However, the origin of this lady is indeed somewhat mysterious. I feel that she is someone who makes a living at sea. I asked Ba Jin specifically before disembarking. Si and Sylvide," Fang Pliong said, "They see it that way too."

"Could she be related to the Blood Shark Pirates?"

"The Blood Shark Pirates don't go out alone."

Fang Yu closed the coffin and concluded: "But everyone has secrets, and this lady is no exception. We don't need to delve into some issues. In short, we will stay in Guimana for a while, and I will ask Luo Hao and the others to pay attention to the ships entering and leaving the port. , as long as there is no ship leaving the port, no one can pass the message out - from here to Fletcher, including the round trip, it takes about two days and two nights. "

"So as long as a ship leaves the port, we'd better complete the transaction and leave within two days?"

"It also depends on how those people respond."

Fang Plover nodded.

However, the next few days were peaceful, and the situation was smoother than expected. The Imperials took the initiative to blockade the port, and no ships left. As Catherine said, the Oshu people seemed to be searching for something in the port, but because of Edward's relationship , no one has ever found it here.

Catherine also quickly brought good news - those people were very interested in their goods, and she got a very suitable price, 70 million Lisels - but the other party had to inspect the goods first. If the value of the goods As they said, the specific details can be discussed later.

The inspection time was set for one day later, and Catherine's advance advice came into play. Since the Seven Seas Traveler was already anchored in a private port, there was no need to go to great lengths to hide it from others. Delivery could begin as long as the manpower from both parties arrived.

This travel-worn lady has been traveling around a lot these days, but Fang Plover and his group appear to be at ease. This is probably the most relaxing time since their adventure - they don't have to worry about anything.

On the day of the handover, Catherine arrived at the hotel early. It was raining lightly outside. The misty rain blocked the scenery of Quemana Port. Only the direction of the port was dimly visible, and the hill where the old lighthouse was located penetrated into the cloud bay. middle.

She was closing the door, taking off her rain-soaked cloak and hanging it aside, looking at everyone:

"Everyone is ready?"

Fang Yu nodded: "Thank you for your hard work, Ms. Catherine."

Catherine shook her head and looked at everyone with a playful smile: "People like us do this, earning hard-earned money and working on the edge of a knife. This is nothing. Compared to my original job, this is still easy."

"Sister Catherine's original job?" Tian Lan asked curiously.

"I mean, not every one of my other businesses goes so smoothly. Your order is huge, and I can get a generous remuneration. Such good things don't happen often." She smiled slightly, "First of all, Let’s not talk about this anymore. I have heard some news these days and I plan to let you know.”

"About the Imperial Army?"

"Hey, you guessed it?" Catherine looked at Fang Plover with some surprise.

"There is nothing surprising about this," Fang Yu shook his head. "No ships have left the port for several days, and no foreign ships have arrived. There is no news from the outside. The only ones worth noting are probably the Oshu people. , so what exactly are they searching for?"

"I've got some exciting news here, and I'll give it to you for free," Catherine smiled mysteriously, "It's about the bloody-handed pirate Barossa. He had a conflict with someone near here not long ago. , The Imperial Navy has been tracking the whereabouts of the Blood Shark Pirates, so naturally it came like a hyena after hearing the news. "

"Bloody hands?"

Fang Yu was slightly startled: "It's the leader of the Blood Shark Pirates, Barossa Roberts. I heard that he claimed to be the new pirate king to rule the seven seas after Rodrigo Andris, but it was only two or three years ago. It's just a situation - and he doesn't have the dominance of the gray pirate king. I heard that there are many people who are dissatisfied with him. "

"Indeed." Catherine nodded.

"So the Blood Shark Pirates have been in conflict with other pirate forces in the past three or two days, and their whereabouts in the air and sea are much more frequent, so that the Imperial Navy can track their whereabouts. The key is that a year ago, they suffered a major disaster in Idos Loss, then this dear friend will be even more unable to restrain his subordinates. "

"But what does this have to do with the Imperial Army searching here?"

"Of course it is related, and it is very related. The pirate king fought with others in the Fritsch Islands, and was subsequently surrounded by the Imperial Navy who came after hearing the news. His ship crashed in that battle, but some people say that he took the A sampan escaped. At that time, the only islands closest to the battlefield were Garshur and Quemana, and there was no place to hide people on the bare stone island, so some people suspected that the pirate king secretly boarded the island. island."

Fang Yu heard the joking in the lady's tone and was obviously very happy about it. He looked at her with some suspicion: "But what does all this have to do with us?"

"I have an idea," Catherine said: "Now that the imperial army has blocked the port, it will not be easy for us to leave Quemana, but we may be able to create a disturbance and expose the pirate king. As long as the imperial army pays attention If the force is attracted, we can leave calmly.”

"You mean to let us find Barossa?" Fang Plover shook his head: "I don't think this is a good idea. We have our own way to leave Quemana Port without going into such trouble."

He didn't want to stir up trouble, not to mention that now he was a little confused when he heard the words "Pirate King".

The Blood Shark Pirates' sphere of influence is in San Juan, and provoking these guys will be a big trouble for the Seven Seas Brigade.

Catherine was slightly startled.

But she quickly reacted. Although she was a little disappointed to the naked eye, she quickly adjusted her mood and smiled and said: "It's okay, I didn't think carefully. You are my employers, so naturally you said it." Calculate."

She quickly skipped over the topic, her eyes vaguely scanning the emblem on Fang He's chest, and changed the subject: "Let's get back to the point. Everyone has accepted the offer, but those guys have another request."

"What request, Lady Catherine?"

"You asked them to pay the quotation in Stargate Port currency, but they can't come up with such a large sum of cash. After all, this is in Guimana, not in Fletcher. They want to ask if they can accept barter. ”

"Bartering?" Fang Yu was stunned for a moment.

"If they are goods of equal value, we can naturally accept them, but Ms. Catherine, you should understand why we are eager to deal with this batch of goods. If the goods offered by the other party for transaction are too large, it will be meaningless to us."

"Don't worry, the goods they proposed to exchange are of high value. They are fine gold and mithril. Even if it is an equal exchange, it won't take up much of the load on your ship, but..."

"only?"

Fang Yu suddenly remembered that there was actually a batch of mithril on the Seven Seas Traveler, which was excavated from the valley. Some of the raw ore loaded at the time was later hand-smelted into mithril for him during the journey.

The mithril is still packed in the bottom of the ship.

"It's just that the origins of these precious metals are a little unusual. The warehouse where they are stored actually belongs to the Imperial Army... They can take these things out through some connections, but those guys are worried about whether you can accept them."

Catherine smiled mysteriously, "You know."

"So these things are actually dirt?" Cui Xisi, who is from the Empire, was a little speechless and couldn't help but roll her eyes: "We originally came to let you deal with dirt, but this is what you meant by bartering? "

She immediately realized that the so-called lack of cash was probably a cover. After all, when the Imperial Army's warehouse could be emptied to complete the transaction, why bother paying for it herself?

Others were mostly speechless.

For the first time, everyone had a profound understanding of how lawless these smugglers, these so-called outlaws in the world, were.

But Fang Yu pondered for a moment and suddenly realized that the deal was acceptable. However, he raised his head and looked at the other party. He had to confirm the delivery ratio first - if it was too much, firstly, they would not need so much, and secondly, he would take it. Next, a sum of cash is needed to renovate the Seven Seas Traveler.

"Not much," Catherine immediately replied: "There are three tons of mithril, about half a ton of fine gold, and some cold iron and magic black wood. They are all military supplies. You can rest assured of the quality."

"Isn't that much, my dear?"

Tianlan took a breath of air - these are the worms of the empire - mithril is a rare associated mine. Almost all the output of some small mines is only a few tons. Mithril can be used in sailboats. On some precision parts, especially the magic engine.

The mithril and fine gold stored here by the empire may be all the reserve materials of a squadron in a war. It usually takes three to five years or even more than ten years to accumulate such a quantity. These people are like this Did you secretly take it out and trade it with a smuggler?

She simply couldn't imagine it, but luckily it was none of their business there. She was just a little curious as to why the leader bought so much mithril?

These tons of mithril are enough to arm a fleet.

"So how much?" Fang Pliance asked.

"The market price of mithril is 18 million lisels per ton, and the price of fine gold is almost the same. However, this is dirty stuff. I will naturally ask them to discount it in proportion. They plan to discount two-thirds of it. price."

Fang Yu calculated silently and immediately realized that he had made a huge profit. The market price of three and a half tons of mithril and fine gold was almost 60 million. This did not include the cold iron and magic black wood. It was far more than 70 million. That's two-thirds.

Although there is a discount factor, in fact it is meaningless to them whether it is dirty or not. He had no intention of selling this batch of mithril, so it is equivalent to making a net profit of thousands in one go. Milesel.

He suppressed the look of surprise on his face, knowing in his heart that this deal was equally cost-effective for those 'smugglers'. Anyway, it was a waste of money, and it was not their own money spent. It was a win-win situation for both parties. ending.

The only one who suffers is probably the Empire?

He was about to speak.

But Tianlan on the side had already taken the lead and said: "We still need at least 30 million Risels in cash. Sister Catherine, these mithril and fine gold are military supplies for the empire, and we are not that easy to take advantage of. We are basically saying that we will help them bear the burden." There should be more benefits than risks. ”

"make a deal."

Catherine agreed immediately, even with a happy face: "Then it's settled, we'll see you later."

She happily came to the door and left, leaving Miss Poet with a look of annoyance on her face. She couldn't help but cover her face with her hands: "It's still too low, brother Ed, ugh - I should have known that those guys didn't take the Empire's inventory seriously. thing."

Fang Yu couldn't help but shake his head.

He thought to himself that he had already made enough, at least twice as much as he originally expected - luckily he didn't say anything.

...(End of chapter)