Pillars of Ita

"The Hickory and the Gartier Burton have lost contact."

"There is no news from the Gezelia people. Someone detected that a battle broke out northeast of Gzelia at three o'clock in the morning. The clockwork goblin also found traces of the battle at the scene. A sailboat ran aground nearby. "Floating Island."

"My Lord Governor, there is no news about the 'Triumph' either."

Someone rushed into the captain's room and brought news that made everyone in the room fall silent. But within a moment, the raging noise filled the room again. Some people whispered, whispered to each other, and even subconsciously spoke to confirm, with anxious tones. On gilded instruments on willow table.

"The 'Triumph' is the 'Triumph' of the Third Fleet? Did I remember correctly that it was not a fourth-rate battleship?"

People became angry, blaming each other, and shifting the blame: "Didn't we say that our opponent was just a caravel with almost no weapons on board?"

"The unarmed adventurous ships defeated several advance fleets, nearly twenty ships, with Ori on top, who on earth lied about the intelligence?"

"You can't blame them, but I heard that the opponent is the Dragon Alchemist..."

"Shut up, he's just a kid who just finished participating in the mainland league!"

The aged governor was a native of Brianos.

The wrinkles on his face are as deep as the ravines left by the years, but his mind is still quick and he cares about his body - the empire actually doesn't care much about these remote colonies, but the old ships that have been eliminated are enough to arm these places - —But that's the property of the Empire, not theirs.

Brianos's local fleet has a total of more than thirty ships, but most of them are civilian ships that cannot leave the port, and there are also some transport ships. The ones that can be used are seven-winged sailing ships, two caravels and a Fifth class frigate.

This frigate is also the face of the port fleet, the flagship they are on - the 'Horned Grebe'.

The old man raised his hand to calm everyone down and asked: "Be patient, where is the enemy?"

"I don't know, sir, they disappeared north of Gzelia... There is a reef nearby that is not marked on the map, called Anchor Chain Island. The observation point on the island last observed each other there. His whereabouts..."

"Is he coming our way?"

"Sir, it's unlikely. They should have gone north."

The old man felt relieved. "That's good. The empire has set up a heavy siege and will never let the other side escape. But you can't relax your vigilance. Go back to your ship and be ready to fight, just in case. For the sake of the empire."

Everyone responded: "Oli is the best."

The underlying anxiety was dissipated, the small meeting ended, and people went their separate ways.

……

Catherine stared at Kukai, her emerald eyes tinged with fire - the morning sun was magnificent and changeable on the sea of ​​clouds, letting the sea breeze pick up her hair, every strand, like a spark - as if the horizon was her destination, just like the sea The bird flies across the calm sea, leaving only a shallow shadow.

Ambitious and confident, everything she sees should belong to her. This woman is born to be the master of this sea. She wants everything, so she appears rebellious and flamboyant.

She turned back and looked at Fang Pliong and said, "Actually, I have another thing to ask you for. I didn't have time to talk about it before. It was your people who asked me to pass on a message to you."

Fang Yu also raised his head and looked at her.

"The people from Stargate Port tell you not to go to the Giant Tree Hill."

"why?"

"Because the woods there are sick, a strange disease is spreading. It will not affect people, but it will cause the forest to die, wild animals to flee, and bad rumors are spreading. Sangshak can still maintain order, but in the countryside It’s hard to say——”

Fang Yu suddenly remembered that there was a legend that a god resurrected from the shadows, and the twins of Amaya reappeared in the world for hundreds of years. People would witness the shadows in the forest, the dying of life, and the dead branches of the white trees. , and a series of disasters occurred.

It is for this reason that Attila and the big cat people were welcomed back. She is the saint of the White Tree Temple. Dalil and the others came to the empire precisely to bring back this saint who left the hill of giant trees to find the whereabouts of his brother. Under the female crown.

"Seriously?" he asked.

"It's not serious to say it's serious, but to say it is an understatement would be a lie. I was born on Silver Chain Island, where the forest began to wither in a small area very early, and now the condition has only worsened. The tree elves have begun to feel In the crisis, most of the upper echelons of Sanshak are elven nobles - people say that the sea of ​​trees is the shadow of the lady, and now it is like a streak of gray has grown on her long emerald hair. Although it is not much, it is enough to be disturbing. "

"Then why doesn't Stargate Port let me go there?"

"It has something to do with your cheap sister," Catherine curled her lips and said in a gentle voice: "There are also factional struggles in the White Tree Temple. She left the core of power for a long time because of her brother's affairs, just like the human world... Elf The world is also very complicated. Some people hope to bring down the faction she belongs to, while others hope to let her take the blame. Of course, she may have her own ideas, but I don’t know.”

"The Hill of Giant Trees is a country where elves, goblins and humans rule this tree continent. However, the goblins are not interested in power and only follow their own preferences. They live in a corner of Roshar; the elves In fact, it is the upper class of this country. Some of them live in the Holy White Forest, the Elven Court, which is the royal family, the council and the elders, but more of them live in Sandshak, mixed with humans, and are the nobles and consuls. , in addition to the Papalar people who are a minority.”

"But humans follow the lead of the elves, and the elves don't care about mundane things. The Papalar people are insignificant, so the elves actually decide the fate of the Giant Tree Hill - which is also the 'Second Division' as you know it. , what your cheap sister is involved in is actually a high-level political dispute. Your people probably don't want to take a stand in this dispute, so they don't want you to get involved in this "internal affairs" of the elves. middle."

Fang Yu looked over quietly and sized up the other party: "But Ms. Catherine doesn't seem to think so."

He was no longer the ignorant boy. Although the incident between Etila and the big cat man made him a little uneasy, this uneasiness made him more eager to go to the Giant Tree Hill - but he soon realized This is exactly what this woman intended.

She was deliberately guiding him to make this decision.

"Because I am only responsible for delivering messages, and the decision-making power is in your hands. Your people are only responsible for reminding you. They don't have the power to give you orders, right?" Catherine did not deny it. "And this is good for me. "

Fang Yu looked at her in surprise: "Benefits?"

"This is why I am here." Catherine said: "It should not be difficult for you to guess that in order to control Cape San Juan, I must become the enemy of the Blood Shark Pirates. I have fought against the old guy from Barossa more than once. But this time he bribed the people around me and knew in advance that I would go here, so he chose to set up an ambush in Garsur and attacked my fleet. "

"I lost my own ship and two other ships in the fight, but it didn't make it easy for him. I managed to sneak into his ship and leave him a little 'surprise'. Later, his ship was It sank in the night, and I heard his men never found him.”

"There are Resurrection Temples on large sailboats, which means that this old thing did not die in the sea, so I am sure that he may have drifted to a nearby island. The nearest inhabited island is Guimana, the Imperial Navy's The trends also speak for themselves.”

Only then did Fang Yu realize that so many things had happened: "So you found us and led us to Guimana?"

"Of course, I don't have much power in my hands, and my strength is severely damaged after this battle. I am not a Kaolin. I joined the Ithurian Navy just because someone saw my value and my origin. , and the appeal among the San Juan pirates.”

"But this kind of appeal is actually not much left after my father, so I have to be careful and make good use of every bit of strength and every help around me."

Catherine looked at the cabin of the Seven Seas Traveler. The legendary pirate king was imprisoned below and was still unconscious. "And I'm not completely deceiving you. I do know some friends on land, and Guimana is also the most suitable place to complete your commission."

Fang Yu kept silent. The facts were more convincing than any explanation. The transaction was indeed perfect. Although they got into some trouble, it was hard to say that these troubles had anything to do with each other.

"So what exactly is your purpose?"

"Are you going to Saint-Hugh's?" Catherine smiled and asked, "Do you know what kind of place that is?"

Fang Yu suddenly stopped nodding, wanting to hear what the female pirate thought of that place.

An elusive smile swam into Catherine's eyes, like sarcasm, silence, coldness, and ambition, like a vigorous flame that fleetingly burned away everything, leaving only a dark undertone.

Like deep green.

In the end, there was a meaningful glance: "As people say, it is a lawless place. There are not many rules in the free port. The jungle eats the strong. The 'king' has everything, but the pirates have more than one 'king', Rodri." Ge was recognized as the overlord of Kukai. After his death, the blood shark pirates rose up, and Balosha was the leader among them. The rest coveted that position, and no one accepted it - they plotted against each other and attacked each other. That’s what created that chaotic place.”

"I'm afraid it's not that easy for you to go there and find a place where you can entrust shipbuilding. It is a land of freedom, but it also respects strength. You are an outsider and no one will recognize you. You have a good ship. boats, but that’s where the danger lies.”

Fang Yu was silent for a moment, realizing what the other person was saying.

"What suggestions does Ms. Catherine have?"

"I can help you. I have my own shipyard, dry dock, manpower and craftsmen, but you have to do me a favor. Privateering is not as simple as you think. It is not the navy. I rely on Only my own confidants can control them, but now I am very weak, and some people want to take my place." "You want us to help you scare your men?"

"And my competitors," Catherine smiled, "Now that I have captured Barossa, risks and opportunities coexist. If I can establish prestige in one fell swoop and intimidate everyone, I can become the new leader of St. The Pirate King."

"Remember what I said, the 'King' owns everything, makes the rules, and you will have a strong backing there as well. Don't you wish you had a solid backing? I heard about Loofah and her ship. Tuan is not a rootless person."

Fang Yu took a deep look at her: "Do you think we have this ability and can be compared with the world-famous sword?"

"So this is exactly what I am investigating," Catherine said without hesitation. "Of course I will choose my cooperative opponents carefully, but at least your performance so far has made me very satisfied. Why do you think your people found me? "

"why?"

"The next Pirate King of Saint-Hughan must have close ties with Corin-Ithurion. This is why your people like me, but who can represent Corin-Ithurion? It seems someone has lost patience with their collaborators.”

"As for me, I certainly won't be tied to a sinking ship. No, that's why I'm here."

Fang Plover remained silent.

In other words, neither the military nor the female pirate are optimistic about the King of Kaolin and his prime minister and other gangs. She came here not so much to provide Stargate Port with A favor is better said than handing over a certificate of surrender.

Although he didn't know how Princess Brianne was doing in Corin-Ithulian, it seemed that the progress was going well. He could definitely smell the ambition of the female pirate leader. A person like this would not do anything for the sake of it. A vague belief changes the decision.

She is obviously not optimistic about the future of the Cowling royal family.

He didn't expect the conversation to go this deep. No wonder the other party waited until he was alone before speaking to him.

He could hear Catherine's frankness. Obviously this time, the female pirate didn't hide anything from him, "So why are you encouraging us to go to the Hill of Giant Trees?"

"Do you still remember what I said? I was born on Silver Chain Island, so I am actually from the Hill of Giant Trees. I still have some friends there. Balosha's strategy was very successful. I lost a lot in this fight. , I had to endure it until I could gather my strength again.”

"I will not go directly to St. Xiu'an with great fanfare. Of course I will guide you, but it is not safe to stay there. Before we have enough power, going to the Hill of Giant Trees is the most appropriate choice. Before that, I hope you will protect me——"

"Ms. Catherine, you have a shipyard in Cape St. John?"

"As a privateer fleet belonging to the Kaolin royal family, you should know that this is nothing."

"But can you still control those assets?"

"The privateer fleet does not only have one anchorage in Saint-Hughan. I know a secret location and can take you there. Of course, I can't trust anyone now, so sailors, shipwrights, and alchemists may need to find another way. ”

Fang Yu was silent for a moment, weighing the pros and cons in his mind. He found that he had thought too simply about the trip to San Juan. The reason why he came up with the idea of ​​​​renovating or rebuilding the Seven Seas Traveler was actually more Most of them come from Miya.

The Seven Seas Brigade has actually approved the joining of the Sea Witch, but this matter is too extraordinary. Now all countries should know that she is with them on the Seven Seas Traveler.

But her identity is too special. Even though domestic officials have never agreed to the proposal - in fact, her identity as the Sea Witch is seen by everyone and is wanted by various countries, competition regions and top guilds.

The Seven Seas Traveler made a big splash in Ayinbrok. Now the whole world knows that there is such a new Dragon Knight warship. I am afraid that as soon as they arrive at the Hill of Giant Trees, Twelve Color Iris, FNC, and Golden Guilds like Night Blade will come to visit.

But if there is a place in this world that is independent of the forces of various countries, alliances and guilds, apart from Rochar where the goblins are, there is only Cape Saint-Hughan, a paradise for the free and lawless. place.

This is a paradise for pirates. There are many shipyards in the free port. As long as they can find one of them willing to accept their commission and modify the Seven Seas Traveler, they can head to the Giant Tree Hill without anyone noticing.

Even if their identity is revealed in the end, they may have already left for the second world by then.

But now it seems that the situation is not what he thought.

"Have you thought about it?"

Catherine shook her head, "But there is no need to answer in a hurry. I hope you are my collaborator, but I don't want to tie you to my boat. I won't use this to threaten you. Besides, there is at least one thing I can do." I’m not lying, you saved me, I owe you my life.”

"But I just want to give you a warning. Going to Saint-Hughan is not that simple. The pirates are unruly and this trip may be far more dangerous than you think. If you can't find the courage to do it, , I suggest you go directly to Rotao.”

"——At least it's safe there. It's not impossible to find a suitable shipyard in Mirra Palace. I also have some connections there. I can help you introduce some friends. Just consider it as a favor to you."

She suddenly stopped talking.

Looking back, I saw Miss Nightingale standing pretty at the entrance of the cabin, looking at the two of them.

The expression on her face seemed as if she had not heard the conversation between Catherine and Fang Plover. She only came over and said: "Ed, there is something new."

Fang Yu finally came back to his senses from this conversation. Catherine provided him with too much information at once, from St. Xiu'an to the Hill of Giant Trees, the free pirates, and even Miss Attila, Big Cat Mr. Ren’s safety.

But the answer is actually self-evident. The Seven Seas Traveler will not abandon any of the crew members - Miss Elf is only temporarily disembarking, but he has never agreed to their departure. Besides, Miss Attila regards him as her younger brother.

In his heart, he naturally recognized this elf 'sister'.

"what's the situation?"

"The wind element detector has detected a larger energy source, which should be the second-class battleship 'San Jose'. It is to the northwest of us and should be no more than twenty miles away from us."

"The wind element detector on the 'San Jose' will only be bigger and more advanced than ours. We discovered them. Naturally, the Imperials have already discovered us. Judging from their trajectory, they are heading straight towards us. ”

Alyssa said with an ugly face: "Judging from the relative speed, we should be able to reach the turbulent area first, but there is another trouble here."

Fang Yu looked at her in surprise.

Miss Nightingale said:

"The wind element detector also found a large number of reaction sources in front. The Empire did not let go of this channel. They deployed a fleet in front of us. After Miss Silverd's analysis, it should be Briano. Sri Lanka’s fleet.”

"How many are there?" Fang Plover asked.

"More than ten ships."

There was a brief silence. It was almost impossible for the Seven Seas Traveler to break through the encirclement net in its current state.

Fang He looked at the unknown island reef floating in the distant sky and pondered for a moment.

Catherine watched him silently from the side. It was still too late to turn back to the route away from San Juan. They might be able to find a safer road - at least temporarily safe - or break through the reef. The road ahead would naturally be the road to freedom.

But there is still one last hurdle on that road.

Fang Yu looked at her: "The land bridge in Lotao was cut off twenty years ago, and now no one can go to the second world from there."

"so?"

"Our goal is St. Xiu'an, the Hill of Giant Trees, and then through the Gate of Heaven," Fang Plover replied, "This has not changed from the beginning, so you made the right bet, Ms. Catherine."

Catherine smiled.

"But the Imperials are not easy to deal with."

"Fortunately, it's just difficult to deal with, not impossible to deal with."

...(End of chapter)