People often visited, bringing New Year’s gifts, because Liszt’s "charity-like" protection fees were widely praised.
Not everyone who came to Heaven Port was involved in violent conflicts.
Some were simply scapegoats, falsely accused and pursued by government troops inland, and had no choice but to come to this lawless area to make a living.
In the past few months, Heaven Port had not seemed like itself, apart from a higher frequency of bloody incidents, it functioned like a normal city.
All thanks to Liszt’s "benevolent governance."
Taylor’s spies had caught wind of this and he had already sent men to invite Liszt for a talk.
"The Captain is not here at the moment, but I will relay the message."
Fen cleaned his monocle with alcohol, his face expressionless, deep in thought.
Although Taylor hadn’t spent a penny,
he had helped Black Sail hijack a train.
Without him suppressing things, inventing reasons, and keeping the other two bosses and the Boss above in the dark, two-thirds of Heaven Port would definitely be ungovernable now.
And there wouldn’t be Qi Li, the unwitting ally.
Liszt should visit him soon to see how he could resolve this.
The current idea was that protection fees depended on skill, determined by annual performance—whoever did better had the final say.
But right now, there were no goods on board, only cash.
This situation was extremely tricky to handle.
Each major leader donating five hundred Gold Dragons would pretty much settle the issue, and in terms of management fees alone, it was entirely the realm of Black Sail and the Undying.
But Liszt never saw these mosquito-legs-sized profits as worth fussing over; he treated Hened with much more flamboyance, which was entirely different.
It was more likely not a feast of joy, but a Feng City banquet.
Essentially, the Western Continent’s version of the Feast at Hongmen.
The past affairs of the Beima Duchy were known to all.
The old king was a truly deserving hero against Aran, who having been defeated, ended his life in a besieged city—an exemplar of noble sacrifice.
His son, Philip VI, the rightful heir, was invited to Aran’s Feng City as a guest, coerced into ceding more territory, and upon his defiant refusal, died a stranger in a foreign land, much like the King of Chu in Western Continent’s lore.
These stories had spread far.
And now, back in Heaven Port, Fen had also heard about the state of Beima Duchy; previously, the Count of Londen had recommended Beima Xiaochaijin, and this fellow had already snapped, issuing harsh words, demanding the current brain-dead king backed by the Emperor to abdicate, or face severe consequences.
Even refusing to abdicate might be acceptable, "If you won’t step down gracefully, I’ll help you do it," as Xiaochaijin was a descendant of the royal family from before Philip’s family ruled Beima, and held an imperial credential, so establishing himself as a king and converting it to a kingdom wasn’t too far-fetched.
In any case, Beima Duchy was a mess, every noble frantically amassing troops, turning the entire nation into a madhouse.
"When he returns, please immediately tell him to come to my residence for a talk before tonight."
The sycophant completed his message and naturally returned.
Watching the man’s figure disappear entirely, Fen understood that although the island was full of desperados, playing games with those calculating rulers was out of their league, they could only be used as pawns.
For the grand cause, Black Sail now needed to be able to play the game.
The looted treasures had been safely stored, and Fen began to worry about other matters.
"I just went out for a walk, and there are many new faces on the island, not pirates, and even considering adventurers hunting magic beasts in nearby seas, it’s too many."
Fen expressed his concerns to Wolman, who had always stayed on the island and liked to wander around mindlessly; his partner from the Scorpion Man tribe was also a working adventurer, definitely well-informed.
"You’re indeed General Fen, with such keen observation, I almost forgot to tell you," Wolman, dazzled by the horrendous treasures in the cellar, that even looting ten nobles’ houses around the East Shore wouldn’t match up, "Do you know of the Iron Soul Pirate Group? They seem to have discovered a New Continent, or it can’t really be called a continent yet as its size is unknown, just that it’s a place not yet marked on the map. They’ve made the news public because it’s close to Heaven Port, and many adventurers feared being late and missing the first bus, so they stayed in Heaven Port for the New Year. Damn, a lot of merchants came too, all sorts of Gold Mining companies and trade companies."
Fen was somewhat astonished.
It’s true that only less than one-fifth of the East Sea Domain had been explored, and the sea routes were made by past adventurers risking their lives.
Discovering a new large island wasn’t strange.
Publicizing the news?
That means the Iron Soul Pirate Group faced setbacks on the island and couldn’t handle it, so they spilled the beans.
There are skilled pirate gangs on the island, the Twin Group, Skull Club, Undying, these people have great influence, but there are also many who silently make a fortune.
Among them are the two most top-tier competitors, constantly ranking first and second, always battling it out between them.
Black Sail had only managed to steal over nine hundred Golden Dragon’s worth of goods that time, entering the top five in annual performance.
Nothing compared to those who stay at the port for only a week at a time, constantly busy robbing ships or en route to rob more.
No business acumen, just quick and easy profits.
The Iron Soul Pirate Group was one of those top-tier competitors.
Fen furrowed his brow, troubled that complications had arisen at this critical juncture, messing up the entire plan.
Liszt returned amidst heavy snow.
"Don’t you die on me here, okay?"
The second floor’s Dark Elf signboard girl said with a disgusted face, Liszt’s vitality was somewhat weak, his lips pale.
What he hadn’t expected was.
Mo Yutong’s blood was useless, indeed it was a new version Dreya hadn’t tried before, but he still hadn’t lost his irreplaceability.
When they reached Dreya’s house, Mo Yutong couldn’t even walk, they saw the dinnerware ready, planning to show her cooking skill, but that mad woman Dreya cursed her.
And Dreya was still ruthlessly efficient, drained Liszt and then just told him to stay somewhere warm.
His physical condition was a bit better this time, and bringing back a new Blood Slave for Dreya, she was quite satisfied.
Liszt himself was stunned, losing both Kikyo and Kagome.
By now he didn’t even hope for three of each thing anymore, even one would do.
Liszt figured since there was no escape now, Dreya had to keep her promise for a sandwich, she wouldn’t want to be seen as someone who breaks her word.
Dreya just said it was a New Year’s gift.
Liszt looked forward even more, wishing he could leap straight into the day after tomorrow.
Fen relayed Taylor’s invitation to Liszt.
Fen asked for Liszt’s opinion.
"Don’t go, we can’t move before New Year, we must intimidate him first, Black Sail isn’t begging him for favors, sooner or later we’ll blow up that Lao Deng’s Gold Coins and take his fleet for ourselves."
Liszt asked the signboard girl for a hot drink to warm up and recuperate a bit.
"Oh right, that one who studied in Aran, Taylor’s daughter, your former lover, she’s back for the New Year too, heard she’s completed her studies." Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on NoveI[F]ire.net
Fen thought there wasn’t a big problem, Taylor hadn’t chopped up Liszt before only because his daughter threatened with death, Liszt could pull more strings, it should be manageable.
Liszt uncharacteristically sat up with alertness, back then he hadn’t met Dreya yet, she had heard rumors but hadn’t paid attention.
Regardless, it didn’t matter, after so many years, they had broken up.
She’s now a talented graduate and wouldn’t care about him, a pirate who could die anytime, from her old home’s perspective, she would be around twenty-four or twenty-five, a sensible age.
Fen also informed him about Iron Soul Pirate Group discovering a new island, the area unclear yet, the hype was New Continent, supposedly at least bigger than Heaven Port.
Liszt took it seriously.
"Concerning those Gold Mining and trading companies coming to settle, welcome all, it’s a civilized way of dealing."
"Damn, it’s another... tightrope walk?"
Liszt thought for a moment, plans disrupted, the strategic advantage of Heaven Port elevated, real estate prices also rising.
Boss didn’t know if New Continent would be profitable.
But making money off these gold seekers, definitely worth the effort.
Damn, what a tangled mess.
Black Sail Trading Company’s business has to be delayed for a while, no shortage of money now, whenever we start is fine, this is long-term strategy anyway.