And Vinica immediately used seagulls to relay the location of the Sea God Sect's stronghold near the Mingster County sea area as well as the locations of several major pirate group strongholds to the Empire's South Sea Fleet.
Next, it was a waiting game.
After all, sea battles were not within the scope of this naval task force and Rein's mission; that was left to the South Sea Fleet and Major General Xilva and their companions.
Soon, Rein and his team received a response from the fleet.
Major General Xilva instructed Rein and the task force to be prepared for coastal defense as the pirates, if heavily damaged by the imperial fleet during the naval battle, might become desperate and flee directly to the coastal areas.
Though these were a ragtag bunch, they were formidable enemies for the coastal towns with weaker defenses, and a breach would result in extremely heavy losses.
On the fifth day, the Reiman brothers came to report once again.
"Baron, this is what we found hidden in the cracks of Phil Kraz's breastplate armor, believed to be a quarter of the treasure map of the Pirate King, 'Shipburner' Vincent Sanborn. Unfortunately, it's not complete; it's just one fourth," they said.
"Hmm?" Rein's heart leapt with joy as he immediately took the parchment and examined it closely.
From the texture and patterns, this was indeed the missing final quarter of the treasure map.
A quarter was still fine, but who wouldn't be envious of a complete treasure map?
After the two brothers left, Rein quickly took out the remaining three parts of the map and began to piece them together.
When a complete treasure map lay before Rein, he found that the center of the map showed a ring of islands composed of multiple islets.
However, the marked spot with an X was not on the ring of islands but on a small island adjacent to it.
Clearly, the small island beside it was the destination and the location of the treasure.
After pondering for a while, Rein decided not to consult Major Mary or Vinica about the location depicted on the treasure map.
Through his time spent getting to know Fishing Port Town, Rein learned that the town was home to an old man who had once been a captain of an ocean-going merchant ship—Captain Kashan, whom he planned to consult.
After crudely drawing a copy of the treasure map, Rein found Captain Kashan, an old man with a pipe in his mouth and white in his hair.
"Baron, this ring-shaped chain of islands on the necklace here, judging from the number and shape of the islands, looks very much like the Saphira Islands located in the outer sea," he said.
"And this island is just to the east of the Saphira Islands. If I'm not mistaken, this should be the Island of Fear."
"The Island of Fear?"
Upon hearing this name, Rein couldn't help but frown slightly.
From the name alone, it was evident that this was not some simple island.
"Indeed! The reason why this island is called the Island of Fear is that it's infested with a group of tricephalous sea hydrolizards," Captain Kashan nodded, speaking with a grave expression.
"Tricephalous sea hydrolizards? Are they some kind of vicious beasts?" Rein couldn't help but ask.
Rein had not encountered such fierce beasts before but could tell from Captain Kashan's slightly fearful demeanor that these creatures must be formidable.
"Exactly, tricephalous sea hydrolizards are indeed extremely powerful vicious beasts. Every adult specimen is as strong as a veteran Great Knight, and the leader of the tricephalous sea hydrolizards is said to have the strength of a Peak Knight," he explained.
"In the past, pirates who encountered a hurricane and whose ship was destroyed, leaving them washed up on the Island of Fear, met a dire fate. Over a hundred pirates, with only one escaping alive clinging to a plank, the rest were all devoured by the tricephalous sea hydrolizards."
"Some incredulous pirates observed the island from a distance afterward and indeed found it occupied by a large group of tricephalous sea hydrolizards. This incident quickly spread, and the island was soon marked as a forbidden zone by pirates and oceanic merchant ships," Captain Kashan recounted slowly.
Do the adult individuals truly rival the strength of a veteran Great Knight?
And there's a large group of them?
Indeed, it is worthy of being called the Island of Fear!
Rein broke into a cold sweat at the mere thought of stepping onto the island and facing the attacks of more than ten, perhaps even dozens, of sea hydra lizard creatures, each with the strength comparable to that of a veteran Great Knight.
However, Rein then considered another problem: Why would Pirate King 'Shipburner' Vincent Sanborn choose to hide his treasure on this island?
Could it be that Vincent Sanborn, formerly a Wizard and a Great Knight, had some kind of contract with the leader of the three-headed sea hydra lizard clan?
Or could it be that Vincent Sanborn, this Pirate King, had some sort of witchcraft, such as invisibility, that allowed him to easily conceal his treasures here?
After pondering for a moment, Rein shook his head slightly.
This question, it seems, could only be answered by the Pirate King himself.
Another problem was that although Rein had deciphered the secret of the treasure map, the risk of landing on the island with his current strength was far too great.
Rein's mind raced as he contemplated various viable strategies.
First of all, it wasn't impossible to employ the power of the naval forces.
But the issue was that once the South Sea Fleet of the empire intervened, the nature of the whole matter would change.
Although naval officers like Major Xilva of the Sixth Fleet and Lieutenant Colonel Mary had a good impression of him, deploying battleships for the exploration of the Pirate King's treasure would obviously be official business.
Putting aside the problems of battle damage should a fight break out, the issue of profit distribution would be problematic.
Rein might not necessarily receive what he wanted.
Moreover, there could be other problems beyond combat.
After all, it's impossible to guarantee that there aren't people with ulterior motives within the navy. Seeing him obtain the Pirate King's treasure might spark greed—thus, Rein quickly dismissed the idea of inviting the South Sea Fleet to participate.
After some serious contemplation, Rein felt it would be more appropriate to wait until he was capable enough to explore the island on his own.
Especially since in just under a month's time, he was due to go to Mingster to participate in the examinations held by the imperial Sword Bearer organization.
This matter was naturally of greater importance than the treasure of the Pirate King.
Taking Mary's words into account, Rein believed that once he joined the imperial Sword Bearer organization, he would be able to complete a variety of missions, accumulate enough Points, and exchange them for witchcraft or other important knowledge.
This would significantly increase his Strength, and this method would be more enduring, reliable, and targeted.
The treasure of the Pirate King, in some sense, was more like the icing on the cake.
Moreover, he was just about to change his job to Weapon Master, and his Wizard Apprentice job had reached level three Wizard Apprentice.
Rein believed that once he advanced to a formal Wizard, with the enhancement of both Legendary professions, he would have the initial capability to explore the island.
This time would not be too long.
Having thought through these issues, Rein's eagerness for the Pirate King's treasure cooled down from what it had been before.
On the sixth day, news came from the naval fleet...