Black Sail

Liszt was acutely aware that it wasn't that his people were afraid of trouble—every single one of them was a hardened character. Nevertheless, the Earl was playing coy, and someone had just committed suicide on the ship; it was an ominous sign. The sense of the unknown was akin to eating a meal with a noose around one's neck—nobody wanted to be used as cannon fodder.

The messenger was already in a panic.

The Earl's intention was to have the messenger stall Black Sail for a few days and then extend an invitation to his home after a week.

"Please, don't be anxious, don't be anxious," said the messenger with a forced smile. "The Earl wishes to invite the Captain to a family banquet in a week's time."

"Family banquet?"

Fen repeated the phrase, greatly shocked by it. A so-called family banquet was simply sharing a meal and having a private conversation. It would be understandable if the banquet was for an adventure group, other nobles, or even commoners, but inviting pirates was another matter entirely. The Earl had yet to make direct contact with them, and by inviting them into his home, the association would become a matter of record. Colluding with pirates was an offence punishable by beheading; this was... the utmost sincerity.

The people present felt as though thunder had struck their ears. They had never heard of such a novel situation, and it seemed that securing a privateer license would be a minor affair in comparison. As long as they survived, they were bound to soar to great heights.

Liszt was also taken aback by the move. The Earl was playing a bold game. After pondering for a while, he made a decision. A family banquet meant revealing the nature of the task at hand, and to take care of the emotions of the other stalwarts, a compromise had to be found.

So far, he had shown great respect to the Earl, but it was time to apply some pressure. Despite the sincerity already displayed, it wasn't enough. The Earl needed to understand that to employ Black Sail for a life-threatening big job, he would have to show even more humility—a week's delay would not suffice.

"How about this," Liszt suggested. "We'll keep these items for now. You go back and relay a message to the Earl that if he can arrange it for tomorrow, that would be excellent. If that's not possible, then these cases will be returned. We're just unsure what the Earl wants from us, and the brothers here are really on edge."

Having said that, Liszt adopted the demeanor of a pirate ship Captain with a cold tone, "Even if it's the esteemed Earl himself, some respect must be given. Don't leave us hanging here."

Listening to this, the messenger felt a crushing pressure, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he tried to explain, "Tomorrow is too soon, there's a lot to prepare... it's not..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

"What did you say?"

Liszt feigned not having heard, shouting almost at the top of his lungs.

Morison's smirk was as unpleasant as his disfigured face, toying with a Flying Knife.

Seeing the resolve in the faces of these desperadoes present.

"I'll go back and speak to the master right away."

The messenger dared not delay and rode away from the secret port on a horse.

The secret port had its own smuggling ships, courtesy of the Earl.

"Be careful, there are the Earl's people in the secret port. If something goes wrong, we might have to fight," Fen whispered to the people around him. Now that they knew the Earl had a big job planned, though they didn't know what it was, if they thought to leave directly, the Earl might contemplate silencing them.

Archer was still oblivious to the mood and said loudly, "Bah, those weaklings, I could kill them easily. Brother Sha could cleave a thousand of them without breaking a sweat, just be done with it. What's there to talk about?"

"I thank you," said Morison sarcastically, truly flattered by the faith you have in me.

Archer, already a bit tipsy, exclaimed, "This booze is really good."

Liszt felt dumbfounded; the current situation was about holding onto the items, which weren't yet theirs.

It would take a quarter of an hour to ride from the secret port to Londen City.

Less than an hour passed.

The messenger came back with a response.

"The Earl has arranged the family banquet for tomorrow evening," said the messenger with the utmost respect. "The Captain should come around seven o'clock, and you may bring two attendants." His gaze scanned quickly over Ox, Rein, and Wolman, "Additionally, it would be best not to draw any attention."

Hearing these words.

Everyone felt at ease, but the murderous intent thickened. If Liszt attended the banquet, either Black Sail would follow the Earl and break free, or they would break free from the secret port themselves.

Given that it was a significant task, once they knew what it entailed, it wouldn't be so easy to just walk away.

"We understand, we'll accept your gifts."

Liszt directed a few sailors to move all the boxes from the three carriages onto the ship, from now on they had to walk a tightrope.

The time had come to noon.

The tattooed burly man had already buried the man with the gangrenous leg on the highest flatland of the mountain, facing the vast sea. He could finally rest in peace.

On the deck, it was also time for the meal.

All the sailors were divided into two extremes. On the one hand, some treated the lamb in their plates with extreme care. This was not some sloppy meat soup but a large chunk of real lamb, treasured as if it were a rare treasure of the world. They gently tore off a piece and chewed slowly, followed by a large mouthful of mashed potatoes, coupled with a bottle of wine—they were in Heaven.

The other extreme gobbled up their food as if taking revenge, as though they wished they could nibble their own hands off.

"We base the rules on cleaning our own plates and stacking them neatly, but you all act as if you're ghosts starved to death, licking your plates clean," Archer grumbled, watching his culinary artistry be demolished with distaste, thinking they deserved their previous plight. Wild boars can't appreciate the finer meal, whether you savor it like gold or gobble it down whole—how can you taste anything that way?

Furthermore, Archer felt incredibly unlucky. It was not until now that he realized there had been a suicide the previous night. It wasn't any welcoming party—damn it, he had woken up early only to participate in a funeral. No wonder they slaughtered a sheep.

Archer made his way to the navigation room.

The mood of the group there was changeable; some were elated while others were worried.

Even though the outcome was supposed to be revealed the following night, they were still guessing what the job entailed.

"I think someone wants to climb up the ranks and get rid of the Admiral…" Rein hinted, making a throat-slashing gesture.

"That's impossible. It's not a matter involving Londen City. At the very least, it has nothing to do with anyone in the city," Fen analyzed.

"How can you be so sure?" Ox asked.

"Shutting down the gambling dens requires a bunch of people to rampage and kill—it's normal for them to look for us. To kill an Admiral, there's no need for Black Sail; they could just hire a Thief from the Thief Guild to assassinate him. Bringing a large group would only cause chaos. Moreover, it's definitely not in Londen City. He has his own force there, his own dependable people. He would certainly not engage outsiders for such a big task. The fact that he entrusted us with this mission must mean we have some irreplaceable quality."

Fen pondered over what made Black Sail irreplaceable. Hard men were everywhere—if you offered them enough money, adventurers from the adventurer's guild would take to the sea without any fuss.

"Irreplaceable quality… is it related to people, or to the task itself?" Shadi also speculated.

"Could it be linked to something on the First Officer and Second Officer? In that case, it might be some elaborate trap they've set," Wolman guessed.

"Mirror Sea and the Western Continent are separated by more than a hundred thousand nautical miles. Their reach doesn't extend that far," Ox dismissed.

"To catch me, such high-ranking people wouldn't trade with the Earl of Londen City; it would be the most elite forces sent by the Magic Energy Industrial Committee," Fen spoke confidently.

Archer walked in and saw them deep in thought, pondering and said randomly, "What's all this talk about irreplaceability? Maybe he just wants a bunch of pirates familiar with places like Heaven Port."

An idea suddenly struck Liszt; he stood up and exclaimed, "Even a wise man can miss the obvious, while a fool might stumble upon the truth. Leave it to you, Archer. I've almost got it—nine times out of ten, we're likely tasked with delivering some cargo or escorting someone to Heaven Port. It's unlikely to be cargo because we could just abscond with it. If it's a person, then this person must be of immense importance."

Liszt conjectured.

"That makes sense, well done, Captain," Rein agreed with the logic. The reason for the long wait must be for either the cargo or person to arrive. Everything became clear once the Earl's secretive actions were considered.

"Damn it, it better not be a buxom beauty," Mika commented sarcastically.