"Turn the rudder twenty-six times, lower the sails …"
"Yes, turn the rudder twenty-six times, lower the sails!" Old Codd, who was at the helm, replied loudly. He turned the rudder forcefully, and the bow of the ship slowly turned to the left. On the mast, a few nimble sailors skillfully rolled up half of the full sails …
The sea was drizzling, and the horizon of the Haneabada Archipelago finally appeared on the horizon. Schumacher heaved a long sigh of relief. He ordered the helmsman to adjust the direction, and led the fleet swiftly towards Nubit Port in the cold rain.
It was a quarter past six in the morning, and it seemed like there wouldn't be any sun today. He could only hope that the drizzle would stop by the time they reached Nubit Port, or else they would have to delay for another day before they could unload the goods. This was not because they were worried about whether the slippery gangplank on rainy days would cause trouble for the slaves unloading the goods, but because most of the goods and commodities transported on the ship were not waterproof, so it was impossible to unload the goods in rainy days.
Rain constantly dripped down from Schumacher's ash-black animal skin cloak. He looked up at the sky, and estimated that they would reach Nubit Port by noon. Schumacher, who had spent most of his life at sea, had an extremely accurate estimation based on his experience. Looking back at the fleet he commanded, Schumacher couldn't help but feel a trace of pride in his heart. This was the northern fleet of the Chikede Merchant Group, and also the strongest fleet in the northern seas. If he could become the commander of this fleet while he was still alive, his life would be worth it.
It would take twenty-two to twenty-six days to reach the Kingdom of Shaisya from Hidden Gold Bay, as the archipelago where the Kingdom of Shaisya was located was more towards the south. The Chikede Merchant Group had once researched that if they didn't see land on the ship, fifteen days would easily make the sailors and crew restless. After twenty days, they would become desperate and savage, and it would be extremely easy for something to happen. Often, a single word of disagreement would result in a fight, and it would be easy for someone to lose their life.
That was why the northern fleet of the Chikede Merchant Group first arrived at the Kingdom of Shaisya to complete the spice trade. The sailors and crew of the fleet that had just set sail were more patient and obedient, and easier to control. Although the sea route to the Kingdom of Shaisya was far, it was enough for them to arrive before the situation worsened. Ten days of rest in the Kingdom of Shaisya would be enough to pacify the anxious moods of the sailors and seamen, and ten days to reach the Haneabada Archipelago would be enough to ensure the safety of the fleet.
It would take more than twenty days to travel from the Kingdom of Haneabada to the Hidden Gold Bay, but it would only take ten days to sail from the archipelago to the coast of the Galinthea Continent. For the next ten days or so, they would be sailing along the coastline of the continent towards the Hidden Gold Bay. In addition, the sailors of the fleet had spent two months at sea, so they would not cause trouble because they were homesick. This was a very ingenious and practical little trick that the Chikede Merchant Association, as the overlord of the sea, had discovered.
There were a total of 67 ships in the Chikede Northern Fleet that had arrived at the Haneabada Archipelago. Before departing, the Chikede Merchant Association had specially allocated 22 large merchant ships to join the fleet. The reason for this was a letter in the room of the commander of the fleet, Schumacher.
The glass war with the Kingdom of Telimbo had caused great damage to the Chikede Merchant Association. Although they did not suffer much damage to the armed forces that they had formed with sailors and seamen, they had lost two first-level swordsmen and seven Gold-tier swordsmen. It was as if the Chikede Merchant Association was being roasted over a fire. Fortunately, the young master of the Chikede Merchant Association, Theriham, had come up with a series of clever plans to reverse the disadvantageous situation of the Merchant Alliance's army. He had gained the trust of the commander of the Merchant Alliance's army and the chairman of the Double-headed Dragon Merchant Association. After the war, he had strongly advocated for the transfer of the Duchy of Ulubaha to the Chikede Merchant Association as their territory.
However, although the Chikede Merchant Association had obtained the Duchy of Ulubaha as their territory, they were faced with a very serious situation. As everyone knew, the Duchy of Ulubaha was a poor and mountainous country. The biggest problem was the lack of arable land. The food produced was not enough to fill the stomachs of the people. Therefore, the Grand Duke of Ulubaha had formed two mercenary groups in the hope of eating people. One was to earn some gold coins, and the other was to reduce the burden of food.
As for the people of the Duchy, they went to the sea to become pirates and mountain bandits in order to fill their stomachs. The former Grand Duke Ulubaha did not care at all. Anyway, he was not interested in collecting taxes from the poor people of the Duchy. If he had the time, he might as well find more employers for the two mercenary groups. That would be a big business.
Now that the two mercenary groups of the Duchy of Ulubaha had changed sides, they had become the biggest burden of the Merchant Association. The establishment of the Crimson Legion and the Tricolor Sword Legion was small, with only 24,000 people. However, the two legions had nearly 50,000 people. Together with their families and relatives, there were about 200,000 people, almost a quarter of the total population of the Duchy of Ulubaha. In the past, the Grand Duke Ulubaha did not care about the families of these legions. In his eyes, these legions were cannon fodder to earn money for him. It was a great kindness to be able to give them a living wage.
Now that the Chick Merchant Association was in charge, they did not want the soldiers of these two legions to be as disloyal as they were to the former Grand Duke Ulubaha. Not only did they want to reorganize these two legions into regular legions, but they also needed the loyalty of these soldiers. Therefore, not only did they have to maintain military discipline, they also had to take care of the families of these soldiers. It was just that the glass war had caused the price of food in the Trade Union to rise rapidly. Especially after the war, the attitude of the various countries towards the Trade Union changed. They went from being close to them to being wary of them. They cut off most of the trade routes. For example, food and iron ore were listed as prohibited goods. As a result, the price of food in the Trade Union could not fall.
In the Duchy of Ulubaha, what the Chick Merchant Association needed the most was food. With food, the Chick Merchant Association could win over the hearts of the unruly mountain people. The development plans formulated by the eldest young master, Seriham, could be implemented, and the situation of poverty in the Ulubaha Mountains would be changed. In just two or three years, the Merchant Association's territory would be self-sufficient, and there would even be a lot of income.
But the problem was that the Chick Merchant Association could not buy food from the surrounding countries with money. All they could buy was high-priced food. No matter how rich the Chick Merchant Association was, they could not afford it. The reason why more than 20 large ocean-going merchant ships were dispatched to the northern fleet was that they hoped to be able to buy a million tons of Pu 'er food from the Kingdom of Haneabada. (One ton of Pu 'er is equivalent to 100 catties, a unit of quantity in Galint. It evolved from a sack made of Pu' er hemp that could hold 100 catties.)
The letter in the room of Schumacher, the commander of the northern fleet, was written by the president of the Chick Merchant Association to King Luther III of the Kingdom of Haneabada. The letter requested Luther III to agree to sell food to the Chick Merchant Association in consideration of the good relationship the Chick Merchant Association had always maintained with the Kingdom of Haneabada. It couldn't be helped. Such a large amount of food had to be exchanged with Luther III. For this reason, the Chick Merchant Association had specially prepared a large number of precious gifts to offer to Luther III.
The fleet sailed slowly along the waterway leading to Port Nubit. Standing on the berth, Schumacher looked at the few islands shrouded in misty rain in the distance and was somewhat puzzled. He wondered why he didn't see any slaves working on the islands at this time of day. Could it be that the slave-owners had shown kindness and were afraid that the slaves would catch cold and fall sick in such weather, so they didn't let them work? Thinking about it, Schumacher couldn't help but laugh at himself. Why did he care so much? Whether the slaves worked or not had nothing to do with him …
The deck of the merchant ships was crowded with sailors. Compared to the Kingdom of Shaisya, these sailors who drifted at sea preferred to come to this slave kingdom. Not to mention anything else, just the quality of the women in the brothels was countless times better in the Kingdom of Haneabada than in the Kingdom of Shaisya. Most of the women in the docks of the Kingdom of Shaisya were the families of fishermen and farmers. All of them were tanned and had a fishy and earthy smell on their bodies.
On the other hand, the women in the brothels of the Kingdom of Haneabada were female slaves obtained from all over the Galinthea Continent. Not only were their prices cheap, but there were also many of them. It was enough for the sailors and crew of the fleet to indulge in a drunken stupor for a few days and nights, reducing the fatigue and boredom brought about by the long voyage.
When passing by the Fallen Feather Island, Schumacher finally saw the slaves. It looked like a family of three. They stood in front of a dilapidated stone house on the island, expressionlessly watching the fleet pass by …
"Strange, why do the slave owners allow the slaves' families to live together?" Great Swordmaster Kuchud muttered on the berth.
The Chikder Chamber of Commerce originally had five great swordmasters, but one of them was killed when they intercepted the Flying Fish of the Kingdom of Dawn of Laurist, and two more were lost during the Glass War. One was killed while protecting President Chikder from being assassinated, and the other was deceived by the former Duke Ulubaha and was beheaded when he was caught off guard. Now, the only ones left were the great swordmaster Kuchud and the great swordmaster Woody, who had gone to the territory of the Ulubaha Chamber of Commerce.
The reason why Great Swordmaster Kuchud could be in charge of the northern fleet was because the Chikder Chamber of Commerce valued this trip to the Kingdom of Haneabada to buy food. They did not want any accidents to happen, so they specially transferred Great Swordmaster Kuchud from the southern armed fleet to the northern fleet.
"Hehe, great swordmaster, you may not know this, but the Kingdom of Haneabada also allows slaves to get married and live together." Old Codd, who was at the helm, laughed and said, "Like those old and faded female slaves, those great nobles will also allow them to bestow their slaves as wives. However, they are all left over from playing. There are also some female slaves who were played with until they were pregnant, so they casually found a slave to be their cheap father. When they want to play, they can go and play, and that cheap father has to stand guard outside for them … "
"Haha, it seems like being a noble in the Kingdom of Haneabada is quite comfortable. Raising a group of slaves and building a manor is really free and easy. All the slaves' lives are in their hands, and they can have anything they want …" Great Swordmaster Kuchud also laughed.
Schumacher shook his head disapprovingly. They had all put themselves in the shoes of slave owners and nobles. They did not think about how humiliating and unfortunate their lives would be if they became slaves. However, as the commander of the northern fleet of the Chikder Chamber of Commerce, Schumacher was concerned about whether or not he could complete his mission and reach a food deal with the Kingdom of Haneabada instead of sympathizing with those lowly slaves.
Beyond the Fallen Feather Island was Golden Shark Island and Duck Island. In the distance, Nubit Port could already be seen. Perhaps it was because of the cold rain, but there were not many people on the pier. Moreover, the two sides of the piers where ships were parked along the coast were empty. It was not as lively as it used to be with ships of all sizes.
"What's going on? Why is Nubit Port so deserted? What happened?" Old Codd, who was at the helm, was stunned.
"Isn't it good that there are so many empty seats?" Schumacher rolled his eyes. "Didn't we get the news before we set sail? All the slave nobles of the Kingdom of Haneabada have joined forces to attack the Andinac Kingdom's Silovas Island, which is the territory of the count who is hostile to our Chamber of Commerce. Now that there are no ships and few people here, it's very likely that they have obtained some benefits and moved again."
This reason was very good and powerful, and no one could refute it.
However, the closer they got to Nubit Port, the more sailors and crew crowded onto the deck. Everyone was impatient to get off the ship and have some fun.
"Eh? Why do those slave nobles have the leisure to build a hill next to the pier? Is that a pyramid? What's it for? "Old Codd, who was at the helm, was very curious. Should that be a pyramid? What are those slave nobles trying to do by building such a huge pyramid on the pier?
As they got closer and closer, Grand Swordmaster Cucciu, who was staring at the pyramid, suddenly sucked in a breath of cold air and began to tremble.
"What's wrong?" Schumacher asked.
"That, that's human heads … They're all, all, human heads, human heads, a golden pyramid …" Grand Swordmaster Cucciu finally finished his sentence while trembling.
"What did you say?" Schumacher pounced to the right. When he looked up, he felt as if a gush of cold water had been poured over his head. His entire body turned cold, as if he had fallen into an ice cave …
The fleet was less than a hundred meters away from the pier of Nubit Port, and they were still getting closer. The 30-meter-tall pyramid that was built on the beach to the right of the pier came into view. Pyramids weren't rare. There were many pyramid-shaped buildings excavated from the ruins of Galinthea Continent, but most of them were mausoleums. However, this pyramid that was built next to the pier of Nubit Port was made entirely of human heads from top to bottom …
These skulls had obviously been treated with antisepsis. Their pale faces still had the remnants of despair, pain, and madness before they died. If it was just one skull, then it would be the same if there were hundreds or thousands of them. The visual impact of a pyramid made of these skulls was so strong, especially when these skulls were poured with transparent rubber vine juice. It looked like there were countless skulls in a large piece of pyramid-shaped crystal …
All the sailors on the deck were silent. They only felt that their hands and feet were not listening to them, and an indescribable fear rose from their hearts. Their teeth were chattering, their hands and feet were trembling, and their entire bodies were trembling …
Many of the brave sailors on the fleet had seen thousands of people die, and some had even crawled out from piles of corpses. However, in the face of this huge pyramid of human heads, no one could maintain their courage. They stared blankly at the pyramid of human heads, forgetting their duties and what they should and should be doing …
More than ten ships collided with each other due to the daze and mistakes of their controllers, and the entire fleet was entangled.
Schumacher came back to his senses and was about to order the fleet to regroup when he heard the sound of a bugle horn reverberating in the sky above Nubit Port.
Countless well-equipped soldiers rushed to the pier and lined up in formation. Among them, countless ballistae were pushed to the front, and huge bolts gleaming with cold light were aimed at the fleet, ready to fire.
Schumacher and Kuchud's expressions changed drastically. Immediately after, bugles sounded from Golden Shark Island and Duck Island, and long lines of soldiers and rows of strange-looking vehicles appeared on the islands. Then, bugles sounded from the rear of the fleet as well, and seven or eight large ships blocked the fleet's path to the port. The northern fleet of the Chicant Merchant Group was like a turtle in a jar, unable to escape even if they grew wings.
Laurist led the two great swordsmen, Eric and Hugh, to the pier and shouted at the chaotic fleet, "Abandon your weapons and spare your lives! Disembark and surrender!"
All the Norton soldiers roared in unison, "Abandon your weapons and spare your lives! Disembark and surrender! Abandon your weapons and spare your lives! Disembark and surrender! … "
The northern fleet responded in silence …
Laurist waved his hand, and the bugle horn sounded again.
The Thunder Catapults from Golden Shark Island and Duck Island, which were in the front row, hurled the first batch of fireballs at the area behind the fleet where there were no ships. Over a distance of more than 400 meters, nearly a hundred fireballs smashed into the water, creating waves that were several meters high.
Schumacher's face turned pale, "What do we do?"
Kuchud clenched his teeth, "There's nothing we can do. There's at least one great swordsman at the pier, and he has a strong murderous aura. I-I'm afraid I'm no match for him …"
Schumacher turned to look at the sailors on the deck, but no one dared to look him in the eye. In front of that huge pyramid of human heads, almost everyone had lost the courage to resist. Now that they had fallen into a trap and were surrounded, resisting would only lead to death.
Schumacher lowered his head and issued his last order as the commander of the fleet, "Lower the sails, raise the white flag, and pull to the shore. We surrender …"
…
”
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
