Above the gloomy sea, seven large merchant ships with masts crossed the strait. A light blue crystal moon flag swayed in the air. This was the symbol of the Tiago Merchant Guild.
The fleet of the Tiago Merchant Guild departed from the first half of the Grand Line and sailed day and night on the sea for more than half a month before arriving at a corner of the East Sea.
The ships turned, creating ripples on the sea. The huge sails turned, and the fleet spread out horizontally, revealing some shabby small merchant ships behind them.
There were not many small merchant ships, and they followed behind the Tiago Merchant Guild from afar like a group of hyenas behind a pride of lions.
On the main ship of the Tiago Merchant Guild, there was a deck chair on the spacious and smooth deck. A thin man was lying on it. The sea breeze blew his fine black hair, revealing a pair of long and narrow eyes. The crow's feet at the corners of his eyes were drooping and dense. Coupled with his high protruding cheekbones, his dark pupils seemed to be covered by shadows, as dark and gloomy as the silent sea before him.
Tunas, the leader of the Tiago Merchant Guild in the East Sea.
"Those hyenas have really good noses. They always find a way to follow us. How unlucky," the black-skinned, bulky man complained as he fiddled with a strange hook in his hand.
He was Tunas' assistant and bodyguard, Black Scorpion Lothar.
"Not all merchants have the guts to cross the sea, especially those behind us who only have a broken ship. They are a group of hyenas who have put their lives on the line." Tunas swirled the red wine glass in his hand and said eerily, "Don't underestimate them. They have been very obedient until now, and only dare to follow behind the Tiago Merchant Guild. As long as we give them some leftovers, they will wag their tails and beg for pity. However, once we are injured and show our weakness, they will not hesitate to pounce on us and bite off large pieces of flesh from the Tiago Merchant Guild. They will even cruelly tear us into pieces and eat us."
"If that is the case, why don't we kill them?" Black Scorpion Lothar raised his eyebrows and asked.
"No, no, no, that's too low class. Merchants chase after profits like mad dogs looking for food. If you kill them, there will be another batch. You can't kill all of them." Tunas finished the wine in one gulp. The wine stain on the corner of his mouth made his thin lips look as red as blood. "The correct approach is to put them right in front of our eyes and throw out some bones now and then for them to fight each other crazily. All we need to do is to observe coldly and determine who is the most unstable one among them. Then, we will find an opportunity to send him to the ocean. With a tiny bit of charity, the remaining guys will settle down and understand who is the master of the dog leash."
He stood up and looked at the scattered merchant ships on the distant sea. His cold gaze gradually focused on a black-red ship near the north.
The black-red texture of the bottom plate and the exaggerated shape of the 25-meter long ship made it look like a black shark. Its sharp fins cut the surface of the sea.
On the ship, a sailor in a short vest was controlling the oars and sails. He was listening to the instructions of a young man with a beard and gold-rimmed glasses. "Don't get too close. Getting too close will annoy the Tiago Chamber of Commerce. Let's keep this distance."
The young man was about 25 years old. His face was cold and hard. The gold-rimmed glasses could not hide the man's sharp eyes. They were a pair of ambitious eyes.
There was never a lack of ambitious people at sea. Lombardi was one of the most radical ones. He came from a small country in the East Sea. His family ran a winery and workshop business. Two years ago, the winery was closed down because of the king's ban on alcohol. His father was depressed and soon left.
After the funeral, he did not hesitate to sell the winery and land at a low price. It could be said that he bought a ship with all his money, recruited a few sailors, and dared to sail out to sea to beg for food.
Relying on his extraordinary courage and intelligence, and even escaping from the hands of pirates several times, Lombardi had accumulated some wealth, but it didn't change his gambling nature. He used all his wealth to modify his own ship and arm his sailors. Then, he found information from who knows where and dared to dive into the middle of a group of unfamiliar merchants with his own ship. After a few times, he was successfully accepted and followed behind the Tiago Chamber of Commerce to pick up food.
However, Lombardi was different from the merchant ships that scavenged for leftovers. His ambition was far more than that. Although he disguised himself well, he could not hide it from Tunas' eyes.
A hungry wolf mixed in with a group of greedy hyenas. They were all cold-blooded beasts, but wolves never begged for food. They always used their sharp fangs to cruelly cut the throats of their prey and slowly enjoyed a sumptuous meal.
"We have followed behind you three times. Tell me, do you remember the route?" Lombardi asked the navigator next to him who was holding a compass pointer with binoculars.
Unlike the Grand Line's changing magnetic field and climate, the East Sea was relatively calm. However, this also meant that the Log Pointer was ineffective. The advantage was that there was no need to worry about unpredictable storms. The disadvantage was that the route could only be drawn bit by bit on the sea map with the knowledge in the navigator's mind.
There were no so-called road signs on the sea, especially relatively long routes. It was far from being able to be accurately drawn after one or two runs.
"I have already drawn more than half of the route, but I am afraid it is not possible to accurately draw the route. The routes we took these three times were not exactly the same. The first half was fine, but the closer we get to Quarry Town, the more chaotic the map will be." The navigator gripped the pen in his hand and struggled to find the right words. The first two times, he was not sure where the problem was, but this was the third time. He already had doubts in his heart. "Tiago's merchant ship is deliberately leading us in circles."
"Haha …" Lombardi sneered, as if he did not find it strange. He just lightly mocked, "Tsk tsk, what a Tiago Merchant Guild. How petty."
"What do you think we should do?"
"Either we go a few more times, and I will still be able to figure out the true route, or when we return, we will leave the route Tiago opened and return on our own. At most, it will just take a little more time and energy. I can reestablish the established route back to the Grand Line."
Lombardi pondered for a moment. He took off his glasses and rubbed his sore eyelids. "It seems that we need to stay in Quarry Town for a while. I'm just afraid that the Tiago Merchant Guild won't let us … We need to ally with those greedy fellows."
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