The flag of the Eagle Claw army, bathed in flames, was fluttering above the huge port of Marlin Castle. The military band was playing impassioned music.
"The undead pirates, the Skaven Rat Men, and the northern barbarians have once again invaded our country! But this time, we are fully prepared! Powerful fleets and cannons will help us eliminate the enemy! " On the leaflet, the comic of the Ashes Corps' recruitment showed a huge fleet exterminating the undead pirates through fierce artillery fire.
"Young men and women of the old world, fight for the future of all mankind!"
"We have a fleet!"
"We have weapons!"
"We need warriors!"
"We need an excellent officer like General Fernando Pilazzo!" The captain of the Ashes Corps' Phoenix Guard, Fernando Pilazzo, had a tall figure and was covered in purple-gold plate armor. He held a two-handed sword and had a domineering posture that made people not dare to look him in the eye.
"A devout knight like Sir Julius!" The expedition knight held a two-handed sword and dealt with a dozen green dwarfs alone. The light of the Lake God enveloped him.
"A brave warrior like Captain Pedro and General Felix Edmundovich!" In the comic, the cold-faced general of the winged cavalry, Felix, was preparing to set off. Captain Pedro angrily roared, "Fight with all your might! Soldiers, which one of you wants endless glory and wealth?"
"The Ashes Corps needs you! Soldiers, follow Army Commander Fogen to conquer the new world! "
"As long as you join the army, you can have a chance to be retried! Once you join the army, you will become a free citizen! "
"Do you want to know more? Please immediately go to the recruitment office of the Ashes Corps in Marlin Castle for more detailed information! "
After more than ten years, Marlin Castle was still as prosperous and lively as before. Even though it was almost the Winter Veil Festival, large groups of cargo ships and warships were still coming in and out of the port. It was extremely prosperous and crowded to the point that it was abnormal. People gathered at the recruitment office and recruitment office of the Ashes Corps. Many vicious bandits and adventurers who wanted to have a bright future competed to ask about the treatment and environment.
On the contrary, the place where Ba Feng Mountain's treasury bonds were sold was opposite the Ashes Legion's recruitment office. The simple mansion was completely deserted and no one paid any attention to it.
Grand Duke Vanderguber Schultz and his steward Muller were standing on top of a detached villa that belonged to him, gazing at the recruitment point in the distance. Schultz lowered his head, apparently thinking about something. His courtier and steward Muller stood respectfully behind Schultz. More than a decade had passed, but Muller didn't show any signs of aging. It could be seen that this steward of Schultz was definitely not a weakling.
"Ba Feng Mountain still can't sell the national debt?" Schultz was wearing a luxurious silk outfit. Compared to before he went to Colona to watch the coronation ceremony, there was now an extra golden double-headed eagle emblem on his clothes. He looked at the lively crowd and turned to Muller and asked, "What about you?"
Muller stood behind Schultz and said respectfully, "There should only be a dozen or so people buying it these few days."
Schultz frowned and then asked, "Have you found out who's behind this?"
"It's Van Hugmans' Juden Chamber of Commerce, Casanova of the Gentlemen League, and … the romantic Adabay Hensman," Muller said in a low voice. Muller said in a low voice, "They think that they have done it very discreetly, but everything is under our control … But my Duke, they have done it very cleanly this time. There are no problems. They have used complicated cash flows and various organizations, trusts, and banks to control this operation. They did not use force or hostile takeover, so we have no excuse to act."
"Hensman? That old pervert, what is he trying to do against King Laing? "Schultz's expression was a little uncertain." Doesn't he know that this is distributed through my channel? It seems that this old dog is not listening to me anymore. "
For a long time, Schultz and Adabay Hensman had maintained a delicate and peaceful relationship. Since Schultz came to Marlin Castle, he had been working hard to eliminate the vampires and control the upper and lower houses of Marlin Castle. After he gradually eliminated all the vampires hiding in the city, it was natural that the gray areas needed to be controlled by someone else. Adabay Hensman took advantage of this opportunity and became the leader of the famous underground organization in Marlin Castle. The two sides formed a tacit understanding.
Schultz acquiesced to Adabay Hensman's actions, because even Schultz couldn't control the slums of Marlin Castle, the dark underground tunnels, and the dark corners of the ordinary streets. The cost was too high, and the profit was too low. Therefore, Hensman and Schultz were like two sides of a coin. The two sides reached a tacit understanding. Hensman controlled all the gray areas and gangs, and at the same time, he tried his best to solve the problems and not cause any trouble for Marlin Castle. Schultz, on the other hand, turned a blind eye to Hensman's actions and reached a compromise.
From another point of view, Hensman was indeed a very capable guy. This guy once accomplished an amazing feat, which was to sleep with the wife of the current Grand Duke of Nord and Kurfürst Theodoric Geisel! Also, it was not an accident, but a carefully designed trap. Taking advantage of the fact that the Kingdom of Nord suffered heavy losses from the series of wars and the invasion of Egil Redeye, Hensman expressed that he could give the Kingdom of Nord a low-interest loan with his rich connections and financial resources, in exchange for renting the former capital of the Kingdom of Nord, Saison Mond, for three years and other additional conditions. In order to reverse the terrible financial situation, Geisel agreed to negotiate. Using this opportunity, Hensman achieved his goal. This was one of his proudest masterpieces. This playboy had a very special hobby for those beautiful noble ladies.
The situation of ruling Marlin Castle was different. Schultz couldn't rule Marlin Castle like a certain platform where judgment was based on posts, evidence was based on confessions, and verification was based on imagination. There was no way he could rule Marlin Castle for thirty years if he did that.
"Pay close attention to the movements of Hensman and the other merchant guilds," Schultz said to Schultz. "Since they didn't break the rules, we can't take action for now. The only thing we can do now is to wait for news of King Laing's victory. Then, we can strike back."
"Yes." Schultz nodded.
"Now, we can only wait for news of Laing."
… I'm the starting point of the death penalty, and the dividing line between prosperity and peace …
At the same time, in the Old World, in the southern countries of Tyrell, the Pirate Duchy of Satusa.
Even in the southern countries that worshipped freedom and democracy, Satusa was a special existence. This offshore island in the southern part of Tyrell had always been known as the "Pirate Duchy" or the "Country of Freedom". Like the Troll Kingdom, this place was a notorious criminal paradise. It harbored all kinds of pirates, bandits, lawless mercenaries, and anyone who wanted to avoid the various law enforcement organizations of the Old World.
This was an extremely dangerous place. Drunken pirates would force unprepared people into their ranks. Fights and duels were happening all the time. Thieves shuttled through the filthy and crowded docks, looking for easy targets.
However, despite the risks, people with strong wills could not only survive in this place, but also thrive. Away from the unfair taxes, tyrannical nobles, and strict laws, one could set off from Satusa to Araby in the south, the prince's territory in the east, and the endless foreign lands across the sea.
In short, Satusa was the perfect place to find fame, plunder, and endless adventure.
There were almost no beaches or shoals on the island, because most of the land was raised above the sea by limestone cliffs from tens to hundreds of feet in the air. These walls were covered with countless caves, tunnels, and potholes, many of which could be entered from the water. This made pirates who wanted to build a pirate base outside the city limits particularly fond of the island, because it could provide a perfect defense against enemies who came to attack Satusa.
When Laing led a team of Old Guard, dozens of Knight Squires, Kalad, Antelm, Fedmond, Veronica, and Olica followed Irinasa – Saltwater's Hatred onto Satusa's land, the entire docks were filled with hostile and vigilant gazes.
The docks were wide and full of guards. In this place, everyone was armed with scimitars and muskets. Everyone was deeply hostile towards each other. Most of the people on the docks were pirates, sailors, workers, pickpockets, and peddlers. Seeing these well-dressed Knights, Nobles, and Old Guard appear, the bandits were both greedy and fearful. They gathered in twos and threes, cautiously looking at the newcomers and whispering to each other.
The Knights and Old Guard's sense of order was too obvious. This was simply a natural enemy for the pirates who were inclined towards chaos.
"Big … Big Sister, you're finally back. These people …" A few pirates with bandanas on their heads, guns and scimitars on their waists, wearing short-sleeved shirts and trousers came up and stood in front of everyone.
"These are our … partners. They came to Satusa to do something. I brought them here under my father's orders." Irinasa – Saltwater's Hatred frowned. She held a harpoon in her hand and said to Laing and the others, "Satusa does not welcome you! But since you are looking for Captain Ross, I grant you permission to land on the island. In this place, your Knights' Spirit and Empire's laws are useless. This is a free land, and it belongs to pirates. Absolute freedom. The only thing you need to abide by is the Pirate Code! "
"Pirate Code? This is the first time I've heard of it. " Kalad stood on the docks and could feel an instinctive sense of disgust. It was the instinctive disgust of Order towards Chaos. He suppressed his displeasure and said to Salt Grudge, "What code? I'm strong and I'm right? If I steal, it's mine? "
"There are only three codes you need to abide by. First, the murderer must pay with his life. Second, the murderer and the thief must pay with his life. Third, everyone has the right to protect their own life, property, and honor." Salt Grudge said loudly, "This is the rule of the island. For the sake of my father, you can leave if you get what you want."
"If no one invades us, we naturally won't kill, steal, hurt, or do anything else." Fedmond stepped forward, "We need clues."
"… Follow me!" Salt Grudge's attitude towards Fedmond was better, "If you want to know about Captain Ross, you should go find that person."
Laing and the others looked at each other. They really didn't know much about Satusha. The only thing they knew was that Captain Ross seemed to have been Satusha's biggest pirate leader in the past. He had a fleet and amazing wealth in his hands, but in the end, he disappeared forever in the depths of the vast ocean.
Now, Satusha's most powerful fleet was Salt Grudge's pirate fleet. The most powerful pirate leader was Salt Grudge herself. She occupied the pirate principality, but even so, Salt Grudge was only one of the largest pirate forces in Satusha. Laing saw this and held Veronica's hand, "Well, let us follow her first."
"I suspect she will take us to the city and sell us to the ogres. Wow, a group of delicious tin cans," Veronica joked.
Everyone laughed when they heard this. Strictly speaking, Veronica might not be joking.
In Satusha, people could see almost all the races of the old world. In addition to humans, dwarves, elves, ogres, green skin, and even ogres, lizardmen, and undead could be seen on this island. The pirates under Salt Grudge were really diverse. The only thing Satusha prohibited were the followers of Chaos and Chaos Wizards.
Satusha City was built on a coastal cliff about 30 meters high. Now, this was temporarily the area controlled by Salt Grudge. The residents of Satusha directly built a labyrinth of bridges and scaffolding on the rocks. On this pile of planks, pillars, and wood, there were a few houses close to the side of the cliff.
Other Satusha people directly carved out their homes on the porous limestone of the cliff. Most of these houses were dirty hells, but there were some — usually the oldest, magnificent, and well-equipped.
But no matter who it was, whether it was a human or a dwarf, or even an undead or a green skin, everyone displayed their weapons and strength. The main road of Satusha City was called Spike Street. To some extent, it had become an "administrative district." On this street, all kinds of rare treasures and specialties from all over the world were sold. Most of them were fake, but there were also many real things. On both sides of Spike Street were crumbling houses, leather factories, fishmongers, weapon manufacturers, and dozens of taverns and inns. The vendors hawking food along the street were selling pork, beef, and chicken. It was very likely that they were made of rat and duck meat.
"Lady Ironasa, where can we get information about Captain Ross?" Laing tried to make himself look more pleasant.
"Captain." Salt Grudge said impatiently, "I am not a woman. I am the captain. You must call me captain."
"Very good, Captain?" Laing said with a smile.
"About Captain Ross, there is a Mrs. Kiesler who knows a lot about him. I suggest you go to him." After hearing the captain's address, Salt Grudge finally showed a satisfied expression. Her tone was still stiff, "This is Mrs. Kiesler. Many of you may have heard of his name."
"His name is Lev Davidovich. He was once the chief minister of internal affairs in Kislöw. After the Great Holy War, he and the then Tsar Boris Bokaha established the Kislöw Shooting Army and the Artillery Army. He was known as the 'Founder of the New Army of Kislöw' and the 'Leader and Organizer of the New Army of Kislöw'. But later, because of political differences, he gradually lost the trust of the previous Tsar Boris Bokaha. His proposal to limit Tsar's excessive control of military power and oppose Boris spending all the treasury savings to force the 'Great Purge' campaign led to his eventual enmity by Boris Tsar. He was eventually expelled and exiled."
"After being exiled for a few years, he still fiercely opposed Boris's rule and even escaped an assassination attempt. A Kislöw assassin used an ice pick blessed by the Ice Witch to assassinate him. Lev took the ice pick in a struggle and killed the assassin. Then he fled south to Satusa and lived here in seclusion for more than 20 years. He once worked with the Pirate King, Captain Ross."
"If you want to know more about Captain Ross, ask him yourself."
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