Chapter 227: Section 15: Mermaid Tavern
New Moon Port belonged to New Moon Town; it faced Feiyu Strait and was backed by Honeymoon Forest.
Honeymoon Forest was the largest Elf-administered territory within the Holy Bright Empire, and the Elf King had surrendered to the Holy Emperor early on. The Holy Emperor then made it part of the Empire’s Marquisate.
Honeymoon Forest was rich in resources, the most famous of which was Moon Spring Water. Drinking this water could quickly replenish one’s Magic Power. If one drank it over an extended period, it could also increase the upper limit of one’s Magic Power reserves.
The Elves living in the forest maintained large-scale trade with the Holy Bright Empire all year round. However, New Moon Town, despite being adjacent to this vast forest, didn’t serve as a trade hub.
The town serving as the trade hub was Colorful Hill Town, located atop a mountain, into which the Empire had invested a great deal. Colorful Hill Town sat directly across the forest from New Moon Town.
Colorful Hill Town boasted an air harbor famous throughout the Empire. Airships, hot air balloons, Griffins, and Sky Whales came and went all year round; especially in March and September, all sorts of flying mounts and devices circled and landed in the skies of Colorful Hill Town like flocks of birds.
Compared to the more convenient and well-developed air routes of Colorful Hill Town, the sea lanes of New Moon Town were far less competitive.
New Moon Town itself had no special products, but its development also depended on Honeymoon Forest.
The difference was that New Moon Town relied not on trade, but on the annual Beast Tide from Honeymoon Forest.
The Beast Tide was both a crisis and an opportunity.
The Mercenary Guild and Thief Guild had established branches here, the Super Mercenary Corps had set up offices, and Hunting Groups were regular visitors. Mages and Scholars could be seen from time to time. The time before and after the Beast Tide was the busiest for New Moon Town.
Mermaid Tavern was the largest and oldest tavern in New Moon Town.
The reason it was the largest and oldest was that it was the only tavern in the entire town.
Inside the tavern, it was noisy and brightly lit.
The bartender was wiping glasses behind the bar.
A male bard was singing on stage. The song had a lively rhythm and was imbued with a rich tropical flavor.
At that moment, the door of the bar was suddenly pushed open.
Four people looking travel-worn burst in and drew the attention of many.
The leader was a Human Race man, robust with straw-yellow hair and emanating a deep and rich Bronze aura.
Following him was a goblin, his face covered with a black cloth and a Longsword strapped to his back.
After that came an old man with a face full of wrinkles and a corpulent figure, wearing huge spectacles. His black and white beard was well groomed.
Lastly was a young man with an average appearance and seemingly a bit nervous.
The four made their way through the tables and headed straight for the bar.
The elder was the first to speak with a hoarse voice, starting off with a complaint, “This damn mountain road.”
Then he plopped down onto a high stool, tapped the bar’s surface, and asked, “What good drinks do you have here?”
The bartender put down the glass he was wiping: “Guest, our specialty here is Bronze Apple Wine. The ingredients come from a Bronze Apple Tree in the central city of Honeymoon Forest. You’re surely aware of Copper Apples, Iron Apples, Silver Apples, and even Golden Apples, right?”
The old man raised his eyebrows slightly, showing a hint of surprise.
These apples were not ordinary, being Magic Plants that contained wondrous Magic Power. Consuming them over a long period could allow a Transcendent of the corresponding Level to increase their foundation and rapidly grow stronger. More importantly, when a Transcendent was at the Peak of their life but temporarily stuck in a bottleneck, unable to break through, they could choose to consume a higher-grade apple to help themselves achieve the breakthrough.
These Magic Apples were the most precious trade items from Honeymoon Forest. As for Moon Spring Water, it was a Holy Object of the Elf Clan, never sold to the public.
The old man smiled, “Then give me a cup of Bronze Apple Wine. Everyone else, some beer.”
“One cup of Bronze Apple Wine for one Gold Coin. The total for the beers is eighteen copper coins,” the bartender said with a smile, sensing the ordinary Life Breath from the old man and advised, “Old sir, try not to drink too much.”
The old man directly took out two Gold Coins from his pocket, placed them on the bar, pressed down on the surface of the coins with two fingers, and then slowly pushed them toward the bartender: “Tell me some news.”
Thus, the bartender understood that the extra money was the old man’s fee for information.
“If you are here to inquire about the Beast Tide, then I have to tell you, you have come too early.”
“No, no, no.” The old man shook his head, “Tell me about the ships.”
He lowered his voice slightly and added, “the ships I’m talking about aren’t merchant ships or warships.”
The bartender gave a brief flash of sharpness in his eyes and also lowered his voice, “Then you are quite fortunate because these few days, there’s a good opportunity. At least two ships will dock at the port for extensive supplies. Whether those two ships are hiring, I’m not sure.”
“Two ships? What kind are they?” the old man pressed on.
“They are a group. I’m not fully aware of the specifics, but they’re strong. The Captains of both ships are Silver Level masters. And it’s said that among this pirate group, there are more than two Silver Level Transcendents!”
The old man puzzled, “Exactly which group is it? Two Captains? Is it a small alliance?”
The bartender shook his head, “That, I’m not too sure.”
The old man took out another Gold Coin.
But the bartender refused to take it.
This made the old man understand that it wasn’t that the bartender didn’t want the money, but that he knew no more than he had already told.
Nevertheless, the old man still pushed the Gold Coin towards the bartender, “I want to get on the ship, do you have any connections?”
The bartender sighed, shaking his head, “No connections. This is their first time docking. But I think you have a good chance. This group has been through a great battle, and although they were defeated, their opponents were Golden Fighters. It’s said they lost a ship, and you can imagine the loss of personnel.”
The old man looked at his three companions, and he instantly understood that the pirate group the bartender referred to was the group with the knight youth, Zong Ge, and the One in Grey.
The old man was none other than Cang Xu.
The other three were Lan Zao, Sanda, and Bai Ya.
Although the knight youth had captured 006 and initially reached cooperation with the Empire, securing a Magic Contract, this time, they would personally head to the Empire’s seaport to resupply.
The knight youth certainly would not proceed straight there; what if the truth of Mysterious Monster Island were exposed? What if the Empire side wanted to lure and kill the pirates?
Therefore, the knight youth ordered Cang Xu and the others to land first and scout the situation. Meanwhile, he personally led the fleet, anchoring at Nameless Island for resupply, to buy Cang Xu and the others time for reconnaissance.
Cang Xu and his associates took the Deep Sea Monster Fish to New Moon Port ahead of the rest, slightly altering their appearances using various means, and headed to the Mermaid Tavern to gather information.
There is a saying in the Empire that goes well—”Wine can’t invent anything, but it can shake out secrets.”
Thus, taverns have always been excellent places to gather intelligence.
Hearing news that their group was to resupply relieved much of Cang Xu’s worries.
Once news had spread, the Empire’s likelihood of setting a trap to kill them diminished greatly.
For the Empire, credibility was more important than luring and killing a few Silver Level pirates.
From the information obtained from 006, Cang Xu was quite clear: the Holy Bright Empire had big plans for the pirate’s seat of god.
Therefore, the Empire would not abandon such significant plans merely to dispose of some Silver pirates.
As for why the news got out?
The answer was quite simple.
The supply provision by the Empire would inevitably involve personnel and resource mobilization. And some of the supplies requested by the knight youth included particularly large items.
These things could not be concealed.
As long as people were involved, naturally, there would be information circulating.
Of course, merely gathering information was far from enough; as part of their plan, Cang Xu and the others would also sneak to the docks at night.
But now it wasn’t late enough for that.
Cang Xu and his associates still remained in the tavern, continuing to gather other intelligence while waiting for the right moment.
The tavern’s business was booming, constantly bringing new customers.
The Mermaid Tavern was not large and soon became noisier and more crowded.
Cang Xu and the others had left the bar and were sitting at a table in the corner.
A tall, thin man with black hair bumped into Cang Xu.
“Sorry!”
He gestured with his hand and immediately turned to leave.
But suddenly, Sanda made a move, grabbing the man in an instant and with a fierce blow, knocked him to the ground.
The man clutched his stomach, groaning in pain.
Sanda casually pulled out a purse from the man’s embrace and placed it on the table in front of Cang Xu.
Seeing his own purse, Cang Xu’s face showed a look of astonishment.
“Thief!” Bai Ya exclaimed.
“I’ll handle this,” Lan Zao stood up, grabbed the man by the collar, dragged him all the way to the tavern door, then pushed the door open and threw the thief outside.
Due to this disturbance, the raucous noise in the tavern subsided somewhat but quickly returned to its previous level.
Cang Xu quietly listened in the corner.
Many pieces of information often slipped through the conversations of these drinkers.
He got what he had hoped for, information regarding their own group. After the mysterious disappearance of the Pig Kiss, the Holy Temple Knights, the Holy Sect, and the Hundred Needle Family had all sent people to search for a while. After the search proved fruitless, the rescue teams were disbanded, and the missing persons posters for Zhenjin, Jia Sha, and others had already been posted in coastal cities everywhere.
The posters had their portraits and also indicated a handsome bounty.
Cang Xu was not worried.
This situation was within his expectations. Moreover, although Zhenjin and Jia Sha had made contact with those in grey early on, their appearances had also been altered to a certain extent and differed significantly from their original looks.
Most importantly, the knight youth possessed Bai He’s Fighting Energy. This type of Fighting Energy was quite common and not unique to the Hundred Needle Fighting Energy, making it difficult for people to make a connection between the two.
“What a fascinating story!” Bai Ya suddenly exclaimed.
Cang Xu was taken aback.
Bai Ya pointed to the bard on the tavern stage, “Don’t you think the story he’s reciting is fascinating?”
Cang Xu paused, his attention had been focused on the other customers’ conversations, and he had neglected the music that had been present all along.
The bard on stage strummed the lyra as another person accompanied him on the flute.
The poetry he recited was in the classic format of a heroic epic, telling the tale of several heroes who discovered cultists and brought them to justice to protect the townspeople.
Cang Xu initially thought little of it, but at the end of the poem, the bard, in a tone of praise, revealed the names of these heroes—they turned out to be the town’s Mayor, Guard Captain, Church Priest, and even the owner of the Mermaid Tavern.
“So this really happened,” Bai Ya marveled.
The surrounding customers were not surprised; they had heard this piece many times and were used to it.
Cang Xu hurriedly lowered his head to conceal his emotion. He had heard more information about the cultists, and the end of the song revealed his evil Faith—Mei Lan!