Chapter 248: Section 36: Return to Hong Kong for Supplies
The blazing sun hung high in the sky.
The sea breeze billowed the sails, swelling them full as the three ships sliced through the ocean surface, swiftly approaching New Moon Port.
The lighthouse, noticing this progression, immediately issued a report—Justice was returning!
“It’s about time,” the Empire’s receptionist muttered as he received the news and walked out of the shipyard, standing on the dock and lifting his binoculars to gaze into the distance.
The arrival of Justice did not surprise him because the knight youth had made an appointment with him in advance.
This was a necessary procedure.
Since this was spy work, secrecy had to be maintained. Generally, communication was one-on-one. Only after prior discussion and obtaining permission could Justice receive supplies at the secret port.
This way, it was unlikely for the other lines of the Empire’s spies to run into each other.
The knight youth was unaware of which pirate the Empire side was attempting to woo or turn—Golden Chin, Sea Snake Lady were special cases.
Through the binoculars, the sea lay unobstructed at his view.
Justice was the most eye-catching.
It was a three-masted tall ship, broad in structure with protruding forecastles and sterncastles—and no figurehead yet.
The ship was 80 meters long, 36 meters wide, and 15 meters high. With three decks and 24 cannon ports, it could carry around 500 people.
Its broad top and pointed bottom made the ship streamlined, one of the Holy Bright Empire’s latest models.
“The hull is quite new, and there are no obvious scars,” the receptionist thought to himself, “It seems the battles Captain Long Fu fought were quite easy indeed.”
He was very familiar with Justice, but Rapids beside it seemed unfamiliar.
“Rapids…” the receptionist murmured to himself; he had heard of this pirate ship before.
It was a Bronze Level pirate ship.
For Di Lou, a Silver Level bard, to own a Bronze Level demon energy ship instead of a Black Iron Level was actually common in the Seven Seas.
Not all pirates had powerful backers. Even those with backers didn’t necessarily have the capability or technology to build a Black Iron Level demon energy ship.
The fact that the knight youth could easily own a Black Iron Level ship like Justice was a testament to the immense advantage of the Empire.
It was also for this reason that a man in gray could breakthrough from Bronze, and decimate the former First Officer aboard Rapids. If Rapids had been of Black Iron Level, its defensive power would have been different.
Rapids had two masts and a single deck.
On the sea, it performed very briskly.
Though the design was old, it was favored by most pirates because these ships were fast, making it easy to chase down cumbersome merchant vessels. Facing the Navy or other well-armed ships, they often managed to escape.
At the stern of Rapids, there were specifically designed twin large water holes—a Magic Device that in crucial moments could jet out intense streams of water.
The forceful collision of the water streams would drastically increase Rapids’ speed.
“Rapids has many areas that could be enhanced. Perhaps it could be upgraded to Black Iron Level,” the receptionist assessed steadily in his mind.
The damages on Rapids weren’t noticeable either.
In fact, it was more the pirate Captain Di Lou of this ship who was famously known.
Di Lou’s urine flow song was notoriously stinky, and those affected by it were left with an unforgettable impression.
To the right of Justice was Little Bird.
It also had two masts but was much smaller than Justice, and even smaller than Rapids. However, it did have many cannon ports—twelve in total, five on each side of the ship, with the remaining two split between the bow and the stern.
But the cannons were mostly standard.
“This is a normal ship. It could be modified, fitted with a portion of armaments, Magic Equipment. Generally, there isn’t much potential to tap into.”
“Long Fu’s group is really lucky. It’s only been a couple of weeks.”
The receptionist reflected internally.
He still clearly remembered the day Justice had set sail.
When they departed, Long Fu and his people had only Justice. Now, in less than half a month, they had returned with three ships.
The receptionist was aware of many details about the Justice Pirate Group’s sea voyage.
Agent 006 was no longer on Justice, but relevant information was proactively conveyed to him by the knight youth and Zong Ge using Swift Eagle, as per their agreement signed at the beginning.
Therefore, the receptionist was aware of much of the inside information regarding Justice, Little Bird, and Rapids.
Taking over Little Bird was forced by Long Fu coercing Little Bird to surrender. With Justice’s imposing strength, the likelihood of surrender was inherently high. But it was fairly rare for captains like the one from Little Bird to surrender so neatly.
As for taking over Rapids, it truly was lucky timing—they happened upon Rapids while it was resupplying. The man in gray decisively raided, with timely reinforcements from Long Fu and the Lion Flag crew, they finally succeeded. Rapids didn’t even get a chance to utilize its advantages.
The receptionist knew, had they actually encountered one another at sea, Justice might not have been able to capture Rapids.
When three ships docked together at the port, sailors had already gathered on the deck, clutching the generous wages they’d just received, and descended en masse via the gangway.
Of course, the knight youth had also left enough hands to watch over the ships.
As the crowd thinned, the knight youth and others began to disembark from the ships one after another.
The receptionist stood on the dock, his pupils slightly constricted as he saw the senior members of the Justice Pirate Group.
The knight youth had already transformed into his Dragon-man form, part-human, part-dragon, exuding majesty.
“Did he use the Bloodline Stabilizer to finally stabilize the Flame Dragon Bloodline?” the receptionist pondered.
With this, Captain Long Fu’s power had increased, and he possessed more potential now.
He then glanced at Zong Ge, who moved with the crisp aura of the military. The receptionist also acutely noticed that Zong Ge had disembarked from the Little Bird.
It seemed Captain Long Fu greatly trusted Zong Ge, having sent him on an assignment.
Zong Ge was at the peak of Silver Level, nearing Gold. Captain Long Fu was only Silver Level, his ability slightly inferior to his subordinate’s—a rare situation.
However, Zong Ge was loyal to Captain Long Fu, and Captain Long Fu trusted Zong Ge.
Their relationship made the receptionist somewhat envious.
He knew that in many groups, once a member’s power surpassed the leader’s, their ambition often grew, leading them to venture out on their own. If they stayed, they were often met with the leader’s suspicion and suppression.
This was the normal scenario.
The receptionist’s gaze then shifted to a figure dressed in gray.
This somewhat famous Beastman captain, clad in a refined suit, stood straight and silent behind the Dragon-man youth.
“A figure in gray was initially a member of Firebeard’s pirate group, yet he still follows Captain Long Fu,” the receptionist thought.
“Could it be that Captain Long Fu possesses a leadership charm, gradually conquering A figure in gray?”
The receptionist also noticed Cang Xu.
“Is he the wild mage known as Old Zhong?”
Cang Xu had caused quite a stir when he first appeared as a Mage.
“To have enlisted such a mage from the beginning of the voyage, Captain Long Fu is really lucky!”
“I heard that a Black Iron Level goblin knife-handler also joined at that time. Goblins are untrustworthy; I wonder if Captain Long Fu has signed a contract with him?”
Lastly, the receptionist’s gaze rested on the Little Bird and Di Lou, who were each carrying two large boxes.
“Little Bird, though only at Black Iron Level, had been a captain with extensive experience. Supposedly, he is also a master of artillery skills.”
“Di Lou…”
The receptionist, seeing Di Lou’s bruised and swollen unfortunate appearance, couldn’t help but smirk a little.
Di Lou was a wanted criminal, with a bounty of ten thousand Gold Coins. However, now that he had joined the Justice Pirate Group, he was one of the Empire’s men.
“Welcome, welcome! Seeing all of you lords again, each of you seems even more eminent than before,” the receptionist suppressed his overflowing thoughts, stepped forward, and greeted knight youth and the others with a beaming smile.
He then led everyone into the reception room. Milk tea and pastries were already prepared.
The Dragon-man youth showed no interest in eating. “Let’s proceed with business first. Let’s check these boxes that are to be sold to the Empire.”
The receptionist called over two Scholars who immediately started valuating.
The Treasure Boxes were opened, revealing full loads of riches and spellcasting materials.
The two Scholars were slightly amazed.
“There are many more goods in the Rapids’ hold, all to be sold to you,” the Dragon-man youth added.
After valuating the two large boxes, the Scholars went to inspect the ship’s hold.
They worked efficiently and soon came up with a result.
“Captain Long Fu, this time your gains are quite substantial,” the receptionist exclaimed sincerely after seeing the valuation results.
He knew that often, pirates paid a terrible price to plunder merchant ships, and even with massive amounts of goods, the net profit might not exceed this yield by the Dragon-man youth.
Little Bird and Di Lou were somewhat surprised by this outcome.
They looked at each other instinctively, their eyes filled with sympathy and commiseration.
Ironically, both of these men were victims of the Justice Pirate Group, unfortunate children who had been robbed.
But they did not know that the greatest victim was not themselves, but the Undead Mage who owned the undersea chamber.
The wealth obtained from the undersea chamber was enormously valuable.
The knight youth and others, to avoid suspicion, had only taken out a portion of it last time. This time, they included a part of those goods to sell to the Empire. The remaining portion was planned to be sold during a third resupply to the Empire.
Even after this third resupply, they would still retain some of the loot. However, these goods were of a sensitive nature, and the knight youth and his group did not intend to sell them to the Empire. The Black Market was their ideal place to offload these items.
As for the Empire’s valuation result, the Dragon-man youth and others did not object.
Already on the ship, mainly Fat Tongue and Cang Xu had conducted a thorough evaluation of the goods to be sold this time.
Now, the valuation results they received were even higher than their private assessment.
This also hinted at a bit of the majestic aura of the Holy Bright Empire.
“Such high valuation, honestly, is somewhat beyond my expectations. Captain Long Fu, I suggest you use these to exchange for Silver Level privileges. With that, you would be able to purchase most of the Silver Level resources. After all, the Silver Level is no longer in the minority in your pirate group,” the receptionist suggested.