Chapter 249: Section 37: Empire Mission
The knight youth was Silver Level, Zong Ge was at the peak of Silver Level, and both Yi Shen and Di Lou were as well.
Three ships had four Silver Levels, including Black Iron Level individuals like Sanda, Cang Xu, and Little Bird. The strength of the Justice Pirate Group indeed was remarkably vast.
“Oh, that’s right. Not long ago, Golden Chin came back for supplies. He left behind a portion of the goods, which belong to you, Captain Long Fu,” the receptionist added.
Initially, the knight youth defeated and captured Golden Chin and the Sea Snake Lady, and thereafter he joined the Empire and signed an alliance with them.
The alliance stipulated that Golden Chin and the Sea Snake Lady maintained their freedom of movement, but they had to respond to the knight youth’s call unconditionally twice a year, and one-third of their earnings over the next three years had to be contributed to the knight youth and others.
To prevent any loopholes, this tribute also had a stipulated minimum value.
To motivate Golden Chin and the Sea Snake Lady, there was also a maximum limit to the tribute. If this limit was exceeded, the tribute would automatically end, and the three-year agreement would terminate.
Including the goods contributed by Golden Chin, the knight youth’s bargaining chips suddenly increased significantly and became quite substantial.
Moved by the receptionist’s proposal, the Dragon-man youth couldn’t help but feel tempted.
But he clearly remembered the cost of upgrading the permissions and revealed a puzzled expression, “To upgrade to Silver permissions, my Gold Coins are sufficient. But the Empire’s contribution…”
The receptionist smiled and said, “The contribution to the Empire is also sufficient. Captain Long Fu, during this sailing, you experienced two victories, and your record is commendable. Our side has already calculated your contribution for this voyage.”
Seeing the specific contribution estimate, the Dragon-man youth felt a slight joy.
This result was more than he had originally anticipated.
The receptionist continued, “Your triumphant return this time had minimal consumption, even including the resources consumed for food and freshwater. The damage to the ships was minor, especially the Justice, which was negligible. In fact, items like the Bronze Cannons can still be used for a while.”
Previously, the Dragon-man youth was never satisfied with the equipment on the Justice.
He wanted better equipment.
Like cannons.
But in reality, these Bronze Cannons already possessed sufficient competitiveness in naval clashes. This conclusion could be drawn by comparing them to the Rapids and Little Bird.
As for Golden Level adversaries, such as Rou Cang, even Silver Level cannons wouldn’t make a difference.
Yet, in the end, the Dragon-man youth still shook his head and suppressed the urge to upgrade his permissions.
If he upgraded his permissions, then his capital would be almost depleted, unable to exchange for sufficient resources and impeding the enhancement of his side’s strength.
To an outsider like the receptionist, upgrading permissions seemed indeed a wise move.
But in reality, the situation for the Dragon-man youth and others was dire. They needed to seize the time and could not afford to be relaxed or leisurely.
They relied on the Pearl Bubble to temporarily conceal themselves, hoping to forego some benefits to gain understanding from the Empire.
At this stage, they already faced challenging trials.
They needed to find the Mei Lan temple to see if they could replenish Divine Power for the Mermaid’s Fairy Tale, thereby delaying their discovery.
From the current intelligence, their enemies included a Silver Level Undead Mage, who was also a Desecration Priest. Additionally, there were cultists of Mei Lan, and it was impossible to estimate the defensive forces of Mei Lan temple itself—who knows what was actually inside.
Thus, enhancing their own strength as much as possible to cope with the upcoming challenges was the wisest choice.
The receptionist was slightly disappointed with the Dragon-man youth’s decision.
Upgrading permissions also demonstrated the Justice Pirate Group’s loyalty and trust toward the Empire.
The receptionist had no right to stop the Dragon-man youth’s actions; he could at most offer some advice.
He handed the youth a scroll.
This was the Empire’s list, employing the alchemy technique of endless paper.
“This is the current exchange price,” the receptionist said.
The Dragon-man youth carefully reviewed it, noticing that although the prices had fluctuated slightly, they were overall stable. Notably, there were about a dozen items added or removed from the list since last time.
“We need cannons, an estimate of four Silver Level alchemy cannons.”
“The Justice needs a figurehead of the Peace Angel.”
“Magic Beast Meat… this one, this one, and this one.”
“Right, the cabins of the Justice need remodeling. The combat training rooms are too few; we need three training combat rooms.”
“We’ll take three crates of Underwater Breathing Potions, one crate of Healing Potions, thirty of Magic Power Supplement Potions, and Spirit Stabilizers each.”
“As for Magic Scrolls, including Wind Blast, Windless Domain, Freshwater Creation, Air Creation, etc., all need to be procured.”
“Oh, and also Contract Scrolls that allow temporary additions or modifications.”
The Dragon-man youth blurted out.
The first time he checked the Empire’s list, he was slow. This time, however, he was decisive and outspoken.
In fact, on the journey back to port, he and Zong Ge, Cang Xu, and others had already discussed multiple times and had already thought through their needs.
They also had an imperial list at hand.
Whenever they had free time, the knight youth, Zong Ge, Cang Xu, and others would study the contents of the list.
Of course, this content was outdated, and as time passed, the gap with actual situations would only widen.
This time, upon returning to port for supplies, they were to return the imperial list to the receptionist and exchange it for the latest one.
The knight youth then discussed with Cang Xu, Zong Ge, and others, and produced another list for exchanging resources.
Previously, the youth had blurted out the confirmed items. Now, the new list was due to changes in information; after discussion, they made temporary changes and adjustments.
This included sandbags for the knight youth’s cultivation of Fighting energy. The previous sandbags had all been destroyed, and now the new red bean sandbags he was buying were the most suitable ones, expected to last a long time.
Zong Ge requested books on naval combat tactics.
Cang Xu needed various alchemy materials.
The receptionist confirmed these items and completed most of the transactions on the spot.
“Captain Long Fu’s group is indeed ambitious. The wealth they plundered hasn’t even warmed up yet, and it’s all been spent generously. The key is that all this capital is used to enhance strength, with not a bit wasted on pleasure.”
The receptionist couldn’t help but think of the previous batch of pirates he had catered to.
“Although Kou Zhao is a Gold Level pirate, he sold the stolen goods for gold coins and stored them. The salary he gives to his subordinates is also quite meager. With this spirit, he can’t compare to Long Fu.”
“In time, this group could become pirates surpassing Kou Zhao, becoming renowned. As long as one of them is promoted to a Gold Level fighter!”
The receptionist was in the dark.
Now the knight youth and his companions had their minds filled with thoughts of disguising, escaping guilt, and seeking redemption. They had neither the time nor the mood for pleasures.
Looking at the newest imperial list, the youth couldn’t help but sigh.
Too many good things!
He had to force himself to resist these temptations.
For instance, the Combat Skill called Dragon Claw Strike he discovered this time was extremely suitable for him.
Zong Ge had just strongly hoped to exchange for some war slaves.
These slaves were physically robust and tactically proficient, inherently geared for warfare.
With these war slaves as the core, and the varied pirates as support, Zong Ge could outline a formidable iron army in reality.
But there was no money.
Gold coins were easy to discuss, but empire contributions were key.
Especially the quality items, they almost all required empire contributions.
This was clearly a conspiracy of the Holy Bright Empire setting up spy missions, blatantly laid out there.
With limited capital, the knight youth and his group had to think deeply and make the right choices to maximize their strengths.
The receptionist, perceptible to expressions, saw the Dragon-man youth reluctantly roll up the scroll, and he smiled inwardly, familiar with this demeanor.
The receptionist then spoke up, “Captain Long Fu, there is a mission available now that I highly recommend. Because if you can complete it, you will earn a lot of empire contributions.”
Empire spy mission—Kill the pirate Captain Silver Hook!
“Three days ago, this group audaciously robbed a military supply ship near Stinky Bay. The ship was carrying a large amount of military rations and over a dozen boxes of munitions, one of which contained three hundred low-level Fireball Technique Magic Scrolls,” the receptionist explained.
The reward for this mission was indeed substantial.
Just the empire contributions alone were a large sum, far exceeding the total empire contributions previously spent by the Justice Pirate Group.
If they secured this income, the Justice Pirate Group, not short on gold coins, could not only elevate permissions but also save a great amount of capital the next time.
Seeing the Dragon-man youth seemed tempted, the receptionist continued, “Currently, Silver Hook and his group possess 12 pirate ships, including 1 Black Iron Level, 3 Bronze Level. There are 4 Silver Level, including 3 fighters, with Silver Hook himself at the Silver Peak. Additionally, there is a Silver Level Wind Mage.”
“It’s worth noting that this group of thieves is very well-equipped. They are generally armed with Bronze Level cannons, totaling over 120. There are 4 Silver Level cannons.”
“They have a crew of flying hook pirates, roughly 20 men, each with at least Bronze Level Cultivation. The small leaders are all Black Iron Level fighters. They cultivate Fighting energy similar to Silver Hook, and are very adept with flying hook weapons.”
“If Captain Long Fu takes on this mission, I recommend you contact Golden Chin and Sea Snake Lady to join forces, sharing the risk.”
The Dragon-man youth couldn’t help but be astonished; Silver Hook Pirates were very powerful.
Although the pirate captain was only Silver Level, whether it was the ships, cannons, elite pirates’ numbers, or size, it all far surpassed the Justice Pirate Group.
The Justice Pirate Group currently had four Silver Fighters, which was the biggest advantage of the Justice Pirate Group. But Silver Hook Pirates had caught up and even had a slight edge because one of them was a Mage.
Just on paper, the Justice Pirate Group was no match. As the receptionist said, they needed to join forces with Golden Chin and the Sea Snake Lady. Anyway, the knight youth had the power to force them to join.
This probably was also within the calculations of the receptionist.
After all, the content of the covenant at that time, the knight youth did not hide.