Chapter 384: Section 171: The Afterglow of the Setting Sun
Fire City.
Zi Di, wearing a mask, was ushered into a quiet reception room.
A merchant had been waiting in the reception room, “Mage, I’m told by my subordinates that you have some goods you need to unload?”
Zi Di nodded slightly and spoke with a changed tone, “These are samples, take a look at the goods first.”
Saying so, Zi Di took out a firearm, a shield, and half a suit of leather armor from her spatial bag.
The merchant immediately inspected them closely. The firearm was damaged, and both the shield and the leather armor were stained with blood.
The merchant was indifferent to these signs of war, only concerned with the quality of the equipment.
After a moment’s inspection, the merchant nodded, “Mage, if all of your goods are of this quality, then I can offer you this price.”
Zi Di accepted the list of prices, glanced over them briefly, and then put them away, “I still need to discuss this with others, you are only the first shop I’ve visited.”
“I understand,” the merchant smiled. “You can inquire with several more to find the best deal. But please forgive me for adding, in this business, it’s not the bigger the scale or the higher the price, the better. What’s crucial is reliability. Our shop has been in this business for well over eighty years.”
Zi Di nodded, “I will consider it.”
The so-called business was in fact, fencing goods.
Because Fire Island is the only super island in the nearby waters, with huge flows of people, the scale of ports, docks, and markets is considerable. This leads pirates after their raids to choose this place as their preferred spot to fence their loot.
The firearm and other items Zi Di had taken out bore obvious Imperial Navy insignias.
But the merchant acted as if he simply hadn’t seen them.
After leaving the shop, Zi Di immediately headed to the next store.
In the early morning, members of the Justice Pirate Group entered Fire City, and, according to the plan, each acted on their own.
Zi Di’s mission was to fence goods to obtain funds for purchasing alchemy materials. These materials were not insignificant in scale, and some were quite valuable.
The Justice Pirate Group had treasured items on hand, but divine artifacts and the like were absolutely impossible to sell off.
After their time fleeing, they had also used up a great deal of supplies.
By evening, as agreed, they secretly met up to update each other on their progress.
The youth, Sanda, and Lan Zao were responsible for scouting around, each taking out their covertly marked maps. They combined their maps, revealing an outline of Fire City.
They also had another important task, which was to search for any traces of Clan Leader Bai Zhen.
So far, Clan Leader Bai Zhen hadn’t set foot on Fire Island, and no special signs agreed upon had been discovered.
Cang Xu was also responsible for reconnaissance, but he was surveying the critical areas of Fire City, the active volcano behind the city.
Although the Justice Pirate Group lacked skilled scouts, Cang Xu was an Undead Mage. He used ghosts for reconnaissance, cloaking their presence with Undead Magic, often catching people off guard.
“I have found the correct entrance. The defenses are very strict, not only are Golden Level strongmen leading patrols, but there are also numerous hidden sentries.”
“That is only the outer perimeter. Given the defense arrangement, there are definitely Holy Domain Level guards in the inner circle.”
“Right now, I can only cast spells from here and remotely control the ghosts to infiltrate. But by doing so, I need to continuously cast spells, which will fluctuate my mana. Therefore, I’m requesting more Pearl Bubble to cover me.”
Cang Xu’s request was immediately fulfilled.
Zi Di lastly spoke of her purchasing, “I have a buying plan for most of the materials. Only a few rare alchemy materials are left, with the red and blue crystal clusters being the most scarce. However, I have already found a seller and aim to finalize the deal tomorrow morning.”
The one who had made the most progress was Zi Di.
As the current Chairman of the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce, her insight into the market and negotiation abilities were formidable.
The youth spoke solemnly, “Our supply of Pearl Bubble is being depleted faster and faster.”
“That means the diviners and prophets tracking us are growing in number, and getting stronger.”
“The situation has become urgent. We must race against time!”
From the window, a setting sun was nearing the horizon, seemingly signifying their last glimmers of hope were growing dim.
Looking out at the sunset where the sea met the sky, Wei Sheng stood at the bow of his dual swords ship, unfazed by the beautiful scene before him, feeling rather downcast.
About half an hour ago, he received intelligence.
In the report, it detailed that Vice Admiral Kushui, leading his fleet, pursued and captured numerous members of the Justice Pirate Group.
And the specific time of this battle didn’t occur today, but yesterday!
Wei Sheng was absolutely furious when he saw the intelligence report.
He had accepted Yan Tan’s order to act as the Navy Marshal, but aside from Yan Tan’s faction, the other three major factions refused to heed his commands.
Previously, Vice Admiral Bi Tong had maliciously toyed with him. Now, there was also Vice Admiral Kushui, who acted as if the Navy Headquarters didn’t exist, only reporting to, and answering to, Admiral Yi Gui.
The intelligence Wei Sheng received had been uncovered by a spy’s investigation.
“Each going their own way!”
“They don’t take me seriously at all…”
“Damn it!!”
Wei Sheng clenched his fists in anger and slammed them onto the ship’s railing.
The current situation was not favorable to him.
Not only had the upper echelons of the Justice Pirate Group vanished, but Firebeard had also made a significant move.
At the Sky Pillar Sea Eye, Firebeard demonstrated formidable combat power, defeating both the Barbarians and the Navy, and effortlessly rescued Feng Yao and others.
Following that, he dispersed his entire fleet, with each pirate ship setting off in a different direction, blossoming everywhere.
“Firebeard has obtained first-hand information from Feng Yao!”
“Feng Yao is cursed by the Love God, and based on the latest intelligence analysis, his beloved is very likely to be the Goddess Mei Lan. Thus, he may be able to point us in the right direction.”
“That bastard Firebeard must be after the Goddess herself.”
“I must stop him!”
Among the three legendary pirate groups, the Firebeard Pirates had the largest scale and the strongest comprehensive strength.
If Firebeard managed to plunder the Goddess Mei Lan successfully, he will undoubtedly rise to the top and might even claim the throne as the new King of Pirates.
The exact probabilities are hard to estimate.
Because historically, there has never been a case of a pirate plundering the body of a deity.
“Speaking of which, Bi Tong has stolen the throne of Goddess Mei Lan, now ranking first on the Pirate City’s Holy Tablet. Ridiculous, it’s a disgrace to the Imperial Navy!!”
Navy Headquarters, Big Military Port.
Admiral Bi Tong stood on the balcony, watching the sinking sun that had mostly submerged into the water. His trance-like expression eased slightly, and his gaze refocused, becoming sharp and clear.
“The throne of Goddess Mei Lan is hard to suppress; the Divinity it contains doesn’t match me at all.”
Bi Tong sighed to himself.
He had been suppressing the Divine Artifact for several days, and it was extremely arduous.
Bi Tong’s legendary concept was space, while the Divine concept of the throne of Goddess Mei Lan lay in deception and trickery; the intersection between the two was minimal.
Bi Tong was now beginning to understand Zhao Ya.
“That guy’s strength is actually stronger than when he fought me!”
“He had been suppressing the throne of Goddess Mei Lan in Subspace for a long time, exhausting a great deal. This allowed me to get the upper hand during our fight.”
Just thinking about the confrontation at the Sky Pillar Sea Eye, Bi Tong’s vision seemed to ignite with flames, and his body also seemed to feel an unbearable heat.
Firebeard’s strength had been deeply embedded in his heart.
“Luckily, I can break open space and my ability to retreat far surpasses his. This monster, he’s nearly divine!”
Bi Tong stayed on the balcony to rest for a while before turning to go back inside.
He couldn’t stay out too long—without his suppression, the throne of Goddess Mei Lan would try to fly away.
The Divine Artifact held deceptive abilities and trickery as part of its Divinity. If it got out of sight, Bi Tong would have great difficulty detecting it.
However, just as Bi Tong turned around, the sunlight suddenly intensified, bathing the balcony in bright light.
“ENEMY ATTACK!!!” the next moment, a piercing alarm went off in the Navy Headquarters.
Bi Tong immediately turned around, only to see the sunset turning into sunrise, and the sea surface igniting with raging flames. A towering figure, stepping on the flames, was approaching the Big Military Port, moving slowly but rapidly.
Bi Tong’s eyes shrank sharply, and a chill surged through his heart: “Fire, Firebeard?!”
That night, Firebeard ascended upon the Holy Bright Empire’s Navy Headquarters.