Chapter 427: Section 215: Target Ice Sculpture Island
Hun Tong left the dock with deep regret, secretly slipping away.
He tried to persuade Zong Ge but did not succeed.
Zong Ge was not optimistic about the prospects of Twin Eyes Island and pointed out three problems.
Hun Tong felt that his answers were watertight and perfect.
Yet, Zong Ge ultimately still refused.
“What a pity, really such a shame!” Hun Tong sighed incessantly.
He also knew that this kind of poaching was risky. He could easily offend the arms dealers behind the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
But Hun Tong truly lacked capable lieutenants.
Especially after the melee had ended, the power of the Lord’s faction had suffered severe losses.
The key point was that the talent and ability Zong Ge had displayed were truly covetable.
Hun Tong’s main target for his late-night recruitment had always been Zong Ge; the Dragon-man youth was secondary.
In Hun Tong’s view, the Lion Flag was far superior to Long Fu.
First, Lion Flag was from the Human Race, while Long Fu was a Dragon-man. Natural barriers existed between different races, and recruiting a Human Race elite would make Twin Eyes Island much more stable.
Second, Lion Flag had a more definite future. His Fighting energy already had a Gold glow, and given time, he would definitely reach the Golden Level.
Third, the risk of offending the arms dealer could be offset. Twin Eyes Island could become a supply point for arms, forge alliances through interests, and poaching a Lion Flag might even become a bridge for communication between both parties.
Fourth, Long Fu was already the squad leader of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, which based on his position alone, indicated that he held a higher status in the heart of the arms dealer. Poaching from the top was, of course, much more difficult than poaching the second-in-command. The cost would be much higher.
“What a shame he didn’t agree.”
“I shouldn’t just give up like this.”
“Silver Level talents like Long Fu and Lion Flag are quite rare.”
“I still need to fight for them with all my might.”
“As long as they haven’t left Twin Eyes Island, I still have a chance.”
“Wait for tomorrow, after I’ve scavenged the treasures from the seabed, I’ll renegotiate. Even if I double the price, recruiting Lion Flag will be beneficial for me!”
Hun Tong made up his mind secretly.
This melee had really made him fed up with the incompetence of his subordinates.
Zong Ge returned to the captain’s quarters and, after checking the surrounding environment, activated the Communication Device.
“Hun Tong just came by. He wanted to recruit our entire corps and offered a handsome sum to hire me,” Zong Ge spoke dispassionately, “It was from him that I learned of the Devil’s Coin. It is what caused your temporary betrayal!”
Hun Tong’s initiative provided crucial intelligence.
Zi Di and Cang Xu finally learned of the essential element.
Zi Di and the Dragon-man youth were aboard the Deep Sea Monster Fish, while Cang Xu was alone in the captain’s quarters of the Iron Lump.
After discussing through the alchemy device, the three sides temporarily unraveled the origins and consequences of the Devil’s Coin.
“No wonder the Fishmen gave up 50,000 Gold Coins so easily.”
“The God of Trust… such a Holy Artifact, it’s truly indefensible.”
“No,” the Dragon-man youth shook his head, concern obvious, “We have to acknowledge our own weakness. Against such tactics, we have absolutely no defense measures.”
Cang Xu immediately agreed: “This is indeed one of our significant vulnerabilities. In fact, the upper echelons of all major powers usually have preventive measures in place.”
“Hun Tong carried a large number of Devil’s Coins but was able to recover quickly at a critical moment; it was because his original preventive measures were effective.”
Zi Di spoke, “We definitely need to make up for this weakness; however, the difficulty is high.”
“Generally speaking, preventive measures utilize Constant Divine Skills infused within oneself.”
“Our current situation, going to any Holy Temple or church etc., is quite risky.”
The gods hold lofty positions.
Any established Holy Temple or church contains an idol, filled with Divine Power, which serve as the eyes and ears of the gods.
For the survivors to enter these places is to place themselves under the close scrutiny of the gods.
Despite having Deception and Disguise Skill, Anti-Intelligence Prophecy Skill, it’s quite risky.
Basically, without success in atonement and clearing themselves of wrongdoing, these churches and Holy Temples are dangerous places for the survivors. They would avoid entering if possible.
Cang Xu said, “It’s not only Divine Skills that can provide protection; there are other methods.”
“In fact, I think the most troublesome problem isn’t this one.”
“Don’t forget our main goal, to deliver the message, making use of the Hundred Needle Family’s connections to reach out to the higher echelons of the Empire.”
“That’s why we came to Twin Eyes Island.”
“But now, there has been no response from the shore.”
“So many days have passed, and this is not normal. What exactly happened? Did the Hundred Needle Family receive the letter, did they respond? Was the ransom note discovered and intercepted?”
Cang Xu’s words immediately gained the agreement of the others.
Zong Ge said, “Currently, the Purple Vine Shop on the New Island has been sealed.”
“Cang Xu was exposed as an Undead Mage, and with it, the channel of the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce suffered as well.”
Zi Di spoke, “A shop, to be honest, losing it is acceptable. The key is, the Holy Bright Empire might conduct follow-up investigations. If they trace down this clue, will it involve us?”
“Will they find out about that ransom note?”
“Although the content of the ransom note doesn’t reveal any of our identities, it is still an important clue.”
“We don’t even have to mention that divination through this clue will consume much of our strength. After all, activating the Anti-Intelligence Prophecy Array each time comes at a great cost.”
A wave of silence swept over the group, and a sense of urgency arose spontaneously in their hearts.
Their main reason for coming to Twin Eyes Island was to send out a message.
The result was a failure.
Not only did they not receive a response, but it also led to more trouble.
The Dragon-man youth said, “We must hurry and send out the second letter. We need to find the problem.”
Cang Xu replied, “That’s not easy to find. In fact, the act of sending a letter itself has the possibility of getting lost. Such alchemy devices are not 100 percent reliable. That’s why for important information, it is always sent out several times, in at least three different ways.”
“Also, because of our encryption, a single error could mean that the alchemy device receiving the message only gets a bunch of gibberish.”
“We are too far from the Holy Bright Continent mainland, requiring many communication devices to relay the message. The problem could occur at any point, making it difficult to locate where the issue lies.”
Zi Di added, “Regardless, I think the Purple Vine Guild channel is still worth another try.”
“Of course, we can’t use the communication device from Twin Eyes Island anymore.”
“The nearest one is on Ice Sculpture Island.”
“We can go there.”
“Ice Sculpture Island? I know of it.” Even Zong Ge, who was not familiar with the sea, had heard of the reputation of Ice Sculpture Island.
Ice Sculpture Island is a super large island, far more developed than Twin Eyes Island!
Even before the chaos, Twin Eyes Island was no match for Ice Sculpture Island.
After all, Twin Eyes Island is merely a spherical coral cage tree, and its continuous subsidence actually hindered a lot of development.
Because the spherical coral cage tree itself grows, no matter how well the infrastructure is built, it will collapse after a while.
Ice Sculpture Island, on the other hand, is a normal island with a large population. It has been inhabited and thriving far longer than Twin Eyes Island.
It has been more than a decade since Twin Eyes Island fell into Hun Tong’s hands, whereas Ice Sculpture Island has been settled for over a thousand years.
However, in the beginning, the various races that settled on Ice Sculpture Island were divided and mixed. The island itself is rich in natural resources, which is very valuable in the vast ocean.
Over the next few decades, many Snow Elf clans migrated there.
At that time, the Barbarian tribes on Frost Continent had waged war. The Snow Elf tribes were overwhelmed by the onslaught and scattered. Many who survived chose to settle on Ice Sculpture Island.
Hundreds of years later, a Snow Elf kingdom was established on Ice Sculpture Island.
Initially, the kingdom of Snow Elves only occupied a small part of the island.
But as of now, the whole of Ice Sculpture Island has become Snow Elf territory, and they have become a strong maritime kingdom!
Knowing that the Dragon-man youth had lost much of his memory, Zi Di took it upon herself to introduce, “Snow Elves are a type of Elf; icy and snowy environments are the most suitable for their habitation.”
“Elves are different from our Human Race; they have long lifespans and excel in magic, music, and so on.”
“The Snow Elves on Ice Sculpture Island are skilled in magic, as well as in Alchemy.”
“The Alchemy Puppets they create utilize ice sculpting techniques and are both cheap and famed specialty products.”
“Not just Alchemy Puppets, they also make Ice Ships and Cold Ice Fortresses, especially suitable for battle in cold climates.”
The Dragon-man youth’s eyes lit up, “Perhaps, we can purchase some demon energy ships there.”
“We lack publicly presentable demon energy ships.”
“If we had a Silver Level demon energy ship, we could ensure the safety of the Golden Cannon and allow it to fully unleash its true attacking power.”
“Not like the previous two times, where a single shot was fired and then the enemy destroyed it.”
Zi Di nodded, “We’re quite wealthy now!”
“Purchasing some demon energy ships is entirely feasible.”
“In fact, what we need even more is a truly proficient Alchemist!”
At this, Zi Di winked at the Dragon-man youth.
Unaware of the Blood Core and other related plans, Zong Ge felt somewhat puzzled.
Cang Xu said, “That’s right.”
“Although we have Basic Repairers, they can only fix ordinary ships.”
“For fixing the Alchemy Array, relying on these Alchemy Puppets is very difficult.”
“The Deep Sea Monster Fish took a hit from the Solid Light Main Cannon and needs repairs. The Iron Lump, having been through the melee, also needs repairs.”
“We’ve already lost quite a few of our Alchemy Puppets.”
“The Investigators are not a big deal; they’re not worth much in repairs. But the Deep Sea Salvager, Sword Pavilion Guard, and that damaged and useless Yellow Crab Alchemist all require an Alchemist for repairs.”
“Some important Alchemy Arrays need to be laid by an Alchemist.”
That was the crucial point.
It was difficult for Cang Xu and Zi Di just by themselves to lay out the Bloodline Purification Array.
Neither Zi Di’s nor Cang Xu’s talents were noteworthy.
Zi Di excelled at potions, and Cang Xu had many years of administrative experience from serving as a Noble Housekeeper.
However, training up an Alchemist came at a great cost.
In the Alchemy Academy of Crown City, one would need to read and absorb at least a hundred alchemy books just to have a basic foundation in Alchemy.