Pirates’ Tide
“Go on! You were sent by William, weren’t you. What are you plotting?” Tim immediately sat down to one side.
“Haha... I’m afraid that your brother can’t order me around. If you want to confirm my identity, how about this?” Karen lifted her hand, and a scroll covered in the Scarlet Tiger’s skull and dagger seal flew directly to Tim.
“It really is you people...” Tim touched the unique imprint on the parchment in disbelief, his eyes slowly growing as round as saucers.
“What do you want?” Without quite knowing why, Tim’s heart began to beat wildly.
“Didn’t I say before? We’re going to help you become the marquis, my lord,” Karen smiled.
“What sort of joke is this, William is still here, and apart from him there’s still...” Tim mumbled.
“Then just let them all die,” Karen’s words were filled with venom.
“Let them all die!” Tim bonelessly flopped onto his chair as he heard her speak his mind, but his eyes actually shone brightly.
“You want me to work undercover and sell out my own family?” He asked slowly.
“That depends on your decision. What do you want, a broken family? Or the glory and power that your brother William currently holds?”
Karen could tell that Tim never really had a choice.
The night wind blew through the window, and the curtains continued to wave in the breeze. However, there was someone missing from their earlier position in front of the window. After a long time sitting uneasily in his chair, Tim felt dizzy and confused. However, an idea had seeded itself deep within his mind.
‘That’s right. If I can’t have it, you can’t either! I’ll destroy everything, this entire Baltic archipelago should belong to me!’Under the moonlight, Tim’s back seemed to have twisted demonically.
......
“Master, everything went smoothly. Tim also gave us the route maps of the Black Skeletons and Tigershark Pirates.” Tim had completely revealed Marquis Louis’ plan to them; the forces he was mobilising, William’s route, even the news of the wizard Boruj’s return.
“Ah, is this Tim crazy?” Isabel stood next to Leylin, looking at the final part of the parchment which held the map of the entire Baltic archipelago. He had completely betrayed his family and even given them the defenses of the marquis’ house.
“Desperate and crazy people can be unreasonable like this. He clearly knows that his family is the only thing left that he can rely on, but he willingly wants to destroy it. It’s really too funny...” Karen knelt down even lower, and did not dare to look Leylin in the eye.
Although she had a rather intimate relationship with this master of hers, she realised that she couldn’t even begin to understand Leylin yet. For the sake of benefits, even his enemies became his allies, and the ability to accurately grasp someone’s heart made him seem like a demon wearing human skin.
Indeed, a demon! In Karen’s heart, perhaps only the Archdevil of the 9th level of hell would have such a cold and cruel mentality.
“What, are you afraid of me?” Even this light thought was discovered by Leylin, and his casual way of asking made Karen tremble all over.
“No! No, your servant was just concerned that Viscount Tim would go back on his word. After all, nobles are not to be trusted. Even if we succeed, I fear that he will act as a witness against us...” Karen immediately replied.
“Before William dies, the likelihood of Tim going back to their side is very small,” Leylin did not get angry after discovering his servant’s fearful state of mind, it was a very normal reaction.
Only in front of the Scarlet Tigers did Leylin abandon his aristocratic airs, showing his true self to the crowd. Because of it, he had earned the other pirates’ genuine awe and fear. Were Isabel not slowly transforming into a demon in body and mind, perhaps even she would feel fearful and alienated by him.
“After we succeed, whether Tim will ask for help from the Dambrath Kingdom or testify against us...” Leylin laughed gently, “Did I let you leave behind any evidence or information that points towards me?”
“No,” Karen dimly began to realise.
“So from beginning to the end, this entire matter is only related to the Scarlet Tigers and Tim. Is Tim willing to gamble away his future and be hanged for the crime, just to testify against a bunch of pirates?”
“Master is wise!” Karen only understood at this moment how deeply Leylin had thought about everything.
“Not only that... Louis and William are the marquis and the marquis’ heir, even containing royal blood. The Baltic archipelago is the marquis’ fiefdom, do you really think we can go swaggering in after disposing of them both and take it over?”
“If that happened, the king would lose his mind and attack us!”
“That’s right, so we should at least support a puppet agent on the surface, and Tim is rather suitable, is he not?” Leylin folded his hands, “With him there, then we can cover up the whole matter as a fight between a noble family’s sons, and isn’t this sort of thing common in the Kingdom?
“This would let his majesty and the royal family save face, and although they will continue to resent us, the possibility of them wasting manpower and resources to exterminate us will be very low.”
“Your servant understands...” Karen’s face was still rather shocked as she respectfully withdrew. It was clear that Leylin’s view extended further into the future than she had realised.
‘Don’t tell me that all humans are as full of convoluted schemes and foresight as him? The extent of this plot, perhaps even those Matriarchs of the Underdark...’ Karen left with a heavy heart.
Leylin was comforting his cousin, “I know your family’s debt of blood includes Tim’s. Don’t worry, when the time is ripe he WILL pay the price...”
“There isn’t a trace of doubt in my mind,” Isabel looked deeply into Leylin’s eyes, “Additionally, I would like to finish him off myself...”
“No problem, I can leave William to you,” Leylin’s eyes flashed coldly, “Notify the Barbarians as well, this time we will eliminate their naval force in one fell swoop!”
A grey falcon with a scroll tied to its leg disappeared into the sky, as quickly as a flash of grey lightning. With this sort of raptor-like speed and flight, it would only take half a night to reach Pirates’ Cove.
A strong breeze flowed past, lifting the heavy curtains.
“What an adorable little fellow, haha...” Madam Tillen caressed its ash-grey beak, and retrieved the message tied to its feet. After glancing through the message, she turned to the Barbarians’ captain in her room, “The operation can begin!”
Several loud grunting sounds could be heard. An enormous hand attached to an arm the size of an entire baby was grasping a huge goblet filled to the brim with golden spirits.
Odge’s throat was gulping down the drink, and occasionally some liquor would leak out from the corners of his mouth and flow down his prickly beard.
“Boruj, Boruj, Boruj! I’ll turn your skull into a wine glass!” Odge growled, snatching up the enormous saber. A powerful spell glinted on the swordpoint.
“Send the order, we act now!” Odge roared, and the two barbarian warriors outside immediately flew out.
Pirates’ Cove immediately burst into a flurry of activity. Under the command of their captain, teams of barbarian warriors boarded their ships in an orderly manner, amongst them shamans who wore colourful feathers and had painted faces.
They were the rare spellcasters of the barbarian tribe, and one could tell Odge’s resolve and caution from how all of them had been dispatched.
“The Pirates’ Tide! It’s similar to the last Pirates’ Tide that happened decades ago...” The barbarians’ pirate crew did not consist solely of their own kind. As the head of the dark alliance in the outer seas, they had many pirates under them of other races which were all currently taking action with them. Several thousand ships sailed out from Pirates’ Cove, which gave off a rather chilling feeling.
“I smell killing, and the plot is afoot... This festival will please our lord greatly!” In a dark corner, the Cyric priest murmured to himself, next to him the bent figure of the bishop from before.
“Prepare your men to assassinate the leaders of both sides, and let the chaos grow even more turbulent!” After this reshuffling of the pirate organisations, the situation in the outer sea would change greatly. However, this bishop’s purpose was greater than that.
All he asked was for there to be chaos! After the chaotic battle, no matter who rose to the top, they would represent order. However, this would clearly displease the God of Murder, as he only wanted an endlessly chaotic outer sea, full of all kinds of murder and conspiracies.
Murder and plots were Cyric’s most favourite things. If they could accomplish this, then he was bound to receive the grace of his god. He would advance by 1 or 2 ranks as a priest at the very least, and even receive other advantages. Compared to that, how could allowing the entire outer sea wither even compare?
“As you command!” The priest now understood the tip of the bishop’s plot. Neither their past neutrality nor the current assassinations mattered, all that was left was a sacrifice of chaos and death!
These sorts of methods obviously brought great pleasure and excitement to him. With high spirits, the priest’s body slowly melded into the shadows, leaving behind the bishop who watched the sails alone.