Black Sail

Evening of September 17th.

The hotel contracted by Black Sail, at the Wind Anchor's stronghold, inside the Phantom Sea No.1 Hotel.

Ox sat beneath the sofa in front of the giant aquarium. At this moment, Shadi and the others had likely gone to handle the Pirate King's business.

"Why can't I go?"

Moying crossed her arms, some emotions suppressed to the extreme.

Her naturally curled, inky-black, wavy hair almost reached her knees. Her skin was like congealed cream, seemingly with crystalline flakes or some reflective material on the surface, making her whole being radiate warmth and colorful light like shells, captivating with her eyes, and there was a small tear mole beneath one eye.

Because Liszt was a villain of the Western Continent and the Far East, selling land, now the Mirror Sea had raised its flag in the East Sea, and Dead Man Bay and its surrounding waters were under the Mirror Sea's control.

A Great Mage of the Mirror Sea was stationed in Dead Man Bay, improving the surrounding marine ecology.

Moying was a disciple of this Great Mage. Due to the friendship between this mage and Mirror Sea Sword King Ernie, Moying also came to Wind Anchor to offer her support.

The adventurer's guild not only had brotherly types who fooled around but also extremely ruthless people, risking it all on long voyages, hunting mermaids worth at least two hundred Golden Dragons each in the black market depending on their appearance, the price could go even higher.

Some in the black market were bought by private individuals, while others were hired at high-end venues.

Even though Mirror Sea's border defense had become strict, killing unknown numbers of such adventurers each year, a very few always slipped through.

Especially with Heaven Port as a massive transit hub.

Liszt and the Giant Whale Guest covered a wide range of business, and this was part of it.

This half-year, no mermaids had been smuggled to the Western Continent because, without Heaven Port as a supply point, the risk-taking old-timers were on a budget, unable to afford big ships or stock up for ultra-long voyages.

Ox was now a senior in Heaven Port, and those below dared not dabble in this business anymore.

Some high-consumption venues, where mermaids were a selling point, had declining revenue and couldn't help but find fault with Liszt.

What most upset Moying was this.

Though there were trades between Mirror Sea and the Narrow Sea, in total it was a small portion of Mirror Sea's grand scale. Merchants trading outside were technically illegal under Mirror Sea's regulations, yet during the peak season, a thousand-ship merchant fleet could set sail to the Narrow Sea.

Establishments buying mermaids dared not flaunt either. The two hundred Golden Dragons on the black market could only be considered a brokerage fee. Considering international impacts, mermaids came to work as employees.

Moreover, merchants who traveled sometimes secretly brought mermaids along, though some came voluntarily, enjoying celestial attention, a meteoric rise in income, wealth, and lifestyle never achievable in the Mirror Sea.

For those long familiar with society, it wasn't much; besides a few instances of coercion, most were consensual.

Moying, coming from the ivory tower, was still somewhat upset over these matters.

"No, sister, the world works this way. People instinctively choose the easy path; you don't need to shoulder others' destinies."

An armed Merfolk under Ox suggested, saying that their guys serviced the Western Continent's ladies often, who offered higher bids, performed more vigorously, leaving the ladies quite joyful, sometimes even on long-term contracts, with stable work.

People in Lostra rebelled fiercely, deviating young women and strange races, to no ends.

On the surface, the West Continent Five Permanent claimed the First World, but it didn't signify universal affluence. In Aran and Lostra, rural poverty was rampant; the low-tier labor was equally dreadful, only with stable order granting brief fantasy breaks.

Moying clenched her fist, swallowing her frustration; ultimately, her strength was lacking.

Merchants from Mirror Sea likewise conducted illegal trades here, as legally, dealings between Mirror Sea and the Western Continent were banned.

But is it any less illegal between the Ancient Divine Continent and the Western Continent? Why doesn't anyone dare bring ladies from the Ancient Divine Continent to work?

Thinking for a while.

All she could do was hold her forehead; this trip was vastly different from her understanding. What she assumed to be a righteous journey to find pathways for the Mirror Sea turned up with former Mirror Sea Alliance General Ox being a mafia head.

Ox wasn't interested in Moying's trivial feelings.

Now, the pirate king in charge of all privateer-certified pirates was named Whitman.

Shadi reviewed his industry list all day and chose the place with the highest foot traffic to slap Whitman's face hard.

Some petty officials and those with comfortable lives from Wind Anchor also loved to join there.

Such was the decision.

Celeste acted as a megaphone for her faction which aimed to topple Whitman.

However, some in the Lostra government wanted Whitman to continue for their benefits.

Despite how muddled Heaven Port was now, it returned to a version of Londen City, just a 2.0 upgrade of the Lord's sweep-up version utilizing mafia as enforcers—it was truly unmanageable.

Garscek was the major shareholder, definitely not showing up personally, nor was he genuinely interested, only commanding at Phantom Sea No.1, ordering the Merfolk below to buy him box after box of jewelry from outside.

He had enough money, investing in Heaven Port was peanuts, plus the Dragon's Treasure Vault filled with who knew how many ancient golden antiques, constantly attended by an obedient group of Merfolk for this ultimate rich woman.

"Wesker and the others have messaged again."

A Merfolk reported, and Ox also looked to Garscek, seeking her opinion.

Garscek just told them not to care. Shadi had already misled Wesker countless times; they probably prepared for this, eventually, it required some force.

But now in Lostra.

It wasn't like the Beima Duchy, where the Aran people could act arrogantly. In Lostra, Aran people were treated like the Japanese.

And on the other side of Wind Anchor.

Heroic Avenue, famous for a hero who vanquished a Demon King from the forbidden zone, now a street of bars.

The "Abandonment Maze" inverts day and night, with bright lights and the scent of perfume and alcohol entwined, where revelry and exhaustion merge, and every inch of air is soaked in unrestricted chaos, sheltering the fall and pleasures that the conscious refuse to touch.

Slanted neon signboards lined the street, some enchanted with magic neon sparkles in eerie purple, red, blue, and with avant-garde flamboyant lightbox fonts; others lit by old-fashioned gas lamps, their warm yellow glow hazed by alcohol, casting shadows of various races on the walls.

The bar scene is all about being avant-garde and attracting customers. High-end bars don't carry the "bar" suffix, they just have a name,

Magic Banquet.

This place is famous for having top-notch beauties from different races, and there are also many lavish spenders tossing around money like it's nothing.

To get in, you either need to show your face or show your money. Some girls and regular consumers have to line up, kept out by a group of dark elf doormen in suits.

A few dark elves are maintaining order, two of the biggest ones talking while smoking.

"Those damn fish haven't made a move in a while, looks like Liszt has chickened out."

"With such a big fuss being kicked up at the Continent Martial Arts Competition, Liszt is strong, but it's tough for him to reach here. A strong dragon can't overpower a local snake, and Brother Whitman, after all, rolls with the Giant Whale Guest."

While the two dark elves were talking,

a commotion broke out in the queue.

"Let's be real, you're just out here selling yourself, why are you pretending?"

Archer groped a female guest in public, and that wasn't enough; a group of tattooed thugs with him directly knocked down the female guest's male companion.

Someone had already gone to report to the Judicial Hall.

Shadi was sweating coldly, initially thinking of bringing this foul being to smash the place, but Archer even smashed their own turf. The rule at Wind Anchor is they won't intervene in gang fights, but considering Aran's ideological struggle, it can't affect the general public.

And this was affecting the general public right off the bat!

But Heaven Port's way of thinking couldn't adjust immediately. Damn it, forget it, a touch here and there doesn't lose much flesh, no one's dead, stick to the plan.

Magnus was having a headache, realizing his teacher was such a person.

The disturbance gathered attention, and people looked over. It wasn't just a few troublemakers, but a whole crowd, dozens or hundreds of guys that looked like dangerous folks.

Firearms were regulated here, so nobody could make noise with firepower, Morison could only mouth off, "The hell are you all looking at? Get lost."

Morison aggressively pushed the queuing guests aside, and Rein joined in, causing the line to topple over.

Chuan Che had already been thoroughly corrupted by Black Sail, completely fallen into depravity. Some doormen tried to stop them, only to be punched down, lying on the ground wailing.

Even the most clueless person knew troublemakers had arrived.

Morison got to the entrance wanting to go in.

These people were Netherworld People. How could the nightclub doormen not recognize them as Liszt's crew? They'd been quiet, turns out they were waiting for a big move, waiting for their forces to come.

But the doorman blocked Morison, calling for backup. The goal now was to hold them off until help arrived.

"Sorry, we're already full. If you want to have fun, you'll have to wait a while."

The head doorman spoke diplomatically, delaying as much as possible.

"Damn, how come they can go in over there?"

Rein pointed to another passage.

"That's the VIP passage. You need to spend at least three million to have that privilege."

The head doorman answered.

Rein calculated with his fingers, the currency system here was different from the east. According to the exchange rate, one copper coin equals six Lostra Paper Currency, three million is fifty Golden Dragons.

"We ain't short on money, talk about fifty Golden Dragons, we got five hundred, VIP among VIPs, step aside."

Rein actually didn't have five hundred on him, his dividends hadn't paid out yet, but he bragged without batting an eye.

"Sorry, I don't know you."

The head doorman simply refused.

With a slap.

Rein directly slapped him to the ground, his head knocked against the steps, bleeding.

"Recognize me now?"

Rein placed his foot on his head.

And of course, someone was watching over the place, and the support arrived. A commanding Yisu person appeared, accompanied by a group of suited men with peaceful faces.

Damn it, last time Ox got locked up, didn't they learn?

"Friends from the East Sea, right? In Lostra, we talk judiciary."

The Yisu person spoke with an unfriendly tone, a bit arrogant in his words, implying Heaven Port's pirates were out of line, being on the edge of the world.

Morison just laughed.

He leisurely walked up to the Yisu person, leaned in and whispered, "Judiciary my ass."

Shadi swung off his backpack, spreading it out on the ground.

All kinds of tools.

Shadi had somewhat figured out the rules here. The tools he brought weren't knives; they were all alloy steel pipes used in the Magic Energy Industry.

The sentencing for murder and intentional injury is different. Even if you kill Whitman's men, Celeste would have a hard time resolving it, but heavily injuring them is just a phone call away for Celeste.

The East Sea brothers each grabbed a steel pipe, breaking the soul of the Narrow Sea with three clubs, "Officer, I'm from the East Sea."