Chapter 704: Kanute

Chapter 704: Kanute

The short man suddenly lashed out at Phoenixin Ren, making the atmosphere in the tavern turn ice-cold in an instant.

Some people had already begun quietly slipping out, afraid that a fight might break out and drag them into it.

After all, the Western Squadron officers were notorious for killing without batting an eye. If they felt like it, they could kill just for fun.

The short man kept staring at Phoenixin Ren. “Tell me—what the h*ll did you mean just now? What the fk do you mean by saying I’m fking interesting?”

His eyes were as sharp as blades—only someone with bloodstained hands could look like that.

Yet Phoenixin Ren still smiled with ease.

He said casually, “I said you’re f**king interesting, and I meant it.”

The short man’s face darkened. His hand slowly reached into his coat, making the motion openly, without any pretense.

But then, suddenly, he burst out laughing and pointed at Phoenixin Ren.

“D*mn, this guy’s got guts! I almost thought I could scare you just now!”

The surrounding pirates laughed loudly as well.

“Hey, Druna! You owe us two machine guns!”

The short man—Druna—shook his head helplessly. “I underestimated him!”

Phoenixin Ren maintained his calm smile, watching these temperamental pirates.

This kind of trick might work to amuse others.

But compared to him, the so-called crimes of these pirates were nothing more than child’s play.

He was the real villain.

“Who sent you here?”

Phoenixin Ren downed a shot of whiskey and placed the empty glass aside, speaking lightly to the bartender, “You didn’t put enough sedative in the drink.”

The bartender’s face changed slightly but only smiled and took the glass away.

Druna said to Phoenixin Ren, “Let’s go. There’s someone who wants to see you. He’s very interested in what you said today.”

A smirk flickered in Phoenixin Ren’s eyes.

He knew it—those greedy and arrogant pirates couldn’t possibly ignore what he said.

No matter how strictly the Sea Dragon King forbade it, someone would always dare to take the risk.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t be pirates.

Phoenixin Ren followed the Western Squadron members onto a car. They drove around Tianlong Island for quite a while before arriving at a massive ironclad warship.

This was the headquarters of the Western Squadron of the Tianlong Pirate Crew.

And this ship belonged to the Western Squadron's captain—Kanute.

After hearing Phoenixin Ren’s pitch earlier, this short, brown-skinned pirate from the southern seas was filled with desire.

He’d heard about the Moon of Corrosion stirring up chaos in the Jiangnan District.

To him, if just thirteen ronin could cause that much trouble,

Then his Western Squadron, with thousands of pirates and over thirty powerful Superhumans, could do far more.

If he could collaborate with Moon of Corrosion and raid that rich land, his name—Kanute—would become known across the world!

He might even earn the Sea Dragon King’s favor and rise to become the leader of all seven fleets!

Phoenixin Ren was brought to Kanute’s quarters.

The brown-skinned man with a hooked nose stared at him with sinister eyes.

“Ronin! What you said earlier in front of the Sea Dragon King—was it true?”

“Is the Jiangnan District really as weak as you claim?”

The smirk on Phoenixin Ren’s lips deepened.

He spread his arms and said, “Of course not! If we were to take them head-on, say, by launching a direct assault on their capital—Blizzard City—just the thirteen of us wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“I’m very clear on that.”

“But,” his voice rose, “their territory is enormous! Larger than most nations.”

“But they don’t have enough manpower to defend every part of it!”

Phoenixin Ren extended his hand to Kanute.

“We’re not stupid enough to clash head-on. All we have to do is keep harassing them, wear them out, stretch their defenses thin.”

“Then, we can take whatever we want.”

“If it’s just Moon of Corrosion acting alone, our gains will always be limited. That’s why I came to you.”

“With the Tianlong Pirate Crew’s manpower, you’d be able to plunder freely.”

He shrugged, a touch of regret in his tone. “It’s just… I overestimated the Sea Dragon King’s courage.”

A murderous glint flashed in Kanute’s eyes. He barked, “Shut up! Who do you think you are, talking about our King like that?”

Phoenixin Ren smiled, raised his hands slightly, “Apologies, apologies. I meant no offense.”

“But this is a rare opportunity. Once missed, it won’t come again.”

He smiled as he added, “You won’t find allies like us that easily.”

Kanute narrowed his eyes.

He said slowly, “The biggest problem with reaching the Jiangnan District from the southern seas is their navy.”

“So tell me—do you have a way to bypass their defenses?”

Phoenixin Ren nodded with a smile.

“Of course.”

“If we couldn’t do that, how do you think we managed to land there in the first place?”

With Takeuchi Mayumi around, they could avoid any danger—Zhang Yi’s incident had been an exception.

“Heh heh… Heh heh heh! Interesting. Very interesting.”

Kanute’s cold eyes locked on Phoenixin Ren. After a long moment, he finally broke into a grin.

“If that’s the case, then let’s go all out together!”

Phoenixin Ren laughed, “Here’s to a great partnership!”

Before he could finish the sentence, a cold pistol was pressed against his forehead.

“You better not play any tricks. Or I’ll personally put a bullet in your head.”

Phoenixin Ren didn’t even blink at the gun at his head.

“Of course. We’re partners now… aren’t we?”

…

Zhang Yi’s side.

He only stayed one day in Tianhai City.

The Western formula drug was handed to Zhou Ke’er, who scraped some powder off for research. The rest was kept by Zhang Yi for emergencies.

Then, he brought a few people back to Blizzard City.

This time, aside from Liang Yue and Hua Hua, he also brought along Yang Xinxin.

The three of them took the Blizzard City express train back.

As soon as they got off, they were greeted by two familiar faces.

Two bodyguards in black combat uniforms and sunglasses.

They weren’t from the Yan Yun Guards or the City Defense Force.

They were private bodyguards—or rather, private troops—of the Deng Family.

Zhang Yi suspected the Deng Family had considerable forces under their command as well.

“Mr. Zhang Yi, we were sent by Mr. Deng Yuanbo. He would like to invite you to lunch today—would that be convenient for you?”

Author's Note