Chapter 746: 672: The Earl's Recruitment

Chapter 746: Chapter 672: The Earl’s Recruitment

Living off the sea for the island nations of the Endless Sea was not practical.

The seawater contained a certain trait that had a strong corrosive power; even those of the Transcendent Tier couldn’t last a few minutes submerged in it, only the native sea monsters could survive.

The sea monsters were huge in size, yet most were inedible. However, after countless predecessors’ attempts, the Blue Water Duchy discovered several species not only edible but also extremely delicious, and these were favored by the upper-class nobility.

“A single Emperor Level sea sturgeon, extracting its essence could sell… sell… can be exchanged for a Baron title!”

As people from Green Shadow of the Big Foodie Empire, although the crew of Initial had sailed the seas for just over a month, they had already delved deep into exploring sea monster ingredients.

On the sea, there was not much else to do besides playing Mahjong, fighting landlords, Three Kingdoms Kill, and so forth, apart from hunting sea monsters.

For every new type of sea monster, designated personnel would use the “Reconnaissance Crystal” to detect its attributes, including but not limited to its edibility, cataloging them in the New Species Atlas—Sea Monster Atlas along with cooking methods.

It was unclear when it started, but among the few attributes analyzed by the “Reconnaissance Crystal”, one would inevitably be related to ‘food’.

A Tier-3 edible sea monster, everyone on the ship was salivating—a creature of such a large size could at least feed the crew for two… one and a half days.

Then, they saw a few ships slightly smaller in size stopping a few hundred meters away, their bizarre language carrying over the distance.

“What are they saying?”

“They seem to be saying… that the sea monster is theirs? Asking us to give it back?”

A crew member who had passed Level 4 to 6 of “Mastering Language”—essentially understanding direct mental translation, explained to the other Awakening Tier crew members.

Lorraine and others communicated without barriers, instantly parsing the language of the others.

She signaled, and a sailor swiftly raised a flag bearing two crossed scimitars and a skull.

“Hmm, we are pirates now!”

Art is the universal language of the All Worlds. Although the people on the opposing ships didn’t recognize the notorious pirate flag, a flag painted with a skull was undoubtedly a bad omen.

Lorraine, clad in tight leather clothes, leaped from the bow, unable to fly but her toes tapping on the air, creating a blast of air, allowing her to step several times mid-air before landing on the enemy flagship.

Her fingers rested on a revolver in its holster, smoothly drawing it…

“Bang—”

A golden-orange bullet spun out, striking the flagship’s main mast. In an instant, runes began to emerge on the main mast but were obliterated before fully manifesting.

With a resounding bang, the Defense Rune shattered, the golden-orange bullet piercing through the flagship’s main mast. Crack, creak… the massive hardwood main mast broke, crashing into the sea, and the ship violently shook.

“Surrender or die.”

Lorraine issued a commanding declaration.

On the flagship, the Ship Captain and his deputies exchanged glances… What was she saying?

Yet they instinctively knelt down immediately, fully aware of how sturdy the main mast was—indestructible even by a Tier-3 sea monster. Better not provoke them.

At this time, other crew members were already approaching quickly on small boats, seizing control of the remaining armed fishing vessels.

Bamboo rat Li approached those who were clearly the leaders, his eyes gleaming as Illusion Technique infiltrated their minds.

“State your story… cough, your origins.”

“We belong to the Blue Water Duchy, part of the Purple Agate Earl’s fishing fleet… The Purple Agate Earl is a powerful noble… The Blue Water Duchy is currently at war with the western Nucang Duchy…”

Blue Water Duchy is an archipelago kingdom, consisting of thirteen large islands and several small ones.

And Purple Agate Earl, a real power noble of the Blue Water Duchy, was one of the founding contributors who followed the Blue Water Duke, managing one of the large islands.

“Shall we now… get a sea atlas from this Blue Water Duchy? The Blue Water Duke should have considerable information on the nearby seas, and given the strength that the Blue Water Duchy has shown, it shouldn’t be hard to get the sea atlas.”

Shay exhaled a cloud of smoke, “I think there’s no need to rush. Searching for the Ghostly Sea Crystal is not a task that can be done in a short time. Compared to that, we have been sailing for over a month, and I feel like I’m floating even when walking. The urgent matter is to dock for some rest and to taste the local delicacies and wines.”

This remark resonated with Lorraine, who nodded in strong agreement, resting her chin on her hand, and pondering seriously:

“Moreover, in our quest to find the Ghostly Sea Crystal, we will inevitably pass by numerous places, wouldn’t it be a waste to just look for a sea atlas? We could also make some extra money on the side. It happens that the Blue Water Duchy is at war, and my Space Ring happens to be fully loaded with war materials.”

“If we run out of stock, why don’t we just have the Lord set up a Transmission Array?” Li, the bamboo rat, looked up at Lorraine, not quite understanding.

“Using the goods I brought to trade is making a side profit. If we wait for the Lord to set up a Transmission Array, that becomes territory income, understand? That’s why I can manage to run bars all over Green Shadow City and every Sub-territory, while you still owe me for your drinks.”

“I…I drank the drinks fair and square, how… how can that be considered owing money…”

In the spirit of “adversity leads to friendship” and “physical persuasion,” the fishing boat captain introduced Lorraine and her party to the Purple Agate Earl.

Indeed, the rather sincere fishing boat captain, also a noble in the Blue Water Duchy, was a ‘big shot’ capable of directly meeting the Purple Agate Earl.

This was not surprising,

In the Endless Sea, ships are strategic weapons, and the fishing boats catch sea monsters, even the smallest of which could capsize a normal vessel 20 or 30 meters long.

Initial was docked at a harbor on Purple Agate Island. With the endorsement of the fishing boat captain, there were no major issues with their identities.

There weren’t many vessels docked at the port, but each was at least fifty meters in length. Smaller boats simply couldn’t survive in the Endless Sea.

“Come with me, the Earl recently returned from a campaign with the duke.”

Purple Agate Island was not small; it had a main city and eighteen ordinary towns, with the Earl’s Castle located adjacent to the main city.

They reached the Earl’s Castle by the evening.

Lorraine, Li the bamboo rat, Shay, and a few crew members followed the fishing boat captain. For those crew members native to the Mountain and Sea Realm, the Purple Agate Earl’s castle appeared luxurious and possessed an aura of historical vicissitude.

As the fishing boat captain led them, proudly narrating the history of the Purple Agate Family, they passed through a garden,

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Figures emerged on the garden walls, armed with rune crossbows that flashed with cold light, aimed at Lorraine and her companions.

The path they had come by was now blocked, and a large group of armored warriors was approaching from behind.

Ahead,

A middle-aged man dressed in fine robes, accompanied by a dozen powerful presences, slowly stepped forward.

His chin lifted slightly, the corners of his mouth holding a hint of self-satisfaction, as his gaze fell on Lorraine and the others.

“I heard you wanted to see me?”

He thought he had grasped the situation and guessed their intentions, a flicker of disdain crossing his eyes before he quickly hid it:

“Even with some martial prowess, pirates are still just pirates, unfit for the upper echelons. Of course, as an Earl who loves talent, as long as you join me in the campaign against Nucang Duchy and achieve military exploits, in the future, you too can obtain a noble title… Isn’t that also what you desire?”

But now, the control was in my hands.

He thought, smiling gently, his chin lifted slightly as he waited for Lorraine to respond.

Lorraine: You… aren’t you being foolish?