Chapter 19 The Little Pirate King

Inside the dim, silent chamber.

As Gune released a dozen puppet secret threads, the entire room was completely isolated from the outside world.

On the small sofa, Yasen and Gune sat facing each other.

"What news of the demon ship?" Gune asked first.

"There are two promising leads on obtaining a demon ship."

"Let me start with the first one."

After a moment of deliberation, Yasen slowly began to elaborate.

"First, the largest black market in Harutov Harbor. Word has it that in half a month, they'll hold a black market resource exchange auction."

"If nothing goes wrong, three demon ships will be put up for auction."

"Among them is one about thirty-six meters long, which suits our needs. The only downside is that, as you know, in an auction, round-by-round bidding can drive the price of the demon ship quite high."

"Originally priced at thirteen or fourteen thousand, it might rise to fifteen or sixteen thousand, even seventeen or eighteen thousand."

Having participated in auctions before, Gune knew well that under fierce competition, the prices of these demon ships could skyrocket.

"And the second lead on the demon ship?"

After a pause, Gune asked again.

"The Little Pirate King, 'Feathered Serpent Edward.'"

Yasen said softly.

"A member of the Pirate King Edward family?" Gune narrowed his eyes and asked.

"Yes."

Upon the vast ocean.

The most formidable pirate kings were undoubtedly the five infamous 'Great Pirate Kings.'

Compared to other lesser pirate kings, each of these Great Pirate Kings commanded over a dozen large sea demon ships exceeding fifty meters in length, with strong armies and numerous high-level transcendent warriors under their command.

Other lesser pirate kings would certainly take a detour if they encountered a steel steam giant ship.

But these Great Pirate Kings, if they encountered a steel steam giant ship that was not over a hundred meters long,

would dive underwater, silently approach these steam ships, then quickly surface and besiege the steel giant ship.

It was said that many medium-sized steel steam giant ships had sunk to the bottom of the sea at the hands of these Great Pirate Kings.

The number of official sailors who had died at their hands was incalculable.

Most importantly, these pirate kings were all more or less connected to those evil god cults.

The blood sacrifice at Buck Harbor back then had involved pirate kings.

Among the five Great Pirate Kings,

the Edward family might not be the strongest, but they were certainly the most ancient.

This pirate family was said to have been passed down for over five hundred years, and the blood in their veins flowed with the blessing of a certain powerful deep-sea giant.

The Edward pirate family had numerous strongholds at sea, occupied the most resource-rich islands, and possessed astonishing wealth.

Nowadays, the Pirate King Edward family was led by the Great Pirate King 'Duke Edward IV,'

along with his two sons and one daughter, three lesser pirate kings.

And 'Feathered Serpent Edward' was the youngest son of the Great Pirate King 'Duke Edward IV,' said to be accompanied by many powerful high-level transcendent warriors.

Arsen continued.

'Feathered Serpent Edward has put out word that he wants to sell a sea demon ship about forty meters long for 160,000 gold pounds, and he's in a hurry, with only a few days' window.'

'Forty meters for 160,000 gold pounds, that's a pretty good deal.' Gune pondered slightly and nodded gently.

'The price is indeed very good, but they are pirates, so the reliability of the transaction is greatly compromised,' Arsen said.

"Are they desperately in need of gold pounds?" Gune asked again.

"Yes, they really need resources."

Yasen nodded.

"Duke Edward IV and another pirate king, 'Kamo,' have been at war for the past few years."

"War is a very costly affair."

"Equipment, materials, gunpowder and ammunition, massive amounts of potions, and when a good demon ship is damaged, it requires a huge quantity of demon ship decking to repair it, plus combat bonuses for the fighters, and so on."

"You have to understand, pirates are a bunch of desperate, bloodthirsty outlaws who work for money. If you want them to risk their lives for you, you have to pay them well. If you dare to shortchange their gold pounds, they'll turn around and stick a knife in you."

"Weaker pirates might not dare to do that, but they'll take the chance to slip away quietly into the deep sea without a sound."

"For those transcendent sailors with transformation abilities, they can swim through the sea as easily as fish."

"So, pirate wars have always been extremely expensive; only then can they afford to keep these pirates in line."

"There are often rumors outside that pirate kings are very wealthy."

"What they've got backwards is this: it's not that pirate kings are rich, but rather that if you're not rich, you can't become a pirate king in the first place."

"Not to mention the great pirate kings—even the minor ones each own three to five demon ships and command a hundred or two hundred men."

"Just maintaining that crew costs tens of thousands of gold pounds a month."

"That's indeed the logic." Gune nodded slightly.

After a brief pause, Gune said thoughtfully.

"We're not too short of gold pounds; there's no need to take that risk and contact this Feathered Serpent Edward."

If Gune were already at the fourth or even fifth transcendent rank, he would have the confidence to approach this Feathered Serpent Edward.

If the other party was genuinely willing to sell, Gune could get the demon ship at a lower price.

He might even establish a connection and then, by following the thread, find members of those evil god cults, or even some strongholds.

But at only the third rank, if Gune made contact and a conflict arose, he might not come out ahead.

For now, Gune should play it safe; there was no need to put himself in danger for a few tens of thousands of gold pounds.

"That... is true." Yasen nodded slightly. "These pirates are indeed not easy to get along with; if there's a conflict, we'd be the ones to suffer."

After Yasen finished, Gune pondered for a full half minute.

Then, Gune spoke cautiously.

"Can you... find the whereabouts of this Feathered Serpent Edward? Or determine where he will appear?"

"Hmm?" Yasen's expression shifted, his deep eyes fixed on Gune. "What do you plan to do?"

"Not contacting him doesn't mean we give up on his demon ship. If I know his whereabouts, I might use a special method to try something; maybe I'll get some results."

As he spoke, Gune looked at Yasen: "Can you get it?"

Yasen frowned slightly. His captain's ambition was indeed extraordinary.

"Are you sure you can escape after making a move? His two guards are both top-tier fifth-rank transcendents." Yasen didn't answer but asked in a low voice.

Gune shrugged. "I guarantee that those two guards won't even detect my presence."

Gune's words put Yasen somewhat at ease.

From their interactions over this period, Yasen knew well that his Captain Jack wouldn't say such things without absolute certainty.

"I can get his whereabouts, but it will cost gold pounds."

"How much?"

"Five hundred might not be enough; a thousand would be safer. After all, it's just a trace—shouldn't be too difficult."

Gune directly pulled out two stacks of ten-pound gold notes, totaling two thousand gold pounds.

When it was time to spend money, Gune was never stingy.

"Two thousand gold pounds. I want solid information on the whereabouts and location of this Feathered Serpent Edward."

"No problem." Yasen Holwell nodded solemnly.