Chapter 24: XXIV. Pirate Ship
The Sea Erosion Cliff Secret Port was busy with the flow of talent during the early morning and around one in the afternoon. Once that time passed, the place quieted down.
Shadi yawned on the pier, his beautiful features striking enough to catch the attention of a few gay individuals on the neighboring smuggling ship, enough to intoxicate them with a glance.
Elves were absolutely the highest of the high on the Western Continent. Emperor Aran had never made a move against the elf powers to the far west of the continent, maintaining the ancient pacts.
"Keep staring and I'll come up there and chop you up."
Shadi noticed someone was watching him, and those few individuals quickly averted their gaze.
Shadi was of the Dark Elf lineage, not from those on the western part of the continent which held a much higher status. Having gotten into trouble, he was expelled and put his fighting hat back on.
The towns surrounding Londen City have their market days once a week, and today happened to be the busiest time—the perfect opportunity for escaping convicts and refugees to blend into the crowds.
Even after slightly lowering their strict standards, they recruited just over thirty people. It was only going to get tougher, hoping the next peak would allow for more recruits.
The SS Fuma Keqing Revenge finally began to look like a real ship. The deck bustled with activity, brightly lit. On the first day, they couldn't overwork the sailors; basic sanitary maintenance was enough. Once the ship was underway, things would be easier for them.
"No more takers, that's it for today."
Rein finally relaxed and gestured with his hands to two people smoking by the railing, asking them to carry the table and chairs in front of him back onto the ship.
If there were people not being put to work, it would be a waste.
Since Archer was not around, Wolman took on the role of emergency backup chef, whipping up a chaotic swamp stew. He simply boiled a pot of water, threw in unchopped vegetables and meat, and it was ready to go—as long as it was spiced and tasty. These hardworking folks were happy with a sip of meat soup and a piece of bread, topped off with nearly overflowing barrels of wine after dinner. It was paradise.
The treatment on board was indeed as Ox had said, like a top-tier company among companies.
When the two workers came down because Rein was their immediate superior and there's nothing scarier than a manager, they fawned over him insanely. Rein quite enjoyed it, very pleased indeed.
"Sweet talk is useless. Do you think I like hearing it? Get a move on with the work. On a pirate ship, there's no such thing as making money just by dancing around. Less talk, more work."
Rein kicked each of the workers once, speaking irritably.
The workers still grinned sheepishly as they moved the stuff back onto the ship.
"When is Lord's big job going to start?"
Shadi complained. Although only a day had passed, the unsettling sense of the unknown was the most wearing.
"Didn't they say a month? At the very least, it takes ten days to prepare to set sail. If they said a month, they won't wait until the very last moment to come. Rest assured, that would be an ultimatum. At the latest in twenty days. But you listen to me, the later the better. It'd be best if they don't come for half a year, or even better, never come at all."
Rein made his judgment.
"Not come for half a year... You can say that, but what will all these people eat?"
Shadi was speechless.
"You Elves don't have the brains of us Werewolves. It's normal not to understand Lord's generosity. While I was basking in my glory days with the adventure groups, I was frequently invited by nobles to dine at their homes every now and then. It was a simple matter to wipe out a Magic Beast causing trouble around their estates. I'm well aware of those gentlemen's nature."
"You do have a point."
Shadi had to admit, despite the lack of cultured people on board, they were as cunning as ghosts.
At this moment, Mika walked back and saw the large deck lanterns and all the auxiliary stand lamps lit, bathing the deck in light. There were over thirty people on deck, mostly of the Human Race, with a few from Alien Races as well.
"A lot more people."
Mika remarked, wondering how many would be left after a year. Rein and Shadi, the old hands, were tough and skilled, but for these new people coming aboard, their fate was uncertain.
"How did it go?"
Rein smirked, knowing that Mika, the grandee, must have had a smooth day.
"What do you mean, how did it go?"
Mika admitted defeat. After so many years, these people couldn't change their opening line. He had an automatic reflex to respond with those five words whenever he heard it.
"Of course, it's the 'Dark Secret Forest' that everyone yearns for."
Rein said something extremely sleazy and didn't forget to add, "Dark Original God, activate!"
Mika's forehead became streaked with black lines, sometimes even he couldn't understand the words that came out of Liszt's mouth—this damn brain learned whatever came its way, infer and extrapolate, and even performed version updates by itself.
"Heh, not bad."
Mika responded nonchalantly.
"Not bad? Damn, show-offs should just explode." Rein took a drag of his cigarette and continued, "When you usually say it's not great, it means the experience is mediocre. Saying it's just so-so implies the experience is still okay. If you say it's not bad, that means it's freaking amazing, I swear."
Mika was at a loss for words and ignored the madman as he boarded the ship.
The deck was bustling with activity.
The Black Sail's initiation was to first deal with these self-proclaimed tough escapees by sparring under the guise of friendly competition—to take them down a peg and prevent future problems.
Morison was sparring with a few sailors in hand-to-hand combat.
The outcome was inevitable.
Even up against five or six men, Morison effortlessly brought them down. It didn't even take a few seconds—in fact, it was a little over one second per man—all of them lying on the ground, spitting out bile, their innards churning.
"You call yourselves tough guys? It was just hand-to-hand. If weapons were involved, you all would've been dead by now."
Morison picked a purple berry from a fruit platter, chewed on it—the taste from the other day was quite good, so he had sent a lackey to town to buy some.
Mika watched the spectacle, not because these people were weak, but who the hell could beat you.
"I'm not convinced. With weapons, it really could go either way."
A sailor with a skull tattoo on his bald head and standing two meters tall spoke up, aiming to earn a rank or half a position on board, as being a mere laborer was dull.
Morison was one of those among the Black Sail who weren't particularly tall, though he was just over one meter eighty, he was still quite short compared to the likes of Ox and Rein.
"Oh?" Morison was intrigued, "Pick whatever you like, just come at me, even with a musket if you wish."
"Those are your words."
The tattooed giant chose a handy scimitar, struck first, and without offering the chance to speak, ruthlessly slashed at Morison.
Bang!
The Flying Knife shot out like cannon fire; nobody saw where it came from. The scimitar was knocked into the air, spinning more than twenty meters away, before plunging into the sea. The tattooed giant knelt, screaming, his wrist bent at an unnatural angle, the force of the impact dislocating it and causing it to swell.
It was an eye-opening display for everyone, utterly miraculous.
"Also, never say you're unconvinced again. On this ship, we live by absolute obedience, I'll stress it once more, absolute obedience. You chose to embark on this pirate adventure, your heads are literally tied to your belts, so mind what you say. Those who lack vision, their outcomes won't be pretty."
Morison spoke coldly, his half-face bearing burn marks and over a dozen knife cuts was especially terrifying, and for a moment, no one on the deck dared to speak.
"Hey, Brother Sha, don't bully the newbies, you'll scare them. And you guys, don't mess with him. Eat when you should eat, drink when you should drink. We've almost got too much booze in the storeroom, tonight everyone gets to drink two more bottles, we're popping champagne."
As soon as Rein boarded the ship, he saw Morison handling the newcomers. With Brother Sha being so fierce, they might get too shaken to work efficiently later.
The sailors on the deck sighed in admiration; this ship really was dripping with riches, as if liquor and meat cost nothing.
The tattooed giant wasn't a narrow-minded person.
"I'd heard that Black Sail was full of the best among men, and it's all true to the name. I'm sure following you guys was the right choice; I'm willing to stay aboard until death."
The tattooed giant stood up, unable to help but admire Morison.
Morison did not reply; he didn't want to buddy up with small fry.
"Hey, can't you say something more auspicious? We must speak auspiciously on this ship, none of this talk of death. We're popping champagne."
Rein sent a few people to the storeroom to fetch wine.
Mika sighed and instructed the tattooed giant to follow him to the infirmary below deck, to set his bones and apply some medicine.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone