Storm and Capture
Following the complete fall of Marquis Louis’ men at sea, remarkable changes immediately occurred to the situation offsh.o.r.e.
Leylin and the Barbarians originally had no choice but to ally in their fight against Marquis Louis’ oppression. However, with the Black Skeletons and Tigershark Pirates destroyed, that pressure had completely vanished with the sinking of the military fleet he’d painstakingly built. Now, a rivalry formed between the two crews.
As there was still a gigantic cash cow right in front of their eyes, the conflict between both sides certainly hadn’t escalated to a great extent. Still, it was already impossible to prevent future fights.
Leylin had long prepared for this.
“Set sail! Let’s go to the Baltic Harbour, straight into the base camp of that old fox!” Leylin’s order was accompanied by cheers from his pirates. They started up the Scarlet Tiger, which was like a gigantic creature of the sea as they headed towards the Baltic Archipelago.
*Thump! Shatter!* The sharp and clear sounds of gla.s.s and chinaware falling onto the ground could be heard, occasionally interspersed with bellows of rage.
The maids and subordinates in the marquis’ residence did not even dare to breathe heavily, fearful of becoming the target of his fury. Ever since news of William’s death had made its way here, Louis had sunken into a state of complete hysterial. Several servants had been dragged out and beaten to death, including a few personal female servants that Louis once favoured greatly.
Under such circ.u.mstances, it was understandable that the servants were being silent out of fear. For some reason, Tim was secretly very elated upon seeing the situation. He was even filled with the rejuvenating pleasure of someone having taken his revenge.
‘Has that d.a.m.n William been completely fed to the fishes?’ Tim laughed maniacally inside, yet did not dare to show it. ‘If that old fellow knows about this intelligence report, will he get so angry that he’ll breathe his last?’
“Father! We have the latest news of our family’s fleet!” Tim’s voice was a mix of unease and apprehension, as though he was a criminal waiting to be executed.
“Come in!” Marquis Louis’ voice came from the within the room as he tried to repress his anger. Tim sneered secretly, and entered.
The marquis’ study was currently very messy. Shattered gla.s.s and porcelain shards were strewn across the floor. On the desk lay a dead body, totally void of life.
It was a young and beautiful female servant. Her eyes seemed to show a longing for survival, and her body was covered with traces of abuse, particularly the bruises on her neck, which were the main culprits that led to her death.
“Someone, tidy up this place!” Marquis Louis adjusted his s.h.i.+rt collar. With his order, an expressionless butler entered with a few maids, and they quickly cleared up the entire study room.
When the door closed, only Tim and Marquis Louis were left. Seeing that the marquis had seemingly regained peace after venting his anger, Tim suddenly felt a chill in his heart for some reason.
“Father…” Tim tried his best to make his voice appear more sorrowful.
“Speak… Have those bunch of morons been completely wiped out?” Marquis Louis sat on his soft armchair, his expression without a hint of grief or delight.
“Yes. Our family’s military fleet was besieged by the Scarlet Tigers and the Barbarians, and has confirmed to have been totally defeated near the Baltic archipelago.”
What Tim did not expect was that Marquis Louis’ expression did not change much after hearing such earth-shattering news, as though he had long predicted it.
“I know… After the Black Skeletons and Tigershark Pirates were destroyed, our family’s fleet walked down the same road as well? Heh heh… From today onwards, the Gold Thornblossoms’ authority over the Dambrath seas will be thoroughly destroyed…”
The marquis’ eyes seemed unusually bloodshot. It was the pain and insanity of having his life’s work ruined.
However, Tim actually felt more at ease after witnessing this. He would be a.s.sured only if the marquis was in such a state.
“Give instructions to prepare to leave this place!” Marquis Louis said to Tim.
“Leave? To where?” Tim seemed rather puzzled.
“Return to the mainland, the Dambrath capital. It’s no longer safe here with the great loss we’ve suffered in our strength. Those pirates will frantically pounce on us like starving dogs. We must leave as soon as possible while their mind is still on the other ports and wealth.”
Marquis Louis explained indifferently as he gazed at Tim with a gentle look in his eyes. “Tim, you’re now my only adult son. As long as we live, the kingdom will not let the Baltic archipelago have a change of owners.h.i.+p.”
The delayed trust made Tim feel as though there were two hot streams cras.h.i.+ng into his eyes. He pouted, but said nothing in the end.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!* m.u.f.fled cannon blasts sounded in the study, interspersed with the whistles of pirates. No matter how good the sound-proofing was, the noise could not be blocked out.
“What’s going on?” Marquis Louis ran to the window and opened it. The sounds became clearer, and he could see many clouds of black smoke. There were even silhouettes of hordes of pirates.
“How could they intrude so quickly? What about the fort and sentinel points that the team of guards had set up? Why aren’t they of any use? Could it be…”
Marquis Louis could finally smell conspiracy. Although he had lost his soul after his beloved son died in battle and after his maritime fleet was entirely wiped out, the marquis who had endured the test of battle immediately reacted at this critical juncture, but it was all too late.
He suddenly turned around, and immediately met with a pair of eyes resembling a wolf’s!
“Kill!” “Heh heh… Charge!”
Numerous pirates roared wildly. After destroying the battery and several guard a.s.sembly points, the other pirates spread themselves out like maniacs. They charged towards to the refined stores and enormous mansions like wild dogs.
Smas.h.i.+ng sounds could be heard everywhere, and lone pirates with luxurious silk hung around their necks and their pockets stuffed with huge amounts of jewelry and gold coins could be seen scuttling across the streets from time to time.
Of course, there were bound to be ma.s.sacres and death, and even little children could not run from their fate. Women were being disgraced in many dim corners, as they let out sorrowful cries.
Restraining the pirates like they were a military troop would be a joke. These pirates were excited by the tremendous amount of wealth here after they had abruptly broken into the place. They were like rats that had fallen into a rice vat, and had exposed the most despicable side of humanity.
In order to cause the greatest amount of wreckage, Leylin had even lowered his standards. He’d recruited a huge bunch of inferior pirate va.s.sals, and brought them here. These were the sc.u.m of all sc.u.m, and they instantly displayed their powerful destructive abilities.
One could see that the entire harbour wouldn’t regain its popularity in the next few years after this ended.
On the largest battles.h.i.+p equipped with magical armor—the Scarlet Tiger— Leylin put down the telescope in his hands as he revealed a satisfied expression.
“Excellent. That’s right, kill them all, rob them all, burn them all! When we depart, all I need is to see a wasteland!” Leylin was now wearing a silver mask, and so was Isabel.
They were still n.o.blemen after all, and naturally had to be mindful. Otherwise, they would meet with trouble in the kingdom if they left some magical image behind. Even though the mask covered his expression, Leylin was now like a respected devil of the underworld. His aura made other pirates retreat one by one, their faces filled with panic and fear.
The Baltic archipelago was the feudal land of the kingdom after all, and Leylin could not brazenly occupy this place openly. Thus, he wanted to completely destroy everything here, and turn this beautiful and wealthy archipelago into a purgatory. It would never be able to contest for the spot of an offsh.o.r.e trading centre with Faulen Island henceforth!
“You will see it!” Isabel’s eyes were rather bloodshot. Her aura once again began to rise sharply.
Such slaughter and chaos were evidently a demon’s favourite. If she was able to conduct a ritual before they pillaged the place, perhaps they would reap even greater profits.
But Leylin wouldn’t let her do that, of course. Once devils and demons were involved in something, it would definitely attract the attention of the church. He was still unable to contend against those colossal beings.
“Tim’s map of the port’s defences shows that there are still some forts, and also the residences of several people in authority and their strength. It can’t get any easier to raze this port to ruin.” A harbour was completely different with intel on it than without. Tim had an extremely high status, which was of huge benefit to Leylin as a spy.
At this moment, Robin Hood came forward to report to Leylin. “Boss! The troops stationed here have already been completely wiped out. Ronald is currently bringing our men to attack Marquis Louis’s mansion.” His body was covered with many bloodstains, and there were even pieces of meat and other items hanging from the blade of his sword.
“Marquis Louis must die here! The others don’t matter.”
Marquis Louis was an old fox after all. If he escaped, there might be other troubles that would ensue. Leylin wasn’t that idle to fool around with him.
“That Tim…” Robin Hood seemed like he wanted to say something but stopped himself.
“Depends on his luck. Marquis Louis has a few other children who are not of age yet anyway. We just need someone to succeed the Gold Thornblossom family, so that their feudal land will not be confiscated by the kingdom.”
Leylin waved his hands. “Come with me, there are even more important things to do!”
To Leylin, two places here were the most important sources of wealth. One was the official residence of the marquis, and the other was naturally where Boruj gathered the materials for his wizard tower.