On the Salsa platform, a makeshift council table had been cobbled together, and each person harbored their own thoughts. Chapters first released on ⓝovelFire.net
Archer, flushed and red-eared from drinking, spoke piercingly. He didn’t know what prioritizing the big picture meant, all he knew was that as long as it was painful yet thrilling and fun, that was good enough.
Among those present, Swan’s thoughts were undeniably the most complex.
He had learned of this affair from Rein and had sent a letter to Heaven Port suggesting that Liszt was very likely already dead. Fen would soon be informed.
Based on Swan’s observations of Liszt, in truth, Liszt was more suited to be a pirate. He was an exceptional pirate Captain, perhaps even too exceptional, but he wasn’t a good Boss of the East Sea. He was only fit to lead a medium-sized group, not the Black Sail that now roamed the Four Seas.
It wasn’t that Liszt lacked cunning or intelligence.
Rather, he was too selfish, sometimes acting without considering the consequences—this was not the path to kingship.
Fen was far more suitable; he was more like a cold-blooded machine.
Swan knew the temperaments of everyone on the ship like the back of his hand. Morison and Archer were just causing chaos, they were the ones with problematic nerves, but Haywood was definitely not.
Celeste’s "lantern" was someone who would never make a mistake.
And Haywood’s behavior was very abnormal. As Liszt’s sidekick, for him to doubt Liszt so strongly meant that Liszt himself must have sent a message back.
This also confirmed Swan’s thoughts—if Liszt knew what to keep and what to discard, it wouldn’t be a message for Haywood that came back, but Liszt himself.
The result was clear: Liszt was preoccupied with other matters.
Whether it was the one-on-one duel with Marcus, the Skull Club affair, or other decisions he took upon himself.
Swan believed that Liszt, who seemed nervous, was actually self-destructive. After spending half a year with him, Swan speculated it might be due to something that happened before he met Mika.
To let such a man continue to lead would bury the Black Sail with him. Their current unbridled expansion and making enemies everywhere was dangerous.
For now, wait and see what Fen’s attitude was; there was no rush. If Fen took action, then it would be too late.
Kai Deng appeared to be as stable as Mount Tai, already considering the event of a fiery merge. Her chances of retreating successfully on her own were not high. She glanced at the undercover agents of the Guild, but if others provided cover, that was another matter.
Ghost Eye Mad Blade Saleret.
It was rumored that beneath the mask of iron, two eyes housed evil spirits with the power to foresee the future.
Suddenly, Saleret rose to his feet.
With a crisp click, his sheathed sword slammed onto the table, creating a clattering sound; his twin blades and long sword gleamed threateningly.
"You scared the hell out of me, what’s wrong?"
Rein, feeling a bit guilty after learning that Liszt was still alive, lit a cigarette. But fortunately, he hadn’t burnt his bridges completely. The congratulatory gift once sent to the Minister of Aran was something he had been framed for. Since Liszt was alright, there was no need to go that far.
Kai Deng nearly lost her composure as well. Why was this iron-faced figure acting so irrationally?
"Just on guard, ready for if anyone tries to escape. I’ll be watching, and it looks like results will come soon," Saleret’s voice was hoarse and indifferent.
"Not necessarily. If it’s a Netherworld Envoy, the disguise is not just a matter of clay material. Magic techniques, spells, flawless," Swan said calmly.
For the moment, he was helping out the Fake Liszt—Swan had his own plans. Unmasking Diaz wasn’t so simple; clearing out more strongholds was useless.
Even if they uprooted the entire Guild, Diaz might still not reveal himself. Only by finding the few people at the highest level of the Guild’s central hub and investigating further—if the person impersonating Liszt was a Netherworld Envoy, such a high-level individual would definitely know where to look.
Rein furrowed his brows, pondering. Did such a thing really exist? Or was Swan just providing cover? He suddenly realized that he might have started something very unfortunate.
Even if this matter ended perfectly, this beginning was not good. Even if another letter was written back to Heaven Port, in the time lag of the information delay—
Heaven knows what Fen would conjure up.
Shadi wanted to ask Ben for his opinion but immediately gave up. "Fen isn’t here either, without an expert in that area we can’t determine if there’s any Magic Power involved, so it looks like we’re back to square one."
Kai Deng breathed a sigh of relief. A potential ally? Was this thief speaking in his favor? Rein... damn, he sure was no dim bulb, and things within Black Sail were not as solid as they seemed—a point worth digging into.
But he couldn’t relax just yet; he still had a tough fight ahead of him.
Haywood had been staring at her the whole time, spurring a brainstorm,
"Ts... indeed, it wouldn’t be fun if it ended so quickly. Next up, Shadi, he’s definitely the Thief."
Archer declared this decisively, pointing at Shadi’s nose.
"You’re so handsome, must be easy for you to pick up women, right? For example..." Archer took another swig, "If I hit on a beautiful lady, I’d politely ask, ’Hello, miss, may I have the pleasure of dining with you this evening?’ She’d tell me to get lost. But if you were as handsome as you are, all you’d need to ask is, ’Hey, wanna do it?’ And she’d say, ’Okay.’"
Celeste’s brow furrowed deeply; Archer was the most uncouth person she had ever met, not a cavemen among them would say such things, damn it!
The others were equally shocked. What’s going on? This guy’s view on love is so twisted!
"That’s totally irrelevant, okay! Besides, you wouldn’t get anywhere with that approach; you’ve got to be more subtle about it, something that stokes sympathy like ’I’m consumed with desire, please pity me’—for a decent woman it takes at least half a day for that to work, how could what you’ve said be possible. I’m an honest guy, I like to speak the truth."
Shadi shared his insights.
Everyone at the discussion table had tactical frowns on their faces.
It seemed Shadi was speaking the truth; his approach did seem to have some potential.
"You truly deserve to die, you really do. Sleeping with so many people aren’t you just asking to be sent to Hell? Kill him, Saleret, this isn’t just any ordinary thief. He’s worse than Diaz."
Morison voiced his opinion.
"Guilty, sentenced to hanging," Mika agreed, pulling out his short-handled axe, "After all, we’ve been buddies for six or seven years. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of the harem you have at Heaven Port."
Ben was on the verge of tears. As the authentic Zhou Ke’er, he couldn’t say he lacked a way with women, but he could also be termed a public enemy of women, "Only visit prostitutes, never fooling around, even clever Ben becomes a fool."
Ben began a manic cackling laugh indicating he had a twisted mind, shouting, "Kill him! Kill him! Let him die! Let him die!"
"Hey... you really gonna kill me, damn it."
Seeing the weapons drawn, Shadi was genuinely scared; damn it, if he were to die over something so idiotic, that would be... just too damn idiotic.
Saleret took a deep breath; of course, he wasn’t going to act.
"In that case, prove you’re Shadi. You could tell us something outsiders wouldn’t know. Aren’t you skilled in Qigong or something? Show us a little."
Celeste, one of the few sane people, suggested this.
Helplessly, Shadi demonstrated his skills, becoming Yu Huatian, known as Little Shadi. He shook a chair, infusing it with his Qi, and it immediately exploded.
He began revealing secrets.
"I remember one time on the ship, Archer would occasionally sneak into the medic’s room to peek at Mika’s porn books."
Shadi decided to counterattack.
"I didn’t! I wasn’t! He’s talking nonsense! Kill him, Saleret!"
Mika was shocked, "Damn it, I said it’s normal for books to get wrinkled from sea moisture, but this is just way too damn moist!"
Subconsciously, Mika hurried to pour alcohol to wash his hands, truly disgusting.
"Isn’t everyone watching them, though?"
Morison was speechless; this was no secret—it was a public porn library.
Celeste pressed her forehead, "Alright, this Dark Elf is no longer a suspect, next."