Black Sail
Chapter 408: XLIII. Golden Palm Port

Chapter 408: XLIII. Golden Palm Port

Liszt, unaware as he traveled, had already become a formally authorized officer of Agares Dagon’s expeditionary army.

May 9th.

The Black Sail Fleet had arrived at Golden Palm Port three or four days ago.

The proponents of the Seventh Amendment had already set out, shaking the foundations of the nations surrounding Aran that constitute the stronghold of the Seventh Amendment.

As the East Sea Boss, Liszt had to show a strong front.

Sending such high-ranking individuals to negotiate cooperation would change the message, appearing as if begging for help—it would only be proper for key players from inside KB to personally conduct the talks.

After negotiating a good deal for cooperation, it was time to stir things up.

Golden Palm Port naturally couldn’t compare with top-tier major cities like Duguli, nor could it match Chenxi Port, but it was still an important seaport and trade hub for Mulong Duchy; it wouldn’t be too bad in any case.

It was the second-largest city in the Mulong Duchy, aside from the capital, and also a commercial and cultural center.

The Western Continent is immensely vast, naturally leading to aesthetic differences; the architectural style in Old Aran favored ribbed vaults, with a general style that was tall, slender, and widely used dark or white colors that conveyed a solemn and majestic atmosphere.

Mulong’s architectural style, on the other hand, tended toward domes and symmetrical repetition of columns, with intricate triangular constructions and colorful sculptures on details like door lintels and domes, dazzling the eyes.

Istanbul is generally referred to as Little Golden Palm Port.

The Triad Gang was most active during periods of political vacuum—a power transition period—and it was no mystery that Mulong Duchy had just become Aran’s lackey, so the existing vacuum could be imagined, even more substantial than a bag of fun-sized potato chips.

Moreover, the puppet government in the capital Aran has been universally viewed by people here as traitors to the nation. They no longer involved the King; the Lord of Golden Palm Port had already become the top Rebellious Marquis.

So, it was fair to say that Golden Palm Port was quite chaotic as well. On the surface, the Rebellious Marquis would nod and agree, "You’re right," allowing Aran to build railways. However, he was also one of the supporters of the local Mulong resistance forces, albeit in a clandestine manner—it would certainly be easy to beat the puppet King, but a direct confrontation with Aran would definitely be a lost cause; manipulation and intrigue were necessary. If I were to invite people from Lostra here, how would you handle that?

Lostra, openly non-aggressive with Aran, but if the Rebellious Marquis of Golden Palm Port stirred people from Lostra, it would give the Emperor a chance to rage.

The regular army couldn’t be stirred, but there were always others, like the Northern Border OG, the train heist master, and the East Sea Boss.

Others, like Celeste calculating from above, wouldn’t let Liszt pick up a prestigious seat so easily—the Dragon might be left to you, but the Oath of Loyalty had to be earned.

The Black Sail Fleet was regarded as esteemed guests by the Lord of Golden Palm Port and was accommodated in the highest standard hotel in the city.

That is to say, it was now a regional alliance plotting together for a great cause—Rebellious Marquis, Seventh Amendment, Lost, Black Sail.

There was no need to speak of the Rebellious Marquis—his thoughts were inscrutable; it was hard to say whether he was a staunch resister aiming to uphold the national regime or simply aiming for better terms for treason.

The Seventh Amendment belonged to Ban’s group, unreasonable and murderous, with the attitude of "If you don’t make me happy, I won’t let you enjoy your New Year"—it was all about wreaking havoc.

Lostra, as Aran’s old nemesis, only needed to flex its muscles.

Only the Black Sail, a force from the East Sea, was purely motivated by interest.

Golden Palm Port, Dream Hotel, a suite designated for the reception of foreign dignitaries, within a room on the top floor lavishly adorned in the Mulong style, showcased on textiles like carpets and curtains, with exceptionally exquisite embroidery—a texture incredibly silky and soft.

Kai Deng paced the room alone, wearing Liszt’s face, finding that being the Boss of the East Sea was a far from easy role—the pressure was immensely staggering, enough to drive someone to the brink of a mental collapse.

Haywood had laid his cards on the table. Under the influence of "Liszt," and following Wolman and Ox, Haywood, too, had his project now.

He established an Investigation Department for relics with a quarterly budget of twelve hundred Golden Dragons, tasked with uncovering the truth about the closure from Heaven and Earth eighteen hundred years ago, the real identity of the Nameless Warrior, as well as the forgotten history of the Ancient Era.

Such an outrageous resolution passed with the endorsement of "Liszt," giving the Black Sail a chance to potentially unearth some mythological equipment, though the twelve hundred Golden Dragons per quarter were not exactly a negligible sum for them.

Since Haywood enjoyed clashing with the Miracle of Suffering and the followers of the Holy True God, let him find his life’s purpose in that and keep busy wrestling with the mad followers of the Cult.

For Black Sail, investigation equaled robbery.

Kai Deng was now caught in a difficult situation. She had barely managed to hold herself together these past few days, becoming, in a sense... a spy for the entire Western Continent, Southern Continent, Far East Islands, Ancient Divine Continent, the whole world.

But she couldn’t possibly refuse Haywood. Who knew what relationship Liszt had with this Demon? It might risk exposing her disguise.

After pondering, she wondered whether to inform Diaz, yet she harbored her own doubts, lacking absolute loyalty to him as the matter was far-reaching and difficult to resolve.

Additionally, what blew her mind was the abundance of secrets hidden within Black Sail, not just the Stele but also a creature possibly a True Dragon named Fafna, along with Garscek, the two Dragons staying at Heaven Port—it was an overwhelming concept. And then there’s Alicia... the Overlord Descendant.

Walking on thin ice, Kai Deng knew the Stele wasn’t here with the fleet; it was back in Old Aran’s hometown at Heaven Port. She couldn’t return now, and even if she did, Liszt’s lawful wife was a Vampire, highly sensitive to Life Energy; even the most convincing disguise might fail to dupe her—it wasn’t something Kai Deng could afford to let happen, to give that Vampire such satisfaction.

Yesterday, at the Golden Palm Port Lord’s residence, Kai Deng realized she was being used as a mere symbol of "Liszt," moved by the larger interests of the Black Sail collective, making it difficult for her to make any constructive decisions.

For the sake of cooperation with Lostra and the Black Sail’s cash flow, she could only keep waiting in Golden Palm Port for someone from the Seventh Amendment to show up.

Once the talks concluded, she would head straight into the hinterland to disrupt the railway construction site, giving Crocodile Island a bit of trouble to delay their progress.

Currently, Aran was in charge of the Mulong Duchy region, serving as the army general; it was rumored that Crocodile Island was run by an extremely violent freak.

Kai Deng herself never craved cigarettes before.

But these past few, stressful days had turned her into a chain smoker.

Someone knocked on the door from outside.

"Come in."

Kai Deng was growing increasingly skilled at impersonating Liszt, gradually uncovering that he was a man of unpredictable moods—sometimes courteously pretentious, other times grossly vulgar, but essentially quite capricious.

As long as she mastered certain abstractions, the impersonation was not particularly difficult. Any efforts would do, after all, this was a person who had a screw loose.

High-level Agents prefer to avoid showing their faces, for once they do, they become the long-term person in charge of a project, just like Celeste, who was now the East Sea Commissioner.

There was also no need to be constantly dressed in that tight-fitting suit, now wearing a red backless evening gown that extended to her wrists.

Upon seeing the visitor, Kai Deng frowned. No matter what she wore, she was in essence still a burden, especially in that blood-red color—she had burned through it all. Kai Deng felt somewhat envious of Celeste’s shapely buttocks and the curves of her breasts; she found both quite uncomfortable herself.

"What’s the matter?"