Black Sail
Chapter 432: LXVII. It’s All a Game

Chapter 432: LXVII. It’s All a Game

East of the Narrow Sea, in the western coastal city of the Mulong Duchy, Golden Palm Port.

On May 21, half a week had passed since the agreed-upon date, and yet the key pillar of the Seventh Amendment, which was supposed to have already reached Golden Palm Port to discuss cooperative matters with Black Sail, had not returned.

As the East Sea Commissioner of Lostra, Celeste had performance targets to meet.

Aran had deployed a large amount of manpower and resources, even with an army escort, at this pace of construction, even if bypassing some forbidden zone chasms, it would take ten months, and if Black Sail failed to act, by increasing Aran’s efforts, they could penetrate Mulong Duchy before the end of the year.

This railway, stretching to Green Oasis Country Wadina, would require a maximum of three years.

The Western Continent was divided into east and west by the Narrow Sea, with boundaries untouched by the sea, filled with steep mountain ranges in the north, and though the temperature was nothing like the icy Northern Realm beyond the Arctic Ocean, winter was still marked by incessant snowfall.

Aran, situated in the east on the Dragon Rising Land, had almost completely unified the eastern region.

The homeland of the Werewolves, the self-governing Chenfeng Plateau, acted as a natural barrier, separating Aran from Pedan.

Pedan, located in the central north, west of the Chenfeng Plateau, had sprawling mountain ranges within its borders. Once known as the Nation of Four Fortresses due to its isolation, many ancient magics were preserved here. The first Magic Energy Industrial Revolution erupted in this land, and after its subsequent expansion, it devoured the northern mountainous areas, possessing the largest territory among the Five Permanent members of the Western Continent, if excluding colonial lands of the Duchy. Yet, it had the least exploitable land among them.

Gureg, Ji Weng, and Lostra stood in a tripartite balance to the west of the Narrow Sea.

Along with other large and small countries acting as strategic buffers or functional states, they formed the entirety of the Western Continent.

All together, these lands were once Cyrus, the ancestral dominion of Alicia.

The Narrow Sea was the most vital strategic buffer area, which no one dared to disturb for fear of a combined assault by others, and concern that conflicts might ignite, plunging the four kings and one emperor into chaotic warfare and untold suffering. Hence, the Narrow Sea had a locational advantage, plainly visible on all nations’ faces, but it was also taboo, a land where order and chaos incessantly leapfrogged, making for a treacherous and thrilling presence on the main board of the Narrow Sea.

Even the mighty Aran dared not establish any sort of Narrow Sea Military Alliance under the convention, for that would invite a united front against them.

The Emperor desired to extend his reach west of the Narrow Sea. Affairs in the sea were murky, but as for those on land, thorough consideration and planning were necessary.

Green Oasis Country Wadina was Aran’s stake to the west of the Narrow Sea. Open collaboration would attract sharp tongues seeking reasons to flare up, so, utilizing religious power, Wadinian intellectuals could enter the Eternal Sect and become clergy through examinations.

Sharon had joined Aran in just this way.

The Duchies under Aran were all luminous pearls, numerous offspring, but Wadina was absolutely the dearest, routinely showering it with gold and funds.

The effect was remarkable.

To the west of the Narrow Sea lived the Wetland Half-Dragons of their own accord, and Wadina had once been completely overrun with sand bandits who roamed freely into neighboring countries whenever they fancied, either storming in with whirlwinds of sand or retracting into their desert hideouts. Anyone up for a challenge would come over, relying on the hostile environment to barefoot outfight those with shoes, a tradition with some years behind it.

But with Aran’s support, fountains sprung from rocks, and the desert bloomed. Under vast magic arrays, oases proliferated, and former sand bandit bosses were held to account, captured and sent to the Northern Prison to contribute to the medical industry.

Aran’s two true pearls, Beima Duchy and Wadina, I may sleep with you, but I will marry her.

After all, Wadina was in the west, eyed covetously by numerous potential rivals, making it indecent to simply transform it into a Duchy, the status of the rightful wife clear for all to see. If not for the immense natural wall in the way, Aran’s mighty military would have already brutishly breached Beima’s modest lands.

The Monges Southern Wetlands, the native land of the Half-Dragons, were officially an autonomous region under Aran’s jurisdiction, ranked even above the Duchy, a genuine part of Aran’s territory, supposedly of the highest status, yet it was the dimmest pearl among all... put frankly, it belonged to the player, now the poisoning nest on the Western Continent, as if the dark empress Sindra was casting a powerful curse upon Aran’s face, could say it’s truly treasonous.

In any case, the railway reaching Wadina meant that the Emperor could not only deploy forces directly from the east of the Narrow Sea but even the west,

Possessing the power to dominate the continent.

Continuing the legend of the Overlord from two thousand years ago.

The Advancement Movement.

This was a probing maneuver, the Emperor’s dominance spilling over, seeing who was brave and who was cowardly as the Aran Army had already mobilized.

The attitudes of the leaders of other nations and their political acumen will influence future geopolitical structures.

Regardless of whether others could hold their nerve, Lostra could not—let me see what’s the matter.

In Celeste’s superior plan.

In order to disrupt Aran’s layout, one could certainly conceive a treaty and directly intervene with troops, confronting the Emperor face-to-face, but that would be inadvisable—not for fearing the Emperor, but rather for the risk of sinking into an internal war morass, with the two neighboring countries, Ji Weng and Gureg, sure to cause trouble.

The best course of action would be,

Celina’s superior would apply pressure on Vadinia, basically harassing them with all sorts of tactics: political assassinations, public opinion, border conflicts, covering all bases. At the same time, they would send out agents to harass the Aran Army.

They were buying time for Lostra’s own strategies to develop.

Black Sail.

Indeed, a perfect entity to exploit. Liszt was different from Doringger; Doringger acted as a platform in the East Sea, one overpowering the three strongest. He got the meat, the Strong Three nibbled the bones, and the lackeys sipped the broth—few pirates dared to challenge him.

However, Liszt genuinely consolidated the East Sea, uninterested in money, and under his concessions, a snowball effect had begun. Today’s Heaven Port truly had the essence of the "Pirate Republic."

Now, Heaven Port even had the capability of deep-sea operations, though just small fry not to be taken seriously. But the beauty of it lay in the fact that Black Sail’s base was at the edge of the world. To eradicate them, one had to think twice; Aran and the East Sea were not only distant but also separated by the coveted Beima Pearl, with a massive barrier in between. It’s quite challenging.

For Lostra, Black Sail was an impeccable third party: pay them, and they’d kill for you.

Celina would no longer be involved in intelligence work—in other words, she had reached the pinnacle of her field, graduated, and gloriously risen to become one of the players in the game of power.

Liszt’s recent audacious moves had completely lost Celina’s favor, which she considered a good thing. A rational mind would benefit her career.

Inside the top suite of the Golden Palm Port Dream Hotel.

Celina had to meet her performance targets and get Liszt to take action sooner rather than later, not wait for the Seventh Amendment. Those KB members must be under the suppression of Aran’s army and unable to extricate themselves.

Kai Deng, disguised as Liszt, had also been observing the situation, hesitant to make any rash decisions. Being in a high position, even as a fake from the Thief Guild, she had to prioritize Black Sail’s interests.

The letter to Diaz had been sent. Kai Deng’s job was to maintain her identity while slowly letting the brothers from the Thief Guild infiltrate Black Sail, turning the East Sea into the guild’s turf too.

And to get Liszt to deploy his troops sooner, Celina was prepared to resort to any means necessary, dressing exceptionally enticingly today.

"We don’t have much time left. The longer you wait, the longer Aran Army’s railway penetration becomes, the deeper their front line stretches into the cities along the way, garrisoning troops. That would be difficult to manage. We must strike them before they’re organized, shattering them with a powerful blow and keep harassing until they’re forced back. Our aim is only to delay, but we can’t just wait around to do so."

Celina flicked a lock of black hair behind her ear, her shiny earrings glinting. She wore a tailored red dress cut in somewhat provocative fashion, her waist-to-hip ratio was nothing short of perfect, with her waist supple as willow in the wind and a bust to match her beautiful curves.

An intelligence agent sometimes must navigate high society, where appearance can truly impress.

This infuriated Kai Deng, who was extremely jealous because her own physique had nothing to boast of; she was like a Transformer, making even Optimus Prime bow down in respect, wanting an alliance to take on Megatron.

"I understand that to make you cough up gold, you need to show an Oath of Loyalty. But I must consider Black Sail. Without our allies, plunging into enemy territory isn’t impossible, but I need to see your sincerity before considering Fafna’s alimony and the investment in the East Sea. Otherwise, without a penny, how can I order my brothers to risk their lives charging forward? What would people think of me? It’d be hard to command respect."

Kai Deng mimicked Liszt’s tone. She too was waiting for the Thief Guild to show up; it was inconvenient to act alone. The Werewolf had threatened her, and she had her countermeasures ready; the situation was quite complex.

Celina was already prepared with persuasive arguments.

"Don’t you have an affinity for Steles? Let’s discuss the Netherworld Stele in detail."

Celina noticed "Liszt" had some sweat on his forehead. Was it nerves or something else? His demeanor was strange; her dress hadn’t elicited any reaction, could he be impotent? There was even a hint of hostility in his eyes—truly bizarre.

As the East Sea Commissioner, it was her duty to pacify a partner, even an unwelcome one.

"You seem a bit warm, which makes sense since summer’s arrived."

Celina provocatively undid a button at Kai Deng’s collar.

Kai Deng braced herself as if facing a formidable enemy. She was stoically heterosexual.

Meanwhile.

On the other side of Golden Palm Port, inside a tavern.

"Damn it, you’re still drinking? Morison’s just killed someone, shit."

Shadi had caught Archer in the tavern.

Though Black Sail and the others had heeded warnings and not caused any trouble in Golden Palm Port over the past half-month, as time went on, pirates were like environmentalists on fire—ready to flay someone.