Chapter 64: Fermentation (Part 1)

  Niya looked at Tang Jie and smiled: "You think Demon Island is good, then let's call it Demon Island! We'll listen to you."

  Bill and William nodded together, laughing: "This name sounds good, better than the sunken ship island, and you are the captain, of course what you say goes."

  Tang Jie saw that they had no objections, so he smiled and handed the pirate map back to Bill. He turned his head and asked William, "William, how's our new ship?"

  William shook his head: "Although after a fierce battle on the sunken ship... no, Devil Island, we have a lot of knives that can be used to chop wood and make rattan, but Captain Tongjie, you know that it's impossible for us to build a sea boat by ourselves."

  Tang Jie furrowed his brow: "What do you mean?"

  "William spread his hands: "My meaning is: My captain, don't expect us to build a big ship!"

  Tang Jie waved his hand: "Then build a smaller one, even a wooden raft will do!"

  William and Nia exchanged a glance, their faces revealing a hint of strange smiles: "We're talking about the wooden raft, but Captain, you're such a renowned pirate captain, yet you're willing to stoop to driving a small wooden raft. Don't you feel ashamed and desolate?"

  Tang Jie burst out laughing: "When our lives are at stake, you're still concerned about that?"

  He waved his hand grandly: "Let's go and take a look at our life raft! All our hopes are on it now!"

  Niya asked from the side: "But even if we can go out to sea, where will we go?"

  Tang Jie is a man of his word and has already taken several steps forward. Upon hearing Niya's words, he turns back around and says: "Let's head back to Xixi!"

  "Are you crazy? Going back to Xixis is like jumping into a net!"

  Tang Jie smiled with a confident smile: "No, have you heard of 'darkness under the lamp'?"

  Nia shook her head in doubt.

  Tang Jie smiled and explained to her, "A candle holder can illuminate the surrounding darkness, but it alone cannot illuminate its own bottom! Now neither Bisele nor Aramis would have thought that we dare return to Xixi at this time!"

  "But Captain Tung Chieh..." Bill couldn't help but interrupt, "What are we going back to Xixis for?"

  Tang Jie nodded his head in agreement with Bill's hand-drawn map of the island, saying: "Of course we'll return to Xixi to build our sea fortress!"

  Tang Jie's words made William somewhat puzzled, and he asked: "Captain, how can our sea fortress be built in Xixi? How is it possible for Xixi to help us pirates build a sea fortress?"

  Nia smiled wryly and said, "Unless Xixi is willing to put a sword on his own neck, neither the Xixi navy nor the Xixi merchants will ever allow themselves to be strangled by someone's hands..."

  Tang Jie chuckled and shook his finger: "No, no, no, I don't think so! In my hometown, there's a saying that goes: Money can make the devil push a millstone! Atos' treasure will come in handy, friends. Let's go take a look at our raft quickly! Hope it'll get us to Xixis safely!"

  A few people walked towards the dense jungle on the island while talking.

  Tang Jie spoke with a smile, looking relaxed, but he didn't know that at this moment, a storm was brewing!

  ……

  Late at night, the Xixi noble's mansion.

  This is a magnificent villa filled with heavy Baroque style. Around it, there is an extremely spacious front courtyard garden, where all kinds of rare and beautiful flowers are planted. In the middle of the garden stands a statue of a goddess holding a vase, from which clear water flows continuously from the mouth of the vase, forming a elegant fountain that cascades down from above.

  A broad and spacious road paved with white marble divides the garden into several small sections, each one perfectly arranged. In this vast garden, every single flower that blooms proudly is filled with an unattainable noble dignity.

  In the thick night, a clear and urgent horseshoe sound suddenly came, a knight draped in black cloak, like a black lightning bolt, suddenly broke the tranquility here.

  A magnificent white horse galloped into the garden, sweeping past with a gust of wind, startling the green leaves and red flowers on both sides of the road, making a rustling sound.

  The knight on horseback didn't wait for the horse to completely stop, and with a very elegant flip, he dismounted and pulled out a sealed letter from his bosom, loudly saying two words: "Top Secret!"

  With a creak, the villa's front gate, which had been hidden in the darkness of night, suddenly opened a crack, and dazzling light spilled out from inside, shining on the icy stone road.

  A girl in a low-cut, pleated skirt and maid's attire coldly took over the letter, without even looking at the knight in front of her, turned around and went back into the mansion. The heavy, black gate blocked out the light inside, closing with a loud thud once again.

  The maid's eyebrows and eyes were clear and beautiful, her face was pretty, and her figure was slender and charming. She wore a noble-style pleated skirt with fine diamonds inlaid on the decorations, which shone brightly in the bright candlelight, complementing her beauty.

  She held the sealed letter steadily, her eyes fixed straight ahead, every step exuding a sense of dignity and pride, majestic and imperial nobility. This was an ancient noble demeanor that had been precipitated for hundreds of years, and no one or family could possess such temperament without going through such a long period of refinement and sedimentation.

  Such a woman would be a refined and elegant beauty anywhere, but here she was just an ordinary maid of the Kaiserman family.

  The maid carried the letter, walked through the long corridor of the hall, lifted her skirt and went up the spiral staircase, came to a door, and knocked gently.

  She had just knocked when the door opened.

  A burly man in his fifties with a rugged face and iron-gray complexion stood before her.

  The maid raised her eyes and glanced inside, only to see a woman with an extremely elegant and slender figure leaning lazily on a bed, her back to the maid, like a captivating silhouette.

  The woman wore a low-backed, milky white long gown, her alabaster skin seeming to glow from afar and making one's eyes spin.

  The beautiful maid only took one glance, and was shocked by the almost eerie sensuality and elegance of this world. She hastily lowered her eyelids and held up the letter in her hand.

  Although she was also a beautiful woman, compared to the famous Countess, it's like comparing a wildflower by the roadside to a rose in a bouquet, worlds apart.

  This tall man was none other than the Earl's coachman, Karl. He took the letter with one hand and waved his hand to the maid, who closed the door after him. Then he turned around and came before Countess Margaret, bowing respectfully: "Milady, there is an urgent confidential report!"

  Margaret reclined on the soft bedding of the red large bed, her jade-like body stretched out horizontally, revealing a pair of round and smooth, white as jade feet. She didn't turn her head back, but only gently lifted her hand to beckon the groom behind her.

  Carl handed the letter to Margaret, his eyes involuntarily sweeping over her, taking in the undulating curves of her body, soft and alluring, as if a single glance would set him aflame.

  But if this woman was just sexy, she wouldn't be the famous Countess known for her talent and beauty.

  Marguerite took the sealed letter, opened it and pulled out a stack of densely packed stationery, one hand propping up her plump cheek, her azure eyes scanning quickly over the pages.

  She looked at it for a while, then suddenly let out a "heh" sound and burst into laughter.

  Carl stood by with a curious mind, but restrained himself from speaking, standing silently with his head bowed and hands lowered.

  Marguerite smiled for a moment, as if speaking to Karl, but also like talking to herself: "Bis zur Wiedersehen, bis zur Wiedersehen, you have today too?"

  Upon hearing the name "Biselle", Karl's expression changed and he lifted his head: "Madam, what happened?"

  Marguerite said in a low voice, "Bisailleur, that old fox, spent his whole life fishing at sea, but now he's been overturned by some unknown little pirate and imprisoned by the King of York... Huh, and what about Aramis? He was once considered a talented young man, how did he end up like Bisailleur, losing everything in his old age?"

  "Marguerite murmured, "Tang... Jie? Hey, this name is really strange. Where did he pop out from?"

  The countess gently stroked the paper with her slender white fingers, her fingertips fluttering back and forth over the two words "Tang Jie", as if trying to thoroughly understand this pirate who had suddenly emerged from the ocean.

  As the first family of the Pondera continent, the Kelsman family was able to stand firm for hundreds of years, one of the most important reasons being that this family valued intelligence gathering and analysis more than any other family or country. From royalty to commoners, there were Kelsman family spies everywhere.

  This vast family clan's intelligence network, hidden yet dense, can transmit events happening at the other end of the Pondera continent to the Kelsman family headquarters in just one day and night.

  All sorts of things that happen every day on the continent of Pond are collected and sent to the capital by the Kelsman family's intelligence network like flowing water, and after being reviewed and analyzed by dozens of carefully selected and trained intelligence personnel, the most important ones that can affect the Kelsman family and the Pond Empire are selected and sent to the central elite of this family - Countess Margaret, who further analyzes these intelligence and formulates the family's response strategy.

  A brutal sea battle took place in Xixis, and the entire third marine defense squadron of Xixis was annihilated. Such a shocking event could not be hidden from the spies of the Kaiserman family.

  Especially in the past month, Baiselieu's strange and bizarre behavior has attracted Marguerite's high attention. This astonishing woman has simply analyzed from Baiselieu's eccentric behavior that he must be related to the treasure of Pirate King Atos!

  Under her close attention, the truth of things gradually surfaced. Margaret, who was overjoyed to have found the answer, immediately dropped everything and followed Biset's trail all the way from Dam to Xixis.

  This woman was like a shadow hidden in darkness, constantly gazing at Baiseliao, Bar, Aramishe, and the suddenly appearing Tongjie.

  All along the way, Margaret had not taken this black-haired pirate to heart, and she hadn't even taken Bisque and Aramis's collaboration to heart.

  In front of the Kelsman family, even if the entire Mata Empire and York Empire joined forces, they would be nothing more than a child waving a big knife, completely incomparable to the mighty Kelsman family.

  In Margaret's view, although Pirate Bar is a master of the Atak Sea, it is nothing more than a monkey claiming to be king in the absence of a tiger. Under the joint hands of Bicell and Aramishe, he has no chance of turning over.

  But now the intelligence has overturned Margaret's judgment, this is her first prediction mistake since she participated in managing this family!

  Two pirate ships versus eleven warships, the ratio of personnel had already exceeded twenty to one. Moreover, Bisel's side even had a fifth-level magician, a fourth-level sword fighter and a third-level magic swordsman assisting them. In the face of absolute strength, any trickery didn't have space or leeway to be deployed, how could they possibly fail?

  Marguerite's beautiful eyes sparkled with a strange color, and she suddenly smiled at Karl, saying: "Pass the order!"

  "Heels together, head held high: 'Awaiting your orders, Countess!'"

  "I want to know everything about this Tang Jie in the shortest time possible, no matter what the cost! Who are his parents, where does he live, when was he born, what does he like and dislike, what do his parents like and dislike? I want all the information on him and his family for three generations!" Margaret's tone was neither fast nor slow, but carried an air of unyielding authority.

  Karl clapped his chest with his hand: "Yes!" After finishing speaking, he lifted his foot and walked out.

  He walked to the door and just opened it, only to see a maid raising her hand to knock on the door. The two people suddenly met each other, both of them were somewhat surprised.

  "What's up?"

  The maid looked a bit flustered on her face, she glanced at the countess in the room, then approached Karl's side and whispered a few words.

  "Marguerite did not turn around but heard a noise behind her and lazily asked: 'What is it, Karl?'"

  Karl relayed Margaret's orders to the maid and walked back to her, saying in a low voice: "Ma'am, the girl you brought back, she..."

  "The girl you brought back?" Margaret was taken aback, then immediately remembered the girl she had taken in at Damstadt. She was still listless, her fingers trailing over the letter paper as if nothing could rouse her attention. "What's happened to her? Has she run off or died?"

  "Neither of them, she... killed a man." A strange expression floated onto Karl's face.