NOVPUBChapter 334: Chapter 295 [King of the Seas] Part 2
Boditch Kingdom invested a significant amount of manpower and resources every year into combating piracy, and its naval strength was also quite formidable.
Thus, although pirates had not been completely eradicated near the coast of Boditch Kingdom, the situation had improved considerably compared to other seas.
But change always comes.
The invasion by Feis Kingdom made the nobles of Boditch Kingdom feel a genuine threat for the first time, causing them to pour all their strength into resisting Feis Kingdom’s army at all costs.
As a result, Boditch Kingdom no longer had the capacity to maintain naval patrols to suppress piracy.
Eventually, driven to desperation, Boditch Kingdom even redeployed its navy to the central part of the kingdom to engage in battle with Feis Kingdom.
...
Such a strategy was truly beyond ordinary imagination!
Among past players, there had been many discussions, suggesting that if Boditch Kingdom could have retained its powerful navy, even if the kingdom fell, it might have used the fleet to escape to other regions and reestablish its dominion.
They wouldn’t have been captured in their entirety by Feis Kingdom like pigs led to slaughter as in the past.
The downfall and disappearance of Boditch Kingdom in the past were influenced by a variety of reasons, but one cannot deny that the self-sabotaging actions of the ruling class of Boditch Kingdom played a notable role.
It was after Boditch Kingdom completely relinquished its anti-piracy efforts that the number of pirates in the Treasure Pearl Sea and its surrounding waters began to surge explosively.
After all, with years of development by Boditch Kingdom, ports including Danerluo Port had become one of the most prosperous shipping routes in the eastern part of the Fanor Continent.
Ships departing from here not only headed to the Elf Forest of the southern Fanor Continent and the Endless Desert in the west but also sailed across the Endless Ocean to other continents.
Therefore, the immense interests here also attracted many pirates to join the chaos.
The side story chapter “King of the High Seas” took place during the 2.0 version of the era of chaotic pirate wars centered around the Treasure Pearl Sea.
Before Feis Kingdom completely annexed Boditch Kingdom and reestablished the Kingdom Navy to fight against pirates, three Pirate Kings emerged simultaneously on the Treasure Pearl Sea.
The “Blood Whale Pirate Group” led by Mad Helen!
The “Undead Pirate Group” led by Master of Undead Calvo!
The “Poet Pirate Group” led by the chatterbox Ariel!
These three individuals, active on the Treasure Pearl Sea, were undoubtedly strong, having emerged victorious from the myriad pirate battles.
The reason there were three Pirate Kings was that these individuals had never directly clashed with one another, and no one knew who was strongest.
After all, other pirates stood no chance against these three.
Some said that the three had privately measured each other’s strength, but none could best the others.
But this was mere rumor, and never acknowledged by the three Pirate Kings themselves.
Lis was quite familiar with these three individuals because he had been active in the Treasure Pearl Sea for a while, and their names were the ones most frequently mentioned by the mercenaries in the Mercenary Tavern.
There were too many rumors and speculations, but the one certainty was that none of the three were ordinary individuals.
In a nutshell, they were “insane.”
But now that he had encountered Helen, under his care, perhaps he would become a normal person.
Remembering the image from his previous life of that person standing alone on the masthead, laughing maniacally as he commanded towering waves to attack the enemies, Lis stroked his chin.
“It should be possible…”
When Feis Kingdom started from scratch in establishing the Kingdom Navy to fight pirates, these three Pirate Kings had plenty of confrontations with the kingdom.
However, the Kingdom Navy, with the solid backing of Feis Kingdom, grew stronger amidst continuous fiery battles.
In the late phase of the “King of the High Seas” storyline, the Kingdom Navy had already acquired the latent strength to take down any one of the Pirate Kings.
Had Helen not decisively chosen to join the “Azela Floating City” later on, his fate might not have been so favorable.
This gave Lis a wake-up call.
In the past, the “Azela Floating City” was located directly above the Treasure Pearl Sea to the east of the kingdom.
Later on, Feis Kingdom tacitly acknowledged the Treasure Pearl Sea as part of the “Azela Floating City” jurisdiction, and Lis had no intention of altering the future location of the Floating City.
Since that’s the case, the Treasure Pearl Sea can also be considered his, Lis’s, territory now.
It wouldn’t hurt to start planning ahead.
Now, half a year has passed since the Feis Kingdom invaded the Boditch Kingdom, and the pressure faced by the Boditch Kingdom is mounting.
The hoped-for support from other countries and mediation from the Church of the Gods have not materialized; the Boditch Kingdom can only rely on their own strength now.
According to memories from his past life, the Boditch Kingdom also began to gather the nation’s strength around this time, suggesting that chaos is about to erupt upon the seas.
The Ward City merchant ships, with so many having gone missing without a trace, may not have been attacked by Magic Beasts in the sea—perhaps pirates are to blame.
I wonder if, on this journey to Dan Port, I’ll also encounter an unexpected incident?
Even if those three future Pirate Kings were to appear, Lis would still have the ability to save his own life, let alone now?
Immediately after, Lis stopped pondering these matters and closed his eyes to enter into meditation.
In Helen’s room,
Helen, with damp hair and dressed in warm clothes, peeked out quietly from her room.
Not seeing Lis, she only saw the closed door and the pastries on the table, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Standing in front of the table, Helen wanted to grab a piece of the appetizing pastry, but her reaching hand stopped mid-air and, hesitating, she eventually withdrew it.
The adult said to eat less, so better not be greedy…
Helen removed her gaze from the pastries with some reluctance; having the chance to taste good food, live in a warm house, and wear clean clothes was almost unimaginable for her.
Could all this be a dream?
She pinched her face until her cheeks reddened slightly and only then, lowering her hand, did she trust it was all real.
Lying on her bed, Helen dove under the covers and rolled about, regaining her composure from the excitement.
Her head resting on the pillow, golden wisps of damp hair making the soft pillow slightly damp, Helen didn’t mind.
Wrapped tightly in the warm blanket, Helen stared blankly at the brown ceiling above and whispered softly,
“I realize, I still don’t know the adult’s name.”
…
The next day, after taking care of Helen’s feeding, Lis left the inn and headed straight to the Mercenary Guild.
Unfortunately, Rude indicated he was still diligently making contact with various guilds, trying to confirm the merchant ships setting sail soon, but so far there were no results.
Lis didn’t worry about it, informed Rude that he would bring a child on board, and asked him to make it clear to the other party; he also left the location of the inn, instructing Rude to go there to notify him if there was any news.
After leaving the Mercenary Guild, Lis went straight to Ward City and started buying supplies in large quantities to replenish what he consumed crossing the Corea Hills.
For the next two days, Lis would leave Ward City during the day to continue conditioning his body in the distant mountains and return to the inn to rest at night.
Helen, however, was left by Lis at the inn, to eat her fill and rest well, making up for the deficits her body suffered from her previous vagrant life.
Helen was very well-behaved and obedient; not allowed to leave the inn, she didn’t even step outside her room door.
It wasn’t until the night of the third day that Rude finally arranged for someone to come and inform Lis.
The next day, the Mermaid, a merchant ship from the Milne Commerce, was set to depart for Danerluo Port in the Boditch Kingdom and had agreed to let Lis and Helen come aboard.
Milne Commerce belongs to Marquis Bella Milne, the female noble who had steadfastly supported Duke Ward in Ice Peak City.
As a result, she gained significant benefits after Ward became Dillon King.
Milne Commerce was also among the first guilds to settle in Ward City; the Mermaid was the first ship from the guild to successfully return from the Boditch Kingdom, with the captain and most of the sailors having received support from Ward City.
Lis even knew that this Marquis Milne was Dillon King’s secret lover.
Receiving the news, Lis didn’t hesitate and directly arranged to go to the port to board the ship the next morning.
Next stop, the Pearl Sea!
