Prepare for Battle

"Forget the First Prince's uncle or aunt—we're taking this job. Go back and wait for good news." Upon hearing this, Shoreline grabbed the deposit and hurried off.

Doug was still eager to continue. The High Nest part had only just begun—why had he stopped listening? There were even stranger royal scandals ahead, and the king's mountain-like fatherly punishment. He would tell him for free, no charge.

Shoreline ignored Doug's habit of spilling secrets. The moment he heard that five hundred Gold Coins were in the hands of a seventeen-year-old brat, he could not wait to claim credit before Captain Hook.

Seventeen years old, a Level 1 Warrior, had returned to his territory for barely a month, accompanied only by an old butler. Most importantly, he had five hundred Gold Coins.

Captain Hook wasted no time. He carried the spirit of serving the people to its fullest, never dragging his feet when there was work to do. He hurried down the road day and night, finally reaching his destination, South Australia Island, that morning.

"Carson, gather all the island's civilians. Have the elderly, women, and children hide inside their houses. Everyone over sixteen, report to the northern dock." The pirates had been spotted by the City Guard keeping watch at the northern dock. They would likely land in about twenty minutes, so Kerry had to prepare quickly.

"All men in the castle, come with me to the northern dock. Bring whatever weapons you can use. We'll be fine this time." After seeing Carson leave to carry out his orders, Kerry shouted at the castle gates.

Soon, the four City Guards on duty in the castle and two Brick Movers who had come to help arrived before Kerry. Yet Frank, the person Kerry most wanted to see, was nowhere in sight.

How could this do? Frank was the island's only expert. Whether these pirates were here to deliver experience points or this was the end of the story depended entirely on Frank's attitude. Kerry was getting anxious. The fire was already at his eyebrows, so what was Frank still pretending he did not know martial arts for?

"Mr. Gandalf, please help me find Frank. You must bring him to the northern dock. I beg you, this concerns Miss Emma's safety. If the island falls to the pirates, Miss Emma is simply too beautiful..."

Kerry saw Gandalf sitting in the garden not far away. Gandalf was too old, so Kerry had not intended to call on him at first. But now Frank had disappeared, and Kerry was in a hurry to lead the young and strong men against the pirates. He could only call out to Gandalf for help.

This was something within the capabilities of a man Gandalf's age, so surely he would not refuse. And Kerry had not finished what he meant by Miss Emma being too beautiful, but Gandalf should understand what happened to beautiful girls when they encountered pirates.

Gandalf had not expected that merely finding a place to hide for a while would lead to pirates attacking the island. Still, it did not matter. He was confident he could take Emma away safely, so he remained seated in the garden.

But Kerry's words about Emma being too beautiful made Gandalf uncertain. Emma had often been with Kerry recently, discussing troop training. Gandalf knew that well. Could the two of them be in a relationship?

Gandalf had planned to find Emma and confirm it first before deciding whether to help Kerry summon Frank to face the enemy. But before he had taken more than a few steps, the Archmage's spiritual senses detected something strange in the nearby stable.

When he went in to look, Frank was clutching a pitchfork and trembling as he protected his beloved horse, Maria.

Apparently, he did not dare face the pirates head-on. But if it truly came down to the final moment, he would still swear to live and die alongside his beloved horse.

Gandalf grew angry at the sight of Frank being so useless. He had actually been tricked into revealing himself by such a person. What a stain on his life.

The more Gandalf thought about it, the angrier he became. If Emma really was dating Kerry, and he went to find Emma first before returning to the dock to save Kerry, what if something happened to Kerry in that short time?

His good disciple Emma would probably hate him for the rest of her life. Besides, he was only going to save Kerry. Whether he exposed himself this time or not, he would have to leave anyway. He might as well bring that detestable Frank along and take the chance to get even with him.

Gandalf thought it through clearly. If they were dating, then of course he had to save him. Perhaps Kerry could make Emma happy, allowing Gandalf to leave without worry.

If they were not dating, Gandalf had still stayed in Kerry's home for so long, and Kerry was polite and had treated him well. Helping him would not hurt. At worst, he would expose himself and leave. If the pirates broke through the island, he would have to leave anyway, so why not help an acquaintance?

Frank was completely dumbfounded. One moment, he had been holding a pitchfork in the stable, and somehow, the next, he was at the northern dock.

Gandalf used a minor Spellcraft to muddle Frank's mind and brought him to the northern dock. From here, they could already see the pirate ship fairly clearly. It would likely dock in ten or so minutes.

"Fellow townsfolk, I am the lord of South Australia Island, Kerry Raynor. I believe many of you know me, but since arriving on the island, I have never gathered with so many people at once. I must apologize for that. But in the future, we will have many opportunities to gather and discuss the island's future. Of course, right now, only by working together against the pirates will we have a future to discuss."

Kerry was giving a pre-battle speech. In this era, a pirate ship generally carried around a hundred men, two hundred at most. More than three hundred men had already gathered at the dock, and more were still arriving. Kerry was brimming with confidence. This was the perfect time to build his prestige and leadership.

"Look over there! It's only one shabby pirate ship, with at most two hundred pirates aboard. Yet more than four hundred men have come here today. Once we wipe out these pirates, every one of you will receive one Gold Coin as a reward."

Kerry understood that exaggerating troop numbers increased confidence, so naturally he would not honestly say they had only just exceeded three hundred men. And money moved people's hearts. With strength and rewards, would they still lack fighting spirit?

Sure enough, many civilians below began whispering among themselves, looking ready to fight an easy battle. Many had already begun thinking about how to spend their one Gold Coin.

"Those pirates may have swords, but we have swords too. Those pirates may have killed people, but we are no cowards either." Kerry saw that popular support was on his side, so he decided to draw out everyone's full potential before the battle began.

"Hey, my fish soup is still on the stove. I didn't bring much of a weapon when I left home, so take this bucket for now. I need to hurry back to collect my laundry." One man who had come to the dock to fight pirates suddenly handed his bucket to the person beside him and ran off.

"Brother, I drank too much water this morning and now I feel like I'm about to have diarrhea. These are my family's ancestral slippers, specially made for beating up petty people like pirates. Take them, no need to thank me. I really can't hold it anymore." Another man selflessly gave away his ancestral weapon for someone else to fight pirates with, then slipped away as well.

"N-no, sorry... my, my child. Giv... wife. Goodbye!" Another stutterer ran off too, because his child was giving birth to a wife at home.

Kerry suddenly realized something was wrong. How had a perfectly good pre-battle speech produced so many deserters after just a few words?

Gandalf was speechless. If he was going to rally them, he should do it properly. Praising the pirates for having swords was bad enough, but he had even said they had killed people. Was he afraid he had too many soldiers and could not afford the reward money?

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