Of course, Emperor Faglan would not let Emma and the others off. Every ship, carriage, and airship heading to Ionia was being strictly controlled. Anyone caught after setting out was arrested, and anyone who resisted could be killed on the spot.
That was why it took Gandalf half a year to bring Emma across the borders of Faglan and Ionia, finally arriving in Little Nose Bay Port City, in the southern part of the border nation of Lenon.
The original plan had been to rest for ten days or half a month before setting out for Lenon's western coast, finding a large port city, and taking a ship straight to southern Ionia to visit an old friend.
But now, through a series of coincidences, Gandalf felt that this journey might end on South Australia Island.
As Kerry watched the City Guard teams on the island haul the completely paralyzed pirates out of the sea one by one, then tie them up and toss them onto the ground, he felt as though he were watching fishermen catch hairy crabs, tie them up, and set them aside for packing.
After nearly half a day, they had captured a total of 163 pirates alive. The pirates were now lying paralyzed along the shore, waiting to be loaded onto carts and taken to the small cave where ore was stored in the south. What awaited them next was the lord's interrogation and retaliation.
Looking at the captives in their bizarre outfits, each one the classic image of a pirate, Kerry kept thinking about how to torture them into revealing where their treasure was.
Kerry still did not know that this was not an ordinary pirate attack, but a murder-for-hire plot commissioned by the First Prince.
"Kerry, there's nothing left for me to do here. I'll head back to the castle first." Seeing that the pirates had mostly been dealt with, Gandalf, who did not want to stand under the sun at the dock, planned to return to the castle and rest.
Now that he had revealed his identity, the Archmage naturally could not continue calling Kerry "sir" as he had before. Besides, he had judged that Kerry was dating Emma, so Gandalf simply addressed him by name, treating him like a junior.
Kerry did not find it strange that Gandalf called him by name. He was an elderly man, after all, and a powerful expert at that. However he addressed Kerry, it was fine as long as he was happy.
This was someone who had to be worshiped like a treasure. What if he suddenly checked whether they clicked, decided they did not, and left? Who could Kerry complain to then? He had to serve him well.
After Gandalf left, Kerry realized that he only had to give a few orders. Once those orders were issued, he was little more than a decoration. Since there was no point standing around here, he decided to head back as well.
There were still things to do after he returned. At the very least, Gandalf and Miss Emma's rooms had to be changed into guest rooms, and all kinds of good things had to be sent there.
Captain Hook was lucky enough to survive this time, but he had been one of the people forced to perform an awkward dance by the Purple Poison Jellyfish. Beside him was his newly promoted first mate, Edward Teach.
He had thrown his previous first mate into the sea to feed the fish. Edward was very strong, and Hook found him extremely useful.
The man was extraordinarily ruthless—more ruthless than Hook himself, in fact. Hook had only discovered that recently, and he was already somewhat regretful. He was genuinely afraid that Edward would take his position as captain.
After being brought ashore, Hook had observed that the person in charge was a young man. It seemed that this was his target. There was also an Old Mage beside him, who was the main reason this operation had failed. That damned Doggonen had never mentioned that there would be a powerful mage.
But the Old Mage soon left, and the target quickly followed.
That meant Hook, a Level 2 Warrior, was now one of the most powerful people at the dock. The other was his first mate, who was much younger than him yet had somehow also reached Level 2.
These lord's men were such amateurs. Ropes were certainly enough to tie up ordinary pirates, but Hook was a powerful pirate. The strength of a Level 2 Warrior could not be restrained by a few ropes.
"Edward, we're Level 2 Warriors. Our bodies are much stronger than those underlings'. Don't tell me you still can't move." Hook spoke quietly to Edward.
"Captain, I can just barely move now. What's your plan?" Edward Teach replied in a low voice. He was one of the few senior members of the Straw Sandal Gang who knew the truth behind the attack on South Australia Island. At the moment, all he wanted was to escape and settle accounts with Doggonen.
"This is a dock. I saw a small fishing boat with sails on the right just now. We'll rest a little longer, and once the paralysis weakens, we'll break the ropes and escape."
Hook stated his simple plan. It sounded quite good.
However, the two of them were about to be taken away from the dock, leaving them little time to rest and recover. If they could recover half their strength, they would already be lucky. The surrounding City Guards would still pose a threat, so one of them had to seize the boat while the other provided cover.
The one seizing the boat would have to get it moving and away from shore as quickly as possible. The one providing cover would not only have to hold back the City Guards, but also board the boat in time. Otherwise, in their current condition, they could easily be overwhelmed by the guards.
Hook naturally had no intention of being the one providing cover. He was already planning to seize the boat and flee. Edward had never done anything to betray him, but they were pirates. Wasn't betrayal practically what pirates were known for?
The longer Edward could hold them off, the greater Hook's chance of escaping would be.
Edward was not thinking that far ahead. The plan was simple, but it looked feasible enough. So they might as well do it.
The City Guards loaded the pirates, tied up like rice dumplings, onto small carts in groups of several. Workers who had come over from the bricklaying site transported them to the southern mine.
All the pirates were paralyzed from head to toe. Even the few Level 1 Warriors were barely any better off than ordinary people.
Suddenly, while the guards were transporting another group of paralyzed pirates, two pirates burst into action. They knocked one City Guard unconscious and quickly ran toward one of the small fishing boats at the dock.
"Someone's escaping! Get them!" someone shouted. Seven or eight nearby City Guards immediately grabbed their swords and followed. The swords had been seized from the pirates. Originally, the guards had only used wooden clubs as weapons, which the lord had said were called batons.
Normally, these amateurs who had never seen battle would not have dared confront pirates. But they had all seen how the expert mentioned by the lord had sunk the pirate ship. They had also seen the lord casually capture so many pirates using the easily caught jellyfish.
So this was a battle they were bound to win, and the City Guards were not afraid at all. Besides, there were only two pirates, while they had numbers and weapons. This was the perfect chance to earn merit. Afraid that someone else would snatch the credit, the City Guards charged after the two pirates with loud war cries.
"Edward, I'm familiar with this type of boat. Hold them off for now. I'll have it moving in no time." Hook reached the boat first and swiftly raised the sail.
Seeing that his captain had already boarded and raised the sail, Edward Teach knew this was no time to argue over who would sail the boat. The waters around the dock were still full of jellyfish.
With no other way to leave except by boat, Edward hardened his resolve and turned to fight the City Guards. Despite still being numb all over, the desperate Edward managed to hold them off for a time. The two sides fought like a pair of amateurs pecking at each other.
The City Guards were all self-taught fighters—neither impressive nor effective. Meanwhile, the Level 2 Warrior was paralyzed from the waist down. The way he stretched his back and kicked his legs looked less like fighting and more like dancing.
For our book friends, a reluctant mention—an extra update~~~~~~
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