Trade Warfare

Under the cover of darkness, Kayn and Pyke hunted down the people on the list one by one. One was Bloody Harbor Ghost, the stuff of Bilgewater's terrifying legends; the other was a Shadow Order Disciple skilled in Dark Magic. Both were accomplished assassins! Kayn had already found several Mages tonight, and the accumulation of energy was accelerating.

But Kayn knew things were far from that simple. The magic emanating from these Mages was nearly identical, as if they had all absorbed it from the same person. It struck Kayn as strange. Though the magic energy gave him an exhilarating feeling, he hadn't lost himself in the sensation. A few hours later, they had nearly finished the job. Kayn and Pyke were both highly skilled, and their targets were no match for them.

After the mission, Kayn and Pyke met at the docks. Kayn said, "I think there's something strange going on. The magic in those Mages was exactly the same, as if it belonged to one person!"

Pyke frowned too. "That happened?"

Kayn slung his enormous scythe across his back. "Let Roland rack his brains over it. We should go. The mission's done."

Kayn and Pyke returned to the First Army's camp. A few streets away from the camp, Kayn slipped into the shadows, and the two quietly made their way back to Jiang Chuan's office.

Jiang Chuan was just about to go to bed when Kayn emerged from the shadows. Pyke condensed from a mist of water into solid form. Seeing them return unharmed, Jiang Chuan smiled. "I've only been back at camp for a few hours, and you've already finished the mission. You really are the finest assassins! Nothing went wrong, did it?"

"Nothing went wrong," Kayn said. "But there was something strange."

Jiang Chuan looked puzzled. "Something strange?"

Kayn nodded. "I found four Mages, and the magic emanating from all four of them was identical. That struck me as strange. Every Mage has a different magical signature. It's impossible for four Mages in the world to have exactly the same one! It's very strange."

Jiang Chuan asked, confused, "Could someone imitate another person's magical signature?"

Kayn gave a scornful laugh. "Anyone who can imitate another person's magical signature is a master Mage. Those masters are all white-bearded old men. And even if there were a young one, there couldn't possibly be four of them at once."

"I didn't run into any major problems on my end," Pyke said. "But while I was killing those people, I felt a chill run down my back, as if someone were watching me. It was very unsettling."

Jiang Chuan furrowed his brow and thought for a while. "We don't have enough to go on yet. We'll have to investigate gradually. It's late, so let's get some rest."

Jiang Chuan dismissed Pyke, who returned to the depths of the sea. Kayn shrugged and slipped into Jiang Chuan's shadow.

After washing up, Jiang Chuan went to bed. The next morning, he got up early. Kendi had already started the First Army's usual morning drills. After giving Kendi a few simple instructions, Jiang Chuan prepared to return to the island.

When Jiang Chuan got back to Bloodfang Island, he went to find Sarah. She was sitting in her office, handling the island's daily affairs. Jiang Chuan sat down and smiled at her. "Are you getting used to life on the island?"

"More or less," Sarah replied, looking up at him. "It's just that I'm bored out of my mind."

Jiang Chuan smiled mysteriously. "You won't be bored for much longer."

Sarah brushed back her fiery red hair. "What cushy job are you lining up for me this time?"

"Red Hat is now the Dark Sea Throne's Second Army," Jiang Chuan said. "I need you to manage them for me. Laurie can handle the island's affairs and the steel business. Red Hat will also sell steel supplied by the island. With both Merchant Guilds selling steel, we'll be able to throw the market into chaos."

Sarah set down the documents. "Managing Red Hat? That sounds interesting. When do I start my plan?"

Jiang Chuan shook his head. "It's not time yet. Hack has already started paying attention to the Dark Sea Throne. We have to deal with him before we can put the plan into action. That way, we'll have room to maneuver."

"What about the Dark Sea Throne?" Sarah asked.

Looking at the map of Bilgewater behind him, Jiang Chuan said, "The Dark Sea Throne will expand this time, growing to seven hundred people—a full company. They'll secretly help you remove those obstacles. The island's operations are already on track. Now we just need to build the Steel Mill and the arms factory. A steady stream of weapons and money will flow into our pockets. And what do people hoping to profit from the coming chaos need? Better blades, better guns, and explosives. We have what they need, so we'll be in an unbeatable position."

Sarah smiled. "Trade warfare. How did you come up with this? Once the chaos breaks out, we'll raise our prices drastically. If one side refuses to buy, the other side will wipe them out. If they do buy, we can use the money we make to arm our own people. As this goes on, they'll grow poorer and poorer while we grow richer and richer, and we'll rise straight to the top of Bilgewater. But what if someone attacks us with weapons they bought from us?"

"I'll start developing new weapons, far better than these," Jiang Chuan said, unconcerned. "Those will just be obsolete models by then. We won't sell off our entire arsenal—just a few outdated weapons. And we can always move our base of operations to the Siren."

Sarah clapped her hands. "I thought you planned to conquer Bilgewater by sheer force. I've never seen a bloodless approach like this. In the past, it was always kill or be killed. Even if you won a position, someone else might come along and take it from you. Your method lets us preserve as much of our strength as possible. It's brilliant."

Jiang Chuan smiled. "There's nothing remarkable about it. It's just a plan. If we want to topple Gangplank and take charge ourselves, we'll need a few tricks. That's the plan, anyway. I'll go see how the Siren's refit is coming along."

Jiang Chuan went down to the docks. A Silver Warship with a distinctly modern design floated quietly on the water. The Siren barely resembled her former self. Her long hull and spacious deck both displayed the beauty of modern technology.

Jiang Chuan found Noah overseeing the work. "How's the refit coming along?"

Noah looked over the blueprints. "It's all finished. We've installed six cannons and one Fortress Cannon. The six cannons were modified according to your instructions, and the Fortress Cannon is mounted at the bow, increasing the firing range. It can now hit a target accurately from two thousand meters away. We've reserved twelve spots, and everything else is pretty much done."

Jiang Chuan looked at the warship before him and smiled. "Excellent. In a couple of days, you'll get a large crew. I'll give you blueprints for a few weapons, and you can put your people to work mass-producing them. Our main focus should still be producing military supplies. You'll have to work hard for a while. The Steel Mill and arms factory on Red Hat are also under construction. We can move a Machine Tool over there, and they'll be able to start production."

Noah nodded. "No problem. I'm already more than satisfied to have built a warship like this."

Jiang Chuan patted Noah on the shoulder. "This is only the beginning. One day, you'll see humans soar through the skies!"

Noah waved a hand and smiled. "I won't live to see that, but no ship can catch the Siren now. She's also the most powerful ship in Bilgewater!"