Blue Bay Island

"Hey! You pirates! Do you know what a docking fee is?!"

"Wa-ha-ha! He actually wants money from us? He won't get a single copper!"

"Blue Bay Island is a smuggler's island, and you still dream of collecting taxes? Did a bighead carp smash your brains in?!"

"I think the last tax officer was fed to the sharks already!"

Arthur checked the assets in the drawer, excluding the pirate ship's communal funds. He personally had only 2 gold, 3 silver, and 72 copper.

With the arrival of the Age of Discovery, the exchange rate between gold, silver, and copper fluctuated at roughly one to one hundred.

A flintlock pistol was worth around 50 silver, while its bullets and gunpowder cost 20 copper per shot.

After pocketing the gold, silver, and copper coins and locking the captain's cabin, Arthur walked onto the deck with brisk steps and announced:

"This time, we'll be docking at Blue Bay Island. We'll rest here for two days, so enjoy yourselves!"

"Oh~~!!"

"Awesome! We can have some real fun!"

Before leaving, Arthur reminded first mate Kaia, "Arrange the Sailors on watch. After their shift, reward them with a cup of wine."

The rough-looking Kaia turned toward the Sailors and roared, "Guard the ship for one day, and our generous captain will reward you with a fine cup of wine! Any little sharks willing to volunteer?!"

A cup of wine cost around 50 copper, equivalent to five large mugs of wheat juice. It was considered a mid-range drink.

When pirates went ashore, they usually indulged in rum or wheat juice and drank their fill.

Very soon, some pirates wanted to try something different and volunteered to stay on deck to guard the ship.

Arthur stepped down the gangplank and landed steadily at the harbor, gazing toward the taverns, pastry shops, forges, and more in the distance.

Among the many smuggler islands, Blue Bay Island was a pirate preserve. Its hottest commodities were alcohol, women, and weapons.

"Captain!"

"Let's go to the Battleaxe Tavern and drink our fill first!"

Beside the Battleaxe Tavern hung a scrap of cloth between two pieces of rotten wood soaked by seawater. The faded words "Pastry Shop" could barely be made out.

Moldy pastries sat on the counter, while sounds of ahs and ohs came from behind it, making one's imagination run wild.

The Great White Shark pirates could no longer wait. They lifted the cloth and barged into the pastry shop.

Navigator Marcus wore a disdainful expression. "How depraved. There are far too many things in this world better than women."

Quartermaster Wick loudly refuted him. "Oh! Don't tell me certain people can't get it up and can only comfort themselves with wheat juice."

"You—"

"What about me? Got the guts to compete and see who can drink more rum?"

"Fine! Who's afraid of who?!"

The two were like powder kegs, ready to explode at the slightest spark. Before they had even started drinking, they were already bickering.

Arthur shook his head and entered the Battleaxe Tavern.

At the center of the tavern, a bard from afar recounted extraordinary stories he had personally experienced.

Arthur walked to the bar, tossed out a silver coin, then turned to his subordinates. "Two barrels of wheat juice. Drink as much as you want."

"Oh! Long live the captain!"

"I want to kiss the captain's boots fiercely! His generosity is unmatched!"

Ignoring the pirates' revelry, Arthur put down another 10 copper, ordered a cup of wheat juice, and sat in a corner to drink slowly.

Both the Shadow Temple and the Stuart Family required him to report in and receive the next stage of his assignments.

The crux of the matter was that the Stuart Family's merchant ship, the Jasmine, was about to return from the New Continent and sail from the Mist Sea into coastal waters.

It would dock at Blue Bay Island, where some precious goods would be transferred to a fast ship and transported into the Stuart Family's private harbor.

The remaining goods were not worth much. They would pass through Rhine Island, pay some insignificant taxes,

and ensure the Jasmine's legitimacy.

As he tasted the faint bitterness of the wheat juice, Arthur's mind raced as he considered how to break this deadlock.

Now that he had Arena as a believer, he could influence her to take action.

But... he had no suitable reason.

Without a suitable reason, urging a believer to act could easily shake the sense of greatness and mystery in the believer's mind.

"The Great White Shark Pirate Ship attacks the Jasmine and encounters another pirate ship along the way."

"The two sides fight, and we die in the battle, leaving us no choice but to withdraw."

How reasonable that sounded.

For the moment, Arthur could only find such a suitable excuse to brush off both the pirates and the Shadow Temple.

Ten minutes later, he drained the last sip of his drink.

He gave Wick and Marcus a look each, then left the Battleaxe Tavern and took a turn outside.

Taverns and pastry shops filled the streets. Only after walking eighty paces did he spot a clanging blacksmith's shop.

The blacksmith was a young northerner with obvious blond hair and blue eyes, along with relatively pale skin.

"Do you have any good flintlock pistols here?"

"No." Absorbed in his forging, the blacksmith quickly rattled off, "We only have scimitars, longswords, and iron ship fittings. We don't deal in gunpowder weapons."

Arthur pondered for a moment. The original owner had received Stuart Family training and was skilled in Martial Arts and swordsmanship.

He needed a sword to make use of that advantage, rather than a pirate scimitar.

"Do you have a northern broadsword?" Arthur gestured a width with his hand. "The broader, the better."

Rad Lee stopped working, entered the small room, and brought out two broadswords.

The broad-bladed, double-edged broadswords were suited for powerful chops and had strong armor-piercing capability.

Rad Lee looked somewhat puzzled. "I'm curious. In shipboard combat, side swords and scimitars are more suitable. Broadswords aren't easy to use effectively."

The advantage of scimitars and side swords was their flexibility, light weight, and excellent balance.

Rapiers were dress swords, symbols of noble status for everyday wear. Some pirate captains liked them too.

But broadswords... they seemed unsuitable for either combat or status.

Arthur weighed the two broadswords, comparing the width of their blades. It was just enough to conceal a flintlock pistol.

He selected the lighter one and nodded in satisfaction.

"I need a broadsword. Nothing more."

"How many silver coins?"

He counted his funds. After deducting the wine for the pirates on watch, he had 2 gold and 62 copper remaining.

Rad Lee took the other broadsword and placed it beside the forge.

"36 silver coins. A broadsword isn't much use at sea, but it's made with plenty of material. A scimitar can only wail before it!"

He was extremely confident in his work.

The price was a little steep, but it was worth it. An item that could ensure his safety met Arthur's standards.

After purchasing the broadsword, Arthur surveyed his surroundings and made sure no one was following him.

Following the route from his memories, he soon reached a rundown grocery store. Half the sign above its entrance had fallen off, and most of the lettering had faded away.

Yet he could vaguely make out a large line of words: Sun-Shadow Grocery.

Arthur lightly tapped the grocery counter, coughed twice, assumed a respectful and fervent demeanor, and softly chanted:

"Wherever the light shines, we shall guard the shadows behind it."

"The sun, too, has its shadow."

A middle-aged man in black emerged from the grocery store, placing his right hand over his chest.

His thumb and index finger formed a circle, while the other three fingers stood straight.

The Church of Light—Shadow Temple emblem:

[Shadow of the Sun]