Banana Crocodiles

"Lord Pell? Lord Chaka?" The merchant wept bitterly. "Those pirates were too vicious. Most of our caravan was killed, leaving only my wife, child, and me. They told me to deliver a message: the Celestial Dragon must go in alone to negotiate with them. If you bring guards, they'll kill Princess Vivi. What should we do?"

"Where are they?" As night fell, Chaka's eyes gleamed an oily green.

"I don't know. They put a hood over my head." The merchant took out a black hood and showed it to them. "I only know that the Land-Sea Transport Turtle traveled through the swamp for a long time. Somewhere along the way, there was a huge palace-like building that seemed to appear out of nowhere. It was entirely white."

"White?" Miming's gaze turned cold, as though he had recalled someone. "Go on."

"The palace was surrounded by Banana Crocodiles!" The merchant looked thoroughly terrified. "There was no way to escape from there, let alone get close! For some reason, the Banana Crocodiles wouldn't attack them."

"How many people were inside?"

"I didn't see many. As for the main leaders, there was a skinny man with glasses and a small braid. I think his name was Galdino. There was also a huge fat man, and a man with a scar on his face..."

"Mm." The group gathered around the merchant and questioned him at length.

They had already met the latter two, but the useful intelligence was limited. This organization operated with great care and rarely leaked any unnecessary information.

"They have superiors behind them," the merchant said. "I can't be certain, but judging by how they reported up through several levels, that's what I think. Oh, and they mentioned a name. It seemed their boss had been busy with a girl named