Ellen had been run off his feet over the past month.
If Number Zero had not sent him a pair of enchanted boots with the never-wearing quality a while back, he would have worn his feet raw.
Still, Ellen's wages had risen considerably lately. He had even bought three stalks of Anchor Weed at Tradewinds Market the other day. He was getting carried away.
He had thought he could take a few days off after returning to Morris Harbor. But the outbreak of fighting at King's Bay had ruined his plans again.
Guardpoint Ridge and King's Bay had come under large-scale attacks at the same time.
With Marshal Valentin's Royal Fleet stationed at Guardpoint Ridge, its defenses remained fairly solid. King's Bay had not been so fortunate, suffering defeat after defeat and heavy losses.
Number Zero had passed the news of the fighting to Ellen immediately, and Ellen had hurried back to Morris Town overnight.
Rowan, who had been about to organize war preparations, was dumbfounded when he heard about the setbacks at King's Bay.
He had underestimated those pirates after all.
The pirates launching an all-out assault was not entirely a bad thing. The appearance of the Iron Tide Pirates' main force also eased the defensive pressure on the other fleets.
"Can you still get in touch with Number Zero and Number Seven?"
Ellen shook his head. "Young master, I could still reach my teacher before. But once the fighting broke out at Guardpoint Ridge and King's Bay, my teacher was called back on an emergency summons."
He had hoped to sweet-talk those two experts into working for him for free. What a shame.
"It seems the situation really is dire. Stay here, Ellen. We're preparing to reinforce King's Bay tomorrow."
Reinforce King's Bay? Ellen hesitated, then held his