Sailing routes

Kronos had activated his Eyes of Mystery Prying long ago, but unfortunately, they were useless against this purely physical assault.

So Kronos had no choice but to activate the Eye of Time as well, regardless of the drain on his spirituality. There was nothing in the past worth looking at, but the future could still be useful. What if he managed to predict a move?

Sure enough, with the potion digestion and persistent meditation he had done lately, Kronos could now glimpse the future of people at a lower Sequence than himself.

As his spirituality drained away, an image flashed before Kronos's eyes: his opponent ducked low and punched at his right knee.

Kronos had no idea when this would happen, but that did not matter. At this rate, he would not last more than a few moves anyway, so he instinctively raised his right leg.

Amazingly, just as he lifted his leg, his opponent reproduced the scene Kronos had seen. Many fighting techniques treated the shinbone as a weapon, so the pain of punching it was easy to imagine.

Kronos saw his opponent's expression change at close range and certainly was not about to waste the opportunity. He planted his right foot and lashed out with a left roundhouse kick. Although his opponent blocked with both arms, the kick still sent him all the way to the edge of the ring.

Kronos realized that his opponent was merely fast. His strength and physical constitution were only a little better than an ordinary person's. Kronos had been too focused on dodging his attacks; otherwise, he could easily have taken a hit and counterattacked without suffering any real harm.

These traits also let Kronos identify his opponent's Pathway-the Assassin Pathway, probably Sequence 9. Considering his opponent's sex, this fellow was a truly brave soul.

Once he had figured that out, the rest was simple. Kronos charged straight in, completely disregarding his opponent's movements as he attacked again and again.

Had his opponent also been Sequence 8, Kronos would have struggled to win this way. But he was not, and after taking two punches, he conceded outright.

He could have kept fighting, certainly, but there was no point. If he could not win, he would only be taking a beating for nothing.

Once the fight was over, they shook hands, and his opponent prepared to leave the ring.

But Kronos could not quite bring himself to let him go. He stopped him and asked very quietly, "Brother, did you find the potion for this Sequence yourself, or did someone give it to you?"

His opponent gave Kronos a strange look but did not answer.

Kronos paid that no mind and continued in a low voice, "If you found it yourself, that's fine. But if someone deliberately gave it to you, run while you still can. Leave it too late, and you won't have the chance. And once you reach Sequence 8, don't advance any further. I'm afraid you'll regret it."

With that, he turned and left the ring without concerning himself further, leaving his opponent standing there in a daze.

"You even had a little chat with him? Did you two bond over the fight?" Violent Bear teased as Kronos returned.

"I'm a bit softhearted. I was worried someone might be plotting against him, so I gave him a warning," Kronos explained.

Although he noticed Violent Bear's curious gaze, Kronos did not elaborate. Casually discussing the secrets of someone else's Pathway was not a good habit, after all.

Seeing his attitude, Violent Bear did not press him and instead changed the subject. "The fight's over, and you don't seem very interested in drinking. Let me show you where Mr. Eye of Wisdom holds his gatherings."

Kronos gladly accepted the suggestion. He really was not particularly interested in drinking.

Bridge Borough was the smallest borough in all of Backlund, so no two places within it were very far apart. They soon arrived at an inconspicuous door in an equally inconspicuous alley.

Having learned where the entrance was, all that remained was to wait for the two gatherings he knew about to take place.

After bidding farewell to Violent Bear, Kronos went home. All the unfamiliar faces outside his door had disappeared, but he still chose to climb over the wall. The fewer people who knew about this sort of thing, the better.

Over the next few days, Kronos fought a Warrior (Sequence 9), a Hunter (Sequence 9), an Arbiter (Sequence 9), and a Pugilist (Sequence 8), in that order.

The first three victories were fairly easy. The last opponent, the Pugilist, was Violent Bear, and beating him had not been particularly difficult either.

But Violent Bear explained quite seriously that he was only a dabbler. He had inherited a Beyonder characteristic from his parents and thus had no choice but to follow the Warrior Pathway. He disliked it intensely, however, and had long since stopped making any effort.

On reflection, Kronos agreed. Even if Sequence 8 of the Mystery Pryer Pathway was not the weakest of all Sequence 8s, it was still near the bottom, while Pugilists were clearly near the top. Winning so easily was naturally abnormal.

As for the three remaining fights, Violent Bear said he had arranged them in order of combat strength. They could not fight every day, though, since it also depended on his opponents' availability.

The next fight was four days away, a date Violent Bear had settled on after checking with both sides.

During these days, Kronos spent most of his daytime hours at either the Bowen Trading Company or the Walter Factory, learning about the customs of the ports along their route or helping the Backlund University students build the smokeless charcoal production lines.

As for his other affairs, the Ansair Asset Management Company was now fully established. At Kronos's suggestion, Beck had also registered a financial subsidiary under the same name.

Kronos said little else, merely letting Beck know that the Air Pollution Act would soon be fully implemented. How to trade coal futures was something he left for Beck to decide.

The acquisition of shares in the Coim Company was also complete. Beck had originally intended to buy them all, but there were still people in this era with considerable foresight, so in the end, he had acquired only eighty-three percent.

Both houses had been purchased as well, but Kronos had visited neither. One was of no use for now, while the other was still too dangerous, so he left them alone for the time being.

Later, Kronos also had someone track down Baronet Rafter Pound and place him under surveillance. He was the last descendant of the Tudor Family, after all. Red Angel Hotpot had said that the Tudor Family had left behind treasure. Whether that was true or not, keeping an option in reserve was better than having none.

The following day, Kronos went to the Bowen Trading Company again. This concerned how he would spend the next four to six months, after all. If he wanted to act properly as a Warlock, how could he neglect to learn more?

"Major Kronos, let me confirm the convoy's itinerary with you once more. We depart from Pritz Harbor for Damir Port, then sail past Bansy Harbor to Tiana Harbor, before proceeding to Bayam and finally arriving at Gurain on the Southern Continent. Is that correct?" Benjamin Bowen asked respectfully.

Kronos nodded firmly. "That's right. Exactly."

"But Bansy Harbor is larger than Tiana Harbor. We can replenish more supplies there, and with more people, it would be easier to sell the goods we bring. Are you sure you don't want to make a change?"

That's because you don't know how terrifying Bansy Harbor is, Kronos thought. Who knows when something there might go haywire?

"No changes. Merchant ships don't like calling at Tiana Harbor, so perhaps we can make some money there. It's settled. Go make the arrangements." Kronos gave Benjamin no further chance to speak.

He had already learned about the customs of these places. All that remained was to prepare some scarce goods the locals needed to sell there, then bring quality products from along the route back to Backlund for sale. Generally speaking, a round trip like this yielded enormous profits.

Most of those goods, however, came from the Southern Continent-Felmer coffee beans, East Balam tobacco, River Valley wine, human bone statues, and Doningsman hair-growth tonic, for example.

Previously, Benjamin had been able to buy local specialties along the way, but had come away empty-handed once he reached the Southern Continent. He could only bring back inferior goods to limit his losses, which was why he had lost money.

Now, however, with the Argel Family backing them and the Negan family lending support, the voyage was guaranteed to make money as long as their ships did not capsize along the way.

But to Kronos, the money did not matter. He was not heading out to sea to supervise merchant ships. His main goal was to find somewhere nobody knew him so he could digest his potion, and perhaps see whether he could stumble upon some opportunities along the way.

Both Backlund and Tingen had been described in considerable detail in the original novel, but its coverage of the sea focused more on pirates. That was why Kronos spared no effort in questioning the people at the Bowen Trading Company.

He also resolved to ask the captain, sailors, and others aboard plenty of questions during the voyage. He was a man with a cheat of his own, after all. Surely his luck could not be so poor that he never encountered a single opportunity?

After leaving the Bowen Trading Company at noon, he took a carriage straight to the Walter Factory in Saint George District. As for the Ansair company, Beck was currently far too busy to receive him. Kronos did not understand financial matters anyway, so he could not be bothered to disturb him.

The Walter Factory was also about to get properly underway. After workers reinforced the walls of the original five large warehouses, they were opened up and joined into one factory building.

One warehouse was set aside for research into metal materials, with all the equipment due to arrive in another two days; three were used for processing smokeless charcoal; the last temporarily served as an office and rest area.

Kronos estimated that the charcoal-processing area could accommodate nine production lines, but only one had just been completed and was already in operation. He would have to trouble the university students to assemble the remaining lines.

Kronos had also reopened the dock the previous owner had closed, purchased several more cargo boats, and hired builders to construct another warehouse in front of the dock. It could store both his smokeless charcoal and customers' goods. The only problem was that a couple of thugs were always keeping watch on the dock.