Chapter 27: Port Fran

Chapter 27: Port Fran

TL: Etude

Dean Isaka turned into the alley next to the main street. After ensuring no one was following, he approached the door of a residential house. He first knocked three times, paused briefly, then knocked twice more.

The door opened, and a young girl peeked out. After glancing both ways down the street, she abruptly pulled Dean inside by his clothes.

Hey, hey! Be gentle, youre going to tear my clothes, Dean protested.

You have the nerve to complain? You were out so long, we thought something happened to you.

The girl with pink hair frowned and stood with her hands on her hips, clearly a bit angry.

Ah? Ah? The sun rises in the west now, does the leader worry about me? Dean feigned surprise.

Youbelieve it or not, Ill give you a thrashing! The girls face turned red, lifting a flail that seemed disproportionately large for her stature.

Dean immediately raised his hands in a pleading gesture: Mercy, mercy!

Hey, hey! Isnt there a time and place for your flirting? Susans grandfather is still in the pirates hands, a tall young man with blonde hair said helplessly.

Then his face became intimately acquainted with the girls flail.

No one would think you mute if you stayed silent, you fly, the girl said darkly, holding the flail.

The blonde young man, nursing a swollen cheek, lamented, Yes~~, my dear leader, I wont dare again.

As he spoke, two more people emerged from the inner room: a girl wearing a pointed scholars hat and a girl with a ponytail. Only the ponytailed girl wore the civilian attire typical of Northwest Bay. She happily said, So its Brother Dean who has returned.

Relieved to see Dean back safely, the two sighed.

The scholarly dressed girl asked, Dean, did you gather any information?

Indeed, I did gather quite some useful intelligence.

Everyone gathered around the table, and Dean continued, Port Fran is now under martial law, no one is allowed in or out. Apparently, the pirates hit a snag recently.

The girl with the flail asked impatiently, Who asked you about that? What about Susans grandfather and our missions objective?

Dont rush, Im getting there. I got a pirate lackey drunk and extracted some information. Susans grandfather and our objective are both imprisoned in the church. But its difficult to approach the place; the pirates have tightened security. We need to find the right moment.

The flail-wielding girl protested, Why make it so complicated? I say we just storm in, grab that shark, give him a beating, and make him hand over the people. Isnt that enough?

The ponytailed girl said, Dean brother, Meru sister, I also want to help you, especially since my grandfather is among those who need saving. Ill go with you when the time comes; Im very familiar with the inside of the church.

No! Its too dangerous. Susan, you just stay at home and wait for our good news.

The flail girl firmly refused, a serious expression on her face.

IMeru Heimerpledge on the name of the Lichman Adventure Team to safely bring your grandfather back home.

At this time, the church in Port Fran had become the headquarters of the Shark Gang pirates, with leaders big and small gathered in a room discussing their recent defeat.

A classic pirate-looking boss, muscular with a scar across one eye and an eyepatch, Shark, angrily said, No wonder Mudfish was panicking and ran back to sea, turns out the young Grayman actually had some tricks up his sleeve.

A minor leader suggested, Boss, lets retreat to the sea too. The brothers below are getting anxious. Rumors of the other side having wizards are spreading everywhere.

Shark, enraged, smashed a cup in front of him to pieces, Pass down my order, whoever dares to spread rumors again will have their tongue pulled out!

Do you want to return to the sea, living a drifting life with uncertain meals? Now that weve finally got rid of that meddlesome star Edward, I must swallow this juicy piece of Port Fran.

But this land belongs to the Grayman family

I dont care about Grayman. Once I occupy it, its mine.

A former leader of the Quik Gang, now under Shark, showed fear, But boss, their wizard He remembered Sharks order against spreading rumors and hastily shut up.

Shark, frustrated yet trying to hide his fear, said, Use your brains. If they really had wizards or magic, the church would have troubled them already instead of us.

He then confidently explained, Its just some uncommon weapons. After thoroughly questioning those who experienced them firsthand, Ive devised a strategy to counter them. Just wear thick armor or even thicker clothes, and those iron nails, shrapnel wont cause much damage. As for the tubes that fire iron bullets, theyre just like bows and arrows or slingshots, just faster and more powerful, but very limited in number.

Although Shark sounded tough, he was secretly afraid. He had seen a pirate from Quik who had been shot, his arm nearly useless, dying a few days later from a continuous high fever.

But he couldnt show his fear, otherwise, how would he inspire his subordinates to face death? So, he gave an inspiring speech, promising them great benefits after permanently occupying Port Fran.

His subordinates, motivated by Shark, began to feel less intimidated by Graymans secret weapons, all expressing their willingness to follow their leader into a decisive battle with Graymans troops.

By the way, how is the old mayor and that young master from the Horn Bay Alliance?

The old man is still uncooperative, no matter how we torture him, he wont acknowledge your lordship. The young master, on the other hand, is very compliant, writing whatever we tell him to.

Hmph! After blocking those dog-headed nobles army, Ill have plenty of time to play with the old man, but by then his acknowledgment will be useless. Keep a close eye on the young master; hes our cash cow.

Yes, boss!