880 Follow-up (2/2)
”This Arcane Trickster is something else. Not only did he tame Specter Ship, but he also participated in the battle to annihilate Blackbeard and even saved him from our clutches!” Philip sighed. ”We rushed here in hopes of exterminating the pirates, but he was smart enough to not give us the opportunity!”
”Regardless, removing Pirate King City and extending our forces beyond the Solomon Strait to here can be considered an achievement,” said the experienced Vice Admiral Norton. ”We only need to construct a port in the vicinity to cut off this greatest source of income for the pirates while providing benefits for the kingdom…”
”I've thought about this plan as well…” Philip chuckled wryly upon hearing Norton's plan. ”The vicinity is rife with danger, and it's infamous for the huge number of sea monsters. In addition, there aren't any islands around suited to build a big port on. Pirate King City remained safe here only because of the Island Turtle King, who could scare off ordinary sea monsters. If a really powerful sea monster appeared, King's Throne would set out to try to establish a contract with it…”
”You mean… unless King's Throne is in our hands, there's no hope of building a transit hub here?” Norton immediately understood the situation.
”That's right… The war with the pirates is sure to last a while. However, I believe that Ettoman will eventually emerge victorious!” Philip looked at the mist ahead solemnly.
…
Somewhere near the Solomon Strait.
Pirates were going about their business.
Splash!
Suddenly, a large number of giant tentacles covered with suction cups appeared from the depths of the ocean. Like the hands of an underwater hades, it gripped a merchant ship flying the Cecil flag.
”Sea monster!”
”Giant octopus! Prepare for battle!”
”That's… Deep Sea Hades!!!”
…
The morale of the sailors aboard the merchant ship was all but eliminated when they saw a ship flying the flag of the Octopus Marauder Team suddenly surface from the depths of the ocean.
Orlando stood at the ship's helm and roared, ”Attack!”
Mermaid was now his flagship.
”Kill!”
As Mermaid surfaced extremely close to the merchant ship, numerous pirates jumped over onto its deck from Mermaid and killed everything in sight.
It was not long before they started robbing crate after crate of treasures and carrying them back onto Mermaid.
The merchant ship then sank into the ocean at the hands of the giant octopus.
”As expected, pillages are always fruitful when Mermaid and the giant octopus cooperate!”
However, Orlando did not look all too happy about what had happened.
As a privateer captain, even though he had Ettoman's support, he simply could not do as he pleased.
The other thing that was troubling him were the legends about Arcane Trickster Roche.
Although Orlando was now a pirate who was famous throughout the Nightmare Ocean and the Golden Ocean, he was nothing compared to the Pirate King.
Furthermore, a few of those legends struck fear into him.
He took out the insignia that had helped him acquire the Pirate System.
A row of data appeared before his eyes.
”Name: Orlando
Level: Civilian Level five, Sorcerer Level five
Strength: 3
Speed: 3
Physique: 2.5
Psyche: 7
Identity: Privateer Captain (Under Ettoman's command)
Title: Deep Sea Hades
Specialization:Sailing (Proficient), Firearms Manipulation (Proficient), Cutlass Techniques (Master), Battle Casting (Proficient), Sorcery (Proficient)
Experience: 100 (Experience required before reaching the next level: 8000)”
…
This was the beginning of his rise to power. If it was not for the Pirate System, Orlando would still be the third officer of the Octopus Marauder Team.
However, the secrets about this 'Dream and Armament Master' were surfacing more and more recently.
Ettoman aside, with only the praise from the greatly renowned economist Donald, the Dream and Armament Master has gained many followers.
As for Donald, he had abandoned his scholarly pursuits. Now, he was more like the head of a religion.
This was, however, in line with the tradition shared by many scholars from Ettoman, which was becoming engrossed in theology in their later years.
What really struck fear into Orlando was Arcane Trickster Roche.
According to what he had gathered secretly, Roche was extremely crafty and had numerous methods. He had also once prayed to a certain god before a battle.
Although his spies were not core members of the crew and were unable to get a close look, they could confirm that the insignia that Roche had once taken out was very similar to the insignia of the Dream and Armament Master.
Orlando had felt a constant sense of unease after hearing this.
What did this Evil God who reigned in the past want by interfering with matters at sea?
Furthermore, the Dream and Armament Master seemed to like the Pirate King much more than him. Was the master preparing to abandon him?