985 Ghost Ship Part 1 (1/2)

The Dragon Remains Combat Vessel did not have much space in its hold, but there was one particular area that was used specifically for transporting troops. When the situation called for it, the Dragon Remains Combat Vessel was capable of transporting over 600 troops.

At the time, that area was largely unused, and as such, there were some construction materials lying around, all of which were high-grade woods that had been produced by Metatrin. As Saleen planned to go to Ceylon City, and he planned to build a palace there, he did not see a need to use his own space equipment to transport the wood.

There were currently 289 troops in that area. The captain of that specific merchant ship was brought to the room above them and was questioned by Truman.

Truman was hardly anyone worth mentioning in Metatrin City, as there were simply too many other powerful people there. As such, a level five grand mage was little more than just another face in the crowd.

Saleen's influence had rubbed off on Truman enough for him to learn to go about things carefully. He had brought 12 ancient warriors and 20 personal guards, all of whom had originally served under Saleen.

When he went to pay a visit to the captain, all of those personal guards had elvish alchemy crossbows with them, all of which were hidden in the walls currently. If they found anything amiss, those 20 crossbow bolts would have been more than enough to kill even a level seven sorcerer!

The captain changed into something clean, then sat down at a table across from Truman. He looked rather nervous.

Truman wore a grey magic robe. Even though the captain knew very little about mages, he knew enough to understand that the one who was sitting across him was not someone that he could take lightly. Regardless of how many sorcerers there were in the world, a grand mage was akin to a god among the common people.

”Sir mage...” the captain addressed him politely.

The common tongue that was spoken by the captain was a very standard one, with every syllable pronounced clearly. ”I'm Naberyne, a member of the Ironwall City Chamber of Commerce of the Sikeqinya Empire. I thank you for your rescue, sir.”

That was the first time that Captain Naberyne had ever seen a ship that was capable of weathering a storm. He also knew that those he was talking to at the moment were not Sikeqinyans. He thought they were probably from Cloudflow. So, he had to wonder...

Why would someone from Cloudflow be here? That area around Black Dungeon Island was something that even Cloudflow ships would have had a hard time passing through! If they were to head west, they would have had to come here from the Deep Sea and go through the Sea of the Dead. That level of danger would have been enough to make any fleet despair!

It never crossed Naberyne's mind that someone would have ventured through the northern seas, where icebergs were found everywhere, and reached their current location. The one who sat across from him had, in fact, been someone who had destroyed his home, Ironwall City.

Even if he had learned about the destruction of Ironwall City, he would not have done anything about it. After all, he was just a merchant. Besides, he only saw the city as a touchpoint, as it was not his actual birth city anyway.

”Ironwall City Chamber of Commerce?” Truman frowned. He thought that if Saleen knew that he was someone from Ironwall City, he might not have actually saved him!

”Indeed, sir. So... You know where it is?” Naberyne asked.

”Of course. But... Ironwall City… It no longer exists.” Truman had no intention of covering up anything in front of the merchant. So, he decided to tell him the whole truth.

Upon hearing this, Naberyne was dumbfounded. He remained speechless for quite some time after that, as he was having a hard time comprehending Truman's words.

So, Truman went on to ask, ”What is your ship doing all the way out here? This is the Deep Sea!”

Naberyne smiled bitterly and said, ”Sir mage, I'm guessing that you're not a Sikeqinyan then?”

”I'm not,” he replied.

”Your confusion is understandable then. Sikeqinyan merchants basically travel by land. The trade routes are accessible and convenient, and we're often seen everywhere on the mainland. But, as for the sea… If merchants at sea were to survive, we needed to go start smuggling. In fact, 90 percent of the smuggling ships of Sikeqinya are royal warships. As such, lesser merchants like us need to avoid safer routes in the nearer waters, instead traveling through routes in the Deep Sea.”

”Isn't that quite risky?” Truman asked.

”We have no choice. The nearer waters are filled with the royal navy's smuggler-hunting ships, and if they catch us, our cargo will be forfeited and the captain will be sentenced to death,” Naberyne explained.

Then, seeing that there was hardly any reaction from Truman, he added, ”If one of those smuggler-hunting ships got lost and was left to fend for itself, it would have been possible for armed merchant ships like ours to sink them. So, smuggling at sea is something that you have to have a lot of brains to do successfully.”

”High profits, I take it?” Truman asked.

”Sir, I'm sure you can see the answer to your question clearly as you look around. With the ship having sank, it's as if we've done all that work for nothing. That ship was shared by more than a dozen investors, which all divide the profits among them. Now, the profit totals will yield less than ten thousand pieces of gold each.”

Truman nodded. He was from Sreeger Island, so he knew nothing about the value of gold as he was growing up. Then, all of his expenses were paid for when he came to Metatrin City, so he did not need to work. Hence, he had no idea whatsoever what such an amount really meant.

Naberyne relaxed a little bit when he saw Truman's expression. He had brought quite a lot of personal goods with him.

While common people were unable to use space equipment, that was not to say that he had no way of using such equipment. In fact, his space equipment was hanging around his neck as they spoke.

He intended to have the mages extract the goods that were stored within it when he returned to Ironwall City. After all, if it was only the goods on that ship they were talking about, the profits would indeed be rather meager.

”Where did this route that you took begin, and where did it lead to?” Truman had not actually wanted to see that captain. All of these questions were what Saleen had wanted him to ask.

Naberyne replied, ”We departed from an island east of Royal Harbor, our goal being the Tanggulasi Empire. The empire has placed restrictions on trade, but smuggling is still a big thing there. The cargo of the ship...”

”Was meant to be sold in the Tanggulasi Empire, the money from which you would have then used to purchase local goods from the empire, which would have, in turn, yielded several times the profits than if they were traded on land. Am I correct?” Truman knew next to nothing about commerce, but his calculative abilities were far above common folks' nonetheless.