Badge in Azure

Chapter 242: Captain Saleen (Part 1)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Saleen did not know that even though these pirates dominated the seas, looked ferocious, and robbed people of their treasures, there were actually not many rich pirates around. To a pirate, the most valuable item was the pirate ship. The pirate ship belonged to the captain, and was unrelated to the underlings.

Saleen had killed the captain and hijacked the pirate ship, so these pirates did not feel any tangible pain or loss at all.

The pirate with a yellow mustache mustered all of his courage and took a step forward, before looking up at Saleen and saying, “Great mage, my name is Jupiter.”

“Oh? Haha.” Saleen laughed. Currently, the emperor of the Cloudflow Empire was also named Jupiter. This pirate’s name was certainly interesting.

“Jupiter, are you literate?”

“Great mage, I can write Qin words,” Jupiter replied honestly.

“Record everybody’s information. I want it by tonight. As for the others, they shall camp on the beach, and move everything off of the ship.” As Saleen instructed Jupiter, he felt that he was not suited to be the leader of these pirates. Chaos would surely ensue since Saleen was the sole commander. However, he could not look to Lex for help either. She was an authentic noble, so she could not be the one commanding a bunch of pirates who only committed crimes. Saleen, on the other hand, did not think that he was of that high of a status yet.

Saleen swiftly delegated the tasks that needed to be completed before nightfall, and the boisterous pirates dispersed. Then, he said to Daniel, “Stay here and keep an eye on them. I will go and discuss the matter of our departure with Lex.”

Without waiting for Daniel’s response, Saleen had already cast his unique flying skill. He was then enveloped in a cloud of mist and flew away. As Daniel watched Saleen fly in midair, he felt bitter. Saleen can fly already? Is he already grade-5?

Grade-5 mages could fly for short distances with the help of alchemical equipment, but grade-4 mages could not.

Saleen did not care about Daniel’s thoughts. He simply returned to the magic tower and went to Lex. “Lex, I have captured more than one hundred pirates. They will be our free labor.”

Lex glanced at Saleen’s excited face, and held onto a giant piece of alchemical equipment in front of the magic tower for support. Then, Lex sighed and said, “More than one hundred pirates? One squadron of my cavalry would be able to slaughter all of them in five minutes. And you want to rely on these pirates to take us back to the Myers Mainland? Unless we are fortunate enough to not run into any ships from Cloudflow or Alchemy City.”

The organizational structure for the Qin army was as such. Ten thousand soldiers formed a camp, one thousand soldiers formed an emblem group, two hundred soldiers formed a brigade, forty soldiers formed a squadron, and eight soldiers formed a squad. Only the numbers of support troops and mages were not fixed. Hence, Lex was not boasting when she said that her squadron of forty cavalry troops could slaughter all those pirates.

“Lex, this is not a war. I believe you do not want people to know about the alchemical boat when you bring it back, right?”

“Not at the moment.”

“Then how do we return to Alchemy City?”

At this moment, Lex then understood that Saleen wanted to use these pirates as a cover to conceal the secret of the alchemical boat.

“We have to go back. The main task has not been completed yet,” Saleen said with a smile.

Lex then said firmly, “Saleen, all those pirates will be under your control. I won’t care about their development. And don’t think of using them for your own gain. Pirates have their own methods of survival, and furthermore, you are a mage. Are you really going to live with them at sea? Once you get to Qin, I don’t care whether you set them free or sell them away, but I am definitely not bringing them back to the Bitter Water Prefecture.”

Saleen was stumped for words. He rubbed his eyebrows and said in frustration, “These people have been very obedient, I can’t possibly kill them, can I? I don’t need to control them with money. I just have to supply their meals.”

“I would rather spend money hiring innocent swordsmen,” Lex rejected resolutely. In her ideal country, she would not want these criminals, and even though they were obedient, she also did not want them as her subordinates.

“Then you do not object to me leading them, right?” Saleen could only settle for the second best option. He had no one under him right now, aside from Daniel who was still undecided. Saleen could not possibly delegate everything to Sika and Nailisi. If those pirates were well-trained, they could be of help as well.

“Then you will lead them. I will not be responsible for caring for them.” Lex was firm and decisive. There was no room for negotiation.

“Lex…”

“Saleen, don’t go on anymore. If you want loyal subordinates, I will give you an emblem group when I return to the Bitter Water Prefecture, and you will have one thousand swordsmen following you for the rest of your life. These pirates cannot be trusted.” Lex raised her eyebrows, and her eyes had a serene look to them. As the setting sun shone on Lex’s face, it left a layer of pearly glow on her fair skin, causing Saleen to be stunned in that moment.

At the very end, the cogitation of a noble was still different from that of a businessman. Saleen admitted that Lex’s explanation was logical. Professional soldiers were stronger and easier to manage than pirates, and they would not go renegade without any rhyme or reason. Since the Bitter Water Prefecture lacked manpower, Saleen had always thought that Lex should not refuse if she could receive additional benefits.

This group of pirates might not have been some powerful force, but they were still proficient sailors. Furthermore, there were at least hundreds of such pirates on the eastern sea of Qin. If all of them were integrated together, a formidable force could still be formed.

Saleen felt that it was very challenging for the Bitter Water Prefecture to make progress on land. So, if the prefecture could dominate the seas and pave the route to Shengfeng country, it would be an opportunity for the prefecture to develop swiftly. Unfortunately, Fellett was dead, thus it was unknown when the route would be discovered. By taming these pirates in advance, they would be a great help in searching for the route.

“Lex, I will keep these men and bring them to the northern side.” Saleen did not know why he had become so determined all of a sudden, as his dormant thoughts were now active once more. Perhaps Saleen was too mindful of his origins, so Lex’s attitude had made him uncomfortable.

Lex laughed and gently said, “Saleen, don’t be so sensitive. You are a mage, so the people you use have to be dependable. Do you know the pirates’ rules?”

“I don’t.”

“An individual will be the boss after killing the captain.”

“Oh? That was exactly what I did just now!”

“They are only obedient for the moment. Once you assign them tasks, be prepared to be betrayed at anytime.” Lex decided to use another tone to persuade Saleen.

Saleen pondered for a moment, and said, “We need sailors. Even though you have many qualified warriors, not many of them know how to steer a ship. I will continue this activity, and as for the pirates’ rules… I will make them change them.”

“How do you want to change them?”

“The people of Sikeqinya believe in contracts. Since I am a mage, I will definitely sign a contract with those guys.” Saleen laughed, and his smile looked a little strange.

Contractual magic was also a form of power. If used well, he would be able to exert complete control over those pirates. It was just that no mages had ever done so before. Only Saleen would have been able to think of such an idea for dealing with this motley crowd.

“Mm, that will do. How’s the refinement of your shenhe coming along?”

As Saleen heard Lex pose this question, he became overjoyed. He took out that yellow gourd, and there was an additional layer of blue patterns on the surface of the gourd. The opening of the gourd had been chopped off and a gem had been mosaicked onto it. This gem was the white spirit. It contained the attributes of spatial equipment. Only a rich and powerful person like Saleen would have mosaicked such a premium gem onto a piece of crude equipment like this.

Saleen did not have to chant any mantras. He simply tapped on the gourd and a stream of water about five meters long shot out from the white spirit. This water flow was solid and unbroken, and it encircled Saleen’s body like a coiling serpent.

“Eh?” Lex was astonished when she saw such a scene. The current cutter was an offensive spell, but now that it was in Saleen’s hands, the water flow seemed to have a life of its own since it was able to move about freely without depleting Saleen’s power at all.

“How did you manage to do it?” Lex could not help but ask. There were few secrets between the two of them, and since this concerned magic knowledge, Saleen would not hide it from her either.

However, Saleen did not know how to answer Lex. He had nearly committed a blunder when he had been refining the shenhe. There were simply too many water elements inside the shenhe, and they had all been of the purest quality. Saleen had not been able to achieve any balance whatsoever. Just as the water elements had been about to escape, the two transformed water shields on his left hand had moved to block the opening of the gourd, and in the end, the water shields were assimilated into the gourd.

After the two water shields had disappeared, whatever equipment was produced had then attained a life of its own. All of these events had been beyond Saleen’s control, so there was no way for Saleen to answer Lex.

The water flow had a blue-green hue and the natural magic patterns within it were ever-changing. It was eerily mesmerizing. Saleen did not have to control the water flow intentionally and it would encircle his body on its own, like a very obedient contract creature.

“Test its power.” As Lex spoke, she took out a metal column and tossed it on the ground. This metal column had a diameter of more than half a foot. The metal column had an orange-yellow hue, but it was actually bailian copper, made from mixing pure copper with seven different types of metals. This kind of copper was one of the most cost-efficient metals out there. It could be used to manufacture huge shields or arrow towers in large cities.

Most spells would not be able to destroy this metal immediately. If this metal was used to build arrow towers and then fortified with a magic array, the arrow towers would be able to withstand all-out attacks by spells which were level-4 and below.

Saleen pointed at the copper column, and the blue-green water flow encircling him immediately flew outwards. It winded around the copper column before making a single twist, and then the thick copper column silently broke into two. The water flow then flew back to Saleen, and it did not seem to be weakened at all.

“Not bad. Its offensive ability is close to that of level-6 magic already!” Lex exclaimed.

Saleen smiled. This water flow still contained another secret, but Lex could not tell. Unless Saleen ran into very dangerous enemies, he would never display it. He tapped on the gourd once more, and the water flow about five meters long returned into the gourd.

“You should have no more problems dealing with the deacons anymore,” Lex analyzed solemnly.

“Unfortunately, there are still the templars, bishops, oracles, and many other fellows above the deacons.” Even though Saleen said that, he was feeling relieved. Refining the shenhe had enabled him to understand many more secrets of the badge. Those special patterns on the badge were an embodiment of the seventh power.

Saleen might not have been able to utilize the power of lightning yet, but he could already visualize the path ahead of him.