Chapter 25: Twenty-One Tasks of the Big Knife

Raven Port.

Lord's Mansion.

Jia Sha sat in the office on the top floor, while the attendant beside her reported on the movements of the two groups after they entered the port.

"The naval force where Xiang Gaowen is located shows no abnormalities; first, they purchased large quantities of food and fresh water, and going to the black market to buy arms is understandable, after all, it is much cheaper than the official channels."

Jia Sha nodded, yet repeated the name she had just heard:

"Xiang Gaowen... I feel like I've heard this name somewhere before. Perhaps I'm mistaken."

"What about the other group?"

"Very strange."

The attendant frowned, took out a stack of organized documents clearly marking the movements of Jin's gang, and then pointed out several locations:

"These are the places where we store our ammunition."

"After entering the port, they did not go to seek supplies, but rather seemed to..."

Suddenly, a gentle voice came from outside the window.

"Scouting your defense maps."

Before the two could react, Xiang Gaowen pushed the window open, squatted on the windowsill, and looked calmly at the two of them.

"You are... Major Gao?!"

The attendant immediately blocked in front of Jia Sha, looking at Xiang Gaowen with full vigilance. She was about to order the guards to come in when she felt a soft hand press on her shoulder.

"Molly, don't be impulsive. He means no harm."

After stopping the attendant Molly's action, Jia Sha turned her head to look at Xiang Gaowen and finally remembered where she had heard this name:

"Major Gao, no, it should be Knight Xiang Gaowen."

"One of the parties involved in the event that caused a huge uproar in the East Sea three years ago."

"As the Knight Commander of the Kingdom of Goah, he actually committed adultery with the Wang Fei, and after being discovered, abandoned his identity as a knight to become a pirate active in the East Sea."

"Bounty: Eight Million - Knight Xiang Gaowen."

"I must have been muddled in the head to have forgotten you."

Jia Sha shook her head, yet failed to notice the trembling eyes of Molly beside her.

A smile involuntarily appeared at the corner of her mouth:

"Did you know? Your story has already been adapted into a movie and is screening across the East Sea and the Kingdom of Goah."

Xiang Gaowen stumbled slightly, almost losing his balance. After cursing his predecessor once again in his heart, he shifted the topic without blushing or his heart skipping a beat:

"I came this time to give you a warning. The other naval force is also disguised as pirates. The one who calls himself Jin is actually a subordinate of Provincial Military Commander Creek, the Ghost Jin with a bounty of twelve million."

"This time, they are probably planning the same scheme as before."

"Disguising as the navy, infiltrating the port, acting as an inside force to take control of Raven Port with the least cost!"

Hearing this, Jia Sha's eyebrows furrowed slightly. Combining the attendant's analysis just now, she had basically confirmed that what Xiang Gaowen said was true, yet she still felt somewhat puzzled:

"Why do you want to help me?"

"Maybe because you complimented my handsomeness."

Jia Sha laughed in disbelief:

"What kind of reason is that?"

"But this is the freedom of a pirate!"

Under the crimson afterglow of the setting sun, the knight leaned against the window, a faint smile on his lips, and the whole person seemed to be glowing. Jia Sha, looking from inside the room, was momentarily stunned.

"Bye-bye~"

Xiang Gaowen waved his hand and was about to turn and leave...

Chirp!

Chirp!

Chirp!

A piercing sound of breaking the air came; a crimson meteor streaked from the end of the line of sight, plummeted into the port, triggered a violent explosion, with fire filling the sky, and the port instantly fell into chaos.

A cannonball, unerring and straight, rushed directly towards Xiang Gaowen's position.

"Ah, looks like I can't leave."

Xiang Gaowen's voice was slightly helpless, yet the long sword at his waist was not slow at all, but after cutting out a flying slash, it shattered inch by inch along the cracks on the sword spine.

Fortunately.

That incoming cannonball was also sliced open by Xiang Gaowen in mid-air.

Boom!

Crimson flames rose up outside the window.

Even though they were separated by dozens of meters, and even though the shockwave and high temperature were blocked by the walls, Jia Sha's face turned deathly pale.

Having grown up under the doting of her parents since childhood, when had she ever experienced such a cruel scene?

Yet, when her gaze moved away from Xiang Gaowen and noticed the port burning behind him, Jia Sha gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand up.

What followed was a sense of confusion.

The opponent is Provincial Military Commander Creek, who shakes the East Sea, commanding a huge fleet composed of dozens of pirate ships. How can the guards in the port alone stop them?

But at this moment, the calm Molly whispered:

"My Lord, only he, only Xiang Gaowen, can help us."

"His bounty is only eight million. How is it possible..."

Jia Sha subconsciously shook her head, but another unbelievable voice came to her ears again. After a slight pause, she revealed an expression of shock:

"How much?"

"Forty-eight million!"

Molly Heavy repeated the number.

At this moment.

Gaza looked at Xiang Gaowen as if seeing a savior:

"Mr. Xiang Gaowen, please wait!"

Xiang Gaowen, who was about to leave through the window to meet Xiang Keluo and discuss how to break the encirclement, stopped in his tracks, turned around, and saw Molly Heavy take a long, narrow, rod-shaped object wrapped in black cloth from a safe nearby.

"This is..."

"I originally intended to give it to my father as a gift for his fiftieth birthday, but I think it now has a better owner."

Molly Heavy slowly removed the black cloth, revealing a long blade sheathed in a scabbard.

Even though they were several meters apart, and even though the blade was still in its scabbard, Xiang Gaowen could still feel the sharp aura emanating from the blade.

Absolutely no ordinary item!

Molly Heavy continued speaking on her own:

"Guanshi Zhengzong."

"One of the famous blades forged during the peak of the Land of Wano a hundred years ago, ranked fourth among the Twenty-One Great Blades, a treasure sought after by countless sword masters."

"Mr. Xiang Gaowen, as long as you help me repel the Krick Pirates, it is yours!"

Xiang Gaowen licked his lips:

"Is it possible that if I kill you right here, it will also be mine?!"

Gaza was stunned, then said with clear eyes:

"Since you are willing to remind me at such a time, seeing the small to know the large, and having a grateful heart, how could you do something like seizing by force?"

"Heh."

Xiang Gaowen smiled faintly, then shook his head:

"Just that is not enough."

Gaza gritted his teeth, as if making a momentous decision, and said:

"Raven Port can provide you with long-term, stable logistical support in the future, of course with conditions: I need you to step in and maintain the security of the seas near Raven Port."

"Drive out or annihilate all those pirates!"

Xiang Gaowen showed a look of surprise:

"Isn't this usually something the Marines do?"

"What kind of people the Marines are, haven't you seen it today?"

After a sneer, Gaza continued:

"Raven Port's location is too important, yet it lies in an extremely dangerous sea area."

"The Marines are unreliable, the pirates are even more unreliable, and a defense line built on one's own strength is too weak; so it is better to cooperate directly with you!"

"What spirit!"

Xiang Gaowen did not hide his admiration in his heart.

Whether you are willing to admit it or not, the era of pirates has always been an era for men.

Over several decades, the number of men who reached the Emperor level, one after another, was too numerous to count, but there was only one woman, Big Mom; even Empress Hancock fell short.

A woman possessing such decisiveness as Gaza is absolutely an extremely rare occurrence.

If she had corresponding power, she might well become a powerful warlord!

"Deal!"

(End of this chapter)