Chapter 85: With All This Cargo, Will It Ever Be Used Up? (33)

Sturgeon Dock.

No, this place should now be called Sturgeon Harbor.

Because the scale expanded many times over, it almost covered all the deep-water areas.

The harbor was not idle either.

Starting from the third day after the Cold Water River Battle, unidentified cargo ships kept coming.

Most were nimble small cargo ships, carrying not much cargo; after unloading a batch, they didn't linger but turned and left.

Sometimes they even came at midnight, sneaking around like thieves.

Crescent City's transport team was also very diligent, always ready; as soon as goods arrived, they immediately shipped them to Crescent City, never letting anything pile up at the dock.

Anyway, everyone working at the dock knew a lot of supplies had been brought in, but nobody knew exactly how much.

This strange situation lasted several days before ending.

On the seventh day after the Cold Water River Battle, at noon.

The weather was fine, with only a few white clouds drifting in the sky.

Sturgeon Harbor remained bustling as usual.

Under the guidance of a group of dock construction craftsmen specially hired from Shire County, the laborers of the Convict Camp worked somewhat clumsily but with great effort.

They had to work hard; although the lord forbade whipping, they would still go hungry.

The feeling of working while hungry was truly unpleasant.

Men handled heavy labor, while women did various auxiliary work nearby—boiling water, cooking, or doing light but numerous chores.

Suddenly, someone pointed at the distant sea and shouted, "Look, a ship! Such a big ship!"

Everyone looked up, and on the endless, rippling sea, they indeed saw a sea vessel slowly approaching.

Many ships came.

They were all especially large cargo ships.

The white sails on those masts were as high as the clouds in the sky; due to the angle, they looked like head meets tail, and from afar they resembled a moving small island.

Everyone at the dock turned to look, momentarily forgetting their work.

After a while, someone ran to report to Knight Tato.

After another moment, Knight Tato hurried over with his deputy.

Tato was mentally prepared, because the Government Secretary had told him a few days earlier that large cargo ships would arrive soon.

He had thought it would be similar to the cargo ships brought when the lord previously landed, but he hadn't expected them to be this large.

In fact, there were a full six ships, each over 50 meters long—super-large cargo ships!

This was the first time in his life he had seen so many large sea vessels.

From their draft depth, it was clear each cargo ship was fully loaded.

Just thinking that these goods would ultimately stay on the island made Tato's heart pound.

"Just a few days ago so many small ships arrived, and now even more large ones. With so much stuff and so few people on the island, will it all be used up?"

Although these things all belong to the lord, the lord and his family together are only four people, so most of the supplies are surely meant to be given as rewards.

Tato could hardly imagine how good life would be from now on!

He couldn't help thinking, "The lord truly is capable; following him surely brings good days."

In a few days the lord will announce a new policy, and he heard some people think it's unreliable.

He then couldn't help thinking angrily, "What a bunch of idiots—little real ability, but big mouths. If I ever meet them, I'll smash their mouths!"

As his thoughts raced, he hurriedly told his deputy, "Quick—quick, go call Mr. Siwen over."

Siwen was hired from Shire County as the dock supervisor, a low-level mage, and also the deputy of Klub Chief.

Tato originally had some reservations about the lord employing outsiders.

But now he had nothing to say.

Because of this huge trade volume, the island's natives could hardly cope.

Soon, the impressive and sharp-eyed Mage Siwen arrived with several clerks.

Tato also felt relieved to hand over the reception duties to this well-dressed, graceful middle-aged man.

Mage Siwen picked up a spyglass and carefully observed the approaching ship.

The main flag is a double-headed eagle flag, the secondary flag is a silver pegasus flag; it must be a ship of the Levinde Silver Pegasus Oceanic Trading Company.

"Oh~ and there's a small flag, a blue-background silver thorn flower flag—tsk tsk, that's a big shot of the Nubodun family!"

Just as Mage Siwen was observing the ship's origin, a person leapt from the flagship's deck.

That person sped toward the dock; when they were a hundred meters out, Siwen heard a voice in his mind.

"I am Oladin, advisor mage of Levinde Azure Wave City's Silver Pegasus Trading Company."

"I want to ask, can this dock accommodate large ships?"

"Although the dock looks like it's being expanded, it looks messy."

"Although Mage Siwen's magical ability is average, he still knows a few common spells."

"He took the red‑white signal flag from his assistant, waved it using the standard maritime signal code, and replied using Spiritual Whisper."

"It'll be a bit tight, but docking is completely possible—water is deep enough, berths are wide enough, the mooring piles are driven deep enough, and the fendering wood is thick enough."

"Look, this is the berth, this is berth number one; from here just go left all the way."

"Seeing the professional signal flags, that mage immediately relaxed and turned back to the ship's deck."

"After a moment, the large sea vessels began lowering their main sails, relying only on the small sails' slight power, and slowly drifted toward the berth."

"Mage Siwen then immediately told the dazed Tato, 'Knight, later there will be a huge amount of cargo to unload; relying only on the dock's little warehouse won't be enough—hurry and notify the transport team to haul the goods.'"

"Oh~~ yeah yeah yeah, I'll go notify right away!"

「We also need the soldiers to maintain order; this is all the lord's goods, don't let thieves steal it. 」

Got it~ Got it~

Tato held his helmet with one hand, and with a swing of his arms he ran toward the camp, blowing a whistle as he ran, shouting loudly: 「Assemble~~ assemble~~~ time to work~」

He then immediately ran to the Harbor Communications Department set up on the highest floor of the harbor's wooden building.

This department was just established, recruiting a batch of civilian young mages.

Although it was a brand-new department, thanks to its strong abilities it quickly became one of the harbor's most important departments.

He rushed over and shouted: 「Guys, quickly send a message to Crescent City, saying the sea ships have arrived, a full six ships! 」

Five young people in their twenties sat in the Communications Department, all civilian mages from the island, and just now they were renamed Communications Mages.

They immediately picked up a booklet, facing the booklet, and fumbled awkwardly with the black box beside them.

Tatuo also couldn't understand it; he looked at the black box with awe, then hurried back to the dock to help maintain order.

Just as everyone on the dock was bustling about preparing to meet the ships and unload cargo, inside the cabin of the fleet's flagship,

An extremely handsome young man with blond hair, though his brow bore a hint of gloom, stood at the window watching the ever-approaching harbor dock.

He slightly furrowed his brow: 「Muradi, this place is worse than I imagined. 」

Muradi stood beside the young man, first bowing slightly to him with a respectful expression.

「Knight Maxim, believe me, although it looks unsightly, there are absolutely no safety issues. 」

「You just need to think: the noble Dawn Princess is on White Sturgeon Island, so you should understand that White Sturgeon Island is absolutely secure right now, isn't it」

He had corresponded with the baron, knowing that the baron had completely pacified the island, so he was very confident.

The blond young man shrugged, still lacking confidence.

He turned his head to look at the black-clothed man standing in the corner of the cabin: 「Ade, stay alert later. 」

The black-clothed man stood with arms crossed against the wall, hearing this he gave a slight smile: 「Young master, rest assured, I won't let anyone come within two meters of your body. 」

「Then that's good. 」

The blond young knight asked again: 「Muradi, I saw many green-haired people on the dock; are these the captured Forest Spirits? 」

Muradi nodded: 「That's right, though the so-called Forest Spirits are merely mountain barbarians, and now they have been completely defeated by the baron. 」

Maxim carefully examined the Forest Spirits and nodded in approval.

「Heh~ Let's calculate the time: from when the baron married the Dawn Princess until now, it's only been a little over a month; he's acted quite quickly, he's a capable guy. 」

Muradi secretly let out a breath of relief, his tense mind relaxing considerably, and he laughed: 「If he had no ability, how dare he snatch Dange's woman? 」

【Hahaha~~~】

The extraordinarily handsome blond knight laughed heartily, the gloom in his brow fading considerably: 「Dange really lost face this time; it's said that his angry roar can be heard from ten li away. 」

As the laughter ended, the gloom gathered again: 「Are you sure the baron can really help me? 」

Muradi dared not guarantee it, because after he hinted at the matter in his letter to the baron, the baron also didn't guarantee it, so he could only say this.

「If there's anyone in this world who could help the knight, that person would most likely be the baron. 」

「Ah~~~ I hope the baron doesn't disappoint me. 」

The blond knight's brow grew much more gloomy.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly said: 「I'm still a bit uneasy. How about this: I'll observe for a few days, see how the island is, then decide whether to go see the baron. 」

(End of chapter)