Chapter 781: Port of Pirates

Banamo Port.

Walking the streets, Lu Mi always felt as if he had arrived in Bekland, the capital of the Rune Kingdom, though he had never been there; the perpetually foggy sky and the damp, chilly environment matched exactly the mockery found in Triel's newspapers and magazines about Bekland.

Of course, the architectural styles here differed significantly from Bekland's, mainly falling into two categories: one type was massive yet not crude, bearing typical Fursak characteristics; the other was built from a mix of stone and wood, simple and rough, poorly planned, sometimes crowded together, sometimes spaced far apart.

Most pedestrians on the street dressed in typical pirate fashion—short knives slung diagonally across their waists, pistols stuck in their belts, no attempt at concealment—while the local residents, with brown-black skin, always wore smiles, their expressions ingratiating.

Lu Mi fully understood the natives' mindset: if any pirate became angry, one might be dragged into an alley and killed, or assassinated in bed at night, while the killer simply boarded his pirate ship and sailed away with ease.

The current rulers of Banamo Island sought to recruit pirates and adventurers as forces to maintain order, and hoped major pirates would negotiate a pirate code to regulate behavior within the port, but these measures had very limited effect.

This was because those accustomed to piracy, even when becoming peacekeepers or police, could not suddenly become law-abiding or self-disciplined, and the local area lacked the strength to suppress them; thus, peacekeepers breaking the law was commonplace, and accepting bribes to shield criminals was too frequent to record.

The pirate code negotiated by the major pirates had no enforcement power; even if someone violated it, they might face only minor punishment within their own crew, since no one would hand over their own to be dealt with by others.

The greatest effect of these measures was merely to make Banamo Port appear somewhat orderly; as Lu Mi admired the bustling street scene, he occasionally heard screams or the bang-bang-bang of gunshots echoing from the depths of the side alleys.

"This place is perfect for a 'Hunter'…" he remarked sincerely.

When two pirate gangs suddenly clashed in the middle of the street, Lu Mi suddenly had an idea:

"Placing the Great Plague required for the 'Despair Witch' advancement ritual here wouldn't be impossible…"

"But I'd need to develop a potion beforehand that prevents infection or serious illness, and secretly distribute it for the locals to drink…"

The only problem is, there are clearly not thirty thousand pirates—though there are plenty of extraordinary individuals among them; if I infected them and made them suffer pain and despair, it might significantly reduce the number of people needed for the ritual…

Lu Mi watched the pirates' bloody brawl with keen interest, pondering the feasibility of holding the "Despair Witch" ritual in Banamo Port.

When the pirate brawl neared its end, the peacekeepers finally arrived, dispersing both gangs and making a token arrest of a few individuals.

They were just waiting for the corresponding pirate crews to pay the fines!

As for which side suffered more and wanted revenge—sorry, local peacekeepers only maintained order, not justice; you two can settle it again out at sea.

During this process, several pirate corpses left uncollected on the street were quietly dragged away by adventurers and locals.

Lu Mi almost wanted to applaud such order.

While the sun still pierced through the fog before nightfall, he continued wandering Banamo Port's streets.

Passing a stone building with a small square, he saw a crowd of ten or twenty people gathered there—mostly locals—before whom stood a pirate wearing a two-horned hat and a blue woolen garment.

The pirate was shouting loudly in Fursak:

"You're all just puppies who've just left your mother's arms. To become proper pirates, you need proper training. Now, I'll give you your first lesson: who you can provoke at sea, and who you absolutely cannot…"

Fursak was the language least different from Ancient Fursak; Lu Mi, fluent in Ancient Fursak, could barely understand the pirate's words, realizing this was a pirate crew recruiting new members and offering basic training.

"It's just like Triel's big companies hiring new employees…" Lu Mi muttered inwardly, watching as the pirate on the stone platform displayed wanted posters and portraits, introducing the Six Sea Kings, the Nine Generals, and famous adventurers in turn.

This was precisely the intelligence Lu Mi sought; he stopped, listening leisurely from a distance.

Without surprise, he saw the portrait and detailed description of Louis Berry.

Finally, the two-horned hat pirate pointed to one portrait and said:

"His bounty is low, but you must never underestimate him—never have any contact with him."

No contact? Lu Mi stared closely and saw the portrait depicted a muscular, thirty-something man with thick brown body hair, wearing suspenders and a white shirt.

Then, the two-horned hat pirate spoke gravely to the new recruits:

"His name is Frank Li, first mate of the Star Queen, a Druid."

"What is a Druid? I'll explain the basics of the extraordinary when we get to that lesson. For now, know that a Druid is Rank 5, equal to pirate generals—so you understand the terror of Frank Li, right?"

"But that's not why adventurers and pirates dare not even mention his name. The real reason, I don't know. All I know is every pirate or adventurer who encountered Frank Li developed some kind of mental illness: just saying his name makes them jump from their chairs, some even vomit on the spot. They always nervously warn me: stay far from Frank Li, don't leave your blood near him, and don't eat anything that appears around him…"

So the legendary Druid Frank Li was first mate to the Star Queen… but why were so many pirates and adventurers terrified of him like this? Even if he possessed general-level power and a cruel nature, it shouldn't cause such a reaction… Lu Mi silently grumbled as he listened to the pirate's explanation.

He was curious about what exactly made Frank Li so unusual.

After observing the pirate crew's recruitment, Lu Mi entered the nearby Carnival Bar.

He squeezed through pirates who made no effort to hide their identities, sat on a high stool at the bar, and ordered a Lieranzhi.

The lingua franca of Banamo Port was Fursak, but pirates here spoke every language under the sun—and none were eager learners; few mastered multiple tongues. Thus, Fursak speakers clustered together, Intis speakers in another group, and so on. Lu Mi chose the Carnival Bar because its sign used only Intis words.

Amid the noisy, lively atmosphere, Lu Mi took two sips of Lieranzhi, set down his glass, and looked at the bartender, asking loudly in Intis:

"Do you have detailed information on the nine pirate generals? Not the stuff on the wanted posters."

Suddenly, every sound in the bar vanished; every pirate turned their gaze toward Lu Mi at the bar.

The place fell utterly silent—even the faint sound of someone swallowing saliva was audible.

The bartender's expression turned awkward, then slightly amused. He said to Lu Mi:

"Are you an adventurer?"

To come into a pirate bar and ask for detailed information on pirate generals!

Lu Mi did not answer the bartender. He half-turned his body and looked at the pirates staring at him.

Flames ignited around him; one by one, crimson-to-white fireballs coalesced and hovered in midair.

Then Lu Mi smiled, tilting his chin slightly:

"Though your bounties are low and I'm too lazy to bother, if anyone wants to hand me their money willingly, I won't refuse."

The pirates' expressions changed instantly, yet Lu Mi's gaze did not waver; he scanned their faces and sneered:

"Come on?"

Silence. Still silence. The entire Carnival Bar remained silent.

The danger radiating from the dozen or so crimson-to-white fireballs was palpable to every pirate present.

Lu Mi ceased his provocation, pointing to a chair several meters behind him:

"Don't appear behind me. Don't think you can sneak close and stab me while the crowd's thick."

"Whoever crosses this chair, I kill."

Saying this, Lu Mi turned back, smiling at the bartender beneath the glow of the dozen fireballs:

"Now you can answer my question."

Seeing that this adventurer had never introduced himself or boasted of past deeds, yet every word and action radiated supreme confidence and a killer's casualness, the bartender forced a smile:

"What we know is roughly what's on the wanted posters. If you truly want the hidden details, ask the enemies of each pirate general. Emperor Luo Saier once said: the person who knows another best is their enemy."

"Tell me specifically who each pirate general's enemies are," Lu Mi took another sip of Lieranzhi.

In the bar hall, pirates, seeing the adventurer effortlessly maintain the fireballs, reluctantly resumed loud conversations with their companions; some quietly slipped away, seemingly to seek help.

Lu Mi made no move to stop them, not even glancing.

When the bartender finished, Lu Mi had a rough idea of who the enemy of "Deep Sea General" Hal Constantine was:

This pirate general, with sea monster blood, was always low-key and mysterious. Aside from doing his pirate duties with bloody cruelty, he rarely clashed with other generals or major factions. But former "Twilight General," now "Twilight King" Bratov Ivan suspected Hal Constantine's two "Stealth Ships" came from a legendary treasure at sea—"Lost Nuins"—and had been pursuing the "Deep Sea General" for information on Nuins, leading to multiple conflicts.

After Bratov became a sea king, Hal Constantine was forced to constantly avoid this powerful man and his fleet.

(End of Chapter)