Chapter 782: The Vocation (Thank You, Mr

While Lu Mi listened to the bartender recounting the pirate general's grudges and passions, the pirates behind him grew restless.

They all longed for someone to step forward and be the first to fire or draw a blade against the arrogant adventurer, so they could rush in afterward based on the situation.

But beneath the threat of those clusters of crimson-white fireballs, the pirates glanced at each other—none dared cross the chair Lu Mi had designated.

They all thought: such arrogance must mean real power; the Carnival Bar was low-class, with no major pirates here—now they could only hope those who had just left would bring back powerful reinforcements.

After more than ten minutes, one of the pirates who had left the Carnival Bar pushed open the heavy wooden door.

Behind him walked a middle-aged man wearing a tricorn hat and dark blue clothing.

All pirates inside the bar straightened their backs, held their breath, and the noisy, lively atmosphere instantly fell silent.

Some among them recognized the middle-aged man—he was the captain of the "Rosemary," "Flying Hadmark," one of the famed major pirates second only to the pirate generals, active across the Five Seas for over a decade.

The pirate who pushed open the heavy door offered a servile smile and pointed at Lu Mi's back.

"Captain, that's the adventurer I told you about!"

"He dared provoke every pirate in this bar in Bannamo Port!"

Hadmark's hair was coarse and dark, his every movement radiating authority; he stared at Lu Mi's back for several seconds, then fell silent before asking:

"How long has he been maintaining those fireballs?"

"I don't know—they were already there when I left, but maybe he stopped maintaining them in between," said the pirate who pushed open the door. He grabbed a young pirate sitting near the door, pointed at Lu Mi, and growled, "How long has he kept those fireballs up?"

The young pirate panicked, quickly looked at the old wall clock, and stammered:

"Nearly… nearly fifteen minutes."

Fifteen minutes? "Flying Hadmark" blinked, suddenly showing the expression of someone recalling something important.

He immediately cursed his sailors:

"Did you forget we have an important deal waiting at the dock?"

"Damn it, is your head full of only alcohol, women, and pride?"

As he cursed, Hadmark turned his body and walked out of the Carnival Bar.

His sailors were stunned by the scolding but instinctively followed him.

Whatever the captain said was right!

The silence inside the Carnival Bar persisted—then Lu Mi finished the last of his Lengranchi, stood up.

With those dozen fireballs still blazing, unwavering and crimson-white, he scanned the pirates in the bar once more.

The next second, he smiled, raised his right index and middle fingers to his lips, and blew gently.

It was like blowing away the gunpowder smoke after eliminating every pirate in the bar.

As the pirates' gazes and expressions shifted, Lu Mi strolled calmly toward the door, hands in his pockets, utterly relaxed.

One by one, pirates instinctively stepped aside to clear a path.

Some seethed with resentment, others ground their teeth; some comforted themselves: "This isn't fear—it's just that those fireballs are too blinding!"

Lu Mi seemed utterly unconcerned about ambushes, walking out through the wide path the pirates had opened, as if receiving their escort and welcome.

…………

Late at night, in a nondescript room of a modest inn in Bannamo Port.

Lu Mi leaned back in his chair and spoke to Fu Lan Ka:

Change your appearance, gather a few people, and spread the word that an unknown adventurer provoked every pirate in the bar—that he thinks all pirates are cowards, with not a single true powerhouse, and that he could crush any pirate's head under his foot at will.

Fu Lan Ka's lips twitched slightly.

"Fishing again?"

"You're practically a fishing expert…"

Lu Mi smiled.

"Based on the intelligence we've gathered, 'Deep Sea General' dislikes appearing in public due to his sea monster bloodline—even when he arrives in Bannamo Port, he'll likely stay aboard his flagship, 'Niusi.' When he wants women or food, someone will naturally deliver it to him."

"Under these conditions, we can only risk infiltrating the 'Niusi'—it's an alchemical ship seized from some ruin, and we have no idea what traps or powerful mechanisms it might hold. Plus, there are surely many extraordinary pirates aboard. As a 'Hunter,' we must avoid fighting on someone else's turf."

"I deliberately provoked the pirates of Bannamo Port because I know no pirate general is here right now. I have full confidence I can handle any other major or famed pirate. They'll quickly realize this too. And expecting individual pirate crews to cooperate against me? That overestimates their trust in each other—who doesn't rob? It's all the same."

"I don't expect pirates to have collective honor, but they all crave to display their strength, amplify their reputation, and earn the admiration and fear of other pirates. Meanwhile, the pirates of Bannamo Port are waiting for a major pirate bold enough to confront me. So when the 'Niusi' arrives and the 'Deep Sea General' comes—what do you think will happen?"

Yu Jianna suddenly understood.

"If the 'Deep Sea General' leaves the 'Niusi' and personally intervenes, that's the best outcome—it'll be a battle on our chosen ground. Even if he has no interest, his top subordinates won't miss this chance. With the 'Deep Sea General' as their backing, they won't fear failure and will be bolder than other famed pirates. At that point, the number of extraordinary pirates aboard the 'Niusi' will drop significantly—our opportunity arrives."

"You've learned psychological analysis well," Lu Mi remarked sarcastically.

Yu Jianna glanced at him.

"A good actor must master human nature."

"And perform it for the 'audience'?" Lu Mi joked smoothly.

Anthony showed no additional expression.

Fu Lan Ka snorted.

"What if a pirate king's fleet arrives before the 'Niusi'?"

Lu Mi spread his hands.

"I said it's an unknown adventurer provoking the pirates of Bannamo Port. The advantage of being unknown is that when you vanish, no one can find you—then you change your face and appearance, and execute another plan."

"The 'Conspirator' really has eight hundred tricks…" Fu Lan Ka muttered. "Then it's settled."

Lu Mi then brought up the possibility of creating a massive plague in Bannamo Port if all else failed, emphasizing the prerequisite: that all native residents must unknowingly drink a preventive antidote beforehand.

Fu Lan Ka was stunned.

After several seconds, she said:

"You actually thought of this… How about we start a plague company together? Just kidding. It's somewhat feasible—but in this day and age, where do we get vaccines? I mean, preventive antidotes?"

"Normally, none exist—but we can turn to the occult," Lu Mi had already considered possible directions. "Isn't the 'Pharmacist' Path exactly about this? If we give them a certain number of infected people in advance, let them observe, think, and experiment, they should be able to formulate an effective preventive or curative antidote. No need to worry about finding a 'Pharmacist'—we have the Fool's Pharmacy Company; we won't lack 'Pharmacists.'"

Lu Mi already knew from the 'Magician' lady that Fool's Pharmacy Company had deep ties with the Tarot Society.

Yu Jianna unconsciously calculated:

"A potion with occult effects costs at least 100 Faelkin. Bannamo Port's non-pirate residents probably number in the tens of thousands—we'd need at least a million Faelkin. We can't expect the 'Pharmacists' of Fool's Pharmacy to work for free without material fees, can we?"

A million Faelkin was no small sum—around 200, 00 Faelkin was the approximate value of a Sequence 5 Exceptional Trait.

"Spending a million Faelkin to become a Semi-God? That's more than worth it," Lu Mi suddenly laughed. "A million Faelkin is just the price of one 'Deep Sea General.' Even if we can't kill him, his lieutenants are valuable enough."

Fu Lan Ka sighed.

"You're finally showing a bit of Gellman Spade's style—but Gellman Spade treats pirates like piggy banks, targeting only high-bounty ones. You? You want to wipe out the entire pirate population!"

If such a massive plague were unleashed, thousands—perhaps ten thousand—pirates would be affected.

Before Lu Mi could respond, Fu Lan Ka gave a self-deprecating smile.

"The 'Deep Sea General' is really unlucky—sitting peacefully on his flagship, doing nothing, and suddenly we've targeted him."

Lu Mi chuckled, speaking with clear understanding:

"No need to lament. The 'Hunter's' vocation is to create chaos and conflict."

"And you, a 'Witch,' your vocation is to bring disaster and suffering."

"Better to send these to pirates than to harm the innocent."

Fu Lan Ka fell silent. Yu Jianna did too.

…………

Achoo!

In Bannamo Port, Mason, sitting on the dock with a bottle of dark barley beer, suddenly sneezed.

He immediately recalled the messenger summoning ritual he'd completed that afternoon—and the messenger that had instinctively unsettled him—and muttered to himself:

"Was that sneeze the legendary spiritual warning?"

"Am I really going to become the protagonist of some occult event—the fool who makes a mistake and draws the attention of demons and gods?"

"Did my ritual truly bring some disaster to Bannamo Port?"

"Are hidden dangers and problems already emerging, quietly flowing in the shadows of Bannamo Port?"

Gulping, Mason took a large swig of beer, convincing himself it was just his imagination:

Since afternoon, not a single sign of disaster!

No unusual phenomena reported!

It was just summoning a messenger—shouldn't be a problem!

PS: Thank you, Mr. O of the Aurora Society, for your silver alliance donation again!

(End of Chapter)