Chapter 76: The Ocean Is Truly a Treasure!

Intelligence Six: This midnight, the Scorpion Bandits, who have been missing for over ten days, will return to the Chaos Wastelands.

This time, they seem to have returned with great plunder, all the bandits grinning with joy.

For they have brought back the young noblewoman who just inherited the Violet Family.

The Scorpion Bandits launched this operation specifically to kidnap this noblewoman, and in the coming days, they will demand an exorbitant ransom from the Violet Family.

{Ding, today’s intelligence has been refreshed…}

“They kidnapped a viscountess?!”

After hearing the system’s intelligence, Gavis’s eyes shimmered with both shock and excitement.

This wasn’t some honorary viscount—it was a true territorial noble lord.

How bold of these Scorpion Bandits to dare such a thing!

“But this works out perfectly—it gives me the chance to eliminate you,” Gavis sneered.

Ding-dong!

Maid Carolyne glided gracefully into the bedroom to assist Gavis with dressing and washing.

Crack!

Waves surged—the day’s punishment was over.

Yet this time, Carolyne didn’t leave immediately; she seemed hesitant, on the verge of speaking.

“What’s wrong, Carolyne?”

“My lord, didn’t Rose come to the bathhouse last night?”

So the little maid had found out?

To avoid negatively affecting little Shirley, Rose had been extremely cautious when assisting Gavis with his training.

She went to great lengths to keep it hidden from the other servants.

But walls have ears—Carolyne had somehow discovered the truth.

“Yes, she came to assist me with my training!” As his lordship, Gavis showed no guilt—he spoke plainly and with complete confidence.

“Assist you with training?” Carolyne didn’t believe a single word.

“My lord, attending to your bath is my duty as your personal maid, while that… that slut Rose…”

Crack!

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Four slaps landed, instantly silencing Carolyne.

Amidst the surging waves, she felt Gavis’s fury.

“Carolyne, are you questioning my decisions?”

“N-no, my lord!” Carolyne immediately bowed her head, utterly crestfallen.

“Hmph, I think you are. From now on, your daily punishment increases to five slaps!”

“As for Rose—this was my order. You will not interfere or spread rumors, or you’ll regret it. Now, leave!”

“Yes, my lord!” The maid felt a little sad, a little wronged, and yet somehow… happy.

She was saddened and hurt that Lord Gavis had defended that slut Rose.

But delighted that her punishment had increased to five slaps… cough…

……

“Depart!”

After breakfast, Gavis assembled his knights, knightly squires, fifty guards, and eleven archer slaves, heading toward the coastline.

At the same beach where the ship had been repaired, the Stormwind lay moored.

Old Jack and the crew were performing their daily deck cleaning and ship maintenance.

“Old Jack, is the ship fully ready? Can we set sail immediately?”

“My lord, we only need to load fresh water, and we can sail today!”

“Excellent. Let the slave farmers who haul bird droppings rest half the day—I’m requisitioning the Stormwind this morning.”

“As you command, my lord!”

Soon, Old Jack efficiently organized everything; once the knights and guards boarded, he took his place at the helm.

“My lord, shall we set sail?”

“Set sail!”

“By the lord’s command—Stormwind! Hoist the sails and set course!”

The sails unfurled with a rustle, and the Stormwind cut through the waves.

Half an hour later, the ship reached Volcano Island, but Gavis gave no order to land.

Instead, he sent Ivelan and the other eleven aerial knights to wait on the island.

He and the rest continued sailing.

“Continue sailing eastward!”

“Yes, my lord!”

Though venturing this far carried risks, no one dared question Gavis’s orders.

“My lord, ahead lies a cluster of islets!”

Soon, the lookout on the mast shouted the warning.

“Old Jack, slow down, watch for reefs, and find the nearest safe islet to approach!”

“Yes, my lord!”

Thanks to his prior sailing experience, Old Jack skillfully anchored the ship beside an islet roughly three hundred meters in diameter.

“Let’s disembark!”

“My lord, these islets are barren—just thorny bushes and low shrubs. Why are we here?” Migen asked as he stepped ashore.

“Because there’s something valuable on this island—you’ll see soon enough!”

Hearing “something valuable,” Migen and the others’ eyes lit up.

They now knew their lord never lied—when he said there was treasure, there truly was. Their movements became swift and eager.

“Huh? Those shells look familiar… could it be…?”

As soon as the raft touched shore, Migen spotted massive clam shells scattered across the sand—reminders of the glowing pearls.

Drawing on his previous experience, he immediately recognized them.

He quickly scoured the sand around the shells—and soon found his prize.

He dug up a glowing pearl the size of an egg.

“My lord! A glowing pearl—egg-sized! Look!” Migen was ecstatic.

The largest one Raymond had found last time was about the same size—worth forty or fifty gold coins, right?

“Good job, Migen. Tonight, you’ll get a bonus meal—a piece of Flame Serpent meat!”

“My lord is mighty! My lord is benevolent!” Migen was overjoyed.

Moreover, the taste of beast meat is unforgettable; that day when he brought back the Fire-Swallowing Python and had the privilege of tasting it, he still remembers it vividly.

And its flavor was unforgettable—he’d tasted Flame Serpent once, and still dreamed of it.

Being rewarded with it now thrilled him more than finding dozens of silver coins.

In other minor noble families, ordinary knights rarely receive such a prized reward, unless they are the Knight Captain.

In other minor noble households, only the knight captain might ever receive such a gift.

The other knights around him stared at Migen with envy.

“Don’t be jealous—I’m telling you, you still have a chance! There are countless glowing pearls scattered across these islets. Whoever finds items worth over fifty gold coins today gets a piece of Flame Serpent meat!”

“My lord is mighty! My lord is benevolent!”

The other knights beamed and ordered their squires to help search.

After two hours of meticulous searching across several islets using rafts,

their total haul reached five to six hundred gold coins: six large glowing pearls, plus over two hundred smaller ones—ranging from the size of lychees to longans.

“My lord, the ocean is truly a treasure trove! It’s like picking up gold coins! No wonder noble houses spend fortunes building fleets!” Migen and the others were ecstatic.

“The ocean is indeed a treasure. This area will continue to yield glowing pearls and magical sea shells,” Gavis agreed.

This was one of the little merfolk’s feeding grounds—they’d return, making this spot Gavis’s regular “glowing pearl farm.”

Thus, seafaring was an essential direction for any coastal lordship.

“Let’s go!”

Packing the glowing pearls and five magical sea shells into wooden crates, the Stormwind hoisted its sails once more.