Chapter 213: Chapter 151: At Ease (Part 2)

The dock at Seagull Port became desolate once again.

The pressure from the Alliance Legion undoubtedly served as a cold shower for the explorers, awakening them from their frenzy over discovering new trade routes.

Even with the new trade routes so close, most people still chose to leave; after all, the Alliance’s legion was right at their doorstep, and people were not willing to risk their lives.

However, the Ark Leader did not try to hold back anyone, nor did he use the country’s plight under the legion’s attack as an excuse to withhold the Ark coins due to the explorers.

"Thank you for transporting grain for Ark Kingdom during this period, Mr. ’Golden Sand’. Here is your reward."

The dock manager handed a bag of Ark coins to an explorer.

"Sigh... Honestly, I haven’t done much. Everyone knows you’re going through tough times."

The Rosa Kingdom trader with a turban on his head held the heavy money bag, and seeing the girl’s smile, his heart was filled with mixed emotions.

Though he had succeeded in earning a sum, a strange unease lingered in his heart.

"You shouldn’t have agitated the Alliance leeches. Stepping back and accepting the chamber’s terms isn’t that big of a deal; we clearly could have taken our time..."

The Rosa Kingdom trader muttered a few words, finally letting out a long sigh.

They had long grown accustomed to the Alliance’s acts of plundering neighboring small countries under the banner of unity.

No matter how the Alliance press distorted the facts, explorers were more inclined to trust their own eyes. Ark Kingdom’s act of leading its people to face the long night directly left the deepest impression on their hearts.

"I’m sorry, I can’t stay and face the Alliance legion with you. I have a home to return to."

The trader hesitated for a moment, taking only the cost of the grain from the money bag and then placing the bag back into the girl’s hand.

The girl was taken aback: "What are you..."

"Even a fool can see that Ark coins will appreciate in the future; this is more than enough for me."

The explorer from Rosa Kingdom waved his hand, boarding his cargo ship without looking back: "Good luck to you all."

One cargo ship after another left the dock, vanishing into the Fog Strait, while some explorers remained uncertain and hesitant.

Not far away, a short-haired man watched the scene with his arms crossed.

After a while of silence, he looked at his companion beside him: "Old fellow, when are you planning to leave?"

"Not leaving."

Red-nosed Old Captain leaned against the railing, tossing a piece of Intoxicating Fruit into his mouth: "I plan to stay here."

"Why?"

Qiao frowned, somewhat incredulous: "Things have come to this; what use is there in staying? What if your crew makes a fuss?"

"I won’t stop them from leaving; freeing up space on the ship is a good thing too."

The old captain laughed heartily: "If Ark Kingdom truly can’t hold on, at least I can load some young people onto my ship and send them to a safe place."

This is all he could do.

The short-haired man said coldly: "You’re betting your life on such a small matter?"

"How is this a small matter?"

The old captain glared at his companion, displeased: "If things really escalate to the point of fighting in Seagull City, the more people I can load, the more lives I can save!"

Staring at the short-haired man’s face, he cracked a smile, revealing his yellow teeth: "As for you, young as you are, leaving early would be the wise choice."

"Stop acting senile here."

Qiao sighed deeply: "If I didn’t owe you, I wouldn’t follow your foolish moves."

Indeed, he had been saved by the old captain in such a foolish way. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

He decided not to leave either.

If it comes to it, he’ll return the old captain’s favor with his life.

Having made up his mind, Qiao wasted no more time and strode toward the port’s registration office, followed closely by the old captain.

Amidst the surprised gazes of some explorers, Qiao straightforwardly asked the staff: "Is there anything we can help with?"

·

After a brief moment, the long-haired girl finally found the two names on the registration list.

"Hmm... So it’s Mr. ’Red Nose’ and Mr. ’Short Blade’..."

She looked up: "May I ask what your real names are?"

Qiao and the old captain exchanged a glance.

The short-haired man was somewhat puzzled: "Is this important?"

"In fact, as long as you are willing to stay and help Ark Kingdom through the difficulties, we will record your fleet and real name."

The staff named Linda explained with a smile: "From now on, regarding maritime exploration, Ark Kingdom will prioritize collaborating with you."

The vast majority of explorers only left their code names.

The short-haired man’s gaze grew focused.

A long-term cooperative relationship...

He had thought the inside of Ark was in chaos, but now it seemed Ark Kingdom was far more capable than he imagined.

The old captain troubledly scratched his head: "Red Nose and Short Blade should suffice?"

The girl’s expression showed some helplessness: "There are simply too many duplicate code names; we’d prefer to establish a deeper cooperative relationship with you."

"Uh... Let me think..."

Red-nosed Old Captain was stumped.

Having wandered the seas for most of his life and muddled through his days with alcohol, he was called ’Captain’ by the crew, ’Red Nose’ and ’Old Fellow’ by captains, so he couldn’t recall his name for the moment.

"He is Francis, and I am Qiao," the short-haired man stated directly.

The long-haired girl seriously noted the two names.

"Please follow me, Mr. Francis and Mr. Qiao."

She stood up, offering a kind smile: "Lord Dean has always been waiting for explorers like you."

The two explorers were momentarily puzzled.

·

Inside the smooth and shiny administrative office.

Captain Francis sat on the clean sofa, feeling somewhat uneasy; he had never entered such a high-class room in his lifetime.

"I didn’t expect someone willing to stand with Ark Kingdom so soon."

Old Dean personally poured steaming hot peculiar beverages for the two explorers, speaking with some emotion: "On behalf of Lord Lin Lan, I thank you."

Qiao was currently fixated on the contract paper on the table, deeply astonished.

"You mean to say..."

The short-haired man’s tone was filled with disbelief: "The Ark Leader is actually willing to let outsiders pioneer the new trade routes first? And allow us to profit from it?"

"You should already be aware of Ark Kingdom’s current situation; due to the threat of the Alliance legion, we temporarily cannot advance on the Justice Route."

Old Dean spread his hands: "But we can’t just leave the new routes idle there, can we?"

At that moment, Qiao felt reality was somewhat surreal.

Was this still the perilous Ark Kingdom?

He finally realized that the Ark high-ups were never afraid of the Alliance’s legion.

What puzzled Qiao the most was that under Ark’s fearlessness against the Alliance, Lord Lin Lan chose to open up the precious new trade routes to outsiders!

During the Age of Exploration, once explores found new routes, local kings would tightly grasp maritime resources and hide all information, fearing outsiders would benefit in the slightest.

It could only be said that the Ark Leader’s style of action was truly surprising as always.

"Why didn’t you release the announcement earlier?"

Qiao’s expression was puzzled: "This would certainly bring more explorers to your side."

"Lord Lin Lan wants us to find trustworthy people."

Old Dean patiently explained: "And your performance is worthy of our trust, as simple as that."

"Hehehe, see? My decision wasn’t wrong, was it?"

The old captain finally understood the conversation, raising his eyebrows at his companion.

Qiao ignored the old fellow indulged in smugness; instead, he lowered his head, returning his gaze to the contract, studying it seriously.

As for all profits from the route...

The next moment, even the usually calm Qiao almost bulged his eyes out.

——It’s a fifty-fifty split!!

"Qiao, what does it say?"

Seeing his companion’s strong reaction, Red-nosed Old Captain leaned over, craning his neck to examine the worm-like text on the paper.

But not being literate, he couldn’t make sense of it no matter how long he stared.

"Don’t talk right now!"

Qiao pushed aside his companion’s head, carefully scrutinizing the contract written in common language, fearing a hidden pitfall.

However, the paper in hand was clean, lacking even unnecessary patterns.

There shouldn’t be any Demon People within Ark Kingdom, right?