Mystic Overlord: Reading Gives Strength-Chapter 1223 - 1217: First Investigation

This matter is indeed rather peculiar.

Considering the capabilities of the crew on the [Gryde] fleet.

To avoid directly exposing themselves to the mastermind behind this incident, Ronald and his team took a less aggressive approach, lowering their altitude and approaching Barrier Mountain near the sea surface.

Only when they reached directly beneath Floating Mountain did the pirate ships become clearly visible.

Dozens of wooden sailboats surrounded the [Gryde] fleet, but due to the size difference, they hadn't seemed very noticeable before.

Now that they got closer and observed them, it indeed felt like a scene of the stars surrounding the moon.

"..."

"As expected from the [Gryde] crew, their barrier setup is quite impeccable."

At this moment, Eloise beside Ronald exclaimed in admiration.

Although the pirate ships surrounded the steamship, the truth was — no pirates could get onto these three large ships.

Even though these guys had obtained quite a bit from Barrier Mountain.

But for a group of pirates starting from scratch, wanting to break the barrier set up by the [Gryde] elite in a short time was still a far-fetched idea.

Hearing Eloise's exclamation, Ronald immediately shared his thoughts:

"I think the situation here is not that simple."

"Since such a clearly functional and powerful barrier was set, it suggests that the people on the ship might have known they were about to leave. So, in the premise of not being able to guard the ship but not wanting the pirates to board, they chose this handling method."

Patricia nodded in agreement with Ronald's speculation and then offered her insights:

"According to the usual outing operation rules, such a barrier is not something that can be set up casually. On our fleet — at the very least, it requires Her Royal Highness's nod of approval to arrange such things."

During their conversation, Ronald and the others continued to approach.

The [Gryde] steel ships seemed uninvaded by anyone, so they did not go to investigate them, but instead infiltrated the surrounding pirate ships first.

The number of people on the pirate ships was extremely small.

Since they coveted the mysterious forces on Barrier Mountain, the pirates aimed to climb it as much as possible, leaving only a few to guard the ships.

For Ronald, this was quite a favorable situation.

After all, though pirates were greedy, their belief that 'ships are the foundation of everything' wouldn't waver easily. Thus, those left on board to guard were few but were trusted subordinates of the pirate leader.

Undoubtedly, they were excellent targets for 'inquiry' of intelligence.

When Ronald and his team sneaked inside a pirate ship and reached the person's position. This stinking middle-aged pirate was preparing a roast chicken in the ship's kitchen.

"Who... woman?"

When they got there, Ronald and his team of course didn't hide their arrival.

The pirate, hearing footsteps and turning his head, ended up staring dazedly at the two girls.

He even subconsciously held back his habit of swearing:

"Oh... my goodness, ladies, you..."

"Shut up!" Just as the pirate began to speak, Ronald covered it with a word of command, "Stand still and answer our questions!"

Thud—

The roast chicken fell from the pirate's hand onto the floor, and he himself lost control over his will.

Ronald's word of command was indeed easy to use on such a target.

"How long have you been here?"

"Two weeks ago, we heard the news and followed the captain here."

"..."

"When did the earliest pirates arrive here?"

"More than a month, or at most two months ago."

"..."

"On the mountain, did you encounter any living people who were originally there?"

"No. On the mountain, there are only cities built into the mountain and traces left by people in their daily lives."

"..."

"These three [Gryde] steel ships, when did they arrive, and what happened after they got here?"

This time Ronald's question was rather complex.

Although the pirate straightforwardly answered, it still took him some effort to fully explain:

"The three ships arrived yesterday morning."

"When we found out, we immediately sent someone up the mountain to notify the pirate alliance, preparing to engage them. But by the time people came down and surrounded them with ships, we found we couldn't penetrate the protection zone at all."

"Yesterday morning..." Ronald pondered.

The timing mentioned by the pirate did not differ much from Ronald's estimation before he came.

The [Gryde] fleet apparently didn't encounter any problems en route and smoothly sailed to the foot of Barrier Mountain.

As for the entire crew disappearing and the setup of the barrier on board.

Those events likely occurred after they stopped here.

Having sorted out the general sequence of events, Ronald continued to inquire into the details:

"When you discovered this fleet, was there anyone on board?"

"Yes, and they seemed very organized."

"..."

"When did they disappear, and how?"

"After we assembled the team and came over, they all vanished, but the other details are unknown."

"..."

"When you tried to board the ships, did you find anything or encounter anything strange?"

"Nothing happened."

The pirate first dismissed Ronald's initial question and then explained the 'strange' aspect in detail:

"The strange thing is— it's the captains' attitude."

"Normally, encountering such ownerless ships, they would be greedy until they gained control of the ships, but yesterday, after just a few hours attempt, they abandoned the investigation."

"In the end, they merely instructed us to encircle them with our ships, and the captains took their men back up the mountain."

"..."

Ronald wasn't wrong; the pirate indeed knew a considerable amount of information.

Beginning from the pirates' discovery of Barrier Mountain, to the subsequent exploration of the mountain body, and the arrival of the [Gryde] fleet, these developments could be roughly outlined from the pirate's accounts.

Although not detailed to a comprehensive degree of intelligence.

For an initial investigation, such a result was already quite fruitful.

So, after dealing with the unlucky pirate in the kitchen, Ronald and the others made their way towards the stern of the pirate ship.

Just raising their heads to look now.

The Barrier Mountain, once leaving a deep impression in the [Infinite Negative Realm], had reappeared before Ronald.

"Hoo—"

Gazing at the mountain in front, Ronald took a deep breath, then recited an incantation again, taking Eloise and Patricia flying upwards together.