In Sword Bay, Duchy of Virginie, a deep-water harbor where the frost and snow of winter cannot freeze, a copper-skinned three-masted merchant ship sails slowly towards the stormy sea, guided by buoys made from empty wine barrels on the sea. Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

The sky was dark and gloomy, and although the hands of the clock showed that it was nine o'clock in the morning, the sea was still a little farther away, and only the eastern horizon could be seen faintly.

The swells of the tide kept pushing the Golden Lady in an attempt to keep her in Sword Bay, but the three-masted merchant ship, which was very resolute, had no intention of stopping, and the skilled sailors adjusted the sails to a slightly inclined angle without command, still eating enough wind to move the whole ship on.

Winter is definitely not the right time for long voyages, and after the Dolphin Festival at the end of October, the wind direction of the stormy sea can change so often that even an old captain with decades of sailing experience and courage will not dare to risk himself.

Ordinary sailors and sailors prefer to stay in taverns and inns near the port with bulging wallets, and pass the rare leisure time of the year with gladiatorial gambling and drinking, and perhaps immerse themselves in drunken life every day to calm down the adverse effects of "land sickness".

Landlubbers get seasick when they go out on a boat, and sailors who are very close to the rough seas are also not able to adapt to the down-to-earth environment when they go on land.

Perhaps this is the so-called professional punishment, in fact, only a very small number of people are able to adapt quickly to changes in the environment, and adjust themselves quickly or slowly according to changes in the outside world.

The lonely merchant ship Golden Lady left the deep-water sheltered harbor of Sword Bay, and the cold wind mixed with snowflakes immediately hit the face, and the shipwrights and sailors hurriedly adjusted the ship's mast, and saw that the soft canvas had enough wind strength to expand to the limit, and hurriedly lowered it by half.

Their hands and feet are fast enough, the special multi-layer plain cotton and linen mixed thick cloth has not been cut by the cold wind, the first mate at the helm nodded lightly with satisfaction, the sailors on the ship are all familiar old fellows, after many years of dealing with each other, they have enough tacit understanding with each other, they know what to do and what not to do, and it is much easier when sailing.

The captain, who had the rank of captain of the Duchy of Virginie on his head, stayed in the chart room to talk quietly with his employer on the voyage, both of whom had known each other since childhood, especially the friendship accumulated over the years of cooperation, which made the captain of the Golden Madame willing to take the risk to sea.

The once prosperous and rich Hewan region, since the death of the lord of Sword Bay for no reason, has been included in the list of banquets divided by the great nobles of the principality, and there is a lack of necessary military deterrence, and the ministers of governance, who can be called experts in governance in peacetime, have no precautions before the turmoil comes, and when the partition has become settled, they are extremely slow to react.

Except for Count Fern Munster, who had a somewhat ugly appearance, the rest of the great nobles were always quietly eating in small bites, a manor, a village, a small town, slowly scooping up the fattest and creamy parts of the cake with a spoon.

Unfortunately, in order to pass on the high military spending, Archduke Summerr enacted a new tax law for the riverbend area and forced the conscription of civilians in Sword Bay for military service, so that the strategy of boiling frogs in warm water went bankrupt halfway.

The members of the Twilight Knights and the Eyes of the Night, who were forcibly disbanded, contributed to the rebellion by the members of the Twilight Knights and the Eyes of the Night, due to unemployment and unpaid wages, gradually turning Sword Bay, which had been quiet for many years, into a place of war.

The wealthy merchant class, long resentful of the punitively high taxes imposed on them, secretly paid for mercenaries from the various southern principalities, landless fallen knights, bankrupt craftsmen, and a vibrant social organization.

It's a pity that the big nobles have long been ready to do it, and the reserve legion, which has accumulated rich experience in fighting against the orc rebels, drove directly into Sword Bay, except for the core area to avoid disturbance, almost uprooting the resistance strength.

Seeing the gallows full of paid mercenaries and the daily blood splatters staged on the guillotine, the merchants who failed to invest in the gallows finally recognized the reality and chose to surrender with dignity, and voluntarily handed over the floating wealth such as liquidity, gold and silver currencies of various countries, so as to avoid being treated in the same way.

Many people could not stand the exorbitant tax penalties and set out to transfer their property and their families, and those who insisted on staying were speculative adventurers.

However, the nobles maintained a rare tacit understanding, and they had always been distrustful of the people in the riverbend area, and the counts had fixed commercial agents, and there was no need for speculative merchants to approach on their own initiative, and they were strictly forbidden to leave Sword Bay under any pretext.

However, their men were too busy competing for vacant ownerless properties to keep an eye on them, not to mention that after many years of operation in the riverbend area, any successful merchant had his own way, and the first priority was smugglers, followed by armed merchant ships.

Similar to the Golden Lady, with a semi-official status, from time to time part-time pirates do a big deal, the background is extremely deep, and there are countless giants with hidden forces in the gray area, and venturing to sea in the cold winter will definitely attract suspicion, but no one will take the initiative to jump out and expose it.

A warm cotton shirt covered with a waterproof one-piece sharkskin jacket and a thick piece of fur still choked on the ground in the biting cold sea breeze.

If it weren't for the fact that he carried a full bottle of liquor in his arms and took a sip from time to time to warm his body, the sailors would have complained a lot.

Far from the stormy sea where the wind direction is uncertain, the Golden Lady sails south along the coastline, and if it goes north, it will definitely incur a blow, but to the south it can confuse some people who are interested.

The wind and snow are getting heavier and heavier, and many of the beaches along the coast are beginning to freeze, and the masts and ropes of the armed merchant ships are covered with sharp ice ridges of different lengths, and the sea breeze is a little stronger, and the merchant ships swing to a certain extent, and there are sword blades of ice that fall.

The threat from the sky had already injured two young men with no relevant experience, and the first mate immediately replaced them, and gradually replaced the old man who had exerted too much physical strength with a sailor in the rest cabin.

The terrible north wind carried coarse snow seeds on the deck, and in addition to turning the sailor's frozen hands blue and black, it also formed a thin crust of ice and thickened it.

The hull of the ship gradually became heavier, the waterline slowly rose, and the passengers staying on the merchant ship of the Golden Lady, in addition to the big merchants who had fled from other lands, also had a mysterious person who could not be refused.

The friendship from the dark world was something that even the experienced captain would not dare to refuse, but when he saw the cargo that accompanied him, he was wary.

Reminding his childhood friends about the past, he lamented that if His Excellency Lansenlot, the Lord of Sword Bay, was still there, neither the nobles nor the blood clan would dare to put their hands in.

There was a lot of gossip, and the gloomy atmosphere gradually dissipated, and suddenly there was a sharp knocking on the door of the chart room, and after getting the captain's permission, the anxious second mate immediately pushed the door in.

"Daddy Neod, the guest in the bilge said that if he didn't de-ice, the ship would sink, and he was ready to come up and help. ”

The captain's face suddenly darkened, and anyone could see the angry expression, and the words that sailed at sea were the most jealous of shipwrecks and capsized, which could be said to be absolutely forbidden words.

But the person who said this was a big man in the dark world, and his status should be quite high, Captain Neodh calmed his anger, turned his head sideways and nodded apologetically to his old friend, and then prepared to go out to stop it.

"It's boring to stay in your room after you get on the boat, so it's better to go out for a walk. ”

Neod retracted his step, and hurriedly refused, "My friend, you'd better not leave the chart room. ”

"The guest in the bilge was like a demon who I had heard my grandmother tell me bedtime stories when I was a child, and the goods he carried with him were unusually heavy wooden crates. Based on my many years of sailing, and the faint smell of rotting corpses coming from the boxes, they were probably coffins. ”

Human beings' innate instinct to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages makes the curiosity that has just risen instantly strangle, and they do not forcibly show their bravery and fearlessness for the sake of face, and sit back calmly, and no longer feel the boredom of the long journey.

When Captain Neod saw this, he was very pleased with the interest of his old friend Italia, and immediately walked out of the chart room, and the loyal second mate nodded to the captain's friend, and led the door to the room.

The chart room fell silent again, and the merchant who had fled from the land took out a heather pipe from his coat pocket, pinched out a pinch of golden tobacco, stuffed it, pressed it tightly, and fixed it on the table, and lit it with a whale oil lamp.

As the pipe left the lamp, the dark red light flickered on and off, and the light smoke with the scent of water lilies lingered around the merchant, and the smoke gradually blurred over Italia's face as it smoked with the sound of clattering.

Due to his luxury business, he has had deep or shallow contact with the forces in the gray zone, especially the friendship with Captain Neod, and knows part of the truth about the dark world.

Italia was a speculative businessman who stayed until the end, and the business fiasco hit him hard, especially since his liquidity was almost drained by the tax law, and he lost almost twenty years of accumulation.

After learning the hard way, Italia no longer had any interest in the luxury business, and despite his extensive contacts in the industry, he began to change his mind and wanted to start a second career in a new field.

"Vegetables, flour and other daily consumption commodities have about 10% of the profits, although they are small profits, they can also accumulate a lot of net worth, but the time consumption is too long. Textiles, fabrics, and ready-to-wear have a gross profit of 2 to 40 percent, and in the peak season when replacement clothing is generated, you can also build your own family by carefully operating a brand that is recognized by the public. Construction firms, material suppliers, and those engaged in real estate trading, and even second-hand transactions, can earn at least double the profits, and as for the wealthy businessmen who speculate on land, they are even more than several times or more than ten times the profits. Unfortunately, due to the limited demand and purchasing power, rental apartment buildings are the mainstream of the market...... What kind of business can last forever?"

Italia immediately remembered several businesses, the trade in skins and skins, which were born at the same time as the oldest Assassins, but unfortunately these industries were too slow to make money. What should I do if I don't repay my debts? Collect debts by force?

As one of the most famous and hard-hearted speculative merchants in Sword Bay, and witnessing the rebels supported by his business partners being pushed by the reserve corps of the great nobles who were not even counted as regular troops, Italia immediately remembered what was the most profitable business to invest in.

"War! The military industry, betting on both sides at the same time, always stands on the side of the winner. No, the strength of the individual is too limited, even if there is a local war, it cannot be controlled, the belonging of Sword Bay is the best example, and more people must be attracted to join the ......"

While the speculative merchant Italia was meditating, a chill that made his heart shudder rose from the bilge of the Golden Madame, cold like a snake winding through it, carrying an ominous graveyard scent.

"Do...... Chemical element...... Do"

The sound of the cane hitting the pedal of the wooden ladder gradually changed from light to heavy, like a knock on everyone's heart.

Even the old captain Neoder, who had seen many big scenes after many years of sailing, couldn't help but change color slightly, and stood respectfully on the deck leading to the entrance to the bilge.

The heavy wooden fence covered in iron was easily pushed away by a thumb-thick cane, and a middle-aged man with his beard and hair had fallen out, revealing a slick and bald head, walked up. The black silk robe was blown by the cold wind, as if a cloud of black smoke was hanging around his body, and his right foot was a little uncomfortable, but he didn't need to rely on a cane to maintain his balance between walks.

Time has left its mark on his body, and the skin on the back of his hand has turned into dry bark, covered with fine wrinkles and scars of unknown origin. The thin fingers are almost skinny, but the head of the snake's head is still strong, and the two eyes are slightly squinted, occasionally revealing eyes as sharp as knives, like the vertical eyes of a poisonous snake.

"Dear Lord Leotin, the wind and snow outside are too great, you should stay in the bilge, and the de-icing of the deck is still left to the professional sailor shipwright. ”