Pan Long came to a fishing village, and it was approaching evening, and the fishermen had finished their day's work, and the village was filled with smoke.

"Can someone take me to Black Skull Island?" he exclaimed, "I'll give me a hundred gold coins." ”

Hearing his words, the fishermen came out of the house one after another, and dozens of men, women, and children looked at him, but no one answered his words.

Because of the sealing of the Demon King, there are a large number of monsters on Black Skull Island. No one dared to approach that island except for the elite soldiers of Piketown. Even the soldiers of Piketown only dared to dock their ships at the pier on the edge of the island, climb to the lookout of the pier, and observe the seal of the Demon King from afar.

For the average fisherman, getting close to Black Skull Island is an adventure in itself.

Monsters don't just live on land, they also live in the sea.

So what Pan Long got was silence, and no one answered.

On the contrary, an old man kindly advised him: "Young man, Black Skull Island is very dangerous, don't go!"

He sighed and pulled out a heavy wallet.

"I have two hundred and four gold coins left. He said, "Whoever sends me to Black Skull will give him all the money." ”

This price is already ridiculously high, you must know that a soldier's monthly salary is only ten gold coins, and people often have to fight monsters or bandits.

Fishermen like them can't save more than 200 gold coins in ten years.

The unusually high price finally worked, and a middle-aged fisherman stood up and asked, "Can you give the money first?"

Looking at his timid but determined eyes, Pan Long understood what he meant.

It's nothing more than collecting money and selling his life, and he let it go.

"Of course, you can give money first. And...... You can drop me off and leave without having to wait over there for me to come back. ”

The fisherman looked at him in amazement, his face full of wonder.

Black Skull Island can be said to be a lair of monsters, not only can you find food to satisfy your hunger, but there is not even clean drinking water. The young man looked empty-handed, and he didn't even carry a hydration bag except for leather armor, a sword, and a bow and arrows, so how could he live there for long?

Pan Long immediately realized that there was a problem with his words, and said, "I naturally have a way to contact my friends on land, and when I need someone to pick up or deliver supplies, they will come here and contact you again." ”

Only then did the fisherman understand, and asked curiously, "Are you a brave man?"

Remote contact, naturally, can only rely on magic. And wearing armor and being able to use magic is in people's impression that only the "brave" can do it.

Pan Long nodded slightly: "Almost, I am a junior who aspires to become a brave man." I have to go to the places where my predecessors struggled, and I want to study and cultivate at the same time. ”

"That's no problem! I promise to send you to Black Skull Island!" the solemn look on the fisherman's face disappeared in an instant, and he laughed.

The name of the brave can be said to be a golden sign among the common people. Everyone worships the brave and aspires to be the brave. Because whenever danger comes, the brave are always the first to stand up.

Charge ahead, retreat behind, never flinch, never discouraged, forever fighting against evil, until death - even after death, sometimes continuing to fight evil in the form of a soul. This is the brave.

As soon as they heard that it was the brave man who needed help, the attitude of the fishermen immediately changed one hundred and eighty degrees, and they came up one after another, this one said that he was good at boating, the other said that his boat was more stable, and some people said that they were more familiar with the situation in the waters around Skull Island...... All in all, they are happy to help Pan Long.

Pan Long thanked them one by one, but in the end he chose the middle-aged fisherman who stood up first.

Because he needs money the most.

Even if he refused to accept the money, Pan Long was very resolute in handing it over to him.

"I don't need money. He explained, "On Black Skull Island, it's useless to have money. When my comrades came to pick me up, they had money. ”

"I can't take money from the brave, I'll be laughed at!" the fisherman emphasized.

"It's not my money. Pan Long immediately made up a reason, "This is the investigation fee allocated to me by the kingdom, and it is public funds. You are entitled to a remuneration as an officer who assisted in the investigation. ”

Seeing that the fisherman was thoughtful and less resolute, he said, "You have children, don't you? You want them to live better, so that they can learn a trade, then you need the money—and I don't." ”

"But ......"

"Did you know that the king established the School of Bravery, and anyone who aspires to become a brave man can go and study. With this money, you can get your child to try to get training as well. Even if he can't really become a brave man, at least in the future he can tell his children that 'I used to be classmates with brave men'...... Wouldn't that be great?"

The fisherman was finally persuaded and accepted the money.

The next day, before dawn, they set out by boat and sailed south.

Sailing is probably one of the most boring things in the world, the sea never seems to change, you don't need to be on the lookout for the road as much as you would with a car, and the boats are mostly slow - fishing boats like this one sail six or seven miles an hour, and according to the fisherman Poirot's estimates, they will not be able to reach Black Skull Island until it gets dark.

"My boat has a small sail. "One person can't steer a sail that is too big, and my boat is too small, and it's not safe to sail too big." Like the warships in Piketown, they have at least four or five sets of sails on a ship, which is not only stable and safe, but also can sail very fast in any way unless it is a headwind. ”

When he said this, his face was full of envy.

"How much does a ship like that cost?"

"It's going to cost a thousand gold coins, maybe more. Poirot sighed, then laughed again, "but two hundred gold coins are enough to buy a good fishing boat, with two masts, a sail on one side, a schooner on the other, and a spinnaker at the stern—and that can be driven fast and steadily." ”

He added: "Then I will have to hire people, such a big ship, one person cannot manage it, at least two people will have to do it." If it's safe, three people can get it completely right. ”

"But with a boat, I don't have to leave every morning and come back at night, I can spend a few days at sea, and it's very profitable to fish at night, because a lot of fish float to shallow water at night...... Maybe in a few years, I'll be able to save enough money to buy a really big ship......"

He looked at the sea, muttered to himself, and fell into a reverie.

Pan Long didn't bother him, and sat quietly next to him. It wasn't until he came to his senses that he said, "When you get to Black Skull Island, you decide whether to go back overnight depending on the situation - sailing, you are the expert, I will not interfere with your opinion." ”

"But there's one thing you have to remember. ”

"What's the matter?"

"If one day, you see black clouds condensing in the sky in the direction of Skull Island, then quickly drop everything and take your family north, as fast as possible, as far away as possible. ”

Pan Long thought for a while, afraid that Poirot would not take it seriously, and emphasized: "Remember, don't waste time packing things, just bring cash." The key is to be fast, the faster the better!"

Poirot was a little puzzled and asked the reason, Pan Long naturally didn't say "the demon king wants to be resurrected", he only said: "There may be powerful monsters on Black Skull Island, they can't kill me, but it's very dangerous for you." With one or two of those monsters, you won't have enough people in your whole village to kill them. ”

"Wouldn't it be good for me to flee to Piketown?"

“...... If there are monsters attacking, they will have enough hard work to deal with them, and they will have to be distracted to protect you? Are you going to exhaust them?"

Poirot rubbed his head and smiled sheepishly.

"I understand, if I see a black cloud in the direction of Black Skull Island, I will immediately flee north with my family and come back when the matter is over. ”

"Yes, remember, remember!" Pan Long nodded, "It's best to convince everyone to run with you, if not, don't procrastinate, the time will be very tight, and there is no room for delay." ”

"Got it!"

After solving this problem, Pan Long felt a little lighter and his mood was much better.

He didn't know if he could solve the resurrected demon king, but he had to make some preparations.

Although he still has hole cards, he can't really only fight alone, but even if he uses hole cards, he is not very sure of getting the demon king.

Therefore, do a little prevention work, so that the fishermen along the coast can escape in advance after the resurrection of the demon king, at least fewer people can die.

As for the rest...... He can't help it, he is just a "reserve brave" after all.

Luckily for them today, the wind was quite smooth all the way, and by about an hour before dark, the fishing boats had already arrived at Black Skull Island.

This isolated island that seals the Demon King looks calm at the moment. The sea is still blue, and the sky is still blue and white. The island's trees are still lush and green, and the pier and watchtower built on the northernmost part of the island remain intact.

...... It's too much different from the strange situation when attacking the magic island in the game, which is like hell descending on the world.

At that time, the trees on this island were noose trees, the flowers were sharp-toothed flowers, the birds and animals were demons, the dirt would turn into demonic earth elements, ghosts and ghosts would fly out of the wind, and even a waterhole on the side of the road would be filled with blood slimes that would eat people.

As for the pier and watchtower, of course, they were all in ruins, and there was not even a fort to defend except for a barely manageable place to dock.

If the signs of the Demon King's recovery can be detected in advance, even if the masters of various countries come a little later, as long as they can rely on the fortress to act step by step, they should be able to withstand the Demon King's army and lock the battlefield on Skull Island.

In that case, the losses suffered by the human world will be much smaller, and the war will be put to rest sooner.

As for the brave men...... Even without this war, they should be able to grow......

After disembarking from the ship, he smiled and drew the long knife he had bought in the royal capital of Ilore.

"Just let me see how far I can go!"