Chapter 238 - 218: Return to White Bear Town

Chapter 238: Chapter 218: Return to White Bear Town

Within the sealed-off treasure grounds.

In the secret chamber behind the Black Copper Giant Gate.

Philina’s lifeless body lay on the cold floor, her blood pooling around her.

Nearby, a dark green heart beat with increasing intensity.

The THUMP, THUMP, THUMP of its beat echoed through the secret chamber.

Suddenly, with a sharp crack, the green curtain of light around the heart abruptly shattered. Like splintered glass, it spiderwebbed with cracks before dissolving into dust and vanishing into the air.

At that same moment, the violently throbbing heart suddenly fell still.

RRRIP...

A fissure tore open across the heart’s surface, as if sliced by a razor-sharp blade.

Then, a hideous head covered in slime suddenly thrust out from the fissure.

It was clearly not Human. Its skin was emerald green, two curved horns sprouted from its crown, and a sharp black spike jutted from its chin. It split its mouth into a grin, revealing sharp teeth that glinted coldly.

Next, a long, slender, tail-like appendage tipped with a barb snaked out from behind the hideous head.

It wrapped around Philina’s body, binding it completely, and swiftly dragged the corpse back inside the enormous dark green heart.

The hideous head let out a low, guttural roar—a sound both muffled and piercing.

Its head slowly retracted, and the fissure on the heart’s surface began to heal at a visible rate.

Then, from within the great, dark green heart came the sounds of cracking bones and chewing flesh...

BA-DUMP, BA-DUMP...

Ten-odd minutes later, the heart that had stopped beating began to tremble faintly once more.

...

「On the open sea.」

Aboard a ship from the era of the Cold Lion Duchy, blood slicked the deck, and corpses lay strewn everywhere.

Blood slid down the blade of the Cross Sword in Vili’s hand, gathered at the tip, and dripped onto the deck. DRIP... DRIP...

Twenty minutes earlier, Vili and his men hadn’t been able to find the six greatships they had arrived on. Instead, they had found this vessel, its style clearly different from that of the Lanton Duchy.

The moment he saw it, Vili knew his earlier suspicions back in the treasure grounds had been correct.

The young lady, a descendant of the Cold Lion Kingdom, and her servant, Midton, had led their men to slaughter every last one of the Tusk Pirate Gang members who had accompanied him on this treasure hunt.

Needing a ship for the journey home, and fueled by the grudge from their earlier clash in the treasure grounds, Vili had taken matters into his own hands. He personally finished off the four remaining Senior Knights and most of the Middle Knights. The rest of the Basic Extraordinaries were eliminated by Budar and the others working together.

Now, the small group was hauling up seawater to wash the deck.

"My condolences, Budar. It seems all your men have returned to the sea."

Vili said, watching the dazed Budar.

The dead Pirates had all been Budar’s men.

Vili felt no particular sorrow for them, but it was different for Budar. He had personally built up this crew, and now they had been completely wiped out by someone else. Though they had now exacted their revenge, he still felt a profound sense of loss.

"No... I have no regrets..."

Budar could only force himself to say, "It was an honor for them to die on the path to treasure. After all, that’s every sailor’s dream..."

Budar was clever. He didn’t say that his men had died for Vili. That would have seemed like he was deliberately trying to claim credit, and he feared it would displease the Lord Baron.

Budar’s mindset now was completely different from when they were near the waters of the Sosen Duchy. All he wanted was to live out his life in peace and, at the very least, ensure his family could live safely.

Seeing Budar like this, Vili didn’t press the matter.

’To be honest,’ Vili thought, ’if you ignore his past as a Pirate, Budar is a very capable subordinate.’

’Compared to Benduin and Colson, he’s clearly more seasoned and has a better grasp of how the world works.’

Still, Vili hadn’t yet decided what to do with Budar once they returned to White Bear Town.

"What a horrible smell!"

Colson pinched his nose as he splashed seawater onto the deck, washing away the viscous blood.

If there were any other way to get back to White Bear Town, Colson would have gladly abandoned the ship and fled.

Benduin, by contrast, was much calmer. He grabbed a corpse in each hand and tossed them overboard.

"Budar, can you pilot this ship?"

Other than Budar, none of them were skilled at piloting such a large vessel.

Hearing this, Budar forced himself to rally his spirits and replied to Vili, "I’ll go take a look."

Soon, Budar returned with a positive answer.

Although the ship was vastly different from those of the Lanton Duchy, he had managed to figure out how to operate it.

"The craftsmanship is truly perfect..."

Budar emerged from the pilothouse and said to Vili, "I thought I would need Colson and Benduin to help at the helm, but it seems that won’t be necessary."

The ships they had sailed on, while primarily wind-powered, still required manpower to assist the helmsman.

This ship, however, could be operated by the helmsman alone.

"Once we’re back in White Bear Town, Lord Baron, you could analyze this ship’s construction. It could likely advance the town’s shipping industry."

As Budar spoke, his tone was like that of an official from the Town Hall.

This made Vili give him a second look.

"I’ll take your suggestion."

Vili nodded, then asked, "Can we set sail now?"

Vili was quite eager to return to White Bear Town. They had been at sea for nearly two months, and he was starting to miss his family and Wally.

"Of course."

Budar nodded.

"In that case, let’s get underway."

Vili gave the command.

"Yes, Lord Baron."

Budar bowed and accepted the order.

And so, the ship set off once more, heading in the direction of White Bear Town.

...

「One month later.」

"We’re finally back!"

At sea, Colson gazed at White Bear Town on the distant shore, his eyes suddenly welling with tears.

He hadn’t been born in White Bear Town, but it was where he had been given a new life. To Colson, this was his true home.

"What an incredible journey."

Benduin was also in high spirits.

Benduin felt a swell of pride. ’I actually completed a high-seas adventure,’ he thought. ’And it was far more exciting than anything I’ve read in storybooks.’

"Ships approaching..."

Vili walked out onto the deck as well. In the distance, he saw two of White Bear Town’s patrol boats slowly approaching.

’From the patrol boats’ perspective, this ship must look like a suspicious foreign vessel,’ Vili mused.

The members of the White Bear Town Sea Defense Team on duty would certainly conduct a thorough inspection.

Sure enough, the two patrol boats stopped a little over a hundred meters away.

On each boat, a dozen or so Patrolling Guards appeared, all armed. They even held Bursting Fruits, poised and ready for a confrontation.

"Ship ahead, halt!"

A Patrolling Guard Captain shouted at them, his tone a clear warning: "State your origin! You are in the territorial waters of White Bear Town. If you do not have permission to dock, turn back immediately, or we will expel you by force!"

"Very good."

A look of satisfaction crossed Vili’s face.

’This is the kind of defensive posture needed to ensure the safety of White Bear Town’s coast.’

’It seems that while I’ve been away, Dane, Sandoor, and Sopps haven’t slacked off in managing the town’s affairs.’

"Hey! Get a little closer and see who’s on board!"

Colson shouted back.

He didn’t have Vili’s patience. They were right on their own doorstep, and Colson had no desire for further delays.

"That voice..."

The Patrolling Guard Captain heard Colson’s voice, first with confusion, then with dawning recognition.

Colson had worked with the Sea Defense Team to complete many tasks personally assigned by the Lord Baron, so they were all quite familiar with him.

"That sounds like Lord Colson’s voice... Could it be that the Lord Baron is back?"

At this thought, the Patrolling Guard Captain quickly said to the man beside him, "Quick, bring the boat closer!"

The Lord Baron had been away at sea for nearly three months, so there was a good chance he was returning now.

The only thing that struck the Patrolling Guard Captain as odd was that the Lord Baron had clearly left with six large ships, so why was he returning with only one, and a different-looking one at that?

"Get a clear look now?"

Colson called out to the approaching patrol boat.

"It’s Lord Colson! And beside him is the Lord Baron!"

The Patrolling Guard Captain hurried to the side of his deck and saluted Vili. "We welcome the Lord Baron’s return to White Bear Town!"

Vili nodded. "Let’s dock together."

"Yes, sir!"

Escorted by the two patrol boats, the three ships docked at the shore.

"Take our things and head back to my manor first."

Vili said to his men as soon as they docked.

He needed to store the treasures from his voyage at home.

At Vili’s command, Benduin and Budar each shouldered two chests and walked off the ship.

"Cover this ship with a tarp and post a dedicated watch. Don’t let anyone near it."

As he was leaving the docks, Vili said to the Patrolling Guard Captain.

’It’s best if the design of this ship isn’t seen by too many people.’

’Its origins are problematic, after all.’

’If not for the desire to study its construction, Vili would have preferred to just burn it. That would have been much simpler.’

"Yes, sir."

Although he didn’t understand Vili’s reasoning, the Patrolling Guard Captain accepted the order.

As soon as Vili departed, the captain began ordering his men to cover the ship.

In the process, a sliver of doubt surfaced in his mind.

On such a massive ship, apart from the Lord Baron and his three companions, there was not another soul to be seen...

It was truly strange.