Lord Rurcam laughed. "Alright, I will not talk about it. In that case, tell me more about you. How is your adventure?"
"Well, we have a lot of fun."
"Fun? I never heard someone say that about treasure hunting."
"Why not?"
Rurcam showed a confused expression. "Treasure hunting requires a lot of resources, and you need to take a big risk. How many people died during the first phase on Mount Fargon? How many wealthy men and nobles sent their sons out there? It's tiring, risky, time-consuming, and basically a resource drain. Only major power has the chance to obtain the treasure."
"Maybe they don't have the right mindset. I think it's very fun. I met my partners during my journey, and they have been with me ever since."
Lord Rurcam sighed. "That only applies to you. Others didn't even know if they're going to die the next day or not. Anyway, what is the hardest hurdle you faced during your journey?"
"It's not part of the treasure test, but the hardest hurdle for me is fighting against the Behemoth in the Lair of Treasure in Paphia."
"Behemoth? Are you talking about that giant beast?"
"Yes. I believe it has hideous horns and a terrifyingly muscular body."
"And you defeat it?"
"We did." Aldred nodded.
Rurcam frowned. "But that thing is at Platinum Rank at the weakest."
"Yes. And we defeated it."
Francesca and Lord Rurcam widened their eyes.
"You guys defeated a Platinum Rank beast?" Francesca exclaimed in a shocked voice.
The maids standing in the dining hall had the same expression as Francesca. Even they knew that it was very hard to defeat something or someone of higher ranking than themselves.
"You guys are more amazing than I thought," Francesca said.
…
A few weeks passed, and Aldred had been going around the island with his wives guided by Francesca.
Lord Rurcam had begun his fleet production, and its progress was quick. Aldred's 25.000 worker golems helped the Lord tremendously.
Today, Aldred had another breakfast with Lord Rurcam and Francesca. All of them were very close to each other now and could speak with less and less formality.
They were chatting and eating together, until suddenly…
The large door of the dining hall burst open with a guard running toward them with a terrified expression.
"Sorry to intrude, my Lord, but the pirates are coming!"
"What?" Lord Rurcam stood up. "Our fleet is not ready until next week."
Aldred stood up. "It's fine, Lord Rurcam. We expect the pirates to come from the start. This is why you make a deal with me. I will command my fleet to face them."
"I will send the finished ships to your aid," Rurcam said.
"No. It's better for your fleet to stay here, and only when you finished everything will you come to my aid. Sending your unfinished fleet will only become delicious targets for them."
"I understand. I will tell the workers to work faster. I am relying on you, Aldred. I will pray for your safety."
Aldred grinned. "Maybe you should pray for the pirates' safety instead because I will destroy them like I did last time."
Stella teleported Aldred and his group inside the mothership.
Aldred saw through the windshield of the command center and noticed gray, thick fog on the sea.
"Burchard, what's the situation?"
"The pirates are still outside our firing range, Sir. And I only detect one mothership coming with them. We detected a slightly larger fleet than last time, but it won't be a problem."
"The ships can tell even when there's a thick fog ahead of us?"
"Yes, Sir."
"That's good. I was worried that we have to fight three at once. By the way, I have an idea, and I want you to do it, the moment the pirate ships get into range."
Aldred whispered something in his heart.
Burchard frowned. "I think I can do that, Sir. But are you sure about this?"
"I am sure."
Soon after, the pirate ships sailed closer at around 32 nautical miles (about 59 kilometers).
That was already within firing range.
"FIRE THE CANNONS!" Burchard shouted.
All the warships let out a sky-shattering roar as their cannons blasted shells at the thick fog where the pirate ships hide.
The pirate ships also fired back, and the sky changed from clear blue to dirty and smoky.
The shells flew, but one of those flying objects wasn't a shell, but a human.
It was Aldred who was shot from a gigantic cannon that went straight towards the fog.
Aldred smiled when he saw the mothership in sight. He planned to wreak havoc on the ship like last time and take over their cannon.
He activated his godly eyes and see through the ships to plan his routes, but when he looked to the side, what he saw shocked him.
Twelve nautical miles behind the enemy mothership, there were two more motherships of the same size!
"Three motherships… How could Burchard fail to detect them?"
Aldred crashed onto the mothership and he was quickly surrounded by pirates.
"Bastard, we already expected you to come!"
"So you're the guy who boarded our ship!"
"Stop talking and kill him!"
The pirates pulled their Soul Flare and fired at him.
Aldred already saw that they would use their Soul Flare minutes before, so when they did, he quickly ran into their midst.
The steel balls quickly killed their own comrades.
"Stop shooting your own friends you fool!"
Aldred smiled as he maneuvered around the crowd.
"Out of the way!" A man pushed a small cannon, aimed at him, and fired.
Boom!
"Ahh! Bastard! Why the fuck did you shoot me?!" a pirate roared as he held his blasted leg.
"I told you to get away!"
"Fuck! At least give us time to do so, fucker!"
Meanwhile, Aldred was in the sky, and he fell behind the cannoneer.
Aldred beheaded the man with a simple swipe of his hand, and he fired the canons at the pirates.
[You have received 3,200 EXP]
[You have received 3,350 EXP]
[You have received 3,500 EXP]
