The Demon King is unfathomable

Chapter 305 I won, I can start counting from any year I want
Perhaps it was the good luck brought by Saint Sith. Ever since the warship "Grace" arrived in the waters near Deadwood Port, the dock here has never been quiet.

Merchant ships that were chased by the storm gradually discovered this strange continent.

They just cruised around the coastal area for a while, or asked the Tide Tribe Lizardmen who were fishing for directions, and they found this port on the northern coast.

The port is just like its name, looking like a rotten piece of wood lying on the beach, with every place from the dock to the port buildings covered with scribblings.

But even so, for those ships that have just escaped from the vast ocean whirlpool, this place can be regarded as a "holy land" granted by Saint Sith for them to rest.

In this way, one after another, the ships, dragging broken sails and twisted masts, staggered into the harbor in the gray morning mist, like ghosts returning to their nests.

Some of them had only half of their hull left, and some could not even hang their flags, but they still struggled tenaciously on the waves, relying on the last bit of power and the sailors' will to slide into the harbor with only a few wooden stakes serving as a dock.

Baron Teach stood on a wooden box in the port, his hands on his hips, his cloak fluttering in the wind, a warm smile on his face.

"Welcome to Deadwood Harbor! I am the baron here, conferred by the respected Prince Roxel Colin!"

Facing the sailors lying on the beach gasping for breath, he opened his arms mercifully and continued with a smile.

“…No matter where you come from or where you go, whether you are poor or rich, as long as you still have your hands, you will have food to eat and a place to live.”

He did keep his promise.

As long as they are willing to work, whether it is building bridges and roads, transporting goods, or cutting wood in the forest, Captain Kedesen, the biggest "foreman" under Baron Teach, will personally assign tasks to them, as well as work sheds and hot porridge... to ensure that everyone has endless work to do.

And those who were unwilling to work would not be driven away, and could pay silver coins for food and accommodation.

If you don't have money, you can use goods as collateral.

However, if goods are used as collateral, the price will definitely be very low, like "selling textile products at the price of pure wool" or "selling rum at the price of sugarcane".

Actually, it’s nothing.

The small Deadwood Port could not absorb such a huge amount of cargo, let alone have a treasury with unlimited purchasing power. They were already thankful that Baron Teach was willing to accept their goods.

After all, if this distinguished master doesn't accept them, the goods may end up being sold to the fish and shrimp in the sea, and they won't be able to get even a copper coin back.

The only thing that the captains complained about was that the prices of food and accommodation here were outrageously high!

And no credit allowed!

"This price is enough to stay in the largest hotel in the holy city for a week!" Looking at the price written on the wooden sign, a man wearing a captain's hat couldn't help but mutter.

"Then why don't you go to the Holy City and come here?" Rolling his eyes at this idiotic question, Kedesen scrolled down the list, "Next one."

The captain-looking man gritted his teeth, and finally put the silver coins in his hand, which were still wet, into the hat on the counter beside him, took the key from Kaedson and left.

On the shallows not far away, looking at the rows of damaged sailboats lying on the water, Teach quickly smelled a business opportunity.

He put up a signboard in the most conspicuous location of the port, which read "Port Ship Repair Shop".

The price of repairing a ship with a broken mast starts at 500 silver coins, and repairing a steam boiler requires another zero.

This is undoubtedly a rip-off!
But the captains had no choice but to accept it.

After all, not only is the nearest port very far away from here, it may not even be able to be repaired for them.

A storm of that magnitude would affect more than just the ships floating on the sea. It's hard to say how many intact ports would remain along the entire eastern coast of the New World...

In this way, Teach made a profit from the merchant ships that docked at the shore by means of the ship repair business.

As for the work he received, he assigned it to the "engineers of the United Kingdom of Gutaf" using the crystal ball given to him by His Majesty the Demon King.

Those agile lizardmen are very useful and can often repair a paralyzed engine in no time, and even make it better than before the accident!

Due to their excellent skills, many captains, although they felt the pain, finally endured it because they could leave after repairing the ship and make a fortune by selling the tickets.

Later, Teach learned from a captain who was about to leave that the price he set was not exaggerated, and the price of the colonies in the New World was basically the same.

Moreover, the engineers there had poor skills and the trains still had various problems after repair. They had to be driven back to the empire and repaired again.

Realizing that he had been deceived, Teach was silent for a long time, and finally just sighed.

These damn profiteers!
No wonder I went bankrupt!

A week passed like this. Kedesen was flipping through the account book and looking at the lines of astonishing numbers. He was stunned.

"In one week...we actually made a net profit of 100,000 silver coins?"

He stared at the number, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.

This amount of money is enough to order a brand new medium-sized cargo sailing ship with a cargo capacity of 250 tons from the Royal Dockyard!
If you buy second-hand, you can also buy a larger one with a steam boiler!
"That's normal," Teach whistled. He no longer put on airs of nobility in front of him recently. He joked, "After all, it's a business with no capital."

It doesn't cost anything to hire those lizardmen.

Just like when he opened a tavern on the seaside, he only needed to pay them something called ghost money.

Captain Kedesen closed the account book after checking it and handed it to Teach with emotion.

"I could not possibly save this much money even if I worked hard on the vast ocean for a hundred years without eating or drinking... Following you, I have really opened my eyes."

Tikki said with a chuckle.

"Isn't that inevitable? That thing is not meant for you to buy. If you can afford it, I wouldn't sell it at that price."

"You are such a devil!" Captain Kedesen couldn't help but curse.

Teach picked at his ear with his pinky finger.

"What did you say? I didn't hear clearly."

Kaidesen's expression froze, and he quickly changed his words.

"What I mean is that you are simply a messenger of God sent by Saint Sith to the mortal world to save us, the suffering drowning people."

This is right!

Although it is not at all.

With an approving smile on his face, Teach patted Kadson's shoulder with his hand that had just cleaned his earwax, shook the account book in his hand and said.

"I'm glad you think so... Anyway, I'll leave this place to you. If anything unexpected happens, you know how to find me."

"Oh, and don't forget that you have a share of the money, so work hard."

After saying this, he ordered his lifeless soldiers to load the boxes full of silver coins onto the trailer, then he turned around, mounted his horse, and walked towards the castle on the nearby hills.

By the way——

He had bought this purebred highland horse at a low price from an unlucky chamber of commerce to pay off a debt. It was said that one horse could be sold for tens of thousands of silver coins in the New World.

Kaidesen nodded respectfully and watched the arrogant noble lord leave.

If nothing else, just for the words "you have a share", this respected baron deserves the title of "God's Messenger".

At least that's how it was in his mind.

Besides, the sailors on the Traveler haven't been clamoring to leave these days.

Since Captain Kadson became Baron Teach's steward and the "actual governor" of Deadwood Harbor, their status also rose. Although they were still working, the work was much easier than before. Each of them became a foreman and was assigned a separate wooden house... although they had built it themselves.

But these are not the main points. The main point is that those who landed in Deadwood Harbor were not only stranded sailors, but also immigrants from the Old World.

Among them are many young ladies who are still in shock, or wives who have just lost their loved ones and need a shoulder to lean on. In this isolated and helpless environment, these sailors on the Traveler who have considerable incomes and houses have become geoducks - oh no, they are very popular.

It's the single-plank bridge effect.

Under normal circumstances, no decent girl would be interested in these men who have no fixed place to stay and may end up feeding the fish at any time.

Even though most of them were poor people who couldn't make it in the Old World, that's why they boarded the ship to the New World.

These rough guys had never seen such a scene before and they were easily defeated in minutes.

Someone has already suggested to Captain Keldson that they plan to settle down in Deadwood Harbor, so he doesn't need to take himself with him when he leaves.

From now on, they were Jannah people.

……

The setting sun shines obliquely, and the remaining golden light splashes on the roofs of the wooden houses in Deadwood Harbor, turning the moldy and rotten wood into shining gold mines.

Just as Kaedsen was directing the foremen to distribute a new batch of food quotas, a carrier pigeon with pure white feathers and silver magic patterns wrapped around its legs suddenly and silently landed on the windowsill of the "Governor's Office".

“Gugu——!”

It was not afraid of people and barked at Kaidesen.

Kaidesen had no time to deal with it and waved his hands impatiently, trying to drive it away.

"Go away, go away, where did you come from, seabird...if you don't get out of here, I'll stew you."

The pigeon seemed to have become a spirit. It was not scared by him. Instead, it held its head high and chest out. It impatiently knocked on the broken window that was about to be blown away by the wind with its claws, and kicked away a loose nail with its leg.

Only then did Kaidsen realize that there was something wrong with the silly bird. He quickly picked it up from the windowsill and soon found the fuse tied to its leg.

He removed the letter tube, untied it carefully, and quickly pulled out the letter paper stuffed inside.

The wrinkled letter paper was slightly damp, and there was a golden military emblem at the end of the letter - a scepter and a sword crossed on a pointed castle.

"…Fort Saint-Il? General Hamelton?"

He opened the letter, read only two lines, and then stood there in a daze.

[Her Royal Highness Prince Roxelle Colin:
I, Hamelton Joseph, on behalf of the Ossian Empire's vast ocean fleet, would like to express my most sincere gratitude to you and Baron Titch Kosia of Deadwood Port!
Thanks to the Grace's protection in your port, the soldiers and sailors of Fort St. Il were able to repair safely and return home.

To thank you for the help you extended to our army in times of crisis, I will set off in seven days to express my gratitude in person!
I hope you don't mind my interruption.

—Hamilton Joseph.

】

General Hamelton!

The commander of the landing battle at Port Saldo!
A legendary general who was awarded the title of "Imperial Griffin" by the Imperial Regent!

He's coming here in person?! Here? In this lousy place?!
Captain Kedesan's breathing suddenly quickened, and his face flushed, as if he had seen his idol in the newspaper.

"Hey! I'll leave this place to you. I have something to do and need to leave for a while!"

After saying this, Kaedson didn't stop for a second. He held the letter tightly in his hand and rushed out of the door at a mad speed. He rushed up the hill and came to the stone wall outside the rock fortress. There were two lifeless imperial sentinels standing on the stone wall. They just glanced at him coldly and continued to be their statues.

Kaidesen didn't care at all. He stood at the bottom of the fortress and shouted upwards:
"Dear Master Kosiah! Good news!!!"

The wind blew his cloak into a mess, and his sweat-soaked hair stuck to his forehead. He was so excited that he didn't even have time to take a breath, and shouted while waving the letter in his hand.

"A personal letter from General Hamelton!! He said he would come to Deadwood Harbor—"

"The Empire finally noticed us!!!"

In the camp in the middle of the stone wall, the smell of food was strong.

A pot of thick soup made from dried meat, potatoes and sauerkraut was bubbling. Just as Teach tore off a piece of bread, he heard Kadson screaming outside the door.

He almost choked on his own saliva, so he quickly put down the bowl, wiped his mouth, and hurried towards the city gate.

"Letter! Give it to me!"

The door opened and he extended his hand with a calm expression.

Kaidsen didn't notice the unnatural panic on his face and held up the letter excitedly.

"Your Excellency! General Hamelton——"

"Okay, I get it!" Tiqi interrupted him quickly and said impatiently, "I'll take care of this matter. Go back and continue your work. Don't bother me if there's nothing else."

Kaidesen was stunned for a moment. He always felt that Master Teach seemed to be in a bad mood?
He wanted to say something else, but Teach turned around without saying anything, waved his hand, and signaled the soldiers standing at the city gate to close the door.

The door is closed!

The smile disappeared instantly.

Teach frowned, as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. He opened the letter and hurried towards the depths of the camp.

On the other side of the camp, Lumir was sitting by the campfire, calmly flipping through a magic book filled with obscure spells without even raising his head.

He obviously heard the sound outside the stone wall, but this guy actually had the time to learn magic!

"Lumir." Tiqi walked up to him patiently and whispered, "We are in trouble!"

"Hmm?" Lumir responded casually, but he didn't take his eyes off the book, as if he didn't care about the trouble he was talking about at all.

"General Hamelton is coming!" Looking at this unconscious guy, Teach stuffed the letter in front of him and said through gritted teeth, "Do you know who that is? The commander-in-chief of the eastern coast! A tough guy who has fought against hell for more than ten years! He wants to see Roxel Colin!"

Lumire finally closed the book, looked up at him, and said calmly.

"so what?"

Tikki's eyes widened and he spoke excitedly.

"So what? Did you hear what I said?! He has seen more demons than you and I combined. What if he finds out that we are servants of the Demon King?!"

He was confident that he could deceive ordinary sailors. After all, he had seen more nobles than these country bumpkins.

But when you run into a tough guy like Hamelton...

If I have something to hide, I'm afraid it will be exposed in a second.

"Even the sailors at the port who have been eating and living with us for several months didn't notice anything." Lumier stood up slowly, patted the dust off the corners of his robe, looked at him and said, "Why do you think an imperial general can see through us in just one meal?"

"But, but the problem is that he wants to see Prince Colin! Where can we find that guy?" Teach gritted his teeth and spoke hurriedly, "Let me be frank, that guy was made up by you guys, right?! It's okay for you to fool those people outside, but don't fool yourself!"

He had been here for so long and had never even seen the shadow of Colin. Although no one had told him about this, he knew with his ass that it was just a cover!

Roxie Colin?
There is no such person in this place at all!

Looking at Teach who was getting anxious, Lumir was stunned for a moment and gave him a strange look.

"Didn't I say that?"

"Prince Colin is our Demon Lord."

The air was silent for a long time, with only the crackling of the campfire as the sound.

Teach stood there for a long time, until a spark flew to the tip of his nose, waking him up from his daze.

Roxel Colin is the Demon King...

"what?!"

……

In the distance, the Stairway to the Sun Mountains were shrouded in darkness. A cold wind swept across the cliffs, bringing with it the smell of dry gravel and wormwood.

A figure wrapped in a pitch-black cloak stood on a protruding rock, and a pair of amber vertical pupils took in the busy coastline.

Ever since the devil left here, Sarah would come here to watch for a while almost every night, and would not return to her base in the mountains until late at night.

"Damn it... these hairless monkeys! Arrogant insects! How dare they... step onto my territory so brazenly! It's... it's such a shame!"

A little female dragon whose wings and teeth had not yet grown fully squatted in Sarah's arms, biting the corner of Sarah's cloak in frustration.

Sarah glanced at the restless young dragon and then looked away from her, with a cold expression as if she didn't bother to pay attention.

At this moment, a gentle and elegant voice suddenly floated over from the shadow of the rock wall not far away.

"Oh? Then... before a certain bug set foot on this land, who did this land belong to?"

The cat ears on top of her head moved slightly, and Sarah turned around quickly, her cold expression melting away with surprise.

"big boss!"

She knelt on one knee and bowed her head respectfully. However, she moved too quickly and Tafu, who was squatting in her arms, lost her balance and was thrown out.

"Ouch—"

The young dragon rolled on the ground twice, let out a short cry of pain, rubbed its sore butt, shook its body, and stood up from the ground without any temper.

Luo Yan stared at the little guy for a few seconds and nodded with satisfaction.

It seems that the magic potions recorded in ancient books are somewhat useful.

He asked Sarah to boil the medicine according to the prescription he gave her, mix it with meat and feed it to this guy every day. In just half a month, she gained more than three pounds.

If this trend continues, maybe we’ll be able to ride it in two years.

Tafu felt uneasy when being stared at by Luo Yan. She didn't know what he was thinking and thought that he was still brooding over what she had said before, so she swallowed and spoke nervously.

"You, why are you so petty... I was talking about those people, not you. And, and... humans have ruled this land for more than a thousand years, why are you counting so far back?"

Of course, before she invented the Lizard People, the people who lived here were humans.

Although she also thought about denying the matter, she had already written it down in the spaceship's log, and this guy happened to be able to understand "dragon language".

Thinking of this, Tafu felt filled with regret.

I shouldn’t have written this if I had known this!
Looking at Tafu who was avoiding his gaze and lacking confidence, Luo Yan shrugged his shoulders and spoke calmly.

"I won. I can start counting from any year I want... You should be thankful that I don't care about your past. Otherwise, I could have made the truth public and nailed the name 'Gutaf' to the pillar of shame in history."

But that would do him no good at all, as the shattered hopes would not be transferred to him because of Gutaf's "death".

The lizardmen of Janna will completely turn to nihilism.

It would be better to let Him stay on the throne like a kind-hearted elder.

"You guy..." Tafu held her breath and clenched her little claws, but finally drooped her wings and surrendered.

This vicious human had signed a master-servant contract with her. At her current rate of growth, it would probably take another hundred years for her to turn against him.

He who knows the current affairs is a hero——

She chose to give in.

Luo Yan did not continue to pay attention to the little brat, but looked at Sarah who was kneeling on one knee, and spoke in a gentle tone.

"Wake up...Did Arakdo work hard while I was away?"

The cat ears on her head moved slightly, and Sarah stood up obediently, reporting in a meticulous manner.

"According to your instructions, Alacdo and his people dug a maze with a construction area of ​​about 1,000 square meters under the Stairway to the Sun Mountains... Including the connected natural caves, the maze is already quite large!"

"This maze is modeled after the Thunder County maze. The shallow areas are equipped with rockfall traps, maze corridors, poison fog traps, and drainage culverts!"

"The entrance is currently located in the mountain stream at the southern foot of the mountain. The terrain forms a natural cover, so it is difficult to detect unless detection magic is used."

Luo Yan nodded with satisfaction.

"good."

Sarah scratched her cheek with her index finger after receiving the compliment and said shyly.

"I didn't do anything... it was mainly Arakdo who did the hard work."

"You can't say that. You also have your own value. Nothing serious happened during my absence. This credit belongs to you." Luo Yan nodded with a smile on his face and continued in a gentle tone, "As for Arakdo, I will praise him later."

By the way, ever since it started dating Lady Arachnos, this burrow spider has become more and more skilled at digging holes.

It is indeed worthy of praise!

Sarah glanced at Luo Yan secretly and said in a low voice.

"big boss."

"what happened?"

"You have already conquered this continent... why do you still want to build a maze here?" Looking at Luo Yan who seemed to be in a good mood, Sarah hesitated for a moment and finally asked the question that was confusing her.

In her understanding, the labyrinth of Thunder County was set up by Hell to resist the invasion of human adventurers into the underworld.

But here, the only threat seems to come only from the sea?
Isn't the best option to fight against the Empire's colonists together with the Lizardmen?

Not surprised by Sarah's confusion, Luo Yan did not answer the question directly. He just cast his gaze towards the brightly lit coastline in the distance and smiled faintly.

"You'll find out soon enough."

(End of this chapter)