Above the mage!

Chapter 488 Ash Island

After Sarah finished speaking, God's heart stirred, and he understood why this newly emerging legend of Black Sails City would appear here at this moment.

Just as he and Lanwen, though considered "fat fish," were not qualified to receive personal assistance from David Jones, Santos, despite being a core member of the Embroidered Anchor Gang, was not worthy of Sarah's special intervention.

Therefore, Sarah's real target was not Santos, who was already dead, but herself.

There was no doubt about the opponent's strength, but although Gao De was wary, he remained relatively calm.

Whether it was the other party's actions in helping to kill the fleeing Santos and Walker, or their current tone and demeanor, it all indicated that the other party was at least not there to kill him.

In this situation, Gaode couldn't immediately figure out the other party's intentions.

Just as she was pondering this, Sarah moved her left hand.

With a gentle twist of her left fingers, misfortune began to dance in her palm, the gun barrel spinning around her fingertips.

After three rotations, Sarah flicked her wrist, causing the gun to reverse, with the barrel pointing downwards and the butt upwards. Then she raised her hand and pushed "Misfortune" to her lower back.

With a soft click, the gun slid precisely into the leather holster.

The holster blended seamlessly with the leather of her bra, making it almost impossible to tell that a murder weapon was hidden there unless you looked closely.

On the other side of his waist, Gao De noticed a leather holster that was slightly different in shape.

He knew in his heart that it must contain Sarah's other psionic gun, "Lucky."

After doing all this, she looked at Gao De and spoke again—Sarah had confirmed that the person in charge among the three was the youngest, Gao De, “I’ve cleared up your troubles.”

"Thank you." Gao De's heart skipped a beat, but he remained calm and bowed his hands in thanks.

"Would you be interested in talking to me?" Sarah asked again.

Upon hearing this, Gao De's pupils contracted slightly. "Here?"

To be honest, although he was curious about Sarah's intentions, Gao De was still reluctant to talk to her face to face, because the difference in strength was obvious and he didn't feel safe.

Even if he was unwilling, he didn't dare to refuse without knowing the other party's background and intentions.

At least they seem relatively calm on the surface.

“Of course we need to find another place. With such a commotion, people will be here soon.” Sarah’s voice was calm and even as she looked at Walker’s corpse and said softly, “Besides, he’s a member of the Bloodsail Pirates. If you don’t leave here soon, you’ll be in big trouble.”

Gao De's heart skipped a beat. He believed Sarah. First, given her strength, there was no reason for her to lie to him. Second, it was indeed unreasonable for an appraiser to possess such powerful strength.

After saying that, Sarah suddenly raised her right hand, and there was a piece of paper that looked like a card between her two fingers.

With a flick of her finger, the piece of paper spun like a dart and shot straight into the floor in front of Gao De.

"I'll wait for you here."

Gao De glanced down at the piece of paper on the floor, and when he looked up again, Sarah had vanished.

Ignoring his surprise, under the far-seeing ability of his Mandora's Eye, he could already see many people, even people from the upper city, heading towards the Shattered Bone Tavern.

We need to leave quickly.

Before leaving, God first used his mage's hand to pull out the piece of paper Sarah had left behind, stuffed it into his pocket, and then used his Mandora's Eye to scan the area where the room had been before.

Sure enough, he saw a sandalwood box overturned in the corner.

A layer of magical energy flowed across the surface of the box, which allowed it to remain unharmed even in the intense explosion.

"Take that box with you." Gao De quickly instructed Lan Wen, then cast [Wild Agility+], summoned the Storm Spirit Boon, and, under its possession, quickly flew away from this dangerous place.

After taking the box, Lan Wen used the [Flight] spell with Eli to catch up with Gao De, and their figures quickly disappeared into the central city.

The Columbus.

Gao De twirled a piece of paper between his fingers, his brows furrowed slightly.

The note Sarah left behind had an address written on it:

Ash Island.

This is a very special address, not located in any of the upper, middle, or lower districts of Black Sails City, but rather on a small, subordinate island in the Blue Flame Islands.

The Blue Flame Islands are named after the eerie blue flames that occasionally appear on the islands.

As the foundation of Black Sails City, the main island is the only one in the archipelago where more than 80% of the land is a safe zone, and Blue Flame has never appeared on a safe island.

Around it, nearly a hundred smaller islands of varying sizes are scattered like chess pieces.

These subsidiary islands differ from the habitable main island; some are mostly covered in blue flames, making them semi-burnt islands.

Even worse, some islands have been completely transformed into "fire islands," with the entire island enveloped in blue flames. From a distance, they resemble eerie blue lanterns floating on the sea, and even seabirds dare not approach them.

Furthermore, the very small portion of land on these affiliated islands where no blue flames have been seen is not a safe zone; every so often, blue flames will suddenly appear.

These blue flames are completely different from ordinary flames; they are extremely cold, yet can directly cause terrifying psychological damage to those who come into contact with them.

Most alarmingly, no spell or method has yet been found to circumvent the mental damage inflicted by Blue Flame.

Even a powerful fifth-ring mage is helpless against the blue flames.

In other words, Blue Flame represents absolute rules and justice on the Blue Flame Islands.

According to legend, this blue flame comes from Abaddon, who slumbers at the bottom of the sea. It is the power of a seventh-tier sea beast and is therefore irresistible.

The "Adaptive" effect triggered upon landing on the island allowed Gaode to confirm that the legendary seventh-tier sea monster Abaddon was indeed real.

In this situation, almost all the islands in the Blue Flame Islands, except for the main island, became forbidden zones for life, with 99% of the population concentrated in Black Sails City on the main island.

The reason it's not 100% is because there are also blue flame crystal veins in the areas where blue flames appear.

Blue Flame Crystal, a specialty of the Blue Flame Islands, possesses the property of blue flames directly affecting the spirit, making it an extremely precious and extraordinary mineral.

Whether sold locally in Black Sails City or transported to other places, they fetch high prices and have no shortage of buyers.

The wages of avarice is death.

Driven by enormous profits, some people still risk their lives to venture onto these outlying islands, which are considered forbidden zones for life, in order to mine blue flame crystals.

They searched for veins to mine blue flame crystals in lands where blue flames had once shone but which had now returned to calm.

Of course, many people died tragically under the recurring blue flames, but many others returned with a full load.

Sarah naturally had no need to risk her life mining the Blue Flame Crystal vein, so why did she choose to meet on a dangerous outlying island?

This is something Gaode just can't understand.

“Ash Isle…” Gao De searched his memory for the name, but found no recollection of it.

After all, he was a newcomer to the Blue Flame Islands, and he hadn't even figured out Black Sails City, let alone its many affiliated islands.

However, Gaode was not in a hurry. Neither the note nor Sarah left a specific time, which meant that the other party did not have strict time requirements.

“I’ll ask around later,” Gao De decided as his eyes gleamed. “As for now, let’s open the box!” On the table in front of him was a sandalwood box that he had brought back from the ruins of the Shattered Bone Tavern.

The box still had some soot from the Broken Bones Tavern on its surface, but there wasn't a single scratch on its edges.

Despite the violent explosion of the Fireball spell, the box remained completely intact.

The reason is simple: the box was secured with a [High-Level Arcane Lock], and the power of the spell protected it from external damage.

Although invisible to the naked eye, it can be clearly seen in the vision of Godmandora's magic eye that a circle of pale golden energy is slowly flowing around the box, like a coiled snake of light, with tiny silver lights shimmering at the junction of the energy beams.

As for what's inside, Gaode already has a clear idea.

This must be the first payment that Santos is expected to make to him.

Gao De was extremely familiar with Arcane Locks; his first pot of gold came from opening Arcane Locks.

Back then, he had to go to great lengths to ask Pierre to acquire the spell scroll of [Striking] to unlock it, but now, facing the [Higher Arcane Lock], he only needs to say one sentence.

"It's up to you now," he said, turning to Lan Wen beside him.

Lan Wen nodded slightly and stepped forward.

He spread his five fingers on his right hand, palm facing up, and pale blue magic rose like a thin mist.

This is the unique magical color of "The Secret of Zhenbing".

The next instant, the blue light in Lan Wen's palm condensed into a beam of light, which precisely pierced the box.

Third-circle protective spell, [Dispel Magic].

The moment the blue light reached the box, the previously invisible golden energy beam suddenly lit up, like a startled venomous snake, instantly straightening its body.

However, even with the [Dispel Magic], the pale golden light dimmed at a visible speed and then gradually dissipated into the air.

A moment later, with a soft click, the pale golden aura that had surrounded the box completely faded away, as if it had never existed.

“Done,” Lan Wen said to Gao De.

Gao De reached out and gently lifted the lid, which opened with a click, revealing neatly stacked leather money bags inside.

Gao De picked up a money bag and glanced inside. The soft luster of the golden coin caught his eye.

He weighed the purse in his hand and arrived at the exact figure: 500 gold coin.

Inside the box were 15 money bags, totaling 7500 gold coin.

"We're rolling in wealth!" Gao De was overjoyed upon learning of the trip's success.

Under normal circumstances, it is extremely rare for a fourth-ring mage to be able to produce 7500 gold coin "cash" at once.

This kind of situation is more common in places like Black Sails City.

"Murderers and arsonists wear golden belts"—the ancients were right!
buckle -

While Gaode was still admiring the golden bird coins, there was a knock on the hatch.

“Sir, someone is looking for you!” Eli’s voice came from outside the door.

"Who?" Gao De asked.

"The hunters."

Apache?
Gao De raised an eyebrow, closed the lid of the box, and told Lan Wen to put the box away. He then said, "Please invite him in."

Before long, the burly Abaddon man walked in with hurried steps.

"Is there something wrong?" Gao De asked directly.

Their relationship should have ended after Apache delivered the 650 goldbird coins, so their sudden reappearance is somewhat strange.

“Gentlemen,” Apache said, his face showing a mixture of tension and excitement, “I just received news that Santos, the leader of the Embroidered Anchors, has been found dead outside the Broken Bones Tavern.”

"Oh?! Dead!" Gao De exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, dead!"

"How could this be? I just made a deal with him and was counting on him to help me ship the goods. How could he die?" Gao De frowned.

"According to what I've heard, Santos's fatal wound came from the Magic Fire Gun. There's only one person in Black Sails City who could use the Magic Fire Gun and kill Santos so easily. He most likely died at Sarah's hands."

"But it's still a bit strange. After all, Santos isn't even on the bounty list. Why would a bounty hunter like Sarah take action against such a small fry?"

“Of course, how Santos died isn’t important,” Apache waved his hands repeatedly, unable to hide the eagerness on his face. “What’s important is that with Santos dead, the Embroidered Anchor Gang is thrown into chaos, which is a rare opportunity.”

Apache's eyes lit up. "I want to take advantage of the chaos and seize this slaughterhouse dock that originally belonged to the Embroidered Anchor Gang!"

Gao De finally understood the other party's purpose.

Owning a slaughterhouse is the dream of every sea hunter, just like everyone wanted to own a house in their past life.

"What does this have to do with me?" he said with a half-smile.

Apache knew that every minute and second was precious, so he didn't mince words and said the truth: "Among all of the Embroidered Anchor Gang's assets, the dock is the most valuable one."

My fleet of hunting ships is of limited strength and cannot support me in taking over this dock, but if you are willing to join forces with me, we will be much more confident.”

"As long as we can take over this dock, we will have a relatively stable channel to sell the sea creatures that our hunting fleet hunts later, as well as the goods you bring from the outside world. We will no longer need to ask others for help and have a large portion of the profits taken away by others."

“I can promise you that after we take over this dock, my people will be in charge of all the daily maintenance and management. You won’t have to do anything, but we’ll split all the profits 50/50!” Apache appealed to his interest with promises of profit.

It has to be said that although Gaode had never considered this idea at first, he was actually tempted by Apache's encouragement.

"What do we need to do?" he asked after a moment's thought.

Upon hearing Gao De's words, Apache knew there was hope and became even more excited.

"Keep this under control! The Embroidered Anchor Gang's biggest rival is the Hook Gang. With Santos dead, the Hook Gang will definitely want to nibble away at the Embroidered Anchor Gang's assets to strengthen themselves."

"The Iron Hook Gang is actually slightly weaker than the Embroidered Anchor Gang in overall strength, but like the Embroidered Anchor Gang, its leader is a fourth-ring mage."

"After Santos' death, there were no more fourth-circle mages in the Embroidered Anchors, which allowed the Iron Hooks to easily seize the assets left behind by the Embroidered Anchors by virtue of their superior combat power as fourth-circle mages."

"Therefore, if we want to take over this dock, we need at least one fourth-circle mage."

“Every member of my hunting fleet is a skilled fighter. You don’t need to worry about anything else. The only thing we need you to do is intimidate the leader of the Iron Hook Gang!”

Upon hearing this, Gao De turned his head and glanced at Lan Wen.

Lan Wen nodded slightly to Gao De.

Santos was no match for Lanwen, so he didn't care much about the leader of the Iron Hook Gang, who was even weaker than the Embroidered Anchor Gang. He was very confident.

“Sixty-four, the profits from taking over the dock will be split 60% between us, and you get 40%,” Gao De said softly.

(End of this chapter)