Charlot Mecklenburg broke out in a cold sweat in an instant.
He paced around the merchant ship seven or eight times, but there was still no sign of Julian Arsilo. His heart sank with a jolt.
Looking out at the sea, Charlot could no longer spot the warship carrying High Priest Auguslatin. The warship, being much faster than the merchant ship, was long gone. Even if Charlot tried to catch up now, it would be impossible to overtake them before they reached the Ingrima Empire.
Charlot clenched his teeth and wisely abandoned the idea of pursuit. He couldn’t risk alerting High Priest Auguslatin about a spy from the Byron Empire infiltrating his ship. If Charlot said nothing, he could feign ignorance of the situation. However, if he gave chase, how could he explain knowing that Julian Arsilo had infiltrated the crew? Would he admit to having brought him on board?
Besides, if anything was going to happen, it would have happened already. There was no time to change the outcome now.
Charlot performed an imperial salute toward the distant horizon, praying for High Priest Auguslatin’s safety and offering a blessing for Julian as well. After all, when those two met, one of them would inevitably get hurt.
What did it matter? As long as it wasn’t Charlot Mecklenburg who was harmed, it was all fine.
After steadying himself, Charlot ignored the bewildered stares from Dolores, Anastasia, and Belisa, who looked at him as if he were a ghost, and asked, “Where is the captain?”
The merchant ship’s captain, Siman, emerged at the sound of his voice. “Sir, what can I do for you?” Siman asked. He had been watching Charlot dart around the ship like a madman, jumping up and down. Though he had a few guesses about Charlot’s strange behavior, none of them were certain.
“How many days until we reach Cappadocia?” Charlot asked.
“About five days,” Siman replied.
Charlot mulled this over for a long moment before asking, “Which country is your merchant ship registered in?”
Siman shrugged and replied, “This is an unregistered merchant ship.”
Charlot’s eyes lit up. “From today onward, I am the captain of this ship,” he declared.
Siman chuckled faintly. “Not only am I the captain, but I also own this ship. If you want to be the captain, you can buy it from me.”
Charlot drew the Silver Knight blade he had recently acquired and pressed it against Siman’s forehead. “Please rephrase that.”
Siman’s face darkened. “If you kill me, none of you will survive out here on the sea.”
Charlot replied, “If I don’t kill you, we won’t survive either. So, do you choose mutual destruction, or do you choose for us to live together?”
Siman was livid. “No one here is trying to harm you! I’m simply fulfilling my agreement with High Priest Auguslatin to deliver you to Cappadocia.”
“If you don’t want to go to Cappadocia, I can take you to another port on Goring Island.”
Charlot stated coldly, “If I step foot on Goring Island, I will die. So, make your choice.”
Siman stared at Charlot as if he were a lunatic. Meanwhile, the ship’s crew, alarmed by the tension, had drawn their weapons. Though this medium-sized merchant ship could carry about a hundred tons by Earth’s standards, it had only sixty to seventy sailors—nowhere near a match for Charlot’s side.
Charlot, Dolores, Anastasia, Belisa, Hundred Bears, Big Bear, and Honey Bear formed a team of seven transcendents. Aside from Belisa, each one of them could single-handedly slaughter everyone aboard the merchant ship.
Faced with overwhelming force, Siman grudgingly submitted. “Fine! The ship is yours.”
Charlot sheathed the Silver Knight blade and smiled. “You are indeed a wise man.”
In truth, Charlot was just looking for an excuse to turn on the crew. His claim that setting foot on Goring Island would result in his death was pure fabrication.
Charlot was no native of this world bound by convention—he was a transmigrator.
Why not seize the opportunity to play out a real-life version of the Age of Exploration? With a chance to do something grand, why hold back?
By controlling this merchant ship, Charlot could execute an ambitious plan in Cappadocia.
No one on the ship could fathom what Charlot was planning. Even Dolores, Anastasia, and Belisa thought he was losing his mind.
The first thing Charlot did after seizing control of the merchant ship was integrate the sailors with his West Wind Knight Order. Though the combined crew totaled barely over a hundred people, Charlot organized them into five units. He assigned himself, Dolores, Anastasia, Belisa, and Captain Siman as the leaders of each unit.
Siman, however, had already resolved to throw Charlot overboard at the first opportunity.
Charlot was well aware that his heavy-handed tactics wouldn’t win everyone’s loyalty. But with his Eye of Insight, he could monitor the entire ship, leaving no room for rebellion.
Under Charlot’s command, the merchant ship, White Tea, picked up speed and reached Cappadocia’s port in just four and a half days.
Cappadocia, once a pirate stronghold, had become a quiet seaside town due to its location off major trade routes. Its small port rarely hosted more than five merchant ships at a time. Most ships stopped only briefly to unload goods or replenish supplies.
When the White Tea docked, everyone assumed it was an ordinary merchant ship. True to form, the crew began unloading cargo and seeking entertainment in the town.
The Ingrima Empire’s administrative system bore an eight-to-nine resemblance to that of the Fars Empire. This small town was not the fief of any noble and was managed by a Chief Clerk dispatched by the central government. Its security force consisted of just 200 city patrol guards.
As Charlot and his group disembarked, Siman secretly gathered the remaining sailors on the White Tea. “We’ve delivered these Fars Empire people to Cappadocia. Our task is complete. Once we resupply, we’ll set sail and leave them behind.”
One sailor hesitantly asked, “Should we report these Fars Empire people?”
Siman’s expression turned complicated. “The Fars and Ingrima Empires aren’t at war. Normal interactions between the two are perfectly acceptable. What could we even report?”
“Are we supposed to accuse them of planning a surprise attack on Cappadocia?”
“Even if they manage to take over this small town with just fifty people, then what? Become pirates?”
The sailor fell silent, seeing the futility of his suggestion.
Siman remained wary of Charlot, whose transcendent forces were overwhelming. He wanted nothing more than to leave these Fars lunatics behind and return to the sea.
While Siman rallied his crew, Charlot was busy trying to convert Cappadocia into a labyrinth. However, The Labyrinth of Agmirlas gave no response, likely because the conditions for labyrinth transformation were not met.
Charlot was not surprised. Machubi Fortress had been ruins, and Silver Dove Castle was temporarily under his control, making their transformation possible. Cappadocia, with its Chief Clerk and city patrol guards, was unlikely to be similarly transformed.
What puzzled Charlot was this: did High Priest Auguslatin know this fact?