Chapter 58: Trading Again

The whistle blared, and a steamboat even larger than the Unicorne approached.

Seeing the white triangular symbol on the ship, Charles knew at once who was coming.

Before long, a plank was laid between the two vessels, and Kede, looking anxious, trotted over from the board. "The sea chart! Have you found the sea chart?"

Kede's face burst into ecstasy when he saw Charles nod. "Blessed by the Sun God! After so many years, we've finally found the Land of Light! Show it to me, quickly."

Charles remained silent, staring at the excited old man in front of him, with no intention of fetching the sea chart.

"Captain Charles! What are you dawdling for? Hurry and get the sea chart!" Kede grew increasingly anxious.

"Why are you qualified to see it? That night, it was because of your men's inaction that Gerald was defeated so quickly. Everything you said was a lie, right? Your goal was to have us risk our lives for you. If successful, everyone rejoices; if we fail, you bear no losses—an excellent scheme indeed."

Kede's expression changed several times before he let out a resigned sigh, "I really did send men, you have to believe me."

"Do I look like a fool? There's a Vampire among my crew, and that night I specifically ordered him to transform into a bat and stay above Sodoma until the end of the plan. He saw no believers of the Light God!"

At that moment, Charles's face bore a look of contempt; he had considered the possibility of Gerald facing an emergency but didn't expect it would be he who died fighting to the end while Kede, it turned out, was the one who remained inactive. Truly, appearances could be deceiving.

"Are you giving it or not!" Kede's facade of amiability was gone, his expression turning fierce in an instant.

"Heh, planning to make a move?" Charles lifted a finger, and the helmsman, seeing this, immediately sounded the whistle; the entire crew of the Unicorne, weapons in hand, swarmed out.

The atmosphere turned instantly tense, as gunners on both ships swung their cannons to aim at the other side, and the Sun God believers on the nearby ship also drew their weapons.

"Although I'm still quite injured, killing you is still within my capabilities." Charles removed his Captain's Uniform, and the Black Blade, which had somehow appeared in his hand, was tucked inside his boots.

Kede's face changed color, and he sighed resignedly, "Of course, my followers were in disguise! If they'd gone out openly, how could I remain in Sodoma? What is it that you want to see the sea chart?"

"Simple, you need to compensate me for my losses, because of you I almost died in Sodoma."

Kede waved his hand towards the rear, and the cannons slowly turned away. "What do you want? Relics? Echo? Or some special skill to enhance your strength?"

"Help me kill Sonni."

"Have you gone mad? He's one of our own in the Church! How could you ask me to help you?"

"Don't act so close. You said it yourself, you're of the new Church, he's of the old; you two barely know each other. Besides, he once tried to commission me to kill you on Coral Island,"

"Fine! I agree! First, let me see the sea chart!" Kede exclaimed, his face turning red with excitement.

Charles remained silent, watching him with a playfulness that said he wasn't fooled once and wouldn't be again.

"How will I know you're not deceiving me if you won't show it to me now! Maybe you haven't found the sea chart at all?" Kede shouted angrily.

Charles, tired of the pointless talk, turned and walked towards the cabin. "Bring me Sonni's head; otherwise, don't expect to get the sea chart from me. Of course, you can also try to take it by force and see whether you're faster at stealing it, or I'm quicker at destroying it."

Walking indoors, as he listened to the sound of the waves slowly receding outside, Charles's lips curled up slightly, and Kede tacitly agreed to the transaction.

Charles had always harbored a grudge about Sonni's ambush, and since Sonni had dared to ambush him, he couldn't blame Charles for repaying him double at the first opportunity.

"Man, what a great opportunity, we could have totally extorted a huge sum from him. We've made a bad deal."

Listening to the voice in his head, Charles shook his head. "No, Sonni must die. The upcoming period is critical for finding the entrance to Earth's surface. If he's alive, he'll ruin our plans sooner or later."

"And," Charles paused, turning to look at the young girl who had just walked in through the door. "And as long as it's true, money is not an issue."

Having said this, Charles started to undress, a move that frightened Margaret, who was at his side and made her want to walk outside. But then, considering the looks from the sailors outside, she hesitated, holding onto the door latch and feeling at a loss.

"Don't just stand there, come and apply the potion to me."

Hearing this, Margaret trembled and moved closer. When she saw the large wound on his back, she gasped.

The wounds, forcibly pulled together by metal, oozed blood, and the brutal gashes crisscrossed nearly his entire body, looking exceptionally terrifying.

Margaret could hardly imagine the pain of such severe injuries. She felt that any single scar from his back would be enough to take her life.

"Don't just stand there. First, wipe off the blood, then apply the potion along the wound," Charles said, handing a bottle of potion to the girl.

Normally, this was a job for a doctor, but with his iron hand, one couldn't expect much gentleness; applying potion with him felt like torture every time.

Touching his solid back with her hand, Margaret's face reddened, and her heart beat wildly.

"You are the daughter of which Governor? How were you captured by the pirates?"

The girl's hand shook a little. "I read some novels... They said that adventures at sea were fun and thrilling, so I snuck out. But it was all lies…"

"Your previous life was what others could only dream of, and yet you abandoned it."

"Now I know. The world at sea is too dangerous. If I can just go home this time, I don't want to come back to the sea ever again. There are no good people at sea! Sir, I don't mean you, you're a good man."

A bitter smile appeared on Charles's face. "You're right; there are no good people at sea. Don't come here again. Continue applying the potion."

Time at sea passed quickly, and by the time Charles and his team returned to Coral Island, a month had gone by. By then, the wounds on Charles's body had mostly healed, at least to the point where he wouldn't bleed everywhere after a few steps.

The port area of Coral Island was the same as always, chaotic and gloomy. Walking on the muddy, stinking streets, Margaret instinctively moved closer to him.

Her soft body pressed against his, but Charles was unmoved. Compared to 5 million Echo, he still found the latter more enticing.

Charles had just settled the girl in the room next to the one he rented at the inn when he had just returned to his room, a low knock sounded at his door.

Standing outside was the Doctor, with his ugly face unusually devoid of the usual madness and flamboyance, lips tightly pursed, he looked somewhat nervous, holding a now dead cellphone in his hand.