The High Priest's voice was old and throaty, as if there was a mouthful of purulent phlegm in his mouth, making Charles very uncomfortable listening to it.
"Where do you want me to find it?"
"On a newly discovered island to the left of the Coral Islands, not far away."
Charles continued to ask: "Why are you looking for me? Whether it's manpower or the ship, there are people who are much stronger than me."
"Hehehe, that place is a bit dangerous, we need a cautious captain."
Charles didn't believe what he said. "A little bit dangerous" wouldn't be worth a million echoes.
"I'm not the only one you said this to, right? What happened to the others?"
The High Priest said with contempt in his tone: "Isn't Captain Charles the one who claims to want to buy an exploration ship? You don't look like a hero who can expand the territory for us humanity if you're even scared of this little danger."
Seeing that the red robe in front of him didn't answer his question directly, Charles knew that the fate of the predecessors must not be good, and the place must be very dangerous.
However, after thinking about it for a while, he decided to take on this task. No risk, no reward. He didn't want to delay any longer, and he couldn't delay any longer.
As for danger? Which voyage was safe in this damn place? As long as it was still Earthsea, nowhere was safe.
"I'll take it. But how can I guarantee that you keep what you say?"
Fhtagn Church's High Priest seemed to be reasonable. "I can deposit the payment in Albion Bank and let them be the guarantor."
He paused for a few seconds and continued: "I have another small question, Captain Charles. Why are you so eager to buy an exploration ship? Is it for power? Echoes? Or honor?"
Charles didn't intend to hide it, "To find the Land of Light."
Hearing this, the red robe trembled all over. He couldn't help asking with a trace of panic in his old voice: "Looking for the Land of Light? Are you from the Church of Light?"
"No."
Hearing Charles' answer, the High Priest breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. If you are really those heretics, then we have to reconsider the deal between us. Don't get involved with them. Those heretics are outright lunatics. They are a cult!"
Listening to the words of the Fhtagn Church believers who liked to use living humans as sacrifices, Charles somehow wanted to laugh. Based on the standards of the surface, all the religions in Earthsea were cults, and all their rituals were as anti-human as they could be.
When Charles walked out of the confessional, the bald man named Hook came in with a glass of blood, and placed it respectfully behind the High Priest.
"Go sign the contract now and ask him to set sail as soon as possible."
Hook nodded, and after careful consideration, asked cautiously: "High Priest, do you think it'll succeed this time?"
A black octopus tentacle reached out from under the red robe, grabbed the glass of blood, and retracted into the robe, "Be patient, this is only the ninth person. Don't worry… The Wise Lord's sacred artifact can only belong to us."
…
Without wasting any time, Hook caught up with Charles and took him to the largest bank in the Coral Islands.
After seeing the bald man write Fhtagn Church on the contract, Charles was relieved, the legality of the contract was now endorsed by the Coral Islands governor-general. It was impossible for Fhtagn Church to break their promise, because if they did, they would pay far more than 1 million.
"Captain Charles, I heard that your first mate disembarked?"
"Does this have anything to do with this matter?" Said Charles while putting the contract inside the middle layer of his clothes.
"Of course not. But in order to let you complete the task as soon as possible, we Fhtagn Church specially selected a first mate for you. He has rich sailing experience, so please don't decline our kindness."
Looking at the bald man in front of him, Charles frowned slightly. "To spy on me?"
"No, he'll just show you the way. The island is a bit difficult to find, so I'm afraid you won't be able to find it."
It didn't matter to Charles. The interests of the two parties were aligned at the moment. So no matter how crazy these guys were, they wouldn't send someone here to hinder him.
"I'm leaving at six o'clock in three days' time," said Charles.
Three days later, at the port, the port already began to get busy, with groups of laborers carrying goods like ants.
Charles stood at the bow and waited, while the other crew members stood on the deck and chatted idly. Among them were two new faces, both new sailors, and the previous sailor Deep had been promoted to boatswain.
The teenager who was suddenly promoted looked very excited. With his hands behind his back, he taught the new sailors the rules they must remember as if he was very experienced, even though those sailors were much older than him.
The second engineer and the chef next to him were not so clueless. They knew that the task this time was not that simple.
"James, I thought you would quit like John?" said the chef Freyr, who was as thin as a bamboo pole.
"Captain saved my life, so I will go wherever he goes, and the captain said that the rewards for this mission are rich. I can propose to Monica after I get the reward." As if thinking of the wedding scene, the big man's face was filled with happiness as he was saying this.
"What if you died? This time it's not a delivery mission. If you really want to get technical about it, the island exploration should be the job of the explorers."
"I'm not scared. Besides, it's not bad to die with you guys." Saying this, the second engineer suddenly thought of something, and turned to look at his companion, "Freyr, what about you? Why did you come?"
"You know me. I'm too lazy to change jobs." Freyr said, looking at his captain's back, his eyes full of calmness.
In fact, he didn't leave because he once accidentally saw the captain secretly using a rectangular thing a few years ago. That strange thing could not only play songs like a record player, but also had ghosts performing dramas on it.
Although he didn't know what that thing was, he felt that it was some kind of powerful relic, and he guessed that the price of using this relic was tears. Otherwise, why would the captain who was always calm cry like a child after using that thing that day?
From that moment on, he was determined to follow the captain. With such a powerful relic, his safety would definitely be guaranteed.
High salaries at sea were not important, nor was the amount of work important, but survival was the most important thing.
Facts proved that his choice was not wrong. Almost all the people who went to sea at the same time as him were dead, but he was the only one who was still alive and well.
Charles next to the bow of his ship suddenly narrowed his eyes. He saw a group of Fhtagn Church members in black robes walking through the laborers towards the pier, led by the bald man named Hook in the distance.
"Where's the person you said? I don't like waiting." Charles said impatiently.
Hook clapped his hands lightly with a smile, and then someone behind him stepped forward.
When Charles saw the man, he almost thought it was a mummy. The man was tightly wrapped around by earthy yellow bandages all over his body, without no skin showing.
"You can call him Bandage or something else. He used to be a first mate and knows where the island is. He will be of great help to you on this trip."
"Is the thing inside alive?" Charles' tone was wary.
"Hehe. Don't worry. He is a human being, a man of flesh and blood."
Hook took out a dagger and slashed at the bandaged man's face, exposing the black skin under the loose bandage, and scarlet blood that quickly flowed from the cut wound.
"A black man?" Charles was surprised. But when he took a closer look, he realized that he was wrong. The man's skin was actually not black, but was covered by dense tattoos of letters. It was only at a sudden glance that he had the illusion that he was black.
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