Chapter 2355 Tears of the Soul <TOC> Chapter 2357 Siege
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Translator: SumTLMan
Ghost Shipyard Island.
For many years, Dock 1 had been a place of calm, but suddenly, it was engulfed in a massive fire. The flames soared into the sky, even dispersing part of the drifting fog. Because of this, the spectacle caught the attention of people on several other docks.
On Dock 4, aboard the Moonlight Toucan, a group of people gathered on the deck.
“The flames reaching for the sky… That direction, isn’t it Dock 1?”
“It’s Manfred’s territory. Could it be a fire?”
“Even if Manfred is foolish, he wouldn’t neglect basic fire prevention measures. I have a feeling that tonight, Dock 1 might undergo a drastic change.” The speaker was the navigator of the Moonlight Toucan, who, even through the fog that failed to hide the sparks in the distant sky, spoke softly.
“Oh? How so?” someone asked, prompting others to turn their attention to the navigator.
Those who lived their lives at sea often held navigators in high esteem. Navigators used their skills to read the stars and ocean currents to guide the ship’s direction, which to those unacquainted with the science, seemed almost prophetic or oracular.
Thus, when the navigator spoke, especially with such an air of mystery, it naturally piqued everyone’s curiosity.
“Could it be, sir, that you’ve foreseen something?”
After a moment of contemplation, and with a posture full of gravitas, the navigator finally spoke amidst the crew’s anticipation: “Actually, it’s quite simple. On my way here from the river, I saw Captain Barlow sneaking towards Dock 1.”
The crew: “…”
“Do you mean to say, the fire at Dock 1 was set by Captain Barlow?”
“I know Captain Barlow has been eyeing Dock 1 ambitiously, but he wouldn’t dare do such a thing alone.”
“Right, it’s not that we don’t believe you, but does Captain Barlow really have the capability to do this?”
Seeing the crew’s disbelief and their skeptical reactions, the navigator shook his head: “If it were just Captain Barlow alone, perhaps he couldn’t have caused such destruction. But, take a look around yourselves, do you notice anyone missing?”
The crew began to look around.
Soon after, someone hesitantly said: “Why haven’t we seen Mr. Renko?”
Upon this remark, a brief silence was followed by a burst of heated discussion on the deck: “Could it be, Mr. Renko went with Captain Barlow to set the fire?”
“That doesn’t seem right. Hasn’t Mr. Renko always refrained from initiating conflicts with other docks?”
“He refrains because he adheres to the knight’s code. And what’s most important in the knight’s code? Justice! Mr. Renko represents justice in punishing the wicked Manfred, doesn’t that also align with the code?”
“While that’s true, in the past…”
“Stop arguing, I believe the navigator is right. I just saw Mr. Renko leaving, heading towards Dock 1!” As these words fell, everyone exchanged glances, their eyes shimmering with a restrained joy.
Captain Barlow alone, they believed, could not inflict any harm on the mighty individuals. But Mr. Renko was a different story, a knight of unfathomable strength. Even if he couldn’t single-handedly take on the entirety of Dock 1, in collaboration with Captain Barlow, causing some havoc was within the realm of possibility. Moreover, the morale at Dock 1 was fragmented, making it entirely feasible for Mr. Renko to assassinate the formidable individuals there, striking a decisive blow to the heart of Dock 1 with a swift and bold move!
This thought excited everyone. The place they called home, Dock 4, was far from the best, with even the land lacking fertility. They had long coveted Dock 1, albeit hesitantly expressing such desires.
The prospect of taking over Dock 1 was, without a doubt, thrilling to them.
As they indulged in their fantasies, a flicker of concern passed through the navigator’s eyes. The others might be overly optimistic. The “earth-shattering changes” he mentioned could very well affect Dock 4 as well. What if Mr. Renko was overpowered? Or what if he fell into a trap? Despite his strength, Mr. Renko was only human.
Without Mr. Renko, Dock 4 could very well fall prey to their enemies.
The navigator kept these worries to himself, silently praying as he gazed towards the distant blaze.
Meanwhile, near Dock 1.
Several figures swiftly emerged from the flames, with Mr. Renko, wielding a knight’s rapier, leading the way. Following him were Barlow and Birch. On Barlow’s back was a woman, unconscious.
At first glance, they seemed to be in decent condition. However, upon closer inspection, it was evident that both Barlow and Birch were covered in wounds, with Birch’s arm twisted at an odd angle, clearly broken.
Mr. Renko appeared to be the least injured, but shortly after escaping Dock 1, he began to show signs of distress.
Suddenly, Mr. Renko stumbled and half-knelt on the ground.
“Are you hurt?” Barlow immediately rushed to help Mr. Renko up.
“It’s nothing… keep going…” Mr. Renko refused Barlow’s support, struggling to stand despite sweating profusely. However, as soon as he stood up, he lost his balance and fell to the ground.
Barlow glanced back at the dock, barely making out a group of shadows emerging from the flames and the sounds of combat.
Biting his lip, he ignored Mr. Renko’s protests, grabbed his arm, and quickly dragged him into the forest.
Dragging Mr. Renko while carrying another, and after the fight in the dock, Barlow’s stamina was severely depleted.
He was gasping for breath after just a few steps.
Behind Birch, drenched in sweat from urgency, he wished to alleviate some of Captain Barlow’s burden. Yet, with his arm fractured and devoid of strength, managing to keep pace was already his utmost effort.
Pursuers were closing in from behind, their energy nearly depleted, and Dock 4 still a great distance away… What were they to do now?
Just as Birch was on the verge of despair, a familiar whistle reached his ears.
Barlow heard it too, and they looked towards the sound.
Peeking from behind a nearby tree, a small head stealthily emerged. Upon seeing Barlow and the others, a gleam of joy flashed in his eyes.
“Little Flea!” Birch recognized him instantly, his childhood friend who grew up with him, sharing trousers, and the doctor stationed at Dock 1.
Little Flea ran over, glancing back briefly. Though no one was in sight, the sounds of shouting and pursuit were drawing near, likely to catch up within a minute or two.
Birch exclaimed, “Little Flea, what are you doing here?”
Little Flea gestured for silence, then whispered urgently, “They’re almost upon us. Follow me, I know of a hidden stone cave nearby.”
With no other options and unable to make it back to Dock 4, Barlow nodded in agreement, “Alright.”
Leading the way, Little Flea set off with the others in tow.
However, the shouts from behind persisted, growing ever closer.
“They must be right behind us, what do we do?” Birch panicked.
Little Flea was also frantic. Being the doctor of the Broken Blood, discovery would mean a punishment far worse than what Birch and the others might face, for Manfred detested traitors above all.
Rushing over, Little Flea inspected the ground and said, “Blood! The blood trail has given us away.”
He then surveyed everyone.
Birch, despite his broken arm, was not bleeding. Renko, though pale with sweat beading on his forehead, bore no visible wounds or blood on his exposed skin.
Captain Barlow had many wounds, some bleeding, but not enough to leave a trail on the ground.
Finally, Little Flea’s gaze settled on the woman on Captain Barlow’s back.
He had seen this one-armed woman before, the stunning beauty who had drifted in from the open sea during the day. Her appearance was unforgettable, a blend of beauty, allure, and valor that was hard to ignore.
When this woman was brought to the dock, Manfred immediately summoned Little Flea to treat her injuries.
So, Little Flea knew very well that the woman’s body was covered in wounds, with the largest one located on her shoulder blade, as big as a bowl. During the day, Little Flea had treated all her wounds, but now, after being dragged for a while, the bandage on the woman’s shoulder was torn, and blood started seeping out again, dropping to the ground one drop at a time.
Without a doubt, it was her blood that had made them a target.
Birch also noticed the bleeding and looked at Barlow: “Captain, should we leave her here for now?”
No matter how beautiful the woman was, could she be more important than their lives? That’s what Birch thought, and he believed that Barlow, with his character, would surely prioritize life above all.
Even Renko, who was being dragged by Barlow, felt that Barlow would choose to abandon the woman.
However, Barlow’s decision was completely different from what they had imagined. He said without hesitation, “No, we absolutely can’t leave her here, nor can we leave her to those beasts!”
“But she’s slowing us down now,” Birch said anxiously. It wasn’t just them she was slowing down, but also Little Flea, which he didn’t want to see.
“Then I’ll carry her by myself. I will never leave her behind,” Barlow said with determination in his eyes, his voice firm and powerful.
Barlow’s words were not only heard by Birch and Little Flea, but the woman on his back also twitched her ears.
On the other side, hearing Barlow’s response, everyone frowned, wanting to ask if he was bewitched, as he seemed to have changed completely. But with time pressing, they held their tongues.
Birch looked helplessly at Little Flea.
After a moment of silence, Little Flea said, “There’s a river nearby. If we follow the river, we might be able to buy some time. And the hiding place I mentioned is also near the river.”
“Then let’s do that!” Barlow said without hesitation.
Little Flea wanted to say something to Captain Barlow, but seeing his unwavering determination, he remained silent and continued to lead the way.
Soon after, they arrived at the river.
They stepped into the river.
Birch kept looking back as they walked.
Perhaps they were lucky, but as they followed the riverbank for a few more minutes, the shouting behind them grew fainter and eventually almost disappeared.
At this point, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Shortly after, Little Flea led them to a large stone, where, with some manipulation that was not apparent from the stone’s exterior, a crevice wide enough for people to pass through unexpectedly appeared beneath the seemingly ordinary stone. Upon entering, they discovered an indented hollow within the stone. Although not large, it was sufficient to temporarily accommodate them.
Little Flea busied himself sealing the crevice in the stone, feeling that all was now well.
However, what Little Flea did not know was that, as he sealed the crevice, a figure emerged from the distant forest.
“Our ship’s doctor seems to be the traitor…”
“It’s unexpected to find a crevice here. Why would they hide inside? What happened? I thought I saw a fire; could there be trouble at the Broken Blood? I must go back and check.”
If Barlow were here, he would recognize the speaker as the guard Half-Ear they had distracted to infiltrate Dock 1.
Half-Ear glanced at the stone from a distance, did not approach immediately, but cautiously retreated and finally disappeared into the dark depths of the forest.
Meanwhile, inside the stone.
“This place is amazing; they’ll never find us. Little Flea, how did you discover this… Oh, I forgot to ask, how were you in the forest earlier?” After settling down, Birch immediately approached Little Flea, full of curiosity.
Little Flea replied, “When you were causing a commotion in the dock, I noticed right away. I had a feeling you might run into trouble, so I went to the forest ahead of time to see if I could help you out.”
Throughout, Little Flea referred to “you,” clearly indicating that all his efforts were for Birch, with the others being incidental.
“We’re lucky to have you, otherwise we would have really…” Birch was interrupted by the moaning of Renko, snapping back to reality, “Right, could you check on Mr. Renko? He didn’t seem injured back at the dock, but now he looks like he’s on his deathbed.”
Little Flea nodded and approached Renko.
Observing Renko’s pale face, drenched in sweat, a speculation had already formed in his heart.
After examining for a while, Little Flea gently lifted Renko’s collar, allowing everyone to see a scratch on Renko’s neck. The scratch was shallow, barely bleeding. However, a green liquid was seeping out from the scratch.
“What’s going on here? Why is the blood green?” Birch asked in astonishment, pointing at Renko’s wound.
Little Flea replied, “It’s not blood, it’s Poison.”
Little Flea looked at Renko and said, “This cut, was it made by Manfred’s deputy… the one who’s as thin as a bamboo pole, short and dark, who could disappear into a crowd without a trace?”
Renko, though weak, still had his wits about him and nodded, “Yes, it was him. His presence is very faint, and because he’s short, I didn’t pay him any mind when he approached me…”
Even after being cut, Renko didn’t care much. Given his physical condition, he wasn’t worried about such minor wounds.
Little Flea said, “I thought so. That guy was actually the doctor on the Broken Blood before, but his medical skills were poor. After I was captured, he became Manfred’s deputy. Although his medical skills aren’t great, he has some knowledge of medicine and likes to concoct sinister poisons. You must have been poisoned by him.”
Birch asked, “What kind of poison is it?”
Little Flea shook his head, “I don’t know. However, I know he usually researches biological toxins, and judging by the reaction of the poison, it indeed matches that of biological toxins. But I don’t know which one specifically.”