Chapter 94: The Chaotic Port, Erica Felt Truly Exhausted

The port reeked of salty, humid sea breeze.

Thousands of ships of all sizes — from single-masted fishing boats to three-masted merchant ships — crowded the docks, packed tightly in every berth.

Gangplanks creaked under hurried feet.

People carried boxes and crates, pushed carts piled high, and moved like swarming ants, ferrying supplies onto the ships.

Children cried, women sobbed softly, and men shouted in coarse voices—

—merging into a suffocating cacophony of chaos.

Erica stood on the highest bridge of the pier.

Her wine-red curls were tousled wildly by the wind.

She had shed her bloodstained magician’s robe and changed into a sharp, fitted leather hunting outfit.

Behind her, several trusted guards and men in black stood with hands on their swords, alert eyes sweeping over the chaotic crowd below.

“Lehman!”

Erica pointed toward a cargo ship overloaded with people and roared, “Have half the people on that ship move to the empty one next to it!”

“You want to take a few steps out to sea and feed the sharks!?”

Captain of the Guard Team Six, Lehman, immediately followed her command, rushing over with his men to shout and reorganize the passengers.

Erica rubbed her throbbing temples, her gaze turning dark as it fixed upon the flags of the three major merchant guilds of Lemon Port.

The bald president of the Sea Salt Chamber of Commerce was shouting orders, commanding workers to haul barrels of sea salt onto his family’s massive vessel.

The heavy cargo had already squeezed out a great deal of passenger space.

Meanwhile, the elderly managers of the Fishermen’s Alliance squatted beside stacks of barrels, locked in fierce arguments.

Their quarrel, as always, revolved around the same things — how many family members, guards, and how much wealth and goods each could bring.

Only by deciding that could they “rise again from the ashes.”

As for the fat president of the Freight Guild, he was even more blatant.

He sat slumped atop his jeweled chest, refusing to board his ship at all.

He shouted stubbornly, “Even if I die, I’ll take all my fortune with me!”

These great merchants—

Once the very foundation of Lemon Port—

Had now become the biggest obstacle to leaving it!

“Lady Erica! Please, stop shoving people onto my ship!”

The president of the Sea Salt Guild squeezed forward, his face lined with anxiety. “I still have three hundred barrels of top-grade crystal salt that haven’t been loaded!”

“If you cram in any more people, there’ll be no room for my salt!”

At his words, Erica sneered coldly. “I’ve already allowed half a ship full of useless cargo for your sake—that’s more than generous!”

“I advise you not to push your luck!”

“Otherwise, I’ll have my men toss every last one of your precious barrels into the sea!”

The Sea Salt president forced a dry smile and slunk away—

—but clearly, he hadn’t taken her warning to heart.

He continued secretly urging his men to load the crystal salt as fast as possible.

After all, in his eyes, the lives of those commoners were far less precious than his salt!

If not for Erica’s soldiers watching from the deck, he might have already driven those “useless” civilians off his ship entirely.

……

Just as Erica had finished dealing with one guild leader,

The fat president of the Freight Guild came waddling over, shrieking, “Baroness Erica! Are there any other cargo ships available?”

“My property won’t fit anymore!”

“If I lose all of this, what’s the point of living!?”

“This is the fortune my family built over three generations!”

He clutched a small chest to his chest, tears and snot smearing his face pitifully.

His meaning was clear enough—

He cared far more about taking his wealth than saving lives.

Faced with such a sight,

Erica nearly drew her sword then and there to cut down this greedy swine!

At a time like this!

There weren’t even enough ships for people—yet they still wanted to load their worthless gold and silver trinkets!

Could those things be eaten at sea!?

But thinking of the potential consequences of killing him outright,

Erica took a deep breath and forced down the seething fury burning in her chest,

and sent the fat man away.

Truthfully,

Erica had long expected things to turn out like this.

The power structure of Lemon Port ran deep and tangled.

The three major guilds controlled its economic lifeline.

After Cassius brought back that Lich,

Erica had seized the opportunity to execute Servan—the greatest threat—on charges of treason.

Yet time had been too short.

She hadn’t managed to absorb all of Servan’s industries and influence under her control,

and could only barely secure about a third of it.

After all, consolidating power took time.

Under normal circumstances,

She could have subdued the others through various means.

But now—she no longer had that luxury.

Those fickle opportunists—

Some indeed wanted to side with her.

But more still wished to take advantage of the chaos to snatch benefits for themselves.

Just as troublesome as the three merchant guilds!

At present,

The forces directly loyal to Erica’s lineage clearly held dominance.

But just as clearly, they too were overwhelmed—

Unable to swiftly execute the citywide evacuation plan from Lemon Port.

“You people! That’s enough!”

Erica couldn’t help but raise her voice, shouting over the noise.

“The Undead Legion is about to reach the city walls!”

“Their numbers are more terrifying than anything we’ve ever seen!”

“Lemon Port cannot be defended!”

“Our only chance is to board the ships and flee south to Pearl Harbor—only there is there still a path to survival!”

“And if you keep dawdling here, the only ones who’ll suffer will be yourselves!!”

“Is that really so hard to understand, you bunch of fools!!”

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