Chapter 308: Chapter 305: Follower

Karaveli, the Vice Leader of the White Whale Pirate Gang, was tied up and brought before them. Ronin and Reis interrogated him thoroughly.

Unfortunately, despite being the Vice Leader, he knew nothing of their confidential information.

He only knew that Mundo had initiated the contact. As for Mundo’s identity or who was behind the assassination attempt on Ronin, Karaveli was in the dark.

Clearly, the Vice Leader of the White Whale Pirate Gang was just a figurehead. The key figure was still the Pirate Gang’s leader, but he rarely acted personally.

Although they hadn’t obtained any useful information about the assassination, Ronin had learned a fair bit more about the pirates of the Screaming Sea.

The White Whale Pirate Gang was a relatively large crew. Besides them, the Blood Sail and Ghost Tide gangs were of a similar size. In the early days, fleets from the Kingdom and the Earl of Scream Island had even tried to encircle and annihilate them.

But the sea was vast, and with the promise of quick, handsome profits from plunder, it was impossible to completely eradicate the pirates.

However, they usually only targeted merchant ships and would leave after taking their fill of satisfactory loot. An incident like today’s—ramming the Denis Three at the cost of one of their own ships right from the start—was rarely seen.

According to Karaveli’s confession, they chose to ram the ship for two reasons. First, it made the assassination easier. Second, if the Royal Family, Wushan Castle, or other nobles investigated, the incident could be written off as an accident, rather than pointing the finger at pirates.

After all, he was a grandson of the Wushan Clan and a potential son-in-law to the King. If it was discovered he had been assassinated at sea, it would surely provoke retaliation.

If Ronin didn’t know Magic, and if his strength hadn’t reached the Golden Level, their plan might have actually succeeded.

The night sea breeze whipped against Ronin as he stood at the prow, making him feel a slight chill.

’In this weather, if I had to spend the night in the sea, I’d probably die of hypothermia even as a Golden Knight.’

“Count Ronin.”

Reis Knight walked over from the cabin. Although his expression still seemed arrogant and cold, his mood had fundamentally changed.

In the naval battle at dusk, Ronin had saved the lives of at least half the people on the Denis Three, including Reis himself.

The decisiveness, boldness, courage, and strength Ronin had displayed hadn’t completely won Reis over, but they had certainly earned his respect.

Reis walked over and leaned against the railing at the prow. “Who do you think was behind this assassination attempt?”

Ronin shook his head. He knew a few people who wanted him dead, but he couldn’t be certain which of them had conspired with the White Whale Pirate Gang to plan this attack.

“I suspect it might be related to the Earl of Scream Island.”

Reis stated his own theory.

“Count Alfonso is a famous Seventh-level Great Mage in the Kingdom, and the Fleming Clan calls themselves a Magic Family. They have the ability to create Magic Energy Cannons. Moreover, they’ve always seen my Dennis Clan as an enemy; the friction and conflict between us has been constant for years.”

“Now, seeing your and my powerful rise, they’ve realized we might change the situation in the Screaming Sea in the future. They have a motive to move against us to protect the Fleming Clan’s maritime interests.”

Eliminating two threatening individuals from a rival family in one fell swoop would be a huge benefit for them.

“Your guess is reasonable, but we can’t accuse someone based on speculation alone. Besides, Captain Wheat Bran said the White Whale Pirate Gang has robbed ships from the Earl of Scream Island Clan before. Even if the Magic Energy Cannon was truly a product of Great Mage Alfonso, the Fleming Clan could just claim it was stolen by the White Whale Pirate Gang.”

Ronin was scheduled to have an audience with His Majesty the King this time. If he had concrete evidence, he could present it directly to the King and let him decide.

But given the current situation, they would likely have to swallow this loss in silence.

Assassinating a noble was a grave crime, but so was slandering one, especially when the target was the overlord of the Screaming Sea.

Besides, in Ronin’s opinion, Ossen and Jesus were more likely suspects than the Fleming Clan.

For one thing, the Skull Society, which the recently slain assassin Mundo belonged to, likely originated in the Hyde Clan’s territory.

Last time, even with a key figure like Reisen, the interrogation yielded nothing. This time, trying to implicate a major noble family through the captured Karaveli and his men would be even harder.

Instead of wasting time on such a fruitless endeavor, it would be better to focus on developing the port and building up his naval fleet.

If it was ever proven that the Earl of Scream Island was involved, Ronin could then unite with the Dennis Clan to launch a pincer attack on Screaming Island from the north and south.

The saying “a weak country has no diplomacy” could also be applied to the relationships between the various Duke’s, Marquis’, and Count’s Domains within the Oduin Kingdom.

No matter the era, strength was the foundation of everything.

“When we get to Horn Bay, we’ll hand these people over to the Royal Family for custody and interrogation. You can write a letter to your father and Wushan Castle then; they’ll send someone to handle it.”

Reis nodded slightly. He was fine with getting into a fight, but he had little interest in dealing with such troublesome matters. He looked Ronin up and down. “Now, it’s time to talk about you, Count.”

Ronin paused, a little confused.

“Me?”

“What’s your actual strength level right now? Silver Level? Or Golden Level?”

Reis asked, “And you’re also a Mage. What level of Mage are you?”

Although Mages were far fewer in number than Knights, they weren’t so rare that one never had a chance to see them. He had seen quite a few Mages while studying at the Royal Knight Academy, though most of them were at the beginner, intermediate, or Advanced Levels. Stronger Great Mages were much rarer.

Reis had witnessed Mages cast Magic before. His intuition told him that the large-scale defensive spell Ronin had just used to block the arrows was definitely not the so-called Third-level Magic, Wind Wall, that Ronin had claimed.

But an eighteen-year-old Fourth-level Great Mage… it sounded utterly absurd.

“You want to know?”

The corner of Ronin’s mouth curled up. He didn’t answer Reis’s question, instead saying, “I’ll tell you when you can beat me.”

Reis took a deep breath, a sense of powerlessness and defeat flashing in his eyes.

Before today, he had believed he might have a chance of defeating Ronin. But after witnessing his true strength in today’s naval battle, he knew in his heart that the possibility of victory was minuscule.

Reis seemed to see a shadow of Crown Prince Garrett in Ronin. Perhaps in the future, only those two would be able to compete on equal footing.

Ronin noticed the powerlessness and frustration in the other man’s eyes. ’Did today’s battle have too much of an impact on the ever-defiant Reis?’ he wondered. He clapped him on the shoulder and said encouragingly:

“No matter what insurmountable peak you face, you must maintain a calm mind. Smile in the face of it. You can do it!”

Reis came back to his senses and pulled his lips into a smile. This time, the forced grin seemed a little more sincere.

“You told me before to consider following you.”

Ronin was taken aback for a moment, then a look of joy spread across his face. “What, you’re willing to follow me?”

“The composure, courage, and strength you displayed in the naval battle make you someone worth following.”

Reis said seriously, “I will discuss this matter with my father when I return.”

Unlike Rogner, the second son of Marvin Viscount, Reis was the heir to the Dennis Clan.

Whether he chose to serve under Ronin for a period or to truly follow him, it wasn’t a decision he could make alone. He needed to discuss it with the other members of the Dennis Clan.

“Hahaha!”

Ronin clapped him heartily on his Soft Armor-clad shoulder. “The Wubei Territory will always welcome you, Reis Knight!”

Right now, what he lacked most were powerful knights—he needed more at the Advanced, Bronze, and Silver Levels.

He was desperate for talented individuals like Reis, who had great potential, considerable strength, and was already adapted to naval warfare.

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