The Necromancer is amassing troops like crazy in the apocalypse

Chapter 521: Chapter 430: Kidnap Her

Wu Heng’s eyes widened a bit.

Suddenly, he remembered something mentioned in A Brief History of Pirates.

The Pirate King emerged, uniting the pirates and ceasing their internal strife to reclaim their own territories.

And with the reappearance of the blank envelopes, even those who didn’t know the legend of the Pirate King were driven to action by the letters’ accurate predictions of merchant ship schedules.

Upon further thought.

Back then, the Demon’s Hand had ambushed him and the members of the association on their pirate ship.

He didn’t quite understand why, with the strength of the Demon’s Hand Pirate Group, plus the other five level 15 leaders’ pirate groups.

His bounty wouldn’t be enough to split between them, so why were they still so determined to kill him.

Now, it seems, it wasn’t necessarily about the bounty.

More so, it was about acting on the information in the letters.

“So, I suspect the old pirate gangs know some inside information,” Philippa continued.

Wu Heng thought for a moment, “I inquired of the Captain of the Hand of the Devil after interrogating his corpse, but I didn’t get any intelligence regarding the envelopes and whoever is behind them.”

Philippa pondered for a bit, “Next time you can try asking from a different angle, like how the envelopes are passed around, or who the former Pirate King was.”

Previously, Wu Heng hadn’t collected any information about the Pirate King.

So, when interrogating the corpse, he was more inclined to ask questions about the mastermind behind the envelopes.

Philippa had a point, he could try asking about the identity of the previous Pirate King, or if anyone knows how the letters are circulated.

“Alright, next time I catch a pirate, I’ll ask like that, and you keep collecting the relevant intelligence, notify me immediately once you have news,” he said.

“Okay,” Philippa agreed, then continued, “Has my identity as a Secret Speaker come through yet?”

“No news yet, I’ll go to the association tomorrow and ask for you.”

“Oh, when it comes through, go tell my mom, loudly tell her how brave and wise I am, and that I got recruited by the association on exceptional terms,” Philippa’s tone rose.

“Fine, I’ll try to make it sound as formal as possible when the time comes.”

“Good, you really do understand,” Philippa, realizing she misspoke, quickly changed the subject, “Lately, there’s a sailor scarf being passed around among the pirates, green in color, supposedly wearing it brings blessings from the Sea God.”

“A Special Item, or a Spell?”

“Neither, it’s just woven by the Bermola tribe, a lot of people have bought it,” said Philippa.

Wu Heng commented, “It’s a scam, since when could that tribe craft something akin to a Special Item.”

“A lot of people have bought it, some say it saved them from shipwrecks, others say they became immune to blades and guns in battle.”

“Superstition.”

“I heard someone even found money with it!”

“Then ask where they got it when the time comes.”

Philippa then added, “Alright, enough about that, I’m heading out now.”

“Alright.”

After ending the conversation, Wu Heng hung up the receiver.

Leaning against the desk, he reorganized the information from Philippa.

Previously, the old pirate gangs were all searching for the Pirate King’s treasure.

Now, the appearance of the blank envelopes has led the pirates to believe that the treasure has already been found, and they are very willing to cooperate with the actions outlined in the letters.

And the new generation of pirates, even if they do not know about the Pirate King.

But the letters provide accurate merchant fleet intelligence, and the prospect of profit motivates the remaining pirates to act.

“Even now, though the pirates are still scattered, if the blank envelopes wish, it is very possible to command the pirates to act on his word.”

“Damn, he wouldn’t really command all the pirates to land and kill me, would he!”

Not likely.

The pirates aren’t foolish enough to actually do that.

After a brief contemplation, he left the room.

He went downstairs and chatted with Mini for a while.

After Andre Willow returned, they had dinner, and then he went back to his room to rest.

…

In the morning, at the association.

Imilo was sitting on the couch, wiping sword oil on his weapon. Looking at Wu Heng who had just come in, he asked, “You’re here early today, is there something else?”

Wu Heng approached, wanting to check out the attributes of his sword.

The other party handed it directly to Moya, while sitting down and watching him.

He had no choice but to say, “I’ve got some news from Philippa, I need to report it to the Steward.”

“Go ahead.”

Wu Heng organized his words and said, “According to Philippa, the old pirate gangs have been looking for the Pirate King’s treasure for a while. After the letters appeared, they stopped searching and started to selectively act on the content of the letters.”

There wasn’t much he could do about the pirates’ situation himself.

Imilo was very powerful and also an enemy of the pirates; informing him or asking him to handle some matters was a better approach.

After all, having joined the association, it was only right to rely on it a bit.

“Hmm?” Imilo raised an eyebrow, “You think that book is real.”

“I feel that the Pirate King’s story isn’t a fabrication; otherwise, the veteran Pirate Groups wouldn’t be so certain of his existence. Now, with the appearance of the blank envelopes, pirates are gradually being led by them. Over time, if all Pirate Groups unite, it could become a significant hidden threat,” Wu Heng analyzed.

“Tell me your thoughts.”

“Reduce the number of convoys on the trade routes to slow down the frequency of pirates acting on the letters. Secondly, we should mainly infiltrate the veteran Pirate Groups; we might get some intelligence,” Wu Heng suggested.

Other members of the association should also have their own informants.

Together, we search, and the sources of intelligence will be more abundant.

After thinking for a moment, Imilo said, “We have no authority over the merchant fleets of the various nations, but your idea about collecting information from the veteran Pirate Groups is worth trying.”

“Then I have nothing more to add,” Wu Heng stated.

Imilo took out a copper-colored emblem from a drawer, “This is the Sigil of the Secret Speaker for that Pirate Mistress of yours. You could give it to her if you have the chance. Also, the Merit points from the two pirates you killed last time have been processed, remember to claim them.”

“Alright,” Wu Heng said as he took the emblem and left the study.

…

He returned to the hallway.

First, he went to the morgue to store the bodies of the two pirate captains in his Space Ring.

Then, he continued towards the hall.

These past days, the association’s hall was bustling with people.

Many were discussing the formation of fleets and Guard Teams on the island.

The pay was good, and for those who didn’t wish to continue as mercenaries, joining the Guard Team was a decent alternative.

Wu Heng stood aside, eavesdropping for a moment.

It seemed that the island’s Guard Team was receiving quite a bit of attention.

In any place, those who could be part of a law enforcement team were always popular.

Approaching the front desk, the clerk smiled, “Vice-executive, how may I assist you?”

“I have two Merits to exchange.”

“Please wait a moment,” the clerk said as he checked the records, “You have two third-tier Merits available for exchange. What type would you like? I’ll prepare it for you.”

“Mage’s Skill Books.”

“One moment, please.” The clerk left and soon returned with several Skill Books, “Vice-executive, you can make your selection now.”

Wu Heng’s gaze swiftly swept over them; many were skills he had already learned.

In the end, two caught his interest.

[Mirrored Skill]

(Description: You can create at least three illusionary duplicates and command them to perform simple actions.)

[Preset Armor]

(Description: By touching a target unit and with their consent, surround them with a protective force field that lasts until the spell is disrupted or the target is attacked, automatically triggering the spell.)

One of the skills was a type of illusion spell that could create duplicates.

The Mirrored Skill, which offered the same effect as the Illusionary Magic Dual Blades given to ‘Philippa’.

It could confuse the enemy; even a moment of distraction could be effective.

The second skill, called Preset Armor, allowed for placing a defensive magic on a target, which would automatically activate upon attack.

It served as a protective measure.

Both effects were quite good.

“I’ll take these two,” Wu Heng stated directly.

The clerk nodded, “Alright, you can take them now.”

Wu Heng nodded and went back to the office study.

…

In the Snowborne District, within a mansion.

In a slightly dim room sat two men.

One had a connected beard and was in his forties, dressed in blue aristocratic attire with neatly combed hair, looking sharp and efficient.

The other was younger, with brown hair and blue eyes, clad in silver armor, his posture upright.

“Greco, any new intelligence?” the bearded man inquired.

“That tavern was bought by someone from the association; she’s either an informant or a lover of his,” the silver-armored ‘Greco’ said indifferently.

“So certain?”

“Just a Mage who switched job mid-way, can’t escape my eyes,” Greco scoffed.

The middle-aged man continued, “What do you plan to do?”

Greco touched the emblem on his armor, “Wait for him to visit the tavern, then burn it all down.”

The man shook his head, “No good, Lighthouse Street is crowded and watched. If it gets too big, it will be hard to control.”

Greco persisted, “Then we’ll kidnap that woman, lure him out to sea, and kill him there.”

The middle-aged man nodded slightly, “Don’t underestimate him; he has killed quite a few pirates. If he doesn’t die, we’ll be in trouble.”

“Don’t worry, without his skeleton attendant, he’s nothing.”