Firearms in a Fantasy World

Chapter 125: Unexpected Discovery

Translator: Cinder Translations

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Since the incident when he was knocked out, Alan noticed a change in the girl's attitude whenever he delivered food. Though her face remained expressionless, she now thanked him each time.

Alan had tried to converse with her before, but each time he asked a question, the girl responded with either a nod or a shake of her head, leaving him discouraged from continuing.

There was one exception. One day, after he set down the food, the girl suddenly stared at him and asked, "Would you like to be my friend?"

Alan was taken aback. He had expected her to just say "thank you."

"Of course, I'd love to," he replied, sweating profusely.

"Thank you!" It was those two words again.

Days passed by. Everyone seemed to have grown accustomed to their roles as slaves. Alan himself no longer constantly thought about escaping.

On the 17th, before dawn, a large group of slaves were rudely awakened from their sleep. The pirates menacingly ordered them to the docks to work. Even young slaves like Alan, Tom, and Payne were driven there.

The dock area was a natural sheltered harbor where the Eel Pirate Gang had built various facilities.

When Alan arrived, he saw many slaves already loading various goods onto ships.

Despite being underage, Alan and the other children were not exempt from work due to their age. They were ordered to move scattered goods onto the ships.

After several hours of toil, the sun rose, revealing the entire scene at the docks. Dozens of ships were gathered here. Having been on the island for so long, this was the first time they had seen the pirates assemble in such force.

Hundreds of pirates gathered on the docks, appearing excited as they hurried onto their respective ships. A large number of slaves acted as rowers and were also driven onto the ships. Once in position, they were securely chained to prevent escape.

Not all rowers were slaves; many were new recruits among the pirates.

The pirates hoisted their skull flags and set their ships in motion, quickly departing from the docks.

"Get back to your original tasks! No loafing or wandering around the shore!" Overseers immediately came with whips to disperse the slaves, commanding them to return to their previous duties.

Reluctantly, Alan and the others cast a few longing glances at the sea before turning back toward their former camp.

Along the way, Alan, Tom, and Payne quietly discussed what the pirates might be planning.

"Let me tell you, I overheard a drunken pirate mumbling something about a showdown with the Alden Navy..."

Payne mysteriously informed his companions.

"Alden? Isn't that the earldom to our north?" Alan asked.

"Yeah, exactly! It's the Alden that's been called the Pirate's Forbidden Land recently!"

Tom added, "I heard from the adults that the Lord of Alden has been hunting down a large number of pirates over the past six months."

"Since the disappearance of the great pirate Edward, the two strongest pirate gangs in the Northwest Bay—the Shark Pirates and the Quik Pirates—all fell to Alden."

"They say their lord is only a few years older than us."

"So, are the pirates on this island planning to provoke Alden? That's bold."