Pirate Port!
In the rumors, this was the holy land of pirates in the outer seas — no matter how troublesome the cargo, you could always unload it here and exchange it for heaps of lovely gold crowns or anything else your heart desired.
Here you could find the finest women and the strongest spirits — though, of course, only if you had enough gold crowns to pay for them.
If you dared cause trouble here, those pirate enforcers would teach you a lesson so harsh you'd regret ever being born!
Pirates enforced the law? Of course! Even those who lived by plunder needed a certain degree of order, and at times, they valued the rules even more than ordinary folk did.
As the most chaotic and diverse place in the outer seas, this was also where intelligence was most plentiful and abundant.
Often, when some big fat mark passed through, you could witness the spectacular sight of a thousand sails departing Pirate Port all at once.
These were privateering operations spontaneously organized by numerous pirates — among the countless sailing vessels, there were terrifying warships clad in enchanted armor, ships blessed by the Sea God that could never sink, and of course, small canoes barely larger than models, each carrying a dozen or even just a handful of pirates.
This phenomenon of the "Pirate Tide" had occurred only once, over fifty years ago, and it had directly crippled a duchy's navy while seizing a tremendous fortune! It had become the ultimate recruiting pitch, luring one naive fisherman's child after another into a life of piracy.
However, ever since Marquis Louis's Bordi Archipelago rose to power in the outer seas, Pirate Port's status had been declining day by day. Especially after two major pirate fleets were recruited to the other side, the port had lost its former prosperity and gradually devolved into nothing more than a large, ordinary fencing den for pirates.
Even so, the port's foundations were nothing to scoff at — it had not only built a proper town but had also attracted several temples to settle there. Even pirates needed divine healing and the comfort of priests.
Moreover, the gods of the evil alignments would never refuse the faith of pirates. Perhaps they had already been scheming to claim a divine domain over piracy.
And on that particular morning, a pirate ship flying a strange flag sailed into the docks of Pirate Port.
This ship was quite large even by pirate standards, and it appeared to have been through several fierce battles — the hull was covered with marks of combat, sword slashes, and axe cuts.
"A ship like this could serve as a flagship for any of the major pirate fleets... so why is that flag so unfamiliar?"
A clerk responsible for dock registration rubbed his eyes. He could confirm with certainty that the pirate flag hanging from the other ship's mast was something he had never seen before in his entire career — a vivid blood-red background bearing the lifelike image of a grinning skull and a dagger.
At that moment, a group of pirates disembarked directly from the ship. The clerk stepped forward to greet them, a professional smile spreading across his face. "Gentlemen, welcome to Pirate Port! We have..."
Before he could finish, the young man at the front waved his hand, and a gold coin landed in the clerk's arms.
The ancient patterns on the coin and its satisfying heft immediately made the clerk's eyes light up.
This young pirate hadn't used Danbury gold coins — it was the far more valuable gold croat!
"So this young man is the leader of this pirate crew? A dangerous individual..."
The pirates standing behind the young man all exuded a vicious killing intent, and among them, a giant over two meters tall was practically a small mountain of a man.
Yet even these murderous, terrifying-looking ruffians all behaved like little white rabbits behind the young man. The clerk felt a chill run through him, realizing that the person standing before him was likely someone of extraordinary stature.
"I know the rules here. The docking fee is five silver coins per day, correct?"
Raelin studied the clerk before him, finding a hint of reverence in the man's eyes.
The clerk had clearly once worked as a pirate himself. He couldn't help but habitually assess the strength of those around him, and the old injuries on his body had forced him into early retirement and a desk job.
Honestly, Raelin found him quite an interesting person.
In the World of Gods, those who had received any kind of formal education were already rare enough. A pirate who could actually read and write? That was rarer than phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.
But right now, Raelin had no mood for idle conversation. The long voyage, combined with the storms and ambushes from other races they had encountered along the way, had left even him feeling a trace of fatigue.
"Recommend me the best inn you have around here, and where can I recruit sailors? Also — did you see the ship behind me? I need to get it a major overhaul..."
Raelin rattled off several requests, and before the clerk could show any sign of displeasure, he immediately added: "If your recommendations are good, then this is yours..."
In his palm, another gold croat glinted with a dazzling luster.