Chapter 4: The Return Journey (Part 2)
For centuries, the Ibos Pirates ran rampant, striking fear into the hearts of merchant ships everywhere. They were the ultimate roadblock to trade between the east and west coasts. Rumor has it that long ago, numerous followers of the Gate of Truth were involved in the piracy gig. Some even say that only vessels blessed by the Gate of Truth can navigate the seas unharmed, not even those holy folks from the Holy Church can manage it.
Pirates never took the church seriously. If they did run into them, they’d probably get even more hyped about plundering!
As for the Sixth Knights Order, tasked with maintaining order in the seas, they mostly turned a blind eye to pirates appearing outside the territorial waters of Silgaya, only taking action if they stumbled over them by accident. Complaints from merchant associations were usually met with a shoulder shrug.
In reality, the Sixth Knights Order was the “naval legion” of the Holy Church. They had jurisdiction over much more than just the coast of Silgaya; they also patrolled the eastern coast of Ethanbel and the very northern coastal areas of the Valen Empire.
However, most of those regions didn’t involve substantial trade transport; only Silgaya and Nogowai Sea Port had bustling activity. Pirates kept their greedy eyes glued to these lucrative routes, making each trip across the two coasts a nail-biting adventure for merchants. If they did encounter pirates, it was either fight and fail or just let the seas take their fate. No one was expecting a rescue party to swoop in!
By that point, not only would their cargo be looted, but the ransom money could wipe out years of hard work. If they were particularly unlucky and ran into those merciless, bloodthirsty “red dogs” of the sea, they might just end up as fish food—meeting the Sea God a bit too soon!
Among those “red dogs,” there was one particularly notorious pirate named Imeir, known for his brutally savage tactics. He was the last person any merchant ship wanted to encounter.
He dubbed himself Duke of Ibos and led his three-masted warship, known as the “Bloodthirsty Duke.” His minions roamed the waters surrounding the Mete Islands, and any ship that crossed their path ended up with no surviving male crew and the female crew and valuables swiped clean. They’d even set fire to the ship, leaving behind a skull flag as if to shout, “Look at my badassery!”
With the recent chill in the air, the crew onboard was feeling the tension. It wasn’t just the unexpected cold wind; we were now in the “Bloodthirsty Duke’s” hunting ground. Thankfully, Imeir had stopped plundering small and medium-sized merchant vessels in recent years. So, a little cargo ship like the Kalivel wouldn’t grab his attention—the “red dogs” only went after the big fish.
I’d overheard all this during slow days when Sailmaster and the crew had nothing better to do.
Days later, the cold winds died down. The Kalivel gradually left the waters of the Mete Islands, sailing without a hitch and avoiding any “red dogs” in sight.
However, the previous evening, we’d spotted the wreckage of a large merchant ship from Nogowai, sunk and burned by pirates, bobbing like a sad cork on the distant ocean.
It seemed to be part of a merchant fleet, but it was impossible to tell where they were from or how many ships were involved. The charred remains floated on the choppy waters, debris scattered everywhere. Countless lifeless bodies had drifted to the surface, turning the sea into a shimmering brown mess of bl**d and oil, with a lonely skull flag perched atop the largest wreck. The scene was horrific enough to send chills down anyone’s spine.
Among those pirates, there had to be at least one person able to wield the Power of Order. And they must be strong because, in an age without explosive ordnance, it was impossible for a single ship to be torn apart at sea using just swords and arrows. Anyone with even a smidgen of weak power wouldn’t be able to pull that off.
The Kalivel almost skirted the edge of the wreckage. During that eerie moment, the once-chatty deck fell silent as everyone gazed at the hellish scene. Tension hung thick in the air, lingering long after the ship had sailed far away and deep night had settled in.
“Honestly, the Holy Church ought to do something about those inhumane acts…”
That night, Sailmaster had one too many drinks. After midnight, he wobbled back to the cabin with a few crew members and spotted me staring out at the night through the porthole. Whether out of a drunken whim or genuine concern, he ambled over and struck up a chat.
“But I’ve heard that…just heard, okay? The Knights of the Sixth Order are actually in cahoots with the Bloodthirsty Duke! They’re all in the same boat behind closed doors, letting those red dogs rampage across the seas, turning a blind eye as they grow stronger. Each time they fail to catch the bastards, it’s just a show, really. The Knights make a bunch of yearly profits from the pirates…”
“If the church really wanted to crack down, it’s just a bunch of lowly pirates. How long do you think they could keep being this reckless?”
The man probably thought I was spooked by that gruesome sight from earlier, staring blankly at the night. He then tried to reassure me, “Don’t be afraid. I’m not saying this with any hidden motive. The territory of those red dogs will soon pass us by. We probably won’t run into them. Even if we do, they won’t bother us with a little ship like this. Just a word of caution, be careful when we reach the Western Continent. Don’t trust those Knights of the Church too much; they’re quite hypocritical.”
“Aren’t knights supposed to be heroes protecting the people?”
I casually asked him, although I was no longer interested in the topic. But for some reason, the memory of Alectine City flooded in—those countless prisoners charged towards blades in the Third Knights Order, their bodies collapsing into pools of bl**d.
“Heroes?” Sailmaster scoffed at my words. “Those people in the West are just brainwashed fools. We Eastern Continent folks never saw things that way. Hmph! Rubbish heroes… Do heroes charge merchant ships for fees? We’re practically obligated to pay it every year, every vessel! Each time we hit the Western Continent, we have to shell out or we can’t even unload our cargo…”
“There’s a rumor, just a rumor, mind you… they say that when the Gate of Truth invaded the Mosley Coast two years back, the Sixth Knights Order should have stood firm on the coastal defense alongside the Third Knights Order. But guess what? They lost once at sea, and then just sailed off, letting those lunatics from the Gate of Truth land smoothly. It was said that they wiped out the entire southern sector of Silgaya. Do you know the reason behind that?”
“…What?”
“There are a few theories floating around, but the most popular one is that someone in the Knights Order took a bribe from heretics. Ha! Honestly, if that’s true, I wouldn’t be surprised. They’re greedy scoundrels…”
“……”
“But then there’s another theory, the wildest one. I have no idea who would be bold enough to even suggest it. They say the whole invasion was really just a trap set by some high-ranking authority figure to eliminate dissent… a massive scheme.”
Underneath my hood, I furrowed my brow slightly.
Sailmaster’s rough face was tinted with some redness; he was clearly more than a bit tipsy, slurring his words heavily with the scent of alcohol on his breath: “Do you know who the Third Knights Order serves? Why, it’s Cardinal Saint George! But the papers later claimed that it was the Saint George Currency Exchange that did nothing to prevent the fall of the Third Knights Order…”
“Ha, do they think everyone is an idiot? This is common sense! Whether it’s the Saint George Currency Exchange or the Third Knights Order, they are both rooted in the former Williams Family’s status. How could it possibly…”
That night, the man rambled on a lot. By the next morning, with a headache from drinking, he possibly regretted spilling the beans and came looking for me, quietly warning me, “All that talk last night? Just drunken ramblings! Please don’t take it seriously. Don’t tell anyone, or it could cost you your life.”
“Got it.”
I nodded obediently.
He still wasn’t convinced and reiterated his caution a few more times, mumbling to himself as he left: “Why did I drink so much? Honestly… talking about all this to such a clueless little girl… I’m such a fool…”
