Chapter 343 - 336: Mysterious Woman

Chapter 343: Chapter 336: Mysterious Woman

Velin and Elias stood before a map made of animal hide, the flickering candlelight casting immense shadows of their figures.

The crude map was spread across a wooden table, its surface marked with charcoal lines sketching the contours of Peace Bay and the possible mooring points for the Barbossa Fleet.

"The terrain of Peace Bay is long and narrow, with two hidden reefs at its entrance," Elias said, pointing to a corner of the map. "The Bloodsail Brotherhood’s warships have a large tonnage, so they have to navigate carefully to enter the bay. That’s why they usually send small patrol boats to stand guard on the perimeter."

"Our advantage lies in stealth and speed." Velin’s fingertip tapped the map. "The Leviathans’ diving depth allows them to evade all conventional reconnaissance. They move underwater without leaving a trace." He placed a few small stones on the map where the warships were moored inside the bay, then set a few more in the deep waters outside the bay’s mouth.

"Here’s the plan. First, we’ll use our special weapons to launch a sneak attack on the Bloodsail Brotherhood fleet moored inside the bay, creating chaos. When they try to escape through the mouth of Peace Bay into deep water, our submerged Leviathan fleet will surface at once, forming an arc to encircle and trap them."

"This... It’s a trap to lure the snake from its hole?" Elias said slowly, understanding Velin’s intent.

"Exactly. A trap they’ll walk right into." Velin pushed the stones from inside the bay toward the ones in the deep water outside. "Once the Leviathans engage them in close-quarters combat, those ships won’t stand much of a chance."

Elias studied the map carefully, pouring out all his knowledge of the bay and adding details about currents, tides, and the Bloodsail Brotherhood’s patrol patterns.

The meeting was tense but orderly, with every detail being refined through repeated deliberation.

Velin was far more relaxed than they were. He had absolute faith in the Leviathans’ power; after all, his quarterly expenditure of nearly one thousand Golden Sun was money well spent.

Just then, a faint ripple brushed against Velin’s perception.

It was a faint mental ripple, utterly out of place with the surrounding aetheric environment.

’A Caster?’

Velin’s mind stirred, and the [Inspect] ability activated in his mind.

He casually parted the tent flap, feigning indifference as he scanned the area outside, trying to lock onto the source of the ripple.

But the cavern was packed with people.

Refugees, Warriors, the wounded, as well as some women and children.

The anomaly Velin had sensed vanished in an instant.

In such a massive crowd, he couldn’t pinpoint its location.

He had no choice but to retract [Inspect] and very naturally return to the room.

He showed no sign of anything unusual, simply making a mental note of the anomaly.

The meeting ended, and the crowd dispersed.

Velin and his group were assigned a spot in the cavern. While Ola and the others set up camp, Velin found Kael, who was explaining scouting techniques to Xiaolan.

"Kael," Velin said in a low voice. "Tighten security. I suspect there’s a traitor among them."

Kael froze for a second, then gave a slight nod.

"I’ll arrange it at once," he replied curtly, then turned and disappeared down a dark passage.

Xiaolan stood rooted to the spot, anxiously wringing the hem of her clothes.

"Lord Velin, I... Is there anything I can do?" she asked softly.

"Continue helping distribute the food," Velin said. "And observe the refugees—especially any who are too quiet or too active."

Xiaolan nodded, and her figure quickly vanished into the crowd.

Deeper in the cavern, firelight danced.

Xiaolan and a few companions were distributing leftover fish soup and bread from their group’s daily rations to the refugees.

Children gathered around her, their eyes filled with trust.

Just then, a thin woman walked over of her own accord and offered Xiaolan a friendly smile.

"You look like you could use a hand. Let me help you."

Xiaolan was a little surprised, but she nodded. "Thank you."

The two of them distributed food to the refugees together. The woman was quick and efficient, not very talkative, but she always knew just what to do to soothe a crying child. This gave Xiaolan a very good impression of her.

As they grew more familiar, the woman began chatting casually with Xiaolan.

"You’re from the mainland, aren’t you? That’s wonderful," the woman asked, seemingly offhandedly, as she ladled soup. "What’s the mainland like? It must be much more prosperous and wealthy than these islands, right?"

"Mhm, yes. Our own domain is very rich," Xiaolan replied proudly.

"Is that so? Your lives must be wonderful, then," the woman continued. "To be able to live so well, your lord must be a very benevolent and good man."

"Of course he is!" Xiaolan’s tone became even more cheerful at the mention of Velin.

After chatting a bit longer, the woman suddenly lowered her voice and leaned closer to Xiaolan, as if sharing a secret.

"By the way, that impressive-looking young man who arrived today... he’s the lord’s confidant, isn’t he? He seems really capable."

The question made Xiaolan’s heart skip a beat.

She suddenly remembered Lord Velin’s instruction to "observe anything unusual."

The earlier questions about her home and the lord had seemed ordinary, but this woman was a little too interested in the resistance’s high command.

Xiaolan grew wary. The smile on her face didn’t change, but her words became vague.

"Oh, you mean him? He’s very capable, yes. We all respect him a great deal." She didn’t directly answer the question about him being a confidant, merely glossing over it.

The woman seemed to notice the shift in Xiaolan’s attitude. She didn’t press the issue, just smiled and continued distributing food in silence, as if their entire exchange had been nothing more than idle chatter.

Once the food was fully distributed, the woman quietly slipped back into the crowd.

Xiaolan remained where she was, but her heart wouldn’t calm down for a long time.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that every one of the woman’s questions had been a test. She immediately went to find Kael.

Kael was at a guard post on the cavern’s perimeter, inspecting the fortifications.

Xiaolan ran up, panting, and told Kael everything that had just happened, word for word.

After Kael heard her out, a wary look appeared on his usually stern face.

"She was asking about Lord Velin?" he asked.

"Yes! First she asked where we came from, and then she started asking about the Lord!" Xiaolan nodded emphatically.

Kael said nothing, immediately telling Xiaolan to lead the way.

However, when they pushed through the crowd and hurried to the corner where the woman had been, it was empty.

A half-eaten bowl of fish soup was still on the ground, but the person had vanished into thin air.

Kael’s expression darkened.

He impassively began questioning the nearby Namiya Warriors and refugees for information about the woman.

"That one? Haven’t seen her around much," an old Warrior said. "Seems she only arrived in the last couple of days. Said she drifted over from the northern islands."

"She rarely spoke and never caused trouble," another refugee said. "All she did every day was eat and then stare into space."

Kael collected all the fragmented pieces of information, quickly assembling a rough profile.

A drifter of unknown origin who had joined the stronghold only a few days ago, with almost no background information.

And this "ordinary" refugee had vanished without a trace after probing for intelligence about the lord.

He immediately returned to Velin’s side and reported the situation.

"It seems our enemies are a little more interesting than we thought."

"This isn’t the work of ordinary pirates." He gazed into the depths of the cavern, which was pitch-black, as if hiding countless secrets.