Chapter 349 - 341: Igniting the Volcano

Chapter 349: Chapter 341: Igniting the Volcano

Mia held her breath, pressing herself into the cold shadow of the wall like a stone.

The sound of her heartbeat drummed in her ears.

The evidence was conclusive. They were the Church’s witch hunters.

’Mission complete!’ Mia inwardly rejoiced.

The next step was to get the message out.

That was a whole case of Moonlight Sugar! Ninety-eight percent purity!

The craving for the delicacy overrode all else. Mia crouched low and, under the cover of the clamor and the night, retraced her steps.

She needed to get back to Barbossa’s room. That was her temporary safe house.

Candlelight still flickered in the fourth-floor room.

Barbossa was snoring like thunder, accompanied by sounds of "BAA, BAA."

Mia slipped nimbly over the windowsill. Inside, the pirate captain was sound asleep, cuddling a black-hoofed mountain goat, a contented smile even gracing his lips.

The goat seemed used to it, its eyes half-closed as it occasionally chewed.

The corner of Mia’s mouth twitched. It was as if she were the outsider here.

Swallowing a myriad of unspoken complaints, she returned the great, grass-eating professional to its rightful place.

Next, she had to leave the signal.

This plan was hastily drawn up by her and Kael, and Velin had already approved it.

They had agreed to leave a mark in an area outside Peace Bay that the locals called the Skeleton Coast. The place was littered with the skeletal remains of ancient, giant Sea Beasts. Due to its ominous legends, it was deserted, and even the pirates couldn’t be bothered to patrol the rocky, rugged beach.

It was the perfect place to pass on intelligence.

Gebiewu’s agents would check it at regular intervals.

Mia changed back into the form of a twelve- or thirteen-year-old girl. Barefoot, she made her way through the muddy, fetid streets.

She made herself even filthier, like a true street urchin, carefully avoiding the patrols as she headed east.

It took her nearly an hour to reach the desolate Skeleton Coast.

She wandered along the beach for a long time, like a child searching for shells. After confirming there were no prying eyes, she stopped in the shadow of a giant beast’s skull.

She found a scapula the size of a tabletop, pulled out a shard of tile she’d scavenged from a trash heap, and began forcefully carving a string of twisted symbols onto the surface of the bone.

It was the secret code she and Kael had agreed upon during their hasty training.

It could only convey simple information—primitive, but effective.

After doing all this, she threw the tile shard into a pile of rocks and lightly covered the inscription with sand to make it less conspicuous, recognizable only from a specific angle and in a certain light.

The Gebiewu would know how to find it.

Now, all she had to do was leave silently and wait.

...

Inside the grotto, Velin looked at the intelligence report Kael handed him.

"Level 4, four of them, leaving tomorrow night."

’Four Level 4 professionals. Even a sneak attack would cause a huge commotion... And "leaving tomorrow night" means we have less than a day.’

"Sir, I’ll take some men and go," Kael stated decisively.

"You could go," Velin said, shaking his head, "but a conventional assassination is too risky. A frontal assault would just alert the enemy. If even one of them escapes with the intelligence, we’ll be exposed."

"Then...?" Kael looked at Velin curiously.

"Remember Fabian and his men?" Velin said as he walked over to his personal luggage.

Kael’s eyes lit up and he followed close behind. "Sir, are you going to do that thing again? But wouldn’t that cause an even bigger commotion?"

"A bigger commotion is fine. The pirates likely won’t understand what caused it. They’ll just abandon them there for the witch hunters to deal with themselves." As he spoke, Velin rummaged through his luggage and pulled out a small vial. The purple liquid inside was so concentrated it was almost black.

Velin handed the vial to Kael.

"You, Ola, and Xiaolan will take a few of our best people. Pick two from the resistance who know the roads. Leave tonight," Velin ordered.

"Your mission is execution. After the potion takes effect, infiltrate that small building. Remember, I want a prisoner—at least one. I need to dig more information about the Church and the witch hunters out of them."

"Xiaolan..." Kael hesitated.

"This is her trial," Velin’s tone left no room for argument. "It’s time her dagger was blooded. Let her go. She needs this kind of tempering."

Kael nodded silently.

"As for the first and most crucial step, we need our inside agent to personally deliver this ’gift’ to the dinner table of our four ’honored guests’."

「The next morning」

The din of Peace Bay started earlier than usual.

Barbossa was clearly in high spirits. Although no one knew exactly what had happened, judging by the way he boasted to everyone he met about his new "trophy," the pirate captain had achieved an unprecedented level of satisfaction.

This "satisfaction" earned Mia a certain degree of freedom.

She was no longer imprisoned like an object. Instead, she was allowed to move freely within the four-story main building of the Sea Siren’s Song. Maintaining the form of a mature succubus—a sight that could drive any man mad—she leaned lazily against her room’s window. Like a pampered cat, she gazed down at the chaotic tavern hall below.

Her gaze swept casually over every corner, but she was actually searching for any unusual sign.

Soon, she noticed a new servant.

It was a small, plain-faced girl, her head bowed as she wiped down the greasy tables with the other servants. Her movements were a bit clumsy, setting her apart from the more practiced workers, but because she was so unremarkable, she didn’t draw any attention.

’It’s Xiaolan.’

Mia felt no surprise. She knew this was Lord Velin’s arrangement.

She stretched lazily and descended the stairs with a bewitching, swaying gait, announcing that she wanted a glass of fresh juice.

The surrounding pirates immediately started whistling, and a quick-witted bartender hurried to prepare it.

Just as she turned, Mia "accidentally" bumped into the small servant who was absorbed in wiping a table.

"Oops!" Mia cried out softly, her silk handkerchief fluttering to the floor.

Xiaolan looked up in alarm and quickly bent down to pick it up.

In the instant she picked up the handkerchief and handed it back to Mia, their hands briefly touched.

A barely audible whisper reached Xiaolan’s ear.

"The ’gift’ will be delivered tonight."

At the same time, a small, flat, oilskin-wrapped package was silently pressed into Mia’s palm along with the handkerchief.

Mia took the handkerchief, her fingertips discreetly closing around the small package.

"Watch where you’re going, little girl," Mia chided in a lazy, arrogant tone, as if she were really just scolding a clumsy servant.

She took her handkerchief and glided toward the bar to retrieve her juice.

Xiaolan, meanwhile, lowered her head again and continued wiping the table as if nothing had happened. She quickly blended in with the other servants and slipped silently out the back door of the tavern.

「Late that night. The tavern kitchen.」

Mia appeared again in the form of the dirty little girl. She was carrying a food box containing fresh water and white bread for the "honored guests."

"This stuff again?" the fat cook complained with a look of disgust when he saw her. "Are these weirdos rabbits?"

Mia ignored him, simply keeping her head down as she walked quickly toward the back courtyard.

Passing an unnoticed corner, she pulled out the vial and doctored the food.

Carrying the food box, she arrived in front of the separate small building. The pirate at the door stopped her.

"Halt! What’re you doing?"

"De... delivering food," Mia answered timidly.

The pirate looked her over and waved his hand impatiently. "Leave it and get lost."

Mia placed the food box on the stone steps by the door and turned to leave.

After walking a good distance away, she looked back.

The small building was still brightly lit, silent as a tomb. But Mia knew that beneath that calm, a volcano of desire was about to erupt.