Chapter 141
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Sagastar nervously chewed the cigarette that hung from his lips.
Captain, what the hell is this?
Captain Long, who was right in front of the Commodore, grunted and groaned. Although the captain had already expressed his ignorance multiple times, Sagastar still seemed to be waiting for an answer. The prolonging silence between them eventually swayed the restless and stuttering Captain to come up with an answer.
Ugh Umm Thats the Mandus Officers code Upon decryption, it looks like coordinates.
Did I ask you to do that?
No
Then why?
Uhh, well Because the pigeon
Sagastar glared at the captain as if he were the most pathetic human being in the world, causing him to shrink unconsciously.
At times like this, its best not to come over too strongly or whine for that matter. Ill be apprehended the moment I say something useless, even if Im correct
Thats right. The answer Im looking for is how the hell did Sir Edgars pigeon return with a message written in Mandus code.
But how can I
How! Im asking you how?!
How can I
Huh? The handwriting is different too! What the hell! Whos the bastard that dares to imitate the Admiral? Is he trying to blackmail us?!
After chewing on his cigarette for what felt like an eternity, Sagastar eventually lit it. With the progress of their current conversation, the captain was also in desperate need of a cigarette, so he couldnt help but salivate a little as he knew he hadnt the privilege to act on it. When the fragrant smoke entered his nostrils, he twitched his nose and lowered his eyes to the coordinates carried by the pigeon. Next to it lay several maps of their operation. His unfocused gaze wandered around the Hangyang Islands. But a moment later, his expression changed dramatically.
Huh?..
The captain pushed some other maps aside while producing the sound that Sagastar hated the most.
Huh? This, this
So noisy!
Commodore!
First, give me another.
Oh, no problem But, Commodore, this appears to be very close to our fleet
With his gaze remaining fixed on the Hangyang Islands, the captain rummaged through his pockets for a pack of cigarettes. He tilted his head for a moment, then took out his now empty hand and began measuring the distance. Sagastar, who was smoking another cigarette and staring out the window, rolled his eyes at him.
Captain Long! Right now! What do you think youre doing with that corrupted message?!
Commodore. Its the ocean.
What!?
Its in the middle of the ocean. Of course, I know that we shouldnt believe anything that comes from an unidentified sender, but
One more time and Ill!
Its a letter from the man who stole the Admirals pigeon
I said one more time!
At this point, its clear that something has happened to the Admiral. Besides, its an unprecedented catastrophe to have our communication system intercepted
Youre still going on about it?!
Startled by Sagastars uproar, the captain scratched the back of his head. He furrowed his brows with a confused expression, deciding to still express his doubt.
But it was sent in the Mandus officer code What if he knows something
He would only send a message in Mandus if he knew we could decipher it. He probably knew the Commodore would be the recipient and that we wouldnt take it seriously if it was just a regular letter. Whoever he is, this impostor, has now revealed a part of his identity to some extent. In addition, I think he knows about your personality the fact that you can be meticulously suspicious about everything and used it to his advantage. That can be why he sent a message he wrote himself. If he was a pirate who tried to order the Admiral to use Nicolas tears but failed, dont you think he wouldve tried to clumsily imitate Sir Edgar? Instead, he wrote it in the officers code. Why do you think that is?
So, youre saying the sender knows me? If so, why didnt he reveal his name and affiliation?
Well, there can be several reasons why he didnt. Maybe hes the one who abducted the Admiral or maybe hes a former officer who couldnt risk getting caught. If so, is the sender merely a witness?
If that were the case, I think he would have revealed himself.
Is there anyone who doesnt have one or two skeletons in their closet? Maybe he was afraid of getting those revealed?
What do you think?
With his mouth tightly shut, Sagastar approached the captain with a cigarette between his fingers and looked down at Hangyang Islands.
So, according to the message the entry point is in the middle of the open sea
Yes. Based on our charts, there arent any inhabited islands nearby But, since its the South, there must be some smaller deserted islands in the vicinity However, thats only my guess. If the Commodores words are correct, and the coordinates represent the location where the Admiral went overboard, he must be drifting or floating somewhere I think we need to hurry.
The captain bent down again and made some new calculations. Sagastar, on the other hand, kept himself busy with his cigarette in order to stop the ominous thoughts from coming.
Assuming that the pigeon flew from there to our location today given the distance and the wind it was close to midnight yesterday by now, twelve hours have already passed
Damn it, are you crazy? Are you suggesting we move the fleet because of some unidentified bastard?
Then give me a sloop and I will go by myself instead. Even if its a trap or trickery, when we run into them, we can either catch them or get rid of them. It will be fine either way.
This is insane. Long No, Julbert. Arent you aware that youre basing your whole theory on circumstantial evidence and your own imagination?
Im indeed aware of that.
Sagastar stroked his chin and stared down on him.
Arent you just trying to run away from the Visha?
Commodore, thats too much!
When Sagastar shot him with silence, the captain, who knew exactly what that stare meant, closed his mouth. The Commodore pulled the map of the Hangyang islands in front of him, but suddenly looked the captain in the eyes again.
Wait Did you say midnight?
Yes.
Its night. You didnt mean night near dawn, but just midnight?
Yes.
If youre getting off a ship, why the hell would you choose that time to escape?
Silence befell them. Midnight in the deep dark sea. There was no idiot in the navy who didnt know what kind of hellhole the sea was at night. At that moment, the authenticity of the correspondence became irrelevant.
Upon comprehending the possibility that Ed couldve jumped into the sea at night, the two immediately displayed distorted facial expressions and soon they spat out the same curses.
Sagastar started shouting as Captain Long grabbed the table bell.
Damn it, raise the signal!
The bell in the captains hand rang loudly, causing a young aspirant to jump in with a surprised expression. Before the captain could even open his mouth, Sagastar already yelled his orders.
Move the sloops! Make a full course change!
..?
Damn it, what are you waiting for? Get out of here!
The rash remarks made the young cadet tremble, however, the boy didnt turn around and countered with a rather reasonable question.
Um To which direction should we turn?
When Sagastar glared at the captain as if he was going to kill him, Captain Long quickly snatched the map from the big pile of files on the table, tearing it in the process. He then nervously read the direction while holding the half-ripped pieces of paper together.
Northeast Northeast, Commodore!
Northeast! Go and change our course!
END OF VOLUME 4
TN:
Hi guys!
With chapter 141 we already wrapped up Volume 4! Time flies by, huh? For us it really does, yesterday we actually received the notification that it has already been a year since the prologue went online. What a journey it has been so far!
A lot happened in this volume as well; we got a glimpse of Eds childhood and the discovery of the Western Continent, we learned that the change in effect of Lils necklace was a permanent one, and of course the fact that Ed got caught, beat up and thrown overboard
Just like with the previous Volumes, well post a recap chapter to refresh your memory before diving in Volume 5 on Wednesday. We expect to post the recap on Tuesday/Wednesday, so stay tuned!
For now, we like to express our gratitude toward you readers, for following us and enjoying the novel as much as we do!
Happy reading and see you in vol.5
Pru and Formidable
PS: have you already seen the new raws for the Manwha?
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on (f)reeweb(n)ovel.com