In the blink of an eye, many days passed.
The giant ship continued to sail calmly on the sea. It was already halfway through the voyage and successfully traveled from the deep sea area to the shallow sea area.
Here, although you can't see the mainland yet, you can see huge islands from time to time. There are also more and more sea-going ships, and you can often see several merchant ships passing quickly in the distance on the deck. This makes the sea finally lively and no longer so dead.
Of course, problems arise.
First, the giant ship began to frequently adjust its course to avoid existing reefs and prevent stranding. In addition, pirates who once disappeared began to appear. Although every time, the injured Demps was able to scare the pirates away or eliminate them directly, there was always a feeling of never getting tired of it.
In addition, in addition to traditional pirates, a new type of pirates has emerged. Compared with traditional pirates, new pirates are more difficult to deal with. Instead of flying the skull and crossbones flag, they will fly the official flag of their respective country, wear official gorgeous clothes, lead sailors and quickly approach on warships, and then ask to board the ship for inspection and charge for the transit fee.
They claim to be the maritime tax collectors of a certain country, but in the eyes of everyone, they are more disgusting than pirates. Even Dempsey couldn't easily get rid of the other party, because sometimes the tax collector himself was a wizard, and he also brought many wizard apprentices with him. Therefore, in most cases, Demps can only be blackmailed and pay the fee with a cold face. At its most exaggerated, I could sometimes meet three groups of tax collectors from different countries in one day.
…
Many days later, in the morning.
On the sea, a giant ship was docked, and a beautiful white warship was parked side by side.
On the deck, Dempsey stood expressionless. In front of him was a man in light blue uniform, about thirty years old. Although he was just an ordinary person, there were two powerful men behind him. Protected by someone far more than a wizard's apprentice.
"Hello, my lord." The man in blue uniform smiled and introduced himself to Dempsey, "I am the tax collector of the Myron Kingdom, my name is Tim. I have seen your ship. , it’s not a cargo ship, it doesn’t have much cargo, but the number of members is quite large. According to the regulations, you need to pay a certain amount of crystal coins for transit fees. Well, it’s not much, just the same as other countries along the way.”
"Tim the Tax Collector!" Dempsey narrowed his eyes. "When did the sea area of the Kingdom of Myron collect taxes? When I passed by here more than a month ago, there were three of my children on the boat. Companions, why don’t I remember that you never boarded the ship to collect taxes?!”
In fact, Dempsey knew very well why this happened. It was entirely because the other party saw that he was the only wizard on the giant wheel, and his mana fluctuated erratically, and he was obviously seriously injured, so he wanted to take the opportunity to blackmail him. If he was not injured, or if Sif, Lewis, and Quinton were all there, he only needed to stand on the deck, and the other party would not approach the warship at all.
In this sea, strength is extremely important. If you don't have enough strength, you can only be blackmailed by the tax collector who bullies the weak and fears the strong.
Although Dempsey understood it, he was a little unable to accept it and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
But after Dempsey's mocking words came out, the tax collector Tim seemed not to hear the hidden meaning at all. He raised his eyebrows and said: "Well, is that so... Sir, how about... you this time Pay back the taxes you missed before?”
After hearing this, Dempsey's eyes sharpened uncontrollably, and mana surged in his body.
The two people behind the tax collector Tim sensed something, and immediately made alert movements. One of them put a hand on Tim's shoulder as a reminder.
Tim laughed and said with a bright face to Dempsey: "Haha, Mr. Wizard, don't be angry. I was just joking. How could I ask you to make up for it? After all, I only took office this month. Yes, the previous tax collector is already in the dungeon, I don’t care about his affairs, haha, haha.”
"But." Tim's expression became serious again, "But this time I still have to pay. After all, it's not just our Myron, the others like Grande, Stans, Fish, and Wogard, along the way This is the case in all countries. If you pay transit fees in other places but don't pay here, I will be blamed. My lord, please take pity on me, the little guy, and you should pay the tax."
When Tim spoke, he looked pitiful, but his attitude in his words was extremely tough - don't even think about leaving if you don't pay.
Dempsey frowned, but he really didn't want to get entangled here, so he turned his head and looked to the side. The third-level wizard Potter came over and handed a wooden box to the tax collector Tim.
After Tim took it, he opened the box and quickly scanned it. His eyes lit up. There was a certain number of crystal coins inside.
Putting the box away, Tim bowed to Dempsey: "Thank you, my lord. I'll take my leave first."
After saying that, he took the people away, quickly returned to the warship, and sailed away.
Dempsey stood on the deck and watched the warship leave with cold eyes. He couldn't help but cough a few times and covered it with a handkerchief. The handkerchief was covered with blood.
"We can't go on like this," Dempsey said. "These vampires are too disgusting. If we go on like this, by the time we reach the White Stone Tower, everything on the giant ship will be extorted."
"What should I do, teacher?" Potter asked tentatively.
Demps narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment and said, "Let the boat sail out first, and then I will call people to help."
"convener?"
"Um."
"Uh." Potter didn't ask any more questions and quickly ordered the sailors to go.
…
The giant ship sailed again, and after a long time, it stopped in an empty sea area that did not belong to any country.
It was at dusk, the setting sun was brilliant, the entire sea was dyed golden, and the entire giant ship looked like a golden ship.
On the deck, Dempsey stood upright, looking at the sea around him without saying a word.
Suddenly there were footsteps. Porter held a box and carefully walked out of the cabin. He walked to Dempsey and handed it out, saying, "Teacher, this is what you want."
"Yeah." Dempsey nodded, opened the box, and took out a short horn about ten centimeters long.
The whole body of the horn is dark black with a deep luster, like jade. The surface is carved with complicated lines, which looks simple and mysterious.
Dempsey held the horn, activated it with magic power, and then blew it.
The horn is silent, but a certain message is quickly conveyed.
Dempsey blew for a while and put the horn back into the box. Then he coughed again and covered it with a new handkerchief. Most of the new handkerchief was stained red.
Potter looked at it with some worry and asked aloud: "Teacher, what are we going to do next?"
"Wait." Dempsey wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief and put it away.
"Wait?" Potter was confused.
"Wait." Dempsey looked at the setting sun that was about to fall into the sea, and said expressionlessly but with absolute certainty.
"profound."
…