At sea, near Delinius Island.
Delinius Island is the first major island on the southbound route from the Rorsted Archipelago. If a ship intends to head to the Southern Continent but does not stop at Bayam, then its port—Delinius Port—is the final supply point on the route.
Otherwise, aside from turning back, no other supply ports can be found on the route to the Southern Continent.
At this moment, Edwina was with Danitz and several reliable Sailors, anchored on a small, inconspicuous cargo ship not far from Delinius Port. Today, they were here to collect a special shipment of goods.
A shipment sent by Brando from Backlund.
"Shit! Coming to this godforsaken place in the middle of the night!" Danitz let out a big yawn. The salty, damp sea breeze had chased away his sleepiness, leaving only a face full of irritation.
"Sigh—think about the money! Think about the money!" He shook his head vigorously, trying to perk himself up.
To be honest, when Brando mentioned in his letter that he would provide a way for Danitz to make money, Danitz was a bit confused. In his mind, given their friendship, the most direct approach would be for the other to lend him money directly. However, he quickly dismissed this thought himself.
Brando was now a businessman too, constantly needing funds for operations. Moreover, borrowed money ultimately had to be repaid. With his current income, it would likely take several years to save up that huge sum before the Golden Dream found its next treasure.
In comparison, helping the other sell arms and taking a cut was indeed a more reasonable and profitable path.
Just as Brando had speculated in his letter, the fire of the Backlund stock market crash soon spread to these colonial territories at sea.
Now, unrest was breaking out everywhere, with all kinds of assets shrinking wildly in value. Only the price of arms was soaring. In this chaotic situation, rebel forces, pirates, bounty Hunters, and local security forces everywhere needed better weapons.
If Brando's estimate of the quantity was accurate, I could pay off all my debts after just two or three deals! That guy Brando, though sometimes he has a sharp tongue, is quite decent when it comes to getting things done.
"Danitz." A calm, even voice sounded behind him.
"Captain?!" Just as Danitz was mentally calculating his debt issues, Edwina had somehow quietly walked up beside him.
"Have all the buyers for this batch of arms been contacted?" Edwina gave a slight nod.
"Of course!" Danitz immediately straightened his back, patting his chest in assurance. "I've already negotiated with 'Blood Axe' Rack. He'll take the entire batch."
"Rack? The one from the Rorsted Archipelago rebel forces?" Edwina asked.
"That's him! Introduced by our middleman, absolutely no problem!"
Selling arms to rebel forces was indeed a good choice—it could dispose of a large quantity of goods at once while also causing some trouble for the colonial authorities of the Rune Kingdom and, by extension, the Storm Church behind them. This aligned well with her own interests and those of the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom.
However, she also had concerns. After all, this kind of behavior carried significant risks. If investigated thoroughly, it might cause trouble for Brando, who was far away in Backlund. Although he had said in his letter that these arms could be disposed of freely, he himself was still within the territory of the Rune Kingdom.
"I'll keep a closer eye on this. If necessary, I can terminate this deal—" Edwina sighed softly to herself. Then, she thought of something even more important.
The potion formula for the Cataclysmic Interrer.
To this day, she still didn't understand where Brando had obtained such a high-Sequence formula. Moreover, he had even said he would give it to her for free.
As a Demigod formula from an adjacent Pathway, she was, of course, very interested. Even the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom behind her would undoubtedly place great value on this precious high-Sequence formula. If possible, she could even use this formula, along with the merits she had previously accumulated, to exchange with the church for an opportunity to become a Demigod—
But once she accepted this "gift," it would mean she owed Brando an enormous favor. Demigod-level formulas had always been priceless and hard to come by. What's more, the other had refused her offer to buy it with money, saying it was merely a "gift" and a "repayment."
"Is this Brando's value?" In that moment, she thought of many things. She pursed her lips slightly, feeling a hint of complexity in her heart.
Favors were the hardest things to repay.
"Captain?"
Danitz's call brought Edwina's thoughts back to reality.
"Get ready. That cargo ship will arrive soon," Edwina instructed.
"By the way," she looked at Danitz, suddenly remembering something, "Danitz, have you been—very short on money lately?"
"This—" Danitz's expression instantly stiffened. How did the Captain know? Did that big mouth Iron Skin go around blabbing?
"Brando mentioned in his letter that you seem to be short on money lately and asked me to keep an eye on this matter," Edwina said calmly.
"Didn't you get a share of the bounty for the Blood Admiral? Why are you short on money?"
Actually, Lorne had also mentioned in the letter that he was afraid Danitz's brain alone couldn't handle these arms trades, which was why he had asked her to help out more. But considering Danitz's pride, she didn't voice these words.
However, she was also curious. Had Danitz done something stupid recently that made Brando doubt his intelligence? Otherwise, Brando wouldn't have specifically mentioned this point in the letter. She speculated that it might all be related to money.
"I—I, uh—" Danitz lowered his head, not daring to meet the Captain's eyes.
Shit! Why did Brando tell the Captain about my money troubles too! I wrote to you because I didn't want the Captain to know— He wailed inwardly. The only silver lining was that Brando didn't seem to have also revealed the embarrassing story of how he had lost everything in the stock market.
No, I need to come up with a reason quickly—Think, brain, think!
Just then, a long, distant whistle saved Danitz.
Danitz suddenly looked up, pointing at the cargo ship slowly approaching in the distance, and said loudly, "Captain! The cargo ship is here!"
"So many arms!"
Inside the port, Danitz stared blankly at the crates of weapons and ammunition being unloaded from the cargo ship.
"Mostly bullets, and some firearm accessories," Edwina said calmly after inspecting the goods.
Lorne had shipped over most of the unsold inventory that had piled up in the factories. These scattered parts and bullets of common calibers were difficult to trace back to a specific source, making them well-suited for some gray-market transactions.
"What's that?" Danitz noticed a peculiarly shaped, sturdier, and more refined crate not far away. Curious, he walked over and pried it open with a crowbar.
"It's Brando's gun!"
—
Inside the crate, brand-new Ripper shotguns were neatly stacked.
He excitedly picked one up, hefted it in his hand, then imitated Lorne's earlier move, performing a stylish one-handed reload. The crisp "click" echoed in the empty warehouse.
I've decided! After this deal, I'm keeping one for myself! Let those clueless guys like Iron Skin see what it's all about!
"This type of gun has already been sold in the Southern Continent. Traces of it have also appeared in some high-end weapon shops in Bayam. So, Brando sent a batch over, though not many," Edwina explained from the side.
Since it was a unique weapon, Lorne hadn't sent too many. Although this peculiar weapon was already circulating in some colonial areas, if it appeared in large quantities, it would still be too suspicious.
"Get ready. Load these arms onto the ship. We're taking them away."
"Yes, Captain!" Danitz and the other Sailors responded in unison, starting to work busily.
In fact, Lorne, far away in Backlund, would soon realize that letting this weapon circulate on the market was not a good idea. Because aside from the people on the Golden Dream, there was another person who had also seen him use this weapon.
And that person still possessed the prototype of this gun.