Lilia closed the door and left.
Leo frowned. It seemed Kano Kingdom also had an eye on Giant Whale Island.
That made sense. The island was rich in resources. No country would ignore that.
Hope Kano Kingdom doesn't go too far...
Leo muttered quietly, picking up the feather pen on the table and frowning in thought.
Giant Whale Island was already under the control of the Black Dragon Kingdom. With just the two of them, it would be hard to take it back. Maybe they could use Kano Kingdom to help.
Having Elyse with them wasn't all bad.
...
After more than half a month of sailing, the group finally arrived near Giant Whale Island.
"Mister Leo," wet Fishman Marina stepped into the cabin, wiping her hair. "I've checked out the situation around Giant Whale Island. There are over 500 big ships, including 300 warships. The defenses are tight. There are definitely more than 3,000 soldiers on the ships and the island. With just us, it's going to be hard to save the Minotaurs."
Leo nodded, his expression dark.
The Smoothbore cannon was powerful, but there weren't enough of them. Against 300 warships, they couldn't hold their ground.
And there were enemies on the island and the Minotaurs. They couldn't use the cannon without risking everything.
Before anything else, he needed to get a better understanding of what was going on on the island.
"Biggy, Secondy, do you have a way to get into Giant Whale Island?" He looked at the two Minotaurs and asked.
Biggy nodded. "No problem. Tonight, me and Secondy will go to the island and try to contact the Minotaurs there."
"I'll go with you," Leo said. He had to go himself to check things out. He couldn't take any chances.
"No, it's too dangerous," Lilia said.
Leo was confident. "Don't worry. With you and Cynthia here, even if the soldiers of the Black Dragon Kingdom find us, we can still protect ourselves."
"Cynthia? That woman is coming with us?" Lilia asked in surprise.
Cynthia was Elyse's bodyguard. She was strong. Having her along would definitely make things safer.
"She'll agree. Keep your eyes open. I'll send you a message tonight," Leo said with a cold smile. He stood up and left, heading toward Elyse and Cynthia's cabin.
As he reached the door, it opened before he could knock.
Cynthia stood in the doorway, staring at him coldly.
"Come in, Lord Leo," a soft voice came from inside the room.
Cynthia stepped back, letting him in.
Leo smiled and nodded at her, then stepped into the cabin.
This was the first time he had ever been inside this room.
The air was clean now, not smelly like before. The room was neat and elegant, with a soft, feminine scent.
Elyse sat at the table, smiling. "Lord Leo, please sit down."
Before Leo could say anything, she continued, "I guess you want us to fight the soldiers of the Black Dragon Kingdom, right?"
Leo didn't like feeling like he was being played.
He nodded and didn't hold back any longer. He came straight to the point. "Have the soldiers from Kano Kingdom already arrived?"
"Ah ha. Lord Leo, you guessed my identity already," Elyse smiled, looking dangerously beautiful. She wasn't surprised at all that Leo had figured out who she was.
She pulled out a small piece of paper from the table and pushed it towards Leo.
On it was just one line of small writing: Five thousand soldiers are ready. Operation at midnight tonight!
There were five thousand soldiers here. The Dark Dragon Empire hadn't even noticed. It looked like Kano Kingdom was not as weak as it seemed.
Even more worrying was that Marina had checked the area around Giant Whale Island and found nothing. That meant Kano Kingdom's ships hadn't arrived yet.
Leo frowned and said, "Is the attack tonight too rushed? We don't even know what's going on on the island yet."
"No need," Elyse said confidently. "With your ship's Thor's Cannon and five thousand soldiers, the Black Dragon Kingdom's forces won't stand a chance."
An unexpected surprise attack, with the Smoothbore cannon helping, would make taking the island a piece of cake.
Leo looked at Elyse and asked, "What are you planning to do with Giant Whale Island, Princess?"
He had promised Biggy and Secondy to save the Minotaurs on the island, not to let them fall into another trap.
If Kano Kingdom also wanted to enslave the Minotaurs, he would take this woman down right away and use her to threaten Kano Kingdom.
Elyse still smiled. "Didn't I already promise you, Lord Leo?"
"Oh?" Leo was confused. He didn't know what this woman was up to.
Elyse continued, "This island will be your fiefdom, Lord Earl. But with your talent, you'd be better off in the capital, where you can rise to greater heights."
Leo laughed coldly. This woman was afraid of his power. Giant Whale Island had rich iron mines. If he stayed here and built up, he could make thousands of Smoothbore cannons. A small kingdom like Kano would be nothing to him.
And he had even more powerful Rifled cannons, maybe even better weapons in the future.
Leo said, "I never agreed to your terms."
He was tempted by the idea of becoming a noble, but he would never be someone who lived under someone else's roof.
"Lord Leo, do you really want to keep drifting on the sea forever?" Elyse tempted him. "If you want more, a Duke title isn't out of the question. I could even make you a noble king, second only to the emperor. You would have endless treasure and beautiful women."
Leo laughed. He stared at Elyse without hiding his eyes. "Even you, Princess?"
Cynthia, who was standing at the door, narrowed her eyes. A cold, killing look flashed in them.
Elyse's eyes also showed a flicker of anger, but she covered it quickly. "It's not impossible. But Lord Leo, your current power isn't enough to control me yet."
Her voice was full of temptation, but it wasn't as friendly as before.
Leo didn't want to waste time with this woman. He said, "We can talk about the title later. First, we need to take Giant Whale Island. I'll go to the island tonight. And I need to borrow someone from you."
He pointed at Cynthia at the door.
Cynthia didn't move. She only followed the princess's orders.
Elyse didn't hesitate. She said, "No problem. I'll go with you. But the order has already been given. We must attack the Dark Dragon Empire soldiers at midnight tonight."
"Okay, that's fine." Leo saw she agreed and stood up to leave.
"Princess, this man is too bold. Let me kill him. No one will even know," Cynthia said coldly, her body full of killing intent.
Elyse stood up and pulled her down. She comforted her. "Cynthia, don't fall for it. This Leo is trying to anger me on purpose. And he's more useful alive."
"Is that so? But I think getting those dwarves is just as good," Cynthia said, not understanding.
Elyse shook her head and said nothing more.
...
Night fell. A small raft was lowered from the big ship.
Leo and the others jumped onto the raft. Marina, Lilia, Biggy, Secondy, Elyse, and Cynthia were all with them. The others stayed on the ship.
Anna also wanted to go.
But Leo told her that they would use the Smoothbore cannon at midnight. She was happy and stayed behind.
This past half-month on the sea had been almost safe. No need to use the cannon.
Anna had been dying to use it.
Leo wasn't sure if it was right to leave this girl on the ship. He felt a little sorry for the Black Dragon Empire soldiers.
Under Marina's lead, the raft quietly entered the mist.
Soon, the group passed through the mist. In the night, a huge object appeared.
This was Giant Whale Island, almost ten thousand kilometers wide. It was like a small landmass.
This was where the Minotaurs gathered. Because big whales often came around, it was called Giant Whale Island.
It used to be an isolated island. The Minotaurs lived there on their own.
But with more ships coming, the island was found. Especially because of its rich minerals, many countries wanted it. Finally, the Black Dragon Kingdom took it over.
The Minotaurs on the island were enslaved. Some were born and raised in dark mines, never seeing the light of day.
The sea wind blew. The waves hit the shore, making a loud noise.
Leo and the others carefully avoided the Black Dragon Empire soldiers on the coast. They quietly stepped onto Giant Whale Island.
"Sir, be careful. I'm not sure about the situation on this island," Biggy said, watching around. He moved through the bushes into the island.
Not far away, firelight shone. There was a lot of noise.
That was where the Black Dragon Empire soldiers and some sailors lived.
Leo and the others quietly moved closer. A group of people was gathered around a large iron cage, cheering loudly.
Leo saw what was inside the cage. He felt his anger rise.
Inside the cage was covered in blood. A lion was caged, along with a Minotaur mother and her child.
They were using the Minotaur mother and child for fun!