Mystery: I Married the Queen of Mystery.

Chapter 292 Encounter with Lieutenant General Iceberg

After hearing the Hermit's description, Alger, the Hanged Man, recalled some of the information he had learned. He thought to himself, "Does the Hermit know a lot about the School of Life?"
Audrey, the Justice, then asked, "Mr. Hermit, is the internal struggle within the School of Life related to their main path?"

"Hermit" Odysseus replied: "Of course it is related. For example, I formed an extraordinary organization, and its main extraordinary people are from the 'Voyeur' path and the 'Audience' path.

“These two approaches are not adjacent, and there is no fundamental contradiction. Moreover, they come together because of a common goal, so they can coexist harmoniously in the initial period.

“However, due to the limited resources and channels of Extraordinary, this must involve the issue of the main development direction.

"Extraordinaries from the 'Voyeur' path definitely hope to develop in a direction that is beneficial to their path, and the same is true for Extraordinaries from the 'Spectator' path.

"So even if they aren't adjacent pathways, conflicts will arise over such matters. However, if an organization has a primary extraordinary pathway, such problems won't arise, and internal friction can be avoided to a large extent."

Audrey smiled and said, "So that's how it is."

Priestess Cattleya also nodded slowly, believing that the Hermit's analysis was very accurate.

Klein and Alger shared similar views.

After discussing a few more topics at the gathering, Klein announced the end of this Tarot Club.

……

Odysseus returned to the real world and was stunned for a while. Then he went to the workshop outside to set up the altar, sacrificed the extraordinary weapon he had taken out in advance to the "Fool", and paid 80 pounds.

About twenty minutes later, Odysseus received a notice and performed a "granting ceremony", obtaining 3740 pounds from the transaction information, as well as 11 sequence 9 level main materials.

There was also a small glass bottle of black liquid and a notebook filled with herbal recipes.

Because he paid 400 pounds for "Little Sun" Derrick, Odysseus was originally only supposed to get 3600 pounds. However, "Moon" Emlyn asked an extra question, so he paid an extra 300 pounds.

After deducting the cost of purchasing auxiliary materials from Cattleya and the 80 pounds paid to Emlyn for the prescription, the final amount was 3740 pounds.

After collecting the extraordinary materials and gold pounds, Odysseus made a simple plan for the new week.

Generally speaking, this week is definitely not as busy as last week. The teleportation array has been built, and the construction work on Cruz Island can be handed over to Mandy.

So the main task this week is to hunt the "Shining Star Tree" and completely digest the potion to strive for promotion.

Thinking of this, Odysseus curled his lips: He's surpassed Klein!

He remembered that it would take Klein about two months to basically digest the potion and take the "Admiral of the Stars" ship to the "Ruins of the Gods' War" to look for the mermaid.

However, Odysseus soon stopped laughing, because most of the potion of the "Scroll Professor" had been digested in advance, and the potion of the "Mystic" was also likely to be digested in advance, but it was hard to say what the sequence would be after that.

However, Klein's potions were easier to digest the higher their sequence, and Sequence 1 "Mystical Servant" melted in the mouth.

Odysseus shook his head and stopped thinking about these things.

Coming out of the studio, the other crew members who were catching up on sleep and resting were basically all up and were drinking coffee and chatting in the restaurant.

Odysseus chatted with them for a few words, then went to the cockpit to confirm the course. At the current speed, they would probably reach their destination tomorrow morning.

After exploring the ruins, the "Argo" can return.

So Odysseus returned to Cruz Island again. This time he came back mainly to talk to Wells, the mayor of Plain Town and the local indigenous representative.

He used the "Flying Scroll" to fly to the southern plains and found Wells sitting at home eating mangoes with his wife.

This local young man was about the same age as Odysseus, but he was married and had two children.

Their house is relatively spacious for the area, with three thatched houses and a small yard.

When Wells's wife saw Odysseus, she immediately knelt down respectfully. Wells, who had come into contact with Odysseus before, knew that the "mayor" did not like such servile behavior. He quickly smiled and said, "I'm sorry, mayor, she was frightened before."

Then he spoke a few words loudly to his wife in the local language. His wife hung her head and quickly left with the child.

Odysseus looked at the man's bent back and asked, "What frightened you?"

Wells asked Odysseus to sit down on the straw mat before he said, "When she was ten years old, she was playing with her brother when the police officer Thor from Port Town suddenly asked her brother to kneel down. Her brother refused, so Thor killed her brother."

Odysseus was stunned. This seemed to be a psychological trauma.

At the same time, he also realized that the conflict between the locals and the people of the Northern Continent was very deep, but the people of the Northern Continent had muskets and strong organizational capabilities, so this conflict was well covered up.

"There are many such cases." Wells cut a piece of mango for Odysseus as if he didn't take it seriously. He said, "My sister was captured by Sheriff Tom and was said to have been sold to pirates. There has been no news of her for so many years.

"So I told my daughter not to wash her face and not to look up when she sees someone from the North Continent."

He breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "But I can sense that you are different from your subordinates. With your help, we may be able to protect our loved ones in the future."

Odysseus took a deep breath before saying, "Yes, there will be a day like that. Well, I will issue new laws in the near future to protect the interests of local people."

"That's great." Wells said happily.

He paused before asking, "Excuse me, what do you want to see me about?"

Odysseus took a bite of mango. While listening to Wells's story, he didn't notice anything in the first bite. The second bite made him feel quite sweet. "I really want to talk to the tribe in the mountains. I need a guide. It would be best if I could notify them in advance."

Currently, the area actually controlled by Odysseus only accounts for about one-fifth of the entire island, and the rest is basically mountainous.

Wells thought for a moment before saying, "Many people in the villages closest to the mountains are relatives of the tribes there, and their young people often marry in secret.

"I can discuss this with the captains of those villages and ask them to find a few people to notify the tribes in the mountains."

Odysseus nodded and said, "You can tell the tribes in the mountains that I can provide them with some effective medicines to treat their diseases and open a shop there.

“The condition is that they don’t attack the town again.

"Of course I don't care if they attack those who are mining, because that is the personal behavior of the people of the North Continent."

Wells took note, then smiled and said, "Although the tribes in the mountains don't like to interact with the outside world, they can distinguish between good intentions and bad intentions."

Odysseus smiled and pointed at the mango and said, "Cut me some more."

When he was in Backlund, although Odysseus was relatively wealthy, the fruits he ate were rather simple, mostly apples and oranges, fruits that could be stored for a long time.

Not to mention mangoes and pineapples, even watermelons are rarely available.

It was not until Odysseus arrived at the island of Lasha that he basically achieved fruit freedom.

Wells quickly cut a piece of mango for the mayor. Odysseus asked, "What's the situation like with the tribes in the mountains?"

After he finished speaking, he put the mango into his mouth.

"There are probably three tribes in the mountains," Wells said. "There's a road leading into the mountains from the town, and that's the territory of the Tailang tribe.

“There is also a small path from the south that leads into the mountains, which is the territory of the Gran tribe.

“On the west side of the island is the Pulang tribe.

"The relationship between the three tribes is generally that the Tailang and Gelang tribes are relatively harmonious, while the Pulang tribe is said to be more secretive and rarely interacts with the other two tribes."

Odysseus hummed, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Get this done as soon as possible. I'll come back in two days to inquire about the specific progress."

Wells nodded: "Okay."

After leaving Plain Town, Odysseus returned to Port Town and wandered around the dock, wondering whether to return to the ship for dinner or go to Bayam.

But Rupert shouted from a distance: "Captain! The Feynapote is here again."

The so-called "Fenetporter" is, of course, referring to the Fenetporter naval officer Abel.

So Odysseus went to the tavern again and saw Abel wearing glasses and a navy uniform.

This time the conversation between the two was quite pleasant and the deal was finally concluded at 2 pounds.

However, there are differences of opinion on how to pay.

Abel's idea was to wait until they sent someone to take over the ship before paying for the goods.

Of course, Odysseus disagreed: "For me, this payment method has no security at all."

Then he proposed his plan: "You pay 15000 pounds first, and then pay the rest after you get on board."

Abel disagreed with this payment plan, so Odysseus took another step back and made three payments. The first payment was 5000 pounds, indicating the start of the transaction. After boarding the ship, he would pay 1 pounds, and the remaining 5000 pounds would be paid after the ship was taken away.

Odysseus then hinted to Abel that if they were still unwilling, he could consider contacting the Loen Navy in Bayam.

Abel then agreed and promised to bring the 5000 pounds later.

The two men discussed the specific transaction time before Abel quickly left.

After seeing him off, Rupert smiled and said, "I didn't expect it would actually sell for 2 pounds."

Odysseus also smiled and said, "I have something to discuss with you."

So the two of them went to the warehouse with the main "teleportation array" and soon heard Abel's surprised voice: "What? The 'Ghost' is not for sale to..."

Then he quickly lowered his voice and said, "We're not selling it to the Feynapotes anymore?"

Odysseus sat on a box of goods and nodded: "Yes, I won't sell it to them, but I'll still take the money."

For a moment, Rupert didn't know what to say, but then he thought, he is a pirate now, isn't this normal?

Seeing Rupert had made this change, Odysseus changed the subject: "I intend to invest all the proceeds from this operation into the construction of Cruz Island."

Rupert was stunned for a moment: "If you don't hide it, you will spend it all?"

"Spend it all," Odysseus said. "If money is not spent, it is not money."

Rupert sighed: "We must be the most unique pirates."

Odysseus smiled and said, “I’m spending these gold pounds because it won’t be long before I can get more gold medals.

"Well, you can discuss this with Mandy when you have time."

Second mate Rupert also realized that the captain's ultimate goal of going to sea was not to become a "pirate general."

The two chatted for a while and then went to a restaurant together to have a greasy dinner.

Now Odysseus has become the biggest customer of this restaurant. After all, those people brought back from Zaker Island are now eating here.

At this rate, the restaurant owner will be the richest man on the island.

So when Odysseus came to eat, the boss was very attentive and served him drinks and wine.

After dinner, Odysseus returned to the Argo and found that the crew members did not enjoy their vacation, but had started working in the studio again.

So Odysseus also went to chat with everyone while assembling those extraordinary weapons.

At around nine o'clock in the evening, all the work was completed and the crew members breathed a sigh of relief.

Salina even sighed, "I knew the bonus on this ship wouldn't be so easy to get."

It's difficult for her, a Beyonder on the "Sailor" path, to assemble such sophisticated Beyonder weapons.

The other crew members had a similar mentality. They felt that they were not here to be pirates, but more like working on an assembly line in a factory.

However, when everyone thought about the bonuses they had just received, they felt that doing these jobs was not impossible.

After all, they had just joined the pirate group for more than a week, and they had received several hundred pounds in bonuses alone. Third mate Beavis even received more than a thousand pounds.

After so many years at sea, they have never been as rich as they are now.

After finally completing these tasks, Odysseus went to the restaurant with everyone to drink a beer and talk about the ruins to be explored tomorrow.

Odysseus said, "That was the information I obtained from Bayam."

“About three months ago, a ship spotted a deserted island with a cyan light.

"There were several adventurers on that ship. They were extraordinary people and realized that there might be magical items or extraordinary creatures on that island." So those adventurers organized people to explore the island and found a relic on the island.

"Unfortunately, there were no historical experts among them, so they were unable to deduce the age of the ruins, and they didn't find any magical items. They just looted the antiques inside and left.

“Originally, I wanted to take you there for a tour, but I just got some accurate information that there is an extraordinary creature on that island that I need.

“So I guess there should be some extraordinary creatures on that island, or even some magical items, but the previous adventurers just didn’t find them.

"Tomorrow's action, in addition to touring the ruins, will also involve helping me hunt. You can also hunt extraordinary creatures alone or in partnership.

"Sell me all the creatures you hunt and any spiritual materials you don't need. All the extraordinary materials you obtain will be yours. You can sell them after landing, or give them to me in exchange for merit or gold pounds."

When the other crew members heard that they could make some money tomorrow, all their tiredness disappeared and they began to speculate about what level of extraordinary creatures there were on that island.

Odysseus reminded, "Considering that some Beyonders have already landed on that island, there shouldn't be any Beyonder creatures of too low a level. The remaining Beyonder creatures may be difficult to hunt alone, so you still have to be careful.

"Also, the intelligence also said that two of their members were missing, but they couldn't find them after searching the entire island. There must be some unknown dangers."

The other crew members nodded in agreement and chatted for a few more words. Odysseus finished his beer and returned to the studio. The other members also went back to rest.

The next morning, after breakfast, everyone came to the cab one after another, because their target island had appeared in their sight.

But as they got closer, everyone realized something was wrong. There was a huge pirate ship docked there.

So Odysseus gave the order to prepare for battle, and then he brought the first mate Basil and the second mate Rupert, who had been promoted, and everyone was ready for the raid.

For them, attacking a pirate group is almost like making extra money.

The pirate ship docked on the other side of the island also discovered the "Argo". Before the sails of the huge pirate ship could be lowered, the whole ship flashed with a layer of golden light and immediately moved forward. It was obvious that it also had some extraordinary arrangements.

At this time, Odysseus, who had been observing through a telescope, noticed that the flag on the ship's mast had the symbols of a book and an eye: "That seems to be the 'Golden Dream'."

That is the ship of Admiral "Iceberg" Edwina Edwards.

Bazel also picked up the telescope and looked for a while: "It's the 'Golden Dream'. I remember their flag."

Everyone looked at the captain. What should he do? He was the "Pirate General". Should he still rob?
Odysseus was very happy at this moment, because he was now a recognized "big pirate". He had planned to create an opportunity to get close to "Vice Admiral Iceberg" after solving the problem of "Ghost", but he didn't expect that the opportunity would come to him like this!
But he still tried to calm himself down. He wanted to be close, but also be natural.

Odysseus thought for a moment before saying to his first mate, Bazel: "Send flags and tell them we want to negotiate."

Bazel immediately said, "Okay."

Bazel sent out a flag signal on the deck and received a reply a moment later. He immediately returned to the bridge and said, "The other party's reply is: Agreed."

Odysseus had heard pirates talk about the rules of pirate negotiations in a bar before. Generally, the captains of both sides and one or two attendants would land on an uninhabited island and talk loudly on the beach at a distance of dozens of meters.

The reason it was so far away was that it was beyond the effective range of the revolver.

"Be alert." Odysseus warned the other crew members, then went to the deck and flew towards the "Golden Dream" using the "Flying Scroll".

Since both parties are extraordinary people, they can communicate by flying over the sea without having to shout from dozens of meters away.

After all, the person opposite them was a "pirate general". Although the other members were a little worried, they also knew the rules of negotiation, so they all stood on the deck and looked at the captain's back.

Shortly after Odysseus set off, a figure also flew up from the deck of the "Golden Dream".

Basel saw through the telescope that it was a woman, who should be "Vice Admiral Iceberg".

Odysseus flew forward for two minutes and met the "Vice Admiral Iceberg" roughly between the "Argo" and the "Golden Dream".

She was a beautiful lady with an oval face, a high nose bridge, thin lips, and long brown hair parted in the middle and tied in a simple yet exquisite knot at the back of her head.

She wore a white lace top, a beige jacket, a dark knee-length skirt, and thigh-high leather boots.

Although Vice Admiral Iceberg had a sword hanging around his waist, he did not look like a pirate.

At the same time, Vice Admiral Iceberg was also sizing up Odysseus. The two of them were suspended in mid-air. After a few seconds of silence, Odysseus smiled and said, "Hello, ma'am. I'm glad to see you here."

Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina didn't smile, but she wasn't indifferent either: "Hello, nice to meet you too."

Odysseus said, "I want to discuss with you whether we can also land on that island."

"You want to explore that ruin too?"

"I do plan to go sightseeing with my subordinates," Odysseus said with a smile, "but that's not my main purpose, because I heard that the ruins have been completely looted."

Edwina glanced at the location of the Argo: "I heard the news too."

Odysseus examined Edwina's expression, and after a moment's consideration, he said, "If your goal is the ruins, I can choose not to enter, but please do not interfere with my actions."

Edwina also understood: "Are you here to hunt the extraordinary creatures on the island?"

Odysseus did not deny: "Yes."

His goals and Edwina's goals were obviously not contradictory.

Edwina thought for a moment before saying, "You can wait until we leave before exploring."

Odysseus smiled and said, "Theoretically, 'ladies first' is more gentlemanly, but this expedition is very important to me. I'm sorry, I can't accept such a request."

Then he continued, “My suggestion is that we go to the island together and each look for what we need.

"I have already promised not to enter that ruins..."

Seeing that Vice Admiral Iceberg's expression didn't change, Odysseus suddenly said, "...Perhaps you need to go somewhere else, but I still say that our goals don't conflict, so there's no need to get too nervous."

Edwina said, "I find it hard to believe that Captain Gar, who just wiped out two large pirate groups, is now targeting the 'Pirate General'."

Odysseus suddenly realized that his reputation seemed a bit too much, making the "Pirate General" wary of him.

Fortunately, he had a backup plan: "I expressed my goodwill to Vice Admiral Iceberg a long time ago. One of your crew members participated in the first intelligence exchange meeting and asked me about the function of the key.

"I told him what the key was for and only charged him £50."

Edwina was somewhat moved: "Are you the 'Captain'?"

When Danitz reported this to him, she didn't take it seriously, because this information was far more than what could be bought with 50 pounds.

Seeing the young man across from her nod, Edwina thought for a moment: "How did you come to this conclusion?"

Odysseus made up a story while saying, "First of all, the size of the key is very unusual. If the key is that big, the lock must be even bigger. It's obvious that it's not a human product.

"Secondly, I once read in an ancient tome that there is a lock in the Giant King's Court that matches the size of the key.

"The legend also says that after the Giant King fell, the door of the palace was closed forever."

These words were spoken by Odysseus imitating the tone of ancient books, because the one who closed the door was the "Dark Angel" Sasriel, and it had little to do with the "Giant King".

Edwina asked again, "Is the Giant King's Court at the end of the Sonia Sea?"

Odysseus said truthfully, "Legend has it that there is only a shadow of the Giant King's Court there."

"Projection?" Edwina asked, "What do you mean?"

Odysseus smiled and said, "After I answer your question, can you let me go to this island with you?"

He paused and continued, "Although I don't think I'm a righteous person, the pirate groups I attacked were all evil guys, and there were not two of them, but three.

"I've heard a long time ago that Vice Admiral Iceberg prefers chasing treasure to killing. If you don't attack us, we won't attack you."

Edwina thought for a moment before saying, "We can go ashore together."

Since Captain Gal had expressed his goodwill early on, Edwina was not so resistant to going ashore together.

Besides, Odysseus's answer was very important information, and Edwina could not stop him. After all, this island was not her home.

Odysseus said, "I have obtained some notes about an expedition to the end of the Sonia Sea. It is said that in the dream there, there is a huge palace that is always in dusk. Judging from the description, that should be the Giant King's Court.

“But the problem is that it’s a royal court in a dream, not a real royal court.

"I also learned through other channels that it was actually the Giant King's Court in a dream of a terrifying existence, and could also be seen as a projection of the real 'Giant King's Court'.

"Legend has it that you can reach the true Giant King's Court through there, but it's extremely dangerous, as there's a high chance you'll die inexplicably in that terrifying being's dream."

Edwina nodded slowly, glanced at the Argo's flag, and said, "You are a learned captain."

Odysseus smiled and said, “I have heard that you are also a knowledgeable captain.

"If we have time, we can communicate, but now is obviously not a good time to do so."

Edwina nodded and said, “After we return, you will land on the west side of the island, and I will land on the east side.

“Before landing, wrap a white cloth around your left arm, and my crew will also wrap theirs around theirs.

"If we meet on an island and you don't have a white cloth on your left arm, I will regard it as a reluctance to jointly explore the island, and I may immediately order an attack."

Because she was the "Pirate General", she said these things in an imperative tone.

Odysseus agreed: "Yes."

So both sides flew back, Odysseus told the crew about wrapping the white cloth, and then ordered a landing on the west side of the island.

Bazel still couldn't believe it: "That's it?"

He knew very well that pirates rarely allowed other forces to act together because such actions could easily lead to a fight.

The other party was a "Pirate General", while "Captain Gal" was just a "Great Pirate". According to convention, they would explore the area first before allowing the "Sword of Dawn" pirate group to land.

Odysseus was stunned by the question: "That's it."

Rupert also asked: "Didn't they make any demands?"

"I answered a question for Vice Admiral Iceberg," Odysseus said with a smile. "That happened to be the information she needed."

The other members nodded at this, it made sense.

Moreover, they had no doubts that there was anything strange about Odysseus's answer to Vice Admiral Iceberg's question. After all, Captain Gal would convene intelligence exchange meetings regularly.

Odysseus said, “But don’t let your guard down, be careful of them launching a sudden attack on the island.

"The remaining crew members kept the safety of the 'Extraordinary Machine Cannon' unlocked to prevent a surprise attack."

After deciding on the next course of action, everyone began tying white cloth around their left arms, then went to the deck and prepared to land.

There is no port here and no good landing place, so we can only lower the small boat and land on the beach.

But that was for ordinary pirates. Odysseus directly took out a few "flying scrolls" and all the crew members except the navigators flew onto the beach.

Then the search began, with the "Corrupted Baron" Bazel, who was good at close combat and had decent defense, walking in the front.

Then came Odysseus and Rupert, with Third Mate Beavis and Combat Captain Cleveland at the rear, and Boatswain Salina, and crew members Boris and Noy in the middle.

Soon they discovered an extraordinary creature that looked like a rooster. Rupert, who had been promoted to "Priest of Disaster", made it unlucky. It stumbled while escaping, and Bazel rushed up and beat it half to death with one punch.

Odysseus threw a scroll casually, and the "rooster" was pierced and killed from different directions by many wooden thorns growing around it.

This is an extraordinary creature of Sequence Level 7. Odysseus collected it first and then divided the spoils after returning.

The reason why it was killed so easily was because there were three Sequence 6s involved in the attack. If Ino and the others had encountered it alone, it would have been difficult to deal with it.

After walking forward for more than an hour, Odysseus and others met "Vice Admiral Iceberg" and their crew. The two sides were several meters apart and confronted each other silently for more than ten seconds.

Because both sides had white cloth wrapped around their arms, after a brief standoff, Odysseus and Vice Admiral Iceberg smiled and nodded, and Edwina also nodded in response.

The two engines then cautiously separated and each began new explorations.

After they were quite far away, Edwina whispered to the crew, "This pirate group actually has three Sequence 6s!"

(End of this chapter)