abnormal mutation

Chapter 154 Storm Council
“To be precise, it’s the two of us. Just now it was one against two, now… two against one.” Roland pointed at him and then lightly tapped the sea.

"That blue-green frogman from the deep sea?" Liam's expression tightened, as if facing a formidable enemy.

“I’ve already captured the frogman; he’s on the ship ahead.” Roland shook his head slightly. “There’s also an octopus monster underwater; it’s very wary.”

The octopus monster remained lurking in the deep sea, out of sight, but he judged through his [bloodline perception] that it had not left.

Liam's mind was in turmoil. He remembered that Roland had only recently entered the Extraordinary Realm, and now he suddenly appeared here and even single-handedly killed a mid-sequence powerhouse? It sounded very counterintuitive.

He vaguely remembered being suddenly attacked during the voyage. He was no match for the frogmen and was seriously injured after enduring the attack for a few minutes. He never saw the so-called octopus monster.

"You...I..." He hesitated, unsure what to ask. "Does headquarters know?"

“We know you’re missing, but we don’t have any concrete information, and we’re very worried.” Roland kept his eyes fixed on the sea below.

"How did you find me?" Liam asked, puzzled. Roland didn't seem to be in this situation at all.

“Uh, do you see that ship up ahead? It’s the Sunflower from the Thistle Flower Merchant Guild. I heard there are metamorphosing butterfly pupae on board, so I came over to check it out. I didn’t expect…” Roland didn’t hide anything.

"You... were too reckless," Liam said, still somewhat shaken.

He had heard others praise Roland, but he hadn't paid much attention; the world was certainly not lacking in geniuses. But a genius like Roland was beyond what could be described as "the next Suleiman"; no amount of attention was too much.

“Now is not the time to talk about this.” Roland waved his hand, summoning Ailea, Singit, Lex, and Dina. “The crew has woken up and needs you to calm them down. Then, quickly take control of the three ships and turn back!”

They'll follow your instructions for now; be quick.

Liam's heart skipped a beat, but he didn't ask any more questions: "I know what to do. You stay alert and leave the rest to me."

After saying that, he and his men hurriedly left.

Roland breathed a sigh of relief. The greatest use of the crew members he had painstakingly revived was to sail the ship. This was near the coast, and as long as they got a little closer to the east coast, the octopus monster, even with its helpers, wouldn't dare to show itself.

"I can't attend the dinner; I hope Beyana won't hold a grudge."

The Hive Network was buzzing, but he didn't have time to check it. He just told Nami to leave quickly, because it would be troublesome if they ran into the octopus monster.

To facilitate the movement of the others, Roland made a rope connecting the three boats. None of the others, including Liam, could fly, and swimming across would be too dangerous.

Before long, suppressed cheers could be faintly heard from various parts of the ship.

Only twenty or thirty crew members from the Northern Merchant Guild survived, but they were experienced and far better than the gill people who could fill in temporarily.

The three cargo ships traced three arcs of different sizes on the sea, turning their bows and heading towards the northwest coastline.

At the top of the bridge of the Sunflower, a colorful spider was perched on it, while Liam, feeling the pressure, silently stood in a corner.

Is he still there?

"Should be there."

As they were talking, the octopus monster suddenly leaped out of the sea, stared at Roland for a long time from afar, and then sank back into the sea and disappeared.

"Be careful, it might be a trap!" Liam warned in a deep voice.

"Hmm." Roland nodded slightly. "Which port are you planning to dock at?"

“The inner harbor of Seina is crowded with people and eyes in Almosid and Milmarcos,” Liam mused.

Seinane is located about 200-300 Delhi north of the North Bay exit. It benefits somewhat from the North Bay, but its geographical location and environment are average, so it can only be considered a second-tier port city.

However, it and the more northerly frozen port of Escopetl are almost entirely controlled by the Northern Merchant Guild, with their industries densely distributed, making everything easier for them. Roland casually tore off the flag of the Thistle Merchant Guild, smiled, and said, "That ship... cannot be returned; it is my spoils of war."

“Of course we can’t return it. Someone else will take the blame anyway, but it needs to be refitted at the Seinane Shipyard first. Then you can add an agreement to have it operated by the Northern Union Chamber of Commerce’s Maritime Trading Company, and I guarantee you’ll make a fortune.” Liam laughed heartily, in high spirits.

"How much is this ship worth?" Roland asked curiously.

"This is a standard Imperial steam freighter, powered by a triple-expansion steam engine, with a speed of 10-12 knots, which translates to approximately 18-22 Delhi..."

Our chamber of commerce only has eight large cargo ships that belong to the second tier, named after the eight virtues of chivalry.

The new ship will cost no less than 25 German dollars to build and sell for more than 38 dollars..." Liam didn't need to think; he knew the cargo ship's parameters by heart.

There are other merchant guilds with even better cargo ships, but only two. The Thistle Merchant Guild is powerful, having started with maritime trade, but its only advantage is in numbers.

Roland raised an eyebrow, surprised that a cargo ship was worth so much. This battle hadn't been in vain; they'd made another fortune. He seriously suspected those people were just there to rob them.

"Let's do it your way, but I can't go with you. I was originally attending a banquet, but I sneaked out. Please keep it a secret."

"Don't worry." Liam had already guessed it. After regaining his composure, many details simply couldn't withstand scrutiny and careful thought, but he didn't ask anything.

"You stay on guard, I'll go check what good stuff is in the cabin."

"it is good."

He claimed he was going to see the spoils of war, but Roland first killed two sea people and used [Bloodline Resonance] to access their memories.

Unexpectedly, there was a surprising discovery: they came from an organization called the Storm Council, which seemed to have been active in the Endless Sea. I don't know why they suddenly came to the Silent Sea to cause trouble.

The memories of the dead are too fragmented. He plans to leave a few survivors, including the frogman and the glutton, and have Liam escort them all back to the Chamber of Commerce. He thinks he can pry out some secrets from them.

Roland didn't care about their extraordinary qualities at all; he had done something so big this time that it was sure to cause a sensation on the committee.

Strength determines status; he can have whatever he wants, so this little bit doesn't bother him.

Roland figured the octopus monster was unlikely to return, so he relaxed a bit and opened a blind box in the cabin.

The Sunflower's route is very special, with a wide variety of extraordinary materials that are extremely rare. Even though he had studied this kind of knowledge extensively, he still didn't recognize many of them.

Fortunately, he had the Eye of Pro. After the appraisal, hundreds of extraordinary items disappeared from his hands and were teleported to the Chessboard Vault.

It contains mainly extraordinary materials of low to medium rank, as well as three magical items and one sealed artifact.

The good news is that there are molted butterfly pupae inside; the bad news is that there's only one. According to the agreement, it should belong to Colin.

Roland had no intention of breaching the contract; he was still quite far from reaching the intermediate level and had ample time to gather the necessary materials.

In addition, there were several boxes of simply refined gold ore, which, after being transformed into divine metal, weighed over a hundred kilograms and were worth sixty to seventy thousand German dollars.

Roland remained calm and didn't get too excited. These were all extras; the real value lay in the cargo ship and its cargo!
The Thistle Flower Merchant Guild is merely a transporter; most of these goods don't belong to them. Procurement requires capital, and the Silent Sea is relatively calm, making it difficult to even achieve a 30% profit margin. Meanwhile, his business is entirely risk-free.

'I'm starting to understand the Thistle Merchant Guild better now. Making money through legitimate business is slow; it's much faster to rob.'

With so many spoils, he didn't bother to loot and count them. Instead, he called Aileya and Singit onto the Sunflower and had them travel with the ship to report back on the situation.

Lexis and Diana went back to rest; his soul was under a lot of pressure if everyone was outside.

(End of this chapter)