Lord: I can see loyalty.

Vio withdrew his gaze from the sea and turned it back to Axel.

"Speaking of those Western pirates," he paused, "how are the sailors I had you train doing?"

Axel grinned, revealing two rows of teeth yellowed from being soaked in sea salt.

"Don't worry, Your Excellency, the training is already complete!" He patted his chest, his voice booming as if he were announcing to the entire village.

"At least a hundred skilled fighters, all of them capable of swimming, ready to take on those scum from the Western Frontier at any time!"

The surrounding pirates joined in the commotion, some whistling, others waving their arms, as if they were about to board the ship and fight at any moment.

Vio glanced at him, a slight smile playing on his lips, but said nothing.

He knew perfectly well how much exaggeration was in Axel's words.

A hundred or so good men? If half of them are truly qualified, that would be good enough. Pirates are naturally prone to boasting, and if you don't take their words with a grain of salt, you'll easily be fooled into going to sea.

But Vio didn't expose it. Something was better than nothing, and he hadn't really been interested in the matter for a while, so this was a good opportunity to see it for himself.

"Take me to see that Elifis first," Vio said to Glenn.

Glenn nodded and turned to lead the way.

After walking along several sandy paths, at the end of a row of houses, there is a relatively quiet wooden house.

Several pirates were squatting and chatting in front of the house. When they saw Glenn and Vio coming over, they quickly stood up and bowed.

"Is he inside?" Glenn asked.

One of the pirates nodded: "They haven't come out yet."

Glenn pushed open the door.

The room was dimly lit, with only a few rays of sunlight filtering through a small window. A tall, slender figure stood by the window, his back to the door, holding a long sword and gently wiping it.

Hearing the door open, the person turned around.

That was Elifis.

His condition was better than when he first arrived; although his face was still pale, you could tell from his eyes that he had improved a lot.

He had changed out of his white clothes and into coarse cloth garments provided by the pirates, which looked somewhat loose on his tall and thin frame.

He nodded slightly when he saw Glenn, but his gaze quickly passed over Glenn and landed on the young man behind him.

The gaze lingered on Vio for a moment, scrutinizing and appraising him, with a hint of barely perceptible wariness.

"Elifis," Glenn said, "you're leaving again?"

Elifis withdrew his gaze, sheathed his longsword, and hung it at his waist.

"That's right, it's time to leave."

Glenn frowned. "Leave? You've only just arrived."

"Precisely because I've just arrived, that's why I'm leaving." Elifis's voice was calm, revealing no emotion. "I have no reason to stay here."

Glenn paused for a moment, seemingly considering his words, which was somewhat difficult for someone as inarticulate as him.

Vio didn't interrupt them, but just stood aside and watched quietly. After a moment, he also brought up the panel.

[Name: Elifis]

Race: Human

Age: 25

[Faction: None]

[Hobbies: Swordsmanship, making friends with strong opponents, sword duels]

【Features: Extremely flexible, rich in practical experience, advanced basic swordsmanship, intermediate swordsmanship not included】

Loyalty: Not loyal to you

[Status: Cautious, Observing]

Vio's heart skipped a beat.

Sword techniques not included?

This was the first time he had ever seen such a label.

This is clearly a type of knightly swordsmanship.

Swordsmanship is swordsmanship. He has seen both named and unnamed styles, but the word "unrecorded" means that this swordsmanship has not yet been officially named or recorded.

It's either a rare, uncommon tradition in some remote place, or...

This person created it himself!

He glanced at Elifis again. Twenty-five years old, and he could create his own swordsmanship? And he even reached the intermediate level? This talent was top-notch in the entire kingdom.

Let's go together.

Elifis's voice interrupted Vio's thoughts. He looked at Glenn with a hint of sincerity in his eyes.

"The Southern Territory is already in turmoil, as you should know. The pirates from the Western Territory will arrive sooner or later, and nobody knows what chaos this place will become. Come with me; at least... it's better than waiting to die here."

Glenn shook his head.

"I won't leave."

Elifis frowned slightly: "Why?"

Glenn didn't answer, he just glanced at Vio.

Elifis followed his gaze and looked at the young man again. He sized Vio up and down, his eyes filled with a deeper meaning.

After a moment, he nodded.

"He's a strong person," he said calmly, simply stating a fact. "Younger than I expected, but definitely a strong person."

He turned to Glenn, his lips slightly downturned, revealing a hint of disappointment.

"It seems I can't change your mind."

Glenn remained silent.

As Elifis walked to the door, he paused for a moment as he passed Glenn.

"May we meet again someday," he said. "I believe we will meet again."

He didn't look at Vio again, nor did he say goodbye. He simply strode out of the wooden house and headed towards the village entrance.

The tall, slender figure quickly disappeared into the afternoon sunlight.

The room fell silent again.

Glenn stood there, gazing in the direction of the door, without moving for a long time.

Vio glanced at him, said nothing, and turned to walk out of the cabin.

Outside, Captain Vincent of the Royal Guard immediately approached and asked in a low voice, "Sir, that man... should we follow him?"

Vio shook his head.

"No need, let him go."

Vincent nodded without asking any further questions.

Vio raised his gaze to the shimmering sea in the distance, his tone calm.

"Axel."

The pirate captain suddenly appeared out of nowhere, grinning as he approached: "Hey, what are your orders, Earl?"

Vio turned around and looked at him.

"Take me to see how the Southern Navy you built for me is doing."

Axel grinned and strode toward the sea, Vio and Vincent following behind.

Before we even arrived at our destination, a cacophony of noise assaulted our senses.

"Push harder! Haven't you eaten?!"

"Legs! Legs, keep up! Are you rowing or drowning?!"

"One more round! Whoever collapses first doesn't get any drinks tonight!"

After turning past a rocky outcrop, the view suddenly opened up before us.

It was a large, man-made beach, which was now bustling with people.

Indeed, there were about a hundred men shirtless, undergoing various training exercises under the reprimands of several old pirates.

Some were sparring on the beach, their punches landing hard and sand flying everywhere, while others were practicing their balance by standing on swaying wooden boats with wooden swords.

Some held heavy wooden oars, repeatedly paddling, their arm muscles bulging and their faces flushed.

Another group of people were driven into the shallow sea and were practicing swimming and diving in waist-deep water, with waves surging and shouts echoing.

"Hurry up! Don't dawdle!"

An old pirate with a missing ear stood on a reef, holding a wooden stick in his hand, waving it at the group of people in the sea.

A young sailor was a beat too slow and was knocked off balance by a wave. The old pirate's curses immediately rained down on him.

On the rocks by the shore, several small speedboats under repair were moored, and several Black Pearl members who looked like craftsmen, along with blacksmiths and craftsmen from the crafts camp, were hammering and tinkering, with piles of wood and hemp ropes around them.

"How's it going, Your Excellency?" Axel said smugly, hands on his hips, gesturing with his chin towards the bustling beach. "About a hundred skilled fighters, not one missing, are all practicing!"

Vio glanced at it but didn't say anything.

There were indeed about a hundred people, and it was indeed... very chaotic.

Yes, that's very pirate-like.

Despite the chaos, they also learned the ruthlessness and wildness of pirates. With more training, they might not be any worse than the Western sailors when they were actually taken to sea.

"It's alright." He nodded.

Axel's smile became even more unrestrained and ugly.