Inn
‘A.I. Chip, scan their stats!’ Leylin commanded inwardly.
[Beep! Establishing mission, initiating scan.] Invisible ripples swept across the area, and the stats of one the barbarian guards were soon displayed.
[Name: Unknown, Race: Barbarian Warrior, Rank 5, Strength: 5, Agility: 2, Vitality: 4, Spirit: 1. Feats: 1. Strong: Barbarians possess increased strength and vitality. 2. Berserk: When they hit emotional extremes, some barbarians have the ability to enter a berserk state of violence, increase strength by 1 and reducing agility and spirit by 0.5.]
The A.I. Chip scanned the other barbarian as well, and he had similar stats.
‘These two barbarian warriors both have Berserk abilities?’ Leylin secretly compared them to his own men, ‘If they really fight, then even Cyclops can’t beat them. Perhaps Giant could get in one strike if he risked his life, but after that…
‘After all, it’s rumoured that barbarians are very well suited to be warriors, but the intelligent ones amongst them can also learn spells, and are capable of using magic…’
This sort of magic ability which was linked to the bloodline was different from that of wizards, somewhat similar instead to the powers of Warlocks. However, their magic was rather restricted, and only a select few were able to use it.
Not even the elite troops of the continent dared to provoke barbarian clans with members who had the ability to use magic.
‘It is generally understood that with the scale of the Barbarian pirate crew, the number of women and children that they have to feed must be even greater. On this basis, it’s normal for them to have a few magical Professionals. No wonder they were able to resist Marquis Louis for so long…’
All of these thoughts whirled through Leylin’s mind in the blink of an eye. To anyone watching from the outside, it looked like he’d merely glanced at the warriors before sweeping past them into the inn.
A dense odour of rum mixed with tobacco smoke welcomed him inside, causing him to wrinkle his brows. Many other travelers were seated in the inn’s reception, and the tables there were heaped with a mountain of roasted meat and fruit. Barrels of rum were opened directly, despite a number of drunkards next to them glugging them all down.
Many scantily dresses maids flitted like butterflies through the main hall, occasionally felt up by various customers. They cursed at it, but still laughed all the while.
One really could not ask for more from an inn which specially catered to pirate customers. Fortunately, Leylin’s earlier frown was just a natural reaction from many years of living like a noble. His years of enduring hardship still allowed him to endure the vile environment he was now in.
It was clear that his group had attracted the attention of the other customers when they suddenly burst in, especially since Leylin was such a pretty little thing. There were even some reckless fools who wolf whistled at him.
“Giant!” Leylin said in a low voice, shaking his head.
“Do you want to die?” Giant emerged from the shadows. His enormous muscles and the faint traces of scars on them gave him an incredibly oppressive aura. The pirates jumped in surprise, and Giant disdainfully spat a mouthful of saliva at them and drew a line across his throat meaningfully.
“Well? If you’re not happy, then let’s take it outside,” Giant clearly knew the rules, and Leylin nodded at his words inwardly.
The pirates looked at Giant’s enormous body as well as the intensely dangerous feeling he gave off, and immediately sat down obediently like a bunch of small chicks, not daring to utter another word.
It was absolutely necessary for a pirate to have an instinct for danger. One look at Giant was enough to know that he was not to be trifled with, forget Leylin who was his master.
The pirates were beginning to secretly regret their earlier blunder, but there were naturally a few whose eyes gleamed with sinister intentions. One could not dominate Pirates’ Cove with strength alone, and every day there were several reckless and arrogant novices whose bodies were chucked into the sea.
Leylin was very happy to see the pirates developing plans to provoke him. When the time came, he resolved to teach them the true meaning of fear.
The hall remained silent for only a moment before returning to its normal uproarious state. No one wanted to break the rules laid down by the Barbarians and offend the crew.
“What can I do for you, guest?” As Leylin came to the counter, he found that the boss was a tall and beautiful woman who wore a scarlet low-cut dress and a fur shawl.
Her long red tail naughtily swept across her waist. She shot Leylin a sugar-sweet smile, and the mole at the edge of her mouth grew animated. The boss of the inn was a fox girl, and a stunningly top-grade one at that. Leylin could almost hear his men salivating from behind his back.
“I have 23 men here, are there enough rooms for them all to stay?” Leylin asked immediately. His eyes swept over the fox girl, but his gaze did not linger for too long. There was a flash of surprise in the fox girl’s eyes at his attitude, as it was very rare that a young man like him could resist her allure.
“Haha… Of course there are enough! I just need to know what kind of rooms you need,” the fox girl changed her strategy, slowly shifting her sinuous waist and revealing her beautiful curves, “We have ordinary rooms here that can fit 5 people. They cost 2 silver bars per night. The medium-ranking rooms are for 3 people, and costs 5 silver bars. What do you need, little brother?”
Her eyes sparkled brightly as she looked at Leylin appraisingly, “Of course, a young nobleman like you would want our best rooms. Not only will it be for you alone, but you will also have an enthusiastic maid serving you. It’s not too expensive, and it’ll only cost you two Dambrath gold coins per night…”
Leylin clearly felt the power of an enchantment coming from her eyes, but it was completely useless. His spiritual force had already reached 8, and this was nothing.
“I need a single room. Giant, Cyclops and Hulk will have a medium-rank room. The rest will all stay in ordinary rooms,” Leylin confidently gave himself the best room, and placed his two officers as well as a soldier from his family into the medium-ranked room. The rest were given ordinary treatment. This was only right, it wasn’t like gold fell from the sky.
The bunch of common pirates were already grateful to have the chance to stay in such a luxurious inn. If Leylin wasn’t afraid that he would find all his men’s corpses in a dreadful ditch on the second day, he would have planned for them all to stay in the Scarlet Tiger itself.
“You can all leave after you receive your room number and key. I have have one requirement: you must all return at night!” Leylin’s announcement immediately attracted a burst of cheers from the pirates behind him.
After the period of killing, and the battles with the wind and waves, these pirates had long been physically and mentally exhausted. They wished to let off some steam.
“If you have any requests, remember to call for me.” The fox girl boss twisted her slender and supple waist as she brought Leylin to his room, leaving behind a string of coy smiles as she left him at the door.
Cyclops had his ear pressed against the door, and nodded after a moment, “Boss, she’s gone.”
Leylin was rather speechless at his method, but this was Cyclops’ territory. There were too many methods and means to obtain information, and he didn’t particularly care to dispel the enthusiasm of his men. He simply nodded and said, “Do you know why I called all of you over?”
“Boss, if you have an order then just tell us!” Giant scratched his head. His coarse face made him look a little foolish, but Leylin had once seen him sturdily squeeze the heads of two enemies until they directly exploded. He wasn’t fooled by his appearance whatsoever.
“Mm, the men have gone out to indulge in drink and pleasure. Watch them closely, and don’t let them stir up any trouble. This time tomorrow, I want all the information on Pirates’ Cove here, understood?”
“Aye, boss! I’ll watch those scallywags!” Cyclops licked his lips, smiling sinisterly.
“Very well, go out and have fun!” Leylin threw three small money pouches to them, and the experienced Cyclops immediately knew it was the merry clinking of gold coins.
“Blimey! There’s a bonnie gift, boss, thank you!” After opening the money pouch and seeing the golden light that spilled out, Cyclops seemed to forget himself. Even the silent Hulk had a different look in his eyes.
Even though he put overwhelming pressure on them, he still had to fall to using money to bribe them in the end. Leylin did not have any other ideas; he needed special means to build a pirate crew that was capable in battle.
Leylin only rose to his feet after the three had left, and began to appraise the room with his hands held behind his back. The deluxe room was worth its price of two gold coins a day. Not only was it very spacious, with rather opulent decor, it even had its own washroom with a gleaming white porcelain bath crafted by elves, a precious luxury even on the mainland.
“May I ask if the guest is here?” Just when Leylin was preparing the bath, the tender voice of a girl came from outside the door, making Leylin furrow his brows.
“What’s the matter?”
“I-I’ve come to pour hot water for you,” the girl outside the door seemed to be rather uneasy and disturbed, which made Leylin feel rather curious. There seemed to be many maids who engaged in part-time work at the inn, but this maid’s performance was particularly interesting.
“Come in, the door is unlocked.” As the door opened, a half-elf girl in a maid outfit walked in, with wheat-coloured skin and a tall and slender body. She wore a pair of black silk tights, and looked extremely suggestive.
‘A half-elf? No, this is…’ Leylin’s eyes suddenly narrowed.