Chapter 1 The Aftermath

The Dawn Pirates' raid on Gold Dig Island's secret base was like kicking a hornet's nest, triggering a series of aftershocks.

After the incident was reported in the newspapers, it seemed like everyone in the world was looking for them.

The Royal Ingland Navy, the hundreds of pirate groups under "King of the West Sea" Moloch Bourbon, the major lords along the Ingland coast, and some other strange forces.

Some were seeking revenge, some were seeking to buy technologies, and there were those looking to cooperate or rob... In short, all kinds of information brokers and intelligence organizations became active. The black markets of all sizes in Ingland were also experiencing an unprecedentedly lively scene.

As for the culprits, Suren and his party paid no attention to the official commotion. To avoid those people, they deliberately took a large detour at sea, bypassing the combat zone from southern Ingland to reach the Mafa Empire.

By the time they arrived in Mafa territory, a month had passed.

.......

On this day.

Above Manu Hill, the second largest city in Mafa, a large airship was slowly sailing.

Steam airships were very useful in Mafa's mountainous terrain, saving the effort of building bridges and roads, with low operating costs, convenience, and speed. With years of research and improvement, the technology became more and more mature, and it had become the mainstream means of transportation between the major territories in inland Mafa.

This was a passenger airship, and the gondola under the airship had a very large space.

In a seat by the window, Suren, dressed in a casual suit, was sitting there, looking at the scenery in the clouds.

The Dawn Pirates were not convenient to expose to the public eye. A day ago, Qian Tiao and other members of the Dawn Pirates landed in other cities. The entire pirate group was broken up into smaller groups, and the members went ashore to resupply and relax.

Suren, on the other hand, took the "hostage" Miss Dora and boarded the airship.

This was the trading place he had deliberately chosen.

Although Suren was confident that few people could trap him now, he was not careless.

After all, he had conveniently kidnapped the Marshal's daughter, so caution was the order of the day.

The airship had limited space, so it would not be ambushed by a large force. Moreover, in the sky, Suren was confident that he had more advantages than anyone else if a fight really broke out.

Glancing at the rivets on the airship, he couldn't help but feel a little emotional. Compared to the purely ornamental airships in Ingland, Mafa's airship technology was really decades ahead. The technical content of this civilian steam airship alone was comparable to some of Ingland's military airships.

.......

The time of the voyage passed slowly. Suren was flipping through the newspaper that the airship transport company had prepared for its passengers.

In about six hours, they would arrive at the imperial capital, Kabeteron.

The *Mafa Daily* was much richer than those musty newspapers in Lington. Because it was a military dictatorship, there was little news about political infighting. Most of it was about people's livelihoods and technology, such as industrial exhibitions, mechanical expos, and patent competitions at mechanical academies... Of course, there was also no shortage of extremely developed entertainment news.

Suren read with relish.

Coming from Ingland really felt like traveling through time.

From an ancient time of knights and magic to a rich era of steam and machinery.

On the opposite side of him, Dora had a blank expression, probably still sulking about being locked in the small dark room.

At this moment, Dora was no longer the freckled technician she had been before, but had returned to her original appearance as a capable, short-haired mechanic.

Her facial features were not stunning, but they were not bad either.

Especially the heroic spirit between her eyebrows, which added a bit of competence.

Changing her appearance was to conceal her identity, but now that her identity had been exposed, there was nothing to hide. After all, the appearance of the Moses family's granddaughter was no secret.

In fact, Suren didn't want to lock this woman up, but she was too smart.

Her learning ability and thinking ability were praised by Hei Xiansheng (Mr. Black). If she stayed in the Little Void Realm for too long, she would probably figure out all his secrets.

So, in order not to leak secrets or expose the location of the Dawn Pirates, he had arranged a single room for her in the castle.

Although she was not mistreated with good food and drink.

But she was probably still resentful.

The two sat facing each other, and the atmosphere was slightly awkward.

While reading the newspaper, Suren could still catch a glimpse of the hostage's resentful eyes, as if she was saying: You kept instilling me with the great righteousness of civilization, but in the end, you're still going to use me to exchange for ransom?

Although Suren had a thick skin, he still felt a little guilty inside.

On the one hand, he was coaxing the girl about "righteousness," and on the other hand, he was extorting a lot of things from her family.

Right now, he was just waiting for people to bring things to redeem her.

In the end, he felt uncomfortable being stared at, and Suren felt that he should say something.

While looking at the newspaper, he chatted with the hostage.

"So, Miss Dora has been to Lington?"

"Yes. When I was studying at the Mechanical Academy, I went to the Royal Ingland Academy as an exchange student for a while. Which year were you an alumnus, sir? Maybe we've met before. There were many talented students in my class, like William of the Reagardi family, Augustus of the Rodriguez family... Oh, and Miss Ekaterina, the most beautiful student in the imperial capital. I had a good relationship with some of them..."

"..."

The two chatted casually.

Suren could not hear that the hostage's occupational disease had relapsed.

In his words and actions, he was constantly trying to find out his origin and identity.

However, he really did not expect that Dora knew these few people.

Suren smiled, not knowing how to respond.

It would definitely be wrong to say that he didn't know them.

If he said he knew them, then the two geniuses she mentioned had died at his hands;

The last one was "Fick's" wife.

Anyway, after confirming that she would not be torn apart, Dora had no more scruples.

She looked at Suren, who did not respond, and asked directly, "Sir, those things you said before, like the plane invasion, the continuation of civilization... I think they make sense. But are you sure you didn't lie to me, and that your name is really 'Suren'?"

As a professional intelligence officer, the basic skill was to memorize the intelligence of important figures in various places.

Dora felt that this guy in front of her was so powerful that she should have heard of him.

But "Suren" was a name that she could not recall any important members of the Ingland families matching.

Moreover, almost all of Ingland's top professionals came from the Royal Academy. This guy was not?

This was very bizarre.

Hearing this, Suren smiled, "There's nothing to lie about. My name is 'Suren.' When your family comes to redeem you, you'll naturally know."

Dora's gaze became colder and colder, and she retorted, "Heh... I'm curious how much ransom you extorted from my family."

"..."

Suren listened and smiled, not responding directly.

Instead, he felt that it was too unfamiliar to talk about this topic, so he joked, "As the savior who rescued you from the mine fire, I didn't have any intention of asking for anything in return. But when I contacted your family, they insisted on expressing their gratitude, so I naturally couldn't refuse."

Anyway, they were not familiar, so it was best to exchange for some benefits.

"..."

Dora rolled her eyes at this shameless response.

He kidnapped her.

And it turned out that he had rescued her?

If you guys hadn't come to make trouble, my infiltration plan would have been more than half completed!

.......

The airship was sailing slowly in the sky.

Although the speed did not seem fast, it was actually not slow because it was thousands of meters above the ground.

Suren looked at the steaming towns on the ground, lost in thought.

Except for the cities where the lords were located, the rest of Ingland was almost entirely an agrarian countryside. Mafa, on the other hand, was highly urbanized, with almost no primitive villages, but densely populated steel towns.

On this point alone, the gap between the two countries was not small.

The airship was flying very high, and the view was very wide.

Suren was sitting by the window when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a large expanse of thunderclouds in the distance.

Silver lightning snakes flickered in the thick dark clouds, and the scene looked terrifying from high in the sky.

The civilian airship they were on was flying around the thunderclouds, but at this moment, Suren's eyes caught sight of a small, rusty airship rushing straight into the thunderclouds.

"Huh?"

Suren whispered in his heart.

His eyesight was excellent, and he saw at a glance that there were people in the small airship climbing out of the cabin, and then holding a runic lightning rod, actually attracting the lightning.

In an instant, the airship looked like a dandelion of lightning, which was extremely spectacular.

Dora, who was sitting opposite him, saw his gaze and glanced out the window, explaining, "Those are 'Lightning Hunters.' Those hunters use special containers to collect the lightning and make energy balls. Like energy crystals, this is a very good energy source. It's widely used in the mechanical field."

As she spoke, she thought of something else and added, "But after all, lightning is uncontrollable. If they encounter unstable thunderstorms, their ships will be destroyed and people will die. It's a very dangerous job..."

Suren listened and realized, marveling at how Mafa's technology had actually been able to capture the power of lightning.

Alchemy was truly a magical science that created miracles.

At this moment, an announcement for the opening of the buffet rang out on the ship: "Dear passengers, please note that it is lunchtime..."

Ingland was a coastal island country, relying on the sea for food, and most of its products were seafood.

Mafa, on the other hand, was backed by the endless mountains of magical beasts, with abundant products and a wide variety of foods.

On the buffet table, there were many fruits that Suren had never seen before.

Red, yellow, green... the colors were tempting, and the fragrance of the fruit was overflowing.

Dora was a little hungry, and she got up to get something to eat.

But when she thought of something, she casually asked, "Sir, would you like something to eat?"

Suren casually said, "Some fruit would be good. Thank you."

"..."

Dora's eyes twitched.

I was just being polite, but you're really not polite at all.

Are you suffering from Ingland's aristocratic disease?

Although I'm a prisoner, I'm still the direct daughter of the Moses family. You're using me as a maid?

Although she complained repeatedly in her heart, Dora turned around and left her seat.

The moment she turned her back to Suren, her face became strange.

Why did I have to ask that question?

Could it be that I've been brainwashed by the faith?

That's impossible!

With the *Blasphemer* armor, I can't be hypnotized.

Dora felt more and more strange in her heart.

Moreover, after spending a little time with him, she also found that this "Suren" was very special.

He seemed more like a lawyer or a dentist.

Rational, gentlemanly, and taciturn.

But the terrifying killing intent she felt when they first met was still fresh in her mind.

This was definitely a person who would kill without batting an eye.

It was as if there were two personalities in this guy's heart, one was a normal person, and the other was a murderous maniac.

A very contradictory person.

As Dora thought about this, she unknowingly walked to the buffet table.

She picked up a plate and started picking out fruit.

......

Suren took out his pocket watch and looked at it. It was almost time for the agreed transaction.

Although it was thousands of meters in the air, he knew that this difficulty would definitely not stop the Moses family.

At this moment, Suren was looking at the newspaper when his eyes suddenly narrowed, as if he had discovered something: "They're here?"

In his perception, he clearly sensed a person flying up rapidly from below and approaching the airship, and then entering through the air vent.

"There's only one person."

Suren looked out the window, slightly surprised.

Although the person who came was very strong, he could not possibly stop him if a fight broke out.

Suren locked onto the person who had flown up and watched him enter the cabin.

However, to his surprise, a burly old man appeared in his sight. Although the man had a head of silver hair, he was energetic, and his ruddy complexion showed that his energy was more vigorous than that of most young people.

"The 'Thunder Tiger' Meredith Ben Moses?"

Suren recognized the identity of the person at a glance.

He was also very surprised that the Grand Marshal of the Mafa Navy had come to pay the ransom in person.

After the old man came in, he took off the goggles on his pilot's hat, and he also saw Suren in his seat at a glance.

Meredith walked straight over, with a hint of anger, and asked bluntly, "Where's my granddaughter?"

Suren could hear the doting and concern in his tone.

It was as if nothing was more important to the old man than his granddaughter.

Before Suren could speak, a girl suddenly appeared behind the old man.

Dora recognized the person and exclaimed, "Grandpa?"

Obviously, she was also surprised that her grandfather had come in person.

This shout made Meredith's murderous expression freeze, and the harsh words he was about to say were swallowed back.

Seeing his granddaughter holding a plate full of fruit and appearing in front of him calmly, his eyes twitched inexplicably.

Wasn't she...

Kidnapped by the most notorious pirate group, the "Dawn Pirates"?

When the Moses family heard the news, they were in chaos. (The most important source of information for the people of Mafa about Ingland pirates was newspapers. Grand Duke Raphael described the Dawn Pirates as despicable, obscene, vile, and dirty.)

Although Meredith didn't think things were that bad. But the old lady, his wife, his daughters-in-law, and all kinds of women were frightening him, saying that if he didn't pay the ransom, she would be torn apart. What if her innocence was tarnished...

Anyway, it was getting worse and worse.

This old bone of his could not rest assured, so he came in person.

But what was going on?

Meredith had been prepared to wage war if his granddaughter lost a hair.

Any pirate group, even those who called themselves the King of the North Sea or the King of the West Sea... if they dared to kidnap his Moses family's direct granddaughter, they should be prepared to be destroyed even if they got the ransom!

But the scene in front of him confused the Grand Marshal.

The three looked at each other, and the atmosphere was a little strange.

After a moment of愣, Dora put the plate on the table and pulled her most doting grandfather to sit down: "Grandpa, why are you here?"

Meredith looked at the smile on his granddaughter's face, which did not look like she had been wronged.

Moreover, looking at their harmony, were these two about to eat?

It was like punching into the air.

The fire that he had been holding back all the way, and the plan in his head on how to beat up the kidnappers, seemed to have nowhere to vent.

Meredith was pulled to sit on the sofa, but his face was still cold.

He looked at Suren and gave him a show of force: "You're the famous 'Grim Reaper'?"

Suren listened and did not speak.

He also saw that this old man was quite interesting. He was fierce, but there was no killing intent.

Dora, who was on the side, saw that the atmosphere was a bit strange, and shook the old man's arm, calling out in a reproachful tone: "Grandpa!"

Hearing this, Meredith felt that something was wrong in his heart.

But he also gave up the idea of attacking, and directly took out a storage ring, without a good face: "I brought what you want."

Since there was no friendship, there was nothing to be embarrassed about, and Suren directly took the storage ring.

Meredith explained in an unkind tone: "There are six hundred tons of [Activated Silver] in the storage ring, which is almost all the inventory in the royal treasure house. There is also the intelligence about the dwarf ruins that you need. I can guarantee that this is the most complete intelligence about that ruin on the market!"

As he spoke, he squinted his eyes and looked at the calm young man in front of him, as if he wanted to see something, and then said: "As for the alchemical notes of Sir Isaac. I do know this news. But this is an imperial secret..."

Suren listened to the old man who was obviously trying to whet his appetite, and looked up.

More than 600 tons of [Activated Silver], which was 30 gargoyles.

Being able to exchange for these ransoms with a hostage he brought along had already made a big profit, and the rest did not matter.

But he did not expect that the old man actually knew the whereabouts of the notes.

Sure enough, asking any information merchants was not as effective as asking these big figures.

Meredith's eyes flashed with wisdom, and he changed the subject: "But before I tell you, can I ask, what are you looking for those notes for?"

Suren did not know why he asked this, and his intuition told him that these notes were of great importance.

But there was nothing to hide, and he directly said: "Our Dawn's leader 'Mr. Mirror,' she is a direct descendant of Sir Isaac."

Now that the plane invasion has become a fact, there is no need to hide the identity of Mr. Mirror. Saying this identity is also more convincing and cohesive.

What's more, the Dawn has been so strong recently, it is impossible for this Grand Marshal of the Mafa Navy not to know anything.

Hearing this, Meredith was lost in thought.

Suren thought that the other party would talk about some conditions.

But after a moment of silence, the old man directly said: "The notes are in Mafa, but I can't give them to you now. I need some time. And I can only guarantee my best efforts, but it may not be successful."

There's really news?

Suren was overjoyed in his heart, but his expression remained the same.

He thought for a moment, and directly replied: "Okay!"

The style of a professional soldier was to be quick and decisive, and he also liked this kind of transaction that was not sloppy.

Although it was just a verbal promise, his intuition told him that the old man would do what he said.

Saying his best efforts must mean doing his best.

.......

Dora, who was on the side, looked at the two people who were at odds, and a trace of uneasiness flashed in her crystal eyes.

Although they did not slam the table and glare, the atmosphere of the negotiation was not harmonious.

Her arm had been holding her grandfather's arm, as if she was afraid that the two would fight on the spot.

Her grandfather, who was not wearing battle armor, might not be able to beat the person on the other side.

Meredith took out the ransom, and the original procedure should have been to "release the hostage."

But now, his granddaughter was by his side, and this process was not needed at all.

Moreover, from beginning to end, the "kidnapper" had not threatened him in any way.

This was also the root cause of why Meredith had not become angry.

After a simple conversation, the old man had actually recognized a person's general character.

As the Marshal of the Imperial Navy, he was no stranger to "Dawn."

A thought flashed in his mind.

He felt that he should say something, and without mincing words, he directly asked: "I heard that you robbed Raphael's mine. I want to ask, are you interested in selling the technology and equipment you have in your hands?"

Suren was not surprised that he would make this request.

He had always had a good impression of this Grand Marshal. Although he looked aggressive, he was actually very easy to talk to.

Suren did not rush to refuse, but asked: "The plane invasion is a foregone conclusion, does Your Excellency want to use this technology for external or internal purposes?"

"..."

As soon as these words came out, it was Meredith's turn to remain silent.

Complex thoughts flashed in his eyes, and he did not answer for a while.

The affairs of the empire were not entirely up to him, the Navy Marshal.

At least the pro-war faction now wished they could annex Ingland. The temporary truce was also the result of him and several old bones working together to achieve a little result with difficulty.

Suren saw his hesitation, knowing that political matters could not be explained in a few words, but he did not wait any longer, and said: "Since Your Excellency has not made up your mind, then I will take my leave. As for the news of the notes, I will contact your family later."

Suren had already told Dora everything he could about the intelligence of the Celestial God plane.

After she went back, she would naturally explain it to the old man, so he did not need to waste his time.

Today was just about the ransom.

The future things would be discussed later.

Suren did not intend to waste time here, and when he saw that the old man was silent and did not express his position, he turned to Dora and smiled: "Miss Dora, goodbye."

"?"

Dora was stunned, had the negotiation ended?

She felt that she should not say goodbye to a robber, but she still waved her hand instinctively.

Suren smiled freely.

A spatial fluctuation flashed, and he had disappeared from his seat.

......

As soon as Suren left, Meredith and his granddaughter were left staring at each other.

Seeing that his granddaughter was fine, and even had a slightly rounded face, it seemed that she had not been abused in any way in the past month or so.

The Mafa Marshal had many questions in his head.

But when he mentioned the topic of "plane invasion," his mood was very heavy.

This was the biggest problem that had been bothering him recently, but he was completely helpless!

Dora looked at her grandfather with a gloomy face, and took a fruit from the plate, and asked like she did when she was a child: "Grandpa, do you want to eat one?"

Meredith looked at his granddaughter who was intact, and heaved a long sigh of relief.

As long as people were fine, everything was worth it.

Let's talk about the future.

He muttered: "Hey... I told you not to let you go undercover. Even without that mechanical beast technology, Ingland would not have any chance of winning on the future battlefield. This time, Raphael's secret base was robbed, and the undercover plan failed, and those guys in the military should stop. Well, it's good that people are back..."

"..."

Dora's mood was very complicated.

Did the ransom exchange for freedom?

But it seemed that she had never lost her freedom.

She even felt that even without the ransom, Mr. Suren would not embarrass her.

And what made her feel more complicated was the words she had discussed with Mr. Suren these days.

She used to have an extremely firm belief. She was determined to become the best mechanic and work hard for the rise of the empire. That was why she joined the military as soon as she graduated from the academy, and then became a trump card intelligence officer step by step.

But now, she was conflicted.

In the face of the plane invasion, those ideals seemed to have become... suddenly meaningless.

Looking at his precious granddaughter with a blank expression, Meredith asked with concern: "Girl, what's wrong?"

Dora thought for a moment, and asked: "Grandpa, do you know the 'Celestial God Race'?"

"???"

Meredith looked at her in surprise, a little unfamiliar with the term.

He knew about the plane invasion, but he did not know any intelligence about the Celestial God Race.

As the grandfather and granddaughter chatted, the future pattern of the entire Mafa Empire quietly changed.

......

The airship sailed towards the Mafa imperial capital, Kabeteron, without encountering any turbulence, and was stable all the way.

In the cabin, after the grandfather and granddaughter talked about the serious matters that were so depressing that people could not breathe, they talked about Dora's recent experience of being "kidnapped."

That's when there was some laughter.

"What! That guy emptied Raphael's secret base? No wonder the Ingland high-level officials were so shocked..."

"Oh, that's the notorious Dawn Pirates, girl, you didn't suffer, did you..."

"Grandpa, I think your intelligence may be wrong. The people of this Dawn Pirates are not bad."

"Ah? That's the pirate who kidnapped you?!"

"It's true that they are pirates. But in a sense, they also rescued me. Otherwise, Grandpa, if you wanted to see Dora, you don't know how many years later it would be..."

"Although that's true. But girl, why do I think... there's something wrong with your logic?"

"Ah... don't talk about this. Grandpa, do you know that Suren? Where did he come from? Why haven't I heard of him before?"

"He has another identity, he is the current first-in-line heir of the Reagardi family."

"Ah? Then why did he become a pirate?"

"How would this old bone of mine know what you young people are thinking... oh, I have to report the news to your grandma quickly. When I heard that you were kidnapped, everyone in the family was worried."

"..."