Chapter 687, Rotten to the Core
The slave-filled cabin was mostly women and children, making Wu Heng suspicious of the ship's identity and purpose.
He released Xiaoxiao, who floated nearby.
"Uncle, are they bad people?"
Wu Heng glanced at the kingdom's flag and the flustered kingdom sailors on the deck.
"We can't be completely sure yet. Maybe they're just the families of pirates killed in a raid," said Wu Heng.
Pirate islands and pirate villages did exist.
After pirates were killed, women and children needed local arrangements.
They usually weren't killed with them.
"I don't think they're good people," Xiaoxiao muttered from the side.
"Then have them stop the ship for inspection," said Wu Heng, then told the skeleton behind him, "Have Philipa come over."
The skeleton quickly left and returned with Philipa and the Fifth Princess 'Brittany'.
Following Wu Heng's gaze, they looked ahead. "Ships of the Ekow Kingdom."
Wu Heng nodded and asked, "Could they be returning from suppressing bandits?"
"You mean pirates?" Philipa rested a hand on Wu Heng's shoulder. "We're almost at the kingdom's port. Have you ever seen pirates suppressed right at the entrance?"
"Then this ship must be suspicious." Wu Heng saw the other ship trying to circle away and told Philipa, "Shout to them. Tell all three ships to stop for inspection."
Philipa was momentarily stunned, then her eyes lit up. "Damn, searching official ships? I love it."
She quickly entered the cockpit, picked up the microphone, and said, "Ships of the Ekow Kingdom ahead, stop for inspection. I repeat, stop for inspection."
Her voice echoed across the sea through the ship's loudspeaker.
Everyone aboard their own ship came out and looked toward the kingdom vessels in the distance.
The sailors on the Ekow Kingdom ships were startled by the loud call.
Their hands moved faster, but they clearly had no intention of stopping. Pretending not to hear, they tried to speed away.
At this point, everyone sensed something was wrong. Normal ships wouldn't behave like this, even if they wanted to avoid the Guild.
Seeing the ships didn't intend to stop, Wu Heng mounted a bone wyvern. "Block the ships."
......
Whoosh whoosh whoosh~!
The sound of air being torn rang out as several bone wyverns soared into the sky with personnel.
They forcefully landed on the opposing ship.
Magic circles shimmered, and the elder mage Janvito appeared with two other level 18 Professionals, teleporting aboard.
The people on the deck turned pale, gripping weapons at their waists, eyes flickering, but none dared to draw.
"Lords of the Guild..." A burly man in captain's garb rushed from the cabin, standard saber at his side.
He called out, then looked around at the people on deck, pupils contracting again. He stepped forward and asked, "May I ask what this is about?"
Wu Heng looked around the ship. Captain Kavina of Team Five said, "You're a fleet of the Ekow Kingdom?"
"We're a patrol fleet of the Ekow Kingdom," replied the burly man.
The Ekow Kingdom navy uniforms had wave patterns, denoting their status.
"We told you to stop. Why didn't you?" Wu Heng asked as he approached.
"Well..." The burly man licked his cracked lips and said, "We've never seen such a large ship before and thought it might be pirates, so we tried to leave."
"Can't see the Guild's flag?"
The man hesitated, then suddenly acted enlightened. "Understood, it was our mistake. Please don't take offense."
As he spoke, he offered a heavy bag of coins.
Wu Heng and his group immediately frowned.
His words made no sense.
First he pretended not to hear, then claimed they thought it was pirates, now offering money.
Clearly, he hadn't even prepared a proper excuse.
"What's on board?" Wu Heng continued.
Seeing no one take the coin pouch, the man's face darkened. "Nothing."
Saying that, he withdrew the pouch and took a small step back instinctively.
One hand behind his back made a signal to his men.
Wu Heng noticed the subtle motion and said directly, "Search the ship."
The burly man's eyes narrowed sharply. He shouted, "Attack!"
Zzz~ Bang!
Before he finished.
A bolt of lightning struck his chest, sending him flying and spewing blood. Before he could rise—
The skeletal servant Keramu appeared before him, slashing his neck with a long sword.
His head fell and blood pooled.
The battle ended in an instant.
The others hadn't even reacted before seeing the head roll to their feet.
All the sailors froze, faces filled with fear and conflict.
"Guild investigation. Cooperate, and you'll live," Wu Heng said coldly.
"W-we surrender," someone said, dropping their weapon.
Once the first surrendered, the rest followed, discarding their weapons and yielding.
The clatter of weapons hitting the deck filled the air.
Wu Heng said, "Tie them up."
Kavina and the others immediately took out ropes and bound them all.
On the entire ship, only the burly man who died had reached level 12.
The rest were around level 10, or even lower.
To the Guild's central investigation team, fighting them was like fighting children.
Even if they resisted, the outcome would be the same.
"There's a problem with the ship?" asked Elder 'Tapani'.
These three ships were official Ekow Kingdom vessels. It was permitted to stop and search them.
But now someone had been killed, which was different.
Without a proper explanation—
—this could be used as leverage for a counterattack by the Ekow Kingdom.
"There is a problem," Wu Heng replied.
Elder 'Tapani' asked, "What problem?"
Everyone from the central team looked over.
Wu Heng calmly said, "We'll know after the search."
As he spoke, the inspectors came up.
One saluted. "Elder, lords, the cabin holds many women and children. Initial reports suggest they're locals from nearby villages, captured and possibly being transported somewhere."
The deck instantly fell silent.
They glanced at Wu Heng in shock.
There really was a problem.
"Elder, how should we proceed?" Wu Heng asked the elven elder.
"Since there's confirmed wrongdoing, we must fully investigate these three ships. Let the Church personnel handle the detainees' emotions. Detain all sailors and await further inquiry," said Tapani.
"Yes!" Guild members took immediate action.
Wu Heng told Philipa, "Integrate these three ships into the fleet and keep moving."
It would still take a day to reach Netare City.
The fleet couldn't remain too long.
"Got it," Philipa began moving.
......
Wu Heng rode a wyvern back to the escort ship.
Just as he landed on the deck—
—the magic circle lit up again, and Janvito and the others teleported aboard.
"How did you find the issue?" asked Elder 'Tapani'.
The gnome investigator pulled out a notebook to begin recording.
Facing this investigator, Wu Heng always felt like he was being watched by a surveillance camera ready to be used for evidence.
"I used a Wraith to scout the inside and discovered the captives," Wu Heng replied.
The three weren't surprised a necromancer had a Wraith.
It's a class trait.
But Wraiths couldn't always find targets. You needed suspicion first, then direct them.
"Then why talk so much on the ship? Just arrest them," Tapani said.
Wu Heng explained, "I couldn't confirm their identity. There are pirate-controlled islands in the Emerald Sea. Sometimes pirate families are moved for investigation or resettlement.
So I stopped them to see how they'd react.
Onboard, their stories contradicted—they thought we were pirates, then offered money, but never explained the captives. It was clearly suspicious."
The elder nodded. "Not bad. Keen insight."
The elder mage Janvito asked, "So they're not really an Ekow Kingdom fleet?"
"Still can't be sure. We'll ask the dead," Wu Heng replied.
The gnome investigator was recording their conversation.
As they spoke—
A skeletal wyvern descended, and Philipa jumped down. "The people are detained. Twelve were killed; their bodies are here."
With a wave, several corpses wrapped in straw mats were laid out.
Among them was the burly man killed earlier.
Wu Heng glanced at the corpses and cast [Speak with Dead] on one.
The dead man suddenly sat up, cloudy eyes staring ahead.
Wu Heng asked, "What was your role within the organization or faction?"
"Members of the White Wing Gang, currently part of Netare City's garrison," the corpse replied.
Everyone frowned.
Gang members serving as city guards?
And why name it White Wing Gang? Sounds dumb.
"How'd you become soldiers?"
"No idea. The army was recruiting everyone, including gang members."
Makes sense.
During Rentam City's chaos, gang members were also mobilized.
Gang leaders became captains, their followers became enforcers.
Wu Heng asked, "Where were you transporting those people?"
"To Bejaya City. Someone there will receive them."
"For what purpose?"
"Don't know."
Wu Heng paused for the final question.
Then asked, "Did you capture them yourselves?"
The corpse solemnly replied, "Our leader said it was arranged by Netare City officials. We just wore uniforms and escorted them."
After five questions, the corpse collapsed with a thud.
Wu Heng and the others all frowned deeply.
The picture was becoming clear.
These men were former White Wing Gang members, recruited during the military expansion in Netare City.
They had become soldiers overnight.
Their task had been assigned by city officials: escort the population out.
Elder Tapani. Mage Janvito.
Even Philipa and the gnome investigator looked grim.
Clearly, local officials were trafficking people.
The Ekow Kingdom was thoroughly rotten.
They'd begun selling people abroad.
Wu Heng looked at the investigator. "Mr. Sim, did you record all that?"
The gnome nodded. "All done."
Wu Heng cast [Speak with Dead] again. Another corpse sat up.
"Which official ordered your transport mission?"
"Don't know."
"Are other ships doing the same?"
"Don't know."
"What's your leader's name?"
"Patrice."
"What caused the city's unrest?"
The corpse replied, "Netare City's garrison fought an invading army. Many died."
One last question.
Wu Heng asked, "Do you know about the local Guild Steward's death?"
"No."
Wu Heng questioned three more corpses about the White Wing Gang and the city's chaos.
Standing still, he organized the intel.
They hadn't identified the official behind the trafficking, but could investigate Patrice after entering the city.
He would know who was behind it.
The second issue was the state of Netare City.
Earlier chaos came from a battle between the lord's forces and an invading army trying to take over.
By the end, no one could tell the sides apart.
The current ruler was still the original city lord.
The Guild Steward's death remained unknown. The Guild Hall had been closed for a long time, members were rarely seen.
After organizing the intel—
Wu Heng looked at the three level 18 Professionals. "Elder, Dean, do you have more questions?"
"None for now. Don't destroy the rest of the corpses—we may need them," said Elder Tapani.
Wu Heng nodded. "Dispose of the ones we questioned. Wrap the rest in straw."
The questioned corpses were thrown into the sea. The rest were rolled in straw mats and stored in Wu Heng's space ring.
Elder Tapani asked, "How long until we reach Netare City?"
"One more day."
"Alright, we'll go back for now. Inform us when we're close," said Tapani.
Elder mage Janvito cast [Teleportation] to return to his ship.
Wu Heng and Philipa returned to the bridge.
The Fifth Princess stood and asked with a frown, "What happened? Why kill navy men?"
Philipa looked at her. "What do you think?"
Faced with Philipa's firm reply, the princess's frown deepened.
She said, "I trust Lord Wu Heng. I just want to know why."
Philipa casually sat beside her. "Your officials partnered with gang members in navy uniforms to abduct women and children. Worse than us pirates. We don't sell our own."
The princess frowned more deeply, eyes filled with doubt. She turned sharply to Wu Heng. "Is that true, Lord?"
Wu Heng said, "That's what we've found so far."
The princess said nothing more, sitting silently with a gloomy face.
Wu Heng also fell into thought.
Tomorrow they'd arrive in Netare City. Their real mission would begin.
Would danger await in the city?
Could he find the one who killed the local Steward?
These were problems he'd have to face.
Even if those were resolved, how would he enter this political struggle to raise his fame?
It wouldn't be easy.
Wu Heng frowned and fell into deep thought.
......
Noon the next day.
The fleet arrived near Netare City.
The three level 18 Professionals, Wu Heng, and Philipa stood on the escort ship's deck.
From afar, the neatly built port looked deserted.
No mountains of corpses as the intel said, but it looked like a ghost town.
Not a soul in sight.
Soon, the empty port stirred.
The stationed navy spotted the incoming ships.
Warships formed a tight blockade, sealing the port.
"Send a letter first, see their response," said Elder Tapani.
Wu Heng agreed. "Send it over."
A squad member took a speedboat and delivered the letter.
Shortly after, he returned with a grim face. "They said Netare City isn't accepting any ships, including ours."
Tapani's eyes narrowed. "Did you say we're here from the central office?"
"Yes. Didn't matter," the member nodded.