Chapter 265 - The Boat
Chapter 265: The Boat
Outside the Reaper Mercenary Team’s base, several slave warriors were already waiting for Han Jin. Sunier had previously led Alexandre to bring the warriors to support Ronning, but Alexandre also left behind a couple hundred people. Of these, there was one troop of around a hundred people that had particularly strong combat power. Each troop was carefully selected by Alexandre. The leaders of the teams within this troop were all seven-grade fighters. Of course, in the mercenary city, fighters were all over the place, but on the battlefield against Koman City, each fighter was an elite warrior!
This particular strong troop was responsible for guarding the base of the Reaper Mercenary Team. When Han Jin and the others left to run errands, the troop would autonomously assign several people to follow. Although they may not had been able to protect anyone in the face of danger, in the case that something happened, at least they could send someone to report the incident back to the base. This was to prevent the tragic incident from repeating itself, where Han Jin and the others were still kept in the dark when an accident had already happened to the people outside.
Human nature is weird. The magicians of Cold Shadow City used to install rings of restraint on the slaves. If someone intended to revolt, just a small magic spell could take the life of the slave. However, the rebellion of the slaves had never stopped. Now, their rings of restraint had been removed. If they chose to leave quietly, now that Alexander had already left, no one else could stop them. Instead, they became very obedient, and could even be considered loyal. When Alexander was about to leave, he did a head count which included those who were wounded or sick, and found that there were a total of 425 male warriors. Now, the count was still 425.
In fact, the relationship between Han Jin and the warriors was a little unclear. Han Jin was like a boss who did not interfere with the management of the people. The food and accommodation of the slaves was all handled by the Mercenary Association. Since there were too many people, it was inevitable that they could not take care of everyone’s welfare, and the living conditions of the slave warriors could not be regarded as good. But even so, not a single person had left.
Seeing Han Jin appear, two slave warriors hurriedly jumped onto the carriage. One of the slave warriors lifted the car’s curtain courteously, and another warrior shouted towards the side room, “Hurry up!”
Following the shout, two female slaves trotted out of the room. One of them was holding a roll of blankets, and the other was carrying a porcelain plate. On the plate there was a flask of water, cups, and other items, and in her other hand she was carrying a small square table.
The two female slaves jumped into the carriage, laid the blankets in the carriage hastily, then placed the small square table at the center. After carefully arranging the flask and the cups, they hid back into the corner.
After Han Jin got into the carriage, a warrior jumped onto the seat of the coachman and picked up the whip. Four other warriors climbed on the carriage on both sides, hanging on the exterior of the carriage, and the carriage slowly exited the yard.
Han Jin chose a comfortable posture to sit in. At that moment, a female slave leaned over, but when she saw that Han Jin had no intention of drinking the water, she hid back in the corner quietly.
Han Jin was not used to being served, and he notified Cessacioun about such. However, Cessacioun replied that the large group of people depended on them for material support. Although the Mercenary Association was temporarily responsible for them for now, they would have to pay for the costs sooner or later. So, it was also appropriate for the slaves to do what they could, otherwise it would be an unprofitable investment.
In the end, Han Jin chose to go with the flow. Several heads of the Chamber of Commerce and the few presidents of the Mercenary Association all kept many servants at home, this kind of thing was quite normal.
Not long after, the carriage finally exited Isolated Cliff City, journeyed along a path for around seven miles, gradually approaching a forest.
The forest seemed a little creepy. In addition to trees and grass, there were statues around the size of real people, and there were even more statues than trees. When the carriage was still hundreds of meters away, several statues suddenly came alive, letting out sharp cries which echoed through the forest. Moments later, one after another, the statues opened their blood-red eyes, each spreading their wings to fly into the sky as they approached the carriage imposingly.
However, each of the slave warriors seemed to have seen this kind of scene numerous times before. Their expressions did not change even slightly, and the carriage continued to drive forward. Suddenly, a wave of magic swept over from the depths of the forest. The stone monsters hovered in a circle, then darted back to their original positions, each transforming back into statues, never to move again.
Moments later, Hogan appeared in the forest. With a squeak, the carriage stopped right in front of him. Han Jin then got out of the carriage and looked around.
“Master, you came so early.” Hogan said with a smile.
“The early bird catches the worm.” Han Jin smiled, “How’s it going?”
“Umm…” Hogan hesitated, “Master, I have recruited nearly all the carpenters in the city, and they have worked hard for days and nights on end, but the object you want is just too big. I guess we still need at least one more month to get it done.”
“That won’t work.” Han Jin shook his head. “I don’t know if my method will work. If it can be done within half a month, even if it is wrong, I will still have enough time to correct it. If you drag it on for one more month… it will be too late. Go, show me.”
“Master, this way please.” Hogan turned to Han Jin timidly and then turned to walk further into the forest. In fact, he was not lazy at all. No matter what Han Jin told him to do, he always tried his best, but the workload this time was just too large. Even if he continued urging his carpenters to go faster, the job was still just too big.
In the middle of the woods, a large area of almost a thousand meters in diameter had already been cleared, hundreds of carpenters were busy working on an enormous object.
From a distance, it looked like a huge ship, but the shape was a little different. It had a flat bottom, and the upper and lower halves of the ship were equal in size, which was not in line with the basic concept of shipbuilding.
Hogan led Han Jin to the ship and stepped on the pedal. The bow to the stern of the ship was about 200 meters in length, and 40 meters wide, but the height was only a little more than 20 meters, which made the proportion a little unbalanced. Since the ship was incomplete, there was nothing on the deck, like an empty plaza.
“Master, I have a question, but I’m unsure if I should ask.” Hogan whispered.
“Say it.” Han Jin looked around as he answered.
“Master, is this thing that you told me to build… a ship?”
“I guess you can say that.”
“But… but what’s the use of building a ship here?” Although Hogan received a clear answer, he was even more confused, “Master, we can’t drive a ship in the forest, can we?”
“Have you ever been to the Little Ewe Bar?” Han Jin said with a smile.
“Ha! Of course I’ve been there, Master! I never expected you to mention the place…” Hogan suddenly shut his mouth, and his smile disappeared in a flash. He was a servant, and Han Jin was his master, this was not something that he shouldn’t mention.
“Think about it, why is Little Ewe Bar’s business so good?”
“Because the women there are very sexy and shapely.” Seeing the dissatisfied look on Han Jin’s face, he added, “They… feel very… umm…”
“What about the Star of Snowy Night Bar? Why is their business good as well?”
“Master, you’ve been to the Star of Snowy Night Bar as well?” Hogan could not help himself anymore as he grinned broadly, “Of course that was because the bar girls there are very pure, how do I put it… like the innocent girls from the countryside. If they walk out of the bar onto the street, no one will believe that they are bar girls! ”
“There are hundreds of bars in Isolated Cliff City, which ones are the most successful?”
“Of course it is the Little Ewe and Star of Snowy Night.”
“Why?”
“Because… because their women are very good, unlike some other places, where there are all kinds of unappealing women.”
“Is it just because they are good? The women at the Little Ewe are not the same as those at the Star of Snowy Night Bar, why are they both so successful?”
Hogan frowned and thought to himself for a short while, then tried to answer, “Because they all have their own characteristics?”
“Characteristics are advantages.” Han Jin said softly, “No matter what kind of business, there are always people who lose money and close down, and people who make money, even big money. This happens not for no reason.”
Hogan nodded in confusion; he could understand what Han Jin was saying, but he did not understand how businesses had anything to do with the ship they were building.
“This thing is our distinguishing feature, or at least I will try to make it into our distinguishing feature.” Han Jin smiled as he stomped on the deck, “Hogan, I think the shape is almost done. Why did you say you still need another month? ”
“Master, for such a big ship, I need some very strong masts! I haven’t found any suitable materials that can be used as masts, also, the cabins haven’t been built yet, and the sails too. According to the carpenters, they also have to put some oil on the board, to protect the ship’s boards from weathering by the wind, sun, and waves.”
“You silly!” Han Jin laughed, “Do you really think I’m building a ship?”
“Huh? That’s…” Hogan asked dumbfoundedly. In fact, he was very happy on the inside. Although Han Jin called him ‘silly’, his tone was quite intimate. He deeply wished that Han Jin would scold him a few more times in the same tone…
Han Jin strolled along the deck, and moments later, he had already made his way along the side of the ship. As he walked, he nodded in approval, “Well done! Hogan, you did a very good job! I thought it would still take at least half a month. Now, it seems that it will be done in just two more days.”
“Two days? But that’s impossible, Master!”
“If I said it’s possible then it’s possible.” Han Jin turned back, “Hogan, tell the carpenters to block up all these big and small holes.”
“But those holes are left for building the vertical masts and the cabins.”
“Do what I said.” Han Jin pondered for a while, “In short, you have to lay the ship’s boards so that the floor is as smooth as a mirror, understand? Nothing else needs to be placed, leave the rest to me.”
“You?”
“Yes.” Han Jin nodded, “Oh, and how many cabins are there?”
“There are cabins of many sizes… there’s about a hundred and eighty in total, divided into three layers.”
“That’s enough.” Han Jin smiled, “Just leave it like that. Let all these carpenters leave tomorrow, but you have to stay here. No need to worry about the matters in the city, just guard my ship with your stone monsters! ”
“But Master, how would that work? There are still so many things that aren’t done!”
“I already said, leave the rest to me.” Han Jin said softly, “You will understand tomorrow night.”