Lord of Rot

At Pigtail Bay, the sun, its face half-sunk below the sea, set the clouds ablaze with its afterglow.

In the distance, a ship with its pirate flag lowered bobbed gently on the waves. A group of youths carrying small buckets gathered shells, fish, and shrimp that had washed up on the seaside reefs.

The fresh oysters would be sent to the castle. Some would go to the Lord’s table, while the rest would find their way into the soldiers’ bowls.

Piri, the old Captain from Longship Castle, was conducting training.

”My Lord!” Piri ran over upon seeing Leech. Judging by his red nose and cheeks, he was undoubtedly a loyal customer of Sour Apple beer.

A strong stench of alcohol trailed him as he ran.

”How is the sailor training coming along?”

”It will take at least another year.” Piri knew that lords and nobles usually had no concept of how long training took. They always wanted to give an order and have everything done the next moment. As an old captain, Piri knew he had to explain things clearly from the start. ”That’s the fastest it can be. Some of them are fishermen from Waterfall Land, born to make a living on the water. Otherwise, it would be even slower.”

”You could build a port during this time,” Piri added quickly. ”The waters of Porcupine Territory are very deep, perfect for mooring ships. Just like the Levin.”

”The Levin?” Leech asked, puzzled.

”That ship there.” Piri turned and pointed to the pirate ship on the water. ”Its appearance has changed a bit, with all the patching and mending, but I still remember seeing that merchant vessel when I was just a lad. It was the ship of a merchant named Levin. They were in the business of transporting slaves, and sometimes they’d haul small amounts of wine too.”

Leech didn’t ask about the merchant Levin. Since his ship had become a pirate vessel, the man himself had surely fallen to a pirate’s blade.

”It’s the Porcupine,” Leech said.

Piri froze for a moment, then nodded quickly. ”Yes, my Lord, the Porcupine!”

He gestured as he spoke. ”Over there, the area near the cape is perfect for a port. The terrain is relatively flat, and we can build a watchtower on the cape itself.”

’The spot Piri indicated was quite far from the cape’s cavern. But it would actually be good for the port to be near the cavern, making it easier to act in an emergency.’

He wasn’t worried about the cape cavern being exposed. Whether the cavern was open or not was entirely under his control.

As for that large natural hole, he could just have someone fill it with stones later. He could then build a watchtower on top, killing several birds with one stone.

’Building the port won’t be that simple, though. I’ll have to prioritize agriculture first. Feeding over two thousand people is the more pressing matter.’

”You’ve been to many places?”

Although Leech didn’t have a fear of the sea, he wasn’t particularly fond of it either. Having his feet on solid ground made him feel secure, and gazing at the ocean relaxed his mind, but he couldn’t quite stand the rocking of a ship.

”Yes, my Lord!” Piri jutted out his chin, like a stubborn radish half-pulled from the ground.

”I was once the captain of the Black Horse. She was a two-masted sailing ship that could carry 100 men. I was responsible for transporting wine, cotton cloth, and leather for merchants, sailing from the Eastern Gorges along the coast to the northern lands. The strong liquor of the north made my head spin, and the women there were incredibly forward. With just a few words, they’d take off their... ahem.” Piri looked at his Lord’s emotionless face and suddenly realized this was no time to be telling bawdy stories in front of a nobleman. It would be highly offensive. ”You’ve surely never seen flying fish leap from the water. They have wings and will fly right onto the deck. And late at night, you can hear the Sirens sing. They have enchanting appearances—but only the top half. They sing soul-stirring songs to lure sailors in, waiting for a chance to hunt.”

’Just like the Porcupine.’

”So you’ve seen them with your own eyes?”

”No,” Piri shook his head vigorously. ”I’m a coward, which is why I’ve managed to survive this long on the vast sea. It was the ship’s cook. He was taken by the Sirens. After that, we didn’t have a decent meal for a month. We had to make an emergency stop at a port to hire another cook before setting sail again.”

’Sirens, Mermaids, Merfolk... there were plenty of stories about such sea creatures back on Earth, too.’

’Back when the little mermaid wasn’t black, I was quite fond of that fairy tale.’

”My Lord, would you like to take a look aboard the Porcupine?”

”Of course.”

Leech had been on that ship before—when he was killing people.

The sailors pushed a small boat into the sea. After Leech and Piri climbed aboard, they gave it a hard shove, and two sailors jumped in and began to row.

They climbed up a rope ladder onto the ship, where Piri excitedly began to give Leech a detailed tour of the Porcupine.

Because the ship was once mainly used to transport slaves, the space in the lower hold was vast, making it very suitable for conversion into a merchant vessel for trade.

And without cannons, the pirates’ only method of plunder was boarding actions. Therefore, the greater risks of sea travel came from the unforgiving ocean and weather, not from other pirates.

Back on the beach, a few sailors had finished their training.

Coming ashore, Leech noticed they were catching something. They were digging their fingers into the sand and easily pulling out long, worm-like creatures.

’Sand worms?’

Leech remembered sand worms vividly. Known as ”natural MSG,” they looked just like earthworms—long and thin. Whether one could enjoy this delicacy all came down to a matter of courage.

The sailors, of course, were not about to pass up such a delicious treat.

’I can have people catch some and grind them into powder to use as MSG.’

’I could eat it, but only if I couldn’t tell what it was by looking at it.’

Piri didn’t know what his Lord was thinking and stood obediently to the side. As a sailor who had spent the better part of his life at sea, his life had seemed to lose its meaning after leaving East Port. He had spent his days in Waterfall Land drinking. Some small-time merchants had hoped he could help manage their ferries, but were ferries and warships the same thing? ’Those foolish merchants.’

Now, being able to return to the sea, to even ride the waves with the Porcupine, he felt as if his body had regained its youth.

Leech said, ”Train the sailors well. I hope to be able to set sail on a long voyage a year from now.”

Land transport was simply too slow, and the roads were full of unexpected troubles. Sea transport, however, didn’t have these problems. For example, traveling from Porcupine Territory by carriage to the Golden Thorn Sword Clan’s East Port City took over twenty days, a journey that involved crossing mountains and taking detours. But by ship with a favorable wind, it would only take a few days. Even against the wind, which might slow them down, it would be about as fast as traveling by horse. Most importantly, a ship didn’t need to cross mountains.

Leech didn’t return to Porcupine Castle until the sky was completely dark.

He had dvergr vision, so the night didn’t affect him much. Still, most people chose to sleep after dark. From time to time, he could hear dogs barking.

The summer cicadas chirped endlessly. It should quiet down once autumn passed.

After dinner, Leech returned to his study.

Gelan came to report on his work. Although he had already completed the majority of the trivial tasks, his report to Leech still took a considerable amount of time.

With more than two thousand people fully mobilized, countless things happened every day, both accidental and otherwise.

The best news was that another woman had become pregnant.

”Have the Alchemist keep an eye on things. Give the pregnant women regular physical examinations,” Leech said. ”Porcupine Territory needs an injection of new blood.”

”Yes, my Lord!” Gelan replied immediately.

The first batch of purchased slaves might develop a sense of belonging to Porcupine Territory, but in the end, they were still outsiders.

But their children, born here, would be native Porcupine People.

After Gelan left, Leech found himself momentarily lost in a daze.

The number of letters from Green Forest Castle had noticeably decreased lately. However, what truly made him dazed and contemplative was another matter: Lady Jie Lin of Longship Castle.

He picked up his quill, wrote a letter, and gave it to a male servant to be sent by raven.

’I should be a better person than that,’ Leech thought to himself. ’At the very least, I can’t be the kind of guy who screws someone and then pretends it never happened.’

After finishing up, Leech grabbed his energy-storing cane, left the study, and headed for the garden.

A hole opened in the ground before the unmarked gravestone, and he stepped inside.

He had important business to attend to tonight.