Lord of Rot

The news from the Water Nymph had piqued Leech’s interest in the maritime world.

For the time being, construction on the docks had to be halted due to the weather.

Leech wasn’t about to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs. A slower pace was acceptable. He needed his people to stay healthy—the loss of even a single person would pain him for a long time to come.

However, sailing itself wasn’t an issue. A ship could still set out without a dock.

The Porcupine Territory tavern.

The moment the door swung open, a wave of stinking warmth washed over him.

The tavern was crammed to capacity. To accommodate the overflow, a few extra tables had been set up on the road outside. Peering in from the doorway, one could see nothing but a dense mass of people.

The stench emanated from the crowd. Bathing was a luxury few could afford in winter, and the patrons were squeezed shoulder to shoulder. The collective breath of so many bodies alone was enough to raise the temperature of the entire tavern.

The men with a bit of coin in their pockets all liked to come here for a drink.

The newcomer was a manservant from the castle. Standing at the tavern entrance, he called out loudly, ”Is Piri here?”

No one paid him any mind.

The tavern was a chaotic mess of conversations on every topic imaginable. His words were swallowed by the din before they could even carry inside.

The manservant took a deep breath, and the stench made him want to cough.

In the castle, the steward had extremely high standards for personal hygiene. He would not only check frequently to see if people had bathed but also if they had washed their hair.

The reason for the hair-washing inspections, it was said, was that the Lord had found some stray hairs and dandruff on his desk. A few curly strands had even floated onto the Lord’s afternoon tea cake.

And as everyone knew, the Lord had black hair.

The Lord never said what color those other hairs were, but he did order the steward to inspect everyone’s personal hygiene and made it mandatory for the cooks to wear hats.

Also, to wash their hands after using the privy.

Although the Lord had appeared calm, it was rumored that all the cooks were punished, and a cleanliness craze swept through the castle.

Even the usually lazier young maids began to work much more diligently.

The manservant shouted at the top of his lungs, ”Piri! The Lord summons you!”

The tavern fell silent at once.

Whenever there was news concerning the Lord, everyone would quiet down to listen carefully.

”Aye!” In a corner, old Piri, who had taken off his shoes and was picking between his toes, shot to his feet. He brought his hand to his nose and sniffed.

His old face immediately puckered in disgust.

He grabbed his boots, jammed his feet into them, and with a cry of ”Make way,” squeezed his way out of the tavern with great difficulty.

Outside the tavern, Piri clutched his clothes tightly, hunched his neck against the cold, and asked the manservant, ”The Lord is looking for me?”

”Mhm.” The manservant nodded slightly and quickened his pace. ”Follow me.”

”What’s it about?”

”I don’t know.”

Seeing the manservant’s reluctance to talk, old Piri didn’t take it personally. It was normal for castle servants to feel superior. The men in the tavern had just been joking about that very thing, and wouldn’t you know it, a castle manservant showed up right in the middle of their conversation.

’Besides, as a captain, what else would the Lord ask me about but the ship?’

’Money was being poured into the Porcupine Territory docks, and they were sprouting up like weeds. He estimated that once the weather improved, they could be officially put into use.’

The two walked quickly, one behind the other, all the way to Porcupine Castle.

The temperature inside the spacious castle couldn’t even compare to the tavern’s. The tavern may have stunk, but all those people made it warm.

Only in the Lord’s presence, where a fire burned in the hearth, did the temperature become more comfortable.

”Good day, my Lord,” Piri said, immediately bowing.

Leech gently stroked his cat. Qingtian was lying on his lap, eyes narrowed, purring in contentment.

”Piri, how is the sailors’ training coming along?”

”It’s just about done!” Piri said. ”I took the sailors out to train on the ship often last year. As long as we don’t run into any foul weather or high seas, we’ll be fine for sure!”

’I haven’t even asked for the details, and you’re already tempting fate?’

”Get ready. I need the Porcupine to set sail.”

”Aye!”

「The next day was bright and sunny.」

The sun on one’s back lessened the chill considerably.

The sailors took small boats out to the Porcupine. Leech stood on the shore, gazing out at the two-masted ship, which already flew the Porcupine Banner. He could see the tiny figures of men running back and forth on its deck.

He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but after they raised the sails and weighed anchor, the Porcupine sailed off into the distance.

”I’d like you to help me look after them,” Leech immediately contacted the Water Nymph.

”Of course.”

”Thank you.”

”You’re welcome.”

After this brief exchange of pleasantries, Leech had turned a being who was Extraordinary or greater into a glorified babysitter for his ship.

The cavern at the cape also opened.

Inside the underground fortress, a massive pool was filled with Magic Antiseptic.

The enormous body of a Corpse Demon Giant Lizard was submerged within, along with a dark mass of dead birds of all different shapes and sizes.

When Leech had a need for them, some would become single-use consumables, while others were reusable, serving as his eyes.

Normally, he relied on the birds trained by Pitz, which was much less trouble.

The other Corpse Ghosts all had their own coffins; a certain level of preferential treatment was necessary, after all.

A corpse-bird struggled out of the antiseptic solution, shook itself off, and spread its wings, flying quickly out of the cavern at the cape. It soon caught up with the Porcupine.

The Porcupine’s maiden voyage went very smoothly, circling the waters near Pigtail Bay.

Leech couldn’t really tell how it went. He knew a little about land vehicles, but when it came to ships, he was completely clueless. Even the wooden sailing ships he’d seen in movies had cannons; a vessel as primitive as the Porcupine was a rare sight.

Piri came ashore and walked toward Leech, his spirits high.

Taking to the sea as a Captain again seemed to have made the man younger.

”My Lord, I believe the Porcupine is ready to sail for East Port, or even the Northern Territory!”

”Excellent.” Leech nodded. ”But first, I want the Porcupine to head in a specific direction. I’ve received news of an uninhabited island. Perhaps the Porcupine can go take a look.”

The only large island near the Dongxia Strait was Monkey Island.

It had no connection to the Bills. The Earl of Monkey Island was Bor II, but he was more of a nominal lord.

The island was so far from the mainland that Bor II hadn’t visited in years. The people there didn’t worship the Four Gods, and it was said they lived poorly. They were short in stature and didn’t even speak the common tongue of the Lu Leiyi Continent.

There seemed to be a few serfs in Porcupine Territory who were from Monkey Island, but they had been sold to the continent as slaves long ago. Apart from their Monkey Island blood, they were culturally and ideologically complete Lu Leiyans.

Besides Monkey Island, some of the smaller isles had no lord at all.

’Leech wasn’t about to start developing an island. Isolating himself from civilized society would just be asking for trouble.’

The destination he had just mentioned was the small, uninhabited island where the Water Nymph had seen the Monkey Clan go. Perhaps they could find some information there.

’What on earth was the Monkey Clan trying to do? Since this was just a trial run anyway, why not go and take a look?’

’With the Water Nymph acting as his ”radar,” it couldn’t be safer.’