My Players Are So Fierce

“That’s a life-and-death friendship.”

“Damn, stinky pirate!

So you do know that our families have a life-and-death bond?”

Captain Paula finally couldn’t hold back anymore.

The irritable half-body woman captain pounded her mechanical fist on the table and cursed:

“I thought I could trust you, but you sided with your kin when you met them!

You forced me to reconcile with this damned vampire.

What exactly did he offer you?”

The two pirates shrugged and said nothing.

Murphy smiled, placed the wine glass on the table, and seriously said to Captain Paula:

“Transylvania will indeed compensate you, Madam Paula.

How about this: I’ll instruct my governor to sign a five-year tax exemption contract for your ship.

For these five years, your airship won’t need to pay taxes on any goods entering Transylvania.”

“Ten years!”

The half-body captain took off her captain’s hat, glared at Murphy, and said:

“Besides the Good Luck, I have two smaller cargo airships.

Are you sure you want to give us tax exemption rights?

Let me tell you, our frequent trips mean that your officials will lose a lot in taxes.”

“That’s just a small profit.

I want to gain your friendship for a real big matter.”

Murphy was frank, knowing that the two pirates who could hold Paula were on his side, so he boldly said:

“You also see that Transylvania is at war now, and we lack aerial forces.

So, I hope you can use your connections at Charldo Harbor to help us acquire some armed airships…”

“You’re overthinking it.”

Paula predicted that this vampire governor was so humble today because he needed her help.

But after hearing Murphy’s request, her face dropped, and she took several sips of her drink, complaining:

“Every airship from Charldo Harbor must register with the Airship Bureau under the Steam Lord Council upon launch.

We have limited business licenses, commercial airships can’t interfere in military affairs, and armed commercial airships are directly managed by the Steam Lords.

Especially after the last Black Disaster, when the lords assembled all the airships for an unprecedented military mission, this control has become even stricter.

Governor Murphy, it’s not that I don’t want to help you.

Our airship instruments require specific Calculating Pearls as operational cores.

If we violate the Steam Lords’ demands, we won’t be able to receive necessary repairs and maintenance in Charldo Harbor.

The Calculating Pearls on those instruments record the route of the airship.

There’s no trick around this, otherwise, do you think King Louis of the Goldenrod Kingdom would ignore the more convenient airships and spend a fortune for us to build railroads?

The Steam Lords don’t want external conflicts to spread into the half-body civilization, you understand?

Unless they’re willing, forces like airships, steam trains, and walking machine regiments can’t be leased to foreign countries, so you’d better give up on that idea.

No airship owner dares to take that risk.”

“Hmm?”

Murphy blinked, catching the implied meaning in Captain Paula’s words, and said:

“So, if the Calculating Pearls’ issue could be resolved, there would still be many airship owners willing to take the risk, right?”

“Of course, war is a business with immense returns.”

Captain Paula snorted, flicked her dashing blue hair, the scarred face half-body captain leaned back in the booth, and with a small ship-shaped pipe in her mouth, said:

“As a young vampire, you can’t imagine how much the Brass Dwarves spent to use our airship fleet to transport soldiers into the Dark Mountain Range during the fourth Black Disaster, and you can’t imagine how much countries paid to have airship fleets take the risk to evacuate the wounded.

All I can say is that there are also hawks in the Steam Lord Council…

They want to profit through acts of war.

And although most Half-body Men are timid and neurotic, occasionally some unexpectedly bold folks are born, like me…”

“Alright.”

Murphy nodded, taking out a piece of paper and a pen from his bag, writing down a line quickly, glancing at Captain Paula.

He twisted the seal on his finger to stamp it, and also had Babro, as a witness, stamp the Duke of Blood Fear’s seal on it.

Finally, he handed it to Paula.

The half-body captain glanced at the paper, which briefly stated that a ten-year tax exemption privilege was granted to Paula’s cargo company, on the condition that Paula must bring back at least three vehicles that could be converted into armed airships for Transylvania within two months.

“You only need to take it to Milian, the governor will provide you with a more formal tax exemption document.”

Murphy spread his arms and said:

“I don’t care how many ships your cargo company possesses, this privilege will always be valid, but for every five additional ships you add, Transylvania must acquire usage and conscription rights for one of them, whether big or small.

As for what we do with them, that’s none of your concern.”

“Are you mad, you vampire?”

Captain Paula shouted loudly:

“I already told you!

The Steam Lords control us with the Calculating Pearls, we can’t…”

“I have thirty-six thousand cracked Calculating Pearls in my hand, and I maintain a very good partnership…

no, alliance!

With an engineering master who can quickly modify Calculating Pearls.