Chapter 706 Meeting between the Two Sides

Why does it feel like Annie is a little... angry?

Angel was keenly aware that something was wrong in the atmosphere. His gaze lingered on the stern-faced girl for a moment, then he looked at Nast who was standing in the back of the room.

The latter seemed to have realized something as well, and he restrained the aura that was emanating from him, his tone becoming lower again:

"Please sit down."

This time it was not an order with any coercive force, but just a casual instruction.

Angel chose a high-backed chair by the door and sat down, his palms stroking the rough surface of the long metal table. He felt as if he had arrived in a palace above the gray fog and was participating in the "Tarot Club" in front of Mr. Fool.

The class here is so much lower than that of the Tarot Club... She muttered to herself as she and Annie waited for a few minutes in the completely quiet captain's room before meeting the other three pirate kings who were invited.

The "Mysterious Queen" Bernadette was the first to push open the door and step into the room. She was wearing an Intis-style blouse with a large lace flower on the collar, a blue captain's coat, off-white trousers and knee-length leather boots. She wore a three-cornered hat with a swaying white feather on the top, just like Angel. Her long chestnut hair was tied into a bun and just fell over her vest.

She seemed to be quite familiar with Nast, the "King of the Five Seas." After a brief greeting, Bernadette also chose a high-backed chair near the door, sitting opposite Angel. Her blue eyes swept over Angel and Anne, finally landing at the bottom of the long table, near the door. She nodded politely and said,

"You got here first."

Well, Bernadette didn't pretend to be strangers to me and Anne. Maybe she guessed that Nast had recognized Anne's identity. As a person from the time of Emperor Roselle, he must also know that Bernadette is the eldest daughter of the emperor. This disguise is meaningless... Angel thought secretly, feeling that the dress of the "Mysterious Queen" was somewhat similar to the crew of the "Black Emperor" he had met before. Now it seems that they are all Intis style, and may even be popular clothing during the time of the emperor.

It seems Nast values the title bestowed by the Emperor very much, maintaining the same court etiquette and dress code for over a hundred years... But why did Anne suddenly change her attitude just now? Did she think Nast was unworthy of inheriting the title bestowed upon his father by the Emperor? Or...

Thinking of the "King of the Five Seas"'s proud declaration that he would become the "Black Emperor," a true god at the top of the "Lawyer" path, as well as the secret revealed by Mr. Fool about Russell's attempt to reach Sequence 0 in his later years, Angel felt like he had grasped a key, but he was hesitant to confirm it.

After we leave here, maybe I can ask Annie to confirm...

At this time, the door was pushed open again, and a man in a black cloak, with a hunched body, only his thin face exposed, and deep red eyes emitting malice walked slowly into the captain's room. The wooden door closed behind him. In the dim candlelight, the figure of the cloaked man seemed to blend into the shadow of the corner, leaving only a touch of evil black in Angel's eyes.

There is no doubt that this is the last pirate king, the "Immortal King" Agaritu.

Angel guessed, but instinctively felt that something was wrong.

This evil feeling hidden in the shadows reminded her of the extraordinary person from the "Abyss" path she had seen before, who attacked her and Klein and assassinated Duke Negan's "Apostle of Desire" Jason Belia. Of course, it was most likely a pseudonym.

The oppressive feeling brought by Agaritu was similar to that of the Sequence 5 Apostle of Desire, not quite like that of a higher-level demigod. Was it a deliberate disguise, or... after leaving his "Death Announcement", he even lost the ability to maintain the oppressive feeling of a demigod?

Just as various thoughts kept flashing through her mind, Nast, the "King of the Five Seas" at the head of the long table, spoke:

"'Black Apostle' Krieberg, did Agaritu send you to attend the meeting this time?"

"Yes, respected 'King of the Five Seas', Gilchias has returned to the abyss."

The black shadow replied, and Angel could feel the crimson eyes on him for a second.

The Black Apostle... is the first mate of the "Death Notice" who has a bounty of 12,000 pounds but no photo on the wanted poster. It turns out that Agaritu did not come to the meeting, but asked his men to participate on his behalf. This is consistent with what Anne said, that the "Undead King" did not dare to leave his own ship at all.

Why did he look at me when he mentioned Gilchias? Because Agaritu's second mate, "The Slaughterer," was killed by the crazy adventurer Hermann, and it's rumored that he and I have a close connection? But I had no role in his death; it was all Klein's doing. At best, I enjoyed the wine and tea bought with his bounty, and stayed a few nights at Dantes's house... Angel muttered, ignoring Cleeberg's slightly resentful gaze.

After the first mate of the "Death Notice" took his seat, Nast, the "King of the Five Seas", raised one hand and gently clenched it. The black wooden door and the portholes on both sides that had never been opened all "clicked" and were completely locked under his control, making the captain's room, which seemed to be distorted and far larger than the external size, completely isolated from the outside world, forming a closed meeting room.

"I hereby declare the 1350 Sea Kings' Conference officially open."

Following the announcement of the king of the sea who aspired to become the "Black Emperor", Angel, Bernadette and the first mate of the "Death Announcement" Cliberg all sat up straight and expressed some respect for him.

The other four kings are... uh, four kings?

Angel's eyes swept over the other people, and she always felt that something was wrong, but the quick divination and spirituality did not indicate any problems, making her unsure for a moment whether she was being too suspicious or had really overlooked something important.

At this moment, the sword and shield balance mark formed by Anne's contract in her palm gave off a cold touch, which made her shudder and glanced at the bottom of the metal table as if she had realized something.

A strange old man appeared there at some point. He was wearing a formal tuxedo, a style common in Loen. His pale yellow eyebrows grew to his temples, his hair was neatly combed back, his forehead was covered with wrinkles, and his face was a pale color that contrasted sharply with the black tables, chairs, and the black room.

Unlike the others, this old man did not sit upright. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, appearing to be detached from the meeting. He looked coldly at Nast, the "King of the Five Seas" sitting opposite him, with a hint of a smile on his lips.

At the same time, Angel's mind flashed with the information she had forgotten before:

"King of the Black Throne", Barros Hopkins, "The Black Throne", "The Audience" Demigod...

I hadn't noticed him until now, no, I didn't even have any memory of him at all!

Angel's face froze for a moment, but immediately returned to normal before the old man's gaze turned towards him. He naturally looked away and looked at Bernadette opposite him, as if he was observing the other participants during the opening remarks of the meeting.

The "Mysterious Queen" is a Sequence 3, so she should have noticed the presence of the "King of the Black Seat." Oh, and she glanced at that position when she greeted me, perhaps alerting me to the presence of others, but I ignored it... The first mate of the "Death Announcer" stared intently at Nast, clearly unaware that there were supposed to be five "Five Kings." As for the initiator of the meeting, the "King of the Five Seas," if he lived up to his name, he would also have sensed the presence of this "audience member"...

Angel analyzed it in his mind and confirmed his guess with the help of other people's shifting gazes.

This also allowed her to roughly confirm the sequence of the other kings.

It would be fine if the "Apostle of Desire" couldn't see it, but it would be too embarrassing if the "Golden Queen" also knew nothing about the "King of the Black Throne"... Thinking of this, she turned her head and looked at Barros Hopkins, who was in a somewhat casual posture, without hiding the focus of her gaze at all.

The latter noticed this immediately and looked back with a hint of surprise.

After a moment, he used his hands to straighten his body posture, crossed his arms on the table, no longer looking like a bystander, but officially integrated into the meeting.

"...One ironclad ship and the military demigod aboard can fight against any one of us. What if there are three, or even seven? As far as I know, all the military shipyards in Loen have alloy keels. Perhaps in just two years, the Five Seas will belong to them, not us!"

At this time, the speech of "King of the Five Seas" Nast was reaching its climax.

…

On the other side of the island, in the two-story black building guarded by Beyonder pirates.

Cattleya, the Tarot Club's "Hermit" and "Admiral of the Stars," hid her gaze behind her thick glasses and observed the other pirate generals at the round table with a rather bored look.

"Vice Admiral of the Deep Sea" Hal Constantine, the only one with his face exposed outside his clothes like an octopus, was talking to "Vice Admiral of the Iceberg" in a muffled voice, and the topic seemed to be the "Lost Newins" hidden in the depths of the sea; "Vice Admiral of Disease" Tracy was still beautiful, but there seemed to be an atmosphere of despair around her that made people unwilling to approach; "Vice Admiral of the Dusk" Bulatov looked at her from time to time, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.

With the death of the Blood Admiral and the absence of the Hell Admiral, the Pirate Conference has become much quieter. While there used to be more shouting and Senior even fighting with Bulatov, I was able to extract more useful information from it... Meanwhile, the Four Kings have become the Five Kings. I wonder what the meeting with Miss Queen, the Golden Queen Angelica, will be like...

Cattleya hid her fatigue well behind her unchanging expression, but the next second, she looked towards the door with a sense of urgency.

With a "bang", the door was pushed open from the outside, and a tall man with a shaved head walked into the room with an anxious expression. The conversation stopped abruptly, and even Tracy, who had lowered her head and remained silent, looked over there in confusion.

It was Jörg the Great Shark, the first mate of the Nuens… Cattleya recognized him immediately.

At the same time, Jorg's eyes locked onto his captain and he reported loudly:

"Boss, something's wrong outside.

"Those pirates, the pirates who attended the festival...

"They're all crazy!"