Chapter 88 Grassland and Sea "It's...it's the team led by King Nolana..."

Compared to the Norlanda Grand Theatre, the island's "theater" is far from comparable.

It is only about the size of a regular stadium, and most of the area is open-air.

At the same time, because the audience consists entirely of pirates and smugglers hunting for food at sea, even the so-called aristocratic style is completely lost.

Instead of preparing fancy snacks and a warm-up dance, they set up a huge barbecue grill on the beach, allowing their companions to grill all kinds of meat to their heart's content.

They used as many expensive spices as they could, and fine wines were no exception.

Although there are no professional musicians performing on stage, there are second- or third-rate bards everywhere, chatting and playing music – how delightful!

In some ways, this place has a more "common" feel than Enlin's open-air theater.

After all, Enlin is now also known as the "City of Scholars," and it has gathered too many insightful people. Two schools were built in just three years.

It is said that many of the young people who stayed in Enlin had attended free basic schools, which set them apart from the commoners on the island who lived on the edge of danger.

However, there are some rules here, somewhat similar to those at Enlin's open-air theater.

On the left and right sides of the barbecue area, there was a chef boiling water over a fire—all the fresh water had to be boiled and cooled before it was served.

This was Scarface's order, and everyone could understand: after all, she was also of noble blood, and naturally found it difficult to accept the lifestyle of eating raw meat and drinking blood.

The captain forbade anyone from drinking untreated water or eating raw fish within her sight, and strictly prohibited anyone from touching the food with dirty hands.

Scarface usually loves to joke around and always listens with a smile as everyone chatters about what they hear.

She was happy to learn about the situations of major powers like Norlana and Hertuya, but anyone with a brain could tell that Scarface hated it—she hated it when people thought she was plagiarizing knowledge from Norlana.

The previous one laughed and said, "Oh dear, sir, are you like the people of Norlana, believing in that princess's talk about germs? Hahahaha."

The captain smiled and said nothing at the time, but the person who made the joke never appeared again.

So even though Scarface instructed the accountants to use a similar bookkeeping method to the Marigold Merchant Guild, and also hinted to the strategists to follow the Marigold Merchant Guild's lead in investing, no one dared to make jokes about being shrewd or cunning anymore.

The pirates on the beach watched the stage, their hearts filled with anticipation.

There won't be any serious operas performed here; instead, there will be plenty of time for everyone to go up and improvise.

Scarface makes room for each captain or a member designated by the captain to perform.

During this time, they can freely post job advertisements, encouraging everyone to participate in a collaboration or exchange enticing business opportunities.

After the captains who signed up have finished, other people who are not famous but are willing to pay money or claim that their information is valuable can come up and make a scene.

Scarface doesn't vouch for any information; she herself sits in the audience, listening to these voices with a smile.

Once all the news has reached everyone's ears, the real drama will begin.

That was naturally a farce, quite different from the dramas of Nolana or Bailey.

Scarface scoffs at mythology, especially the currently popular theme of Cupid.

She prefers to watch as everyone plays the roles of nobles of a country, competing against each other or making important figures like the "king" look foolish... The reasons behind this hobby are truly profound.

As dusk fell, the last rays of the setting sun spilled across the vast sea.

The moment the waterline swallows the sun is so vibrant and exciting that it's often used as a signal for the start of a banquet.

But Scarface didn't like dusk; she preferred the deep darkness of night.

As the sea swallowed the last rays of sunlight, a young man hurled a torch at the tall pile of firewood—and roared! Flames shot up, and the pirates roared with excitement.

Their shouts were rhythmic and subsided after a few breaths.

If a newcomer seizes the opportunity to be invited as a guest, she will be surprised to find: Hey, why are the people here more refined than the pirates I imagined?

Having gone through several rounds of selection, those chosen by Andra to continue living are all somewhat extraordinary. They all know at least one thing: the Pirate King hates those who don't follow the rules, and those who are hated cannot live to see the next season.

One by one, the sailors, young and old, lit torches with bonfires and shouted work chants as they hung and fixed the torches in various corners.

The aroma of roasted meat mingled with the smoky fruit wine, swirling in the burning smoke.

The Pirate King didn't restrict anyone from eating and drinking; they had been partying on the beach for quite some time.

However, when that person appeared in the center of the crowd, time seemed to stand still, as did the rustling sounds.

When did she appear?

They didn't know, they only knew that they all looked towards the seats on the left side of the stands—those seats were very remote, and when the Pirate King built the theater, he said, "I am with you all," requesting that his seat be hidden behind everyone.

But as time went by, in just one year, the open-air grandstand was rotated slightly to make it easier for people sitting on the left to see more clearly.

Meanwhile, the Pirate Queen's seat was slightly higher than the other seats, and combined with her tall figure, her shoulders were above the surrounding crowd.

No one objected to the change. They stood on the beach, gazing up at the dazzling young woman, greedily observing how she spoke with the guests sitting next to her.

Faces were blurred in the darkness.

The torch illuminated the glittering gold accessories on the figure, but it obscured her features beneath the scars, leaving only the inexplicable feeling that the shadow was smiling.

It seems Lord Scarface is in a very good mood today. Perhaps no one owes Lodima's toll this quarter, and no one will become the entertainment at the banquet tonight.

The lower-ranking sailors remained on board awaiting orders, some crew members craned their necks at the barbecue grill, the powerful captains were able to stay by the king's side, while others were busy making their grand entrances.

With a crisp clang, a dashing young man, as handsome as a parrot, made a dazzling entrance.

She wore a wide-brimmed hat, and her feather-covered cloak bounced and swayed with each step.

Laughter erupted from the audience, and every now and then someone would pout and whistle a long, drawn-out tune.

This noblewoman, who looked young but was actually over fifty, unfolded the parchment scroll she carried like a real young person and began to sing a string of catchy tunes with great seriousness.

The vulgar ballads mixed up a whole bunch of names.

She deftly read out a long string of advertisements for the captains, then put away the parchment scroll, walked back and forth on the stage with her hands behind her back, and sang in an operatic aria.

Oh, the pearls of the deep sea are more precious than gold; the mermaid's battle cracked open the oyster shell.

We, the humble pearl divers, reach out to scoop pearls up time and time again, but all our efforts are in vain.

The nobles are watching us intently from the garden on the shore. What should we do?

These lyrics instantly wiped the smiles off many people, drawing their attention to the Pirate King at the edge of the stands.

Because the phrase "the battle of the mermaids" in these three sentences clearly refers to the royal war in Belial.

This land has never lacked war.

The captains entrusted this captain with reading the advertisements in order to make time for the short skit satirizing the Hetuya War that followed.

Hertuya's war shocked the world, but the conflicts in the Belials were happening right around them.

The current ruler of Bayra possesses the best ships in the entire country, and many believe that only the Pirate King, Scarface, could lead his fleet to close the gap in ship quality and defeat these seemingly invincible fleets.

Scarface clearly had her own ideas; she was unwilling to take such a big risk and chose to temporarily settle down in a corner of the world.

However, with the support of the Marigold Merchant Guild—or rather, the Norlana behind it—some of the lords of Belai City switched their support to the former king's two daughters, and the two sides fought back and forth.

The situation has now reached a critical point; if Scarface doesn't intervene soon, he might not even get a sip of hot soup.

The young man, under the intense gaze of everyone, curled the corners of his lips into a smile.

She raised the golden cup and drank the wine in one gulp. The crimson liquid rolled down her lips, into her collar, and dripped onto her collarbone.

"Let's watch the show first."

She tossed the empty glass behind her in weariness, only to have it caught mid-air by a courteous waiter.

The Pirate King's words seemed to have a double meaning, but seeing her ambiguous smile—whether you knew her or not—evoked a certain feeling:

She has made her decision and will notify everyone after the performance.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, some smiling, some expressionless, as they looked at the stage in the center, comfortably entrusting all their dreams and choices to this absolute powerhouse.

......

As the opening act, the captain leaped off the stage, and a group of young people in colorful clothes wearing various masks rushed onto the stage laughing.

None of these people were professional dancers, but fortunately, every movement was vigorous and powerful, which made them appear quite orderly.

They used a long stick between their legs as a horse, bouncing around on the stage to suggest Hetuya's cavalry.

"Hahahaha." Laughter erupted from the audience at just the right moment.

Everyone knew that Scarface disliked Hertuya and Norlana, but they also guessed that she was a noblewoman of mixed blood from both countries, so they kept their laughter quite measured.

"Oh my, little sister, you're still alive?" A tall sailor, with a pheasant perched on his shoulder, pretended to be Attila.

She waved to the sailor opposite her who was deliberately wearing patched clothes to prank Alisa.

"Alissa," feigning humiliation, gritted her teeth and said with reddened eyes, "It's you again, causing trouble! My wife will get justice for me!"

"Hahahaha." The people in the audience and "Attila" burst into laughter.

Even the scarred man leaned forward and tapped the armrest in a good mood.

Who doesn't know that Alisa has yet to gain the Sage Princess's approval and is diligently playing the role of a tortoise?

Princess Eleanor's constant flow of fine gold coins and abundant food elevates her status in Hetuia far above that of the mediocre Alissa. The story between the two is quite amusing.

......

A month earlier, before they could see, a troop of Hetuya cavalry charged out of the royal court with great force.

Attila, the leader, was furious. After days of traveling, she intercepted her sister's convoy and impatiently tore open the largest tent.

"Eleanor, explain yourself! Why did you kill—"

She wanted to pin the blame for patricide on this vile woman, because she dared to poison her!

However, the tent collapsed, and there was no one inside.

Attila felt a chill run through her body as she heard her adjutant shouting anxiously behind her, "Your Highness, it's terrible! The Nolana cavalry are charging!"

Attila sneered, too lazy to correct her adjutant's wording—she directly rebuked him: "What are you afraid of with just a thousand or so men? Are you afraid that Alisa will resort to desperate measures?"

"No, no, it has nothing to do with Princess Alisa!"

The adjutant's face contorted and turned bright red. She collapsed to the ground in despair, crying out, "It's...it's the army led by King Norlana!!"

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Author's Note: Andra has no memory of going to the theater with Eleanor, only fragmented recollections (more like subconscious recollections), so she's relatively accepting of the theater. If she had the memory of going to the theater with Eleanor, she definitely wouldn't have agreed to build it. [Cat emoji]