"It is indeed a choice... However, making a decision now is too hasty. Let's find a place to hide first and discuss this in depth," Uncle Monty stared at the book in my hand and said.

As soon as he finished speaking, Aliyah beside us immediately countered, "While it may be better to think it over, we might not have that much time. Remember, since the Cold Wind Mercenary Group knows your identities, your ship is also in danger now."

"That's right," I nodded. "If the other side has already found you and sent people to surround you, it means your whereabouts have been completely exposed. The fact that they didn't act earlier likely means they were waiting for you to disembark and then block your retreat. In that case, they most likely have taken control of your ship."

"This..." Uncle Monty's face filled with concern upon hearing our words.

"There's no time to hesitate. If they realize we've killed some of their people and taken you guys hostage, they'll most likely either destroy your ship to vent their anger or reduce your chances of escape. If they do that, it'll be very difficult for us to leave this place."

"Alright... So what we need to do now is to reclaim the ship, quickly restock on water and food, and set off immediately."

"That's too slow," I shook my head. "How about this, Uncle Monty, since you are more knowledgeable about sailing, you can figure out a way to get food and water for us. I have a storage ring here, you can take as much as you can carry. Leave the task of reclaiming the ship to us."

"A storage ring!? Such a valuable item..."

"Huh? Do we really have time to worry about such things now?" I said helplessly, looking at Uncle Monty's widened eyes.

"No, no, I'm just worried about damaging your ring. These things are used by mages, and we've never..."

"..."

Although the people on this continent are quite strong, it seems that mages are relatively scarce... Yes, it seems essential to open up sea routes quickly. With magical items from Blue Moon being sold, as a shareholder, won't I make a fortune?

"Alright, let's not dwell on this for now and get moving."

"Alright, leave it to us."

"Oh, right!"

Oyado suddenly remembered something and took out a belt full of daggers from the ring.

"Oh my, are you sure you're teaching a thief and not an assassin? These daggers don't look like simple toys. When did you get these?"

"Here, Ko-do, this is for you, but be careful with it."

"Okay!"

Ko-do took the belt eagerly. "I will use it well, master."

"Alright, be careful, you two."

"Okay, let's act quickly."

I hurriedly said, "Oh... by the way, Fir."

"What is it?"

"Thank you very much for saving us."

"Don't mention it, if you hadn't pulled us up, we would all be fish food now."

Although that statement isn't an exaggeration, we would likely respawn on the Lost Continent, but Oyado's situation might be different.

"Okay, let's get moving."

----------------------------Map Loading: Ledan City Harbor----------------------------

It didn't take us five minutes to reach the harbor, but the situation was much more complicated than we had anticipated.

Uncle Monty's ship had been completely taken over by the Cold Wind Mercenary Group, and there was also a unit of soldiers in official military armor nearby. Although their levels were only between 30 and 40, getting into a direct conflict with a national army was not a good option.

I didn't want my wanted criminal title to level up. Even though the effect was good, it still didn't look cool.

Why a wanted criminal? Since when am I so easily caught by the police?

Well, the real issue was that before entering the harbor, we had seen that the waters nearby were mostly controlled by the military ships. While we were strong, we weren't particularly skilled in naval combat. If a battle broke out, the only way I could think of was to freeze the entire sea and fight on ice.

And if I had to freeze the sea, I felt like my head would ache so much that I wouldn't be able to move. Spare me that.

Ultimately, getting into a conflict with the military was the worst possible outcome.

"Brother!" Oyado's figure appeared next to us.

"Scouting complete. There are 23 members of the Cold Wind Mercenary Group on the ship, 50 soldiers from the Gothic Aces Grand Duchy, and not a single mage."

"It seems mages are not only few but also reclusive. Quite pitiful," I shook my head. "However, we underestimated the number of enemies. It's not that we can't defeat them, but it will be troublesome."

"It looks like we need to find a way to distract those soldiers first. But we don't know if they were specifically sent to cooperate with the mercenaries."

"Even if they were, I believe they are not happy about it. Anyone who can enter the military must have their own abilities. They wouldn't be pleased to work with second-rate mercenaries unless they are lunatics or murderers."

"Haha, Fir, you're not wrong... Alright, how about Oyado and I go assassinate the people on the ship, and you figure out how to lure away the soldiers?"

"That's not difficult for me," I looked around and said. "Alright, leave it to me. Aliyah, let's go."

Saying that, Oyado grabbed Aliyah, who hadn't reacted yet, and they disappeared.

... He didn't actually turn invisible but teleported, did he?

Well, let's not worry about that.

"Distractions for the soldiers..."

In common games, you could create noise by throwing a bottle or a brick to distract enemies, but that works for zombies. Or you could fire a shot in one direction to distract others, but that's for dealing with tanks.

Now we're facing 50 people, so there's a problem. If I create a disturbance and they only half of them leave, what do we do?

Quite vexing...

And we're not clear about their duties. If I start a fire somewhere, would these guys care?

So troublesome...

While I was pondering and observing the surroundings, suddenly, something caught my eye.

On a nearby wall, a wanted poster grabbed my attention. Thinking quickly, I ran out of hiding and towards the poster.

"Seah Mado Henry, warrior, Level 7 murderer, killed 59 people... this shouldn't be too difficult."

The man in the picture had a scruffy face with stubble, long black hair, disheveled clothes, and a scar on his face.

After a moment's thought, I tore down the wanted poster, ran to an empty alley, and soon after, a scruffy mercenary wielding Blood Moon emerged from the alley.

"Thanks, Transfiguration."

I chuckled and put on a menacing expression, then headed towards the direction of those soldiers.

If I don't want to become a wanted criminal, might as well use a ready-made one, right?