Chapter 440: Chapter 344: ’Retire When You Have Enough Money’ (Part 2)

"With equipment this good, we wouldn’t have stood a chance in a direct fight." Shire kicked the armor on the corpse in front of him, which clanged with a dull metallic sound. "What was the point? To die here so young."

"Leave a few men to clean this up. Drag the bodies out and bury them," he said, turning to the goblins behind him. He then added pointedly, "Buck Teeth, you take some men and watch them. Make absolutely sure the goblins don’t eat the bodies."

......

Meanwhile, aboard a large cargo ship on Darren Lake, the captain and sailors were idly awaiting the return of the Holy Order Army.

"You guys think those Paladins will win?" a sailor asked casually, holding his fishing rod.

"They should. I mean, they’re the Holy Order Army of the War God Church."

"Definitely."

"But they’re up against an Evil God. I’ve heard from Adventurers that Evil Gods are incredibly powerful."

"That’s enough idle talk," the captain said, raising his voice to stop the sailors’ discussion. "Didn’t you hear the Commander? He said this campaign against the Evil God would go off without a hitch."

"But, Captain, what if something *does* go wrong? What will we do?" a younger sailor asked in a low voice. "My mother is sick. I need to get back to take care of her."

"Nothing will go wrong," the captain said again, with conviction. "These are people even Adventurers look up to."

"Besides," he paused, "if there really is a problem, we can just set sail down the Darren River. Nothing will be able to catch us. You know goblins can’t swim."

At his words, all the sailors let out a collective sigh of relief. It was true; back in Yangjiao Town, no one had ever heard of a goblin that could swim. They’d heard from Adventurers that when you chased goblins to a riverbank, the creatures would either make a desperate last stand or jump into the water and drown. There had never been a single report of a goblin managing to swim ashore.

"Just wait patiently, everyone. The Holy Order Army should be back in two days at most," the captain said, smiling at the sailors around him. "Once they pay the remaining balance, we’ll have earned double."

The Holy Order Army was paying a hefty sum. The earnings from this single trip across Darren Lake were equal to several voyages to Black Lion City. The only catch was guarding against goblin raids, which was also the reason why other ships had turned down the contract, leaving them as the only ones willing to accept.

"Hey, I’ve got a bite!" The sailor who had spoken first suddenly noticed his fishing rod bending downward. "Wonder what it is. If it’s a big one, we’ll have something good to eat later."

He gripped the rod and began to wrestle with his quarry in the water. But as he braced himself and gave a mighty heave, the ’catch’ suddenly flew out of the water, arced through the air, and landed on the deck. The sailor, thrown off balance by his own effort, tumbled backward.

"What the hell was that? So strong." He cursed as he scrambled to his feet, looking down at the deck to find his catch. A moment later, just like everyone else, he was staring open-mouthed at the fish head on the deck.

It was just an ordinary fish head, not even half the size of his palm. It looked as if someone had sliced it clean off below the gills with a knife.

"What’s going on?" the sailor muttered in confusion. He immediately rushed to the ship’s rail and looked down into the lake.

The lake’s surface was calm. Nothing was happening. But the sailor’s eyes widened in shock. "Mon... mon... mon..." he stammered, as if he had seen something terrifying.

Staring right back at him was a massive fish head. The creature it belonged to had propped itself up against the ship’s hull with two arms, a long tail swishing below. Beside this monster, many more of its kind were clinging to the hull as well.

"MONSTERS!" As the sailor shrieked in terror, the creature shot up with a WHOOSH, tracing an arc of water through the air as it leaped onto the deck. All the sailors stood frozen, not daring to move. Immediately after, several more monsters vaulted over the rail.

"AH!" the captain finally screamed. The other sailors scrambled frantically, trying to flee into the cabins, but the monsters, armed with weapons, surrounded them.

"Don’t hurt them," the lead monster said. "The goblin chief was very specific. He wants them alive. Try not to harm these humans."

"Goblins?" The captain and sailors, trembling like leaves in the wind, huddled together in fear.

......

"Is that your ship, the *Retire When You Have Enough Money*?" Shire looked up, a smile on his face, at the trembling human before him.

The human captain was dressed like a commoner, though his clothes were more practical for work on the water. He kept his head bowed, studiously avoiding eye contact for fear of meeting the goblin’s gaze.

However, his silence earned him a frown from Shire, which the captain keenly sensed. He nodded tremblingly. "Yes. It’s mine."

"An interesting name. *Retire When You Have Enough Money*," Shire said with a small laugh.

"Uh, I didn’t name it. It was my... my father," the captain stammered.

"Your father?"

"Mhm."

"Did he retire, then?"

"No... no," the captain shook his head. "He came back from a delivery, had a few too many drinks, and then... he fell down the stairs and... and died."

Shire was at a loss for words. "Oh. I’m sorry to hear that."

The captain managed to twist his lips into a smile that looked more painful than crying. "It’s... it’s nothing."

’He was actually a little surprised that this goblin in front of him could speak Common Speech, and seemed quite polite, too. If he ignored the sharp fangs and green skin, he might just be a short human or a Dwarf. No, not a Dwarf. Those guys are arrogant, loud, and rude.’

"And you are?" Shire continued to ask.

"Oh, I... what’s my name again?" For a moment, the captain’s mind went blank, but years of running a business forced him to compose himself. "My name is Byron. Byron Lark."

"Well then, Captain Lark..."

"You can call me Byron," the captain said immediately.

"Let’s go with Captain Byron, then." Shire smiled. "It’s a bit more cordial. Now, you said earlier that this cargo ship belongs to you?"

"Yes, yes." Captain Byron nodded. He had no idea why this strange goblin was asking such a question.

"Here’s the thing. I’d like to hire you to do something for me," Shire said calmly, an innocent look on his face.

"Hire us?" Captain Byron was taken aback. "You’re not going to eat us?"

"Who told you I was going to eat you?" Shire paused. ’Could those Naga have embellished things?’

"No one, no one," Captain Byron said with a placating smile, then mumbled, "That’s just what everyone says."

"I understand." Shire smiled, not taking the man’s words to heart. "We don’t eat people. You can rest assured on that."

Hearing the goblin’s guarantee, Captain Byron breathed a small sigh of relief. But he remained stiff, his body coiled tight, still clearly fearful and wary of the goblin before him.

"It’s just some cargo piled up on the docks in Yangjiao Town. If you’re willing, you could transport it to Darren Lake for me. I’ll give you a good price. And of course, we can sign a formal contract."

"You... do contracts?" Captain Byron raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected the goblin to know about such things.

"Of course," Shire nodded. "The price will certainly be to your satisfaction."

"But, I’ve never... never..."

"Never done business with a goblin before, is that it?"

Seeing that Shire had seen right through him, Captain Byron fell silent.

"In business, you always have to learn to look for new opportunities. Just because no one else is doing something, doesn’t mean it can’t be done." Shire smiled at Byron. "Take that first brave step, and you might just discover a whole new world waiting for you."

"I..." Byron hesitated, not knowing what to say.

Shire then said at the perfect moment, "How about this: we’ll just do one deal for now. I’ll not only sign a contract, but I’ll also swear an oath to the gods that I won’t harm any of you."

"However," his tone shifted, "you and your sailors must not reveal our identities or this deal. If you break that promise, someone will come looking for you."

After speaking, Shire glanced to the side, signaling for the captain to look.

Captain Byron followed Shire’s gaze and was shocked to see a large pile of armor stacked not far away. The insignia on the armor was a longsword with six outstretched wings.

"That’s... that’s..." He was too stunned to speak.

"The armor of the Holy Order Army," Shire said nonchalantly. "I wiped them all out."

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