Chapter 72: Chapter 72 Tru

Squeak—-

Pushing open the door to the captain’s cabin, as Aiven expected, it was empty.

Tap…tap…tap…

The crisp sound of military boots echoed on the floor as Aiven did not search the obvious places like desk drawers or locked chests that might hide treasure.

Instead, he scanned his eyes over a large wardrobe standing in the corner, walking toward it with a playful expression.

“I’ll count to three. If you don’t come out, I’ll start shooting.”

“One, two, …”

“Don’t shoot, Navy officer. I surrender, I surrender!”

The wardrobe door suddenly burst open from the inside, and a short, robed white-haired old man tumbled out.

“Navy officer, I’m not a pirate. I was forced! Don’t kill me!”

With white hair and wearing a robe, he looked like a high sage from outside the world, at least someone of Gandalf’s stature, now groveling and begging on the floor, which Aiven found oddly incongruous.

Hearing the old man’s words, Aiven glanced at the prompt that appeared in his “Data Visualization” and playfully asked, “Oh? If you’re not a pirate, why are you associating with pirates then?”

“Sir, I’m just an ordinary scholar from the Thessaly Kingdom, caught by the damn pirate chief Sku while traveling to the New Continent, and forced to manage his nautical charts. I’m really not a pirate!”

The old man’s blue eyes darted around, clearly a cunning person, but such slyness was misplaced in front of Aiven.

Aiven couldn’t see through his exact thoughts.

But he could judge whether the man was lying through his breathing, heartbeat, and changes in his gaze via his “Data Visualization,” not to mention the Needle-tailed Swift had already transmitted the footage when he was alone in the captain’s cabin, making it clear whether this old man was good or evil.

Since it was rare to meet a pirate who seemed communicative, Aiven wanted to get more information from him about the “White Shark” and the current attack, so he decided to pretend for a while.

On his young face was a slight hesitation, as if somewhat convinced by the old man’s words, but he was momentarily undecided, considering for a while before speaking:

“Since you’re not a pirate, as a civilian of a Tulip Alliance member state, it’s our navy’s duty to ensure your safety. But you also need to assist us in thoroughly searching the pirate ship to avoid any fish slipping through the net. Do you agree?”

‘Haha, young people are easy to fool. I can’t die with those barbaric pirates. If I manage a good relationship with him, maybe I’ll really survive this,’ Tru thought smugly.

Everything that happened on the battlefield outside was seen by the old man hiding here; he knew well what a formidable presence this seemingly naive young man was on the battlefield.

He didn’t expect that with just a few words, he would be let off, and he couldn’t help but feel secretly pleased.

“Understood, understood! Sir, old Tru is frail and poses no threat. Those damned pirates didn’t deliberately avoid me when plotting harm. I can’t do anything else, but the intelligence on this pirate ship can’t be hidden from me.”

Having decided to rely on this seemingly easily fooled young man to survive, Tru didn’t mind selling out pirate gang information, especially since even the White Shark was slain. No one could punish him for betrayal now.

“Navy officer, here’s how it is…”

After listening to this self-proclaimed scholar Tru’s account, Aiven once again marveled at the madness of this era.

Their side and the Shark Tooth Pirate Gang had enmity over the killing of their vice group leader, “One-Eyed Becky,” but such hatred was not enough for the entire pirate group to plot revenge.

The real reason was…

To remove the “Mutated Curse” on him, White Shark Sku went all in, trying to grab the lifeline offered by the Black Wing Order, but the cost was the life of a vice-admiral-level officer of a civilized nation.

The pirate gang had purchased suitable general information from information dealers and just happened to choose Vice Admiral Snite, the easiest target.

And although the Silver Wings had previously hunted the vice leader of the Shark Tooth Pirate Gang, “One-Eyed Becky,” this time, it really was collateral damage.

In Aiven’s impression, the Black Wing Order, though worshiping a True God, behaved no different from servants of an Evil God, capable of such harmful acts beneficial to no one.

“War of Injustice,” “Violence,” “Plunder,” and “Theft”–none of the God of Black Wings’ powers in the order’s sermons had a positive divine aspect. Tumult, death, and destruction were what they desired.

But as the old man revealed one piece of information after another, Aiven discovered it was too detailed. From contacting information dealers for intelligence gathering, collaborating with the notorious Blood Hand Gang, planning on Lighthouse Island, to large-scale fleet movements after plan failure for a New Route Great Hunt to engage the navy–all seemed not like hearsay but involvement or personal strategizing.

Judging by the smug look on the old codger’s face during his excited recounting, Aiven felt a bit ashamed; their self-titled elite navy forces almost fell into such hands, which was truly embarrassing!

Yet, while Aiven listened, he didn’t reveal any emotion on his face, just took paper and pen from the captain’s desk and asked him to write down everything he knew, then sign his name.

Old Tru complied with everything, knowing it’s routine for the navy to do paperwork.

Seeing he finished the statement, Aiven nonchalantly asked another question: “When we ran into the ambush of two pirate ships, there was a strange fog. Do you know what that was about?”

The old man’s hand slightly jerked at this last signature, and then he looked up, confused, “Strange fog? I don’t know! Wasn’t that a natural phenomenon? The pirates opened fire as soon as they saw you.”

If Aiven hadn’t been directing seabird reconnaissance in the fog, witnessing two pirate ships constantly adjusting their course to chase the Silver Wings, he might have believed the old man’s claim that the Silver Wings charged into an ambush of their own accord.

From earlier information, Aiven could confirm he was telling the truth, but about that fog, he was definitely lying. What else was worth risking deceit at this point?

“Tru! Look into my eyes!”

The activated spiritual power at the middle-tier apprentice level suddenly overflowed, and Aiven’s black eyes seemed to emit strange spiritual light.

Eyes, the windows to the soul, also act as a bridge for spiritual power to communicate externally. Although Aiven hadn’t mastered any spiritual witchcraft, it was possible to crudely employ mental intimidation to suppress ordinary people’s will.

Perfect for interrogation.

As his black eyes fixed on the old man’s blue eyes, what should have been an overwhelming collapse of the old man’s will resulted instead in an odd “crack” as if a firecracker exploded in the air between them.

Pop—-