The Spider Queen

Chapter 153: Treasure Hunting!

(Planet Calypso)

(Private Residence- Edward’s Palace)

“This is some good business,” Edward muttered to himself as he reviewed the documents placed on his desk.

“But it does seem too good to be true.”

Gentle sunlight streamed through the window and shone a light on the handsome figure currently sitting down casually on a metallic chair.

Edward had most certainly inherited the good looks of his noble father along with his viciousness and cruelty.

Most people were under the impression that the merciless pirate spent his days raping and pillaging but that could not be further from the truth.

There was just so much damn administration work that needed to be done in order to keep some sense of normalcy in a pirate society.

Luckily, there were AI units who would do most of the work for him. 

Edward would simply be notified of the important matters that required his immediate attention.

In his hands was an offer for a number of pregnant or fertile women to be sold to an organization called the ‘Midas Touch’ in exchange for Enas credits and other benefits.

On the surface, this would seem like a straightforward trade, but Edward had long heard rumors that this grey organization had government ties.

They were prepared to pay much higher than the market price for those slaves, but Edward had to weigh the possibility that it could be a trap.

Suspicion is what kept men in his type of business alive.

Not all nobles in the government were fond of pirates and some would leap at the opportunity to put a dent in their numbers.

Especially the newly formed faction led by that cunning young Duke Peterlor. 

He had already started to push a series of legislation that would require the Imperial Army to hunt them down.

These bills were already seeing pushback from lobbying groups, but the duke’s popularity meant that some had the potential to pass and get approval eventually.

“Model Unity- 907!” Edward called out.

A holographic woman dressed in an office uniform with a curvaceous body materialized out of thin air.

“Send a polite decline to the sender of this offer and inform them that they need to visit the slave market in person if they want to purchase slaves directly.”

[As you command sir!] came the mechanical reply.

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(Inner District- St. Ann’s Escort Services)

The inner district also had its fair share of gambler dens and whorehouses, but these services were geared towards the upper class of the pirate society or at least those with connections to Edward.

The buildings were classy with rare antique furniture and personal servants who would tend to a patron’s every whim or fancy.

The girls would most certainly be of a higher quality than those in the outer district and their services would cost far beyond a typical cutthroat’s salary.

Inside one of these establishments, the son of a Blackguard captain was resting casually on a pillowy sofa as his entourage fawned over him with praises and adoration.

“My lord… there is a great treasure that I can gift you,” a rat face man bowed deeply and dared not look directly into the eyes of his master.

“Hmmm,” a young lad in his twenties with a heavy-set appearance contemplated for a moment as two attractive girls stroked his head lovingly.

“Speak quickly Johnny boy,” the fat man spoke in a greasy tone.

Long John Daggers collected his thoughts and quickly ran through the information in his head. 

That bastard Darius knocked him out and stole the treasure that he had collected from a merchant couple during his last raid.

It was some strange tablet with words in a language that John did not understand but it looked expensive, so he took it anyway.

Darius had taken his newly stolen tablet to an evaluator and apparently the stupid thing was an archaeological treasure from ancient Earth!

It was priceless!

Fortunately, that evaluator could not keep his mouth shut and soon news of this incredible find leaked out.

John almost fainted when he heard the news that he had nearly struck it rich.

At least Darius did not get to enjoy the wealth as his mangled corpse was found behind a tavern with no tablet on his person.

No one knew who had killed him and the thief absconded with the treasure. 

The last person seen drinking with Darius in the tavern was a young boy in his crew called Luke, so the suspicion naturally fell on him.

His master was getting impatient with the silence forming so Long John immediately broke into his prepared speech.

“A rare and priceless treasure has been floating around the outer district. It is a stone tablet with secrets from ancient Earth,” John spoke softly and tried to make his voice sound appealing.

“No major organization has any claim, so it is ripe for the taking. Possession of this wealth is yours for the taking.”

“Excellent!” the fat man chuckled gleefully as he ran his hands down the bodies of the women at his side.

“Take as many people as you want and bring it back to me.”

“It will be done,” John gestured towards ten other members of the posse and they swiftly headed out of the brothel.

Mission accomplished.

John needed permission to leave the inner district and the only method would be to get the approval of his master.

Now as for what would happen once, he got the tablet…… well it would be highly unlikely that the foolish master would ever see him again.

But how could the son of a Blackguard not notice the greed and ambition in the eyes of his subordinate.

Still seated firmly on the comfortable couch, the heavy-set man narrowed his eyes and whispered to the shadow behind him.

“Follow those men and kill them once they have found the treasure.”

A dark figure nodded slowly and vanished from the room before anyone could notice. 

Long John had underestimated his employer and he would soon be forced to pay the price.