Chapter 1314 - 1061: So Frank

"Are all the battleship cannons using cosmic stones as ammunition?" Since Long Yi was already acting like a country bumpkin, he decided to embrace it fully and directly threw out his own question.

"Of course not," Mahal shook his head and said, "Only some advanced battleships or specially modified light cannons use cosmic stones as ammunition. After all, although they are immensely powerful, they are also very expensive."

Long Yi nodded, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "So, when you used the light cannon to bombard me last time, was it a regular light cannon or a cosmic stone light cannon?"

Mahal’s face showed a trace of embarrassment. The man in front of him had endured a light cannon bombardment without dying, and yet he still had the mood to ask what kind of light cannon it was. Despite the awkwardness, the question still needed to be answered.

"Our battleship had one light cannon that had been modified to use cosmic stones, and it fired at that time, but the effect... let’s just say, Sir, you are too strong..." Mahal struggled to choose his words carefully, fearing that he might unintentionally anger Long Yi.

Immediately, Long Yi’s vanity was greatly satisfied.

"So, it’s like that! Hahaha..."

Seeing the smile on Long Yi’s face, Mahal immediately understood. Long Yi seemed to be getting a bit self-inflated after finding out that he had withstood a more powerful cosmic stone light cannon. He became even more curious—where exactly had this person named Long Yi come from? Appearing out of nowhere, defeating him, and then following him here? Was he also after the cosmic stones? But Mahal had never heard of any country having such a formidable person who could withstand a bombardment from a cosmic stone light cannon and still remain obscure.

After making a round below, Long Yi asked numerous questions, including how the cosmic stones were mined, transported, sold, and by whom. Mahal did not dare hide anything—in fact, although they were pirates, aside from their slightly shady channels, they were no different from other traders.

Then, Long Yi got to the point: "We’ve talked so much, why don’t we talk about your pirate group? It is called the Black Sea Demon, right?"

Mahal’s pirate group used a black sea demon as their symbol. Long Yi had never seen such a creature and felt it was likely a fabricated being. He didn’t know much about this pirate group because the last fight was the first time he had encountered them, and most of his time afterwards was spent busily searching for cosmic stones between planets, without much investigation. Now that he had the chance, he might as well learn more.

A chill ran through Mahal’s heart. He understood that today’s discussion had finally reached its main topic.

"We are the Black Sea Demon Group, considered one of the top three biggest pirate groups in the current plane," Mahal said. When he mentioned ’one of the top three biggest pirate groups,’ he carefully observed Long Yi’s expression, but Long Yi just smiled without any extra reaction. Much to Mahal’s disappointment, because usually people would be surprised by these words. Unfortunately, he didn’t realize that in the eyes of someone like Long Yi, who was accustomed to being the big brother, there wasn’t really such a thing as ’the strongest.’

So Mahal had to continue.

"Our group possesses thirty various ships, including fifteen battleships, all fitted with cosmic stone light cannons. Over twenty thousand people have joined our Black Sea Demon, with about two thousand regularly following the ships, while the majority spend most of their time on the ground serving us."

"What about your group leader? Tell me about him. What kind of person is he?"

"Our group leader, named Yahola, is about forty years old this year, with a ruthless personality and incredibly stingy. He values money more than anything else. He inherited the position of group leader from his father, whom he killed in his sleep because the allowance his father gave him was insufficient, and then he took over the position. The leader’s personal strength is very strong; he has also withstood a strike from a cosmic stone light cannon without a scratch. Under his leadership, our Black Sea Demon Group went from a medium group ranked beyond tenth place to one of the top three major pirate groups," Mahal explained, revealing all he knew. His heart was pounding hard because, for some reason, he suddenly felt as if an opportunity had presented itself in front of him. He wasn’t even sure why he thought this way, but the idea was unstoppable.

"So, there are rankings for pirates..." Long Yi’s focus shifted slightly.

Mahal nodded and said, "Those are rankings compiled by the various planets of the plane based on the threat level and strength of different pirate groups."

Long Yi chuckled and did not say anything further but continued walking ahead. This was an abandoned alley because the content of cosmic stones here was not high, so no workers were present. Also, due to the lack of ventilation, the air was somewhat stuffy.

Just like that, Long Yi walked on without speaking, and Mahal dared not initiate a conversation either, merely following behind Long Yi.

Later, Long Yi arrived at the worksite and touched the rocks. Just when Mahal was curious about what Long Yi was going to do, Long Yi suddenly threw a powerful punch onto the rock layer. Mahal only felt the ground shake along with it. A crack had formed in the rock layer in front of them!

Mahal was stunned.

Long Yi was also stunned.

Mahal was stunned because he knew very well that in this mine, where no energy could be used, the punch Long Yi threw was purely with his brute strength! To actually create a crack in the rock layer with bare hands—what terrifying brute strength that was!

As for Long Yi, he was stunned because he had not expected that his punch would fail to completely shatter the rocks in front of him! When Long Yi had first entered the Lower Plane, he had discovered that all materials there were more solid than those in the Human Realm, whether it was metal or common rocks. Now that he was in the Middle Plane, the situation was still the same. The rocks here were far more solid than those in the Lower Plane, and although his strength had dramatically increased after countless battles in the Lower Plane, and his most-prided brute strength had greatly improved, his failure to break the rock still infuriated him.

Without further ado, Long Yi swung his fists and began a barrage of fierce pounding on the rock layer before him. Despite the solidity of the rocks, they couldn’t withstand Long Yi’s fierce onslaught. Soon, a portion of the rock layer collapsed, revealing several small Cosmic Stones behind it.

Long Yi dusted off his hands and pulled a Cosmic Stone from the rock layer. After examining it closely, he tossed it to Mahal, who was still standing behind him with his mouth agape.

"I’ll ask you a question, but think carefully before you answer me," Long Yi said.

"Sir... please ask," Mahal collected his jaw and said nervously, genuinely frightened by Long Yi’s performance.

"Don’t be nervous; actually, my question is quite simple," Long Yi said with a smile, "In your opinion, is strength more important for becoming a Group Leader, or is intelligence more important?"

Isn’t that obvious? Of course, strength is more important! Without strength, your subordinates could rebel against you in a minute! Mahal thought to himself.

However, he did not voice this thought because he pondered cautiously. While strength was important, it was not the most crucial. Having strength alone could not guarantee peace of mind. The former Group Leader had great power but ended up being assassinated by Yahola. If he had discovered such a man like Yahola earlier, he would definitely have prepared in advance.

"I believe that strength is indispensable, but its importance is far less than that of wisdom," Mahal said.

Long Yi nodded, then asked further, "Then how do you think your intelligence compares to that of the Group Leader named Yahola?"

Suddenly, Mahal’s heart skipped a beat. What did Long Yi mean by asking this question? What did he mean? It seemed so sudden and illogical. Such a question could not be from a fool. Despite appearing a bit lacking in common sense, he was definitely not stupid. Could it be that this question meant...?

Mahal asked himself, honestly believing that while Group Leader Yahola was not lacking in intelligence, he certainly did not surpass him! Yahola was too parsimonious and brutal, so even though he could unite people around him through his methods, nearly everyone had complaints about him. In Mahal’s view, some situations should be handled with a softer approach.

"Sir, your question seems... to imply something else?"

Mahal didn’t dare to answer directly. Until now, Long Yi’s questions had all been somewhat sensitive, so Mahal spoke out, but now Long Yi was asking him whether he was smarter than the Group Leader. The question itself was problematic!

"It seems you are quite intelligent indeed. The truth is, I am wondering if you’d be interested in playing the role of a Group Leader?" Long Yi asked with a smile.

"Sir, your words are a bit..." Even though he had guessed the meaning behind Long Yi’s words, having heard it directly from Long Yi himself still terrified Mahal. He looked around anxiously, afraid that someone might overhear their conversation.

"A bit straightforward? I have the strength but not enough wisdom, so I’d like to find someone intelligent to help me. I’ve noticed that you are quite smart and amenable. So, I am thinking of supporting you to become the leader of the Pirate Group, which would make it easier for me if I wanted to acquire something in the future," Long Yi said smilingly.

So straightforward!

Mahal thought to himself. He steadfastly refused to believe that Long Yi was not intelligent, yet he was seriously considering supporting him as the Group Leader. But why? Mahal was puzzled. Why support him as Group Leader just for convenience?

What Mahal didn’t know was that Long Yi’s idea was somewhat spontaneous because seeing Mahal reminded him of Lyd Jon from the Lower Plane. In the previous mine battle, Mahal’s command capabilities had made a significant impression on Long Yi with their steadiness and accurate judgement. It could be said that if it had been anyone else but himself, they would have been easily betrayed by him. Thus, Long Yi decided to help him become a Group Leader to establish a force that was somewhat related to him in this still unfamiliar world. After all, the two greatest threats in the Plane had hidden themselves, and it was uncertain when they might emerge. Now, Long Yi had to shift all his focus to this Plane itself.

Mahal was extremely anxious, and a part of him wanted to agree impulsively, but reason told him not to do so. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, we welcome you to vote for it on qidian.com, where your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)