Chapter 267: The True Secret
In the New World, there are many islands widely recognized as extremely dangerous, and Thunder God Island is one of them.
Due to its unique climatic conditions, this island is perpetually engulfed in thunderstorms year-round. Endless black storm clouds constantly loom over the island, and violent purple lightning strikes the land every moment. The entire Thunder God Island is a cage of lightning, making it impossible to find a landing point.
Perhaps because of the constant lightning strikes over the years, a type of stone capable of storing lightning energy has formed on this island—this is the raw ore of Thunder Stone.
However, Thunder God Island is not suitable for human habitation, making mining the raw ore naturally impossible. Waldo only discovered this gemstone island by chance and, after research, found that it was once part of Thunder God Island, splitting off about two to three hundred years ago. Beneath the shallow veins of this island, there are also some deposits of Thunder Stone ore.
Back then, the World Government and the Marines shut down the research institute and nearly blew Waldo to pieces, an incident he has never forgotten. So, after occupying this island and starting to mine Thunder Stone, Waldo's research goal was to use Thunder Stone to create a weapon of immense power, enabling him to take revenge on the World Government and the Marines.
As the saying goes, the face reflects the heart. Waldo is actually quite cunning. While harboring plans for revenge, he managed to cooperate with the World Government on the surface, trading some Thunder Stone to them in exchange for the research funds he needed—after all, scientific research is extremely expensive.
The World Government and the Marines probably never dreamed that Waldo's true purpose in cooperating with them was to eventually bite back at them...
Since research requires a lot of money, Waldo naturally couldn't invest much in his military. He could only squeeze the miners on the island, forcing them to provide a steady stream of raw materials. His mind was never focused on the welfare of the country and its people. Over time, the unbearable citizens began to rebel against him.
In this world, it's rare for a pirate to make a good king. When Waldo sensed the tide turning against him, his first thought wasn't to appease the people but to suppress them.
He used some of his funds to hire over three thousand pirates, giving them free rein and simply telling them to crush the rebellion. The pirates, taking this as their authority, resorted to their most familiar methods.
This was the massacre scene Ian and his crew witnessed when they landed on the island.
Now, due to a suddenly appearing Warlord of the Sea, the pirates Waldo hired had all fled. With insufficient manpower, Waldo faced the possibility of being overthrown when the rebel army launched its next counterattack. If that happened, the rebels would seize his palace, and all his research would go up in flames.
The thought of reliving the destruction of his research institute from years ago was unbearable to Waldo. He had no desire to repeat that painful experience.
"Habbs! Habbs!" Waldo shouted for his trusted subordinate.
Habbs quickly appeared, running to Waldo and bowing respectfully. "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"
"Contact that Warlord named Ian. Tell him I hope he can protect me, the king!" Waldo said. "He can name his price, but the condition is that he must intimidate those damned miners and stop their uprising!"
"Your Majesty!" Habbs said hesitantly. "He's been lingering on this island without leaving—he's probably after the Thunder Stone. The miners have already discovered the secret of the Thunder Stone, and it might have leaked to him. Otherwise, why would a Warlord stay on this barren island?"
"It's fine. Tell him that if he cooperates with me, I can provide him with some Thunder Stone!" Waldo gritted his teeth.
"Is that really a good idea?" Habbs remained worried. "What if he gets greedy and wants to take full control of the Thunder Stone?"
"Don't worry. In a little while, my Thunder Roar Cannon will be complete. Even a Warlord will be no match for it!" Waldo said with a hint of pride.
After receiving Waldo's orders, Habbs left and returned to the inn in the city, where he found Ian.
"Oh? That's what your king said?" Ian was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected that Waldo, through Habbs' message, had guessed his intentions and directly offered to provide him with some Thunder Stone.
Ian hadn't been idle during this time. He had been studying the small piece of Thunder Stone crystal that Konenai had obtained. Thanks to the Misaka Mikoto card, Ian could also control lightning. He had tried to see if he could absorb the electrical energy within the Thunder Stone, but it didn't work.
However, although he couldn't absorb it, Ian could extract the electrical energy for use. Skills like the Iron Sand Sword and Railgun usually consumed a lot of his psychic power, but when he used them while holding the Thunder Stone, he found that he could do so without expending his own psychic energy!
In other words, if he had enough Thunder Stone to use, he could treat it as an external energy storage device...
Now that Ian had broken through to the Master-level Nen Training skill, he could use the Railgun card's Lightning Strike Sword and the ultimate skill, Final Thunder. However, these devastating techniques, even with the 25% reduction in consumption from Master-level Nen Training, still drained Ian heavily. So, having a large supply of Thunder Stone as a mana potion was a good idea.
But Waldo, thinking he had made a huge concession, had no idea that Ian didn't just want a supply of Thunder Stone—he wanted to take full control of its production.
Besides using it himself, Ian also planned to trade it with the World Government to make a fortune.
Ian's mind raced. He knew that revealing his true intentions now would only make Waldo more wary. Since Waldo had agreed to cooperate, it was a good start, so he decided not to rush things.
Feigning satisfaction, Ian said, "Very well, it's settled. Three hundred million Berries, plus a supply of Thunder Stone, and I'll provide protection for your king!"
Three hundred million Berries as a hiring fee was indeed staggering, but Habbs was overjoyed because Ian had agreed.
The deterrent power of a Warlord was greater than that of a dozen pirate crews. With a Warlord's promise, Waldo and his people could feel secure for a while.
Of course, Habbs knew better than to trust a pirate easily, even a Warlord. But for them, buying time was crucial. With enough time, Waldo's research would succeed, and he could defeat any enemy.
"Can I meet your king?" Ian asked.
"Of course. King Waldo will welcome you!" Habbs replied.
………………………………
Later that afternoon, Ian finally entered Waldo's palace.
As a small country's palace, it was unremarkable—small and not particularly luxurious. Still, Ian quietly memorized the surroundings as they walked.
Inside the palace, Ian finally met Waldo, a man who was both a scientist, a pirate, and a king. Waldo's scar-covered face and sinister eyes made Ian feel uncomfortable at first glance. He knew that a man like this wouldn't be forced to reveal his secrets through torture.
Although Waldo kept smiling during their meeting, he was also sizing Ian up. Despite Ian's youth, Waldo didn't dare underestimate him and cautiously probed Ian's personality with words.
Ian knew that too much talk could lead to mistakes, so he remained mostly silent. After Waldo invited him to dinner, Ian asked to see the Thunder Stone refinery.
Ian had expected Waldo to refuse, but to his surprise, he agreed immediately.
Visiting the refinery wasn't particularly interesting. Ian didn't understand much of it anyway—just watched piles of ore being fed into furnaces on conveyor belts, undergoing various processes, and emerging as small pieces of Thunder Stone crystals.
After watching for a while, Ian left, and Waldo personally saw him out.
Once he was outside and reunited with Konenai and the others, Ian's expression darkened. He said in a low voice, "Something's off. The Thunder Stone refining process seems ordinary, but Waldo is definitely hiding something else!"