Chapter 394: Chapter 22: The Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets Great Britain. London.
London has become much more prosperous now, thanks to the development of productivity, and the population has experienced explosive growth.
At this time, in an inn near the Thames River, accompanied by the creaking of the opened door, a burly and fierce figure, appearing like a pirate, stepped inside. After entering the hall, he first observed his surroundings, then sat in the far right corner.
Soon after, a gentleman-like, elegant man walked in. He looked to be around forty, and notably, he was wearing a skirt.
Although Great Britain had a large number of Anglo-Saxons, their culture hadn’t become mainstream. The mainstream culture of Great Britain had always been Roman-Britannic, Celtic branch, Welsh culture, Scottish culture, Irish culture, etc. It wasn’t until the completion of cultural integration later that the Germanic cultural characteristics appeared, mainly around Kent.
A British gentleman in a skirt?
The pirate-like burly man’s lips couldn’t help but curl into a slight smile, but he eventually held it back, after all, the other person was his sponsor, his financier.
He actively got up to greet him, respectfully saying, "Juan Delacosa."
"Pleased to meet you, Sir Drest."
The British gentleman on the opposite side was followed by several attendants, one of whom had an intense gaze and seemed to be a retired soldier, with a tattoo on his neck. His gaze swept over Juan’s waist as he stood in front of the financier, reaching out his hand towards Juan.
Juan was initially unclear, but upon following the person’s gaze, he realized and handed over the Flintlock Gun from his waist.
It was a single-shot Flintlock Gun, with a very vintage design, similar to Captain Jack Sparrow’s in Pirates of the Caribbean.
This thing was currently a rarity, very expensive, and not something just anyone could get; Juan got his hands on one through some connections, using it as a last resort to save his own life.
Soon, a servant led them into a room.
Upon entering the room, Sir Drest sat at the head seat. He glanced somewhat arrogantly at Juan, who appeared nervous, and passed a contract to him saying, "Where are the sailors you recruited?"
Juan glanced at the document, his gaze resting on a special emblem at the end of the document.
It was the emblem of the Secret Magic Sect, which looked like a pentagram eye.
Juan slowly said, "They’re all in the port area."
The other person was said to be a descendant of the Duke of Drest, quite powerful in Scotland, and one of his financiers. As for the person’s background, they were likely from the Polytheism faction of the island, though it was unclear which specific group, as long as they were willing to sponsor him it’s fine.
Juan, in his early years, also studied mysticism and even knew some Voodoo rituals.
His grandfather was a real pirate.
Pirates couldn’t learn proper mysticism knowledge and had to resort to robbing from African Voodoo teachings, learning a mess of things.
A few decades ago, Juan’s family transitioned and cleaned up their act to become navigators.
Sir Drest carefully scrutinized Juan, intuitively sensing that this person was not only a skilled navigator but also a pirate at heart. After pondering for a moment, he asked, "Are you planning to continue exploring the New World?"
"Or head to Africa to explore the eastern route?"
In recent years, with the support of the Britain Kingdom, Europe had gradually begun external exploration entering the Age of Discovery. African black slaves had even appeared long ago, although they hadn’t been widely adopted yet.
In the Britain Kingdom, exploring the New World had always been a hot topic.
Those successful navigators could not only achieve fame and success but even have the chance to receive a title, and in the past few decades, many outstanding navigators have emerged.
Juan pondered for a moment and then said, "I plan to travel along Africa to reach the New World."
"Looking for the northern route of the New World."
South America had been discovered for some time.
The person on the opposite side pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "I can sponsor you with three ships, the Ponce, the Cape of Good Hope, and the Kent."
The generosity of the person in front of him was somewhat unexpected to Juan.
But just as he was about to stand up to express his thanks, Sir Drest spoke again, saying with a serious tone, "However, exploring the New World is not a suitable choice."
"It is said that a navigator named Columbus has already set off once more from Spain."
"You might as well head east along Africa."
East?
Upon hearing this, Juan remained silent for a long time before tentatively saying, "East?"
"Are you referring to India, Sir?"
About six years ago, a navigator from the Iberian Peninsula named Gamma discovered India, and since then, the Britain Kingdom had actively developed the sea route to India. It was said that the Britain Kingdom had already established a colonial point in Africa as a relay point to India, and there were even rumors that the Britain Kingdom was preparing to conquer India.
But this rumor had no basis yet.
Sir Drest slowly shook his head and said, "No."
"It’s farther away."
Then, he took out a world map on parchment, pointed to the position on it, and said in a low voice, "Here’s Malacca, Ryukyu, Japan."
"I hope you can discover Japan."
Where did this map come from?
Juan instantly realized the enormous value of the map before him, and as he looked at the continental shelf of the East, he exclaimed, "Is this the Silk Country?"
"Who drew this map?"
Sir Drest replied expressionlessly, "That’s not something you should be concerning yourself with."
"If you agree, just sign this contract."