Chapter Ninety-Two: Nightfall

Wall Mountain.

As the name implied, the mountain rose like a colossal wall, spanning the middle of Mad Hatter Island and cleaving the island in two.

From afar, it looked like the flat silhouette of a top hat laid across the center of the island.

Though the truth can no longer be verified, it may well have been Wall Mountain that gave Mad Hatter Island its name.

The front half of the island, cut off by Wall Mountain, was the glittering, debauched Mad Hatter Town.

The rear half was a sunless pig farm, where ordinary people abducted from all over the world, along with a small number of captured navy men, were imprisoned.

The moment those ordinary people were thrown into the pig farm, they were branded as slaves.

Their identities and names were erased, and each was given a garment marked with a number.

Within Wall Mountain, they were forced to work at livestock and crop production, supplying the daily necessities that eased the burden on Mad Hatter Town.

Among these ordinary people, the youngest were only five or six years old, while the oldest were men in their seventies.

The overseers of the pig farm cared nothing for the slaves' ages or physical condition.

If they failed to meet their quotas, they were treated all the same: their meals were cut, and whips and other forms of torment were not uncommon.

And if some could not endure, to the point that it was not even worth summoning the undertaker to collect them, the overseers would simply hurl their bodies straight off the cliffs into the sea below.

Late at night, many lights dotted the pig farm.

Armed overseers patrolled back and forth through the various sectors.

Near the foot of Wall Mountain stood row upon row of high-walled structures, prisonlike in appearance.

That was where the slaves sheltered when night fell.

In the quiet dark, two nimble figures slipped past the eyes and ears of the overseers and arrived at the base of Wall Mountain, still several hundred meters from the buildings that held the slaves.

Those two figures were Sabo and Koala, returning to Mad Hatter Town after several months away.

For the Revolutionary Army, liberating slaves was one of the essential ways to expand their influence.

That was the fundamental reason Sabo and Koala had come to Mad Hatter Town.

Last time, their main purpose had been to gather intelligence. This time, they had come prepared.

Still, until their comrades were in place, they would not act rashly.

Tonight's infiltration was nothing more than a necessary reconnaissance.

Melting into the darkness, Koala first glanced at the cluster of buildings holding the slaves, then looked toward the distance.

At the end of that direction lay the edge of the island, sheer cliffs with no road leading to the sea.

And on the other side lay Wall Mountain.

"The island's edge is all cliffs. If we want to get people out, we'll have to rely on Morley's power to drive a proper passage through the earth."

Koala withdrew her gaze from the island's edge.

The front half of Wall Mountain was Mad Hatter Town, crowded with pirates and underworld figures. It was obviously impossible to move a large number of slaves out under their noses.

The only workable route was the cliff side at the rear.

With Morley's ability, it would be possible to force a tunnel through the ground all the way to the base of the cliffs.

Then the people could be loaded onto ships that had been brought in advance, and taken away from here.

"It's a pity Karasu isn't free to come. I think his power would make it easier to get people off the island."

Sabo felt that Karasu, commander of the Northern Army, had an ability better suited to transporting slaves.

Still, he also knew that in the Revolutionary Army's past slave-liberation operations, they had most often relied on Morley's power to bore tunnels through the earth.

"Idiot. Do you think everyone can just fly around on a crow like you? Most of the slaves here are ordinary people. Karasu's crows might be able to carry them out over the sea, but they can't guarantee everyone's safety."

"Fair enough."

Sabo nodded, then asked, "When will Morley and the others arrive?"

"If nothing goes wrong, they'll be here by the day after tomorrow."

"Hmm..."

Sabo stroked his chin and said quietly, "Once we've linked up with Morley and the others, we move immediately."

"Mm."

Koala gave a small nod, and was about to say something when Sabo suddenly raised a finger to his lips.

Following his gaze, Koala looked toward a large gate cut through the base of Wall Mountain in the distance.

A group of about thirty people passed through the gate beneath Wall Mountain and entered the pig farm.

The man at their head was tall, with slicked-back hair, and his burgundy suit stood out vividly under the lights.

Koala narrowed her eyes at him and instantly recognized his identity.

Ralph, the owner of the Mad Hatter Auction House, and the very culprit who had engineered the pig farm from the start.

"It's Ralph."

Koala lowered her voice.

Sabo said nothing, only nodded.

Hidden in the dark, they watched silently as Ralph led his men toward another opening farther away, a hole carved into the underside of Wall Mountain.

Sabo and Koala had already thoroughly scouted this place and knew exactly where that opening led.

After watching Ralph and the others disappear into it, Sabo and Koala quietly withdrew their gaze.

That opening led underground, and beneath the earth lay a factory devoted to manufacturing munitions. It was not enormous, but in a place like the West Sea, it was by no means trivial.

While Ralph was greedily amassing wealth in Mad Hatter Town and openly masterminding the creation of the pig farm, he had secretly built a munitions factory as well. His ambition was plain to see.

Sabo said seriously, "If we have enough manpower, we might as well take the weapons from the factory too."

"Don't waste time imagining what can't be done."

Koala shot him a look.

Leaving aside the pirates gathered in Mad Hatter Town, even the forces under Ralph's command were not prey their small group could swallow whole.

If they could successfully transport all the slaves out, that would already be cause for gratitude.

Sabo smiled.

A large quantity of weapons was an indispensable resource for the Revolutionary Army.

So it was only natural that he would think of it.

But as Koala said, there was no point dwelling on things that could not be done.

"Come on. Let's go to the Nightfall Bar. Before we begin, we should inform Tatamu first."

Sabo looked up at the thick clouds spreading across the night sky, then raised a hand, curling his fingers into a dragon's claw before pressing it against the cliff face.

The rock wall, like tofu, yielded easily as Sabo's joined fingers pierced it without effort.

"Mm."

Koala answered, then leapt onto Sabo's back.

Carrying her on his back like that, Sabo climbed the wall of Wall Mountain with his bare hands, with no difficulty at all, disappearing into the night.

...

Nightfall Bar.

Tucked deep within an alley, it had not a single patron even at this late hour.

Inside the bar, Wolf Rat sat as he always did at the counter, drinking alone.

Some time ago, he had advised Tatamu to leave Mad Hatter Town as soon as possible, this place of constant trouble.

But no matter how he urged him, Tatamu refused to go.

Still, Wolf Rat had not given up. Whenever he had the chance, he would try again.

In the end, Tatamu had grown tired of his persistence and said, "I have a reason I can't leave here."

Realizing that Tatamu truly could not be persuaded, Wolf Rat finally gave up.

He drained the glass in boredom and glanced at Tatamu, who seemed to do nothing all day except polish cups.

"It's been half a month already. Mo..."

Halfway through the sentence, the sound of the door opening cut him off.

At the noise, both Wolf Rat and Tatamu looked toward the entrance.

In came Mord and Sunny, along with a snow-white, plump weasel.

"Still open for business?"

Mord smiled at Tatamu and Wolf Rat, whom he had not seen in more than half a month.

"Of course."

Tatamu laughed.

Wolf Rat looked at Sunny beside Mord and froze slightly.