The people around were taken aback by those words.
Bellamy's eyes widened, "There really is gold? Not just a legend?"
"It's not a legend at all!"
He held up the gold ore high and said, "The Golden Country truly exists, and this can prove that the Anu Country is evidence of the Golden Country!"
The child's name was Las, from a merchant family in the Anu Country. It had long been proven that the Anu Country was merely the so-called truth of the Stone Country. His father was an exception; he firmly believed in the existence of the Golden Country.
Just like those dream-filled adventurers, he yearned to discover gold here, to let the Anu Country prove itself again on the seas, so he exchanged all his fortune from selling stones for tools to mine the underground, hoping to find gold here.
Mining stones doesn't require digging holes; the Anu Country is a natural stone quarry, where you can directly chisel the ground. However, if he wanted people to dig deeper, salaries had to be raised, and eventually, even thick family savings couldn't hold out, as stone-selling money couldn't cover both salaries and the cost of mining tools.
In the end, only Las's father went to the quarry, digging everywhere, hoping to find the legendary Golden Country.
And then...
He really did find gold!
"Half a month ago, the earth started to cry blood again. My father found gold in this mine!"
Las's body began to tremble, and his eyes hidden under his hair noticeably blurred, "He was very happy then, telling me that the Anu Country could finally prove itself. It was no longer the Stone Country and could restore its reputation as the Golden Country, so he brought the gold to the Royal Palace. He also said the King would surely be happy too, but, but..."
"The King said my father was a fraud! A fraud who wanted to gain fame and bring shame to the Anu Country again. He hanged him! My father was not a fraud, no way!!"
Las wiped his tears, wetting his hair, and with a swipe of his hand, parted it, revealing a pair of extremely dark pupils.
Those eyes were all black, with no whites at all.
Like a demon...
"I want to prove my father wasn't a fraud, so I also went down the mine. This is the evidence I dug out! But those guys, I found they were looking for me too. I overheard them, and they wanted to kill me."
"I didn't dare go out and hid back in the mine. I don't understand it. Doesn't the King want the Anu Country to regain its prestige? Why must he firmly believe we are frauds?"
Las gripped the gold ore tightly, gritting his teeth, "The Golden Country... it truly exists!"
"Hehehe..."
Sage chuckled lowly but then thought of something; he glanced at Renedia and found her expression wasn't good either, likely thinking of her experience in the Nadia Kingdom.
Renedia wasn't foolish; she just wanted to build ships. But sometimes, even if you want to do something, it doesn't mean you can do it.
The affairs of the world are pretty much the same — the more you purely want to do something, the less likely it seems to happen.
Because the purposes are different.
"Lily." Sage called out.
"I just went to check it out."
As Sage's most understanding companion, Lily felt something was wrong halfway through Las's words, so she went to investigate the mine Las had come out of.
"Very deep. I couldn't see the bottom. It's not something ordinary people could dig..." Lily glanced at Las.
This little boy was indeed not ordinary.
After all, humans don't have purely black eyes without any whites.
"Can you help me? I want to prove the existence of the Golden Country. You're a good person and seem really strong..." Las looked towards Sage with a pleading gaze.
"Come over here."
Sage gestured for him to come closer. Las complied and, with a ripping sound, his worn miner's shirt was torn off, revealing his upper body.
On this little kid's upper body, starting from the waist and ribs up to his chest and shoulders, there were faint black vertical lines like patterns, resembling birthmarks but somewhat different. These black lines... also mingled with some gold color.
Black-gold patterns!
Just like the skull gold coin.
"I knew it. You're not an ordinary human, right? Ordinary humans don't have such physical traits."
Sage grinned widely, laughing: "The news you've brought is excellent. The Golden Country... I'm now very certain it truly exists, hahahaha, hohohohoho!"
"Kid, say it again. I'm not a good person, but I agree to your request. You want to prove the Golden Country, right? No need to bother; I'll take you to the Royal Palace, but in return..."
He pointed at Las and said, "You're mine now, and the Golden Country, too, is mine!"
On the sea, it's not just humans, or rather, not just 'ordinary humans' like Sage. Humans are divided into races.
Long-armed Race, Long-legged Race, Snake-headed Race, Little People Race, Giant Race, Fur Race... and the typical Fishman Race.
Essentially, they are humans too!
This little boy is no different!
The North Star Divine Fist's skill can easily discern human uniqueness. It's not about what power this kid's body harbors, but rather his physique that surpasses ordinary people.
As demonstrated, just like Lily saw in the mine, this guy could delve deep into it, without any protection, and by himself, who knows how many meters he dug to find the gold mine.
Adaptable and physically strong...
Coupled with those rare pure black eyes and the patterns on his body.
Clearly, he belongs to those unique races.
As for the others, Sage doesn't know. What he needs is enough knowledge about the cursed gold coin and the certainty that the Golden Country exists.
The King of the Anu Country definitely knows!
"Men!"
Sage laughed heartily, "The Golden Country exists; wake up, get moving, I want it now!"
"Aye, Captain Sage!" The pirates all raised their weapons, shouting ferociously.
Gold!
What pirates love the most is gold!