Endless Debt Chapter 650 - 161 Old Friends

The Free Port remains brightly lit late into the night, searchlights like Light Forged Great Swords ruthlessly sweeping across the sea surface, as large ships churn waves and sail into the port. Interwoven mechanical arms construct an iron jungle, with heavy containers standing together, piled up as if forming a High Tower.

The workers move through it, directing forklifts to transport goods. From a distance, they seem like ants crawling over a miniature model.

Ants, everyone is an ant, at the bottom of this food chain.

Long ago, Hert realized this; the Free Port is an ever-turning factory, with ships arriving and departing every moment, laden with cargo, much like blood flowing through a heart, transporting oxygen to different organs.

Gazing from afar at the dazzling lights, along with those faint lights hidden amidst the endless darkness on the sea, each light represents a ship.

Like worker bees and the queen bee, worker ants and the queen ant, and...

A knife-sharp pain pierces his mind; Hert grabs the wine bottle and gulps down alcohol. Besides medicine and blood, alcohol is a good painkiller, allowing Hert a temporary escape from the real world.

"Sorry, you see the state I’m in now; I really couldn’t find a suitable place to entertain a friend."

Hert put down the wine bottle with an apologetic look.

"It’s fine; I don’t care about such things."

Lebius glanced around; this was an abandoned building, but its location was decent, providing a direct view of the bustling docks.

Bologue remained silent behind Lebius, observing Hert since their meeting.

He was an utterly disheveled fellow, carrying a persistent fishy smell and scent of blood, eyes slightly sunken, bloodshot whites, stubbled cheeks displaying desolation and sickness, clutching an odd long knife never leaving his side, with trickles of blood slowly oozing from it.

Bologue’s instincts warned him; this was a dangerous man.

Lebius walked over to sit beside Hert on the steps, while Bologue silently stood in the shadows, ever vigilant.

Hert asked, "How long has it been since we last met, Lebius?"

Lebius answered, "Almost ten years, I suppose."

"Has it really been ten years?"

Hert hadn’t expected it to be so long; ever since he started hallucinating, his sense of time grew dull. In his mind, it seemed only a few months ago that he had seen Lebius.

"It’s been such a long time..."

Hert whispered, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. Before him lay accumulated cigarette ash and several butts.

Lebius frowned; within their brief conversation, Hert had smoked several cigarettes, one after another.

Clearly, Hert had been maintaining this lifestyle for a while now; Lebius guessed Hert’s lungs must be filled with tar.

"What has happened all these years, Hert," Lebius asked, "How did you end up like this?"

Lebius felt saddened; he remembered the young man who stood at the bow, roaring against the storm. Back then, Hert exuded endless vitality, even mountains couldn’t halt his conquering steps.

But now Hert looked like a drug-addicted tramp; had he not sensed Hert’s declining aura, Lebius might have thought Hert had become a Demon.

Thankfully, he wasn’t; Lebius didn’t have many friends left alive.

"I spent quite an effort to find you," Lebius sighed, "When they spoke of your current situation, I couldn’t believe it..."

"Haha, there’s nothing unbelievable; people change. Some live better, some worsen. I’ve found a middle ground; near the peak, I fell down."

Hert countered, asking Lebius, "You, Lebius, you seem fine; I’m glad."

"I heard about the secret war; since then, you’ve hidden within the Order Bureau, never showing up... there are many rumors about you. Some say you were badly injured, salvaged but disabled; others say you’ve retired and settled in Wind Source Highlands."

Hert paused silently, "I thought I’d never see you again."

"But now you see me; how do you feel?"

"Feels like a person thought dead suddenly appearing before you... I’m very happy."

Hert was sincere; he hadn’t felt this happiness for a long time, even the pain in his mind, the rustling of rats, reduced significantly; he took another swig.

"Seeing you brings back all those near-forgotten memories," Hert excitedly held the long knife across his front, "Remember the fish we encountered at sea? God, it was huge."

"Yes, I remember, that fish was so large, it shook like an agitated bull. I nearly got dragged into the sea; you stripped bare and jumped in with a diving knife, fiercely striking it."

Hert reminisced, "Sadly, it got away."

The conversation between them paused, both immersed in past beauties.

Bologue watched their backs from behind; Lebius usually carried a serious demeanor, yet softened before Hert.

No one is born this way; everyone becomes who they are today through experiences.

Lebius took a deep breath, his tone growing hesitant, "I heard some things about you."

Before arriving at the Free Port, Lebius had made plans; Hert was a crucial part, but years ago, Lebius lost track of Hert.

Approaching Free Port, the Order Bureau finally investigated Hert’s situation, relayed by Yuriel to Lebius.

Lebius couldn’t believe the news, "What have you done, Hert."

"You broke the oath of the Tidesfolk," Lebius turned sideways, tone serious, "And married a woman from the land, even having a daughter."

Hert laughed heartily upon hearing this; after a while, his expression grew slightly forlorn.

"Sorry, I am a betrayer, broke the oath."

"No, I don’t care about that damned oath of yours, the Tidesfolk. I’ve always thought someone should tear that oath apart, only then could your fate be freed from the sea."

Lebius’s words held fury, "What angers me is... you got married? Had a daughter, and I didn’t know until nearly arriving at Free Port!"

"Sorry, I’m really sorry."

Hert replied sincerely; Lebius’s arrival brought him certain solace. He hadn’t felt this way in a long time.

"It’s an unblessed marriage," Lebius questioned, "Is it worth it?"

"I think it’s worth it."

"That’s good."

Lebius proceeded, "Who is she?"

Hert replied softly, "An ordinary person; that day, as I returned from the sea, I saw her among the crowd at the docks... like fate, I fell in love at first sight, and she did too. The rest followed naturally."

"They’re not in Free Port, are they?"

Lebius scrutinized Hert’s disheveled state once more, thinking if someone he loved saw him like this, it would be terrible.

"They’re unaccustomed to the Free Port life, plus avoiding internal company enmity, so I sent them to live inland."

Hert then talked about himself, "As for me, as you see, I broke the oath, received punishment, and now I can only linger here, surviving by hunting Demons and cleaning shadows’ garbage."

Lebius knew the glorious past Hert once had, averting his gaze, reluctant to see Hert further, "Such a harsh penalty."

"It’s nothing; in fact, I feel lucky, Lebius."

Light flickered in Hert’s eyes, "I found something far more worthy of love than the sea, that’s enough."

"According to the redemption term, I can soon repay my debt, gain complete freedom, by then I won’t owe anything to the Tidesfolk anymore and can live with them."

Lebius calmly expressed, "Your brother must be disappointed."

"Don’t mention him."

Hert’s tone turned cold, as if Lebius touched a taboo.

Bologue sensed the change in atmosphere between them; the pleasant reminiscing was over; it was time to discuss reality.

"Someone I believed dead suddenly appearing before me..."

Hert polished his long knife, the cold metal penetrating to the bone; his demeanor shifted, no longer a desolate failure, but a Navigator imbued with the sea’s fury.

A faint glow danced in Hert’s eyes as he glanced sidelong at the man beside him.

"Lebius, why have you come."