Drawing Cards in the Middle Ages to Rise in Ranks-Chapter 384 - 67: Texas

Texas, Atakapa.

The distant waves shimmered as the sea breeze dispelled the heat lingering around. Jeanne used her palm to make a small tent over her eyes, gazing into the distance: "How did the three of us get thrown into this godforsaken place?"

A dilapidated small fishing boat was moored at the nearby pier.

Next to it stood a severely faded wooden sign that read "Welcome to Atakapa."

This place was clearly the New Continent.

"Another accident happened."

Furinjira couldn’t help but complain: "But although we got separated from the adults this time, at least we made it in here."

"What kind of place is the New Continent?"

Prajna slowly asked, with a rare hint of curiosity in his tone.

Jeanne pondered for a moment and replied: "A place where demons dance in chaos. All sorts of strange things under the sky could happen here, no matter how unbelievable."

She glanced at Furinjira and Prajna, the former being a shut-in at home, and the latter a guard at the Ghost Gate in Hell, with little chance to go out, both appearing not very reliable.

"In short, it’s very chaotic here. Texas is relatively better but can’t compare to the British Colony up north."

"The initial colonizers were mostly exiled criminals, and those daring enough to leave their homes later weren’t many honest folks either. Along with the limited living space in Europe, many dark creatures, other than the Blood Royal Court and the Wolf Race, who had nowhere to go, all fled to the New Continent, making it hardly a good place."

She had her share of the credit in this.

Many dark creatures were chased by her and her Knight Order with nowhere to escape, and could only leave their homes, abandon their original territories, and move to the New Continent as a family unit, constructing anew.

Furinjira’s face bore a hint of curiosity as she looked around: "I’ve also often heard the legends of the New Continent in Transylvania, but this place doesn’t seem like somewhere full of demons and monsters."

"Of course not, Atakapa belongs to Texas. This is the land of the Basilicata Wolf Race. The wolves took root here and seized the ruling power, so naturally, they wouldn’t let it fall into chaos."

Even Jeanne, who had traveled across much of Europe chasing after dark creatures, had never set foot on this distant land.

Many in Europe had a prejudice against the New Continent, which sometimes wasn’t unfounded.

In the world of Yesterday’s Giant Ship, South America remained in the sphere of influence of the Iberian countries. As time went on, their colonial rule gradually dissolved, and now, only Cuba remains a small colony of Spain.

But the situation in North America is entirely different from the real world.

For instance, George Washington’s anti-British militia in the 1770s fell apart, and he was executed by hanging in Richmond, leaving North America a fragmented mess.

Aside from the stable Autonomous Territory in the Eastern Coastal Region founded by the British on the Thirteen Colonies, the rest is a complex web of various powers — natives, Extraordinary, Evil God Worshipers, dark creatures, warring warlords, runaway slaves...

Most of these forces fall far short of deserving the name of a nation. Some so-called "kingdoms" established by runaway slaves even continue practicing slavery, importing people of the same skin color from Africa as their "countrymen."

Additionally, due to the vast land and sparse population, the land development is limited, making the original dark creatures, headhunters, and fierce beasts rampant, almost becoming synonymous with dangerous and poor land in Europe.

Jeanne stood up, brushing the sand and mud off her boots: "Let’s go, take a stroll in the town. Once we meet up with the Basilicata Family in Texas, we surely won’t miss the main battlefield."

...

Atakapa is just a small town.

People appear to be living in peace, and every now and then, you can see cowboys with bows and arrows herding horses, heading out of town.

The group entered a shabby establishment, with a crooked sign nailed to the wall — clearly down a nail, and the image of a wine glass on it had become blurred under the sun and rain.

The tavern was quiet in the afternoon, the bartender leaning on the bar, somewhat dozing off.

The sound of the bell as the group pushed the door open startled the man, who rubbed his eyes, and then rubbed them again, feeling a sense of surreal absurdity as if he were dreaming.

In a place like Atakapa, how could there be such beautiful women?

And three at once!

The bartender was lost in thought for so long that it wasn’t until Jeanne placed a Gold Coin engraved with Losa’s image on the bar, covered in mottled marks, producing a crisp sound, that he snapped back to reality.

"Three drinks, please."

Jeanne held up three fingers: "The rest is for you as a tip."

She knew the money she spent here wouldn’t sync to the real world, so she might as well be generous.

"Th...Thank you."

"Do you want something mild or strong? Our house special, ’White Seagull,’ is an absolute marvel that those ’family’ people are quite fond of."

The bartender’s voice was a little stammering as he tried to act more gracefully, more gentleman-like, subconsciously pursing his lips while smiling to avoid showing his smoke-stained yellow front teeth.

"Okay, I’ll have that."

Jeanne said, and then waited idly.

The decor here was rather simple, with many obvious sword slashes on the round table and floor.

A giant deer head specimen hung on the wall, and very conspicuously behind the bartender was an old firearm.

Truly a place of rugged customs.

Prajna silently committed the scene before him to memory, deciding to include it in his new book next time.

The drink was quickly prepared.

Jeanne took the glass, sipped, and a trace of disappointment flashed in her eyes. Bah, I knew there wouldn’t be any good wine in this godforsaken place: "Mr. Bartender, you mentioned ’family people,’ right?"

The bartender kept examining the three beautiful sights before him, wishing he could imprint them in his mind, and casually replied: "Yes, yes, family people. Everyone knows Texas is Basilicata Family territory."

"If I want to do business with them, how do I do it?"

"Business with them?"

The bartender snapped back to reality: "Are you sure, ladies? Family people are ruthless assassins, though they are somewhat reasonable, but..."

"But what?"

A loud voice pushed the door open: "Old John, don’t always let outsiders hear bad things about us, or I’ll have to charge you ten more Silver Coins for protection this month."

Two men wearing hats followed behind him.

"Wow, such stunning beauties, and there are three, just perfect for the three of us to enjoy."

"Haha, even if not three, there’s enough for us three to enjoy."

A teasing whistle sounded.

In the tavern, the man with the righteous face suddenly became extremely stiff.

Visible beads of sweat trickled down his temples.

"You know me?"

The man suppressed the urge to turn and flee, nervously nodding.

"Call your leader over to find me, I’m your Chelina Miss’s friend."

The man quickly nodded.

But in his heart, he was determined to immediately notify the family to evacuate this small town after leaving the tavern.

"What a joke, that is a Knight of Radiance from the Holy Church, said to have lived for hundreds of years, a real monster. The dark creatures all over Europe, none face her without feeling terrified!"

"How did she come to a backwater like Atakapa, even if she wanted to deal with the family, she should go to Wolf Castle..."

The man’s heart was in turmoil, yet he dared not show too much emotion on his face, only hurriedly nodding.

"Don’t be afraid, little guy, I’ve changed my ways. I’m not interested in dealing with small fry like you now. There are so many dark creatures in the New Continent. Your Basilicata Family’s evil deeds don’t even rank."

To have governance, there must be order.

The Wolf Race’s governance over subordinate territories is far from righteous, but the demons and various forces in North America are far too many; some Evil God sects sacrifice living people daily without anyone caring. The Holy Church doesn’t bother with those people in the New Continent.

In other words, this place is not under Heavenly Father’s favor.

Furinjira sneered: "You better stop talking, if you go on, I’m afraid he’d be scared to death by you. Little guy, we are truly your Chelina Miss’s friends and have urgent matters to discuss with your Clan Leader."

Discuss what?

Discuss how to wipe us out?

The man’s eyes instinctively flicked around, worried that at the next moment, a group of Holy Knights clad in Heavy Armor and enveloped in holy light would rush in to purify him, such an evil dark creature, into ashes.