The jailer on the right paused when he saw John.
Although John looked frail and exhausted, as though his body had been completely drained, his presence was not weak in the slightest.
The jailer sneered.
"Heh. You’ve got quite the presence, kid."
"But you’re nothing more than a lowly pirate. What could you possibly offer us?"
John answered without hesitation.
"I know where an enormous fortune is hidden."
The moment he mentioned money, the jailer’s eyes lit up.
He immediately turned toward his companion, only to discover that the jailer on the left was just as excited as he was.
In fact, the jailer on the left was even more impatient.
He strode forward, grabbed John by the collar, and demanded viciously,
"What do you mean you can give us an enormous fortune?"
"You damned pirate bastard, you had better not be trying to fool us!"
"If you dare lie, I’ll skin you alive!"
The jailer on the right also stepped forward and asked in a low voice,
"That’s right, kid."
"You’re nothing more than a minor pirate. How could you possibly know where a vast fortune is hidden?"
"You’re lying to us, aren’t you?"
John remained perfectly calm.
"Heh. Gentlemen, don’t forget that I come from a long line of pirates."
"You should both understand just how quickly pirates can accumulate wealth."
"Our captain possesses enough riches to rival an entire kingdom."
"He has established hidden treasure sites in many different places."
"And as it happens, I know exactly where the treasure he hid in Cloudspire City is located."
"If you don’t believe me, take a look at this."
As soon as he finished speaking, John turned his hand over and retrieved a glittering gold coin from the competition-exclusive storage space.
Although the storage space could only be used to hold his ten billion gold coins, that alone made it extraordinarily useful.
The moment the two jailers saw the gold coin appear in John’s hand, their eyes burned with greed.
The jailer on the left reacted first.
He snatched the coin from John’s hand and examined it closely.
His expression gradually became more excited.
Still finding it difficult to believe, he placed the coin between his teeth and bit down gently.
The hard metal made his teeth ache slightly, but his face immediately filled with delight.
"It’s real!"
"This gold coin is genuine!"
In the Lothar Kingdom, three silver coins were enough to support a family of three in comfort for an entire year.
It took one hundred silver coins to exchange for a single gold coin.
That alone demonstrated just how valuable the coin truly was.
The jailer on the right stared at it enviously.
The jailer on the left quickly slipped the coin into his own pocket before glaring fiercely at John.
"Tell us where the treasure is immediately!"
Had John merely made an empty claim, the two jailers would not have been foolish enough to believe him so easily.
However, John had truly produced an authentic gold coin.
No matter how cautious they were, their confidence began to waver.
After all, how could a low-ranking pirate possibly possess such a valuable gold coin?
The only reasonable explanation was that he knew the location of a hidden fortune and had stolen the coin from it.
The coin also indirectly proved that John’s claim about his pirate captain’s treasure was at least somewhat credible.
John had deliberately avoided bribing them directly.
His body was currently in terrible condition, and the two men held complete control over him.
If he mindlessly produced a large number of gold coins, they would treat him like a source of endless money.
He would still be unable to escape death in the end.
That was why he had invented the story about his pirate captain’s treasure.
It was an indirect method of saving himself.
"Speak!"
"Hurry up and tell us!"
The jailer on the left was unwilling to wait even another second and demanded the location of the treasure.
John remained unmoved.
He merely replied weakly,
"I’m starving, and my head is spinning."
"I can’t remember the exact location right now."
Both jailers froze.
The jailer on the left’s expression darkened.
He turned toward his companion and ordered,
"Go buy some food and wine."
Not long afterward, the jailer returned with food and drink.
John said nothing.
He slowly ate until he was full, all while calculating his next steps.
"These two have completely taken the bait."
"Wealth tempts the heart, and men die in pursuit of riches."
"That truth has never changed."
"Next, I only need to guide them into taking me out of this prison to search for the so-called treasure."
"The moment I step beyond the prison gates, I will have already solved most of this crisis."
"With such an enormous fortune in my hands, I have countless ways to escape their control."
John leisurely finished eating and drinking, remaining completely composed.
The two jailers, on the other hand, were already burning with impatience.
They repeatedly stepped forward and urged him to speak.
"I don’t remember the name of the exact location," John finally said at the appropriate moment.
"But I remember how to get there."
"I’ll take you outside!"
The jailer on the left agreed without the slightest hesitation.
"You can lead the way yourself, and we’ll go find the treasure."
His eyes shifted rapidly before he deliberately put on a sincere expression.
"Don’t worry."
"Once we find the treasure, I’ll immediately set you free."
Inwardly, however, he was already harboring murderous intentions.
The fewer people who knew about such a fortune, the better.
Once they found the treasure, he planned to kill John and his fellow jailer, then claim all the wealth for himself.
John pretended to be delighted and grateful.
He nodded repeatedly.
"Good, good."
"I’ll take both of you there right now."
"This may not be a good idea..."
The jailer on the right hesitated and attempted to dissuade him in a low voice.
"If we secretly take a condemned prisoner out of the prison and our superiors discover it, we won’t be able to escape punishment."
"It doesn’t matter!"
"My uncle is the warden."
"Inside this prison, my uncle’s word is law. No one would dare interfere or question us!"
The jailer on the left looked completely unconcerned.
"We simply need to keep a low profile."
"Go back and bring two sets of jailer uniforms for him to change into."
"That will conceal his identity and make everything much safer."
The jailer on the right coveted his share of the treasure.
In the end, he compromised.
"All right. I’ll go get the clothes."
A short while later, John had changed into a proper jailer’s uniform.
Although it did not fit him particularly well, it was far more presentable than his ragged prison clothes and was sufficient to conceal his identity.
The two jailers quietly discussed their plan.
They positioned themselves on either side of John and successfully escorted him through the prison’s multiple layers of guards.
Outside, the final light of sunset spread across the land.
The brightness caused John to narrow his eyes slightly, while a fresh, salty sea breeze blew against his face.
He looked over the city beneath the evening sky and rapidly gathered information about his surroundings.
"This place is remote and desolate."
"The city’s construction is crude, and it cannot be considered prosperous."
"It is surrounded by the sea."
"It seems this is an isolated island prison located on the outskirts of the Lothar Kingdom."
"It is cut off from the outside world and heavily guarded."
Without revealing anything, John memorized the surrounding terrain and environment.
"Hurry up!"
"Lead us to the treasure!"
"Once we obtain it, I will definitely keep my promise and let you go!"
The jailer on the left repeatedly urged him forward.
"That’s right. We need to move quickly."
"Once it gets any darker, traveling will become much more troublesome," the jailer on the right added.
John spoke calmly.
"The treasure is hidden in a busy district of the capital."
"It isn’t on this deserted island."
"The capital?"
"We have to go all the way to Lothar’s capital by ship?"
The two jailers looked frustrated by the inconvenience.
Even so, they could not conceal the greed in their eyes.