822 - 830

Dawn of War

'My spiritual force has reached another bottleneck. I might be able to break through after this battle.' A month had yet to pass since Leylin broke through to rank 7 as a wizard.

This frightening pace of advancement was something even your average genius wouldn't be able to match. His speed was absolutely monstrous.

Naturally, Leylin could only advance so quickly because of the Devilblood Dagger's work, and even more so because of his strong foundation. It was because of his foundation that he could control the explosive increase in his life force and stats. In his situation, Isabel would long since have gone insane or become a devil.

"There's a fleet ahead!" The pirate in the loft called out suddenly.

"I see the flag of the Merfolk Pirates, it's their battleship!" Leylin did not feel particularly alarmed by this news. This sort of sneak attack couldn't be successful over and over again.

The Merfolk Pirates would have long made preparations around their lair, and it wouldn't have been difficult for them to spot him.

"Call the sailors out, prepare for battle!" The most important thing about naval warfare was long-distance ranged attacks and boarding. Under Robin Hood's roar, tens of pirates and sailors stood out, their hands suffused in the blue light of weapons slicked with poison.

The Black Tigers who went up against the Merfolk Pirates had a look of great apprehension in their eyes. Only the weapons in their hands and Leylin's presence could calm them down slightly.

"These pirates need to undergo a longer period of training…" Isabel and Robin Hood came to Leylin with worried expressions.

"Don't worry, the battleground is the best teacher. Death will help weed out the trash. After all, if they still lose to the enemy even with the weapons I provided, then I won't care even if they die," Leylin's expression was completely cool.

"This type of weapon…" Robin Hood raised up the longsword in his hand. The edge of the blade was suffused with a blue glow, which was clearly a powerful toxin. He had personally tested this poison, and discovered it had a powerful paralytic effect. Even a shark could not endure it for more than a few breaths.

'This sort of poisonous weapon could fetch a price of more than ten gold coins in the black market…' Robin Hood unconsciously licked his lips. He had a quiver of poison arrows on his back, which when combined with his archery skills gave him the confidence to challenge a rank 5 fighter.

'I didn't expect the boss to have mastered alchemy as well…' Robin Hood glanced at Leylin with eyes full of respect. Such an achievement made him feel even more fearful. If he ever offended his boss, he probably wouldn't even realise how he died.

In reality, those poisonous reagents were a result of Leylin's boredom. He was already a grandmaster in the field, and after familiarising himself with the flora and fauna of the World of Gods over a few years, his experience naturally translated into results.

The raw material of these poisonous reagents was the juice of the most commonly seen pike fish on the Faulen Island. No matter who looked at it, they wouldn't associate that fish with deadly poison.

Even cousin Isabel envied Leylin's poison, and although she did not apply it to her own longsword, she still asked him for a small bottle.

"Isabel, Faulen guards!" Leylin commanded.

"Boss!" This group of people were small in number, but they had the highest loyalty towards Leylin. Once they heard his command, they immediately assembled by his side.

"Pick up your weapons!" Once Leylin issued his command, the guards brought out their longswords. The icy blue glow they emitted filled many pirates with fear.

"Although I've already boosted their damage once, it's better to have more insurance," Leylin pointed his finger, and a shining spell entered Isabel's black longsword.

This was Enchant Item, a rank 1 spell which could boost weapon damage as well as defence. Although Isabel had not soaked her own sword in poison, seeing her sword immersed in a layer of magical light caused a joyous expression to appear on her face.

After a weapon had been enchanted, even temporarily, its power far surpassed that of poisoned weapons. Of course, enchantments were more expensive as well.

However, Leylin's act did not stop there.

Enchant Item was cast again and again and again as Leylin added a layer of enchantment to the weapons of all his own guards.

"Cousin,will you have enough spells after this? Don't tell me you've used up all your spell slots to enchant weapons?" Isabel stood at the side as she watched the guards, and even the pirates, receive the same magical light to their swords. Her eyes were full of envy and she almost even drooled.

Enchanted equipment would increase an individual's battle strength by leaps and bounds. Imagine if you struck someone, and your opponent's weapon snapped in half, and even their armour would not be able to stop your sword. How would that make you feel?

With this support, those guards now had a lower chance of dying. This was Leylin's goal, as these talented people were his true capital and the core of his strength. Family was still family, and they would receive differential treatment right from the beginning. Leylin surveyed his surroundings and was very satisfied with the result.

"Did you see that? Demonstrate your loyalty to me in the future, and you shall have whatever you want!" Leylin shouted. Paired with his earlier use of magic, his voice was full of persuasive power.

At this moment, a small fleet appeared in the waters. It was a group made up of a battleship as large as the Black Tiger and two smaller boats, advancing in a threatening manner as they surrounded Leylin's ship.

One could even see numerous pirates on the decks, as well as a pirate flag of a merfolk skeleton on their flagpole.

"Welcome them on board. Prepare for a battle on the sea!" Robin Hood shouted. Many sailors could not help but firmly grasp their weapons, the only thing they could rely on to make themselves feel safe.

'The Merfolk Pirates are close to the Black Tigers in strength. However, they have nearly 200 sailors, including merfolk, shark people, and even other marine tribes…' Leylin's keen eyes allowed him to see farther than others, distinguishing the characteristics of the opposing marine tribes. His eyes glowed with interest.

'I wonder… What is the difference between the marine tribes here and the ones from the Magus World?' Leylin knew that this question would soon be answered. Because after this battle, he would have an enormous number of test subjects to experiment on.

*Bang!* As soon as both sides were within a mile of each other, the opposing battleship let out a massive explosive sound. An enormously long harpoon was shot out towards them.

*Shua!* The terrifyingly fast harpoon had immense kinetic energy, and only Leylin was able to see its orbit through the air.

Fresh blood flew into the air, and a great number of pained cries immediately rang out. The harpoon penetrated several of the less able pirates who didn't duck in time. It pierced through the Pirates, stringing them together like an iced candy haw on a stick1. It even pierced through the floor of the deck and embedded itself there.

Fresh blood flowed from the harpoon, and the more tenacious pirates still managed to issue cries of pain as they attempted to struggle. This made the other pirates retreat, their eyes filled with fear.

'These bastards! Luckily I never thought of depending on them!' The dismal performance of the pirates made Leylin shake his head. He then winked at Isabel, and used a Flight spell to soar into the sky.

Once Leylin got closer, he could hear the commotion on the opposing ship. "Wizard! The enemy has a wizard!" "Prepare your bows and arrows!"

Powerful spell casters had a strong reputation that spread throughout the continents of the World of Gods. Why a respected wizard would join the pirates and suddenly attack was something the Merfolk Pirates could not understand. However, the fear had already taken root, leaving them bewildered and open to attack.

The fluttering arrows soared into the sky, but lost their energy mid-air like kites with their strings cut. They swayed here and there as they fell.

At Leylin's height, if they wanted to really threaten him, they had to have a Professional who used bows, such as a Ranger or an Archer. However, it was obvious that the opposing group would have a limited number of these talents. The few times they tried to attack him, Leylin easily dodged them.

Once a wizard could fearlessly shoot his spells from the air, calamity would begin.

Fireball! Gust!

A massive fireball flashed in Leylin's hand, and immediately exploded on one of the smaller ships' sails. Magic fuelled its flames, and the Gust spell caused it to spread. The entire ship went up in fire.

*Splash! Splash!* The sailors who had been set on fire jumped off the ship one by one, and were struggling in the middle of the ocean.

By the time the other small pirate ship faced the same fate, some of the men on the main battleship had gone mad.

"Damn it! Where is this damn wizard from?" The Merfolk Pirates' leader was a strong man. Only the two faint traces of scales on both sides of his cheeks hinted that this person had once won the blessing of a devil, and possessed the power of a demon.

Currently, the pirate captain looked at how half of his force had been destroyed, and almost went mad. He would never have thought that he would clash against such a mighty wizard. Seeing that the wizard was able to fly and skilfully cast spells in mid-air, he had to be at least rank 7. He could even be a powerful rank 8 or 9 wizard!

With this sort of strength, he could become a noble on the continent. So why was this wizard coming here especially to bother him?

1. Red hawthorn fruit covered in liquid sugary syrup, with a stick piercing through the middle of 6-7 fruits. Street snack

Bloodsucker

'I don't really want the other two ships, but this main battleship is rather good!' Leylin purposefully lifted the effects of the Flight spell, and landed on the Merfolk Pirates' deck.

"What? This foolish wizard dared come here by himself?" The captain of the Merfolk Pirates was overjoyed, "Get up there! Kill him!"

Two odd-looking pirates, with the heads of a crab and a squid, swarmed around Leylin and surrounded him completely. Their eyes were filled with ferocity.

*Puff! Puff!* The air seemed to twist, and two sharp daggers which looked just like a pair of poisonous snakes appeared and bared their sharp teeth at Leylin.

"Mm! This Sneak of Shadows is comparable to Mankeh's…" Leylin had a ferocious smile on his face, "What a shame that you squids alone aren't enough!"

In a flash of blood-red light, the Devilblood Dagger appeared in Leylin's hand. As he held the dagger, he seemed to transform into the image of a night elf, his every act and every move seeming to be filled with a unique beauty.

"Shadow Dance!" With the A.I Chip's support, Leylin used a skill that could normally only be used by high-ranking rogues and assassins. The blood-red light turned into a whirlwind, immediately dragging the two assassins into itself.

The dagger's lifesteal greatly surpassed that of a vampire. Once stabbed by it, the two assassins were instantly turned into corpses, falling to the floor.

*Bang! Bang!* Metal weapons clashed against each other loudly, and the mermen closest to Leylin fell to the ground. As traces of their blood-red energy was absorbed by Leylin's dagger, they completely lost all of their life force, to the point where their corpses would scatter into dust at the lightest touch.

"He's a devil! A demon from the abyss!" This horrifying scene scared all of the ferocious pirates so much that they wet themselves. All intelligent creatures feared the unknown. Although they could usually kill without even batting an eye, they had apparently never seen this sort of tragic manner of death before.

"As expected, personally harvesting lives myself is the most enjoyable experience…" Leylin's lips quirked up into a rather evil smile, "Bull's Strength! Cat's Grace!"

Two rays of magic light flickered, and after receiving the boost of strength and agility, Leylin seemed to become death incarnate, reaping the lives of all the pirates around him. While he was killing, countless rank 0 and rank 1 spells shot out from Leylin's hands without stopping.

The Devilblood Dagger was not some ordinary metal weapon. Of course, it did not have any effect on a wizard's spellcasting, but without the Weave impeding him, Leylin's movement was even quicker and smoother.

"As expected! On of a shipful of pirates, all of them have close-ranged professions, and there's not a single Conjurer…" Leylin was like a tiger amongst a flock of sheep. His eyes swept across the entire ship, as if he was hunting for prey.

If anyone of the Conjurer profession came out to fight, even if they only had the Web or Grease spells they would become rather troublesome.

However it was a pity. The Merfolk Pirates were secretly controlled by Marquis Louis, and he wouldn't put a Sorcerer or other high-ranked Professional with a bunch of pirates. Perhaps only the three largest pirate groups would have a Sorcerer in their midst.

"Did you see that? Our boss has already destroyed two of their ships, and there's only one left. Get up there and kill them all!" Robin Hood lay on top of a railing, and after seeing Leylin's success in battle, he roared loudly from the back.

At this moment, the pirate prisoners also let out a wolf-like howl, "Kill them! Kill them!"

The pirates who previously completely lacked morale now exploded forth with 200% of their fighting spirit and hot-bloodedness, loudly roaring at the Merfolk Pirates as they clashed in battle.

The battle between the ships would erupt at any moment, when they came side to side.

"We can't continue like this! Fuck, where are these pirates from? They're so strong and they even have a wizard supporting them, and they're still coming here to cause me trouble?" The Merfolk Pirate captain looked as the sight of his underlings being killed one by one, and the Black Tiger pirate ship advancing quickly ahead. His expression grew even uglier.

Yet at this moment, the wizard was clearly advancing with thoughts of destroying the captain, and whatever ideas or hopes he had were all for naught. This captain understood very well that even if he chose to surrender, perhaps the normal pirates would end up alright, but he and his confidantes would absolutely be forced to walk the plank.

At this thought, his eyes gleamed ruthlessly. He tore off the cloak on his body, revealing stainless steel armour beneath.

"Make way! Archers, prepare!" As he was forced to an impasse, the captain prepared to personally enter the fray. After all, as the captain of the crew he was very strong.

"Battle skill— Charge!" The pirate captain was completely wrapped up in a dense layer of qi. He charged forwards like a battle tank.

"He should be a rank 10 warrior, and his armour and ring…" Leylin quickly retreated, his gleaming eyes making the pirate captain shiver.

At this moment, the A.I. Chip had already collected the captain's stats and displayed them to Leylin. [Name Unknown, Sex: Male, Estimated stats, Strength: 11+, Agility: 5, Vitality: 8, Spirit: 3, Predicted Fighter Rank: 11. Evaluation: Dangerous! Armour and ring are radiating magic, deduced to be magic items!]

After his Charge skill, the pirate captain swung from his waist, and the broadsword in his hand began to rotate like a windmill. "Ha! Battle skill— Whirling Slash!"

*Bang! Bang! Crack!* The sword flew like the wind everywhere he went, slashing most of the deck open. Wooden splinters flew everywhere.

This battle skill was something the captain was very proud of, and something he had learnt very recently. He had to work hard under a Professional fighter's guidance for three years before he had managed to gain their recognition and tutorship.

However, this was all worth it. After learning this skill, he had used its terrifying revolving strength to kill several warriors of a higher rank than him, and finally gained the treasured position of the captain of the Merfolk Pirates.

Needless to say, his opponent was only a wizard, and even if he had the abilities of a rogue, he could not beat a warrior of similar rank to him.

The pirate captain's mouth split open into a wide grin. If the wizard was caught by Whirling Slash, then he could almost see his body being torn apart.

"You have a rather good battle skill there, it's a pity that you're too slow…"

*Puff!* The sound of a heavy hammer hitting leather rang out, and a layer of protection suddenly burst from the captain's armour, offsetting the dagger's attack trajectory. Even so, the tip of the blood-red dagger left a very deep mark on his chest.

Seeing that his armour had almost been cut through, the pirate captain's face was filled with triumph at his luck.

'What a pity! If I hadn't used a rank 3 spell slot to memorise Flight, then one Dispel Magic could have broken through his defense just now and killed him.' Leylin's figure hadn't stopped at all, and he charged once again through the group of pirates. Several severed heads were sent flying into the air, and fountains of blood gushed out.

Before it had the chance to touch the ground, the blood was absorbed by the dagger in Leylin's hand. All the small cuts to his body healed immediately, as if they had never been inflicted in the first place.

"This ability… You're a vampire!" The pirate captain seemed to recall a rather unpleasant memory, which made him cry out in alarm. This ability to absorb life force and and his quick regenerative ability, was very similar to that of the rumoured vampires.

*Bang!* A huge impact spread across the deck like a grade 8 earthquake.

Just when Leylin had single-handedly contained all the pirates, the Black Tiger smashed against the side of the ship. Many small boats hooked onto it, and pirates climbed the cables aboard. A great number of them waved their glowing blue weapons as they came on deck.

These weapons which had been soaked in Leylin's poison did a great deal of damage to the Merfolk Pirates. Even the tiniest cut would paralyze them and drop them to the ground, to then be killed by their enemies.

The magic weapons that Leylin had enchanted, used by the guards, were even more formidable. Isabel took the lead like a Valkyrie, and many Merfolk Pirates were killed so quickly that they died in confusion.

"What? Thinking of escaping?" Leylin's face was wreathed in smiles as he looked at the ugly expression on the pirate captain's face.

"Ha! Battle skill— Blast Slash!" It was clear that this pirate captain knew that unless he could thoroughly shake Leylin off his trail, he didn't have a single hope of escaping. After his expression changed, he charged forwards immediately, his broadsword shining like a blade of light.

Just as the captain was charging towards Leylin, the ring on his right hand suddenly emitted a beautiful burst of magical light.

"Swift Explosion!" The sudden blessing from the spell increased the captain's attack speed fivefold. If his enemy did not notice this, they were sure to regret it.

However, Leylin had long anticipated this. He only smiled at the pirate captain, and gave him a signal, "Grease!"

*Clang!* The deck immediately became impossibly slippery, and the expression of the charging captain changed. He completely lost his balance.

"I already know about all your trump cards. Under these circumstances, you only have one fate, and that is to peacefully walk the path of death…" Leylin seemed as graceful as a dancer as he began to step out, his elegant figure flying over to the Merfolk Pirate.

A severed head flew high up into the air, and soon after blood rushed out from his neck.

The Devilblood Dagger let out an icy-cold laughter after it had feasted on the fresh blood, and its wings seemed to become even more true to life, as if the demon sealed within it had recovered.

Chapter 824 Mermaid Island

Leylin put the Devilblood Dagger away. He sensed that he had absorbed an enormous amount of life force, and it had all been transformed into spiritual force. Having already reached the peak, this additional energy pushed him to a breakthrough.

[Beep! Host has gone through a battle. Devilblood Dagger has completed the energy conversion! Spirit +0.1]

[Host's spiritual force has reached 8, rank has increased. Host is now a rank 8 wizard.]

[Host has advanced to rank 8! Number of rank 3 spell slots increased by 1, number of rank 2 spell slots increased by 1.]

A few prompts jumped out all at once, and Leylin's mouth curved up into a wide smile in response.

Converting almost all of this Merfolk Pirate captain's flesh had given him an increase of only 0.1 in his Spirit stat. However, it helped him break through the threshold of a rank 8 wizard, something that many low-ranking wizards on the continent couldn't even beg for.

'However, it's better not to let others know about this strange way of breaking through. Otherwise I will definitely become a public target…' Leylin stood aside and watched the guards clear up the remnants of battle on the pirate ship.

In reality, after the Merfolk Pirates' captain had died, the battle could be said to have been decided. Many Merfolk Pirates suffered a collapse in morale, and they either tried to escape from the ship or threw away their weapons and surrendered.

Leylin did not take action again after that, but he coldly watched Isabel and the others clear up the last of the pirates.

"This time, we don't want prisoners. Archers get ready, kill all those pirates who jumped into the sea!" On hearing this cold command, the pirate crew's fighting spirit grew even more fierce.

Yet Leylin showed not the slightest concern. He looked at his status window which had changed. The A.I. Chip displayed the newly collected data.

[Leylin Faulen, Race: Human Rank 8 Wizard, Strength: 3.5, Vitality: 4.5, Spirit: 8, Status: Healthy, Feats: Sturdy, Erudite, Spell Slots: Rank 3(2), Rank 2(4), Rank 1(???), Rank 0(???)]

A rank 8 wizard did not have the ability to access a deeper level of the Weave. The only benefits Leylin received were two more spell nodes. What was more important was that the advancement had increased his contact and authority within the deeper levels of the Weave. This was bound to be of great help to the A.I. Chip's analysis.

As Leylin continued to advance in rank, the speed of the A.I. Chip's analysis would only increase.

'With the Magus World's standards, a rank 5 Professional is on the level of an acolyte. A rank 10 Professional is on the level of a rank 2 Magus, and someone at rank 15 compares to rank 15. A rank 20 Legend would enter the realm of Morning Stars…' After living in the World of Gods for so many years, Leylin had developed a very deep understanding of how ranks were calculated here.

'A rank 25 peak-ranked Legend is equivalent to a Radiant Moon Magus! If it's like this, then the divine would be equivalent to a rank 6 Breaking Dawn Magus. A demi-god here would be equivalent to a semi-rank 7 Magus, which is the same rank as my original body…'

'The weak minor gods are the same as rank 7 Magi who have comprehended laws, and the major gods are similar to Magi who have fused laws, and are rank 8 beings like the Mother Core who've found their own path…'

At this point, the entire power rankings of the World of Gods began to unfold before Leylin. Although it was possible that some ranks did not entirely correspond, but on the whole Leylin believed in his own deductions and the A.I. Chip's simulation had never been wrong. There were also no holes in its logic.

'Although this native body is making rapid progress, in reality my current strength is only equal to a rank 1 Magus of the Magus World…' This comparison rendered Leylin completely speechless. It seemed that he still had a long way to go on his path to becoming strong in the World of Gods

"Boss! We've cleared out this ship completely! Victory is ours!" Just at this moment, Robin Hood appeared before Leylin and reported with a face filled with excitement. He didn't seem to care about the traces of blood still left on his face.

"It's already finished? Have the casualties been counted yet?" Leylin had a neutral expression on his face. He had personally completely destroyed the most powerful opponents and even half of the normal crew. If his sailors couldn't achieve victory under these circumstances, then he would need to completely reevaluate his strategy.

"With the weapons you gave us, many comrades only received slight injuries. Three have died, and five were seriously injured. We've already eased their suffering and sent them on their way…" Robin Hood spoke with a trace of helplessness in his voice.

Severe injuries on the sea were like a death sentence in this era unless one was lucky enough to have a cleric or other precious healing skills or items on them.

"Mm, keep track of them. Calculate and distribute rewards accordingly when we're done…" Leylin suddenly hit himself on the head. "Oh right! After we capture Half-Merfolk Island, set out again and bring the family members of the pirates who surrendered to us to the Faulen Island. Give the families of the dead ones a pension."

This was really to cut off the pirates' escape route, and grasp their family members in his palm. With this, the chance of them betraying him was now very small.

"As you command, boss!" Robin Hood clearly understood Leylin's intentions, and nodded vigorously, not daring to object at all.

"We really do need a cleric to raise morale and heal wounds. It seems like we can't do with them."

"If you have no objections to rank, then I know a few…" Isabel came to Leylin's side at this moment, with a strange look in her eyes. Leylin scratched his nose, as he clearly knew why her expression was different.

It was easy for her to relate to what he had done before, and it was also the reason why he had ordered for there to be no captives, decisively slaughtering all the Merfolk Pirates in a hurry.

His subordinates, on the other hand, were still on the other ship and couldn't see his actions across the wide sea. Even though he had left those mummified corpses, a wizard had skills which could achieve the same effect such as Absorb, Vampire's Touch, and Life Drain, so nothing could be proven.

Although this could fool Robin Hood and the others, but it definitely could not fool Isabel, who was also a follower of a devil. Her expression showed that she'd discovered something.

However, they were both on the same boat. Leylin believed that Isabel wouldn't betray him, because the church would never accept her either.

"Take a group out to sail this battleship. We'll go together to Half-Merfolk Island!" Under Leylin's command, they rushed to clean up the marks left by battle. The two enormous ships then sailed towards Half-Merfolk Island together.

At this moment, the pirates' eyes were filled with fanaticism and emotion. After all, they knew very well that after Half-Merfolk Island had lost their entire pirate group, the defenceless girls would not be able to refuse their tyrannical advances. Also, the Merfolk Pirates had been in business for many years, and the wealth they had accumulated had made their eyes green with envy.

Before they reached land, Leylin gathered his troops together.

"I'll say this once again!" Leylin's gaze swept across the group of pirates. Through continuous shows of power, they did not dare to betray Leylin's slightest command, and their loyalty to him had even increased considerably.

"We currently need their wealth and their slaves to work for us! We even need them to join us and become fresh blood. If they dare to resist us then immediately kill them without discussion, but I need captives. Understood?" In Leylin's view, the family members that survived the pirates would be very rebellious, but they would make good slaves. Even if that wasn't possible, then they could still be sold for a tidy profit; so what was the point of killing them all?

Humans were a very valuable resource on the sea. Even island natives had special teams of slave catchers enter the jungles and brave the difficulties of disease and monsters. They would then bitterly struggle against different tribes to get their hands on some more slaves.

"Don't worry, boss! We know what to do!" Robin Hood began to laugh, and the sound of it was an ugly as an night owl's hoot.

Leylin nodded, knowing how his underlings, who were like complete animals, would behave after they took over Half-Merfolk Island. Perhaps they wouldn't murder the prisoners, but the islanders would suffer a lot of abuse.

Leylin decided to turn a blind eye to these sort of things. In any case, an appropriate amount of deterrence was necessary, and perhaps this would be beneficial to keeping his rule over them stable. After all, pirate women didn't have any chastity to speak of, and it was in their instinct to follow the strong…

Eagle Eye! After the spell took effect, half of the island appeared before Leylin's eyes.

'Mm, it looks like there are the beginnings of a small hamlet. Not bad!' In his field of vision was a tiny port, and next to the port there was a developing wheat field. The pirate captain that had died at his hand had some talent in running the place. Surprisingly, he knew to gather people to reclaim the wasteland, and he'd really produced results.

It was a shame that all of this had been so conveniently given to Leylin.

Seeing the Merfolk battleship return, and even bringing another ship back, the port burst into an uproar. There were even people who thought that it was the Merfolk Pirates returning victoriously, and began to gather at the port to welcome them back.

It was not until the ship drew closer that they realised that the deck had traces of a fierce battle. The flag which represented the Mermaid Pirates had changed hands. Only then did they cry out in alarm and scatter everywhere, just like wild ducks whose nest had been disturbed.

"Brothers, get to work!" Robin Hood's booming voice rang out, ushering in a burst of excited cries.

Plunder

The afterglow of the sun slowly dispersed on the surface of the sea, making it look like a rippling golden scale. By sunset, the battle was already winding up.

It couldn't be really be called a battle.The elites of the Merfolk Pirates as well as the adult merfolk had all died in the earlier naval battle, and the only ones left were old, young, or female. Even without many pirates under his command Leylin's raid had been successful.

Once the sun had set completely, Leylin stood on the balcony of the two-floored house that had belonged to the pirate captain. He was watching the tiny spots of flames flickering in the port. Large-scaled arson would have completely destroyed the place, so Leylin had forbidden it before they completely looted it.

Robin Hood's face was flushed with excitement. He stood in the room with Isabel who did not participate in the plunder, reporting the results of the battle to Leylin. Leylin could tell that the spoils were quite decent just by looking at his face. A smile arose on his face as Robin Hood finished his report.

"Boss, we've struck gold!" Robin Hood had already grown to resemble a pirate more and more, or perhaps he had just stopped repressing his true nature, "Just the loot from the warehouse could fill half the ship; there's massive quantities of sugar, silk, and even pottery and woodwork!"

"We also found this inside the villa," Isabel added as she kicked open a black trunk next to Leylin's feet.

The wooden lid was covered in floral patterns, and a golden radiance poured out of the chest when it was opened. Robin Hood's eyes filled with greed, but he quickly suppressed it.

"That fellow hid his treasures very well, it took a lot of effort to find this," Isabel's eyes were also sparkling like little stars, as if she had also completely fallen in love with piracy.

This was just like what Leylin had read in one of the ancient tomes in this world: 'Gold! What a beautiful and adorable little thing. It can turn a coward into a warrior and evil to good. It can make rivers flow upstream, and such a tiny thing can send a damned soul to heaven!'

Even the churches needed wealth, and their requirement was massive at that. They needed it to influence their believers, and expand the scope of their power. This was especially true of Waukeen's, which hoarded more money than dragons. They stuck their hands in every source they could find to earn more money.

Inside the wooden trunk were stacks of gold, alongside a few precious gems which almost blinded Robin Hood. Isabel was more resistant to the allure, perhaps because she was a noblewoman. She still remained rational in the face of the riches.

"There are a total of 782 kronas, and each one weighs 18 grams. That's at least 1500 pieces of Dambrath gold! Adding on the precious gems, this entire trunk is worth over 2000 gold…"

Leylin picked up a single gold krona, which was heavier than the gold coins he was used to. The decorative designs on them as well as the portrait were completely different to those of the Dambrath Kingdom's coinage. "Mm. There's no need to exchange the kronas, they can still be used on the continent."

In the World of Gods, any organisation that was a duchy or greater in authority could issue its own coins, and this created many different metal currencies. But the church of the Goddess of Wealth was always dedicated to normalising their own gold coin, the krona. They wanted it to replace all other coins, becoming an official standard. Still, due to the secret resistance of many gods, they had never been successful. The gods believed such a thing would bring Waukeen many followers, so it would only be odd if they supported it.

Even though this was the situation, it was the Goddess of Wealth issuing these coins. All the churches serving her would vouch for them, so it was still the strongest currency circulating in the entire World of Gods.

'It looks like these pirates all hid their wealth in their homes,' Leylin thought of the captives he had— If he had directly murdered Steve in his home, and dug out his buried treasures, he would have certainly gained as many benefits as he had now. It was a pity that he didn't have the time back then that he did now.

"Putting the treasure aside, what about the people and the slaves?" With this funding, Leylin had the confidence to build a profitable industry centered at Faulen Island. The most important thing now was to be able to obtain enough human resources.

"Our force was too small to blockade the port immediately. Many of the islanders managed to escape…" Robin Hood's expression grew ugly when he mentioned this point. "We've managed to capture 90 people by now, most of them elderly, women, or children. There was also some retired pirate trash."

Robin Hood spat out, and it was obvious that he had suffered while capturing these violent old pirates. Becoming either physically handicapped or growing senile with age, these pirates had been forced to retire. However, their ferocious and bloody nature hadn't left them one bit.

"I hung them to the death." Robin Hood did not dare to conceal anything in front of Leylin.

"Mm… Even if they are captives, there are many ways to distinguish them. How many of the captured ones are merfolk, how many human? How many of them were originally slaves?" Leylin clearly did not plan to pursue those problems, and he instead directly asked about his biggest concerns.

"The merfolk resisted most violently, and many of them fled. We've only managed to capture 19 so far, the other 71 are humans and natives. All of them seem to have been slaves." Although he didn't have the definite details on the numbers, what Robin Hood did have was enough to satisfy Leylin.

"Very good. There are different classes and ranks even amongst slaves. The merfolk were originally the highest class here, and now that we've killed their families and stripped them of their wealth we'll have gained their enmity. They won't put their faith in us, so just kill them all.

"As for those other humans and the native slaves, take all of them away and slowly screen them." From his own life as a human, Leylin had deeply understood the feeling the rest had: 'If they're not human, they won't think and act like us.'

On the other hand, Robin Hood didn't think of those Merfolk Pirates as the same as him either. He immediately agreed to leave and slaughter them.

"Wait, why don't you hand all those captive merfolk to me?" Isabel stepped out at this moment, her eyes filled with a bloodthirsty gleam.

"That's acceptable," Leylin nodded immediately. Demons all loved chaos and massacres, and her acts of piracy had most likely given Isabel many benefits.

Night fell, and the whole port wept after it was ravaged by the invaders. Smoke was still rising from it on the next day.

"The goods have all been transported to the Scarlet Tiger, boss!" Robin Hood respectfully reported.

"Very good, sound the bugle!" Leylin stood on the deck of the newly christened Scarlet Tiger, and issued the command with a peaceful expression on his face.

This Scarlet Tiger was the same as Black Tiger from before. Leylin had just decided to massively refit the ship, and he'd additionally decided to change its name.

He could imagine the name of this ship spreading across the entire Dambrath Sea in the future, accompanied by his cousin's reputation in battle.

The deep bugle horn sounded, and after a night of wreaking havoc, a whole bunch of sailors with dark and heavy bags under their eyes scattered out of the islanders' homes in twos and threes, gathering on the deck.

"Listen!" Leylin opened the treasure chest filled with gold kronas in front of the pirates, and the golden glow made their eyes light up with greed.

Yet, looking at whom the foot currently stepping on the gold coins belonged to, they immediately withdrew their greedy gazes. Over the voyage and their battles, Leylin had already used countless lives to demonstrate his savagery that exceeded theirs.

Sweeping over all the pirates with his gaze, Leylin was satisfied with the bowed heads that didn't dare look him in the eye. Only then did he continue, "Everyone here will get three gold coins, and those who've killed an enemy get yet another. Professional kills will be counted separately."

Many pirates immediately cheered at this news.

Leylin was very satisfied with this atmosphere. Just using military force to intimidate these pirates was not enough. It was necessary to demonstrate that, with him, they could snatch more things and gain more benefits. Only then would they follow him even to hell.

From now, these pirates would probably take some more initiative in battles.

After he had distributed everything, Leylin immediately issued a new command, "Set this whole place on fire! Afterwards, we sail!"

Dense black smoke quickly rose from the port as it was engulfed in raging flames. The fire quickly spread. The two pirate battleships laden with riches and slaves slowly left the port, and some of the pirates still had looks of regret on their faces.

'The terrain and condition of the place was very good, and there was a neat foundation as well. Such a shame, it was an excellent base…' Leylin looked on as the fire lit up the dock's sky, but his expression did not change.

He had always planned to burn down Half-Merfolk Island. It wasn't just the island, even the Black Tigers' stronghold as well. These places did not belong to him, and the pirates had been subordinate to Marquis Louis. Even if he occupied this place, Leylin would perhaps soon attract the attention of the Black Skeletons and Tigersharks.

Pirates' Cove

The only thing Leylin could do now was hide somewhere secret, where his enemies could never find him. Only a fool would jump about shouting when he was weak.

"Isabel, Robin Hood!" he suddenly called out.

"You were looking for me, boss?" Robin Hood respectfully arrived in front of Leylin. After the battle, this first mate seemed to have changed dramatically.

Leylin stretched his hand out on the map of the ocean. "Mm, the two of you take the merfolk ship and bring the slaves to the pirates' families."

Be it Faulen Island or Marquis Louis' fiefdom, the Baltic archipelago, they were all new discoveries in the waters surrounding the Dambrath Kingdom, and that was also the only characteristic they shared. New, uninhabited islands seemed to emerge endlessly one after the other, full of both wealth and dangers. It was simply too easy to find a temporary base for his crew.

Of course, the condition was that Leylin could deal with the dangerous beasts in those territories, and they could brave the harsh weather and environment.

Taking into consideration that Robin Hood had the other sailors' loyalty, Leylin intentionally sent his cousin Isabel over as well. With her there, even if he couldn't control the entire ship, he could presumably intimidate the disloyal ones without much problem.

As a matter of fact, Leylin had plans to nurture this cousin of his. After all, he couldn't remain here commanding the pirates forever, so Isabel would serve as his stand-in. Although Robin Hood was more suited to this role, he was too feral. Leylin could not give this fellow too much space to make decisions so early on in his venture. It wasn't because he was scared that Robin would betray him, but it was just that Robin didn't have the instincts of a superior.

On the other hand, Isabel did not possess much authoritative power, but what she did have was enough to cow these pirates into submission.

Watching the merfolk ship leave, Leylin waved his hand. "Set off, we're going to Pirates' Cove!"

Pirates' Cove was a port that provided services for pirates. It could be called the gathering part for the shady figures of the seas.

The port sold intelligence, goods, and even top-grade elven slaves. Of course, one needed to have the courage to take the risk and buy something; as a port where pirates disposed of stolen goods, the things they sold were definitely unclean in origin. Even Marquis Louis, who controlled the Baltic archipelago, did not allow too many stolen treasures pass through his territory, regretfully giving up on the profits that came to Pirates' Cove.

As for the port's location, many of the old pirates under Leylin knew of it. The route wouldn't be a problem at all, but there were several dangerous areas they had to pass through.

"Are you sure the route won't have any problems, Cyclops?" Leylin opened up the map of the ocean as he called over a one-eyed pirate. The sailor had a courage bred from years of killing, and although he had only one eye its gleam caused others to tremble with fear.

It was only at this moment that a flower-like smile bloomed on Cyclops' stubbled face. He revealed his few yellowing teeth, "Don't worry, Boss. I've sailed to Pirates' Cove with Steve a few times, and at that time I was even the navigator's assistant. I can get there with my eyes closed!"

"Very well, you're now the ship's navigator. If you do well, you'll be the Scarlet Tiger's first mate once we reach the port." This was the promise Leylin made to this pirate in whom he had just placed his trust.

"Yes, boss!" A first mate would receive a greater share of the booty than the other pirates, and would also have authority over the others. Cyclops' remaining eye gleamed with excitement.

"Very well, you can leave now. Send Giant over!" Leylin waved his hand and watched Cyclops' back as he left. His eyes showed that he had fallen into deep thought.

Although he was giving these defeated pirates positions one by one, he hadn't completely let his guard down against them. For example, he couldn't trust that Cyclops wasn't deliberately leading the fleet into dangerous waters. He had already obtained the coordinates of Pirates' Cove through other means, from merchants and pirates.

'He told me the correct location, and also suggested the most efficient route. It looks like he's truly pledged his allegiance to me.' Cyclops didn't know that he had just narrowly avoided death's door. On the contrary, he was in good spirits from Leylin's promise, and he quickly executed the tasks that Leylin had asked him to do.

"Boss, lookin' fer me?" A deep, coarse voice sounded as a heavyset man walked in. He was more than 8 feet tall, and he had to lower his head to enter the captain's cabin. His flesh trembled with every step he took, like he was some sort of half-giant.

"Yes. Giant, I want you to lead the Scarlet Tiger's battle squad. Choose ten men for now, wait until we reach Pirates' Cove and recruit more." Leylin told him the plan with crossed arms.

The leader of the battle squadron was often the right-hand man of the captain. The battle squad was also at the forefront of every fight, so the position of its leaders had rather stringent requirements on strength.

Leylin had personally tested the might of this pirate that was called Giant. Not only did he have boundless strength, but he also had unparalleled talent in cultivation as a fighter. He could already release his qi and use martial techniques. Other than Leylin himself, only Isabe; could match him in close quarters combat.

Furthermore, this Giant had a straightforward personality; after numerous losses while dueling Leylin, he became more obedient and was easy for Leylin to control.

"Just pick anyone, huh?" Giant asked, clearly thinking of putting his own men into his team. However this was normal, otherwise even if he was strong as an individual, he would still be crushed by the other pirates.

"Yes, the sailors on the Scarlet Tiger, be it my sailors or the captured pirates, are all for your choosing," With regards to this point, Leylin turned a blind eye.

"Aye, I'll go and wake them up, and choose them one-on-one!" Giant looked extremely excited.

"As you wish!" Leylin didn't have anything to say about Giant's method of recruitment, and just waved him away.

As the leader of the battle squadron, if there weren't a few trusted aides on the battlefield to take a knife for him, then perhaps he wouldn't even be able to survive a single battle. It was necessary to allow him to choose his aides.

Furthermore, Leylin also believed that Giant wouldn't dare to betray him. He was confident that the cost of rebellion was so incredibly high that it would eliminate all thoughts of betrayal…

The endless voyage, the battles and the struggle, challenged them over and over again. Leylin was confident that this journey to Pirates' Cove would whip his crew into shape.

'On the whole, even a well-known pirate crew on the outer seas needs about a hundred pirates,' Leylin traced his finger on the map carelessly, 'Take the Black Tigers, or even the Merfolk Pirates which we just destroyed; normal pirate crews all have more than a hundred people, and their captains are even rank 10 Professionals with exceedingly good equipment.'

'Truly large-scale pirate crews need at least 300 pirates and above, and also need a number of ships. If I want a main battleship, it will have to be magically refitted or receive a cleric's blessing.'

Such a crew was configured like the small coastal fleet of a minor coastal duchy. If he had such strength, Leylin would be able to find a rather good position amongst the continent's navy, or even that of other countries. Who, then, would fight him without good reason?

As a result, there were only three truly large scaled pirate crews in the Dambrath Seas: the Black Skeletons, Tigersharks, and Barbarians.

Two of those pirate crews were even under the control of Marquis Louis. In addition, the other fleets owned by the marquis could not be underestimated. One of them was a professional slavers' fleet.

This fleet had always been at the forefront of clashes with the natives, and Marquis Louis had used a lot of gold coins to arm it. It was even more powerful than the kingdom's elite navy!

Leylin's elimination of the Black Tigers and Merfolk Pirates would at best be him taking out the marquis' trashe. He couldn't be considered to have encountered the marquis' main force.

Only once he was able to destroy the Black Skeletons, Tigersharks and the slavers' fleet in one fell swoop would he be able to deal a fatal strike to the Baltic archipelago's trade. However, this was almost impossible. Leylin could only continue to act from the shadows, and first clip the marquis' wings.

It was very unrealistic for Leylin to fight against a Marquis of the kingdom now. However, Leylin was not an ordinary person. He would use any means necessary to accomplish his goals, without fear of the consequences.

He was the sort of person that could described as a reasonable lunatic, or perhaps he was the most insanely reasonable man.

"I'll need many men to accomplish this goal… Or allies," Leylin naturally would not be stupid enough to act against the marquis alone.

Furthermore, fighting Marquis Louis was one thing, but Viscount Tim was another. Although Leylin had targeted Marquis Louis all along, the one who would bear the brunt of it was still the Viscount who coveted the Faulen lands.

Leylin wasn't sailing to Pirates' Cove for no reason. Besides recruiting the men he needed, he was preparing to look for more supporters. Marquis Louis would have offended quite a few people with his dominant character, even if he had done so unintentionally, and Leylin wanted to round those people up and take advantage of their power.

Leylin pressed his fingers heavily on the mark of the Pirates' Cove on the map, his eyes regaining their previous calm.

Barbarians

This was Pirates' Cove!

It was rumoured to be the holy land of pirates on the outer seas, where one could dispose of any problematic goods in exchange for attractive gold, or anything else your heart desired. They had the best women and the best rum, but only if one had enough gold. If anyone dared to cause trouble in the port, the enforcers would make them rue the day they were born!

As the most diverse place in the sea, where honest men and crooks mixed with each other, it was awash with information.

Quite often, a plump and juicy target passed by and one could see the magnificent sight of thousands of sails spreading open.

Many pirates spontaneously formed privateering operations, and disguised among the myriads of ships were a few powerful battleships armoured with magic. There were also a few unsinkable ships blessed by the Emperor of the Sea. Naturally, there were also much smaller boats that could only accommodate a dozen people, and even a few small canoes owned by the pirates.

The Pirates' Tide had occurred once, over 50 years ago, and they'd damaged a duchy's navy in the process of plundering a massive amount of wealth. The story became an excellent way of enticing ignorant fishermen's children into become pirates.

However, once Marquis Louis' Baltic archipelago rose in power, Pirates' Cove had grown weaker day by day. Once two of the great pirate crews were roped in by the marquis, the place grew to no longer be as prosperous as before. It slowly turned into an ordinary den of pirates, where they fenced their stolen goods.

Even though it had become like this, the background of the port was still extremely important. Not only had it established a town with an air of importance, they had won over many churches as even pirates needed the healing of the gods or the comfort of a priest.

Furthermore, the evil gods would not deny pirate believers; some perhaps even schemed to become the gods of piracy…

One morning, a fleet with a bizarre flag entered the docks. The crew could be considered large for its kind, and they seemed to have experienced many intense battles. The hull still had marks of battle, slashed by swords.

'This looks like the main battleship of a crew… Why don't I recognise the flag?' The clerk who was responsible for registering ships on the dock rubbed his eyes in disbelief. He could confirm that he'd never seen that bright scarlet flag in his career, with its sinister lifelike skull and dagger.

It was at this moment that a group of pirates came down from the pirate ship, and the clerk welcomed them with a professional smile, "Welcome to Pirates' Cove, here we have—"

Before the clerk could finish speaking, the young man just waved him away with the toss of a golden coin.

The gold coin that the young pirate had used wasn't a Dambrath coin, but it was the even more valuable gold krona!

'Is this youth the captain of these pirates? What a dangerous man…' The pirates standing behind the young man had an aura of death about them, especially the giant who was over two metres tall. He could've been mistaken for a small mountain.

However, these fearsome fellows all acted like fluffy little white rabbits behind the young man, which made the clerk's heart jump into his mouth. He came to realise that the man he faced was possibly a very extraordinary person.

"I know all the rules of this place, isn't it 5 coins to anchor our fleet here for a day?"

The clerk was a former pirate himself, and subconsciously assessed others in strength. The internal injuries which forced him to retire still persisted, forcing him to take up clerical work.

In truth, Leylin felt like the clerk was a very interesting person. Very few in the World of Gods received an education, and a pirate who could write was as rare as the mythical phoenix. Still, he didn't have the heart to discuss anything with him after the long journey. They violent storms and sneak attacks from the other races had fatigued him a little.

"Recommend the best inn, and tell me where I can recruit some sailors. You see the ship behind me, no? It needs to be reworked heavily." Leylin immediately tossed out these requests, and before the clerk could show his dissatisfaction, he immediately added, "If your recommendations are good, then this will be yours."

Another gold krona glowed brightly in his palm.

"Aye, your lordship! There is no one more familiar with Pirates' Cove than me!" The clerk unwittingly swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat.

He simultaneously shot a glance at the signature that Leylin had left, the beautiful cursive making his heart jump, before he noted the information written. 'Scarlet Tiger pirate crew? I've never heard of it before, has it just sprung up out of nowhere?'

Small pirate crews were born frequently in these waters, and death was frequent as well. Nobody would raise an eyebrow at a new pirate crew that relied on fishing to make a living in peacetime, only turning to amateur piracy when their options ran out. These weaker pirate crews were like ants and could perish at any time, but more pirates would emerge the next year.

The treasures of the outer sea, the frequent wars on the continent and its politics, as well as the persecution from the church… All these caused many adventurers, unbelievers, and even those faithful to demons and devils stream into these seas.

The sea was a place where good Gods had little influence, and the few strong evil gods did not mind them. It only rendered the place even more complicated.

The Dambrath area was only a tiny part of the outer seas, and it was still in the early years of development. As a result, no especially strong organisations had formed, and Marquis Louis, with the kingdom's support, had become the strongest person here.

"If you would like me to recommend an inn, then the ones opened by the Barbarians are the best choice!" The clerk immediately answered without hesitation.

"Barbarians…" Leylin's mouth curved into a smile as he thought of the crew. They were part of the big three.

The Barbarians were different from the other two crews, the organisation was made up purely of a single race. Made of barbarian warriors and priests, they were the only ones who had not been reined in by Marquis Louis.

The Barbarian crew shared a deeply hostile relationship with the Black Skeletons and the Tigersharks, and seemed to launch a large-scale battle with them every few years. They were the current head of Pirates' Cove, and the other free crews had formed the Dark World organisation to protect them. There was nothing wrong in saying that this place was the base camp of organisations who opposed Marquis Louis.

The inn opened by the secret master of Pirates' Cove was naturally the safest place in the whole area.

"As for sailors, just shout out in any random tavern and ten pirates will run up to you. How you choose them is up to you, and of course you need to settle the tabs of those you hire at the bars…" As expected, the clerk was extremely familiar with the Pirates' Cove, and he even fervently recommended a certain shipyard to Leylin. That shipyard may not have a high degree of credibility, but they were certainly good enough to do some routine maintenance on a pirate ship.

Leylin silently remembered the address of the shipyard, but he did not choose to go there directly. Instead, he brought his men to the barbarian inn recommended by the clerk.

On the way, Leylin wordlessly assessed those around him.

Most of the people who were able to live in Pirates' Cove were retired pirates or others of that ilk. Although some were too weak to even stand up to the wind, and some were even disabled, they all had one or two skills that kept them going.

Of course, many more were prostitutes in revealing clothing, directly soliciting customers. Although Leylin didn't think much of them, there were a bunch of animals following behind him who were clearly unable to hold back. If it wasn't for Leylin's command, a majority of them would have broken formation.

'They even have a Thieves' Guild!' Leylin looked at the crossed dagger symbol on a street corner thoughtfully. He did not feel worried as he had plenty of time left, and still needed to arrange a place for a large group of men.

The barbarians' inn was in a prime portion of Pirates' Cove, and there were even two armed barbarian warriors standing guard at the door. It made everyone feel exceptionally safe.

Leylin did not trust in the law and security of Pirates' Cove, and did not want to cause any trouble. Even if it cost a bit more money, staying there was an excellent decision.

'They're actually using two rank 5 Professionals to guard the place— is this pirate crew very strong? It's not surprising that they can contend against the two large pirate crews propped up by Marquis Louis,' Leylin assessed the two barbarian guards with interest.

The barbarians were scattered throughout the World of Gods, much taller than ordinary humans with light green skin and muscles that were as solid as granite. Whether male or female, they were all muscle maniacs.

Rumour had it that they were mentally challenged and were even more stupid than orcs. As a result, only a few uncivilised gods preferred to favour them, and they occupied a weak position in the civilised world. In many places, mercenary associations were periodically tasked with clearing up barbarian bandits and tribes.

Inn

'A.I. Chip, scan their stats!' Leylin commanded inwardly.

[Beep! Establishing mission, initiating scan.] Invisible ripples swept across the area, and the stats of one the barbarian guards were soon displayed.

[Name: Unknown, Race: Barbarian Warrior, Rank 5, Strength: 5, Agility: 2, Vitality: 4, Spirit: 1. Feats: 1. Strong: Barbarians possess increased strength and vitality. 2. Berserk: When they hit emotional extremes, some barbarians have the ability to enter a berserk state of violence, increase strength by 1 and reducing agility and spirit by 0.5.]

The A.I. Chip scanned the other barbarian as well, and he had similar stats.

'These two barbarian warriors both have Berserk abilities?' Leylin secretly compared them to his own men, 'If they really fight, then even Cyclops can't beat them. Perhaps Giant could get in one strike if he risked his life, but after that…

'After all, it's rumoured that barbarians are very well suited to be warriors, but the intelligent ones amongst them can also learn spells, and are capable of using magic…'

This sort of magic ability which was linked to the bloodline was different from that of wizards, somewhat similar instead to the powers of Warlocks. However, their magic was rather restricted, and only a select few were able to use it.

Not even the elite troops of the continent dared to provoke barbarian clans with members who had the ability to use magic.

'It is generally understood that with the scale of the Barbarian pirate crew, the number of women and children that they have to feed must be even greater. On this basis, it's normal for them to have a few magical Professionals. No wonder they were able to resist Marquis Louis for so long…'

All of these thoughts whirled through Leylin's mind in the blink of an eye. To anyone watching from the outside, it looked like he'd merely glanced at the warriors before sweeping past them into the inn.

A dense odour of rum mixed with tobacco smoke welcomed him inside, causing him to wrinkle his brows. Many other travelers were seated in the inn's reception, and the tables there were heaped with a mountain of roasted meat and fruit. Barrels of rum were opened directly, despite a number of drunkards next to them glugging them all down.

Many scantily dresses maids flitted like butterflies through the main hall, occasionally felt up by various customers. They cursed at it, but still laughed all the while.

One really could not ask for more from an inn which specially catered to pirate customers. Fortunately, Leylin's earlier frown was just a natural reaction from many years of living like a noble. His years of enduring hardship still allowed him to endure the vile environment he was now in.

It was clear that his group had attracted the attention of the other customers when they suddenly burst in, especially since Leylin was such a pretty little thing. There were even some reckless fools who wolf whistled at him.

"Giant!" Leylin said in a low voice, shaking his head.

"Do you want to die?" Giant emerged from the shadows. His enormous muscles and the faint traces of scars on them gave him an incredibly oppressive aura. The pirates jumped in surprise, and Giant disdainfully spat a mouthful of saliva at them and drew a line across his throat meaningfully.

"Well? If you're not happy, then let's take it outside," Giant clearly knew the rules, and Leylin nodded at his words inwardly.

The pirates looked at Giant's enormous body as well as the intensely dangerous feeling he gave off, and immediately sat down obediently like a bunch of small chicks, not daring to utter another word.

It was absolutely necessary for a pirate to have an instinct for danger. One look at Giant was enough to know that he was not to be trifled with, forget Leylin who was his master.

The pirates were beginning to secretly regret their earlier blunder, but there were naturally a few whose eyes gleamed with sinister intentions. One could not dominate Pirates' Cove with strength alone, and every day there were several reckless and arrogant novices whose bodies were chucked into the sea.

Leylin was very happy to see the pirates developing plans to provoke him. When the time came, he resolved to teach them the true meaning of fear.

The hall remained silent for only a moment before returning to its normal uproarious state. No one wanted to break the rules laid down by the Barbarians and offend the crew.

"What can I do for you, guest?" As Leylin came to the counter, he found that the boss was a tall and beautiful woman who wore a scarlet low-cut dress and a fur shawl.

Her long red tail naughtily swept across her waist. She shot Leylin a sugar-sweet smile, and the mole at the edge of her mouth grew animated. The boss of the inn was a fox girl, and a stunningly top-grade one at that. Leylin could almost hear his men salivating from behind his back.

"I have 23 men here, are there enough rooms for them all to stay?" Leylin asked immediately. His eyes swept over the fox girl, but his gaze did not linger for too long. There was a flash of surprise in the fox girl's eyes at his attitude, as it was very rare that a young man like him could resist her allure.

"Haha… Of course there are enough! I just need to know what kind of rooms you need," the fox girl changed her strategy, slowly shifting her sinuous waist and revealing her beautiful curves, "We have ordinary rooms here that can fit 5 people. They cost 2 silver bars per night. The medium-ranking rooms are for 3 people, and costs 5 silver bars. What do you need, little brother?"

Her eyes sparkled brightly as she looked at Leylin appraisingly, "Of course, a young nobleman like you would want our best rooms. Not only will it be for you alone, but you will also have an enthusiastic maid serving you. It's not too expensive, and it'll only cost you two Dambrath gold coins per night…"

Leylin clearly felt the power of an enchantment coming from her eyes, but it was completely useless. His spiritual force had already reached 8, and this was nothing.

"I need a single room. Giant, Cyclops and Hulk will have a medium-rank room. The rest will all stay in ordinary rooms," Leylin confidently gave himself the best room, and placed his two officers as well as a soldier from his family into the medium-ranked room. The rest were given ordinary treatment. This was only right, it wasn't like gold fell from the sky.

The bunch of common pirates were already grateful to have the chance to stay in such a luxurious inn. If Leylin wasn't afraid that he would find all his men's corpses in a dreadful ditch on the second day, he would have planned for them all to stay in the Scarlet Tiger itself.

"You can all leave after you receive your room number and key. I have have one requirement: you must all return at night!" Leylin's announcement immediately attracted a burst of cheers from the pirates behind him.

After the period of killing, and the battles with the wind and waves, these pirates had long been physically and mentally exhausted. They wished to let off some steam.

"If you have any requests, remember to call for me." The fox girl boss twisted her slender and supple waist as she brought Leylin to his room, leaving behind a string of coy smiles as she left him at the door.

Cyclops had his ear pressed against the door, and nodded after a moment, "Boss, she's gone."

Leylin was rather speechless at his method, but this was Cyclops' territory. There were too many methods and means to obtain information, and he didn't particularly care to dispel the enthusiasm of his men. He simply nodded and said, "Do you know why I called all of you over?"

"Boss, if you have an order then just tell us!" Giant scratched his head. His coarse face made him look a little foolish, but Leylin had once seen him sturdily squeeze the heads of two enemies until they directly exploded. He wasn't fooled by his appearance whatsoever.

"Mm, the men have gone out to indulge in drink and pleasure. Watch them closely, and don't let them stir up any trouble. This time tomorrow, I want all the information on Pirates' Cove here, understood?"

"Aye, boss! I'll watch those scallywags!" Cyclops licked his lips, smiling sinisterly.

"Very well, go out and have fun!" Leylin threw three small money pouches to them, and the experienced Cyclops immediately knew it was the merry clinking of gold coins.

"Blimey! There's a bonnie gift, boss, thank you!" After opening the money pouch and seeing the golden light that spilled out, Cyclops seemed to forget himself. Even the silent Hulk had a different look in his eyes.

Even though he put overwhelming pressure on them, he still had to fall to using money to bribe them in the end. Leylin did not have any other ideas; he needed special means to build a pirate crew that was capable in battle.

Leylin only rose to his feet after the three had left, and began to appraise the room with his hands held behind his back. The deluxe room was worth its price of two gold coins a day. Not only was it very spacious, with rather opulent decor, it even had its own washroom with a gleaming white porcelain bath crafted by elves, a precious luxury even on the mainland.

"May I ask if the guest is here?" Just when Leylin was preparing the bath, the tender voice of a girl came from outside the door, making Leylin furrow his brows.

"What's the matter?"

"I-I've come to pour hot water for you," the girl outside the door seemed to be rather uneasy and disturbed, which made Leylin feel rather curious. There seemed to be many maids who engaged in part-time work at the inn, but this maid's performance was particularly interesting.

"Come in, the door is unlocked." As the door opened, a half-elf girl in a maid outfit walked in, with wheat-coloured skin and a tall and slender body. She wore a pair of black silk tights, and looked extremely suggestive.

'A half-elf? No, this is…' Leylin's eyes suddenly narrowed.

Cry for Help

Elves were a populous intelligent race that all lived a secluded life on an enormous island. There were however remnants of some branch families on the mainland. They lived well under the protection of the elven god, and were blessed with good talent and long lives. Many of them made prominent contributions to the arts.

Naturally, elven slaves were highly sought after. Despite the protests and warnings of their race, their price had only increased, with wave after wave of adventurers hunting for them.

Half-elves were more common than purebloods. They still inherited the elfin beauty and elegance, and most of them stood out in terms of appearance, which had led to several disasters. It was not particularly surprising to see a half-elf maid in Pirates' Cove, but Leylin's expression had changed in spite of that.

"What's your name?"

"My name is Karen, respected young master!" The 'half-elf' forced a smile. It appeared that she was not very well trained, and could not properly display her bodily assets to her customers.

"It looks like you haven't been doing this for very long, how much are you for one night?" Leylin asked directly.

This sort of sudden humiliation made Karen want to clench her teeth, but she held herself back and revealed a dazzling smile, "One Dambrath gold coin…"

The price was a little high, but Leylin still nodded, "It's a reasonable price, especially for a half-drow like you…"

The moment he called her half-drow, Karen rose up angrily. She was like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on.

"How do you know that?" she blurted out. She immediately covered her mouth, but clearly realised that she'd already all but confirmed it.

"Your eye colour. The colouring agent you used to stain it can't fool me. You ears are also pointier than normal mixed-bloods by 12.4%, and they are slightly concave…" Leylin lightly pointed out the gaps in her disguise. His sharp observations made Karen subconsciously take a few steps back.

The corner of Leylin's mouth tilted up in a smile as he saw Karen's stats:

[Name: Karen, Rank 5 Assassin, Race: Half-Drow. Stats: Strength: 1 (3), Agility: 2 (5), Vitality: 0.5 (2), Spirit: 3, Feats: 1. Night Vision: Dark elves have the ability to see even at night. 2. Shadow Perception: Dark elves are sensitive to shadow particles, and are innately gifted assassins and pirates. Status: Poisoned by unknown toxin, causing strength, vitality and agility to fall!]

Karen's physical stats somewhat surprised Leylin. She even had the abilities of a rank 5 assassin, but some unknown poison had taken control of her, locking half of her strength away.

It was very clear that the person who controlled Karen from the shadows only thought that she was an ordinary half-elf, otherwise they would never have let her come here. Would that not be like sending someone out to assassinate himself?

Leylin smiled faintly. This rank 5 assassin could not touch even a hair on his head.

"Haven't dark elves always lived underground? How could you appear here, and even take up this line of work?"

Dark elves were a type of elf which were rumoured to live in the darkness. They had awoken the dark nature in their blood, becoming extremely brutal. They longed for violence, blood and chaos, and had separated from the regular elves to move underground. Some rumours said that their gifts in bed could make both men and immortals die of pleasure, that it was comparable to charm and pleasure magic.

"I'm a halfblood. I moved out from the underground with my clan, but we were all scattered in an attack. When I woke up, I was on a trading ship which was later attacked by the Barbarians…" Leylin's eyes seemed to be filled with magic charm, and Karen could only helplessly tell her story.

'No wonder… Half-drow really don't differ too much from half-elves, and only a specialised scholar would be able to tell the difference. She's a rank 5 assassin, and she did not have enough power to fight back against the entire Barbarian pirate fleet, not to mention that she was affected by the toxin's restrictions… Of course, an assassin's camouflage and disguise abilities could let her fool others, so that they thought that she was an ordinary half-elf.'

Something dawned in Leylin's eyes as he said, "And after that you were controlled by the pirates, and now work for them as a maid?"

"Yes…" Karen nodded, and her eyes seemed to fill with momentary hope. She immediately knelt on the ground, looking up at Leylin, "Sir! I beg you, please save me from this hellhole!"

"Save you?" Leylin had an evil smile on his face as he sat back down, "Why would I save you? Give me a reason."

Even Leylin had to admit that Karen was a rare beauty, especially with her eyes which were like the ocean waves. Her unique charm gave him a subconscious favourable impression of her.

"I…" Karen bit her lip, "I'm a rank 5 assassin. If you can save me, I'm be willing to serve you for a hundred years. I swear it in the name of the Dark Maiden!"

The Dark Maiden was a god who tended towards the good alignment, and could not be reconciled with the gods that other dark elves believed in. If Karen believed in this god, then perhaps this was the reason why she had been driven away from the underground.

"Why would you do that? Can't you save up money to buy back your freedom?" Although she seemed rather out of practice, this was clearly not the first time she had done this sort of thing. This sort of life wasn't completely unsuitable for a half-drow, and Leylin couldn't think of why she would want to pay such a huge price for freedom.

"Is their price very high?" Leylin could only guess.

"No!" Karen's lips curved into a rather heartbreaking smile, "They won't ever let me go. As a slave, I don't have the authority to buy my freedom. After I can't be a maid anymore, those barbarians will sacrifice me to their gods…"

Leylin realised that the barbarians had saved her for some bloody and violent sacrificial rituals. Seeing Karen in that state, perhaps she had recently seen this happen several times, and so she began to plan her escape, begging Leylin for his help.

Even though she was pleading for help, she would meet an even worse fate if she asked the wrong person. Leylin seemed to have an air of nobility about him, and Karen was sure that he was not a pirate.

As a result, after realising that her cover had been broken, Karen immediately asked him for help. She almost did not mind promising to become his slave instead.

'He's a young man after all, if I could charm him…' her eyes were filled with anticipation.

As a half-drow, she was born with the knowledge of how to handle males, and did not require further education on that matter. Although Leylin did not look too easily charmed, she was quite willing to at least try. When she thought of this, Karen's heart seemed to be fired up, leaving two faint traces of a blush on her face. She appeared even more charming and lovely.

"A rank 5 assassin?" Leylin looked as if he was thinking over the matter with some difficulty, making Karen reluctant to mention her thoughts.

"You… Do you know anything about sailing?" After a long moment, Leylin stopped pondering and asked this question.

"Sailing?" Karen was shocked dumb. She originally thought that Leylin would come out with an outrageous request, but she had long made her mind up to use all her techniques to mesmerise him. She never thought that he would ask such a completely irrelevant question.

"Yes, I am a pirate captain, and I'm in need of sailors to be my underlings." Leylin waved his hand and seemed to admit it very reluctantly. There was a trace of humour in his eyes, as if he was playing a joke on her, and Karen immediately knew that he had seen through all her plots.

"I… Honestly I don't, but I will work hard to learn. I beg you, Sir," Karen wanted to come up to Leylin and hug him, but Leylin nimbly dodged her.

"Then it looks like you aren't much use to me," Leylin said, making Karen's heart completely sink.

"However, since you're a dark elf, and you lived in the Underdark before, then you're slightly worth something," Leylin continued, his voice drifting into Karen's ears and raising a thread of hope once again.

"Tell me, Karen, are you willing to become my dagger in the shadows, to help me dispatch my rivals, and drink the blood of my enemies?"

An invisible hand tilted Karen's chin upwards, making her eyes widen considerably. "Mage Hand! You're a wizard!"

This nobleman had come to a port where pirates fenced their goods, and although she did not know why, all Karen could see was opportunity! "I'm willing! In the name of the Dark Maiden I swear this— I will become your sharpest dagger!" Karen respectfully knelt down on her knees, making a strange gesture with her hand.

"Very well," Leylin nodded. He really had recruited her on the basis of her being a half-drow assassin.

After all, he currently lacked a spy network and assassin group. Since Karen had recently lived in the Underdark, she would have good experience and knowledge in torture and interrogation as well as assassination. As a rank 5 professional assassin, she was just barely good enough to be of use…

Tillen

"Very well, I'll speak with the boss later about the issue of your ransom," Leylin promised, rubbing his hands together.

"Many thanks, master!" Karen immediately began to address him differently. Although she currently looked like a weak little elfling, Leylin knew that once he cured her of her poison and armed her with a sharp dagger, this half-drow would immediately become a powerful god of death in the shadows.

After she had thanked him, the room's atmosphere immediately grew awkward.

"Master… Would you like me to call my sister maids over?" Karen twisted the corner of her skirt, and looked extremely embarrassed.

"There's no need. Didn't you come to help me pour the hot water?" Leylin smiled faintly. The bloody battles and the accumulation of a great deal of life energy had left a fire in him that needed quenching.

"Yes, master!" Karen's lips curved into a charming smile, and the entire room was soon enveloped in a layer of youthful lust.

Breakfast in the Barbarian Inn was a rich affair. The staples of fluffy and soft wheat bread and milk were present, and the intoxicating aroma of cheese and fried eggs was in the air. There were even several strings of juicy berries in a rattan basket nearby, to tempt one's appetite.

There was a white napkin around Leylin's neck as he enjoyed his meal with fluid movements. Karen sat on his side and occasionally stole a few glances at him with a blush on her face. These gestures made Leylin smile inwardly; she was a very lovely creature indeed, and he had exceedingly enjoyed his stay last night.

The half-drow seemed to have special talent in that area, but Leylin was not some incapable youth himself. His strength was too much even for a dark elf.

At this moment, Cyclops' voice came from just outside the door, "Boss, can we come in?"

"Enter!" With Leylin's command, Cyclops, Giant and Hulk entered the place all at once.

Looking at the massive dark circles and bags under their eyes, it was easy to tell that what kind of merriment they had gotten up to last night. Even after they had diligently cleaned themselves, Leylin could still smell a strong stench of alcohol and perfume on them.

Cyclops and the others noticed Karen by Leylin's side, but the three pretended as if they hadn't seen her, their eyes filled with a rather questionable smile.

"I'll leave for now, master," Karen said after seeing the others enter. She knew that Leylin had things to discuss with his subordinates, and smartly prepared to leave despite not finishing her breakfast.

"No need. You're one of us now, so you should stay and listen," Leylin said, motioning for Karen to stay.

Cyclops was shocked at this action, and he looked over the girl in appraisal. She was certainly just an elfling girl, and also a part-time prostitute, so why would she be recruited by the captain of their crew? However, since this was Leylin's decision, they could not object to it.

Leylin picked up the white silk napkin and wiped the corners of his mouth before turning to Cyclops and the others, "So, how was last night?"

Cyclops knew that Leylin was naturally not enquiring about what mischief they had gotten up to. He cleared his throat, and began revealing the information they'd found, "Boss! I've already fully found out…

"In Pirates' Cove, there are several merchant families that are interesting in our goods. However, our biggest patron is the boss of this inn… Haha."

"That fox girl?" Leylin nodded, "What offer has she made us?"

"860 Dambrath gold coins for the whole lot! This price is rather average amongst the offers we have received, but it would be the safest option," Cyclops spat fiercely before continuing, "Other families may have offered us a higher price, but I can tell with just one eye what they are planning. Those fuckers!"

Cyclops was a pirate after all, and he subconsciously exploded into foul curses. However, Leylin did not mind the merchants. Pirates' Cove had a mixed bag of characters, and it was not surprising that a pirate would have their own ideas and want to devour their fleet and their goods all in one go.

Compared to this, as the Barbarians were the biggest players in Pirates' Cove, it was entirely normal for them to take in these stolen goods to sell them for a profit.

"Mm, this price isn't bad." Although Leylin had buckled down on a pile of sugar for himself, the rest of his goods were worth at least 3000 gold coins and above. Since they were stolen goods and therefore 'dirty', Leylin would be satisfied with a small profit after it had changed hands a few times.

"This is a detailed map of Pirates' Cove, including the locations of all the churches!" Hulk respectfully handed a sheepskin scroll to Leylin, and also brought a reply from the shipyard, "The shipyard's owner has already had a look at the Scarlet Tiger, and has said that there shouldn't be any problems repairing it. However, the owner said that it would be impossible to magically refit the ship. As for the cost, he will need at least 300 gold coins more…"

"Our little bunny rabbits played hard last night, but nothing big happened. They only had a fight with a few other drunkards," Giant triumphantly announced, and just looking at his face one could tell that he did not lose the fight.

"Mm, we'll rest here for 5 days. Hand the maintenance duties over to the shipyard owner, and ask him to finish the work as quickly as possible. We can make some concessions on the price." It was only routine ship maintenance, and was not as if the ship's entire keel was being replaced or massively refitted. In this world of extraordinary ability, if the shipyard master could put in all his effort to quickly complete it, there should virtually be no problems.

"Rest assured, boss!" Cyclops beat his chest confidently, taking control of the task. Hulk, who stood at his side, had a rather gloomy expression on his face.

Leylin pretended not to see this sort of infighting amongst his men's factions. As long as it didn't interfere with his or the others' ability to fight, he didn't particularly want to intercede.

"Mm, so Cyclops can sort it out. Hulk and Giant, come with me to get rid of the goods and hire some men as well."

"Alright!" "Yes boss!" Since Leylin had issued the command, everything proceeded as expected.

The main hall of the inn was not as noisy as it had been last night, but there were bits of debris on the ground, and even drunkards on the floor.

"All of you, take this drunkard who can't pay my money back to the docks. Put him in hard labour, and give him a harsh whipping every day until he pays back his debts. Don't let him leave until then," the fox girl boss from yesterday ordered the two barbarians from behind the counter, her hands on her hips.

"Oh, young master! Why have you gotten up so early?" After seeing Leylin, her expression quickly changed. She eyed Karen who was standing to one side, and under her piercing gaze, the elfling couldn't help but unconsciously shrink back.

"Unless you're dissatisfied with Karen's service, in which case I'll swap her for someone else for you!"

"No, no need. She's very good," Leylin scratched his nose, "I still don't know my lady's name?"

"Haha, my name is Tillen. You can call me Madam Tillen!" Madam Tillen smiled amorously at Leylin, a smile filled with the charm of a mature woman.

"Mm. Dear Madam Tillen, I want to talk about our transaction, and about this maid's ransom as well," Leylin said directly.

"Ransom?" Tillen swept her eyes across Karen, her eyes filled with a special look, "Well, it looks like our Karen has satisfied the young master well…"

Tillen seemed to yawn lazily. "This isn't the place to talk, follow me!"

She swayed her sinuous hips as she left, leaving behind the strong fragrance of her perfume. Leylin smiled a little before following Her into a small room.

Madam Tillen brewed a floral tea that was said to come from the elves, and waited until white steam had risen before a shrewd expression appeared on her face. "You've asked me for my name, young master, but I don't know how to address you."

"You can call me Leylin," Leylin replied with a smile. Since he wanted to form an alliance with her, trust was crucial. She was only asking for his name, which she could have easily found out later with some investigations.

"Alright, young master Leylin!" Madam Tillen crossed her long, slender legs, her fiery fox tail caressing her supply waist.

"I can take charge of the negotiations for the goods, but Karen is a slave of our inn. If it's to do with her, I don't have the authority to deal with this matter."

"I know everything here is the personal property of the Barbarians!" Leylin smiled as he rubbed his hands.

*Crackle!* A powerful electric current flashed, filling the room with a piercingly bright light.

"Since it's like this, call the person who can make a decision here." He followed up in a deep voice, his powerful magic force lingering near his body.

"Wizard! You're a wizard!" Madam Tillen's voice grew somewhat shrill, and it was clear that she had not discovered Leylin's identity.

A noble wizard was very rare in the outer seas. On top of that, Tillen realised that the energy undulations rolling off of Leylin put his strength higher than rank 5. A wizard of that level was a decent adventurer, and could even have a stronger master backing them!

'A wizard named Leylin… That's enough for me to find out who he is!' Unless he used a fake identity, Tillen was certain that Leylin would not be able to escape her information network.

"I never thought that my guest would be such a powerful wizard," Tillen clasped her hands to her bosom, inadvertently revealing a wide and creamy expanse of her delicate skin.

However, Leylin made very clear the division between business and pleasure, "When is your boss coming over?"

"Don't be in such a hurry! The latest you'll meet him will be tonight," Tillen threw a flirtatious glance, "Before that, our store has many things to pass time with, does my guest care to have a look?"