"There's another gift?"
Leilin looked at the alluring fox-woman before him, a hint of boyish anticipation showing on his face.
This attitude immediately brought a blush to Madam Tyren's cheeks, and she silently cried that she couldn't handle it. "Even though I know perfectly well you're putting on an act, I still nearly fell for it…"
Tyren swayed her hips as her fiery-red fox tail drifted softly behind her. "As for the second gift — it's intelligence! Regarding the Church of the God of Assassination…"
Leilin's expression turned serious at once, and he listened carefully.
…
Several days later, at the docks of Pirate's Port, the Crimson Tiger had already been restored to pristine condition. Its blood-red dagger-and-skull banner flutter proudly in the wind.
The damage to the hull had been completely patched up, the bottom had been scraped and refinished, and even the ramming prow had been replaced. The entire warship looked reborn, making Leilin feel that his gold coins had been well spent.
Leilin stood at the very front of the deck with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing down at the hundred-odd pirates assembled below.
These were all the men he had recruited at Pirate's Port — the future backbone of his pirate crew.
Hulk and Giant had done their best, but given the tight timeline, Leilin still felt a twinge of dissatisfaction.
It wasn't about the men's attitudes. Having suddenly been told that a young boy was now their leader, it would have been stranger if these unruly pirates had submitted immediately. That wasn't what bothered Leilin.
What dissatisfied him was that these pirates were simply too weak!
True professionals were few and far between, and not a single elite above the fifth rank could be found among them. Ronald's group had turned out to be the best of the lot — which was saying something. At least most of them had seen blood before and wouldn't flinch in a fight.
As for the only few with any real capability, they all seemed to harbor unsavory intentions of their own, without even the slightest effort to keep a low profile. Leilin silently shook his head.
"Forget it. An elite pirate crew can't be built in a day or two… Hulk and Giant did decent enough work, all things considered."
Leilin sighed inwardly, then walked to stand before the assembled men.
"I am the captain of this Crimson Tiger, and from now on, I'm your boss. Anyone got a problem with that?"
He suddenly roared at the top of his lungs, his voice so powerful that it made the eardrums of many a pirate ache.
"I know… many of you don't accept me!"
Leilin's eyes slowly swept across the crowd, seeming to peer into the heart of every pirate. "Some of you are drawn by the generous pay. Some are just here for a bit of fun. And some of you are outright scheming to murder and seize the ship once we hit the open seas!"
The pirates below erupted in a commotion, but Leilin's even louder voice drowned them all out.
"But that's fine. I can overlook everything that came before. However, if you disobey orders on this ship, or fail to meet even my most basic demands, I'll twist your heads off and shove them up your arses. Are you hearing me?!"
Such brazen words immediately set off a uproar among the newly recruited pirates, and even a hint of displeasure flickered across Ronaldo's face.
"You pale-skinned little pig, how dare you speak to a lord like that! Run back to your mammy's arms and suckle her teat!"
A discordant voice rang out from the crowd, followed by a wave of raucous laughter.
"Stop hiding, 'Wet Hair' Ilan — I see you. Get out here!" The giant and Hulk were livid with rage.
"Heh heh… Brothers, are we really going to let some brat sit on our heads?"
The crowd parted, and a pirate sporting a false eye and yellowed teeth strode straight out, followed by over a dozen others.
"'Brown Tooth' Thorvald, 'Long Face' Jon Meere, 'Bloodhand' Lucas Caud, Colin Hanbury…" One name after another rolled off his tongue, and the giant's expression grew darker with each one.
These were all notorious pirates from the surrounding waters — mostly solo operators, but not to be trifled with.
Moreover, they held considerable prestige among the vagabond pirates, and even One-Eye found the situation troublesome.
"I knew you'd show yourselves!" Leilin shook his head. "So what do you plan to do? Don't forget — we're still at the docks."
The fact that they had openly come out like this left Leilin quite speechless. Even if they had outwardly obeyed while secretly plotting to seize power, he could have at least used them for a time — anything would be better than having to clean house right now.
"Nothing at all, young master!"
Ilan bared his teeth, making his yellowed fangs even more prominent. "I was simply hoping the young master would appoint me and these brothers as officers aboard the ship. That way, we could hand over a portion of our earnings to you, and also spare someone of your noble stature from risking yourself on the open sea. Isn't that perfectly reasonable?"
"Is that what the rest of you think, too?" Leilin gazed down at the newly recruited pirates.
By this point, even the dullest among them could tell this was a coordinated coup attempt, and they immediately filed in behind Leilin alongside One-Eye and the other veteran pirates, their gazes tinged with pity.
Having witnessed Leilin's ways, they understood instantly — this was the beginning of a show of force and a bloodbath.
Most of the pirates lowered their heads, though a few still shouted jeers — on the whole, it was a tacit acceptance.
A pirate's loyalty was worth about the same as a whore's chastity.
"Irlen! You've gone too far!" Ronald stepped out with his own brothers, drawing a clear line between himself and Irlen's group.
"The silent majority versus a rebellious few, then?"
Leilin smiled, watching Irlen who looked rather at a loss. There was a trace of panic in the man's eyes as well.
Clearly, after seeing Ronald come out, Irlen knew things had reached a point where they would be very difficult to untangle.
Before, with a dozen or so brothers at his side, he could hold his own against Leilin's people, and the newly recruited pirates had no reason to help outsiders.
But now, everything had changed. Once Ronald defected with part of his men, the balance of power flipped in an instant — the opposing side had surged to over thirty people, immediately intimidating the majority of the pirates.
He knew full well that with his reputation, he could get these pirates to shout slogans, but expecting them to risk their lives for him was pure fantasy!
"Damn you, Ronald, you cost me a fat sheep! Just you wait!"
Irlen cursed, gathering his subordinates to leave.
But at that very moment, death had already arrived at his side — a sleek, dark figure suddenly materialized from the void.
Shadow Sneak!
It was an assassin. Her dagger traced a graceful arc, slicing clean across Irlen's throat.
Assassin skill — Throat Slit!
A great spray of blood erupted. Irlen clutched his neck with both hands, collapsed to the ground, and struggled briefly before life slipped away.
"Anyone who dares offend the master will die!"
After the toxin had been purged from her body, Karen had finally recovered her former strength as a fifth-ranked assassin, and she immediately commanded the awe of everyone present.
Now she turned her blade of vengeance upon these pirates.
"A fifth-ranked assassin! Brothers, charge! Avenge Irlen!" A red-haired pirate who had been following Irlen immediately roared, a layer of combat qi erupting around his body.
"Nobody make a move!" Lei Lin raised his hand, stopping his subordinates from acting on their impulses.
"Perhaps you've heard that the captain of this Crimson Tiger is a powerful mage, but once you saw me, you assumed that was just a rumor…"
Lei Lin walked leisurely toward these traitors and spoke words that drained the color from their faces. At this point, many of them had already begun to regret what they had done.
"But what I'm about to tell you is… I'm sorry, but your assumption was wrong!"
Lei Lin still wore a polite smile on his face, but his actions told an entirely different story.
[Flame Burst!]
Two fireballs shot forth, and that red-haired pirate was instantly transformed into a living torch.
The sheer power of the spell immediately sent the rest of the pirates scrambling backward, their faces filled with awe and terror.
[Animated Rope!]Lei Lin pointed once more, and the useless mooring ropes on the ground sprang to life as if granted sentience, nimbly binding the dozen-odd mutinous pirates and hoisting them upside-down above the deck.
The mass of writhing ropes looked like the tentacles of some colossal monster, while Lei Lin standing before them resembled a legendary mage who had tamed a sea leviathan. The remaining pirates could not help but fall to their knees in submission.
"Ah… let me go! Let me go! This is the Pirate's Haven — you can't do this! The Savage Pirates won't let you get away with it!"
Some pirates were still struggling in their death throes, their shrill screams piercing the sky and even attracting a squad of Savage guards.
When the captives saw the guards arrive, hope flickered on their faces — but it was instantly shattered and replaced with despair.
Upon spotting the Crimson Tiger's banner, the Savage guards turned and left without a second glance, paying no heed to the carnage unfolding before them.
"This is… the treatment you get when you have an alliance with the Savage Pirates! The boss already forged an alliance with them!"
The assembled pirates submitted wholeheartedly. With the fearsome reputation of the Savage Pirates behind him and his own formidable power on full display, Lei Lin knew he had finally begun to establish genuine authority among these newly recruited crewmembers.
"Boss! Please spare us!"
"Respected and mighty Lord Mage! Lucas Cord, known as 'Red Slurry Hand,' pledges his loyalty to you…"
The pirates hanging upside down had sunk into utter despair, and many began begging for mercy.
"With traitors, the punishment must be severe — so that everyone else can see just how high the price of betrayal truly is."
Raylin spoke flatly, sending a chill through the hearts of the remaining pirates.
Following his command, the numerous ropes abruptly tightened, even cutting deep enough to draw out large amounts of blood.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bursts of blood erupted into the air, and the other pirates stared at Raylin as though they were looking upon the Devil himself, their eyes filled with absolute terror.