After several thunderous explosions, a massive number of ships sank one after another.
Watching the largest vessel, the Crimson Tiger, being swallowed by the ocean as well, William's face wore an expression of bewilderment.
"So... have we won?"
But at this moment, a far more difficult question stood before him — should they launch a landing operation?
"What should we do now?"
William looked at Borujie beside him, troubled.
"I've sensed a large number of life signatures on the island. The enemy should still be up there, but I can't pinpoint them. Even divination has been heavily disrupted — after all... they have wizards too..."
Several layers of spell-light flickered across Borujie's body. He gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
"Why attack at all? We just need to keep this place tightly surrounded. With all their ships gone, they'll be trapped on the island and starve to death. Apart from a few high-ranking ones, no one else can possibly survive..."
Captain Crowe's face wore the cunning peculiar to pirates.
"Not a bad plan, but we also need to consider the possibility that they're deliberately trying to hold us here. I'm quite worried about the family fleet over there..."
William understood perfectly well that privately recruited pirates, no matter how loyal, couldn't compare to one's own dogs. Besides, those pirates had no loyalty or honor to speak of — they were nothing but a pack of lunatics who obeyed nothing but instinct and the strong!
Just then, a communication spell flared to life, and Borujie's expression changed.
"I've received word that the Pirate's Port is dead serious this time — the 'Pirate Tide' has even erupted. The slave fleet has taken devastating losses over there, and some of their high-ranking officers were even assassinated. The God of Murder's forces are suspected..."
"The God of Murder? Damn it!"
No matter who it was, hearing the name of that mad god was enough to make anyone's face go pale. William felt his temples throbbing with pain.
At the same time, he sensed that the gazes of the two great pirate group captains standing beside him had subtly shifted.
The Louis Family had been able to keep these pirates in line largely by relying on the family's massive armed fleet. If they suffered heavy losses this time and lost the Crimson Tiger as a counterbalance, even a rebellion was possible. Ordinary methods of control would be utterly useless against people who had abandoned all scruples.
"My lord! The scout we sent out has returned!"
At that moment, a subordinate arrived with a figure clad head to toe in black form-fitting clothes.
"Master, this is intelligence from the 'Night Owl'!" The scout respectfully handed over a sealed magical letter.
William tilted his head, and a white-haired butler standing nearby immediately took the letter and began examining it carefully.
"It's clean!" After a long moment, he finally handed the document to William.
William snatched the intelligence impatiently, and a look of pleasant surprise immediately appeared on his face. "I've made my decision — we land immediately and wipe out those Crimson Tiger pirates!"
"Judging from this, they must have planted spies inside the Crimson Tiger Pirate Group long ago?"
Captain Crowe watched in silence, a sharp gleam flashing through his eyes.
"They have around five hundred pirates. If it comes to a head-on fight, are you confident you can defeat them, Captain Crowe?"
William turned to Captain Crowe.
"Without a certain number of professionals to anchor them, in my eyes, that's just five hundred nobodies! My men alone are enough to slaughter them all!" A ferocious look flashed across Captain Crowe's face.
That bloodthirsty expression sent a chill through William's heart. They say the powerful bloodline holders all have mental issues — they become more irritable and prone to rage, or bloodthirsty and insane. It really is true!
"Then it's decided! Captain Crowe will lead his people ashore with me. Qiaodamo will hold the fort here!"
William immediately made his decision. Most of Qiaodamo's strength lay in the tiger sharks in the ocean, and he had very few people who could go ashore. The consideration was quite reasonable.
"Besides, I need some merit to prove myself. As long as Teacher Borujie is here, everything will be fine!"
William glanced at the expressionless high-ranking wizard beside him, quietly steeling his courage.
Soon, a team primarily composed of the Black Skull Pirates, mixed with a small number of William's personal guards and elite members of the Tiger Shark Pirates, rowed small boats to the deserted island.
The team numbered around four to five hundred, but their level of elite training far exceeded Leilin's motley crew.
"The enemy has built a simple camp here and stocked a certain amount of fresh water and food — enough to last over two months!"
"Also, they've set up numerous traps in this canyon, mostly venomous snakes!"
The inside informant had apparently provided William with a great deal of intelligence, even including a rough map.
"With this, it's more than enough!" The bloodthirsty grin on Captain Crowe's face widened further, making one's blood run cold.
Following the informant's intelligence and the reports from nearby scouts, their group successfully navigated around the trap-filled canyon and soon came upon a simple pirate camp.
Wooden palisades had been sharpened to points, and several crude arrow towers stood watch. Numerous heads peeked out from behind, watching the uninvited guests — some letting out fearful cries.
...
At the center of the camp,
"The enemy has bypassed the Venomous Snake Canyon. We do have a traitor inside — at least at the mid-level leader rank... damn it!"
"Isn't that perfectly normal? You may leave!"
Leilin waved his hand, and a somewhat dazed-looking pirate leader shuffled out.
"Did you use Charm Human?" The person's condition was clearly poor, yet he didn't seem to be under any mental control. Isabel asked curiously.
"No! Just a simple psychological suggestion. If I were to use a charm-type spell — to say nothing of whether I even have that many spell slots, even if I did, with my current mana and spiritual power, I couldn't possibly control that many sentient beings all at once!"
Leilin shook his head. "Survival is the primary instinct of all living things. Planting a mental control imprint that overrides that instinct is extremely difficult... However, giving them a suggestion to hold out for a while longer isn't a problem at all. And that's not even counting the pack of ungrateful dogs mixed in among them, ready to open the gates and switch sides at any moment..."
"My lord!"
At that moment, Ronald entered and knelt respectfully. "All preparations are complete!"
"Excellent! Let's go out and receive them together! Otherwise, they certainly won't dare to attack!"
Leilin stood atop the fortress with Isabel and Ronald flanking him, locking eyes with a young nobleman in the opposing force.
"Is that Leilin? The Faolan baron's legitimate son?"
William was also gazing across at them.
"Yes! I've checked — it's no illusion or disguise. And the Crimson Witch is there too!"
Borujie confirmed.
"Then it's all up to you, Captain Crowe!" William glanced at Captain Crowe beside him, but the latter's eyes were already filled with an overwhelming killing intent, laced with terrifying bloodshot veins.
"No problem. And that Crimson Witch is mine."
Captain Crowe roared, "Black Skull Pirates, charge with me!"
Mass Summon Undead!
Dead Enhancement!
Skeleton Summoning!
Several spell auras flared across Captain Crowe's body in succession. First, a layer of bone armor snapped shut around him, enclosing him in solid protection.
Then the ground bulged upward as white skeletons crawled forth as if emerging from hell itself, clutching rusted great axes or broken swords, and began their assault on the camp.
"Undead creatures!" "It's undead!" The pirates on the camp walls erupted into commotion. If Leilin hadn't prepared in advance, this single charge alone could have triggered a mutiny.
"They say the captain of the Black Skull Pirates is a bloodline holder with the talent to summon the dead — it really is true!"
While these low-level skeletons couldn't inflict much damage, the impact on morale was considerable.
Leilin furrowed his brow, and several spells shot forth.
Frenzy!
Snowstorm!
Resist
Under the influence of the Frenzy spell, the low-ranking pirates roared, as if infinite power surged through their bodies. Their bows fired again and again, reducing the skeletons on the ground to piles of fragments.
"Spell abilities — their identity is now beyond doubt!"
Borujie, watching from the sidelines, nodded while harboring some disdain. Though the opponent's spell talent seemed decent, wasting spell slots right from the start was just as reckless and foolish as those bloodline holders!
"Good! If we capture him, not only can we end this battle immediately, we can even secretly extort the white sugar and fish jerky techniques from Baron Jonas!"
William was extremely envious of those two gold mines and immediately bellowed, "Whoever captures that wizard gets a thousand gold coins! And the captured women are yours to do with as you please!"
The generous reward instantly drove the pirates into a frenzy, screaming wildly as they hurled themselves at the palisade.
"Our low-ranking pirates are just too poor in quality. Even with magical support, they can't accomplish much — to say nothing of the time and range limitations of my spells..."
Seeing his men beginning to falter, Leilin couldn't help but smile bitterly at Isabel beside him.
The two then withdrew from the front line, making their way to the hall in the back.
"Prepare for evacuation!"
Leilin waved his hand, and Ronald immediately moved aside some clutter.
In the corner of the hall, a tunnel had appeared at some unknown time.
This was a secret passage Leilin had built when the camp was first established. Fewer than three people knew about it, and even Ronald had only been told today.