"Brothers! That wizard has already run away — are we still going to risk our lives for him?"
At that moment, on the front line, an unexpected person stepped forward.
The one-eyed man suddenly roared: "Surrender now! The other side has promised to pardon all our crimes — after all, he's a marquis! What else is there to consider?"
This pirate who had followed Leilin since early on had somehow turned traitor, having long since established contact with William.
The other pirates, seeing that Leilin was indeed absent, lost morale rapidly. With further instigation by other leaders harboring ulterior motives, many threw down their weapons.
The camp gates were opened from inside. The one-eyed man stood respectfully to one side, letting Crow and the other pirates in.
Under these circumstances, even the scattered chaos and resistance that remained were of no avail.
"You did well! I'll be sure to recommend you to my father!"
William patted the one-eyed man's shoulder with great satisfaction, reducing the man to a look of tearful gratitude.
"What about Leilin and the others?"
"Rest assured — our men have them completely surrounded. Not even a bird could escape!"
The one-eyed man escorted William to the front of the council hall, where several summoned shadow leopards and dozens of pirates with strange expressions on their faces were still putting up a desperate last stand.
"What's going on? What's wrong with you people — didn't we agree on this beforehand?" When the one-eyed man saw the other pirate leaders who had been part of his conspiracy mixed in among them, his expression turned to confusion.
"You need to be careful — ever since stepping into this camp, I've had a feeling of unease!"
Boruger whispered in William's ear as several flashes of magical light flickered around him.
[Advanced Mage Armor!]
[Detect Danger!]
[Hawk Eye!]
Then, his expression changed abruptly: "No good! We have to leave — now!"
A teleportation gate materialized, and Boruger pulled William straight through it.
"Come watch the fireworks!"
Outside the camp, Leilin and Isabelle stood shoulder to shoulder, gazing at the camp not far away.
BOOM!!!
Blinding fire erupted from all corners of the camp, instantly engulfing every pirate within.
The one-eyed man stood with a dazed expression, not yet having grasped what was happening, when an enormous force struck his body, tearing his corpse to shreds.
A terrifying explosion rang out as a towering mushroom cloud rose and expanded. The violent shockwave knocked even the trees near Leilin crooked, accompanied by violent earthquakes as the ground groaned under the strain and split open in several great gashes.
"Half the profits from the Yusheng technology transfer, plus the loan from the Temple of Wealth — all converted into goblin explosives. Now that's quite the fireworks show!"
Leilin watched the explosive spectacle not far away, occasionally offering a calm remark or two.
Ronald stood behind Leilin, his eyes still filled with shock.
Filling the camp with explosives and sending both friend and foe to their deaths together — only the leader standing before him could have come up with such a mad plan.
"It's just that... even though we used a huge amount of explosives, the power seems a bit too much, doesn't it? This level — it's even beyond a ninth-rank area-of-effect spell. No! It's approaching the power of a legendary spell!"
Ronald murmured, unconsciously speaking his thoughts aloud.
Leilin chuckled inwardly. Of course this wasn't solely the doing of the goblin explosives — he had used his own expertise along with the Chip's craftsmanship to upgrade the original goblin explosives, greatly amplifying their destructive power.
Moreover, simply evading the enemy's detection had required Leilin to carry out meticulous arrangements and magical concealment.
All of this not only consumed a massive amount of wealth, but even left Leilin half-dead from exhaustion.
Still, the results were more than satisfactory.
At the very least, the Black Skull Pirate Crew would become history starting today.
As for Boruger? Leilin had never intended to let him live.
This was the disadvantage of high-ranking wizards — once they had mastered teleportation, killing them became extraordinarily difficult.
But the others inside the camp weren't so fortunate.
"Get ready — our people move in right after!"
Behind Leilin, there was a group of fierce, battle-hardened pirates, though their numbers were small — fewer than a hundred.
These pirates were Leilin's true loyalists — men selected through multiple bloody battles, whose families had all been sent to Faolan Island to be kept under control.
"Everyone inside the camp — no matter who — leave no one alive!" At this critical moment, Leilin issued his cold command. Collateral damage was no longer a concern.