"My lord, the bishop of Ilmater has fallen!"
The high-ranking assassin reported respectfully to the person beside him.
"You've done well!"
Standing beside him was none other than the bishop of the Murder God from the Pirate's Port. At some point, the bishop had already arrived at the Bodi Archipelago and was hiding in the shadows. In one decisive strike, he had slain a regional bishop of the God of Suffering.
"My lord! Please accept the sacrifice of your humble servant!"
Watching a beam of light shatter amid the sea of flames—the light that belonged to the Temple of Suffering—the bishop of the Murder God flushed with excitement and dropped to his knees in prayer.
In the void beyond, it was as though a pair of powerful eyes had turned their attention here. The high-ranking assassin sensed it too—it was the power of the god he worshipped:
At that moment,
"Divine grace! It's the divine grace of a permanent level increase!!!"
The high-ranking assassin watched the light that continuously blazed from the bishop's body, along with the increasingly powerful aura, and his eyes grew even more fervent. He began to pray silently: "My lord
***
The rampant piracy continued for several days.
The Scarlet Tiger and the Barbarian Pirate Band split up and launched surprise attacks on every port and city across the Bodi Archipelago. Mixed in with them were various other pirate crews, all following their leaders with bloodshot eyes, wreaking utter destruction and seizing everything in their path. This was a feast for pirates!
Moreover, during this reign of terror, it seemed that the priests of the powerful Murder God,
In fact, rumors claimed that the chaos and slaughter had even attracted the attention of demons from the Abyss and devils from Hell!
Upon the ruins left in the wake of disaster, someone had witnessed the traces of demons and devils!
This immediately caused alarm throughout the Kingdom of Danbres. An investigation team composed of elite priests and paladins of
Accompanying this investigation team was a special envoy sent by His Majesty the King, bearing the vital tasks of confirming whether any descendants of the Golden Thistle Flower family still survived and investigating the cause of Marquis Louis's death. Of course, these were all on the surface—what truly drew people's interest was the Bodi Archipelago, this prosperous overseas territory.
Unfortunately, they were destined for disappointment. After the pirate attacks, the entire Bodi Archipelago had lost more than half its population along with most of its accumulated wealth. Several other ports and cities had been burned to the ground, becoming dead zones that no merchant would want to visit.
Overseas trade had gradually shifted to the islands of other nobles. Faolan Island naturally claimed the largest share, developing at an extraordinarily rapid pace. It had even begun attempting to fill the vacuum left by Marquis Louis, stepping into the slave trade.
At this time, Leilin gathered all of his subordinates aboard the Scarlet Tiger and announced a decision.
"I'm planning to leave for a while and travel to the continent!"
Leilin's expression was grave as he looked at his trusted confidants in the captain's quarters. This was a decision he had made after careful deliberation.
There was no help for it—he had played things a bit too big this time and needed to lay low for a while.
Moreover, the outer seas had attracted more and more attention, even drawing the notice of gods themselves. It was no longer suitable for him to continue hiding in the shadows.
"After I leave, the entire Scarlet Tiger pirate crew will be under Isabelle's command! You are to obey her orders as you would mine. Understood?"
After the other crew members had all departed, Leilin kept Isabelle behind.
"Are you really leaving?" Isabelle looked at Leilin's handsome face, a trace of reluctance in her eyes.
"There's no choice! Our situation may look excellent right now, but we still need to be careful!"
Leilin's gaze fixed on Isabelle as he began to give his instructions:
"I've gradually severed all connections between the Scarlet Tiger pirate crew and the family. This time, I even eliminated every last person with disloyal intentions. Your control going forward won't be an issue—as long as they never catch the two of us, they'll never be able to obtain any concrete evidence!"
The connection between the Faolan Family and the Scarlet Tiger was now, in reality, only Leilin himself. So as long as he left, those investigators could only glare helplessly.
On the surface, the churches of the gods and the kingdom naturally had to operate by the rules of evidence.
"Furthermore, in secret, we have already effectively parted ways with the Barbarian Pirate Band. But I'm not the slightest bit worried about them—because we have power on the surface!"
"Power on the surface?" Isabelle seemed somewhat confused.
"Yes. Once I return, I'll suggest to Father that we establish our own family's armed fleet! That's something those pirates could never hope to accomplish!"
Leilin's eyes gleamed with the light of someone who held all the cards.