"Sir! We've received word — those savages at Pirate's Port seem to be on the move!"
Such a large-scale mobilization of manpower couldn't possibly go unnoticed by other powers. Before long, a report had already made its way into William's hands.
"Barbarian pirates? Bring me the sea chart!"
William set down the copper monocular in his hand. The feeling of power surging through him put him in an excellent mood.
Beneath his feet was an enormous three-masted sailing vessel, over three hundred meters in length with a displacement exceeding five hundred tons. Both the deck and the hull were covered in a layer of magically enhanced armor plating.
Such a terrifying warship was the very symbol of supremacy and invincibility on the open seas.
Atop the warship's flagpole, a black flag bearing a ghastly skull fluttered ceaselessly in the wind.
The Black Skull! One of the three great pirate crews operating in the outer waters of Danbress! They boasted over three hundred elite pirates under their command, more than ten large warships, and their flagship, the Black Skull itself, was a formidable vessel that had undergone magical enhancement!
At this moment, a young pirate stepped forward and unfurled an intricate sea chart beside William.
"My thanks, Captain Clo!" William nodded politely.
This Captain Clo possessed luminously fair skin, a high forehead, a nose ridge as straight and firm as a snow-capped mountain, and eyes that were narrow and elongated like willow leaves. His entire person radiated an aura of delicate fragility and bewitching allure, but William would never dare underestimate him in the slightest.
Because this Captain Clo was also a high-level expert of the fifteenth rank or above! The very leader of the entire Black Skull pirate crew!
That fragile exterior was merely the influence of his bloodline!
A bloodline bearer! This was not a profession, but an innate talent! Having inherited the tremendous power of one's ancestral bloodline, one not only possessed a physique far superior to ordinary people but could also awaken quasi-spell abilities as one aged and uncovered more of the bloodline's potential.
However, due to the limitations of the bloodline, the spells a bloodline bearer could cast were not only extremely limited in type but also restricted to a set number of uses per day.
Nevertheless, even the ability to trigger the simplest zero-level spells was still quite a boon for high-ranking warriors.
What's more, the bloodline's amplification made bloodline bearers' spellcasting astonishingly fast — nearly impossible to guard against.
For this reason, many people described bloodline bearers as fortunate souls blessed by the gifts of their ancestors.
And this Clo was not only a fifteenth-rank or higher Ranger, but his bloodline bearer level was also remarkably high.
Of course, the influence of the ancestral bloodline also meant that his personality harbored many cruel and violent tendencies, making him a demon lord–level figure across the entire open sea.
However, the Black Skull pirate crew had recently submitted to Marquis Louis, and Clo's attitude had become quite agreeable.
Perhaps the credit also belonged to the high-level mage Boruger, who had been accompanying William all along.
Even among high-rank profession holders, a mage's capabilities far surpassed those of rangers and bloodline bearers. Given sufficient preparation time, a high-level mage could even face several times his number at the same rank.
As a maritime noble, William understood these fundamental truths well enough.
After measuring out a stretch of sea with a vernier scale, William rolled up the chart: "They only departed from Pirate's Port yesterday. At this distance, they'll need at least two more days to reach the battlefield. That gives us more than enough time to annihilate the Scarlet Tiger pirate crew..."
"When the time comes, please leave that Scarlet Sorceress to me!" Clo bowed with elegant grace, looking for all the world like a refined and courteous noble — no one would ever connect him with the notorious pirate lord.
"No problem!" William's brow furrowed momentarily before smoothing out just as quickly.
He stood on the deck, gazing at the numerous warships trailing behind them — more than thirty in total. "Pass the order! We increase speed and aim to destroy the Scarlet Tiger within a single day!"
The flag signalman immediately climbed to the lookout post and began issuing commands.
The entire fleet surged forward in unison, a spectacular sight to behold. Among these ships, the majority bore the Black Skull's markings, with only a handful flying the Tiger Shark pirate flag — yet William didn't dare look down on them in the slightest.
Alongside the fleet, there were also numerous white lines cutting through the water.
Countless dorsal fins broke the surface, resembling countless scales gleaming under the sunlight with a dark, lustrous sheen.
These were artificially tamed tiger sharks! The Tiger Shark pirates' main force!
In the deep sea, packs of tiger sharks were an absolute catastrophe! They could effortlessly capsize a vessel, then leisurely tear apart their prey's flesh in the ocean.
"Heh heh heh... It seems Jodamo's little darlings are getting impatient, wouldn't you say?"
Clo called out flirtatiously to the shark-merfolk behind him.
"That wizard named Leilin — I'm going to tear the bones from his body inch by inch, then let the children feast on every last scrap of his flesh..."
As a shark-merfolk, Jodamo resembled a hybrid of shark and human, his entire body covered in tough shark skin. When he smiled, he revealed a row of saw-like teeth, the corners of his mouth stretching all the way to his shoulders.
That enormous maw could swallow a grown man whole without the slightest effort.
William swallowed quietly. "In the rumors, the Tiger Shark pirates had some connection with the Merfolk pirates. After the Merfolk pirate crew was destroyed, Jodamo even went after the Scarlet Tiger several times, but they always managed to escape..."
"That Merfolk pirate crew's captain — he was your illegitimate son, wasn't he? Rest assured, this time there'll be no escape!"
Clo's eyes gleamed with a bloody light as he ruthlessly laid the secret bare.
"Clo! When this battle is over, I'll twist your head right off!" Jodamo opened his mouth, revealing a terrifying tongue lined with sharp barbs. "I've been wanting to taste the flavor of a bloodline bearer for a long time..."
"Enough!"
Just as William was frowning, preparing to rein in his bickering subordinates, an aged voice rang out with a peculiar cadence.
High-level mage Boruger, leaning on a slender black staff, slowly made his way onto the deck.
Though he appeared to be nothing more than a withered old man on the verge of death, with only a faint spark remaining in his eyes, neither Clo nor Jodamo dared dismiss him in the slightest.
A high-level mage! A spellcaster who had mastered tremendous power — anywhere they went, they commanded widespread reverence.
"Master Boruger, your timing is perfect!"
With Boruger's arrival, William seemed to gain an additional measure of confidence.
"I hope you can use the Advanced Communication Spell to notify the commander of the family's armed fleet. Tell him there's no need to come — he simply needs to hold those savages at Pirate's Port in place for a while..."
William's eyes now glowed with shrewd intelligence. "Although they won't make it to this battle no matter what, I still feel somewhat uneasy..."
The Advanced Communication Spell — a communication technique that only high-level mages could master. Both in range and convenience, it far surpassed all other methods.
Of course, even Leilin at his current level could not employ such a technique. It was simply a matter of insufficient mage rank.
"Rest assured!"
Boruger gave the two pirate captains a long, searching look before turning and retreating back into the cabin.
"Gentlemen, regarding this annihilation battle, I have a few more thoughts. I'd like us to discuss them together..."
As if completely oblivious to the dark looks in their eyes, William wore his most sincere smile as he called Clo and Jodamo together.
...
While they were drawing up their battle plans, a steady stream of intelligence was converoning on Leilin through various channels via every available avenue.
"Mm. William's main force consists of two large pirate crews, with high-level mage Boruger providing protection. They've already reached the Tempest Strait?"
Leilin gazed at the enormous sea chart mounted on the wall, pressing small flags into place.
"Yes. And Marquis Louis's slave-catching fleet has now relocated to Haige Island, blocking the savages' only route. It'll be a drawn-out process before either side can determine a victor..."
At Leilin's side, only Isabelle and
"Good. Just as we predicted — they've committed their last reserves."
Leilin clapped his hands. "Is everything ready?"
"We've made contact with the other party. After payment in gold coins, they handed over all the goods without any fuss. Everything is safely stored at the predetermined location..."
When Reynold said this, his voice was trembling slightly.
Even with his natural talent for command, he was staggered by the sheer audacity of Leilin's gamble.
"Proceed according to the established plan. Maintain absolute secrecy. Let's go meet with the other pirate captains..."
Leilin clapped his hands, deciding the fates of countless people, then strolled out as though nothing had happened.
"To think that killing thousands wouldn't weigh on his conscience in the slightest — is this the bearing of a truly powerful individual?" Reynold murmured, following behind Leilin.
On board the Scarlet Tiger, the great hall blazed with light. Numerous pirate captains sat along both sides of the long table, with their elite pirate lieutenants standing behind them.
"Chief!" "Chief!!"
Leilin swept into the hall with Isabelle and Reynold and took his seat at the head of the table without ceremony.
He cast a casual glance over the assembly. After a year of expansion, while their elite forces hadn't grown much, the Scarlet Tiger pirate crew had nonetheless swelled to over five hundred members. Both familiar and unfamiliar faces of various captains materialized before his eyes.
"I've gathered you all here today because we're going to take on the Black Skull and the Tiger Sharks!"
Leilin's voice was low and heavy, stating his purpose with blunt directness.
The moment the words left his mouth, a wave of murmurs rippled through the hall. Those familiar with Leilin — One-Eye, Hulk, and the others — merely fell into contemplation, while the rest of the pirates erupted into an uproar.