Chapter 95: Pirate Assembly
Staring at the newly formed encirclement ahead, every pirate aboard the Green Skull felt as though their hearts had stopped beating.
“Fire! Fire!!!”
The pirate captain, who had maintained an air of effortless confidence the entire time, finally had his expression stiffen.
On Green Billow Star, everything had to be salvaged from the sea—including weapons.
As the pirate captain’s very first ship, the Green Skull was naturally outfitted far more lavishly than the other pirate vessels and carried considerably more firearms.
Most notably, it was equipped with a large-caliber main gun. Unlike the other pirate ships, which still relied on old-fashioned black-powder cannons, its turret could rotate, allowing it to engage targets from different angles.
Under normal circumstances, such intense firepower would damage any ship it faced, even if it failed to defeat the enemy outright.
But the Green Skull wasn’t facing another ship.
It was facing a group of people flying through the air.
They didn’t even attack. They simply circled above the Green Skull, effortlessly dodging every shell fired at them with speeds that defied comprehension.
The pirates, who had always enjoyed surrounding ordinary ships and deliberately toying with their prey, immediately realized that the enemy was now playing with them instead.
It had been amusing when they were the hunters closing in on their “prey.” But now that they had become the prey themselves, none of them could laugh anymore.
“Damn it! They’re toying with us!”
Pirate Captain Soyi was filled with regret. Who could have imagined that the Inkshadow would actually know such terrifying outsiders?
Yes, all the major powers on Green Billow Star knew, more or less, that outsiders would occasionally appear in these seas.
Some of these outsiders were weak, little more than lambs awaiting slaughter. Others were incredibly powerful and carried all kinds of precious treasures. Pirates coveted every one of them, but unless they had figured out their target’s background, only the most foolish small-time pirates would recklessly provoke them.
The Green Skull Pirates possessed eighteen large ships and an impressive arsenal of cannons. They were anything but a small-time pirate crew.
Under normal circumstances, if they encountered Blue Sea, their first instinct would have been to steer as far away as possible.
But Blue Sea had come straight for them. No matter how cautious the Green Skull Pirates were, it made no difference.
Soyi stared fixedly at the people flying overhead.
They were doing this on purpose.
They were avenging the Inkshadow while deliberately toying with the Green Skull Pirates.
Soyi racked his brain for a solution. He had plenty of valuable treasures at his disposal, but against these airborne opponents, even using every last one of them wouldn’t be enough to escape.
The fliers kept shadowing him, while a large fleet was rapidly closing in from behind. No matter how he looked at it, this was a dead end.
The first mate tried to persuade him. “Captain, the only option is to swallow our pride for now and become their sl*ves.”
Soyi’s expression darkened. He had lived in luxury for so many years—how could he willingly accept becoming someone else’s sl*ve overnight?
Clutching a crystal sphere tightly in his hand, he muttered, “What if we call for reinforcements…”
“Captain, if we call for help, do you really think those people would come to rescue us? More than half of our men are already gone. They’ll only kill you and take your ship and crew for themselves.”
The first mate had earned his position because he had a good head on his shoulders. He pulled out a soft white mask and pressed it into the captain’s hands.
“Captain, have you forgotten about this? As long as we still have it, we still have a chance to turn things around.”
The grim look on Soyi’s face gradually eased as he looked at the mask.
“You’re right, Sai. We still have a chance.”
He gazed at the ships approaching the Green Skull. Their sleek, modern hulls, their abundance of streamlined artillery, and the powerful wings carried by their people…
If he could get his hands on all of that…
Soyi turned around, removed his shirt, and pressed the white mask against his back. It writhed a few times before quickly merging with the skin on his back.
Sai stared intently into Soyi’s eyes.
“Captain, everything is in your hands now. Whether the Green Skull can rise from the ashes depends entirely on you!”
Soyi nodded grimly. He ordered all attacks to cease, had every pirate gather on the deck, and declared their surrender.
The Blue Sea residents waiting overhead for the Green Skull to exhaust its ammunition were baffled.
Huh?
They surrendered just like that?
The reason they had been hovering above without attacking or descending was actually very simple.
Everyone was worried that if they went down to attack now, the enemy might fire on them and end up damaging the ship itself.
Yes, the reason was just that straightforward.
The Green Skull wasn’t going anywhere anyway. Since they could easily dodge the incoming shells, they figured they might as well wait in the air until the enemy ran out of ammunition before moving in to finish the battle.
Yet the enemy had simply surrendered instead?
The Blue Sea residents’ first thought was: Could this be a trap?
Their second thought was: The Green Skull isn’t even as strong as a Skywing Dragon. So what if it is a trap?
Even so, to be safe, they waited until the main fleet arrived before slowly descending onto the enemy’s deck.
Why could the main fleet approach without concern?
Because the other seventeen pirate ships had already been defeated.
Soyi, captain of the Green Skull, led all of his pirates to their knees on the deck. Holding the Green Skull flag up with both hands, he declared,
“Everyone in the Green Skull Pirates surrenders. We are willing to become the lowliest of sl*ves and serve you, my lords.”
The Blue Sea residents: ?
Sl*ves again?
There were sl*ves in the Safe City, and now Green Billow Star had them too?
Cheng Qisheng, who was observing the battle, recording Cheng Anjing’s mental energy fluctuations, and casually chatting in the City Lord group chat at the same time, wasn’t surprised at all.
In a sense, the environment aboard Green Billow Star’s ships was indeed similar to that of the Safe Cities.
Residents could only follow a Safe City. Otherwise, they would be abandoned in a world on the verge of destruction.
As for Green Billow Star, the sea itself was lethally dangerous. People could only survive aboard their ships, because anywhere beyond them would cost them their lives.
This meant that, under the premise that anyone driven off a Safe City or a ship would lose their life, absolute authority inevitably rested in the hands of the City Lords and captains.
The residents of the Safe Cities and the people of Green Billow Star, stripped of any real freedom of choice, had no option but to become the ones being exploited.
When those in power realized that no matter how ruthlessly they exploited others, those people had no choice but to obey, their moral bottom line gradually eroded.
To such people, turning captives into sl*ves was simply another form of “frugality” in an apocalypse where resources were scarce.
Of course, there were also City Lords and captains who held fast to their principles, such as Qingyin, the original City Lord of Mianyin, and Yuan Moshu, the Green Billow Star captain who treated all of his crew as ordinary employees.
Captain Soyi of the Green Skull Pirates appeared remarkably composed. He was explaining to a Blue Sea resident that he possessed tremendous strength and could fight ten men by himself.
The Blue Sea resident, who didn’t consider herself especially powerful despite being able to defeat ten Green Billow Star natives on her own, was baffled.
“?”
She looked Soyi up and down.
“And?”
Soyi replied, “I am willing to pledge my loyalty to you all and become your most faithful sl*ve and enforcer.”
The Blue Sea resident frowned, gave him another once-over, securely tied him up, then turned and walked away.
Hmph. ‘Most faithful,’ my foot.
She was her god’s most faithful believer.
—Through the eyes of his believers, Cheng Qisheng was observing the layout of the Green Skull when he suddenly sensed several of them experience violent tremors in their souls, as though they had suffered an enormous psychological blow.
“My God!!”
“My God!”
Several Blue Sea residents who had entered the Green Skull’s galley with firearms to inspect the area came sprinting back out, each rushing to a different spot before doubling over and vomiting violently.
Through the chain of faith, Cheng Qisheng could clearly sense that their entire worldview had been profoundly shaken.
His believers were overwhelmed with horror, anguish, and fury. The sheer force of the emotional impact made them desperately want to fight—to throw themselves into the familiar rhythm of battle as a way to vent those emotions.
Cheng Qisheng quickly reached out with his psychic power, gently patting each believer on the head in turn, bestowing upon each of them an individual divine blessing to soothe their hearts.
“There, there. It’s alright now. You’re safe.”
The Blue Sea believers who had received the God’s blessing gradually calmed down.
They could feel that the great existence they prayed to, relied upon, and devoted their faith to was gazing upon them with gentle compassion.
“My God—”
At that moment, the Old Eighth—usually so carefree and formidable in the outside world—became like fledglings that had only just left the nest, huddling close to Cheng Qisheng and chirping their grievances.
The believers said nothing aloud, but through the chain of faith, the hazy images of what they had witnessed were already being conveyed to their great God.
In truth, Cheng Qisheng had already guessed what they had seen.
Cannibalism.
It wasn’t as though such things had never happened in Earth’s history. They were most common during ancient wars and famines. She had long been mentally prepared for the possibility of encountering such horrors in an apocalyptic world.
In fact, while she couldn’t say for certain about Green Billow Star, Velvet Star undoubtedly had similar cases. Blue Sea simply hadn’t set foot in every region of Velvet Star at the time, so they had never come across them.
But the Old Eighth couldn’t understand it.
Throughout Blue Sea’s history, people fought when they had to fight, but even during the worst famines, not a single Blue Sea citizen had ever entertained the thought of eating another human being.
They all had hands and feet.
They all possessed thoughts.
They were all human beings.
They were all children of God.
Even if the people here were not followers of their God, there was clearly still so much food in the galley and the storage rooms—enough to feed the Green Skull pirates for two full years.
Yet they had still chosen to do such a thing.
Under their God’s comforting presence, the Blue Sea believers gradually regained their composure.
The horror and anguish faded from their eyes, leaving behind only anger.
Our God loves all people—
Those who defy the divine teachings are forsaken by God.
The Blue Sea believers began repeatedly chanting hymns of praise. Doing so made them feel a little better.
“Most Holy, Most High, Most Glorious—”
And after chanting, they truly did feel better. At the very least, they were once again able to deal with the remaining matters without being overwhelmed by what they had seen.
“Like light, like the wind, like the clouds—”
—With their eyes lowered, two teams of Blue Sea believers reentered the galley. They placed the remaining human flesh into large kitchen storage crates, stuffed them with various heavy utensils, and sank them into the depths of the sea.
“Great Lord of the Starry Sea—”
—Another team of Blue Sea believers entered the lowest level, the “Meat Section,” and rescued dozens of people who, though in terrible condition, were undeniably still alive.
They had been imprisoned for a long time. When they were brought up to the upper deck, two of them thought they were about to be killed and desperately struggled to crawl back into their cages.
One of the clergy paid no attention whatsoever to the filth covering their bodies. She gently embraced the two of them, unfurling her black skeletal wings in a protective posture and softly enveloping them within their embrace.
“Our God watches over you. Don’t be afraid. You are already under Her divine protection. Come with me.”
The four skeletal wings were not soft. Without feathers, their touch could even be described as rather strange.
Yet those sheltered beneath the enormous wings gradually calmed down.
The cleric took them by the hand and gently led them onto the deck.
She carried a frail child of about three years old in her arms, tenderly covering his eyes.
Then she spoke softly.
“Those forsaken by God shall surely suffer divine punishment.”
As for where that divine punishment came from—if God’s own people carried out the sentence, why couldn’t it be called divine punishment?
The sunlight over Green Billow Star shone brilliantly, bathing everyone on the deck in its warm radiance.
The Blue Sea believers nearly filled the entire deck. Those who couldn’t find room simply hovered in the sky overhead.
Even so, they deliberately cleared an open space for the pirates, spreading a large sheet of plastic beneath them.
The pirates were herded into the center, staring at the surrounding Blue Sea believers in terror.
“No! What are you going to do?!”
The Blue Sea believers looked back at them, but there wasn’t the slightest ripple in their eyes. They looked at the pirates as if they were nothing more than stones—or trees growing by the roadside.
No one spoke.
Only the overlapping voices of countless people chanting prayers echoed throughout the Green Skull.
“Supreme Creator God—”
“Your majesty overturns the Blue Sea—”
The highest-ranking cleric raised a hand.
At once, the Blue Sea believers in front of her lifted the long blades in their hands.
Captain Soyi of the Green Skull Pirates struggled with all his strength.
“You can’t kill me! It’d be such a waste to kill me! I have power! I’m useful! I can be your sl*ve! I can help you take more ships! Bring you lots of sl*ves! You can’t—”
The next second, blood splattered across the laid-out plastic sheet.
Soyi collapsed to the ground. Even in death, he still could not understand why these people were willing to kill him when he had already agreed to surrender and become a sl*ve.
A soft white mask slipped out from the back of his body after he fell, silently landing on the deck.
The last thing he heard was the chorus of chants.
“Your mercy saves all things—”
“Your compassion illuminates the ages—”
The Blue Sea believers lifted the plastic sheet, dumping the bloodstains and corpses into the sea, where the water washed them clean from above and below.
The survivors whom the pirates had treated as food trembled all over as they watched the pirates who had brought them endless pain and despair sink into the sea.
Their bodies were too weak to even stand, so they remained seated on the deck, looking up at the Blue Sea people.
Under the gaze of the survivors, those tall figures with wings on their backs placed a hand lightly over their hearts and bowed respectfully toward the sky.
“God be above us. The Blue Sea shall endure forever.”
—
“What is this?”
Qi Yi, putting away a plastic bag from their own ship, curiously picked up a white mask from the ground.
Qi Er walked past carrying a crate of dried fish meat and craned his neck to take a look.
“Where did you find it?”
“Just on our plastic sheet. Weird thing is, it’s clearly white, but when it was on the plastic sheet just now, it looked almost transparent. I nearly didn’t notice it.”
Lu Song, carrying two crates of crystals, also came over.
“Then it must have been on the pirate. All those pirates were searched, and anything that can slip past a body search is definitely a treasure.”
After all, the Blue Sea resident responsible for searching the prisoners was a Clairvoyance ability user. In theory, those pirates shouldn’t have been able to hide anything on them except the clothes they were wearing.
A Clairvoyance ability user could see straight through to bones and blood vessels. She always accompanied the clergy, and most of the time her job was essentially serving as a walking CT scanner and MRI machine.
If even an ability user who could spot tiny bullet fragments lodged inside a Blue Sea resident’s body had failed to notice this mask, then it had to be something valuable.
“A treasure?!”
Qi Yi immediately stuck a label with his name onto the mask and placed it in the Pirate-Recovered Useful Items Area.
Heh. According to Blue Sea’s rules, if this mask really was a treasure, then as its original discoverer, he would have priority purchasing rights.
That’s right. Since this operation was a joint effort involving multiple guilds and independent participants, everyone had already agreed in the group chat on how the spoils of war would be distributed.
First, the Mind Domain Commander would calculate everyone’s overall contribution score.
This wasn’t Blue Sea Points but something more like contribution points, used exclusively for distributing the spoils from this operation. Any Blue Sea resident present could freely transfer, trade, or sell these points to one another.
How many contribution points an item was worth would also be discussed collectively in the group chat.
For example, every item placed in the Weapons Area—from slingshots to naval cannons—would be cataloged by name. Anyone with enough contribution points could purchase it outright. If someone couldn’t afford it, they could negotiate with another resident to transfer contribution points to them in exchange for Blue Sea Points or other resources.
Moreover, many of Green Billow Star’s treasures didn’t necessarily look special on the surface.
Take, for example, the pair of shoes a certain City Lord had found that allowed people to fly. Judging by appearance alone, who would ever guess that a worn-out old shoe could grant flight?
As a result, the Blue Sea residents were now bustling about like ants relocating a nest, busily searching every corner for anything of value.
Whenever someone found something, they simply attached a label with their name to it and placed it in the appropriate spoils-of-war section.
If it was a treasure, then the resident who found it would also receive a corresponding increase in contribution points and priority purchasing rights.
“I understand this rule.”
Yuan Moshu and his crew stood cautiously on one of the pirate ships.
The explanation from the other side had been very detailed, and he had understood it quickly. What he could not understand was this:
“Inkshadow had no part in the siege of the Green Skull, so why are we also allowed to come here?”
“That is because,” the cleric on the other side said, her expression calm and her tone very gentle.
If Yuan Moshu had not been watching the entire time, he truly would never have been able to tell that it was she who had ordered the execution of all the pirates without a moment’s hesitation.
“The Green Skull Pirates were chasing after you, which is why we surrounded them together with you. From that perspective, you can be allotted a small amount of battlefield contribution points. So I thought it would be more appropriate to bring you here.”
Yuan Moshu could hardly believe it. So not only had they helped him eliminate his enemies, they were even going to share some of the spoils with him because the enemy had been drawn in by him?
Was there really such a good thing in the world?
Yuan Moshu believed that people like that did exist in this world.
If the other side had not just, right in front of him, ruthlessly killed every last pirate without leaving a single one alive, perhaps he would have believed it even more.
He asked cautiously, “Then… is there anything else you need us to do for you?”
The cleric kept smiling. “Yes.”
Yuan Moshu let out a breath of relief.
Just as he thought. There was no such thing as a free lunch—that made sense.
“Just now, our people chatted with your people for a bit. It seems you are not very popular with pirates.”
The cleric asked gently, “Is that so?”
Yuan Moshu: “…Yes.”
“If by ‘chatting’ you mean that, after the seventeen surrounded pirate ships ran out of ammunition, large numbers of Blue Sea residents boarded them to fight, and because there were so many people they had to take turns, with those rotated out stopping by the Inkshadow to rest while casually talking with my crew, asking things like, ‘Want to spar?’ and then, after being turned down, laughing and warming up by themselves…”
“…then yes, I suppose that does count as chatting.”
Yuan Moshu had already vaguely guessed what the cleric wanted to say. After all, when those Blue Sea residents who had come aboard the Inkshadow to “rest” heard his crew mention that “the Inkshadow is always coveted by pirates”—
—their eyes had instantly lit up, and the look of envy on their faces had been impossible to miss.
Yuan Moshu decided to tell the truth.
“My ship was captured from the Green Skull. It seems the major pirate factions have some kind of long-range communication method between them. Ever since then, every large pirate fleet that sees me has come after me.”
The cleric let out an understanding “Oh.”
“Because of the friendship between pirates?”
Yuan Moshu: “…No. It’s because I have a super engine. Once it’s installed on a ship, it greatly increases its sailing speed. All those pirates want to get their hands on it.”
He took a deep breath, already prepared for Blue Sea to ask for the super engine.
He had made up his mind.
If they wanted it, he would hand it over.
Even setting Blue Sea’s overwhelming strength aside, they had saved the lives of everyone aboard his ship. A super engine was nothing compared to that.
But the cleric never mentioned the engine.
Instead, she simply extended her hand in invitation.
“Captain Yuan, we’re very interested in pirates. Would you be willing to travel with us?”
Blue Sea wanted both the super engine…
…and the man.
—
Wang Moning found a crystal sphere in the captain’s cabin.
Because Blue Sea used crystal spheres to test faith, she had become especially sensitive to anything resembling one. Picking it up, she gave it a gentle shake before holding it close to inspect.
Suddenly, a voice came from inside:
“The Pirate Assembly is in five months. Green Skull, are you coming?”
