Without asking for instructions, the two warring factions of pirates reached an agreement to obediently hand over Lumion.
Peng Peng, the strongest person present, expressed no opposition. The reason was simple: if they did not do so, they would all die.
Even though he had cultivated to the Diamond rank, Peng Peng possessed self-awareness. He recognized Rinne Tenki’s identity at a glance and stopped the reckless pirates before they could lay a hand on her.
“She is the slave girl, No. 004, the Ruler of Life and Death.”
Peng Peng felt this was not enough to explain the severity of the situation, so he added another sentence.
“She is someone who can rival Leader Molly.”
The pirates could not immediately recall who this girl, Rinne Tenki, was. However, when it came to the female demon Molly, the terror she inspired was already deeply branded into their souls.
Who was Molly? She was a truly powerful figure who could summon the wind and rain. She was the natural enemy of every living creature active on the sea. If pirates provoked her, they could basically say goodbye to the ocean and seek another way to make a living.
So, how terrifying must a slave girl be if she could rival Molly? The pirates nearly lost their courage just thinking about it. Regardless of anything else, they lost the nerve to attack Rinne Tenki, fearing they would bring about their own destruction.
The pirates maintained a deathly silence until Rinne Tenki took Lumion away by boat. Every one of them stood with stiff expressions and rigid movements, not daring to budge.
Thank God, the one who came was not someone fond of slaughter. Only after confirming the lifeboat Rinne Tenki boarded had disappeared over the horizon did the pirates breathe a sigh of relief. After a brief period of tranquility, they split into two factions again. With Lumion being taken away by Rinne Tenki, the Alliance Faction felt even more emboldened this time.
By combining various pieces of information, they now knew the visitor was Rinne Tenki — the slave girl who had fought Molly. Now that she had appeared on the pirate ship and taken Lumion, everything could be blamed on Molly.
It was because she failed to kill or delay Rinne Tenki. As for whether Molly was dead or alive, the Alliance pirates did not care. In fact, many among them were happy to hear news of her death.
However, they were destined to be disappointed. Because of Lumion’s order, Rinne Tenki had given up on killing Molly. At that moment, death had been extremely close to Molly, almost within reach.
Molly survived. Driven by feelings of resentment and grudge, she utilized her racial talent, [Sea Royal Holy Beast], triggering an unprecedented mega-tsunami. When her mind cooled down, she realized she no longer had enough power to control the tsunami.
Molly could only reap the harvest she had sown. Even if the tsunami was stopped by the Rinne Tenki she hated, the pirates must have suffered immense losses. Her crew would surely be treated with hostility, and it was only natural for the Alliance pirates to betray her.
When she reached the harbor, Molly saw the ship waiting to receive her. However, it was merely a dilapidated wooden boat. Recalling the past scenes of being surrounded by crowds of followers, Molly felt it was deeply ironic.
After reuniting with the various pirates, Molly returned to her own pirate ship without saying a word. Her ship was the first to leave, and the Pirate Alliance dissolved right then and there.
***
Three days later.
Inside the cabin, Molly sat on the bed alone with her hair disheveled, hugging her knees. Prior to this, she had already heard her subordinates’ reports regarding the profits and losses of this operation and had received compensation bills from other pirate captains.
To the other pirates, the raid on the Amidal transport ship was somewhat of a success. To Molly, it was a total defeat.
Molly had united the other pirates to attack the slave transport ship not for the slaves or the riches, but because there were three important figures on board: Lumion Amidal, Arthur Amidal, and Rinne Tenki. Capturing these three was Molly’s most important goal.
The result, however, was that she had captured not a single person. Even one of the two slave girls captured earlier had been rescued by Arthur. Only the [Shadow Spider] remained imprisoned on the ship. This time, the loss was truly too pathetic.
“Molly is tired. Keep the [Shadow Spider] and use all other spoils of war as compensation. Goodnight.”
Dressed in pajamas, Molly curled into a shrimp-like shape while hugging her pillow. After nodding with certainty at her own command, she slowly closed her eyes and soon fell into a dreamland.
At this time, Molly had not yet noticed that two ‘rats’ were lurking on her ship.
The two ‘rats’ had actually introduced themselves to one another. They threatened that if one was exposed, they would drag the other down as well — if they were going to die, they would die together. Thus, the two were currently getting along peacefully.
This peace would one day be broken.
***
Flashback to three days ago.
After being rescued by Rinne Tenki, Lumion did not display much excitement. It was only when he asked about Arthur’s whereabouts that Rinne Tenki’s answer shook his state of mind.
Arthur’s fate was unknown.
Lumion did not know what kind of mood he should use to face this matter. Should he pray that Arthur suffered a misfortune, or pray that this loathsome man survived the disaster?
He became hesitant again. It seemed that after witnessing a unique side of Arthur, he could no longer harden his heart. Perhaps his heart still contained a tiny yet wonderful thing called hope. Maybe it would evolve into a display of weakness and be exploited by an enemy one day.
The lifeboat was prepared with enough food and water, so Lumion spent a few carefree days enjoying the scenery of the sea. As a prince, all the troublesome matters were handled by Rinne Tenki, leaving him free of any burdens.
The troublesome matters included steering and controlling the ship’s navigation. As the sun was about to set, Lumion woke up from a nap and suddenly realized that the scenery along the way was very unfamiliar.
Lumion quickly checked the situation. The transport ship had been less than three days away from Amidal when it was attacked by pirates. Now that he had set out from the transport ship, he should have entered Amidal’s waters by now. Many island chains should have appeared in his sight, or at the very least, large areas of crimson reefs — which were a unique seascape of Amidal!
“Rinne Tenki, what is going on? Are we really heading toward Amidal?”
Lumion lost his composure and walked to Rinne Tenki’s side to ask about the situation. However, Rinne Tenki’s answer shocked him.
“I do not know.”
“You don’t know?! Hey! You don’t know how to get to Amidal? You’ve been steering the ship until now without knowing the direction? What kind of big joke is this!” Lumion felt like he was having a breakdown. What was the deal with this slave girl, Rinne Tenki?
“I followed Prince Lumion’s orders. I am to steer, and Prince Lumion is to rest.”
Lumion was speechless. He really could not argue with that. It was he who ordered Rinne Tenki to control the ship’s navigation; part of the responsibility for the current situation was his.
A slave girl prioritized her master’s orders above all else. His order was for Rinne Tenki to steer. Even if Rinne Tenki did not know the correct direction, she would do as Lumion said, seriously carrying out her master’s command.
Lumion had tried many times to cultivate Rinne Tenki’s own initiative. Looking at it now, she had made no progress at all.
If he let Rinne Tenki continue steering, he feared he would never return to Amidal. Although it was beneath his status, Lumion decided to steer the ship himself. Only when he placed his hands on the rudder did he realize he knew nothing about controlling a ship’s navigation — he was even worse than Rinne Tenki.
‘There’s no other way. I’ll just not return home. It’s not like I have anything to miss about that place anyway. I’ll take this chance to experience the outside world properly.’
The Second Prince of Amidal, Lumion Amidal, and No. 004, the Ruler of Life and Death, Rinne Tenki, stepped onto a strange land after drifting at sea for several days.
On the same day, Arthur opened his eyes and woke from his slumber.
He still remembered he and Gurei encountering the tsunami. In just a moment, his entire body had endured immense pain. Before his consciousness sank, he used the last of his strength to shield Gurei in his arms.
Arthur found himself lying on a bed, his entire body wrapped in bandages.
Arthur also realized that his situation was very bad. His body had not a single shred of strength, and his sensation of his limbs had completely disappeared. His throat felt as if it were being tortured by red-hot coals, and he craved water intensely.
It looked like he had suffered very serious injuries.
Arthur rolled his eyes around and eventually found the person he was looking for beside the bed — Hellfire Gurei. Seeing that she was safe and sleeping soundly, Arthur let out a cold huff from his nose and closed his eyes to sleep.
Half a month later, Arthur was barely able to get out of bed and walk. Thus, he revealed his identity to the few fishermen who had fished him and Gurei out of the sea and asked them what kind of reward they wanted.
The fishermen stated they had no other requests and declined the reward.
Compared to gold and silver treasures, they had something they were more interested in.
For example, the life of a Prince of Amidal.
That night, the fishermen who broke into the room holding harpoons, intending to kill Arthur, were burned to ashes by flames ignited from their own bodies. The fire then spread and burned the damp wooden house. The light of the fire was particularly dazzling in the dark night. Arthur watched silently for a while before picking up his cane and slowly leaving with Gurei.
“Gurei, accompany me until the very end of hell.”
“Yes, Father!”
The region Arthur was in was a former colony of Amidal. It was later liberated by the revolutionary army, and the people of this land hated everyone from Amidal.
***
Inside the royal capital of Amidal, the King of Amidal was summoning the survivors of the transport ship to question them personally.
“The attacker was Molly Singia. My two sons and the three slave girls were likely captured by her, correct?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
General Bar Balma, who had found the transport ship based on the distress signal, stated that what they said was true and that, theoretically, it was impossible for them to lie.
“Bar, go and negotiate with Yanshao. Give him one month to bring back Arthur and Lumion. I also want news of the deaths of the Ruler of Life and Death and Molly Singia.”
Facing that supreme and great existence, Bar knelt on one knee and lowered his head to accept the order. Just feeling that person’s aura made him feel fear from the bottom of his heart, enduring immense pressure.
Offending the King of Amidal, His Majesty Spartacus — no matter who it was, death was the only path. This was the truth!
After exiting the palace, Bar immediately set off to meet the Pirate King, Yanshao.