“Wait, that ship…” Remembering what the sunken pirate ship had been transporting, Peng Peng realized Arthur’s true objective.
“Could it be?! Your goal is the slave girl?!”
The pirate ship sinking into the sea carried the most precious trophy—a slave girl!
Lyumion heard Peng Peng’s shout. He was just as surprised, though for entirely different reasons.
Peng Peng didn’t know Arthur’s true identity; he was simply stunned that a noble would show such immense courage to confront a thousand pirates for a slave girl, valuing her life more than his own. He was truly a strange man.
Lyumion knew Arthur. That was his brother and his sworn mortal enemy, yet he felt as if he didn’t know Arthur at all, because Arthur’s current actions were completely beyond his expectations.
The man who valued his life above all else, who wouldn’t hesitate to kill his own kin, was now putting his life on the line.
If Arthur’s objective were worth the effort, Lyumion wouldn’t be surprised; instead, he would find it logical.
But now, he was placing his precious life in danger just to save an abandoned pawn.
Lyumion knew what was inside the ship overturned by the tsunami. He clearly remembered every prisoner being escorted to that pirate ship. Inside was a slave girl, Number 066, the [Cursed Doll] Karma Flame Laurel!
Using the tsunami triggered by the Meteor Spell to sink the ship transporting Karma Flame Laurel, then jumping into the sea and swimming toward the wreckage… Arthur wanted to save Karma Flame Laurel! There was no longer any doubt.
This was truly very strange.
Not long ago, Lyumion had seen with his own eyes Arthur abandon Karma Flame Laurel without hesitation, letting her hold back all the pirates while he vanished without a trace.
She was just slave girl Number 066; she could be replaced easily. That was what Lyumion thought at the time. He could understand Arthur’s actions; though he didn’t like it, it was perfectly pragmatic.
A Prince of Amidal and a slave girl were not equals. A slave girl was a tool, an object meant to sacrifice everything for her master. Neither her status nor her value could ever hope to cross that line! The slave girls Arthur owned must have undergone such brainwashing; this was the will of the King of Amidal.
Even someone as strong as Reincarnation Heavenly Prayer—she was Number 004, the slave girl with the fifth highest combat power in Amidal—if she were asked to sacrifice her life to save him, she wouldn’t blink an eye and would believe it to be her natural purpose until the moment she died.
Arthur’s act of abandoning his slave girl to escape was not a mistake. As long as he lived, he could possess more and stronger slave girls. To him, they were merely consumables.
So Lyumion really hadn’t expected that Arthur would rush into a hopeless harbor alone for the sake of Karma Flame Laurel, the slave girl he had once discarded!
Lyumion felt like he might be dreaming. After biting his tongue until it hurt, he told himself to accept the facts, as difficult as that was.
Arthur was risking his life to save his slave girl. Connecting these concepts made Lyumion feel like a madman.
Perhaps even a madman wouldn’t dare think in this direction if they knew what kind of person Arthur really was.
“It seems I need to take back my words. You aren’t as beyond saving as I imagined, my dear brother.” Lyumion lowered his head and laughed softly. He would never again claim he knew Arthur’s nature like the back of his hand.
The roar of cannon fire rang out. Shells exploded in the seawater one after another. Arthur’s situation was precarious. Lyumion watched this scene in silence, secretly making an important decision.
“I’ll give you a hand. What you want to achieve might be the very thing I hope for in the future I desire.”
A Prince of Amidal putting his life on the line to save a slave girl… Lyumion found that if this didn’t end in success, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.
He once thought Arthur was beyond redemption, a cold-blooded beast. Perhaps there was still a chance to change him.
To obtain this chance, Lyumion used transmission magic to contact Reincarnation Heavenly Prayer. Fortunately, he could still hear her voice, which meant she hadn’t been killed by Molly Sinjiya yet.
“Reincarnation Heavenly Prayer! Come back quickly!”
This decision would change the situation; Lyumion knew this.
Once she received the order, Reincarnation Heavenly Prayer would definitely eliminate all obstacles and rush to his side as quickly as possible. Even if Molly attacked, she wouldn’t care; she valued his orders more than her life.
However, if he didn’t do this, he would remain a prisoner of the pirates. Even if Arthur saved Karma Flame Laurel, it would be in vain. This was a forced choice. Even though he knew the battle between Reincarnation Heavenly Prayer and Molly would decide the overall situation, he had to interfere and force her to return to protect them.
If Reincarnation Heavenly Prayer and Molly were at a critical moment in their fight, this order might distract her and perhaps cause her to be killed by Molly. That would be the worst possible outcome.
Even if Reincarnation Heavenly Prayer could return safely to his side, the crisis wouldn’t be over if Molly lived. Molly would chase after her and join the pirates in an attack; then all of them might become prisoners.
But considering that if Molly killed Reincarnation Heavenly Prayer, they would be captured anyway, the change in the battlefield and format didn’t seem like a big problem.
Recalling Reincarnation Heavenly Prayer might be a good choice. Lyumion didn’t know if this was optimism or self-consolation; perhaps it was both.
“Stop firing! He is the one you’re looking for! Arthur Amidal!” After getting a positive response from Reincarnation Heavenly Prayer, Lyumion suddenly knocked down the pirates escorting him. Before the other pirates could suppress him, he rushed as close to the shore as possible and shouted to the ships at sea.
“Is what you’re saying true?! That man is Arthur?! Don’t lie to me!” Peng Peng shouted back at the tied-up Lyumion. He was skeptical, but then he remembered the fear Arthur’s magic tools had instilled in him. It wouldn’t be strange for a prince to have magic tools on hand. So, he ordered all ships to stop firing.
“Arthur Amidal, that’s what they call you, right?” Peng Peng signaled the ships not to act rashly. He released his mental energy to capture Arthur’s life signature and used transmission magic to relay his words.
“Prince Arthur, please surrender quietly. You have no way out. If you’re planning to rely on slave girls to counterattack, I’m afraid Chief Molly has already considered that threat. The things we fed them beforehand ensure they will be no different from ordinary people all day long.”
This was inspired by the Great Revolution five years ago. Even the racial talents of slave girls had counters. Molly was lucky enough to find such a counter-agent beneath the ocean she relied on.
Sirens’ Hair—seaweed grown from the corpses of sea monsters buried in the darkest abyss of the deep sea. Obtaining this plant was incredibly difficult, but for Molly, it was a simple task.
Karma Flame Laurel had already used a self-preservation skill at the cost of being unable to use her racial talent for half a day. Now that she had swallowed the Sirens’ Hair, she had become weaker than an average person. She wouldn’t be able to use her racial talent even after the day passed.
Arthur heard Peng Peng’s call for surrender. He felt ashamed that his name was uttered by such a lowly person, but felt nothing else.
Arthur only focused on paddling through the sea with all his strength. He never thought he would be in such a miserable state—jumping into the ocean, getting soaked, feeling the piercing cold, and tasting the salt and bitterness of the water. If anyone dared to make him suffer this treatment, he would surely sentence them to death by beheading!
—Where is she!
Arthur swam quickly while sensing Karma Flame Laurel’s location. When he saw the wreckage of the ship, he immediately dove. He had to find her before the effects of the Power of Miracles wore off.
Less than fifteen seconds left! Arthur swore he would always bring enough magic tools when going out in the future. The enhancement effects were gradually weakening, and the water pressure on his body was increasing.
When he saw Karma Flame Laurel sinking into the abyss along with the wooden fragments, Arthur dove down recklessly and reached out to grab her.
No one can take away my goodness! Arthur had fallen into a state of madness. At this moment, he ignored the mounting pain in his body. Only one thought remained—he would not let Karma Flame Laurel leave his side.
A strong, powerful arm tightly gripped a small hand.
Time seemed to freeze at this very moment.
*****
“Cough, cough, cough.”
With forceful pats on her back, Karma Flame Laurel coughed up seawater, and her consciousness gradually returned.
She remembered that after overdrawing her life force to use her racial talent, her body had failed to withstand the backlash, and her consciousness had faded.
Later, in the boundless darkness, she suddenly heard a loud noise. Soon she felt the world spinning, and her body was submerged in icy seawater. The shock woke her up; she tried to call for help, but that only caused more water to pour into her mouth.
Unable to breathe, in pain, her body falling continuously, so dark, unable to hear anything, lonely, Father… Her barely recovered consciousness seemed ready to sink into the ocean along with her body.
“Cough… Fa-Father, Father.”
Karma Flame Laurel pressed her face against Arthur’s chest, feeling his heartbeat. Her small hands grabbed his clothes, unwilling to let go again.
In the final, most desperate moment, her father had come to save her. Her whole world surrounded her once more.
Karma Flame Laurel buried her face in Arthur’s chest and began to weep quietly, but this was not an expression of sadness.
She was so happy.
“What a cowardly display. You are a slave girl, not a child. Don’t let there be a next time.”
Arthur listened to her crying with an expressionless face. He continued to pat her back with one hand while holding her waist with the other, their upper bodies floating on the surface of the sea.
“Stay by my side from now on. Don’t go running off again.”