Hearing the pirate’s questions made it clear that Arthur had not fallen into their hands. If the destination of Arthur’s escape had not been the harbor from the start, then there were many other possibilities to consider.
Realizing that Arthur was the one who got away, Lumiere did not know what kind of emotions he should be feeling. Should he hate him? Should he be jealous of Arthur’s good luck?
Why did that guy get to escape? Why wasn’t he suffering the same pain as himself? He felt a sense of injustice. Because his heart harbored hatred for Arthur, it was only natural for these wicked thoughts to exist.
Even if Arthur was his own brother.
Although they were blood brothers sharing the same lineage, as members of the Amidal royalty, they were merely enemies who happened to be familiar with one another. This was something decided from the moment they were born.
There could only be one heir to the throne, and only one qualified successor could exist. Their father, Spartacus, had no concept of familial affection, nor did he possess any of the beautiful emotions found in the world. He balanced the power of his three sons, letting them slaughter each other in secret. The son who could kill his brothers without leaving a trace was his most perfect masterpiece.
This was the trial passed down through the generations of the Amidal royal family. There was no family love in Amidal, and this was not the first time Lumiere had felt Arthur’s murderous intent. Truly, that man wanted to kill him at every waking moment.
Any weak thoughts of showing mercy to Arthur due to their blood relation had been discarded by Lumiere after witnessing his brother’s undisguised loathing and hatred.
His previous efforts to express that he had no hostility toward Arthur were nothing more than the self-deception of a fool.
As of today, Lumiere decided to join this battle for the throne. This was his way of declaring Arthur his enemy. Since Amidal had no need for family affection and was always seeking to bury his dreams of a future, he would give up on everything as well. Whether it was Arthur or Caesar, he would fight to the end against the brothers who wanted him dead.
Since Arthur was his enemy, Lumiere actually looked forward to him being captured. If he could see the pathetic sight of Arthur being escorted by pirates, he would surely laugh out loud. Look! This was the end his damnable elder brother deserved!
The bond of brotherhood was the root of deep-seated hatred. If he and Arthur were not brothers, they would not have become enemies who wished for nothing more than each other’s deaths. Perhaps they could have been companions.
The searching pirates were already walking toward him, but Lumiere’s hatred for Arthur gradually subsided. At this point, hatred was useless. After falling into captivity, he was completely cut off from seeing Arthur again.
That fellow Arthur had luckily escaped. If he were a bit more fortunate, he could take a lifeboat back to Amidal territory. The transport ship was only about a two-day voyage from the Amidal coastline.
Upon returning to the country, Arthur would surely report this pirate attack truthfully. Their father, Spartacus, would definitely dispatch the naval fleet. If the [Sea God] was completed, capturing or killing Molly would be inevitable. However, Arthur would surely do everything in his power to interfere, making sure that Lumiere would not be rescued for as long as possible so that he could suffer more days of torment as a prisoner.
Until the moment he could no longer block the Amidal fleet’s movements, Arthur would send his subordinate slave girls to act in secret. In the chaos of the pirates’ total defeat, they would kill Lumiere and destroy his remains, leaving no evidence behind. One threat to the throne would be eliminated, leaving only the death match between him and Caesar.
Such a future was not the one Lumiere wanted, but it was a future he had no choice but to accept.
“The Princes of Amidal—the Second Prince Arthur and the Third Prince Lumiere. Where are they?”
A bloated dark shadow loomed over his head. Lumiere slowly looked up, staring calmly at Peng Peng.
After waiting a long time without receiving an answer, Peng Peng skillfully pulled a tube of truth serum from his waist. He was about to raise his hand to pry Lumiere’s mouth open with brute force, but his movements froze for a split second.
The noble before him was unusual. He was a young man dressed in white finery, certainly no older than seventeen, yet his expression was exceptionally calm. There was no panic, anxiety, fear, or despair in his eyes, nor any intention to beg for mercy. Having witnessed the deaths of other nobles who underwent interrogation, this boy did not burst into tears or beg for his life.
“My name is Lumiere Amidal.”
From beginning to end, this youth did not set aside the dignity and nobility inherent to his rank. Hearing his words, it did not sound like he was being forced to answer a question; rather, he was declaring his true name of his own volition, faintly exuding the aura of a king.
A sense of inferiority suddenly welled up in Peng Peng’s heart. He felt as though his current actions were an egregious crime. However, he quickly pushed that emotion to the back of his mind. Being of low birth, he truly was not good at dealing with great figures.
Peng Peng put away the truth serum and untied Lumiere’s restraints. He helped him up and signaled his subordinates to stop searching for Arthur and Lumiere. As long as one was found, the whereabouts of the other would no longer be a secret.
They had to find Arthur as quickly as possible! Someone had already sent a distress signal to Amidal. Peng Peng knew that every second they stayed on the transport ship brought more danger. He did not dare underestimate Amidal’s strength. The priority was to evacuate immediately; there was no time to waste on nobles.
They needed to get Arthur and Lumiere onto the ship as soon as possible, then fire the signal flare to remind Leader Molly to retreat!
“So it is Prince Lumiere. Time is tight, so I’ll ask you to point out which of the nobles present is Prince Arthur. This should be an easy task for you, wouldn’t you agree? You wouldn’t want to be the only one suffering, and I’m sure you’d be happy to see Prince Arthur fall to the same fate.”
Peng Peng was well aware of Amidal’s cruel and heartless method of succession—how they destroyed familial bonds to eradicate all beautiful emotions and mold cold-blooded tyrants. As members of the Amidal royalty with succession rights, Arthur and Lumiere were brothers who wished for each other’s deaths. He believed Lumiere would cooperate and reveal Arthur’s location.
Even if Lumiere foolishly clung to brotherly affection—after all, Leader Molly had mentioned he was a weakling—Peng Peng had a backup plan. The Amidal royalty were not affected by curses, so Lumiere could betray Arthur without being killed by a curse.
That meant the truth serum could be put to real use.
“I don’t know where Arthur is,” Lumiere said, shaking his head with a cold gaze. “Oh? In that case, I’ll have to offend you. It’s a pity, Prince Lumiere, but the secrets you want to keep will still be squeezed out of you until not a drop is left.”
“Oh? In that case…” Peng Peng realized something and instinctively covered his mouth, blocking the words that were about to come out.
Why?! Why did Lumiere say exactly what he was about to say? Did he see through his thoughts?!
“You’re a truly foolish fellow! Are you still hanging on to that pathetic brotherly love?” Lumiere laughed self-mockingly before returning to a flat expression. “You bastard, what kind of sorcery did you use?”
“Why can you see through my thoughts? The words you were going to say next were those, right?”
“You!” Peng Peng was shocked beyond measure, but he quickly regained his composure. Even if Lumiere could see through his thoughts, so what? He wasn’t a threat at all!
With a grim face, Peng Peng poured the truth serum into Lumiere’s mouth. He had planned to use force if the boy resisted, but to his surprise, Lumiere was extremely cooperative, swallowing every drop of the serum without missing a bit.
“Speak! Where is Arthur!” Peng Peng kicked Lumiere over and barked at him viciously.
“I told you already, I don’t know. Can you not even understand that, you moron?” Lumiere stood up shakily and wiped the blood from his mouth. Even though Peng Peng had held back most of his strength, a kick from a Diamond-level powerhouse had still injured him.
Peng Peng was highly dissatisfied with Lumiere’s answer, but since Lumiere had drunk the truth serum, his current claim of not knowing Arthur’s whereabouts was the truth. Why did things have to become so complicated!
Did they have to search the entire transport ship for Arthur’s location now?! Just thinking about it gave Peng Peng a massive headache.
What is that bastard thinking! Peng Peng cursed Arthur in his heart.
They had planted spies inside the transport ship, so they knew its layout perfectly before the operation.
the pirate strategist had anticipated the nobles’ movements once the raid broke out. Anyone with a brain would know that the eastern harbor, where a large number of lifeboats were moored, was the best escape route. Sure enough, they had nearly wiped out the nobles by targeting the harbor first.
Except for that outlier, Arthur! Was his thinking different from regular people?!!
If they only captured one prince, it would be hard to explain to Leader Molly. Her temperament was already unstable; once she exploded, there was no telling how many people would have to die before she stopped!
“Is a storm coming? It should be a natural phenomenon… When Leader Molly uses her racial talent or is in a foul mood, it does cause terrible weather. We have to hurry.” While panicking, Peng Peng noticed the sky grew increasingly gloomy. He concluded that this was a phenomenon triggered by Molly using her racial talent.
At this point, his subordinates could only run themselves ragged trying to capture Arthur. He only hoped the prince hadn’t already escaped on a lifeboat.
But how could that be? They had blocked off the north and east, and the south was Leader Molly’s battlefield. If Arthur were still there, he would definitely be captured.
The only remaining possibility was the neglected western side.
“This is Peng Peng Rachel. Have you spotted any lifeboats? Is anyone trying to escape?” Peng Peng used transmission magic to contact the pirate ship surrounding the western side of the transport vessel, questioning a messenger pirate.
“Yes! Lord Peng Peng! Someone did indeed lower a lifeboat from the hull. Our ships have already surrounded it.”
“Well done,” Peng Peng praised. If Arthur was on that boat, they would have accomplished a great feat.
Peng Peng remotely commanded the pirates, ordering them to capture the personnel on the lifeboat as quickly as possible and force them to drink the truth serum to find Arthur Amidal, who might be among them.
With his orders given, Peng Peng signaled his subordinates to turn the ship’s cannons. They prepared to fire upon the surviving nobles; they were no longer of any value.
“No one gets away.” Peng Peng ordered them to fire.
This long-planned surprise attack was perfect. Under Leader Molly’s command, the fame of the Sea Dragon Pirate Group would spread across the entire ocean!