Chapter 654: Hun Tong Will Also be Used by Me
The fishman youngster remained unaware of the sudden turn of events involving the big guy. His attention was currently focused solely on one thing.
Paying attention to Dao Hen meant neglecting other areas.
Through Dao Hen, the fishman youngster closely monitored Tan Mo's movements.
Tan Mo had already engaged in combat with Cong Mang.
The two fought back and forth on the sea surface, locked in a stalemate.
“Take this! Ha ha ha!”
Cong Mang's pirate ship rammed into the Treasure Chest, its deck planks connecting. Instantly, a large number of elite pirates surged across the planks and stormed onto the Treasure Chest's deck.
Numbering over a hundred, these elite fighters were all bald, wielding long clubs, and clad in light green monk robes.
This was Cong Mang's ace unit—the Hoodlum battle squad.
Leading the charge, the Hoodlum battle squad swept through the Imperial Navy ranks with whirling clubs, forcing them into retreat.
“Fall back inside the ship and hold your ground! Wait for Lord Tan Mo to eliminate the enemy, and reinforcements will arrive!” The first mate bellowed deliberately, directing the naval forces to retreat.
The Treasure Chest's interior was layered, offering considerable depth.
“Charge in! Slaughter them all! Ahahahaha!” The pirates, now dominant, were brimming with morale.
The Hoodlum battle squad charged at the forefront, cutting through the defenses with ease.
“The Imperial Navy isn't all that, huh?”
“Slaughter them all! Loot everything!”
“Let's see who can kill the most imperial sailors!”
“Careful! This ship seems to have spatial alchemy devices. It's absurdly huge inside!”
The pirates were unaware this was a deliberate concession by Tan Mo's forces.
They charged in, swiftly securing the first three levels. Upon reaching the fourth spatial level, they smashed through the door and stormed into the prison cell holding Hun Tong.
Hun Tong lay motionless, eyes tightly shut, deep within unconsciousness.
Seeing his luxurious attire, the pirates assumed he was a high-ranking naval officer. Without a word, they hacked and chopped at him with swords and axes.
Soon, they had hacked him into a bloody pulp.
The surveillance system in the ship's hold recorded the entire scene.
After the pirates stormed out, shouting and brawling, Dao Hen, shrouded in Deceptive Disguise spell and Anti-investigation and Prophecy spell, addressed Hun Tong: “Do you believe me now?”
The real Hun Tong was still alive.
It turned out that under the order of the fishman youngster, Dao Hen had secretly come here to warn Hun Tong: Tan Mo planned to use the pirates to kill him.
Dao Hen never revealed his true form. To Hun Tong, he appeared as a mysterious figure shrouded in black mist. Hun Tong couldn't even discern his specific race.
After Dao Hen used divine magic to save Hun Tong, the fishman youngster resorted to his old trick again, employing the Charming Blue divine spell to forge a lifelike “Hun Tong.”
The fake Hun Tong, empowered by a series of divine spells, easily deceived both Tan Mo's faction and the exploited pirates.
Hun Tong stared at his own corpse, then scanned the surveillance runes lining the cabin walls. He remained silent, his face expressionless.
As a ruling lord and noble of the Empire, his loyalty to the Sheng Ming Empire was unwavering. He had never imagined Tan Mo would seek his death.
Yet now, the evidence is undeniable. He could not help but believe it.
Seeing Hun Tong's silence, Dao Hen, guided by the fishman youngster, did not force the issue. Instead, he said, “Come, let's step outside and take a proper look.”
Hun Tong followed Da Han through the pirates' lines, stepping over the bodies of pirates and naval soldiers alike, exiting the hold onto the Treasure Chest's deck.
Standing on the deck, they witnessed the entire confrontation between Tan Mo and Cong Mang, culminating in Cong Mang's apparent “defeat.”
However, Cong Mang and his crew never got the chance to capitalize on their victory.
Once the first mate and his men truly exerted themselves, they “struggled” to repel the pirates, driving them all off the Treasure Chest.
After being “defeated,” Tan Mo, spitting blood, fled back into the Treasure Chest.
Cong Mang wanted to pursue, but was repeatedly hit by the Treasure Chest's cannons, forced to watch helplessly as the ship “escaped.”
Tan Mo ordered his naval forces to secure the battlefield and conduct post-battle cleanup.
Soon after, he arrived at the dungeon where Hun Tong was imprisoned. Staring at Hun Tong's decapitated corpse, he nodded with satisfaction: “Old man, you've been left behind by the times.”
In his eyes, the matter had been concluded perfectly.
"No, it's still some distance from being resolved." The fishman youngster thought this while observing Dao Hen.
This corpse of Hun Tong was fake, so it had to be disposed of.
Dao Hen and Hun Tong lay within the ship's hold.
Shrouded by divine magic, even at this close distance, Tan Mo remained utterly unaware.
Hun Tong's face turned ashen.
He had seen it with his own eyes and heard Tan Mo's words with his own ears. Ironclad evidence revealed a brutal truth—that treacherous bastard Tan Mo actually intended to kill him!
"How dare he treat a powerful ruling lord, an imperial noble, this way! What audacity!!" Raging fury blazed in Hun Tong's eyes.
Dao Hen watched Hun Tong's grim expression with keen interest.
His mood was delightfully light.
Seeing this formidable enemy of the fishman clan, the very man who had imprisoned him, now cornered and betrayed by his own people brought Dao Hen genuine delight and satisfaction.
“My Lord, serving you is the most righteous and honorable act of my life.”
In that instant, Dao Hen's devotion deepened once more.
He waited patiently for a moment before addressing Hun Tong: “Now, you should fully understand your situation, shouldn't you?”
Hun Tong looked at Dao Hen, his face betraying undisguised suspicion and apprehension. "Who exactly are you? What are your intentions in saving me?"
Following the fishman youngster's instructions, Dao Hen did not reveal his identity.
Seeing Hun Tong ask this question now, a sense of superiority and control over the situation surged within him.
Dao Hen said: "You'll know in the future regarding our identity."
“As for saving you, it was naturally to enter into a contract with you.”
With that, he handed over a scroll inscribed with divine script.
Hun Tong didn't recognize the Charming Blue divine script. Even if he did, the scroll was imbued with the fishman youngster's divine magic, making it impossible to discern the true form of the script.
Hun Tong's eye twitched. “You want me to work for you? At least let me know who you are!”
He was cautious, yet deep down, he hadn't given up hope.
In Hun Tong's view: he had merely been betrayed by Tan Mo's treachery. He remained the ruling lord of Two Eyes Island; his foundation still stood. Once he returned to the Empire, he himself would be the best witness to convict Tan Mo.
“The Empire is just.”
“By then, with the Empire's power, I'll eliminate Tan Mo and return triumphantly to Two Eyes Island!”
“But for now, I must play along with these people...”
Hun Tong felt a deep sense of apprehension toward the divine magic displayed by the fishman youngster.
He and Dao Hen strolled about the Treasure Chest with such brazen ease that no one could detect their presence, sending a chill through his heart.
Dao Hen snorted coldly: “Cut the nonsense!”
“What you need to know, you'll find out when the time comes.”
"Just sign it already. You're nothing but a sacrificial pawn. Did you really think we came here just to rescue you?"
Hun Tong fell silent for a moment.
The situation was crystal clear.
The moment Dao Hen removed the divine spell binding him, he would be exposed right under Tan Mo's nose. Then, death would be his only fate.
A wise man knew when to yield.
Hun Tong had simply failed to recognize the truth before, misunderstanding his true predicament.
Now, Tan Mo had perfectly helped him see it all clearly.
So, in the next moment, Hun Tong obediently took the divine scroll, signed it without even glancing at it.
He couldn't read it anyway.
Besides, he had no choice!
In his younger days, he might have fought to the death, resisting fiercely. But now, he was old.
He had been old for a long time.
He had toiled for most of his life to build a foundation like Two Eyes Island.
He still wanted to return there.
"Hun Tong is a man of exceptional business acumen. Such men are often the most adept at compromise and cooperation, they've grown accustomed to it," the fishman youngster thought to himself.
Seeing the contract successfully signed, he knew his assessment of Hun Tong's character was correct.
Dao Hen was right about one thing; this was indeed a strategic but not crucial move.
Yet the fishman youngster's reason for saving Hun Tong wasn’t quite what either Dao Hen or Hun Tong had imagined.
“Hun Tong expanded the Empire’s borders, repelled attacks from the fishman clans, and protected the territories, he did not betray his noble duty.”
Such a loyal man, yet because his bribes were insufficient, he fell prey to the nation's parasites! This is unjust to him."
“In the future, let him testify against Tan Mo, and let Tan Mo receive severe punishment, that is justice!”
“Moreover...”
Moreover, as a secret agent, Tan Mo still sought to trouble the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, planning to extort them.
'The enemy of my enemy is my friend.'
In this situation, Hun Tong was the sharp blade the fishman youngster had prepared for Tan Mo!
After all, Tan Mo wasn't just an imperial spy, he's also a naval commander. The dragonman youngster can't confront him directly.
Not a single survivor wished to antagonize the Sheng Ming Empire, not even Cang Xu. Everyone was still preoccupied with atoning for their sins.
Tan Mo stepped out of the cabin.
He immediately issued orders.
First, have the Navy properly bury Hun Tong's body.
Second, instruct the Navy to perform only minimal repairs on the Treasure Chest.
Third, dispatch subordinates to relay a request to Ice Sculpture Island for port repairs.
What Tan Mo didn't know was that Dao Hen, along with Hun Tong who had a hate-filled gaze, stood not far behind him. Through the cabin door, they watched him silently.
The fishman youngster withdrew his divine spell, pulling his focus back from Dao Hen.
"Xiao Guai is about to leave the Magnet Archipelago. Keep an eye on him during the voyage."
“Hun Tong is temporarily under my command. Since Tan Mo intends to head to Ice Sculpture Island, let Hun Tong and Dao Hen accompany him.”
“Next, we'll wait for an opportunity to leave this place.”
The fishman youngster shifted his focus to the interior and exterior of the Ocean Mother Nest.
Teacher Si Ling wasn't setting up additional magic formations but was conducting inspections.
Through the Deep Sea Monster Fish's logs, the fishman youngster realized this was already his third inspection.
Soon, the third inspection concluded, and Teacher Si Ling nodded slightly with satisfaction.
“Now, I'm about to begin. Watch closely,” he instructed Cang Xu and Jian Gui, yet this only drew Zhou Zhang's even more intense scrutiny.
This level of attention was practically indistinguishable from outright surveillance.
The next moment, Teacher Si Ling activated the magic formation.
Brilliant light erupted outward. This time, there was not a trace of divine power, it was pure, unadulterated magic power.
Within seconds, the magic aura swelled to staggering, overwhelming proportions.
Zhou Zhang was initially wary, but gradually, her expression grew peculiar.
She realized that while the activated magic formation projected an intimidating display of light and aura, it yielded no tangible effect whatsoever.
“What exactly is this Teacher Si Ling trying to do?” Zhou Zhang wondered inwardly.
Not only was she puzzled, but so were Cang Xu, Jian Gui, and the others.
They too sensed no practical outcome materializing.
Yet aboard the Deep Sea Monster Fish, the fishman youngster's expression underwent a dramatic shift.
The instant the magic formation activated, he sensed it!
“Something... something significant is being birthed.”
“This aura...”
“It's connected to the gods!”