Chapter 657: Rope Pirates
The fishman youngster's heart skipped a beat.
This wasn't the first time he'd received a divine revelation from Charming Blue Goddess.
The first time had been when he rescued the big guy, trying to save them from the encirclement of the earth elemental army. At the critical moment, it was precisely by following the Charming Blue Goddess' divine revelation that the fishman youngster successfully deceived the Main Earth Elemental God.
Truthfully, that first divine revelation still sent shivers down his spine.
The second time he received the revelation, he accepted it rather quickly, feeling calmer than he had anticipated.
“Come to think of it, it was Charming Blue Goddess’ and You Shen's collaboration that built this super-level magic formation.”
“Charming Blue Goddess must have known You Shen's plan, to collect and condense the death divinity here.”
“So, it's only natural that She coveted this divinity too.”
Their relationship had never been close; their collaboration stemmed from the harsh external pressures they both faced.
"As Teacher Si Ling mentioned earlier, divinity is a crucial commodity for deities. The undead orthodoxy intends to trade this death divinity with the Death God."
"Death divinity..."
The fishman youngster's Adam's apple involuntarily bobbed.
The craving within his heart grew ever more intense with each passing moment.
“I've deceived even the Main Earth Elemental God once, what's deceiving Teacher Si Ling?”
"I've arranged everything else. Dao Hen, Hun Tong, Xiao Guai, Da Dou... all fronts are secure."
“Let's steal the divinity first, then leave this place.”
A powerful intuition surged within the fishman youngster. It told him the death divinity held immense benefit for him!
What he didn't know was that while he focused on Dao Hen's side and worked to boost Hun Tong's morale, trouble had erupted with the big guy.
The big guy, Da Dou, and Hong Zhu had been rounded up.
Their bodies limp and weak, they were tightly bound by three or five types of alchemy restraints and secretly loaded onto a sea vessel.
The imperial spy codenamed Su Xing watched the ship preparing to set sail, his brow furrowed as he cautioned, “Be extremely cautious this time.”
The escort in charge of the big guy and his group was none other than the person-in-charge who had accompanied Tu Ji on their search for them in the Magnet Archipelago.
He nodded firmly. “This time, I won't make the same mistake.”
Su Xing patted his shoulder. “Tu Ji died in the Magnet Archipelago. Even with the Main Earth Elemental God's intervention, you're still in deep trouble.”
"I specifically assigned you this mission. Earning merit is secondary. My greater hope is that you can quickly establish contact with the Empire's investigators."
The Magnet Archipelago's person-in-charge nodded. “Fortunately, this time the investigator is Tan Mo.”
"He's greedy to the core, though skilled at demanding bribes, he's also reliable. Once paid, he gets things done!"
Su Xing nodded, “If you satisfy him, at least the Imperial Secret Spy Agency's investigation report will be favorable to you.”
“Ah, but this time, the Magnet Archipelago's overall situation requires my personal oversight. I can't break free just yet.”
The Magnet Archipelago's person-in-charge quickly responded with understanding: "Rest assured, Lord Su Xing. You've given me such a generous bounty this time. When I meet Tan Mo, I'll present these treasures to him. His regard for you will surely multiply!"
"Very well, very well. I trust your judgment. Otherwise, I wouldn't have appointed you to handle affairs here in the first place."
“You were defeated by your own misfortune.”
“You had the misfortune of encountering a member of the Blood Light Punishment Institution, and the even greater misfortune that he perished in battle.”
Su Xing offered a few words of consolation.
The Magnet Archipelago's person-in-charge snorted coldly: “Those from the Blood Light Punishment Institution are all madmen. Facing such reckless fools who disregard life itself, I can only accept my own misfortune!”
Su Xing patted his shoulder: "Enough said. It's time for you to set sail!"
“Yes, Lord.”
This time, the Imperial Secret Spy Agency fleet consisted of only three ships. On the surface, they were merely iron level vessels, but in reality, they were silver level ships equipped with gold level alchemy components.
Su Xing watched the small fleet depart into the distance. After a long moment, he turned and headed back.
These three captives, the big guy and the others, were crucial and needed to be delivered. For the Magnet Archipelago region was about to become very turbulent.
Imperial spies would stir the pot from the shadows, helping adventurers form groups to wage war against the earth elemental tribes of the Magnet Archipelago.
When the entire archipelago erupted in turmoil, guarding these three vital prisoners would become exponentially more difficult.
Though a fortress had been built on Feng Awakening Island, its proximity to the Magnet Archipelago meant it remained vulnerable should the Main Earth Elemental God turn its attention there again.
Besides the three, the ship was also loaded with large quantities of earth elemental magic crystals, earth elemental essences, magnetite, and other goods.
Shortly after the three imperial spy ships departed the Magnet Archipelago, a pirate crew set their sights on them.
A pirate flag fluttered in the wind.
The flag featured a pure white background, crisscrossed by numerous black lines woven into the pattern of crossed swords.
This was the Rope Pirates, a relatively newly formed crew.
The pirates had two leaders: Magician Huo Sheng and Archer Chuan Yun.
They had once been renowned bounty hunters, but with the emergence of the Pirate King's throne and the escalating piracy, they too had turned to a life of piracy.
“The Greed God Bone is reacting!” Archer Chuan Yun stared excitedly at the bone in his hand.
Through his magic crystal ball, Magician Huo Sheng observed the three imperial spy ships: “All three are magic ships. They look ordinary enough, yet they hide treasures within.”
A greedy gleam flashed in Archer Chuan Yun's eyes: The Magnet Archipelago is in turmoil. Adventurers are mobilizing to eradicate the earth elemental tribes there.
“Yet these men are leaving the islands at this critical moment. Something fishy is definitely afoot.”
“They're only three iron level ships. What are we waiting for?”
It turned out that these two, armed with the Greed God Bone that could pinpoint the most valuable items within range, had been constantly on the move.
And they'd made numerous successful hauls.
They'd unexpectedly overheard rumors of upheaval on the Magnet Archipelago, strongly suspecting a great treasure was about to surface, which is why they'd come to the vicinity.
The pair had previously landed on the Magnet Archipelago. Back then, they'd used the Greed God Bone but found nothing.
The rumors deliberately spread by the Empire's secret agents had ignited new hope within them. They reasoned that their previous failure to detect anything was likely due to the treasure being sealed or concealed, blocking the bone's sensing. Now, things were different.
They commanded their pirate crew not to rush ashore but to observe and wait.
After all, they were pirates. A rash landing carried a significant risk of provoking a joint assault from adventurers.
During this period of observation and waiting, they spotted three imperial spy ships.
Archer Chuan Yun was itching to act, but Magician Huo Sheng remained cautious: “Let me cast a spell first to probe their strength.”
After the probe, Magician Huo Sheng suppressed his excitement: “The defenses on these three magic ships are nothing special. Let's go all out and seize them!!"
The Rope Pirates charged aboard with fierce momentum.
On the imperial spy ship, their leader frowned slightly: “We've barely left the island, and pirates have already spotted us?”
“Is my luck really this bad lately?”
"Hmph, the Rope Pirates? If you want to die, then come on."
Magician Huo Sheng couldn't see through the Imperial Secret Spy Agency's disguise. When he cast his scouting spell, he triggered the Imperial Secret Spy Agency's alarm system, exposing himself first.
As secret agents, their specialty was intelligence gathering.
Therefore, when the Rope Pirates moved, they immediately confirmed their opponents' identities.
The three imperial spy ships accelerated their course.
“Stay slightly away from Magnet Archipelago. Engage near Feng Awakening Island.” The leader began laying out the tactics.
On one hand, they wanted to avoid fighting within Magnet Archipelago to prevent unnecessary attention.
On the other hand, they couldn't stray too far. If the battle turned unfavorable, they could still call upon the strength of nearby allies.
Thus, the vicinity of Feng Awakening Island was the optimal battlefield choice.
“They're running!”
“Hahahaha! Run! See where you can run to!”
The pirates grew increasingly excited, rubbing their hands together as morale soared.
Moments later, they caught up to the three imperial spy ships.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The battle erupted, and they were stunned by the imperial spies' explosive firepower.
Though outnumbered, the pirates were immediately suppressed.
This only fueled their savagery.
Archer Chuan Yun bellowed orders to charge forward for a boarding action.
He and Magician Huo Sheng launched a coordinated assault, one firing arrows, the other casting spells, attacking the imperial spies' ships from afar.
The imperial spies fought while retreating, maintaining their distance at all times.
After a brief charge, the pirates failed to board their ships. Worse, they were caught in concentrated fire during the assault, losing two more vessels.
Hordes of pirates leaped overboard in panic, throwing the scene into utter chaos.
Their morale plummeted.
“Bosses, these enemies are no joke. Let's get out of here!”
“Damn it, never expected them to be such tough nuts to crack.”
Numerous pirates had already volunteered to retreat.
Magician Huo Sheng and Archer Chuan Yun both wore grim expressions. Neither possessed leadership skills to rally their men, and their pirates were of low caliber. They could handle favorable battles, but when things turned sour, retreat was their first instinct.
“Then... retreat.” Magician Huo Sheng sighed and gave the order decisively.
Archer Chuan Yun's face turned ashen, but he offered no objection.
But just then, two gold level fighters suddenly launched a surprise attack from beneath the sea, scaling their ship and charging toward the two leaders.
This sudden turn of events sent both men into a panic, and they scrambled to retreat.
Soon, the naval battle concluded.
The entire pirate crew was annihilated, suffering heavy casualties.
Survivors were captured by imperial spies and enslaved to continue fortress construction on Feng Awakening Island.
Archer Chuan Yun perished in battle, while Magician Huo Sheng was taken alive.
As a spellcaster, he would be a high-quality slave!
Despite the victory, the fleet commander remained deeply troubled: “The pirates are growing increasingly brazen.”
“Lately, fueled by the sorrow-dispelling red wine, these sea hyenas have been roaming with wild abandon.”
“To be safe, we should still employ artificial ocean current boosters.”