The pirates constantly tried to provoke with their words, hoping that Lorraine and her companions would strike.
Then...
"Slap!"
The most offensive-speaking pirate had his face slapped, his head whipped around 180 degrees by the immense force, and one side of his face visibly swelled up.
"You... hit me?"
He stared with his eyes wide, angrily looking at... one of his pirate comrades.
Despite being constantly on guard, he never expected to be betrayed by one of his own!
"Iâ"
The disbelief was evident in the pirateâs eyes as he tried to explain that his body had suddenly stopped obeying him.
âItâs not me, my body is being controlled.â
His inner self roared in madness, but what came out was, "I slapped you indeed!"
Source Power flowed in his palm, imprinting it into the obnoxious pirateâs chest. Despite his hasty defense, the pirate still spat blood and flew back, dragging a long mark on the beach.
A Unity Realm power within the pirate group struck with a hand-blade on the controlled obnoxious pirate, and with a crack, the Stepping Void Realm pirate passed out.
There were eight pirates in the group that landed on the island, three from the Unity Realm and five from the Stepping Void Realm. Relative to their numbers, these pirates were significantly weaker than the Giant Shark Pirate Group; was the gang leaderâs bounty only five hundred or was it three hundred?
The Giant Shark Pirate Group wasnât actually weak; an eight-million bounty might look modest in the eyes of Lorraine and others, but in reality, the value of Source Crystals in the Mountain and Sea World was higher than on EarthâEarth had a resurgence of Source Qi and possessed the foundation of a top-tier Life PlanetâEarthâs total resources might not measure up to the Mountain and Sea World, but thatâs because its area was far smaller, and the resources within a medium-sized province in Daxia Country could rival those of a seafaring duchy.
For instance, the Blue Water Duchy consisted of over a dozen large islands combined, which together were twice the size of Daxia Country before the apocalypse.
If the true level of Giant Shark were placed on Earth, would it be worth twenty million? Thirty million?
Speaking of which, the adventurer guild had never issued any bounties nor were there any bounty values to refer to... Lorraine remembered that before she was summoned to Earth, she was also a part-time Bounty Hunter, naturally, her main profession was a bartender, back then she occasionally hunted some criminals. Although her strength was weak at that time, and the criminals she pursued werenât very strong either, a single job would earn her just a few hundred Source Crystals, thinking back, it really was a loss.
The leader of the Wolf Fang Pirate Group watched Lorraine and her group with a grave expression; he still didnât know who had made the move.
Nor did he expect his underlingâs trash talk to be so provocative. It wasnât them who had initiated the conversation, yet they ended up being the focal point of the attack.
Now, it was neither appropriate to fight back nor to retreat.
Suddenly, the beach fell silent, leaving only the bamboo rat Li muttering incessantly in its mouth, "Thatâs for not giving me a bounty," "Thatâs for calling me short," "This rat isnât easy to bully, squeak," and other phrases incomprehensible to everyone else.
The highest bounty "Dark Language" Mirohill also watched with interest.
It was rare to see such a bold newcomer, but it had to be said, within the pirate circle, the bolder one was, the more deterrence they possessedâprovided they had the corresponding strength.
Liâs Illusion Technique made several maliciously spirited pirates even more hesitant to grasp the groupâs true strength. They dared not take action and ceased to provoke further animosity.
Suddenly,
a small boat approached; before it reached the edge of the beach, several figures leaped from it, crashing onto the sand with a loud thud, creating several deep pits.
There were six figures in total, five draped in black robes with indiscernible faces, and another was a gaunt middle-aged man whose exposed arms were covered with sharp, blade-like white bones.
As the figures appeared on the beach, a chill spread instantly, causing the weaker Stepping Void Realm pirates to involuntarily shrink their necks.
A natural sense of fear arose towards these figures.
Lorraine was still recalling and comparing the identity of the man with sharp white bones on his arms when a sharp-eyed pirate gasped out:
"Thatâs âBone Bladeâ Avalle! A Bounty of 36 million, the second-in-command of the Abyss Pirate Group!"
"So this means..."
The sharp-eyed pirate looked toward several other figures cloaked in black robes. Among them, four appeared tall, towering over two to three meters. The last figure, however, seemed frail and short, standing at merely one meter sixty or one meter seventy, looking like a dwarf among giants.
But it was this obscured figure that people feared the most.
"The owner of the âWhite Bone Abyss,â âPale Abyss,â no one knows his origin or name, but he... his bounty is as high as 59 million..."
The speaking pirate swallowed his saliva with a gurgle, understanding that no bounty was worth facing the oppressive force before him, that he might not survive even one move against the entity of âPale Abyssâ!
Even if beings of the Unity Realm could resurrect through Blood Rebirth, the loss of Origin each time was significant. Encountering him on the sea meant there was a high chance one couldnât escape!
This was a top-tier pirate!
"I heard that Lord âPale Abyssâ once slaughtered the capital of a duchy. In terms of strength, heâs probably not far behind the Twelve Generals."
"âPale Abyssâ had the combat power of an Alternate General a thousand years ago. Now, a millennium later, even if he doesnât quite match the Twelve Generals, the gap must be small. Moreover, Iâve heard three of the Twelve Generals have fallen, so âPale Abyssâ might just seize a title this time."
The educator was a great pirate himself, merely at the Unity Realm but with a bounty as high as 19 million, which showcased his strength indirectly.
He didnât use respectful language, yet he was very certain of âPale Abyssââs power.
However, the other piratesâ focus had already shifted from âPale Abyss.â
"Wait, three of the Twelve Generals fell? How is that possible! Such big news would have surely stirred up the entire pirate circle!"
The educator pirate sighed woefully, "This happened within this year. Given the speed of news spread at sea, without my special means, you would be as clueless as the others. Ghost-faced General was ambushed and encircled by the Moonlight Empire; itâs said that his remnants are still fiercely resisting the Empire.
The other two generals fell into a sudden conflict for unknown reasons, leading to both General Level powerhouses perishing..."
The educator knew not much else, but all the surrounding pirates felt a chill.
The last time a General Level powerhouse had fallen was hundreds of years ago. Now, three had fallen within a year?
An eerie sensation was undeniably present.
"Ghost Face really did die, what a pity..."
The sibilant voice that spoke bore not a hint of actual regret. He looked towards Lorraine and the others, "Is the Deep Sea Giant Shark in your hands? Bring it out, and I wonât take it for free. Hereâs ten million Source Crystals."
The gaze of the surrounding pirates immediately fell on the Black Skull Pirate Group and the Abyss Pirate Group.
Dominance!
Unlike the others who plotted and schemed to seize the Deep Sea Giant Shark, âPale Abyssâ simply demanded it outright, leaving no room for refusal. This was the way of top-tier pirates, where might dictated everything!
If it wasnât a meeting on the Gathering Island, âPale Abyssâ likely wouldnât have offered even ten million Source Crystals.
Living ships with unique traits were valuable, but one had to be capable of defending them. Otherwise, one would end up like the Giant Shark, timidly sending only a deputy to meetings, never appearing in person.
The Black Skull Pirate Group then? Key figures were all present here, and some pirates had even spotted the Deep Sea Giant Shark surfacing, undoubtedly hiding somewhere in this sea region.
With âPale Abyssââs abilities, there was a high chance he could locate it.
The Black Skull was evidently a newcomer, lacking caution in all aspects.
Now, facing âPale Abyssâ, the Black Skull could only comply; otherwise, the death of a few unrenowned pirates wouldnât concern the Three Emperorsâas long as it didnât happen in front of the Three Emperors, as long as âPale Abyssâ was willing to pay the price, offering some treasures, slaughtering a few pirates, no one would dare speak up.
Might is right!
"Ptui!!!"
A glob of white spit flew from Lorraineâs mouth like a sniper bullet, shooting directly towards âPale Abyss.â
The surrounding pirates gasped.
To defy an Alternate General Level powerhouse like that? Ignorance truly was bliss!