If Alka was overwhelmingly pursued, a cat-and-mouse game, then Julia's group was playing a strategic game.
The enemy captain, the strongest, was chasing Alka.
Though they were scattered, at least the enemy they faced wasn't very strong.
They didn't need to act weak like Alka; they just needed to play their cards right, fighting and retreating.
This way, the enemy would fall deeper into the trap.
And then, they would be completely captured.
"Hurry up, everyone! If you keep dawdling, the enemy will all be gone."
The scruffy old man, slapping the slower pirates with his cane as he ran,
Julia, fleeing in the distance, was almost out of sight.
One of the pursuing pirates suddenly tripped while passing between two trees.
The moment he fell to the ground, something pulled his head up, and a bloody streak appeared on his throat.
Blood gushed out.
"Haha, ugly bastard!" Er's voice echoed from the branches, and she poked her head out, grimacing at the pirates below.
Faced with the sudden death of their companion, a quick-witted pirate nearby threw a dagger.
However, Er, grimacing, was quickly dragged away, a thin string tied around her waist.
"Goodbye, ugly bastards."
"Is that little thing one of theirs?" some pirates asked.
"Hurry and chase them! Stop talking about this."
The slovenly old man knew that Alka and his crew had puppet-like members, so he wasn't surprised.
It seemed they had sent a signal to the crew on their ship.
...
At this moment, a pirate ship over 50 meters long was sailing near the edge of the island.
A jet-black sail hung from the earthy brown hull. A white skull, pierced through the head by a dagger, was painted on the black canvas with white paint.
This clearly indicated their status.
There were only six crew members on board, all gathered on the deck.
One was manning the rudder, steering the vessel slowly around, while the others observed the surroundings.
To be able to operate such a large vessel with such a small number of people, it was clear that this pirate ship was also a spellcraft.
"Haven't you found that damn ship yet?"
The man at the helm asked loudly.
"No, keep circling. The captain has ordered us to keep a close eye on that ship."
"This island is quite large. This is really troublesome."
The ship continued to circle the island. The ship they were looking for was none other than Alka and his crew.
Their mission was to keep a close eye on the Dawn's Voice, preventing its crew from abandoning their crewmates on the island and escaping.
They would certainly have done so, so they naturally had to prevent others from doing the same.
After all, the treasure was essentially stored on the ship.
It was understood that Alka and his crew rarely returned to town.
If the ship had escaped, they wouldn't have been able to recover much treasure.
However, their luck didn't seem to be on their side. Even after speeding up and circling the island for most of the way, they still couldn't find any trace of the Dawn's Voice.
It was as if the ship had vanished into thin air. "Damn it! Where the hell did they go? They can't possibly have gotten away."
"That shouldn't be the case. After all, the captain and his men are still on the island. They've only just started, how could they get away so quickly?" another pirate said after a moment's reflection.
"Go faster! Maybe they're on the other side."
The helmsman, helplessly maneuvering the rudder, had to accelerate again and begin searching.
Just behind the ship, the waves began to stir unnaturally.
Like bubbling, something seemed to be trying to emerge from the sea.
First, a lookout tower appeared, followed by the tall mast and furled sails.
The lookout was a small flag on top, with a compass eye pattern on it.
Then a three-meter-long cannon barrel emerged, its black muzzle already trained on the pirate ship ahead.
Clearly, the attack from behind was a long-planned one.
The men on the ship finally noticed the movement behind them.
"Behind! Look behind, is that the ship we're targeting?"
"It seems so. Hahaha, it's finally revealed."
Just as the pirates were rejoicing, one of them glared with rage, his expression terrified.
He shouted, "Stop laughing! Run as fast as you can! Run as fast as you can."
"Why? We've found the enemy ship."
"You damn fools! It emerged from the sea! You should gouge your eyes out and feed them to the fish!" the pirate roared.
His voice was filled with urgency and despair.
Hearing this roar, the smiling pirates realized the seriousness of the situation.
A ship emerging from the seabed.
Isn't that a ghost ship?
This is a ghost ship. Its owner must have treasure.
But they've never heard of it, which means the enemy has kept it a secret.
As for the captain and the others on the island...
They no longer want to dwell on it. They just want to get away quickly, as far away as possible.
But it's clear they no longer have a chance.
A ball of gray light shot out, landing precisely on the rudder.
The helmsman and a pirate beside him were swept away.
Without even a scream, a flash of white light appeared.
A dent remained, and everything around it vanished.
"A perfect hit! I hit it real hard," Jason said with a smile, looking at his pinpoint target.
Although a cannon is different from a gun, it doesn't affect his accuracy.
Simon waved his hands, and the treasure on his right index finger shimmered.
"Then it's my turn."
A gap opened in the shielding on either side of the Dawn's Voice, and one circular construct after another flew out.
Like a swarm of bees, they flew towards the pirate ship ahead, unleashing a red beam.
The first thing to burn was the black sails on the masts, along with some of the ship's speed-controlling spell arrays.
Even though the sails were made of sturdy, fireproof material, they were pierced like paper by the red beams.
The black sails slipped away, and the ship's speed dropped by a knot, as some of the spell arrays were destroyed.
The ship's speed continued to decrease, but it didn't stop completely.
Several winged puppet girls, flapping their wings, flew towards the enemy ship like streaks of light.
Aside from one pirate, whose limbs were pierced and who lay wailing on the deck, all the other pirates were dead.
The puppet girls began to take over the ship, destroying some of the spells and taking control of the pirate ship.
Soon, Simon and Jason boarded the pirate ship.
"A spell-cast ship... How dare these pirates leave so few people on board?"
"If you knew, wouldn't you be a pirate?"
The two chatted back and forth, strolling around the ship.
Jason looked toward the island.
A white bird was returning to its nest.
"It's almost night."
Hearing this, Simon looked up and smiled, "Wouldn't that be our home turf?"
"So I'm lamenting for our enemies. May the Virgin Mary grant them a quick death."
Jason folded his arms, as if praying earnestly.
At this moment, on the island... All the white birds that tried to fly toward the battlefield were tied up with a white string and dragged down.
Unbeknownst to the pirates on the battlefield, the white birds had returned home.
They would fight Alka and the others at night.
They were enjoying the joy of battle and treasure.
It seemed as if they still had time.
However, when the sky was quickly obscured by a curtain, they suddenly realized.
"Why is it night?"
"Night is night, what's there to be afraid of? I'm a pirate."
"But didn't the islanders say it's dangerous up there at night?"
"Is it even more dangerous than us?"
"Hahaha, don't worry about it. Those residents are just mindless natives."
The pirates seemed unconcerned about the coming of night, even showing a hint of disdain.
Even though some of their companions lay at their feet, it was clearly not the island's fault.
But their enemies.
Everyone who hadn't experienced the island's nighttime would say this until they'd spent a night outside.
…
"Oh, night has arrived," Alka, who was fleeing, suddenly stood up and said with a smile.
He suddenly didn't want to run anymore.
The pirate captain, who had been chasing him, stopped.
He looked at the darkening sky.
He glanced at Alka, who stood there, covered in blood but smiling.
"Is this what you've been waiting for? Waiting for night to arrive? Do you prefer to die in the darkness?"
The pirate captain suddenly asked with a smile.
Because Alka was now covered in wounds, even his right arm drooped.
A huge laceration had already pierced his shoulder, and his right arm was clearly useless.
He was covered in wounds, nearly disabled, and only had the strength of Nine Spirals.
So what if night arrived? He had no idea how he could lose.
He knew a little about the island's nighttime conditions, and he didn't think it would harm him.
"Now, just take me to your ship. I'm a pirate, and I'm only interested in treasure. Give me enough treasure, and I'll make sure you don't get hurt. I swear."
He approached with a smile, his steps graceful and slow, as if he were certain of victory.
He brandished his longsword.
"My crew and I painstakingly dug that out. How could I give it to you so easily?"
Alka turned, his face bloodstained, and spoke angrily.
"Hahahaha..."
The pirate captain burst into laughter, as if he'd heard a joke, and even slapped his thigh.
He nearly laughed himself to death.
"So where are you from, anyway? How could you be so naive? This is the Boundless Ocean. Here, the only beliefs are... the weak, the weak, the strong, the predators. The strong naturally possess everything."
He spoke arrogantly, even raising his hands toward the sky, as if he were truly the strongest.
However, at this moment, Alka was wearing a pair of glasses.
He looked at the pirate captain before him, his tone flat yet questioning:
"But you're not that strong, are you? You're only at the eleventh spiral, barely entering the third stage, and you can't even defeat the mayor of this town.
As a pirate, you're so content in this small town. Isn't it embarrassing?"
The pirate captain, who had been arrogantly embracing the sky, paused, lowered his head, and squinted his eyes at Alka with a dangerous glare.
"Your glasses are quite nice. It seems you don't quite understand the huge gap between stages."
He seemed to have lost his patience.
He steadied the wielding sailor's sword and swung it fiercely in Akka's direction.
An invisible, invisible attack flew out.
"Ah!"
Another wound appeared on Akka's chest, causing him to scream and step back, clutching his chest.
Blood flowed like water.
"Look, you can't even see my attack, so what can you do?"
He said, shaking his head helplessly, and reluctantly walked towards Akka.
At this moment, he suddenly stood up and leaped a few steps to the right.
A rift in space suddenly appeared where he had been, absorbing the surrounding matter.
After a second or two, it disappeared.
He turned to look at Akka, who was somewhat surprised, with a hint of despair on his face.
"So this is your plan? Is this how you wait for night to fall?"
It seems you truly don't understand the difference between stages. To me, these spatial rifts, while sudden, are not unnoticeable. How pitiful."
With this, he swung his sword at Alka without hesitation.
Another blow struck Alka's chest, forming a cross with the previous wound.
Blood gushed out profusely.
Then he leaped forward, dodging another sudden spatial rift.
"What a shame! Shouldn't I have waited until you bled dry?" he said with a smile.
Then he walked over and squatted beside Alka.
Alka was already lying on the ground, leaning against a tree, breathing heavily.
The pirate captain picked up his long sword and prodded Alka's wound with the tip of the blade.
Listening to Alka's hoarse cry of pain.
"Now, will you take me to your ship? My promise still stands. I'm only interested in the treasure on your ship."
As he spoke, he pulled a bottle of potion from his belt and gently dripped it onto a wound on Alka's thigh.
The small wound quickly healed, scabbing and leaving only a scar.
"You see, I don't mean any harm, do I?"
"Take me to your ship, and I can save your life with this potion.
If you keep bleeding like this, you won't live much longer."
Alka raised her hand tremblingly, trying to grasp the potion in his hand.
The pirate put the bottle away.
"No, no, no, not now."
He was waiting for his crew to find Alka and his crew's ship. He hadn't received any news that his crew had seen Alka and his crew's ship.
This was clearly not normal, so he was stalling with Alka.
Alka's hand dropped, revealing several cards from his sleeve.
The cards shimmered with a beautiful sheen.
Clearly, this sheen caught the pirate captain's eye.
He stared at the cards for a few moments.
His hand, enveloped in a layer of magical energy, he picked up the conspicuous red card.
"What is this? A magical item?"
He could sense the magic surging from the card, then examined the blue card.
Both cards were of fine quality, looking like expensive magical items, or perhaps even ornaments.
They seemed quite valuable.
Alka struggled to reach for the silver card.
The aqua-blue card exploded, and chains of water shot out, entwining the enemy.
The red card erupted in flames, enveloping both of them.
Alka Erka rolled on the spot, emerging engulfed in flames. He tossed the silver medal into the flames, gleaming.
Then, all the traces of burns on his body vanished, and he stood there, neatly dressed, as if he had never been injured.
He even changed some of his tattered clothes.
A mirror surfaced on his face.
Layers of giant mirrors surrounded the surroundings, forming a maze of mirrors.
A pink mist surged from his feet, covering the entire maze.
A blazing flame exploded.
A disheveled pirate captain emerged from the flames, his eyes filled with rage.
Though battered and covered in burns, he clearly hadn't suffered any significant damage.
Aside from a bloody scar on his neck, blood continued to flow from the wound, and the flesh and bones within the massive wound were clearly visible.
He gritted his teeth and dripped the entire potion into the wound.
He drew his hidden sailor's knife and surveyed his surroundings warily.
"You damned wretch! How dare you play tricks on me? I'll chop you and your crew into pieces, one by one."
His voice was filled with rage, his teeth gnashing.
The vast expanse of mirrors around him clearly had a way of affecting his perception. He could only sense the mirrors around him, not those further away.
Long knife in hand, he cautiously began to navigate the mirror maze.
The constantly appearing figures dazzled his eyes, obscuring his vision.
Forcing him to focus too much on observation, he instead focused on his pole.
He swung the knife twice.
Several mirrors were shattered by the invisible attack. Seeing that his attacks had only destroyed a few mirrors, he was clearly dissatisfied.
The mirror's strength was clearly beyond his expectations.
Looking at the pink smoke rising, he immediately covered his mouth and nose, holding his breath.
He even cast a magical shield around himself.
This thing looked poisonous no matter how he looked at it.
Suddenly, an object struck the shield.
Several cracks appeared on the shield.
The pirate swung his sword back, but it hit nothing; there was nothing there.
Only a few pieces of mirror were shattered by his invisible attack, but new ones immediately replaced them, seamlessly connecting.
"Playing tricks, delaying your own death?"
He shouted.
As he finished speaking, he distinctly sensed a different magical fluctuation and a faint sound coming from a certain direction.
This was a change only he could detect at this stage.
This was the enemy's weakness. He immediately charged forward like a chariot, brandishing his long sword relentlessly.
Instantly, he broke through a long mirror and slashed forward.
"Hehehehehehe!"
A doll box was cleaved open by his blade, revealing a laughing doll inside.
The comical face mocked his own feeble intelligence.
"Damn it!" He kicked the doll away.
He roared in anger.
He'd been tricked again.
The kicked doll exploded instantly, the shockwave sending him back several steps.
The shield on his body instantly shattered.
The moment the shield shattered.
A black sickle emerged from the side mirror and slashed down.