After returning to the deck, Ambrose saw that the ship was already tilting dangerously to one side. It wasn’t long until they would lose their foothold.
Most of the corpses already lay lifeless on the slanted deck, their limp bodies sliding towards the edge.
“Ambrose, we have to go!” Apollo shouted as most of the crew had already returned to Black Heart, carrying everything they were able to.
Ambrose nodded, and with one large leap, he crossed the gap and landed safely on Black Heart’s deck.
Apollo was the last one to arrive at the Black Heart, and they then watched as the ship finally sank beneath the turbulent waves.
“Let’s take the treasures to the lower deck’s supply area!” He shouted, and after grabbing the treasures, they headed over to the lower deck.
The supply area was filled with crates of food, weapons, and other supplies. There were also crates filled with shiny treasures and strange artifacts.
They dumped everything they grabbed from the enemy’s ship in the middle of the room.
There were heavy boxes of ammunition and crates of medical supplies stacked high against the walls. There were also money bags spilling with coins and precious gems.
“I’ll tell Mars to come check them out.” Apollo said and was about to leave, but then Damian grabbed his arm and whispered something in his ear.
“That is dangerous.” He whispered back at Damian while others looked at them with quizzical expressions.
After a while, Apollo nodded at Damian, who managed to convince him of something.
“Ambrose.” Apollo turned to the newest recruit of the Black Heart Pirates and said, “Shall we test whether your inventory manages to hide from Mars?”
“What do you mean?” Ambrose asked with a raised eyebrow.
Apollo looked at each person in the room and said, “Grab one treasure each. We’ll try to hide those in Ambrose’s inventory, and if it works, you may keep that treasure and sell it on the next island.”
“This is lunacy!” Ors shouted with a red face. “This will never work. How could you rest our lives in the hand of this greenhorn?”
“You don’t have to participate; fuck off instead.” Damian shoved him to the side and looked at the rest of the people in the room. “Mars won’t kill us if we try to steal a treasure, so if we try this, we would probably just get slapped on the wrist.
“However, if Mars finds out we stole the Heart of the Nymn Tree. He’ll kill us. This is a good chance to test whether this inventory manages to hide from him.”
Many nodded their heads, as this sounded like a good opportunity.
“What do you say, Ambrose?” Apollo turned to him with an expectant expression. “Shall we try?”
‘This is good for me. If Mars found out that I was the only one who stole something, I might get a much bigger punishment, but if everyone was involved, I might be overlooked. Might as well.’
He nodded and said, “Let’s try it out.”
Damian grinned and was the first one to steal something from the pile of treasures, then handed it over to Ambrose.
In front of everyone’s eyes, Ambrose tossed it in the air, and somehow it disappeared like it was wrapped in an invisible cloak.
Everyone looked surprised, but then started looking for their own treasures.
After most gave their treasures to Ambrose, Ors gritted his teeth and also stole a valuable-looking gem before tossing it over to Ambrose.
Ambrose caught it and tossed it inside the inventory.
He glanced at the growing inventory, and he had never felt richer, even though they didn’t belong to him and he was just holding it for them.
“I’ll go bring Mars.” Apollo said and as he was leaving the lower deck by ladders, he whispered to himself. “I hope this works…”
“We are so dead!” In the lower deck supply area, Ors sat down on top of a crate and screamed in anguish. “Lord of the New Future and Savior of Mankind, Anti-Christ, bestow your luck upon me…”
Damian crossed his arms and leaned against a wall, with Ambrose standing beside him.
Leon, Zero, and Loki stood silently behind the treasure pile. They wore deadly cold expressions as they prepared themselves for the worst outcome.
Jake and Henri felt their hearts pound against their chests—they hoped that they didn’t look too nervous for Mars to suspect something.
After a short while, heavy footsteps came from the ladders, and soon Mars arrived with Apollo back in the supply area.
He looked straight at the treasure pile and immediately had a deep frown.
“This is all?” Mars asked and kicked down the small pile, expecting much more. “Silver, jewels, and some worn-out useless documents. We plundered a ship belonging to commander of Sea King!”
“The ship was sinking at quick speed; we might’ve missed something.” Apollo said quickly, trying to explain.
“We have got better plunders from a nun house!” Mars screamed and looked suspiciously at his first mate. “Apollo, are you hiding something from me?”
Apollo hesitated, his eyes darting around nervously.
Mars narrowed his eyes and activated the Eye of Shimon. It glowed powerfully as he stared intently at Apollo. He saw an invisible aura surrounding him that had a lot of blackness and grayness.
The aura continued to flow into Mars’ body as if he were stealing it.
While the other crew members watched nervously, Mars stopped using the Eye of Shimon and scoffed.
He then turned to look at other members of the crew and activated the Eye of Shimon.
He looked at each one, and lastly, he landed his gaze upon Ambrose.
This time, a strange expression appeared on his face.
‘His fate aura is still getting drained, but why in the world is some of his aura leaking into the empty air above him?’
In his eyes, he saw a golden aura surrounding Ambrose, but it had a little bit of black and gray spots caused by getting his aura stolen.
However, above his head, there was a ball of aura of brilliant golden color.
“The hell?” Mars stormed towards Ambrose, and as soon as he did, everyone’s hearts dropped to the pit of their stomachs.
‘I knew it!’ Ors screamed inwardly and began praying furiously, blaming himself for being such a fool to believe in him.
‘So, in the end, it can’t hide from him?’ Apollo closed his eyes with a heavy look.
Mars reached his hand to Ambrose, who flinched, but instead of touching him, he began slapping the air above Ambrose.
His hand phased through the golden ball without being able to touch anything solid.
‘What in the world is this?’ Mars looked bewildered. ‘What could be the reason for this? Am I lacking in knowledge about the Eye of Shimon?’
After a while, he stopped using the Eye of Shimon as it started to cause itchiness.
“Ambrose, are you hiding something from me?” Mars asked with a frown.
“Hiding?” Ambrose put his arms wide and said, “You are free to search me.”
“…” Mars looked suspiciously, but in the end, he scoffed and turned away to walk away. “Pack up everything in the crater. Leon, go to the helm; we still have to reach Necro Island before nightfall!”
“Yes, captain.” Leon said casually, but his back was drenched with cold sweat and his fists were clenched enough to draw blood from his palms.
After Mars left the lower deck, everyone heaved a sigh of relief.
“Let’s fucking go.” Damian laughed and fist-bumped Ambrose, feeling incredibly thrilled.
“Whew…” Ambrose let out a long breath. ‘Could it be that Mars managed to somehow sense some fate leaking from my inventory? He can sense the fate of items, or what the hell was that?’
“All right.” Apollo clapped his hands. “Let’s pack up the things.”
He then looked at Ambrose and showed a thumbs up.
Ambrose nodded and touched his sweat-drenched back with a tired smile.
‘Mars, if you had left anyone alive, you might’ve caught us stealing some items, but fortunately, you are a murderous moron.
‘I’ll also steal the heart of the Nymn Tree from you and do everything in my power to stop you!’