“Oof, I thought I was a ruthless captain, haha.” Tyrannus laughed and then turned to the Death King. “Why don’t you piss off?”
“Hehe, and miss all the fun?” The Death King smiled and shook his head. “No, this is far more interesting than a mere hunt.”
“You think you can leave here alive?” Tyrannus smirked. “With my commanders on my back, you’ll die here like a filthy rat?”
“Your commanders? There is only one remaining, is there not?” The Death King’s eyebrow jumped.
“What?” Tyrannus frowned.
“Ahaha, you don’t know?” The Death King laughed mockingly and then pointed his finger towards the wasteland beyond. “I can see the souls of the deceased, and I happened to catch a glimpse of Dreadnought and Arkham.
“They were very malicious souls, so it was easy to spot them. I thought Mars had killed them, but it seemed you didn’t even have any idea, haha!”
“What?!” Tyrannus’ eyes shook in shock.
He then raised his hand and snapped his fingers—he used his slave contract spell to summon every person under his contract to him.
At that moment, hundreds of the lesser Sea King pirate members appeared out of thin air.
In the middle of them, Adam appeared with a calm look on his face. When he straightened his back, he towered over other pirates effortlessly, and he radiated an aura of strength and confidence.
“Adam, where the fuck are all the generals?!” Tyrannus screamed hoarsely. “Also, have you seen Dreadnought and Arkham?!”
“They are all dead,” Adam said nonchalantly.
“Who killed them?” Tyrannus’ eyes turned serious.
“I did,” Adam replied calmly.
“What the fuck is the meaning of this?” Tyrannus’ eyes turned cold as he stared at Adam’s back.
Adam slowly drew his long katana. “For my family and my friends, I’ll avenge them with your death.”
“You are just a mere commander of mine!” Tyrannus screamed and dashed forth with his battleaxe. “How dare you try to betray me?!”
Adam swung his sword and clashed with the battleaxe.
As the two weapons collided, sparks flew like bright fireworks, and at first glance, it looked like the two men were equally matched.
“You remember what you said to me back then?” Adam asked. “You asked whether I’ll cry their deaths. I answered no. However, that’s because I am not allowed to cry until you are dead.”
Tyrannus scoffed and looked at Adam as if he were nothing but a speck of dust.
However, in both of their heads, a memory surfaced.
…
Twenty years ago.
On a calm island on the Pirate Battleground.
Innocent laughter wafted from the center of the island, where a town with a small population lived.
A group of kids played and laughed together at the playground, which had small iron walls surrounding it.
The swings were swaying gently as the children kicked their feet in the air. In the sandbox, they were building sandcastles and digging tunnels.
In the distance, the parents were sitting on benches, watching their children with smiles on their faces.
“Go on.” A gentle-looking woman looked at her son with a fond smile and pointed towards the playground.
A black-haired child with slightly tanned skin and a conflicted look on his face looked at the playground.
“W-what if they don’t like me?”
“My dear child, why do you care about what-ifs?” His mother crouched to be on the same eye level as him. She showed a gentle smile.
“Mmh…” The black-haired child nodded and approached the playground with hesitant and slow steps.
After stepping through the gates, he looked around the playground, where all the children had already formed their friend groups, and he was completely alone.
He felt a pang of loneliness in his chest.
At that moment, a cheerful voice shook him.
“Hello!” A young girl approached him with a big smile while waving her hand. “Wanna join for a game of tag? We are still missing one person!”
“A… tag?” The black-haired child murmured confusingly. “I don’t know what that is.”
“I’ll teach you!” The young girl smiled heartfully. “My name is Milly; what is yours?”
“Uhm, Adam.” The black-haired child smiled slightly and joined her in playing tag.
He was, at first, the slowest of the bunch and got caught many times. However, his smile grew the longer he played.
Adam’s mother watched the scene with a gentle smile.
As the weeks went by, Adam continued to go every day to the playground, playing games of tag and sometimes hide-and-seek.
As Sunday rolled over, it was the town’s weekly market day.
“Whoo… whoo…” Adam chased after Milly; they weaved around the stalls and vendors, laughing and having fun.
“Found it!” Milly pointed towards the colorful balloons tied to a pole.
Their eyes brightened up as they planned to purchase those for one of their friends’ upcoming birthday party.
After purchasing the balloons, they left the bustling market and walked up a small hill towards their friend’s house.
Soon, they came across the playground, where they had played daily for the past several weeks.
They couldn’t help but feel a sense of longing as they gazed at the swings and slides.
At that moment, their steps came to a halt as they heard a loud scream.
“Adam, what was that?” Milly turned to Adam, her voice sounding confused.
Adam turned around and saw a pillar of black smoke coming from the market, and then a crowd of running townsfolk started to head in their way.
It looked like they were running for their lives, and before they could even run a dozen meters, the townsfolk exploded into a cloud of blood.
Milly’s and Adam’s eyes widened in shock, and they froze in horror as they saw a group of men walking from the market and walking up the hill towards them.
The man leading them was a blue-haired man with a broad frame and a menacing grin on his face.
He held a majestic battleaxe in hand, its blade already stained with crimson blood.
The man’s eyes gleamed with a sinister light as he approached them.
At that moment, Adam heard a familiar scream from behind him.
“Adam!”
After turning around, he saw his mother running with panic on her face, and following her were the rest of the townfolk, who were carrying their own weapons, which just consisted of pitchforks and wooden spears.
“Mom!” Adam shouted and then felt his mother trap him in her embrace.
Milly joined her parents, who were shielding her from the sinister-looking men.
The chief of the town stepped forth, wielding a pitchfork. “State your business, pirates!”
“Ahah…” The blue-haired man chuckled. “My name is Tyrannus Pelagaios, captain of the Sea Pirates. From now on, this island and everything near it are part of my territory.”
“A territorial war of the pirates.” The chief scoffed. “We’ve seen it happen many times before. You’ll also fail, and then some other pirate will come to claim your land.”
“Hahaha.” Tyrannus smirked. “I am not an ordinary pirate. Also, I only need the land. Y’all, are unnecessary baggage.”
The chief’s eyes widened in shock, and before he could react, Tyrannus smashed the battleaxe across his face, making his skull explode into a bloody mess.
Gasp—loud gasps sounded from the rest of the frightened townsfolk.
“Kill them all!” Tyrannus laughed.
His crewmates laughed sinisterly and launched at the townsfolk, attacking them with their weapons.