“You didn’t hear wrong, but he’s talking about pirates. What does that have to do with us?”
The man crossed his arms, sneering at Luca. “Kid, are you still half-asleep? Who told you we’re pirates? We’re law-abiding citizens, do you understand what that means, huh?!”
Beside him, a short man clutched his stomach, laughing loudly and without restraint. “Hahaha, this is too funny! The new city lord actually has a temper. His first day, and he wants to throw us all out of Seaway City?”
“Ah, you really scared the life out of me!”
A one-eyed woman, smoking a cigarette, jeered at Luca with a mocking smile. “Lord City Lord, you short of women? How about I go to the brothels in the Windflower Alley and find a few for you? How about I be your mother, huh? Hahaha!”
The pirates burst out in raucous laughter, as though they had heard the greatest joke.
Every city lord of Haillan County had wanted to exterminate them, yet here they still were.
And those city lords? They’d already been replaced countless times.
The onlookers watching the newly appointed city lord couldn’t help but sigh.
Looks like we have another useless fool in charge.
A group of soldiers looked back and forth between Luca and the pirates, unsure whether they should follow orders. Deputy City Lord Tark and the governor, Nicholas, exchanged glances, both seeing the bitterness in each other’s eyes.
In their eyes, Luca, though well-intentioned, was just an ignorant, hot-headed youth. The thought of having to follow someone like him in the future filled them with dread.
Dacey, the city lord’s secretary, stepped forward hesitantly, her face troubled. “Lord City Lord, we can’t just wipe them all out. There are too many pirates in the Western Sea.”
“And if we do kill them, the pirate groups behind them won’t come after us directly, but they’ll take out their anger on the innocent villagers nearby…”
When Evelyn and her husband ruled the Western Territory, they had launched several large-scale pirate purges, but none of them had been particularly successful.
In fact, these attempts had only angered the desperate outlaws, leading to significant losses in the Western Territory, and many civilians had died. If Luca insisted on this, it would be the ordinary people who would bear the brunt of the consequences, making it all for nothing.
However, after hearing her words, Luca’s expression didn’t change. He turned to look at Tark, Nicholas, and the soldiers, then calmly said, “I said kill them. Didn’t you hear me?”
The crowd hesitated, looking at the young man. But when they met his eyes, they felt a chilling depth, as though staring into the vast ocean.
In the calmness, it seemed as though dark currents were surging violently beneath the surface.
At that moment, everyone felt a cold shiver down their spines.
The soldiers gritted their teeth and began to draw their weapons.
The sound of swords unsheathing rang out, the clang of steel on steel echoing in the air.
A heavy, murderous atmosphere soon enveloped the street, and the surroundings grew eerily silent.
The pirates, who had been mocking Luca just moments ago, suddenly fell silent.
“Damn it, this brat’s serious! Run!” The pirates, realizing the gravity of the situation, felt a chill run down their spines. Without a second thought, they turned and bolted toward the crowd.
Chaos erupted.
Even the civilians, faces full of panic, began scattering in all directions, unwittingly aiding the pirates in their escape.
As one pirate ran, he couldn’t resist shouting threats at Luca. “You little bastard! You’ve got guts! Daring to break the rules of the Western Sea! Just you wait! This won’t end here!”
“Oh, I agree,” Luca said, stretching out his hand with a calm smile. “This won’t end here. Come on out and enjoy this feast.”
The moment his words fell.
The silver snake bracelet coiled around his wrist gleamed with a radiant, dreamlike glow.
“Boom!”
A streak of silver lightning shot skyward!
A titanic pressure, as heavy as a mountain, descended upon all of Seaway City.
Then, a voice—deep, resonant, and seemingly echoing from the depths of one’s soul—resounded in the hearts of everyone in the city.
“Thank you, Master!!” Jormungandr’s voice was filled with uncontainable joy, elated at the sudden opportunity.
“What… What is that?!” Countless people looked skyward, their pupils trembling in shock.
Behind Luca, a massive silhouette emerged, blurring the line between reality and illusion. A colossal silver serpent rose to the heavens!
Its body stretched hundreds of meters long, its silver-white scales glinting under the sunlight, reflecting a kaleidoscope of dazzling hues.
A pair of amethyst eyes gazed down from above, surveying every person in the city with a cold, godlike detachment.
The Lord of Dreams—Jormungandr!
“A Superclass monster?! That’s a Superclass monster!” Tark’s head tilted upward, his eyes bulging as he stared at the sky-piercing python. His usual composure as deputy city lord evaporated, leaving him visibly shaken.
Nicholas, on the other hand, collapsed onto the ground, trembling uncontrollably from a primal, overwhelming fear.
Even though they had heard tales of Luca’s exploits in upending Dawn City, witnessing this firsthand left them in disbelief.
A Superclass monster—a being so rare that even within the entirety of Clinton Empire, they could be counted on one hand—was serving a mere boy? If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn’t have dared to believe it in their lifetimes.
Not far away, Geo and his entourage, who hadn’t yet fled the area, also caught sight of the gargantuan silver serpent.
Every one of them couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath.
“This kid… he actually has a Superclass monster!” Geo muttered, his voice trembling as cold sweat dripped down his forehead.
Inwardly, he couldn’t help but feel immense relief at the decision he’d made earlier.
If he had foolishly escalated the situation and torn things apart with Luca, he’d likely have been annihilated on the spot!
“Leave this to you. Don’t hurt any innocent people,” Luca instructed, then turned to Tark and the soldiers. “Everyone, follow me onto the ship!”
With that, he turned and headed straight for the warship.
Initially, he had planned to test whether these soldiers were worth further training.
But as expected, they didn’t disappoint him.
Pathetically bad.
“Don’t worry, Master, I’ll take care of this,” Jormungandr’s violet eyes locked onto the pirates fleeing for their lives, and her purple tongue flicked over her lips.
The flames of sin clinging to these pirates were as obvious as fireflies in the night, even from a distance. She could smell them from miles away.
Tark, the others, and the soldiers snapped back to their senses, shivering in realization, and quickly followed after Luca.
In the next moment, countless streaks of twilight light exploded behind them!
Boom!!
Illusory serpents, like arrows of light, cut through the sky and surged toward the fleeing pirates.
Upon contact, these serpents fused into the pirates’ bodies.
The pirates froze in place, their bodies suddenly stiffened.
Then, strange, worm-like creatures began writhing beneath their skin.
“Ahhhhhhh!!!”
The street was filled with agonizing screams.
As the pirates writhed on the ground, tears and snot streaming down their faces. Pale, mist-like vapor escaped their orifices, only to be greedily absorbed by Jormungandr. Her eyes shone with contentment.
Ah, it’s been so long since I had a proper meal.
The remaining pirates, witnessing this horror, were so terrified they nearly wet themselves. With no more thoughts of fighting, they bolted toward the outskirts of Seaway City.
But to Jormungandr, these pirates were no different from lambs to the slaughter.
Pirates hidden throughout Seaway City were dying by the dozens in the blink of an eye.
Looking at the corpses of the pirates.
Their eyes wide in terror and their faces contorted in pain, everyone felt a cold shiver run down their spines, their eyes filled with dread.
No one had expected the new city lord to be this ruthless!
“Master, are you really going to leave that monster unchecked? It won’t kill innocent people by mistake, will it?” Dacey asked, unable to hold back, her gaze falling on Luca, who was casually sipping tea on the gangway.
“Jormungandr can see the memories in their souls, and so can I,” Luca said, his eyes glinting with violet light as he stared at the wailing souls above. “Maybe, like in some fictional tales, some people might have been forced into piracy or acted out of ignorance. But among these six hundred seventy-two pirates, I haven’t seen one who’s truly innocent.”
Tark nodded in agreement. “Don’t show any mercy to pirates. They don’t deserve it.”
There are many ways to make money on the sea, and piracy is not the only one. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have explorers, bounty hunters, and adventurers as separate professions. A normal person would never choose to live by plundering civilians and the weak on the sea.
At this moment, the screams in Seaway City gradually started to fade. When the last echoes vanished, a streak of light shot toward Luca, materializing into a silver serpent-shaped bracelet on his wrist.
“Report, Master, the task is complete!” Jormungandr said, letting out a satisfied burp.
Luca could feel her power had grown stronger, likely approaching the Transcendent level. It wouldn’t be long before she was fully restored.
“Prepare to set sail,” he said to the three who were staring at his wrist.
Nicolas nodded and quickly went to give orders to the sailors and helmsman to lift the anchor and depart.
At that moment, a young voice suddenly rang out from the dock.
“Master, please take me with you!!”
Luca’s ears perked up; the voice sounded familiar. He turned around and saw two young boys standing at the dock.
One of them had seaweed-like hair, while the other was a strong young man with short red hair.
“You’re… that kid from Southwind City?” Luca paused, thinking for a moment, and then recognized him. It was the boy he had saved back in Southwind City. He was surprised to see him here.
“Yes, it’s me, Master Luca, it’s me!” Isaac said excitedly, waving his arms. He then noticed the ship was pulling away from the dock.
“Master, wait for me!” Isaac, now anxious, took a step forward and was about to jump into the sea. Fortunately, the red-haired boy beside him was quick enough to grab him by the arm and pull him back.