Almost all of the Black Raven Pirates’ top combat forces were wiped out by Luca alone. The remaining pirates, mere cannon fodder, were already shaken to their core by the events they had just witnessed.
Now that Luca was about to make his move, these pirates, terrified out of their wits, no longer dared to fight the Seaway City soldiers, who were as ferocious as wolves and tigers. They fled as fast as they could, not daring to stop even for a moment.
The task of hunting down the pirates was left to Tark and the others. Luca had other, more important matters to attend to.
“Sophia, how about we take a trip to Snake Island?” Luca turned to Sophia, smiling as he extended his invitation.
As one of the most notorious pirate factions in the Western Sea, the Black Raven Pirates’ lair was sure to contain a vast treasure trove. Now that Evans was dead, all of these treasures naturally belonged to Luca as spoils of war.
Luca had always been quite particular about his possessions. After all, what’s the point of killing a bunch of pirates if you don’t get to count the spoils?
“Sure,” Sophia nodded slightly, not refusing.
Seeing her agreement, Luca ordered the preparations for a ship. He brought Isaac and Gavin along, as well as Sophia, to head for Snake Island.
The reason he brought Isaac and Gavin was not for their protection, but rather because there might be tasks that required them to pitch in and move things around. After all, it wouldn’t be appropriate for the Lord of Seaway City and Sophia to be handling such menial tasks themselves—he’d look too diminished.
However, Isaac and Gavin clearly had a different interpretation of the situation. They thought the city lord had placed importance on them and wanted them to tag along to Snake Island to broaden their horizons.
The entire journey, the two of them were visibly excited, chattering non-stop. Even Isaac, usually quiet and reserved, was talking more than usual.
This was just the nature of youth, and Luca didn’t think much of it. His mind wandered back to his previous life, when he first joined the military and went on missions—he had acted much the same way, full of excitement.
“Have you noticed something?” Sophia, staring out at the vast ocean, surprisingly started a conversation with Luca.
“I’ve noticed, you’ve become even more beautiful,” Luca replied, even though he wasn’t entirely sure where she was heading with this, but he smiled anyway.
Sophia ignored Luca’s teasing and said seriously, “From the very beginning, I noticed something about you. You’re different from those adventurers and ordinary professionals.”
“At first, I thought it was because of your extraordinary talent, but over time, I’ve realized it’s not just that.”
Luca’s smile faded slightly. He turned his head slightly and locked eyes with Sophia’s crystal-clear gaze, but he couldn’t glean any information from the calm, serene look in her eyes.
He wasn’t sure if it was something Xenobia had said to her, or if Sophia had simply sensed something on her own.
Luca pondered briefly, then nonchalantly said, “I think it would be strange if everyone were the same. Just like in my eyes, Sophia, you’re clearly different from other girls.”
Sophia glanced at him for a moment and then said, her tone still calm, “That’s because my powers are influencing my personality. But you’re different. I don’t see any of the usual traits in you that I see in others, yet you possess abilities that most people don’t have. It’s strange, especially for someone of your age.”
“Maybe you’re mistaken,” Luca said with a dry laugh, knowing he couldn’t exactly tell her that he was someone who had returned from ten years in the future.
Just as Luca was trying to figure out how to change the subject, Gavin’s excited voice suddenly cut through the air from the deck.
“Luca! Luca! We’ve arrived at Snake Island!”
Luca thought to himself that the kid might deserve a raise in the future.
He turned to Sophia and said, “Let’s go take a look at the island, Sophia. Who knows, we might find something useful.”
Sophia understood that everyone had their own secrets, and she didn’t press the matter further. Luca breathed a sigh of relief, glad the conversation wasn’t continuing in that direction.
The two of them made their way to the deck, following Gavin’s directions.
In the distance, they could see a coral island rising from the vibrant blue sea, its lush forest visible from afar. The tops of palace rooftops could be seen peeking out from the dense trees.
There was also a large, purpose-built dock, though only a few small boats were moored there at the moment. On either side of the dock stood towering stone watchtowers, and faintly, figures with binoculars could be seen scanning the approaching ships.
It was definitely Snake Island.
“I’ll go check things out first,” Luca said, and before either of them could respond, a pair of black wings materialized behind him. The wings were surrounded by faint dark winds, making them look quite extraordinary.
These were the Storm Envoy’s high-tier skill, “Black Wings of the Wind,” an enhanced version of “Wings of the Wind.” It offered better speed and duration, and it could even be used as an offensive tool.
With a swift flap of his wings, Luca was airborne in an instant, soaring toward Snake Island.
The lookout on the tower hadn’t even figured out what the strangely approaching ship was when he suddenly saw a dark shadow flying toward him. Before he could even react, it was already right in front of him.
“Holy crap?!” The lookout was so startled that he dropped the binoculars, but before he could even turn to sound the alarm, he felt his body suddenly lift off the ground. A whirlwind of black wind, as if in the form of shackles, bound his limbs and lifted him straight into the air.
Seeing the fear in the lookout’s eyes, Luca spoke in a calm tone, “Answer my questions, and I’ll spare your life. Otherwise, your fate will be the same as his.”
With no further movement from Luca, a single wave of his hand sent a black wind blade shooting toward the nearby lookout tower.
Another pirate, who had been trying to secretly sound the alarm, froze as the wind blade zipped past. His body stiffened in place, his eyes wide with terror, as a bloodline appeared across his face from top to bottom, and he began to split in two. The tower also split with him.
“Boom!” A loud explosion rang across the small island, and the entire lookout tower collapsed into ruins.
The pirate who had been lifted into the air turned pale as paper. With a terrified expression, he stammered, “I… I don’t know what you want to know, but I’ll tell you everything I know! Please, don’t kill me!”
“Don’t rush,” Luca replied calmly. He glanced up at the pirates who had been drawn by the noise. “Let me finish off these guys first.”
With that, a swirl of black wind rose from behind Luca. Black wind blades began to form and shoot out like throwing knives, whistling through the air with sharp, cutting sounds.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The sounds of blades slicing through flesh rang out incessantly.
Blood splattered everywhere, and screams echoed along the coast.
A group of fearsome pirates were no different from ants in Luca’s hands.
By the time Sophia, Isaac, and the others arrived by boat, the island had already turned into a slaughterhouse.
Disfigured corpses were scattered across the golden beach, their blood staining the nearby sea red. The strong smell of blood attracted many seabirds, which swooped down to feast on the remains.
“Ugh!” Gavin and Isaac’s faces turned a sickly green, then pale, and they could no longer hold it in, vomiting into the sea.
Though neither of them came from noble backgrounds and had seen their fair share of bloody scenes, the level of gore they were witnessing was still far beyond what they could stomach. It was a scene straight out of a hellish nightmare.
Sophia’s expression didn’t change much, though her brows furrowed slightly. She turned to Luca, who appeared calm, and said, “Your bloodlust has grown stronger than before. These pirates could have been left to the disposal of Seaway City.”
“If you knew what they had done, you’d understand that these pirates didn’t deserve to be brought back to Seaway City,” Luca replied, casually tossing the now-mad lookout to the ground. “And as for my bloodlust, it’s always been strong; you just never noticed it before.”
With that, he added, “Let’s go. We’ll check the island.”
From the mouths of several pirates earlier, Luca had already learned the location of Evans’ treasure vault, guarded by a Superclass professional. In addition, there were thousands of pirates stationed on Snake Island to protect the base while Evans and his crew were away. But for Luca, it was nothing more than taking care of a few more beasts.
As they proceeded, Sophia finally understood why Luca had said what he did earlier.
Instead of flying over the forest, they chose to enter it on foot. Before they left, Luca had set fire to all the ships, leaving nothing behind—not even the small boats—ensuring that no pirate could slip away while they were on the island.
As they ventured deeper into the forest, groups of pirates constantly attacked them. Some were as few as five or six, while others numbered in the hundreds, all tasked with guarding Snake Island.
Golden Divine Flames set the forest ablaze, while silver-white lightning rained down like a storm.
The black hurricane, sharp as a blade, sliced through pirate after pirate, severing throats one by one.
The booming crashes and the anguished screams mixed together, echoing across the entire island.
For these pirates, Luca showed no mercy.
If he saw one, he killed one.
By the time they reached Evans’ palace, a bloody path had been carved behind them, paved with the bodies of pirates.
In the courtyard in front of the palace, pirates knelt on the ground, their gazes fixed on the young man before them, their faces filled with terror.
It was a fear that came from the depths of their souls.
Even they had never encountered someone so ruthless! Out of thousands of pirates, more than half had already been slaughtered by this person!
This guy… he was nothing less than a demon wearing human skin!
“What do you want?” Luca’s gaze was cold as he looked down at the over thousand pirates kneeling before him.
At the front of the group was an elderly man in a long robe. He knelt on the ground, bowing his head until it touched the earth. His face was as pale as death, and through gritted teeth, he said, “Mr. Luca, we are willing to give you all of Evans’ treasures, and swear eternal allegiance to you! freewёbnoνel.com
“We ask only for a chance at survival!”
Others may not fully grasp the extent of Luca’s power, but from his observations earlier, the old man had already realized just how terrifying this young man was.
He knew that Luca’s appearance here could only mean one thing: his fate was sealed.
However, the elderly pirate didn’t truly feel fear. Explore more at empire
As the only Superclass expert left in the Black Crow Pirates, someone of his caliber was a rare asset, regardless of where he went. As long as he was willing to surrender, Luca would not…
“Thud!”
The elderly man’s head slowly slid off his neck, his eyes still wide with confusion and disbelief.
“You want to survive,” Luca said, his voice as cold as ice, as he surveyed the sea of terrified pirates. “But I refuse.”