Watching the severed head rolling across the ground and the unwilling gaze from its eyes.
The pirates in the square fell into a brief moment of silence, quickly followed by a wave of commotion. No one had expected Luca to be so ruthless—despite their surrender, he showed no sign of mercy.
A group of surrendering pirates scattered in all directions like frightened birds.
Luca lowered his gaze and said, “I told you, none of you are leaving today!”
Thunder rumbled from above as lightning surged through the sky!
Nine silver-white thunder lances descended from the heavens, instantly sealing off the entire square. The bolts of lightning intertwined, forming a massive net that covered the entire square, trapping all the pirates within.
Luca, wielding a spear, moved like a flash of lightning, charging directly into the midst of them.
“Lord, spare me! Please, spare me!!”
“Spare me! I beg you, I have a wife and children, please… ah!!”
“Damned! Damn you! You’ll get what’s coming to you! You’ll die a terrible death!!”
…
Outside the palace, the sounds of wailing, begging, and curses mixed together, with screams echoing through the air! With the strength of these weak pirates, escaping was impossible—they were doomed to be slaughtered.
Even Isaac, who had always been loyal to Luca, couldn’t understand. He couldn’t fathom why Luca didn’t leave the handling of these pirates to the people of Seaway City.
Gavin, on the other hand, was pale with fear, his body trembling. Oh my god! The lord they were following… he couldn’t possibly be a bloodthirsty maniac, could he?
Sophia didn’t speak, but she furrowed her brow and gazed in the direction of the palace, lost in thought.
Soon, all was quiet outside the palace.
The square was drenched in blood, covered in pirate corpses. The overwhelming stench of blood was so thick it could almost make a person faint. Gavin and Isaac sat on the ground, their legs too weak from vomiting, yet they couldn’t stop.
The Divine Flame on Luca’s body slowly faded.
“Save some strength; we’ve still got work to do.” With that, he and Sophia entered the palace, followed by the two men who stumbled behind.
Inside the palace, golden light poured down from the dome, casting a radiant glow over the white jade floors. The magnificent palace was almost certainly constructed by Evans, and its interior decor was every bit as lavish as the royal palace’s private chambers.
The palace was quite spacious, with only a few scantily clad maids huddling in the corners, trembling in fear. Their eyes were filled with terror as they looked at Luca.
Luca swept his gaze across the hall without stopping, striding towards the back of the palace.
When they were by the shore, Luca had learned from the lookout not only the number of pirates left on Snake Island but also that there was a dungeon behind this very palace.
The dungeon housed pirates from the Black Raven Pirates, along with civilians and merchants who had been raided from the seas and towns.
The exact number was unknown, but it was at least in the thousands, and all of them were women.
Quickly crossing the corridor, Luca indeed found the entrance to the dungeon at the back of the palace. The pirates who had been guarding it were nowhere to be seen, leaving only a massive stone door tightly shut.
He stepped forward and pushed the heavy door open. A thick, rancid stench immediately hit them like a wave, and all three of them frowned. Isaac and Gavin almost couldn’t hold back their nausea.
Luca appeared unaffected, quickly walking into the underground dungeon hidden beneath the lavish palace.
The passageway was dark and damp, with faint light coming from wall-mounted torches on either side. Tiny sparks stretched into the darkness, revealing neatly arranged cells in the distance.
As they ventured deeper, the stench of decay became more overpowering. It wasn’t until they saw the cells that Isaac and the others finally understood the source of the smell, their faces turning pale with disgust.
“These damned bastards!” Gavin’s forehead veins bulged, his hand instinctively clenching into a fist, knuckles cracking under the pressure.
The cell wasn’t large, only about a dozen square meters. The floor was filthy and damp, with a wooden bed covered in blackened, tattered blankets.
In the corner, a few disheveled women huddled together. Their clothes were in tatters, thin and barely covering their bodies. They were shackled with heavy chains on their hands and feet, their exposed skin bruised and scarred.
The women’s faces were ashen, their expressions numb and hollow. They seemed to have no idea how long they’d been confined here, radiating an overpowering stench of decay.
Upon seeing Luca and the others, some instinctively shrank back, others shot them hateful glares, and a few remained expressionless. One woman, emaciated and completely naked, her hair matted and clumped together in thick strands, suddenly lunged at the bars, slamming into the door with a loud thud.
“Come in… I’ll… I’ll sleep with you… heh heh…” She pressed her frail body against the iron bars, extending a withered hand toward them, laughing foolishly. She had clearly lost her mind.
“They… they’re all…” Isaac and Gavin looked at the women, and at that moment, they fully realized the nature of this prison.
Their faces flushed bright red—not out of embarrassment, but from pure rage.
Luca said nothing, stepping further into the dungeon. He could hear strange noises from deeper within.
It sounded like the heavy breathing of a man.
He quickly approached the source of the sound, finding the cell door already open. Inside, a pirate, completely naked, was on top of a woman, thrusting into her.
The woman, disheveled and half-dressed, lay on the filthy blackened bed, her skin exposed to the air, her face so covered in grime that it was impossible to recognize her features. Her dull, lifeless eyes showed no reaction, as if she wasn’t the one being violated in that moment.
There were thousands of women like her in this dungeon.
Some were in their 40s or 50s, while others were as young as 0.
“These animals!” Isaac and Gavin felt an overwhelming rage surge from deep within. With a sharp draw, they unsheathed their swords, their fury palpable. Even Sophia, usually composed, had a flash of anger in her eyes.
The temperature in the dungeon seemed to drop, and the commotion attracted the attention of the pirate.
“Who are you? Who sent you here?” When he saw who had entered, his face showed confusion, hastily pulling up his pants. It was clear he had no idea what was happening outside.
Of course, he would never know.
Crack!
The sharp sound of bones snapping echoed through the dungeon.
The woman’s expression finally changed.
Luca didn’t even look at the pirate whose neck was twisted and crushed. The man slowly slumped to the ground, lifeless.
He turned to the stunned Isaac and Gavin and said, “Release everyone, then go find some food and clean clothes.”
Isaac and Gavin snapped out of their daze and quickly responded.
Luca then turned his gaze to the terrified woman who had shrunk into the corner of the cell. After a brief pause, he spoke, “I am Luca, the newly appointed lord of Haillan County.”
“Evans has been executed on the spot, and the Black Raven Pirates have been wiped out today.”
“From now on, you are free.”
The woman froze in place, slowly raising her head to look at Luca, her eyes filled with confusion and helplessness.
When she saw the count’s long robe on Luca.
Her lips trembled, and tears began to flow uncontrollably down her face.
…
After leaving the women’s situation in Sophia’s hands, Luca exited the dungeon.
From the information he had extracted from the maid, he soon found himself in front of Evans’s treasure vault.
There wasn’t much to search for, as the location of the vault wasn’t a secret. Everyone in the Black Raven Pirates knew about it, but no one had dared to entertain any malicious thoughts before.
The vault was located right next to Evans’s bedroom and was sealed by a Superclass-level enchantment.
Luca arrived in front of the vault door, his hands weaving symbols. With a casual wave, he cast the spell.
Boom!
The enchantment shattered with a loud explosion!
The Superclass-level sealing spell was nothing to him now.
He pushed open the vault door, revealing rows of chests filled with gold coins and jewels.
Luca stepped into the glittering vault.
He estimated the value—cash and equipment materials amounted to around 300 million gold coins. Compared to the Phillips family’s fortune, it was but a pittance, but on the seas, it was still quite a considerable amount.
However, for Luca, the greatest prize of his visit to Snake Island wasn’t the gold or jewels—it was a Transcendent level material.
[Heart of the Sea Whale: Superclass material, Transcendent level monster “Azure Sea Whale’s” heart. Used in alchemy, it grants increased water attribute affinity and attack power, with a 30% chance of obtaining the Superclass skill “Heart of the Ocean.”]
Transcendent-level materials were nearly impossible to purchase with money. They rarely appeared on the market, and to find one here was a complete stroke of luck.
Stay tuned for updates on empire
The only regret was that this material wasn’t related to the wind or lightning attributes, meaning it couldn’t complement his Storm Envoy.
Still, Luca was very satisfied. Transcendent-level materials were incredibly rare, and getting one with specific attributes was even more difficult. Moreover, water attribute magic runes were valuable and would significantly boost his combat ability in the sea.
Luca collected all the treasures in the vault into his storage ring and exited the palace.
Isaac and Gavin were waiting outside. Upon seeing him, Isaac stepped forward and asked, “Lord Luca, everyone from the dungeon has been released. Do you have any plans for what to do with them next?”
Luca looked outside and saw that the women had already changed into fresh clothing and were emerging from the dungeon.
Facing the long-unseen sunlight, some seemed dazed, others wept uncontrollably, while a few pointed at the pirates’ corpses and laughed maniacally, acting as if they had lost their sanity.
After enduring such horrors, they could never return to a normal life. Even if their families didn’t mind, the nightmare they had lived through would haunt them forever. And for most of them, their families had likely been killed by the pirates.
Since Luca had rescued them, he couldn’t simply walk away.
“Leave this to me,” Luca said, stepping forward.
As he approached, the noise in the square slowly faded.
Eyes turned to look at the young count, filled with pain, despair, and confusion—emotions all blending together.
For a moment, the atmosphere became so heavy it felt suffocating.