Chapter 1 The Cold Stare

Fang Senyan swept the angry pirates with a cold, disdainful gaze. Though he hadn't spoken, the contempt and mockery in his expression were undeniable. Only after the pirates' shouts subsided did Fang Senyan icily say:

"Esteemed gentlemen, ladies, what do you think this is? Oxford Street in London? The Anchor and Sail bar? Or one of those merchant ships whose sailors you've already disposed of?" Fang Senyan's rapid-fire questions stifled all the pirates' passion and anger in the organ adjacent to their tonsils!

"This is Tortuga Fortress! We can walk in here with knives, torches, and shriveled money bags because we've seized a once-in-seventy-years opportunity! If we do as you envision, with over a hundred people slowly searching this cursed place… fine, I admit that wonderful plan would greatly improve our safety. But tell me, how long do you intend to take? A day, two days, or a week? Every room in this cursed castle is as big as a world!" At this point, Fang Senyan slowed his tone, speaking with certain sarcasm:

"Two hours, that's right, two hours, and that includes the time it takes us to leave the old boy (referring to the Bell and Mug) and return. That's the limit of how long we can stay inside Tortuga Fortress! Once we exceed that limit, I firmly believe that either the esteemed Lord riding that demonic horse or Jack Sparrow, the first mate of the Black Pearl, will be waiting for us at the castle gate—they might let us leave, but only if we drop our weapons and everything valuable on us—now, does anyone still think there's a problem with my approach? Anyone! Does anyone dare stand up?"

As Fang Senyan spoke, an indescribable flame of rage burned in his eyes. His roar echoed through the empty castle corridor, and the imposing pirates momentarily looked at each other, unable to find words to retort, even averting their gaze from Fang Senyan's eyes, not daring to meet them. Even worse, Fang Senyan then threw out the psychological dagger he had long prepared:

"Fools, wake up! Do you think coming here is like filling out a few forms at the Bank of England and patting the female clerk's backside to get your money? Every gold pound from here is splattered with blood and the souls of screaming victims! If this was a paradise where you could easily scoop up a fortune, why wouldn't Armand himself lead you here? You, me, everyone knows that as long as we return with a huge fortune, even if only one of us survives, the great Son of the Black Sea will be overjoyed, but if we return empty-handed with a full complement of men who haven't even lost their heads, then I think many of us will be hanged alive from the mast—does anyone still think I'm wrong? Stand up! Stand up, then!" "Enough! Shut your damned mouth!" Scarface Henry's roar stopped Fang Senyan's words abruptly, but Fang Senyan still looked sullen. The blood vessels in the eyes of the Viking giant were dense, and the muscles on his face were constantly twitching, obviously extremely angry. If he wasn't tormented by that damned, splitting headache, Scarface Henry believed he could powerfully refute Fang Senyan's sharp words, but now the only thing he could do was shut that damned mouth of the yellow-skinned monkey from the East!

However, Fang Senyan's last few words had already taken root in everyone's hearts, and a dangerous emotion had begun to spread in this small group. Fang Senyan's words might have been somewhat exaggerated, but there was no denying that seven or eight parts of them were true, which undoubtedly added a kind of fanatical appeal. This had nothing to do with charm, but simply because he was too good at capturing the dark side of people's hearts—and the dark side of the pirates' hearts would definitely not be lacking.

The situation was dead silent, but the pirates' previous anger and hostility towards Fang Senyan had diminished by at least fifty or sixty percent. Of course, this anger hadn't disappeared out of thin air, but had been successfully transferred by Fang Senyan to Armand's head. The scene became embarrassingly awkward and silent for a time, until Fang Senyan clapped his hands loudly to get the pirates moving:

"Gentlemen! It seems you've successfully found and looted the treasure of this devil's palace, but that's only secondary. The important thing is that we can bring these things back to a safe place alive. Now lift your knees, let's leave this damned place as quickly as possible!" Obviously, Fang Senyan had once again stolen the lines from Scarface Henry, who was being tormented by a splitting headache. His orders were naturally obeyed silently by the pirates—while Scarface Henry frowned, sensing a very dangerous feeling from Fang Senyan. If Fang Senyan on the ship before was like a knife in its sheath, concealing its sharpness, then the current Fang Senyan was like a volcano that had already erupted, spewing out pungent smoke and fiery magma into the sky!

"I'll deal with you when we get back to the ship," Scarface Henry thought to himself expressionlessly, suppressing his killing intent. In any case, now was not a good time to deal with Fang Senyan. Personal safety and grievances should be put aside; the current priority was to deliver this expensive wealth to Armand!

At this time, he saw his confidant, Charlie. This guy, who had originally disappeared in his memory, was standing beside him, grinning at him stupidly. Scarface Henry's heart warmed. He could naturally feel that cracks and differences had already appeared between these damned and greedy pirates and himself. Precisely at this time, the confidants around him had almost all died or were seriously injured. In this precarious time, there was nothing better than having an extra trustworthy guy.

This good news made Scarface Henry's head hurt less. He grabbed the pirate Charlie, patted his butt, and laughed in his usual rude tone:

"You damned bastard, looks like hell doesn't welcome you either!" The pirate Charlie grinned and habitually took the weapon that Scarface Henry was carrying, as he had always done this kind of chore when he was by Scarface Henry's side. But Scarface Henry's next sentence choked him:

"By the way, they all said you were grabbed by those black rats and dragged into the secret passage. How did you kick their butts and escape?" Scarface Henry asked this partly to show off the bravery and ability of his men, and partly to boost the morale that had been suppressed by Fang Senyan's words. Unfortunately, he overlooked a detail—although the pirate Charlie and Fang Senyan appeared one after the other with a time difference, they came out of the same passage!

"I'm sorry, sir," the pirate Charlie mumbled timidly, "It's... it's...."

Scarface Henry became a little irritable and therefore didn't notice the abnormality of this subordinate. He slapped him on the head and shouted:

"I'm reminding you for the thousandth and first time, speak louder when you talk to me!"

"Yes, sir!" The pirate Charlie instinctively stood at attention and shouted: "After Stephen and I were caught by those damned heretics, Stephen's poor small intestine was pulled out seven or eight meters alive, and he died screaming in the end. Just as I was about to encounter that tragic and terrible fate, the boatswain…."

The pirate Charlie had just said the word boatswain when he saw Fang Senyan, who was walking in front, look back seemingly unintentionally. That glance immediately reminded him of his new identity, so he had no choice but to change his words very helplessly:

"It was the master who saved me from that nightmare-like realm." The word master immediately attracted everyone's ears, but some were surprised, some were astonished, and some were... angry! Then the pirate Charlie used his usual stuttering language to tell the story of what had happened before. Finally, he shrugged and said in a slightly helpless tone:

"I am very fortunate to have survived in such a terrible situation, so I have to abide by my oath and give up my freedom for the rest of my life to be a servant to my savior. Maybe this is my destiny, who knows."

At this time, the other pirates also began to look at Fang Senyan with a very special look. Everyone would hope that someone would do everything to save themselves when they were on the verge of despair. And Fang Senyan did just that, and saved Scarface Henry's confidant, who had always been on bad terms with him. This undoubtedly gave the pirates a feeling of broad-mindedness, and willingness to help others in distress. However, for Scarface Henry, his mood, which had just been a little excited, immediately slipped to the bottom. The feeling of punching into the air or even being bounced back made him so depressed that he almost wanted to vomit blood.

The group continued to move forward, with Fang Senyan walking in the front row. At this time, he had already learned what had happened before. The pirates, divided into six groups, quickly dispersed into every corner of the castle like a group of greedy rats, and then suffered heavy losses because of various traps and magic. At this time, Scarface Henry stood up. This Viking, who was as strong as a polar bear, showed terrifying strength. He first led a group of confidants to rescue two groups of remaining pirates, and then deliberately let go of a black guard in the battle, following in his footsteps to find the castle's treasure house.