Chapter 1 A Glimmer of Hope

That half-piece of headscarf seemed useless, but a meticulous mind could discern many doubts. What was the headscarf used for? Of course, to wrap around the head. For the infinitely charming Jack Sparrow, it was a tool for picking up girls. Most pirates used it to keep their heads warm, sheltering them from wind and rain. There was no corpse near the discovered headscarf, indicating that the original owner had taken it off himself. The tear in the headscarf showed that it had been ripped apart rather than cut with a sharp object. Let's picture the scene: a pirate comes here, leans against the tree, takes off the headscarf from his head, and tears it open. What does he want to do? Obviously, the headscarf is the piece of clothing least likely to get dirty, bar none. Therefore, the most reasonable explanation is—to bandage a wound on his body!

If this conjecture held true, Fang Senyan could deduce even more information. If the headscarf's owner, Old Butch, had bandaged his wound and fled towards the Bell and Mug, they should have already encountered him. This was enough to indicate that Old Butch had no intention of returning to the ship. There were many possibilities for this situation, but they could be boiled down to the following.

The most likely was that Old Butch had obtained some significant benefit and was unwilling to share it, so he had fled. He clearly knew that doing so would inevitably lead to a chase by everyone on the Bell and Mug. Therefore, either the value of this thing was so great that it had clouded his judgment with greed, or the threat from the Bell and Mug had been weakened to a point he could accept. Old Butch was extremely mediocre, so the probability of him finding some rare treasure was extremely small. Thus, the second explanation was the most reasonable: Xia Er and Blind Matt's team had suffered a severe blow, causing even the pirates who knew the inside story to become demoralized, giving rise to the despicable thought of grabbing what they could and running.

Of course, there was also the possibility that Old Butch had encountered something terrifying in the fort. In the aftermath, he had completely lost his mind, running around to vent the horror in his heart. However, it seemed contradictory that someone who had lost his mind would stop to bandage a wound, but this could be barely explained by instinct.

In any case, regardless of the outcome, Tortuga Fort was definitely a dragon's den, fraught with danger at every step. The reason Fang Senyan dared to lead the team inside first was that he understood one thing: a good hunter, after setting a trap, would wait until all the prey had been caught before raising the net, and would not prematurely move because a single prey had been caught, thus alerting the others. As soon as he saw the "coincidental" secret passage, he immediately realized that it was a trap. The person setting the trap had cleverly used the pirates' greed and competitive psychology to lure them in. If those riches weren't of insignificant value to a contractor like Fang Senyan, he might have been blinded by the great profit.

At this time, inside Tortuga Fort, shouts of anger, screams, and the sound of matchlock guns rang out one after another. However, these sounds seemed somewhat muffled, as if transmitted from enclosed spaces. Then, lights flashed everywhere in the fort, and faint figures flitted like wraiths through the corridors, making it even more mysterious and unpredictable, and difficult to discern their intentions. It seemed that Fang Senyan's deduction was correct. The manpower guarding Tortuga Fort was indeed insufficient. However, Fang Senyan's deliberate arrangement of dividing the pirates into six small teams undoubtedly gave the guards a great opportunity to use their geographical advantages to trap them and then defeat them one by one!

Fang Senyan's meticulous plan was essentially aimed at significantly weakening both sides of the conflict. Although the guards of Tortuga Fort were strong and possessed geographical advantages, they should have already dealt with several teams, including Xia Er's, in turn. Now, if they fought with this group of elite pirates from the Bell and Mug, even if they won, it would inevitably be a pyrrhic victory, and the traps and mechanisms inside the fort should be completely destroyed by flesh and blood!

If Fang Senyan seized the opportunity to enter at this time, the worst-case scenario would be killing a few seriously injured guards, taking the keys they dropped, and retreating unscathed. But the best-case scenario would be obtaining the real wealth that had been accumulated in Tortuga Fort for seventy years! Although he couldn't take all of this wealth, picking out a few items from it would undoubtedly be a huge profit and a great reputation. Wouldn't this be much better than being a suspected boatswain under Armand?

Time flew by quickly. After waiting for a while, Fang Senyan tidied up his appearance to look quite disheveled and smeared some blood on his face. Coupled with his staggering steps and dim eyes, people would believe that he was about to faint. He re-entered Tortuga Fort, tiptoeing towards the place where the shouts of fighting were coming from.

The darkness inside the fort was still dense with an eerie feeling, and the bloody smell in the air was particularly pungent. This time, Fang Senyan did not climb the stairs, but groped towards the dark corridor on the right. The reason he did this was very simple—because most of the legendary treasures were in the underground secret rooms of the fort. At this time, Fang Senyan naturally wore the "Drunkard" title and took a swig of alcohol to increase his critical hit rate. At the same time, because he was wary of possible traps, he took every step very steadily, and his footsteps were exceptionally light.

Suddenly, some flickering light emerged from the darkness ahead. Then came shouts and an extremely miserable scream. Fang Senyan knew this scream very well; it was from a confidant of Scarface Henry. Usually, he seemed like a tough guy who wouldn't even frown when cut with a knife. He didn't know what he had encountered to scream so miserably. Then the scream gradually weakened, and it was clear that the tortured fellow had reached the end of his life. Another voice trembled and said:

"Don't, don't come over! You monsters! God, oh God, please open your eyes, if anyone can rescue me from the bottom of this hell, I am willing to give up everything and be his loyal servant for this lifetime!"

Fang Senyan had already groped his way to the door. At this time, he peeked inside and saw a secret passage revealed in the adjacent room of the fort. The passage was stained with dripping blood. The blood was splattered everywhere, as if someone was holding basins of blood and splashing it violently all around, which showed how fierce the previous battle had been. At the end of the passage, light could be seen, and there was a very strong secret room. The surrounding walls were piled up with huge stones, which looked as solid as city walls.

In the secret room were three men wearing black close-fitting chain mail. The chain mail they wore was very fine, both in terms of workmanship and material. In this world, this kind of clothing was probably as fine as the highest-grade bulletproof vest worn by the US special forces. The three men stood with their backs to the door, silent. The shadows were stretched very long by the flickering flames, and their skin had a morbid pallor, which made the atmosphere even more eerie and treacherous.

From Fang Senyan's point of view, a pirate was tied to a stone stool on the right. Although he couldn't see his face, he knew that the pirate was extremely frightened, and his whole body was shaking violently. From the gaps in the backs of the three men wearing black close-fitting chain mail, he could see a stone platform. On the stone platform, a victim was bound and tortured, and the exposed limbs were making their last twitch. Obviously, this victim was in mortal danger. And his tragic encounter had also shattered the mental defenses of another captive.

Fang Senyan took a deep breath of the blood-filled air. At this moment, he used his "Insight" ability and began to probe the strength of these three guys. If it was too risky, he would immediately retreat without hesitation! For him, saving people was only an incidental act. The main thing was to preserve his strength and obtain the treasure in the fort.

As 100 points of universal points were deducted again, the data of these three men poured out like flowing water and was presented to Fang Senyan:

Black Guard - Tortuga Port Castle Elite Guard.

State (Injured) Description: They have been affected by black magic, their pain sensation has decreased, and various attributes have been improved, but their lifespan will be shortened rapidly.

Height: 5 feet 4 inches, weight: 80 kg. Strength: 10 points (injured). Agility: ?? points. Constitution: 8 points. Perception: 6 points. Charisma: 8 points. Intelligence: 7 points. Spirit: 7 points. Basic melee combat: Lv3. Basic Stamina: Lv1. Elite guard special passive ability: Delay Lv1. The blood flow rate of the black guard is affected by bone-chilling cold, so the flow rate is slow, and it is immune to bleeding.

Elite guard special passive ability: Living Dead Lv1. Part of the black guard's soul has been dedicated to the master, so they are not affected by negative states such as fear.

Elite guard special passive ability: Tenacity Lv2. Extra 300 hit points.

Current max HP: 177 points (injured) Fang Senyan looked at these three injured guys. After weighing the pros and cons, he already had a decision in his heart. He closed his eyes and began to regulate his breathing. The muscles all over his body began to relax slowly, then tightened, and then relaxed again. He had already made a plan in his heart at this time. He was determined to kill these three guys and save the people. At this time, a black guard suddenly said:

"If you don't speak, we will use torture. You have also seen that once this torture is applied to you, even if you immediately confess and reveal the information, you will inevitably die. So, this is your last chance to survive."