Chapter 1 苏伦's Choice

Suren exposed his tracks and immediately conjured a few living corpses from the Small Void Realm, leaving them in place.

With a flicker of spatial ripples, he reappeared in another room on the lower deck.

Then, he dropped off another living corpse.

Repeating this teleportation several times, the massive Saint Maria was permeated with the aura of "living people," thoroughly stirring up the undead on board. The once tranquil cabins were now filled with the rustling sounds of various monsters emerging.

Having learned from his previous experience of using living corpses as bait, Suren specifically dressed them in heavy armor to prolong their usefulness.

This type of heavy armor didn't need to consider mobility, only defense, making it like a thick iron box.

The cost wasn't too high, but when worn by living corpses, even seventh-tier monsters would find it difficult to bite through.

Just two or three breaths after Suren dropped the living corpses, he immediately heard the grating and ear-piercing sound of metal gnashing.

With these few living corpses attracting the monsters' attention, he would be much safer.

Just then, the instant Suren sensed the powerful soul fluctuation near the treasure vault disappearing, he immediately cast a teleportation spell, accurately appearing at the vault's location on the third deck.

The Sea Emperor-class warship's hull was already sturdy, and this was the Saint Maria's core cabin, so the damage wasn't severe.

The good news was, the treasure vault was still there.

The bad news was, when Suren arrived, he saw the room littered with scattered gold and silver objects.

His brows furrowed immediately. "How am I supposed to find anything in this mess?"

According to Old Sword God Bartolo, the Black Sam's crew also possessed a small piece of planar shard. They had used it to create their treasure vault.

However, right now, that planar shard was shattered into pieces.

The gold and silver treasures within were scattered all over the ground, piled up to a meter or two in the thickest places.

It wasn't just gold and silver treasures, there were also many rare and exotic items.

Back then, Black Sam's crew robbed the rich to help the poor, plundering many great nobles, and looting the treasuries of dukes and marquises. The various high-level cursed objects, weapons, and materials here were comparable to the wealth of a small kingdom.

A quick glance revealed that he didn't see the [Chalice of Fall].

Perhaps it was buried in the pile of gold coins, or still within the planar shard.

But not finding it immediately was a big problem!

...

Originally, it wouldn't have been too troublesome for Suren to deal with these space shards; he could simply absorb them into the Small Void Realm.

But this process would take a considerable amount of time.

Those undead wouldn't give him that opportunity.

The instant he teleported to the entrance of the treasure vault, a black crow cawed, and suddenly he heard a whooshing sound near his ear.

Without the slightest hesitation, Suren used Displacement to evade the spot where he had been standing.

With a "swoosh," a cold light pierced through his protective domineering aura, brushing past him.

Even though Suren had already dodged, the cold light still made him feel as if he had been burned by fire, and his skin instantly turned warm.

Turning his head, he saw that the sleeve of his right arm had been cut open, revealing the faint golden glow of his Dark Gold Rune Body. Even from a few meters away, the cold light had still grazed him, making one wonder how terrifying it would have been to be struck head-on.

Suren's pupils rapidly locked onto the cold light that was flying back, and he saw that it was a scalpel. A look of gravity appeared on his face. "So it's him. This is troublesome."

Without needing to see who the undead was a hundred meters away, he knew that it was the first mate of Black Sam's crew, "Bloody Witch Doctor" Elsa Lee, upon seeing the [Ice Blade] scalpel.

Back then, this person's bounty in the Bounty Hunters Guild was second only to Pirate King Sam Bellamy, reaching a staggering 9.088 billion lirso.

She was considered top-tier among eighth-tier professionals back then. Now, transformed into an undead, she was definitely a ninth-tier combatant.

And these former members of Black Sam's crew had the instinct to protect the ship, so they wouldn't let outsiders take things away so easily.

Suren's current strength wasn't enough to clash head-on with a ninth-tier opponent.

[Death God's Fire] could indeed severely injure souls, but he estimated that he wouldn't even have the chance to touch her.

"Bloody Witch Doctor" Elsa was originally a combat medic of the assassin type, with frighteningly high agility.

In this narrow space (continued on the next page)

Suren wasn't confident that he could dodge her attacks and hit her.

"Swoosh!"

The sound of rushing wind rose again.

Just as the scalpel looped around and attacked for the second time, Suren dropped a gem inscribed with spatial coordinates in the treasure vault.

Then, in the next second, he unhesitatingly chose to teleport away.

Looking again, he had already appeared on a small ghost pirate ship not far away.

...

Hearing the sounds disappearing, Suren knew that the few living corpses he had left behind had been completely dealt with.

He pondered in his heart, "I have to find a way to lure that [Undead Elsa] away..."

Now that he had confirmed the situation in the treasure vault, he needed at least several minutes to absorb that piece of space shard.

But that was simply unrealistic.

There were at least two ninth-tier undead on the ship, and a bunch of seventh and eighth-tier ones.

This wasn't a situation where he could fight head-on.

If it hadn't been for him coming, he would have escaped.

If any eighth-tier, or even ninth-tier individual came, the chances of survival wouldn't be high.

"If the Saint Maria wasn't going to the battlefield, I could slowly think of a solution. Unfortunately, they won't defy the summons of the spatial will..."

Suren racked his brains, thinking of various plans.

But almost all of them had one problem: not enough time!

This ghost fleet was very fast. It was estimated that in a few hours, it would reach the edge of the Atlantis battlefield. Delaying any further would make the operation increasingly risky.

If he got caught up in the battlefield, not only Suren, but even this ghost Black Sam's crew would probably be annihilated.

But if the ship wasn't going to the battlefield, he would have more time to think about it.

But... how could he stop the ship from going?

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Suren's mind: "How about sinking the ship?"

Although these ghost ships were clearly being pulled by a mysterious force, allowing them to continue sailing at high speed on the sea even in their dilapidated state,

surely they couldn't sail if the ship was broken into several pieces?

As soon as this thought arose, Suren immediately felt that it was highly feasible.

And it was the only option!

Besides, he had left a space coordinate in the planar shard of the treasure vault, so even if the ship sank, he could still salvage it.

Thinking of this, Suren didn't delay any further and informed the mechanics in the Small Void Realm to prepare explosive devices for demolition.

The Sea Emperor-class warship was originally very sturdy; the Eternal Night, for example, could withstand most artillery bombardments.

But now, the Saint Maria's damaged structure had destroyed those rune coatings, so the damage that explosives could cause would be very considerable.

Thinking of this, Suren had already quickly determined several detonation points in his mind.

He would try his best to ensure that the treasure chamber wouldn't be blown to smithereens during the explosion, while still destroying the ship.

As for [Undead Sam Bellamy], that kind of existence wouldn't be killed by an explosion.

...

The convenience of the War Factory was immediately apparent. Before long, the mechanic team had prepared the explosives needed to blow up the ship.

After receiving them, Suren teleported onto the Saint Maria again.

This time, he didn't go looking for those eighth and ninth-tier undead to provoke; instead, he went straight to the few detonation points he had already planned.

Although the teleportation process still attracted some monsters, Suren didn't think about fighting at all. If he could kill them, he would; if not, he would just plant the bomb and evade.

The undead were obviously not interested in bombs, so they weren't damaged after being planted.

The instant he teleported back onto that small ghost ship, there was a loud "boom," and flames from the explosion soared into the sky on the dark sea.

The scorching light illuminated the entire ghost fleet, destroying the Saint Maria and startling the monsters in the ghost fleet, causing them to fly around in confusion.

Even the transcendent beings on those few Sea God-class warships leaked out terrifying auras, causing ripples on the sea surface for a time.

Suren was so frightened that he quickly plunged into the sea along with the shockwave.

Wrapped in a shroud, he slowly sank into the sea.

Although it was dangerous, his heart was full of joy.

Because (continued on the next page)

the plan had gone smoothly.

That mysterious force could make ghost ships sail, but after being blown into countless pieces, the Saint Maria ultimately sank into the sea.

Suren clearly sensed that the space coordinates he had left behind were sinking into the sea, instead of continuing to sail with the ghost fleet.

This was good news.

According to his prediction, the ghost fleet would definitely not stop because of this explosion. He just needed to wait a while longer before going to salvage the items.

However, before he could celebrate for long, the death bird, with its telepathic link, suddenly issued a fatal warning.

Danger was coming!

"Not good!"

Suren's heart skipped a beat.

Although the shroud could perfectly conceal his aura, he still existed on a physical level.

Any undead that could sense anomalies in the seawater would immediately be able to accurately pinpoint his location.

Even Crow-daddy had issued a warning, so Suren didn't harbor any illusions and teleported away without hesitation, avoiding the directions of those few transcendent auras.

However, almost at the same time, he felt the seawater around him suddenly solidify.

If the [Ouroboros Space-Time Ring] hadn't forcibly broken through the confinement, this would have been dangerous.

"Ninth-tier undead!"

Suren felt the mountain-like pressure of that tier and knew that it was definitely not an eighth-tier opponent who had attacked.

Moreover, the ability to confine and compress water elements made him inexplicably think of someone.

"[S-025-Destroyer] talent user, Sam Bellamy!"

Suren thought in his heart that things were not good.

But on second thought, it was also reasonable.

After all, he had blown up someone else's warship. As the captain, even if he only had instincts left, he would still chase after him.

Reality didn't give him any time to think. After one teleportation, that feeling of confinement immediately struck again.

Suren teleported again.

In the vision shared by the black crow, he watched as a humanoid dragon flapped its wings and flew towards him with lightning speed.

Yes!

It was a humanoid dragon.

The name displayed by Identification was [Undead Captain Sam].

It was wearing a Lingtonian-style pirate captain's outfit, with a bicorne hat bearing a skull emblem. Although it was still humanoid, its body was covered in dragon scales, and it had a pair of dragon wings on its back.

Sam Bellamy had once fused with the [Exa Dragon Rune Golden Body]. After death, his body had mutated, and the power of this implanted curse had manifested outwardly.

Seeing this, Suren felt that things were not good.

Because the opponent's flying speed was too fast!

It was so fast that Suren's instantaneous spatial movement was only slightly faster than it.

Almost as soon as he stepped out of the spatial rift, he was caught up.

The oppressive feeling of death was like a shadow, impossible to shake off.

Knowing that he couldn't delay, Suren's hand seals changed like phantoms during the escape process, preparing to cast a long-distance teleportation to escape.

However, although Sam Bellamy was dead, his combat instincts as a top-tier professional remained.

Seeing that he couldn't catch the target, he suddenly grabbed at the sea surface with his hand, and two streams of seawater were grabbed in his hand like a dragon sucking water.

In the blink of an eye, the volume of those dozens or hundreds of tons of seawater was compressed smaller and smaller in his hand, eventually condensing into a small ball with a metallic luster.

Seeing this, Suren immediately recognized that this was the move that Old Sword God Bartolo had warned him to be careful of.

This was Sam Bellamy's famous alchemy technique—[Arcane Art Iron Rain]!

The second unlock of the [S-025-Destroyer] allowed him to have the ability to destroy elements. Alchemy creates miracles, and high-level laws allow super-material compression to form qualitative changes, turning seawater into metal!

The power contained within was so terrifying that it was unimaginable.

This S-grade talent-enhanced arcane art was even more powerful than a same-tier arcane art by a whole major tier!

Back when he was in the eighth tier, this single move of Iron Rain could destroy a large-scale navy fleet, making the Imperial Navy generals avoid encirclement and extermination.

Now that he was in the ninth tier, how terrifying would it be?

Seeing this, the hairs on Suren's back stood on end in an instant. He hadn't experienced this feeling of being locked onto by death for a long time.

"Swoosh!"

"Swoosh!"

"Swoosh!"

"***"

A series of wind-breaking sounds rang out. The two iron balls in Sam Bellamy's hand suddenly scattered, transforming into a sky full of iron rain faster than bullets, scattering in all directions.

Suren also cursed inwardly at the shamelessness of this technique. A 360-degree no-dead-angle scatter meant that no matter where he teleported, as long as he didn't escape the range of the shot, he would be hit!

Fortunately, Suren had been decisive enough before, and the long-range displacement in his hand had also been successfully condensed.

Spatial fluctuations appeared almost simultaneously with the iron rain. The iron pellets pierced through the two-dimensionalized black crow, and muffled sounds like silk tearing rang out several times.

——

Dozens of miles away at sea.

The Dawnbreaker crew watched as spatial fluctuations appeared on the deck, and immediately guessed that Suren had returned.

However, this time, just like the last time he came out of the Atlantis ruins, Suren also fell down horizontally with a "thud."

The crowd looked stunned, and then all gathered around.

"Mr. Suren, are you injured?"

"Oh no, doctor! Someone get the doctor quickly!"

"..."

The crowd watched Suren return covered in blood again. While they were curious, they looked at his injuries and asked, "Mr. Suren, what happened? What monster could hurt you?"

"Could it be another transcendent monster?"

"..."

Even Qian Tiao and Number Nineteen, the high-level combatants of the Dawnbreaker crew, were very curious.

Looking at his embarrassed appearance, they couldn't guess that he must have been chased back by something.

But with Suren's current life-saving strength, unless he encountered a transcendent monster, how could he be chased so embarrassingly?

"Huff..."

Listening to everyone's various expressions of concern, Suren slowly exhaled a breath of air.

Back on the Eternal Night, the feeling of death crisis that had been like a snake crawling up his spine finally disappeared.

Looking at the wound, an iron ball was embedded in the humerus of his right arm. The ultra-high temperature on the pellet was still frantically burning his bone, and his nerves were numb with pain.

Fortunately, it wasn't fatal.

Suren recalled the sky full of "iron rain" in his mind and was still apprehensive.

It had actually pierced through the two-dimensional cloak.

Crow-daddy's tier was still too low. He had been feeding it so many undead treasures every day.

Old Sword God Bartolo on the side obviously saw something and said in surprise, "You... you met Sam?"

"Yes."

Suren's expression was full of complexity, and he said, "He's become an undead now, and he's advanced a major tier. He's very strong."

He briefly explained the situation to everyone.

But even these simple words made everyone tremble.

Although they knew that Suren's trip was very risky, they didn't expect that he would encounter such a terrifying opponent.

Suren looked at the serious expressions on everyone's faces and smiled, breaking the somewhat dull atmosphere. "The good news is that the treasure vault has now sunk into the sea. As long as we wait for a while longer, we should be able to salvage it."

Everyone looked at him, but didn't speak. Their gazes were full of complexity.

Although Suren's tone was very calm, they didn't know how dangerous it had been.

Suren thought for a moment, and then said, "The bad news is that I blew up the Saint Maria. They may still be wandering around in the vicinity for a long time."

After all, it was Tani's father and Old Sword God Bartolo's old comrades. Even though they had turned into undead, he still felt uneasy about the conflict.

But Bartolo didn't seem to think anything of it. Looking at Suren, he said, "I'll accompany you next time. I probably know the most about that Iron Rain Arcane Art."

After a pause, a sigh flashed in his turbid eyes, and he said, "I also want to see my old friends."

Suren didn't stand on ceremony and nodded. "Okay. Then I'll have to trouble you, Senior."

Having personally experienced the strength of the ghost Black Sam's crew, only Bartolo in the entire Dawnbreaker crew had the ability to protect himself against such powerful methods.

——

The space coordinates of the Saint Maria's treasure vault hadn't moved, so Suren (continued on the next page)

wasn't in a hurry to set off at all.

It wasn't until the next day that Suren brought his foreign aid Bartolo and teleported to the sea area of the shipwreck coordinates.

This time, he didn't dare to approach directly. Instead, he stopped far away.

The waves on the sea surface were still churning, and the great battle on the Atlantis side was still continuing.

Suren didn't know what the outcome of the ghost fleet he had gone to yesterday was, but the sea surface was full of shattered ship planks, so it wasn't difficult to guess that the battle must have been very tragic.

Bartolo on the side looked at the various fragments on the sea surface, seeming to want to recognize which piece belonged to his old comrade's Saint Maria, but after looking for a while, he only let out a long sigh. "Let's go. We'll go over and take a look."

Suren nodded, holding a black umbrella, and maximized his perception.

The two of them carefully walked towards the shipwreck, treading on the waves.

As they walked, Bartolo said, "Suren, be careful. Captain Sam's perception ability on the sea is very strong. Once we approach a certain range, the wind and the ocean will be his means of perception."

"..."

Suren's expression was slightly strange as he listened.

The more he understood, the more he lamented that the strength of the legendary pirate king Sam Bellamy was truly not ordinary.

He could fight, he could run, and his perception was also very strong.

It was difficult to find any flaws in such an enemy.

Then, before long, as Bartolo had said, Suren's soul perception suddenly detected a rapidly moving soul fluctuation.

"He's coming!"

Bartolo roared violently, and his famous sword at his waist clanged as it was drawn. He had already taken the lead in rushing up, treading on the waves.

Suren also took a deep breath as he watched.

That oppressive feeling of death was as terrifying as it had been yesterday. If Bartolo hadn't stepped up, he would definitely have turned around and fled.

He didn't dare to be careless, and fully released his perception, carefully observing his surroundings.

In the blink of an eye, Bartolo had already collided with the undead Sam.

Snowflakes fluttered in the sky, and the sharp blade of [Armor-Cutting Frost Flower Whisper] cut out streaks of fire on Sam's dragon scales.

While fighting, Bartolo softly called out, "Captain Sam, it's me... Saito!"

He couldn't even bring himself to strike hard, seeming to want to awaken the former old captain, to have him respond.

Suren didn't fail to see that Old Sword God Bartolo had come to meet his old comrades, and also to say goodbye.

The last farewell had been more than twenty years ago, and it was the last time everyone had met when they were alive.

This time was the last time.

Not to mention that he himself had already reached the end of his life, and probably wouldn't live to see the next time he came in.

Besides, now that the Saint Maria was gone, the "Black Sam Pirate Crew" of the past had ultimately left nothing behind...

This farewell, I'm afraid, would be a farewell forever.

Unconsciously, Bartolo's eyes were already filled with tears as he swung his sword.

The commotion of the battle was great, and strangely shaped shadows appeared in the mist.

Although he couldn't see them clearly, Suren could recognize them through their soul fluctuations. These were the former members of Black Sam's crew.

The good news was that, probably because the big boss had taken action, the other undead didn't choose to intervene.

They watched silently.

It was unknown whether they had recognized this partner who had once shared life and death, or something else.

——

Bartolo was obviously at a disadvantage, and was repelled and coughed up blood several times.

But because he understood Sam Bellamy well enough, he was entangled and didn't show any signs of defeat for the time being.

He didn't have any intention of retreating.

It seemed that he wanted to use this method to bid a final farewell to his former comrades.

Suren watched with a myriad of emotions.

But seeing this, he deeply realized just how strong the undead Sam was.

With his current realm, he was finally able to understand some things at the ninth-tier level.

The two, one living and one undead, were still fighting in the distance. As he watched, Suren suddenly thought of something.

He raised his hand, and two people appeared beside him.

They were Tani and his mother Friedel.

There was no better opportunity than now to let them, a family meet.

As soon as Tani and his mother came out, their eyes were immediately fixed on the figure fighting in the distance.

Friedel's expression was first stunned, and then her crystal eyes rippled with emotion.

Then, she gave a lonely smile.

She had finally seen him for the last time.

It seemed that she was satisfied.

She pointed to the distance and said softly, "Tani, that is your father."

Tani looked on, and couldn't help but well up with tears in his eyes. He wanted to wave his hand and call out "Father," a word he had never said, but it seemed that he couldn't bring himself to say it.

He had imagined countless times what it would be like to see his father, but he had never thought that the first and only reunion of the family of three would be like this.

Suren sighed slightly in his heart.

He also concentrated his attention on observing the surroundings.

If anything went wrong, he would immediately take them away.

But at this time, Friedel suddenly looked at Suren and asked with a plea, "Captain Suren, can I say hello to him?"

Suren felt that this behavior was quite risky, but after thinking for a moment, he nodded. "You can. But be careful."

Friedel was given permission, nodded, "Okay, thank you."

She smiled slightly, took out a Naga seven-colored conch, and murmured, "When they left Rainbow Island to go on adventures, I also said goodbye by playing this song. Today, I'll play it for him one last time..."

Saying that, she put it to her lips and gently exhaled. A melodious melody floated out of the conch, light and soothing.

Woo... woo... woo woo...

The waves on the sea and the sea breeze in the air seemed to have been soothed, becoming gentle, and rippling with the beautiful melody.

Tani on the side was already in tears, biting his teeth and holding back from crying like a man.

Countless grievances over the years seemed unimportant at this moment.

The first time they met was the last time.

The sound of the crashing waves seemed to be sobbing along with the sea.

Suren heard the strong love and sadness in this song.

It was finally time to say goodbye.

He sighed slightly and vaguely felt something.

Was this the end of life?

What a sad end.

——

The sound of the conch music drifted further and further away, but what Suren didn't expect was that this sound not only didn't attract the attacks of nearby undead,

on the contrary, the oppressive atmosphere of murderous intent gradually faded away.

The most obvious was the undead Sam, who was fighting with Bartolo.

Hearing this familiar melody, he seemed to have remembered something, and suddenly stopped.

He just stood there blankly on the sea, listening quietly.

The undead had indeed lost their own intelligence, but they still retained some of their instincts from when they were alive.

Especially those things that they could not forget, those relatives they once loved.

Bartolo also listened to the music with tears in his eyes.

He looked at the undead Sam in front of him, and the people in the surrounding misty shadows, and murmured, "Captain, men, do you hear that? This is the song that Miss Friedel used to see us off... Listen... how good it sounds..."

"Did you hear it, men..."

He kept muttering to himself.

More than twenty years ago, just like this, Friedel had played this song to see them off.

Now, the music had ended, and the people had dispersed.

Everything was already different.

Suren watched and inexplicably sighed in his heart.

But in the next moment, a magical scene happened!

Suddenly, Ghost Sam and those undead crew members in the hazy shadows all looked over.

Very calm.

There was no longer any of the ferocity of the undead.

They raised their hands and waved at Friedel.

Just like the farewell scene more than twenty years ago.

Familiar, yet unfamiliar.

Then they turned around together, as if summoned by some mysterious force, and turned away.

Those figures gradually disappeared into the mist,

never to be seen again.

(continued on the next page)

The Black Sam Pirate Crew, a legend of an era, had finally come to an end at this moment.

——

They had finally said goodbye.

When Suren turned his face again, Friedel was already in tears.

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