Langyue (3)

"Huh? Why do you want to build a warship? It wouldn't be much use, would it? We rarely attack anyone!" Ren Fang said, taken aback.

Fanxin had gone to sea to find his parents and generally wouldn't fight without reason. She, meanwhile, had gone to sea to find the bastard who had destroyed her whole family. If she met that bastard, she would deal with him herself. But even that would only be a small-scale fight, not a major battle. There was no need for a warship at all. That would be overkill.

"Maybe, but it's my dream! Even if I never use it, I still want to build it. I'll just treat it as a work of art!" Little Black Cat said with a chuckle.

"Oh, I suppose that's true. If it's your dream, go ahead and build it! But once it's finished, try not to bring it out, understand? It would cause a lot of trouble," Ren Fang said, nodding before cautioning him.

Warships generally belonged to the navy and were strategic assets. If their group acquired one, the navy would definitely send forces after them. Then they would be in trouble.

They would have to either surrender or resist.

If they surrendered, they would end up in prison, and they still had many things left to do. Fanxin hadn't found his parents, and she hadn't found her enemy. They certainly wouldn't be content to sit in prison.

So they could only resist. With their abilities, they could escape as long as the other side had no exceptionally powerful fighters. But once they escaped, they would become criminals, and the navy would hunt them across the world.

Being branded criminals was no good thing. They wouldn't even be able to sleep soundly afterward, because the navy was everywhere. It had troops stationed in almost every human town.

Whenever they wanted to buy something in town, they would have to be extremely careful, or the navy would come to arrest them. It would be a nightmare.

"Ah, I understand. Don't worry, I'll build the entire warship inside my Mechanical Space. Once it's finished, I won't bring it out unless I have to," Little Black Cat replied with a slight nod.

He understood the threat a warship posed too. The navy wouldn't allow such a thing to exist, and if one appeared, they would certainly destroy it. He didn't want to cause trouble either.

"Good. In any case, we didn't go to sea to slaughter people. We each have our own goals, so let's try to avoid unnecessary trouble," Ren Fang said.

Little Black Cat nodded, then continued drinking and eating.

Seeing grease all over Little Black's mouth, Ren Fang had no choice but to wipe it for him.

At noon, Ren Fang went to the kitchen to cook, while Little Black ate and steered.

Once lunch was ready, Little Black went to Fanxin's room to call him to eat. The moment he saw Little Wolf Langyue, he was startled too. He hadn't known this fellow had come along as well.

"All right, he's our companion now too, so stop holding a grudge," Fanxin said. He got out of bed, put on his boots, and headed outside to eat.

Little Black Cat glanced at Little Wolf Langyue and said fiercely, "You'd better not be here specifically to target those two. If you hurt them, I'll hunt you to the ends of the earth."

Ren Fang and Fanxin were his best friends. Especially Fanxin—they had been together for more than ten years, and no one could compare to that bond. He already regarded Fanxin as family. If anyone dared lay a hand on Fanxin, he absolutely wouldn't go easy on them.

"Tch, my targets are the experts all over the world. You lot aren't good enough yet," Little Wolf Langyue said with a snort. "Don't worry, I won't touch you. I still need you to take me around the world."

With that, he couldn't be bothered to pay Little Black Cat any more attention and swaggered outside. He went to the dining room and, without hesitation, claimed a seat.

Little Black Cat followed behind. Seeing how casually Little Wolf acted made him extremely unhappy. This was their territory, yet the fellow made himself right at home, and that bothered him.

"All right, Little Black, it's not like there aren't enough seats, right? We're together now, so we're friends. Don't make things so unpleasant." Seeing Little Black Cat puffed up with anger, Fanxin felt helpless. He walked over, picked him up, and set him on the chair beside his own before speaking earnestly.

There was nothing he could do about Little Wolf Langyue coming along. Even if he wanted to send him back, that was impossible. So he could only accept reality. But if they were going to live together, constantly being at each other's throats would be no fun. Generally, only enemies acted that way, and enemies didn't live together.

"That's right, Little Black. Little Wolf hasn't done anything to us. He only targeted us before because his family was under threat. He had no choice but to make a move against us, but he didn't actually attack us! And after that, he never targeted us again, did he?"

Ren Fang stepped forward and handed Little Black a roast chicken. "So stop sulking. Since we're together, let's get along, understand? As the saying goes, it's better to resolve a feud than keep it going. Having one more friend is better than having one more opponent, right?"

Ren Fang had been very surprised to see Little Wolf too, but she hadn't said much. Their ship was large, with plenty of room and food, more than enough for their group. One more little wolf made no difference.

As long as Little Wolf didn't attack them, it was fine. If he did, they wouldn't be able to live in peace, and they would have to use force to make him leave.

But Little Wolf was very quiet now and showed no sign of wanting to attack them. So she allowed him to stay with them.

Little Black Cat took the roast chicken and bit into it fiercely several times before saying, "Fine. Since they've both said so, I'll let it go. But now that you're here, you can't just eat and drink for free. You have to work too, understand? Otherwise, I'll drive you away."

"All right, I'll take care of the food. I can bring up all kinds of creatures from the sea and make sure you have enough to eat," Little Wolf Langyue said with a slight nod, raising no objection.

He naturally had to work, because he didn't want others calling him a lazybones. That was no compliment.

"Oh, you can catch fish?" Fanxin asked, taken aback.

"Yes. I gained some of the Tower of Vicious Wolves' abilities. I can turn everything around me into giant wolves. I can turn seawater into a water wolf and send it down to catch fish. That's not difficult for me," Little Wolf Langyue said.

"I see. Then I'll leave it to you when we're at sea from now on," Fanxin said with a smile.

"You're welcome," Little Wolf Langyue said, nodding.

"Mm, Little Black, don't pick on him, or you might not have any fish to eat in the future," Fanxin said, smiling at Little Black Cat.

"Tch, I'll catch my own," Little Black Cat said disdainfully.

"You can't go in the water. You ate a Devil Fruit," Fanxin reminded him.

"Ah... I forgot about that." Little Black Cat immediately fell silent. Then he said stubbornly, "Fine, you can catch the fish. But don't think I'm asking you for a favor. This is my ship, and your fish are just rent, understand?"

"Fine, rent it is," Little Wolf Langyue said helplessly.

Ren Fang and Fanxin exchanged helpless looks. They knew Little Black was desperately trying to save face.

After that, they stopped arguing and concentrated on eating.

An hour later, they finished lunch. Everyone went their separate ways, and Ren Fang washed the dishes in the kitchen.

Little Black Cat went to his small room to sleep. In truth, he wasn't sleeping; he was transferring his mental power into the Mechanical Space. To create things, he had to move his mental power there. This was a fatal weakness of his. In this state, he was at his weakest, and even an ordinary person could kill him.

So he generally didn't create things in dangerous places. Now that Little Wolf Langyue, Fanxin, and Ren Fang were keeping watch on the ship, it was very safe. He could devote himself fully to his work.

Little Wolf Langyue and Fanxin went to the bow to steer.

"Hey, Langyue, there's something I want to ask you. Can you tell me?" Fanxin asked, looking at him.

"What is it? Go ahead," Langyue said with a nod.

"You've been inside the Tower of Vicious Wolves, right? What's it like in there?" Fanxin asked.

"Are you thinking of going after the Tower of Vicious Wolves? I'd advise you not to. It's a world of slaughter in there. If you go in, surviving will be very difficult," Langyue immediately warned him.

Back then, the wolf clan had been thriving, numbering in the millions. But after entering the Tower of Vicious Wolves, their numbers had begun to plummet. They knew that if they stayed inside, death was their only fate, and their entire clan might be wiped out. So they had tried to break through. But it hadn't gone smoothly. They had been intercepted by the vicious wolves, who refused to let them leave. They fought the vicious wolves inside, day after day, year after year, as though it would never end.

They bred and fought inside. But compared with the rate at which they died, their breeding was far too slow. It took more than a day or two for a wolf to grow up. So rather than increasing, the wolf clan slowly dwindled.

Several decades ago, his father had become the wolf king. His father knew that unless they uncovered the Tower of Vicious Wolves' secret, they couldn't escape. In the end, they would definitely die inside, and not one would get away.

So he had taken several clan elders to ambush and kill a vicious wolf, then brought its body back.

His father had then used a secret technique to seal the vicious wolf inside him. His father wanted to know what changes this would cause.

His father had been gambling, but his gamble paid off. After he sealed the vicious wolf inside his own child, Langyue gained the Tower of Vicious Wolves' abilities. He could control that power freely.

After this discovery, the wolf clan prepared to ambush more vicious wolves so that all their members could gain this power.

Unfortunately, the vicious wolves seemed to have learned their secret. They began traveling in packs and no longer went off alone. The wolf clan never succeeded again, and they suffered considerable losses.

His father, the wolf king, was surrounded by a large pack of vicious wolves and met a violent end.

The wolf clan elected a new wolf king, and the golden giant wolf took the position. After taking power, he decided to stop attacking the vicious wolves. Their chances of success were slim, and only a few dozen wolves remained in the clan. If they continued fighting, the clan would be wiped out.

So they began trying to break out.

Langyue used his abilities to cover everyone's retreat. It was only because he had gained those abilities that the wolf clan finally managed to escape the Tower of Vicious Wolves. Without them, they would never have gotten out, and the last few dozen wolves would have been killed by the vicious wolves too.

He had seen firsthand how terrifying the vicious wolves were, so he didn't want Fanxin going inside. It was practically hell in there. If Fanxin went in, he would most likely have only a slim chance of survival.

"Is it really that terrifying?" Fanxin asked gravely.

"Mm, it's hell in there. So you'd better not go," Little Wolf Langyue said. "Unless you're prepared to die, you'd just be throwing your life away."

"Is that so? Then I won't go for now. I'll think about it later." Hearing how terrifying the Tower of Vicious Wolves was, Fanxin thought it over and gave up on exploring it.

He still had more important things left to do. If he really died inside, that would be trouble. Although he had grown much stronger, he didn't think he could defeat those vicious wolves that radiated an aura of slaughter.

"Phew, good. Wait until you're stronger before going in. Then you might be able to subdue the Tower of Vicious Wolves and make it serve you," Little Wolf Langyue said.

The Tower of Vicious Wolves' abilities were quite useful. If a large group came after you, you could summon countless vicious wolves to deal with them. That way, you wouldn't have to worry about being bullied.

"Mm, you're right. I'll leave it for later, then!" Fanxin nodded and stopped talking about the Tower of Vicious Wolves.

He concentrated on steering the ship onward.

While they were at ease, a large ship suddenly appeared in the distance, dozens of times the size of theirs. Its bow bore a huge lion's head, its open mouth giving it a ferocious appearance.

"Ren Fang, Little Black, Langyue, prepare for battle! That's a pirate ship." Fanxin looked up at the vessel and saw a huge skull flag flying aboard it, the mark of a pirate ship.

Pirates were detestable. They plundered wherever they went, and who knew how many people had lost their families and homes because of them.