Spreading Fear

Lowett had no way of knowing about the new orders issued by Marine Headquarters.

But from the newspaper delivered by the News Bird, which carried no reports whatsoever about Nandecanette's assassination, he keenly sensed an unwavering resolve!

Without a doubt, he was the Marines' "stain" in this incident.

The World Government could not possibly publicize its own scandal for the sake of so-called justice.

With the famed Admiral Aokiji involved, it could easily cause ordinary people under their rule to lose trust in the Marines.

Publicly and privately, those above wanted to suppress this matter and avoid causing panic.

That made him, the dangerous ticking time bomb and the instigator, the obvious first target for elimination!

So Lowett had not recklessly wandered around these past few days. His understanding of the East Blue came only from the nautical chart he had seen in Shells Town, and undead sailors without memories of their former lives lacked the ability to sail long distances. Thus, Lowett had not actually gone far these past few days.

At his farthest, he was only half a day's voyage from the deserted island where he had fought the Black Cat Pirates that day.

The most dangerous place was the safest.

Even if Monka were beaten to death, he would never have imagined that Lowett had been right beside him that day, passing him by.

At this moment, aboard the "Hundred Plans Black Cat."

At the center of the deck, the materials of the magic array had been replaced several times, keeping it bright scarlet.

Human blood had its limits, but fortunately, corpses preserved with magic did not spoil so easily, giving Lowett plenty of blood to use.

Blue-green Ghost Fire drifted around the small hole drilled into the crown of the skulls. A few days ago, the six heads had still vaguely retained their features, but now their flesh had melted away, leaving only pure white bone.

The modifications were complete. Next came the nurturing period.

Sitting in a beach chair, Lowett shifted his gaze and accepted the red wine delivered by a Zombie Puppet.

Before him, at the center of the magic array, stood a muscular corpse with a scrap of cloth around its lower body for modesty and a bare upper body.

His skin was as smooth as silk, without the slightest trace of stitching. Even his hair had grown back. Put him in clothes and tidy his hairstyle, and he would look exactly like the original "Hundred Schemes" Kuro.

Only, his skin was utterly bloodless, bluish vein-like patterns covered his entire body, and tempered steel cat claws fused with his finger bones, exposed outside the skin like Wolverine's. He was ultimately still different from a living person.

Under the effect of the magic array, the corpse floated silently about a centimeter above the ground.

Every three breaths, when the magic array's light brightened slightly, a muffled drumbeat sounded from his chest. Invisible ripples spread out, making the soul lamp's flame tremble faintly.

"He should wake up today, right?"

Taking a light sip of the blood-red wine, Lowett smiled.

"Barely passable. Luckily, I preserved the growth trait."

To be honest, Lowett was not satisfied with the first thesis he had created in this world. His mind held such abundant knowledge, yet only a small number of modifications could be put into practice. To a mage pursuing perfection, that was as unbearable as being scratched by a cat.

Fortunately, he had retained the growth trait, and with the bonus from a high score, it had reached his psychological passing line.

Though Black Knights were "creations," creations could continue to grow.

That depended on whether the mage had the ability to make it happen.

"With a Black Knight, I can finally... relax a little."

Black Knights were a Necromancer's thesis, and also their favorite tools. Compared to ordinary undead, mages could customize various specializations for them, allowing them to perform different kinds of work.

For example, extracting an academic rival's scholarly memories from their soul in exchange for a powerful research assistant.

Of course, Lowett did not need a research assistant right now. Staying alive safely was his top priority. What he needed was combat power.

After thoroughly analyzing the corpse before him, he used flesh reconstruction at the cost of dozens of corpses stored in the cabin, greatly enhancing this body's strength, speed, and defense, turning him into a humanoid monster.

At 207 centimeters tall and nearly 200 kilograms, Kuro's seemingly human appearance was enough to prove that earth-shaking changes had taken place inside him.

If this Black Knight had been present that day, Lowett would not have needed to run at all.

With the East Blue Marines' average combat ability, killing them all would have been far too easy.

"It's just that his intelligence is a serious flaw!"

Lowett frowned in thought.

There were two ways for resurrected undead to retain the intelligence they possessed in life.

The first was the oft-mentioned Official Mage-level Three Stars Soul Magic: Undead Transformation.

Using a mage's powerful personal strength to keep the target's soul from dispersing, then sealing it within the body and restoring its memories.

This was no simple matter!

It was like the question Anthony Musk had raised in the Necronomicon: if neither the soul nor the body had a problem, then why did "death" exist?

They had merely separated.

And reuniting them, assembling them perfectly, involved the concept of "life" mentioned by the Life School.

They believed that a third, unobserved substance existed between the flesh and soul. It was the existence of this substance that allowed simple carbohydrates and simple energy forms to mingle and give birth to "life."

"Death" existed because this substance was sensitive and fragile, easily vanishing; and because it could not be observed, it could not be retrieved.

No matter how perfectly one assembled them, what returned was only a pile of materials with memories under the effect of magic.

Setting aside the fact that souls and bodies, or brains, could store memories independently, the Mage World understood this as well.

Therefore, even if Necromancers mastered all kinds of life-restoring spells, even heaven-defying spells that revived the dead, who could prove that the revived you was not merely a Zombie Puppet retaining memories under magical influence, but genuine "life"?

Oh, right.

As an aside, the Life School was a branch that had split from the Necromancy School more than seven thousand years ago, and it now had its own independent system.

The Necromancy School still interpreted death, while the Life School studied life.

The two sides could not stand each other.

In short.

Because they could not be assembled perfectly, mages had to rely on powerful Mental Power to cast magic and forcibly correct the synchronization rate between the dead material's body and soul.

It was like when a television screen went fuzzy and you gave it two smacks.

First, you needed a thick, powerful arm!

Then there was the second path.

The target naturally possessed a powerful, radiant soul and an intense obsession with "life."

The simplest example was a vengeful ghost!

The unwillingness before death and attachment to "life" caused their soul cores to solidify in an instant, leaving behind their purest emotions. Such emotions were often varied and countless.

And the stronger the soul, the more emotions it retained, and the clearer its consciousness became.

Kuro had, of course, died without regrets.

He had failed to see through Lowett's elaborate deception. He had accepted his defeat wholeheartedly.

And he had not possessed a particularly powerful soul to keep him attached to this world...

That was not a matter of whether one's will was firm, but a matter of soul strength.

Just because you had the backbone not to bow for five pecks of rice did not mean you would not starve to death.

"Well, I'll take it one step at a time."

If he had directly created a Black Knight on the level of the Black Dragon Lord from his previous world, Lowett would have had to worry whether he could control it.

The rules of the undead were sometimes simpler than those of beasts.

Only the strong deserved to possess the strong!

The level of intelligence determined the rank of undead creatures in a mage's eyes... but clearly, the undead themselves did not recognize that distinction.

"Roar!"

At that moment, a low growl drew Lowett's attention.

He looked up and saw the Zombie Puppet tied to the top of the mast as a lookout, its face twisted, lips curled back to reveal white teeth as it stared into the distance.

"Living people are approaching?"

Look how hungry the child was.

Following its gaze, Lowett's lips curled upward.

"My luck really isn't bad when I smile."

He had just been wondering how to leave after finishing the Black Knight, and now... an opportunity had arrived.

Out on the distant sea, a sailing ship flying a black pirate flag slowly decelerated, then turned its bow and approached his position.

The Marines had sealed off the news. In outsiders' eyes, after Kuro's capture, the Black Cat Pirates were now nothing more than defeated remnants. They were the perfect...

Stepping stone!

"Are you sure that's the Hundred Plans Black Cat?"

On the pirate ship's deck, the captain, the "Big" pirate Bruto, lowered his spyglass. The flesh on his face bunched together as he looked toward his first mate and strategist, who stood only as high as his waist.

"It should be... no, it definitely is!"

Under Bruto's fierce stare, the disheveled pirate first mate hurriedly corrected himself. "In the East Blue, aside from the Black Cat Pirates, no one likes turning their ship's prow into a black cat... It has to be them!"

"Hmph, it better be!"

Bruto snorted. The fat on his upper body rippled like waves with the motion. Being fat was not a problem, but being so fat that one's flesh could jiggle as smoothly as water was a skill in itself.

As a pirate who had spent three years at sea yet only carried a bounty of three million Berries, Bruto was big, and so were his ambitions. Only his reputation was small. People even mocked him for overestimating himself.

Thus, the moment he saw the Hundred Plans Black Cat, jealousy burned in his heart.

Why?

Why was a pirate crew whose captain had already been arrested more famous than him?

"Pull alongside them! Kill them all!"

There was no need for negotiations. Pirates feared power, not kindness. Thinking of the reputation he would gain by destroying the Black Cat Pirates with his own hands, Bruto grew so excited that white steam shot from his nostrils.

The first mate wanted to stop him, but he did not dare speak.

He turned to look at the Hundred Plans Black Cat floating silently on the sea, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Strange, why can't I see a single person?"

He had not heard that the new captain, Zango, had abandoned this ship.

I remembered what the second thing was. The latest Pirate King chapter revealed the bounties of the Four Emperors: five billion for Whitebeard, 5.5 billion for Roger, 4.6 billion for Kaido, and 4.3 billion for BIG...

But that is not the main point now. The editor informed me that there was a problem with the book title and it had to be changed, so it was changed to The Black Count of the Pirate World. The synopsis barely passed, so it was revised as well.

Disaster, undead, and anything like that cannot be used.

Ah, this wave completely shattered my mindset.

Necromancer of the Pirate World was much more fitting, I'd say.

Since Big Tree is so pitiful, please give me some votes, favorites, rewards, and recommendations. Thank you, everyone.

From taking forever to sign a contract, to getting no recommendations for two weeks, to chapter titles being swallowed, and now even the book title is gone... This is seriously one disaster after another.