The first to arrive at Gu Ding's coordinates was a group that had entered the illusion zone several days earlier.
More than thirty thousand of them had entered, but after just a few days, only around ten thousand remained.
Including Melissa, Gu Ding's group numbered only thirteen in total. Yet when they saw the massive incoming force, they were not panicked in the slightest.
"I'll do it!"
Before that group could step into the trap Sea Emperor and the others had set, Liliath flickered and appeared a short distance in front of them.
"Woman, you're Gu Ding's accomplice, aren't you?"
The leader was a Three-Star Asura, a tall man with a thick beard covering his face. He had quite the booming voice as well. Seeing Liliath blocking his group's path, he shouted at her.
"Remember my name—the Gu Ding Pirate Crew's Liliath!" As Liliath spoke, her voice carried a bewitching quality.
"From now on, you are my guard force. Kill without mercy anyone who tries to enter this area!" Liliath's pupils began turning Purple-Gold, with a faint Purple-Gold radiance flowing across the surface of her eyes.
The moment her voice fell, everyone except Big Beard fell under Liliath's hypnosis.
Big Beard was, after all, a Three-Star Asura. His comprehension of the laws was no weaker than Liliath's; only his soul strength was inferior to hers, and he had nearly succumbed. But the instant he noticed something was wrong, he viciously bit his tongue and jolted himself awake.
Once awake, Big Beard looked at the people behind him and was instantly horrified. He stared at Liliath with a guarded expression. "You witch, what a despicable method! You actually hypnotized them!"
"Despicable? Hypnosis is a perfectly normal method for an illusionist, all right? Don't tell me you absurdly expected an illusionist like