There Are Many Ways to Kill, Not All of Them Involve Combat

The disappearance of over twenty humans, half-orcs, and hobgoblins was hardly noticeable to a pirate crew of over two hundred, scattered across the entire island.

However, as dusk approached and the sun slowly dipped towards the western horizon, the situation began to change.

Those who had been searching in the woods, grass, and bushes in small groups were now gathering at an incredibly fast pace towards the beach where they had landed their boats.

Before long, a massive bonfire, constructed from piled-up wood, was lit.

A soldier who had rested for the day stood atop the mountain, surveyed the distant scene, and immediately turned back to his summoner in the cave. "Master, those pirates are converging on one location. I believe it won't be long before they realize many of their companions are missing."

"Oh? They're finally starting to gather?"

Zuo Si's eyes lit up slightly, and even the hand stirring the crucible paused.

This so-called "crucible" was something he had fashioned using the metal weapons like scimitars and longswords from the defeated pirates, utilizing the Creator's [Shaping] ability.

As for the thick paste he was stirring with water in the pot, it was some crushed plant seeds mixed with a little water.

This particular plant had a very well-known name on Earth: castor bean.

On his way back to the cave on the mountaintop, Zuo Si had stumbled upon these plants growing on the mountainside. A sudden flash of inspiration struck him, and he thought of a method to quickly incapacitate or even kill a large number of pirates.

That method was poisoning!

As everyone knows, castor bean seeds contain a highly toxic substance called ricin.

A mere fraction of a milligram can cause a healthy adult man to die in agony.

Even in Faerun, a land filled with all sorts of mystical powers, magic, and divine spells, alleviating or eliminating ricin poisoning was not a simple or easy task.

Perhaps an [Antidote Potion] could do it, and divine spells like [Lessen Poisoning] and [Neutralize Toxin] could also work.

However, their scarcity meant that none of these methods could possibly deal with over two hundred poisoned pirates all at once.

There are many ways to kill, and it doesn't always require combat.

This was one of the most valuable lessons Zuo Si had learned from the Archlich—Astar.

After a full afternoon of work, he first used simple, primitive methods of crushing, adding water, and stirring to gather a large quantity of castor bean seeds.

Then, he used his [Refinement] ability to obtain higher purity crystals.

He had now acquired enough high-purity ricin to kill thousands of people.

Now, all that was needed was an opportunity for the pirates to gather for a meal and rest.

The soldier clearly understood his master's intentions and immediately nodded. "Yes! Based on the current numbers, they've gathered over a hundred. It's estimated that in about forty minutes, the remaining pirates will also arrive one after another. And that will be precisely when the sun sets and night truly descends."

"In that case, let's go add something to our guests' dinner."

With that, Zuo Si stood up and used [Refinement] on the crucible.

Instantly!

A small handful of crystalline powder flew out of the murky liquid and landed precisely in a glass jar nearby.

After finishing, he carefully cradled the jar and led the way down the mountain towards the beach where the bonfire was lit.

The summoned soldier and the panther followed closely behind.

About half an hour later, the two of them and the panther arrived and hid behind the bushes near the beach.

As the sun had only a sliver of its last rays remaining, the visibility in the surroundings was extremely low.

However, for those hobgoblins and half-orcs who possessed [Darkvision], these were not significant issues.

Even on the darkest nights, these humanoid creatures could see everything within eighteen to twenty meters in front of them clearly.

Fortunately!

At this moment, these individuals were busy unloading wine and food from the beached large ship.

Coupled with the pirates constantly returning from the jungle and joining them, the scene appeared quite chaotic.

Zuo Si keenly noticed this and immediately instructed the soldier, who had already changed into pirate attire, "Now! Slip in and add some ricin to their stew pot, wine barrels, and fresh water. Remember, if anyone asks about your identity, use the name Astated."

"Understood!"

The soldier took the glass jar, hid it in his embrace, and then walked towards the bonfire as if nothing was amiss.

Whether it was because the human pirates were not familiar with monsters like hobgoblins, half-orcs, and ogres, or because they had expended too much energy traversing and searching the dense forest during the day and had no inclination to pay attention to their companions passing by, In any case, the soldier did not arouse any suspicion and safely reached the area where supplies were stored.

Just as he was about to take out the jar from his embrace to begin poisoning, a half-orc cooking nearby suddenly shouted, "Hey! Human kid! What are you doing?"

Instantly!

The soldier, frozen in the motion of reaching for something, stiffened.

His nerves extremely taut, he instinctively placed his other hand on the hilt of his scimitar, his mind racing with thoughts of how to eliminate the other party without alerting the rest of the pirates.

However, the half-orc cook did not notice this. Instead, he walked over, snatched the jar filled with ricin crystals from the soldier's embrace, casually unscrewed it, and took a small pinch to taste.

After a few seconds, he grinned mockingly. "Aha! A jar of expensive spice. You scoundrel, daring to steal the seasonings for everyone's meal, you must be tired of living."

Spice... spice?

Seasoning?

The soldier, who had been ready to kill just a moment ago, was completely stunned.

He really didn't know how to describe the half-orc's stupidity, nor his utterly terrible taste.

After all, high-purity ricin was a crystalline substance with a slightly bitter taste; it looked nothing like spices or seasonings.

But what happened next left him even more dumbfounded.

The half-orc took the container full of ricin crystals and sprinkled a handful into each pot of soup, until the empty glass jar was completely depleted. He then threw the jar to the ground, cursing viciously, "Get lost! You dirty, lowlife scum! If I ever see you stealing again, even a cup of wine or a pinch of salt, I'll twist your head off and throw it into the pot to feed those ogres. They're never picky eaters anyway!"

"I... I'm sorry, I won't dare to do it again."

Suppressing the urge to burst out laughing on the spot, the soldier quickly feigned panic and turned to flee into the dark woods.

He was afraid that if he ran any slower, the other party would see the contorted expression on his face from holding back his laughter.

The half-orc chef, who thought he had done a good deed, spat in the direction the soldier had run, then smugly continued to stir the stew and seafood soup in the pot with his ladle.

When the soldier returned to their hiding spot and recounted the entire incident, Zuo Si could barely hold it together either.

He laughed as he complained, "Alright. Now we have good news and bad news. The good news is that the toxin levels in the food and soup, even after the toxicity subsided from boiling, are enough to take down the strongest ogre. The bad news is, if some of those pirates only drink alcohol and eat grilled fish, they won't be poisoned."

"What do we do next? Just wait here for the pirates to be poisoned?" the soldier asked curiously.

"No! Of course not. Remember those zombies lurking at the foot and on the slopes of the mountain? It's time to put them to use. You and Raid wait here; I'm going to use this time to set up a small magical ritual."

With that, Zuo Si took out some bone powder, a few black agates, and an eyeball suspended in preservative fluid, complete with nerve tissue, from his satchel.

Judging by the materials alone, it was clearly a necromantic magical ritual.

After all, having studied under Astar for so long, he understood necromancy the best and had the highest proficiency in it.