Midnight Revel of the Undead

"My master wants the merchant ship you captured, along with all the prisoners aboard, including these four."

The soldier pointed at the merchant, captain, first mate, and boatswain, who were too frightened to move, then pulled out a glass jar that radiated a chilling aura.

"In return, you may have this antidote to save your subordinates, who are suffering unbearable pain and will soon die. Of course, you can also try to take it from me. But I guarantee that before I am killed, I will smash this jar and leave you with nothing."

Staring at the jar filled with dark red liquid, Harlett cautiously probed, "Your master was hired by the Roldan Trading Company?"

The soldier shook his head without hesitation. "No! My master serves no organization or individual. He only needs a ship and enough sailors to operate it. Nothing more."

"Not hired? Then how about we change the terms? Give me the antidote, and I'll send your master anywhere he wishes to go. Once we make port, the merchant ship, its valuable cargo, and the sailors will all belong to your master. But this young merchant belongs to me."

Harlett tried to bargain.

Because Bernard was far more than just a "business deal."

He was also tied to a whole series of Harlett's future plans.

Though the title of Captain Bloodhand had brought Harlett a fearsome reputation, it had also brought endless trouble.

After drifting at sea for so many years, he had grown tired of constantly hunting prey—or being hunted as prey himself. He wanted to change his identity, clean up his name, step ashore, and pull strings from the shadows.

"Sorry, no. My master accepts no form of bargaining. You may only choose between agreement and refusal. Also, I should remind you that castor toxin damages internal organs and causes them to fail. If you delay too long, even drinking the antidote may leave you crippled."

The soldier calmly continued applying pressure.

Before appearing, he had already received Raymond's instructions. The entire threat and negotiation had been arranged without a single flaw.

"Damn it! Fine, you win. These four prisoners, the merchant ship, and those captured human sailors are all yours now. Give me the antidote."

Seeing more and more of his pirate subordinates succumb to the agony of the poison and draw their last breaths, Harlett decisively chose to back down first.

He signaled to a nearby Hobgoblin who had not been poisoned. The Hobgoblin picked up an oil lamp, stood atop a relatively dark reef, and kept raising and lowering it.

Before long, several small boats carried groups of bound humans, along with Half-Orc pirates assigned to watch them, through the shallow seawater and onto shore.

Although the pirates left behind were shocked to see their companions sprawled on the ground, writhing and wailing in pain, and wanted to ask their captain what had happened.

Harlett stopped them with a look and gestured for them to cut the ropes and hand over all the prisoners.

And so, thirty-eight sailors who had survived the disaster were driven behind the soldier, each wearing a bewildered expression.

Along with them came Captain Bass, shipowner Bernard, the first mate, and the injured boatswain.

The moment the two groups met, the former immediately glared at the latter with fury and hatred.

Because when danger had struck, these four senior officers of the merchant ship had abandoned the ordinary sailors without hesitation and chosen to slip away.

If the pirates had not still been present, they probably would have started fighting on the spot.

"Fall back into the brush immediately. Remember, no matter what you see later, stay where you are and do not run around," the soldier instructed in a low voice.

As a participant in the entire plan, he knew perfectly well what was about to happen.

These people, lacking combat skills and experience, would only become a burden if they stayed.

"Understood! Please rest assured, sir. We'll hide in the brush and stay put as you instructed."

A middle-aged sailor who seemed highly respected stepped forward to state his position, then led the other sailors into the dark woods.

Captain Bass and the merchant Bernard clearly wanted to say something as well, but the soldier stopped them and urged them to leave quickly.

Only after all the prisoners had left the beach did the soldier hand the jar filled with the so-called "antidote" to the Hobgoblin waiting nearby.

After receiving the captain's approval, the Hobgoblin immediately began pouring a mouthful into each unlucky pirate who had wailed for half the day and was now too weak to do more than groan.

The effect was immediate!

Every poisoned man who drank it instantly showed an expression of relief, as though the pain had vanished.

But no one noticed that during the next half minute after drinking the "antidote."

Their skin turned an unhealthy pallor, while their pupils emitted a faint light that sent chills down the spine.

If there had been a spellcaster present, he would have immediately recognized that these poisoned men had not truly been cured. Their bodies were transforming into undead.

Once their bodies lost all signs of life and died completely, they naturally would no longer feel pain.

This meant that the earlier negotiation and deal had all been smoke and mirrors deliberately released by Raymond to confuse the enemy.

From the very beginning, he had never intended to spare them. He planned to wipe out every last one of these pirates.

The reason was simple!

Raymond believed he was too weak. There was no chance he could defeat a pirate ship carrying over two hundred people in a direct battle.

And the habits he had developed in the Floating City Tower meant he would never entrust his safety to the enemy's mercy or willingness to keep promises.

Therefore, eliminating every pirate in one stroke while he held the advantage had naturally become his only choice.

As he watched his pirate subordinates get "cured" one after another and slowly crawl up from the beach, the rage and killing intent in Harlett's heart eased slightly. Narrowing his eyes, he tested again, "Who exactly is your master? Why did he appear on this deserted island? And what does he want with that merchant ship and those prisoners?"

"You want to know my master's true identity?" A mocking smile suddenly appeared on the soldier's face. He then raised his head and glanced at the floating eyeball overhead before answering meaningfully, "Then find a way to survive first. My master has prepared a grand welcoming ceremony for you, our guest. What comes next is the midnight revel of the undead. I hope you enjoy yourself."

The instant the final word fell, the eyeball seemed to activate, releasing an eerie green glow.

Then deep, guttural snarls echoed from the dark woods, grass, and brush behind them.

In less than half a minute, pirate corpses transformed into zombies by the Animate Dead spell emerged from every direction and surrounded the entire camp.

Though there were not many of them—only a little over twenty—they made Harlett's heart sink.

He had no idea how many more undead creatures like these were hiding in the boundless dark forest.

The unseen "evil mage" in particular filled the pirate captain with intense unease.

As for the unpoisoned Hobgoblins and Trolls, though they were badly frightened by the scalp-crawling sight before them, they still drew their weapons and prepared for battle.

Just as Harlett was about to order all his men to rush forward and destroy these low-level undead, he suddenly noticed that the pirates who had just completed their "treatment" behaved almost exactly like zombies.

They were equally slow and sluggish, with red lights—the mark of the undead—flickering in their eyes.

Damn it!

Those things they had just drunk were not "antidotes" at all!

Harlett finally realized that he had been tricked...