Isabel

Soren began to collect the spoils of war.

The pirates didn't have much of value on them, as Supernatural Equipment was extremely rare, and they didn't seem to have any loot. However, the pirate ship did have quite a few barrels of wine and cargo, which, if sold, should be worth thousands of Gold Daler. But Soren didn't have time to sell the cargo right now. He only collected a few Gold Daler and Silver Daler and found a box of jewels in the captain's cabin. It seemed that these pirates hadn't been on any big business lately, or perhaps they had hidden their wealth somewhere.

Pirates liked to hide things.

If a pirate pulled off a big heist, he liked to fill chests with treasure, find an island, dig a pit, and bury it. Gold is an extremely stable metal, so it could remain buried for hundreds or even thousands of years without any problems. If he didn't tell anyone, or if he accidentally died before he could tell anyone, the wealth would remain in place, waiting to be discovered. In the past, many people have accidentally found pirate-buried treasures, but it seems that none of them have found anything truly remarkable.

"The harvest doesn't look like much!"

Soren glanced at the pirate ship before him. He wasn't in the mood to take it back; the ship was actually quite valuable.

Taking it away was impossible, leaving it might just benefit someone else, and sinking it would be such a waste. Soren was at a loss for what to do. He could only anchor the ship and have the Spectre tow it to shallow waters, where it was finally stranded on the island's beach. For now, he could only leave it there, checking back later to see if it had been taken. This pirate ship, according to market value, was worth at least five or six thousand Gold Daler.

On the Ghost Ship.

Soren treated the wound on his chest; without the Stoneskin, it would have been fatal.

The Vampiric Touch had almost healed his injuries, but he still needed some basic bandaging. Soren looked up at the sky and then ordered the Ghost Ship to continue. The Naga Priestess had given him the agreed-upon location. It would take about another day's sailing to reach him, where the Naga Sea Folk would meet him. He was certain that the Betrayer Chamber of Commerce Guild's fleet was in that area.

"Put her down."

Soren walked to the mast and lowered the Animate Rigging, placing the Red-Haired Female Pirate onto the deck.

The ship is alive!

Although it cannot speak, it can understand simple commands, just like some Low-Tier Undead.

Soren reached out and lifted the female pirate before him. She was extremely pale, but strikingly beautiful, exuding a wild aura; she seemed to be someone who frequently gave orders. Soren's attack, though fierce, wasn't fatal. The woman was mostly covered in bruises; high-level professionals possessed remarkable Hit Points and wouldn't die so easily. He had no interest in healing her, and simply tossed her into the sea.

Thump!

The Red-Haired Female Pirate fell into the sea, but the Animate Rigging was still attached to her, and she was dragged along in the Seawater.

"Cough cough cough!..."

A violent coughing fit rang out, and the unconscious female pirate finally woke up.

Soren nodded in satisfaction. He snapped his fingers, and the Animate Rigging pulled her up again, hoisting her to the mast. A Sisi of blood seeped from her chest; her broken ribs had worsened her injuries, making her appear extremely weak, as if she might die at any moment. However, her eyes, now awake, were fierce as she glared at Soren, her voice chilling. "Kill me if you want! You lackey of the Sea Wolf! I will not tell you my father's secret!"

Sure enough, this is interesting.

A slight smile appeared on Soren's lips, seemingly quite pleased with his judgment.

A female pirate captain with striking fiery red hair, wielding unusual Exotic Weapon, and seemingly possessing fourth-tier strength. Such a woman definitely harbors secrets. If her status isn't high enough, even with fourth-tier strength, it would be difficult to control so many pirates. Pirates are notoriously unruly, stubborn, and defiant; gaining their obedience requires considerable influence. It seems her father was a pirate, and a rather successful one at that.

"Actually, I initially wanted to kill you."

Soren calmly shrugged, then snapped his fingers to set her down. He said with a playful tone, "But it feels a shame to kill you like this. Perhaps a woman like you would be useful to me."

"I think you should look around now and then consider whether I have any connection with that Sea Wolf."

Around?

The female pirate with fiery red hair glanced around and immediately shuddered. All around her floated vengeful Wraith, and hideous, seaweed-covered Undrowned Undead. The dilapidated ship, the black sails, the grotesque Undead —everything before her filled her with fear. In a trembling voice, she murmured, "A... Ghost Ship!?...?"

Yes.

Ghost Ship.

Piracy is also considered a taboo subject.

Because it's a death curse, Undead are supernatural Hit Points, not something you can just find anywhere. Few people on the entire South Coast have ever encountered Ghost Ship, but its terrifying legend has circulated among pirates for a long time. If there's anything that terrifies them, Ghost Ship are undoubtedly one of them, because in pirate legends, Ghost Ship are filled with imprisoned Undead, bound to the Ghost Ship, their souls forever trapped, ultimately perishing along with the Ghost Ship.

This is not a joke.

Many of the Wraith on the Ghost Ship were pirates who died on board.

A satisfied smile appeared on Soren's face. He reached out and lifted the female pirate in front of him, revealing his pearly white teeth in a slight smile, though to her he looked like Devil. He said in a deep voice, "Although I don't know who this 'Sea Wolf ' you speak of is, someone with such a name, whom I've never heard of, must just be an ordinary pirate captain, right?"

"Your father's secret may not be of much value to me."

"What I'm interested in now is whether you're of any use to me! If you are, I'll let you go! If you're not, I'll kill you! This ship just happens to need a Undead of a first mate!"

The female pirate shuddered, her teeth chattering slightly. She glanced around at the hideous, grotesque Undead and murmured, "No!... I don't want to become one of those things!..."

"What do you want?!..."

Soren nodded in satisfaction, snapped his fingers to release the Animate Rigging, and smiled, "Very good. It seems you're planning to discuss your worth with me?"

"If your value as a living person is greater than the value of your death, then congratulations."

I won't kill you.

Soren waved for the surrounding Undead to retreat, then carried the female pirate toward the captain's cabin, taking out a bottle of healing potion as he went and roughly pouring it into her mouth.

Bang.

Soren kicked open the captain's cabin door and threw her onto the ship, which was covered in disgusting seaweed.

He glanced at the other person coldly, seemingly noticing the Undead outside, and then said, "Tell me your story. You can try to lie, but if I sense you're lying, I'll cut off one of your fingers. I'm a man of principle; if you can deceive me with your lies, then you haven't lied, but if you can't deceive me..."

"I'm sorry, I'll have to punish you!"

At this point, Soren drew a Dagger and gestured with it on the other man's fingers.

The fiery red-haired female pirate swallowed hard. The man before her exerted immense pressure on her; she didn't even know if he was still alive. His smile, though natural, was precisely what made it terrifying. He was a ruthless being accustomed to Slaughter. His aura felt familiar; only pirates who had truly walked through mountains of corpses Sea of Blood could exert such pressure on her. Even her father didn't possess such a palpable killing intent.

This man in front of me has probably killed hundreds, or even thousands of people!

--"Fear Gaze!"

She trembled slightly, glanced at the captain's cabin filled with the stench of decay and decay, and said with difficulty, "My name is Adele Isabel, and I am the daughter of Captain ' Killer Whale,' the pirate Boss of the Shipwreck Bay..."

"Wait a minute," Soren suddenly interrupted.

He reached out and lifted the woman's chin, examining her pupils before frowning slightly. "Isabel? That seems to be a surname of a noble family from the Western Kingdom. Do you have Royal Family blood? Is that your father's surname or your mother's?"

The Western Kingdom.

A rather chaotic kingdom, a land rife with taboos, incest, heresy, depravity, and lust. This land has been ruled for generations by the Sorcerer Family, and to maintain the purity of their bloodlines, intermarriage among the nobility is quite promiscuous. Isabel is the Queen's surname, passed down for hundreds of years. After the unified Western Kingdom split, this surname was inherited by nobles, and generally only direct descendants are allowed to use it.

"My mother..." The Red-Haired Female Pirate looked down at the ship's deck and said in a low voice, "My mother was a noblewoman from a duchy on the West Coast. She married a Viscount, but she met my father on a voyage. He killed her husband and all his entourage, and then took her as his wife."

"I inherited my mother's surname, which was also what my father wanted; he didn't want me to continue being a pirate."

A playful expression appeared on Soren's lips.

As if he had thought of something, he chuckled and shook his head, saying, "And then your father was killed by that Sea Wolf? And then you became a pirate captain?"

"For revenge? Or out of dissatisfaction with a mundane life?"

The woman in front of him fell silent.

...(To be continued~^~)