Pirate Melee

I don't know if it's just Soren's imagination.

He always felt the Naga Priestess were setting him up King of the Swamp's sudden interest in his newly risen pirate force was impossible without someone pulling the strings. Moreover, the rapid spread of the Throat Cutter's reputation not only enhanced his own prestige but also expanded the influence of the Temple of the Sea, which the Throat Cutter served. Because the Throat Cutter worked for the Temple of the Sea, the wider his Throat Cutter spread, the greater the awe others felt towards the Temple of the Sea.

Furthermore, in the Legendary naval battle Naga Priestess defeated the Son of Dagon, Throat Cutter was branded as a member of the Church of the Sea.

It's not surprising that the King of the Swamp, a follower of Dagon, would take action against him!

"As expected, none of the natives of this world are simple!" Soren gazed at the distant sea, his heart far from calm.

Whether he wins or loses, the Temple of the Sea will ultimately be the beneficiary.

First, if the King of the Swamp attacks him, it will put Soren in a very dangerous position. If he cannot defeat the King of the Swamp, he will have to seek help from the Temple of the Sea. The Naga Priestess have been waiting for this opportunity. Soren will naturally have to pay a price for seeking help, which might mean forcing him to join the Church of the Sea. This is equivalent to gaining an extra force for no reason. Being able to have a Quasi-Legendary Professional serve the Temple of the Sea undoubtedly increases the Naga Priestess ' strength significantly.

To put it another way...

Even if Soren defeats the King of the Swamp, it doesn't matter. The Throat Cutter's fame will spread further, and the influence of the Temple of the Sea will increase once again. As the Favored of the Goddess of the Sea, the stronger Soren becomes, the greater the Goddess of the Sea's influence will be. From any perspective, the Naga Priestess will not suffer a loss, which is why she has not interfered with Soren's idea of establishing a pirate force, and is even willing to lend him a warship. If Soren wins, her status will also rise. If Soren cannot defeat her, she can gain a powerful ally.

The best possible outcome.

Naturally, Soren sought help from the Temple of the Sea and joined the Church of the Sea's forces, ultimately defeating the King of the Swamp. This effectively gave her control of two-thirds of the power on the South Coast. The Amazon Female Pirate King's territory was the Soros Islands; if Soren had defeated the King of the Swamp, the Church of the Sea would have held sway over almost the entire South Coast. Legendary in this world are quite scattered. Those in high positions are unwilling to risk their Hit Points; having a weapon at their disposal is naturally the best option.

If it weren't for Vivian's help...

Soren faced two choices: one was to ally with the Temple of the Sea for assistance, then find a way to defeat the King of the Swamp and control a third of the South Coast's seas; the other was to abandon these pirate forces and directly build a fleet to the Overseas Islands, but that would mean losing his connection to the mainland. He could only take as many people and resources as he needed, greatly slowing down his future development and making it difficult to re-establish contact with the mainland in the short term.

Overseas Islands.

That was a truly wild and untamed land, teeming with ferocious beasts and monsters, and inhabited by unreasonable natives. Food, medicine, and weapons were scarce, even basic necessities were lacking. Without supplies from the sea, Soren was essentially starting from scratch. The Time of Troubles was drawing ever closer. Two mere years was far from enough for him to achieve his goals. For Soren to rise to power overseas, he absolutely needed a connection to the mainland.

"Our only option now is to eliminate the Sea Wolf!"

Soren gazed at the vast ocean before him, thinking to himself, "Once we wipe out the Sea Wolf, we'll be among the top pirate forces on the South Coast, and the Butcher's head count should be about right. If Vivian can successfully awaken, with the two of us joining forces, we certainly have a chance against the King of the Swamp!"

"I wonder if the Temple of the Sea made the right move!"

Soren didn't have many choices.

The only way out now is for him to fight his way out. Even if the King of the Swamp wants to deal with him, he won't be able to do so quickly for the time being, so Soren still has some time to prepare.

The day passed quickly.

Soren led his fleet quickly into the waters of Shipwreck Bay. Sea Wolf was one of the most prominent pirates there, with his own territory in the Shipwreck Port and an island under his control. Since this area was called the Overseas Islands, it naturally had many islands scattered along the coast, where pirates from various places sold their loot. Many of these islands were ostensibly legitimate Chamber of Commerce. For example, Sea Wolf secretly controlled a Chamber of Commerce, selling his plundered goods through the Black Market market.

The Sea Wolf ' territory is called Lone Wolf Island.

I didn't pay attention to what he was originally called, Soren; the Sea Wolf changed that name himself later.

This time.

Soren didn't bother with any elaborate plans; he simply wanted a clean sweep to prove his naval prowess and intimidate the pirates along the entire South Coast. Destroying the Narwhal was too abrupt, leading some to speculate whether he had used some kind of Intrigue. This time, Soren intended a direct assault; once he conquered this area, few would dare defy him.

Shipwreck Bay, Lone Wolf Island.

Dozens of pirate ships had gathered here, though only nine were actual Warship; the rest were coastal vessels incapable of long-distance voyages. A large number of pirates had also gathered near the port, including not only Sea Wolf's men but also other pirate groups from the Shipwreck Bay. They had received an invitation from Sea Wolf a day earlier to join Throat Cutter. The rise of a pirate force inevitably impacted the interests of others, and thus, quite a few responded to Sea Wolf's invitation.

At the very top of the hall.

Sea Wolf sat upright in his chair, observing the other pirate Boss before him. He was a gaunt man with wolf-like eyes that seemed to glow green in the darkness. After surveying the others, he spoke, "I don't intend to say much about this matter! You should all have heard of this Throat Cutter; he has the support of the Temple of the Sea! If we allow him to continue growing in power, there will be no room for us to operate in the nearby waters."

"If we unite and take him down, I'll gladly hand over the Narwhal's territory to you all!"

There was a great deal of discussion below.

One of the burly men, who looked like North, glanced at the Sea Wolf and said in a deep voice, "It seems the person the Throat Cutter is supporting is Killer Whale's daughter, isn't he? Killer Whale died at your hands! Maybe he's just targeting you! He's a Legendary Domain; we might not be able to defeat him!"

"You're only offering the Narwhal's territory to divide? There are so many people here, how can that be enough?"

Upon hearing this, the Sea Wolf's pupils contracted, his gaze turned slightly cold, and he said in a deep voice, "Then what do you want?"

The burly North showed little fear. His pirates were all from the North, and their ability to establish themselves here demonstrated his strength. He chuckled and said, "I want to get a piece of the Black Market Trade! Especially Slave smuggling! Sea Wolf, you've had this for years, aren't you going to give it up so everyone can have a taste?"

"We've been fighting tooth and nail at sea for so long, and all that money we've put in isn't enough to cover the profits you've made from smuggling and Slave."

"These two areas must be vacated, otherwise, none of you here would be willing to fight a Legendary for that little bit of Narwhal territory, would you? You must know that area is still in Port Tyler, which is under the control of the Temple of the Sea!"

The big man's words drew responses from many people.

Pirates don't have much morality; their most common practices are exploitation and betrayal. Without tangible benefits, probably few of you here would be willing to risk your lives for the Sea Wolf. The resources in Port Tyler are probably not even enough to cover their losses. The main reason they're here today is because they heard that Throat Cutter plans to take over Shipwreck Port, so they have to come and gauge the situation.

"Good!"

Sea Wolf's expression turned slightly cold, a hint of killing intent flashing in his eyes, but he still nodded and said, "As long as we can defeat that Throat Cutter, I'm willing to give half of my Black Market share to everyone!"

He'll deal with the Throat Cutter first; he can get all the spoils back sooner or later.

...(To be continued~^~)