Crisis Upon Crisis!

(So, Fututu's successful quitting of smoking considered spreading positive energy? Eight days, that's really tough! Two updates today. The upcoming plot will be quite intense.)

Teams of people began to get to work.

Soren stood on the deck of the Dragon-headed Warship, watching the others. Chamber of Commerce guild leaders were driving the Slave out and making them carry their belongings off the ship. The Slave Trade wasn't so simple; it wasn't just about capturing people and selling them as Slave. Slave capture was limited to the natives. If you dared to capture Slave indiscriminately on the mainland, you'd be in for a world of trouble. Even relatively Evil Lord and nobles would never allow Slave traders to act recklessly; they'd be hanged at the crossroads.

Of the Slave of Soren, about half were natives and about half were from the Continent Native.

Slave arises from many causes, such as war, crime, and bankruptcy. Selling oneself into slavery is common in this world, and it's not surprising to become a debt commodity after bankruptcy. Slave of the Continent Native fared somewhat better, but Slave of the natives were much more troublesome. They had to be captured and trained. A docile Slave could fetch over 50% more, while a disobedient Slave was only fit for the Gladiator Arena.

There are many methods for taming Slave, some of which even involve Forbidden Domain. The vast majority of slaves on the market are tamed Slave.

Slave from the mainland were more expensive, while Slave from indigenous people were relatively cheaper!

Soren didn't have enough resources to use all the Slave from the mainland, so the proportion of Middle Earth Slave was still quite high. With Soren's current experience, he could naturally see that many native Slave were overjoyed upon disembarking, because this was the Overseas Islands they were familiar with. This gave Soren a slight headache, but there was nothing he could do, after all, this was where they lived. Returning to their familiar surroundings, these native Slave were prone to having other ideas.

"Keep an eye on them!"

Soren turned and glanced at Adele Isabella beside him. The Red-Haired Female Pirate seemed to be deep in thought, standing on the deck in a daze for a moment before snapping out of it. She then saw Soren say to her, "Watch out for these native Slave. We mustn't let them have a chance to escape!"

Adele Isabella nodded quickly upon hearing this, and said in a deep voice, "Yes, Your Excellency."

On the other side.

Pirate leaders were already preparing to set up camp. These pirates were not a bunch of incompetent or only-knowing-how-to-fight types. Making a living at sea was actually much harder than on land. Many pirates, though illiterate, possessed some knowledge. For example, the guy over there with two missing fingers and a scar on his forehead couldn't even write his own name. Yet, he knew Astrology and could navigate the seas without losing his way.

Even without celestial observations, he could still make a rough course prediction based on ocean currents, temperature, wind direction, and so on.

This guy is a very capable person!

Although his combat prowess was not high, he was still promoted by Soren to become the new pirate leader.

Pirates respected those who were capable.

Their primary ability is undoubtedly combat prowess, but they also respect other skills. Otherwise, the navigator's status wouldn't be higher than that of many pirates.

A large group of his men were preparing to set up camp.

Soren had brought a considerable amount of supplies, enough for them to use for more than three months, including various tools. He had mobilized considerable resources from the Chamber of Commerce in Port Tyler for this purpose. Most of the others could guess Soren's intentions, but they weren't so optimistic, mainly because the Overseas Islands were too dangerous. The land wasn't very suitable for farming, and there were all sorts of strange creatures and extremely xenophobic natives. If there were natives nearby who knew they were camped there, the likelihood of them attacking was quite high!

Time passed little by little.

Soren watched with satisfaction as the camp was set up. The pirates were cutting down trees, and a rudimentary camp was now one-third complete.

The Half-Elf first mate was directing the others to set up tents, while on the other side, the One-Eyed man and the Baldy were yelling at the Slave to move supplies. It looked like it was going to rain today, so it was best to move everything inside the tents. The weather was always a problem; it couldn't always be sunny. Storms were common here, and a lot of supplies would be ruined if they got wet. The tools had already been brought out, and the others, following Soren's instructions, were preparing to build a simple fence out of wood.

Soren originally thought his first day of claiming land overseas would pass by peacefully.

But he still misjudged the situation!

--"ah!!!"

A piercing scream suddenly rang out from afar, followed by Soren's figure blurring into the distance as he charged forward. Following Soren's movement, the other pirate leaders quickly drew their weapons and rushed over, ordering their men to prepare for battle. After all, this was Overseas Islands, the territory of the natives, and fighting was a common occurrence. However, as Soren charged in, he immediately realized that this wasn't an attack by the natives, but rather another troublesome problem.

"Your Excellency... Your Excellency!!!..."

The pirate standing before Soren was trembling, clutching a leg—a bloody, mangled half—and stammering, "The Frog... the Frog was eaten!... Only... this is left!..."

Frog?

It seems to be the nickname of a pirate henchman; pirates often had all sorts of random nicknames.

Soren frowned as he glanced at the thigh of a pirate henchman nicknamed ' Frog,' which Soren was holding. Noticing the irregular teeth marks on it, he asked seriously, "What happened? What did you just see?"

"I!... I saw it!... I saw it!..."

The guy was probably terrified; he was slurring his words. After a while, he gradually calmed down and said, "Frog and I went to chop down trees and gather firewood, but we... we didn't expect... just as we were passing by, a strange plant suddenly opened its gaping maw!... and then Frog... Frog was swallowed whole!... I tried to pull him out!... But this is all I managed to pull out!..."

The pirate, slightly disoriented from fright, flung the bloody severed thigh in his hand, then suddenly jolted awake and threw it away, seemingly still a little confused.

At this moment, the other pirates arrived as well.

Soren turned and glanced at them, then ordered, "They're not natives! Send the rest back to stand guard. Adele, you come with me to check."

It's easier if they're not indigenous.

Because encountering the natives at this time could very likely lead to a major battle, Soren certainly doesn't want to suffer losses in battle.

"Your Mightiness?!"

Adele stared at the severed thigh on the ground with a grim expression, wondering, "What kind of monster caused this? A monster that could swallow a person whole and leave only half a thigh... it doesn't seem like an easy opponent!"

Soren glanced at her and said slowly, "I don't know either."

"However, I can roughly guess what it is. It looks like we're in trouble. There's Mutated Area near this island!"

"The plants inside have undergone an energy mutation."

The jungle in front of them showed signs of logging, and it was necessary to cut down trees to build a camp. Although Soren had the idea of making bricks, he did not have enough resources and manpower. Cutting down trees was the fastest way to build a camp.

Adele Isabella followed behind, glancing at Soren, and whispered, "Your Excellency! I suggest we set the mountain on fire again, otherwise there are too many poisonous insects and snakes here. Two or three people have already been bitten by poisonous insects and snakes today. Although none of them were fatal, one man's wound has worsened. If this continues, we will waste a lot of manpower dealing with the poisonous insects!"

Yes.

Venomous insects and snakes are a very troublesome problem.

Those who haven't been to such pristine areas can't imagine how many poisonous insects there are. If someone smokes out houses that haven't been lived in for a long time, or some burrows in the wild, you'll find all sorts of insects crawling out that will make your scalp tingle. Clearing out wilderness is not an easy task, let alone clearing out Overseas Islands, which are even more dangerous than wilderness.

We're getting closer and closer to the scene of the incident!

Soren suddenly reached out and stopped the Red-Haired Female Pirate beside him, then said in a deep voice, "Be careful! Something's not right in this jungle!"

It's too quiet.

The jungle in front of me was so quiet that I couldn't even hear the sound of insects.

Adele Isabella gripped her twin swords, then bent slightly to survey her surroundings. She noticed something amiss with the environment; the nearby plants and trees looked rather strange.

Their colors were so vibrant, and they were growing so well! [While the other trees nearby had withered leaves and branches, this grove of trees was lush and verdant.]

There were drops of blood ahead.

Soren reached out and picked up a drop of blood, examining it closely. He then noticed a strange, trumpet-shaped plant; the bloodstains had started there and were trailing behind. His expression was grim as he muttered, "Rift Flower?"

Damn it!

"This really is Mutated Area!"

"Rift Flower [Mutated Plant][Man-Eating Flower] (Tier 4)."

"Challenge Rating 8, CR 16, possesses Spell-like Ability."

"Highest attribute: 22 points; lowest attribute: 10 points; total attribute value: 90-100 points."

"Special Feat: Devouring Attack, Vines and Tentacles, Mutated Plant, Man-Eating Flower."

"Challenge difficulty: C+." (To be continued~^~)