Destiny

"Hehe, this is the Forgotten Land; the gods won't cast their gaze down here." The lead Bloodsail Pirate said with a grin, sizing up the short-haired girl.

"Mosa is everywhere!" the girl retorted.

But clearly, the three Bloodsail Pirates weren't devout, at least not at that moment. "I advise you not to resist; we'll be gentle if you don't!"

Gagnor, observing from the shadows, stroked his chin in consideration.

He still had some basic sense of justice, and the Bloodsail Pirates and the Gray Hawk Mercenary Group didn't get along. They'd almost come to blows a few days ago, so he was emotionally inclined to take out these three guys, but he was a bit worried he couldn't win.

Gagnor's deliberation ended quickly.

Because he noticed that the lead Bloodsail Pirate was already impatiently unbuckling his pants, tossing his weapon aside, completely defenseless.

Gagnor immediately took out four Fletched Arrows, quickly smeared them with Ryan's poison, then nocked them onto the Wolf-Sinew Bow, adjusted his angle, and aimed at the Bloodsail Pirate while carefully avoiding the girl's direction.

"Whoosh—"

Guided by Swift Breeze, the four Fletched Arrows accurately hit their target. Two Bloodsail Pirates instantly lost their ability to fight and soon died from the poison.

[Killed Level 1 Human, Experience +50]

[Killed Level 1 Human, Experience +50]

The lead Bloodsail Pirate was clearly much stronger than the other two. At the critical moment, he narrowly avoided the arrows and looked back.

The sudden appearance of the four Fletched Arrows startled the short-haired girl, but she quickly reacted. Taking advantage of the pirate's distraction, she rushed forward and stabbed.

"Ah—you bitch!" The pirate cried out in agony and cursed as he was stabbed in the abdomen.

Then, to the surprise of both Gagnor and the girl, he didn't choose to attack, nor did he try to escape or even retrieve his weapon. Instead, he abruptly turned around and plunged into the nearby river.

With a "splash," water splashed everywhere.

"?" Gagnor was greatly puzzled and frowned. But he quickly regained his alertness, watching the spot where the pirate had fallen into the water while drawing his bow, Fletched Arrows ready.

A few seconds later, the originally calm river suddenly rippled, and the waves grew higher and higher, eventually swirling to form a water elemental over three meters tall, with the Bloodsail Pirate vaguely visible, encased in the water.

"Fighting me in the water is the last stupid thing you'll ever do!" The water elemental said slowly, its tone mixed with the sound of flowing water.

Then, with a wave of its hand, it dragged the girl into the water.

The girl screamed, struggling desperately to no avail. She quickly suffocated and lost consciousness, then was thrown back onto the shore, lying motionless like a fish waiting to be slaughtered.

Witnessing this scene, Gagnor's face flickered with uncertainty.

There was no doubt that the pirate's ability was some kind of water elemental blessing.

But this was a bit too powerful!

He tried shooting an arrow, enhanced with four clusters of Swift Breeze, but it couldn't penetrate the water layer surrounding the pirate.

The water flowed gently, and the Fletched Arrow stuck in the water elemental fell into the river.

"I sense the power of wind, but it's too weak. Neptulon told me I would only die in a storm." The water elemental said contemptuously, stepping towards Gagnor, who was not far away. "Now, I will offer you to the King of the Tides!"

Gagnor's expression shifted slightly.

Could this be related to the other party's "fate"?

Neptulon obviously wouldn't chat with low-level mortals. If the pirate wasn't talking nonsense, it was only possible that he was told his fate when he received the blessing.

When leveling up before, Gagnor had noticed that many powerful blessings came with a "fate," and "fates" were usually serious negative effects.

They were basically scams disguised as curses, and they were likely to get people killed.

A storm… what a coincidence.

Watching the approaching water elemental, Gagnor made a decisive decision and turned to run.

"You can't escape!" The water elemental gave chase. Despite being over three meters tall, its movements were not clumsy at all.

The distance between them gradually decreased.

Gagnor ran, observing the surrounding terrain to ensure he stayed as far away from the water as possible.

Then, when the distance between them was only a few dozen meters, he suddenly turned around and threw a gray-blue orb, the Lesser Wind Orb.

As he threw the orb, Gagnor quickly nocked an arrow and attached four clusters of Swift Breeze.

The Fletched Arrow shot out, arriving first and striking the orb hard.

"Boom—"

Then, with a loud bang, a storm swept out!

The water elemental was blasted point-blank by the Wind Orb, and most of its form was immediately scattered by the storm. Its original height of over three meters was instantly reduced to less than two.

Through the thin layer of water, only a few centimeters thick, the Bloodsail Pirate's terrified face was clearly visible.

At the same time, Gagnor revealed a cold smile, advancing while drawing his bow again.

"No!" The Bloodsail Pirate cried out in alarm, quickly turning and fleeing towards the water, muttering something under his breath.

"Whoosh—"

A Fletched Arrow flew, easily piercing the water layer with only two clusters of Swift Breeze.

The pirate screamed and fell to the ground, but still scrambled towards the water, seemingly chanting something.

Another Fletched Arrow came flying.

This arrow struck the pirate directly in the neck, completely incapacitating him. He could only crawl on the ground, staring in despair at the river a hundred meters away.

"King of the Tides... King of the Ocean... Neptulon... save your faithful." he murmured.

Gagnor stepped forward and drew the short sword from his waist. "This is the Forgotten Land; the gods cast no gaze here!"

The short sword fell, pinning the pirate to the ground through his neck.

[Killed Level 2 Human, Experience +100]

[Experience: 455/400 (Level Up Available)]

Gagnor was in high spirits; he could level up again.

Of course, he definitely wouldn't choose to level up now. Doing so might cause him to exceed Serpent's Cut Line's level limit, preventing him from leaving.

He looted the three pirates' corpses.

Three Bloodsail Pirate badges, a map, and a dozen silver coins... that was about all that was valuable. A bit meager, probably because most people wouldn't carry too much wealth into the Tidal Lands.

Then Gagnor went to the riverbank and leaned over to look at the short-haired girl who was still unconscious.

The girl was fine.

Although her short hairstyle, similar to a man's, made her look a little strange, her delicate features and wheat-colored skin still gave her a unique beauty.

No wonder the three Bloodsail Pirates were so lustful.

Now, this beautiful girl was lying defenseless in front of Gagnor.

He could do whatever he wanted, if he so desired.

But Gagnor was not a Bloodsail Pirate after all. After studying the girl's appearance for a moment, he reached out and patted her. "Wake up."

The girl slowly woke up. Realizing that Gagnor had saved her, she thanked him repeatedly and introduced herself, "My name is Casca."