Rare Beast Island

With Tom the shipwright at the helm, Redfield and Silvers hauled the sails, steering the Yomi into the Waterfall Cloud while Shakky observed the conditions within the white mist from the observation deck.

Brook stood at the bow, ready for anything. Once they entered the Waterfall Cloud, their vision was almost entirely obscured by thick mist; with no idea what lay ahead, they could only continue blindly forward.

Everyone felt a touch of nervousness. Since the path ahead was completely unknown, was this what adventure felt like? Casting life and death aside to savor this exhilarating sensation.

After five or six minutes of advancing like blind men, they finally saw sunlight again, and a lush green island appeared before them.

"An island inside the Waterfall Cloud? How magical! I wonder if there are any humans living on it?"

Shakky was brimming with curiosity, unable to wait to unveil the mysteries of this island, and the other crew members were equally restless.

The island reminded Brook of a movie—the Rare Beast Island protected by a Qilin Lion?

"I seem to have some impression of this place. It's a Rare Beast Island, and it's home to a Beast King, the Qilin Lion. Everyone, be careful; I don't know how strong it is!"

Brook warned his crew. The Qilin Lion seemed quite dashing; he wondered if he could capture it as a mount.

"A Qilin Lion? Is it a Mythical Zoan? Regardless, it must be an incredibly rare animal! Captain Brook, let's go and see it for ourselves, shall we?"

Shakky said excitedly, while the Memory Seahorse's eyes glowed. A Beast King? If it consumed its memories, could it evolve? Could it grow a pair of wings and turn into a Millennium Dragon?

"Hmph, I want to see just how strong this Qilin Lion is, if it's worth Captain Brook's special warning!"

Redfield was now very confident in his own strength. He didn't think much of a mere Beast King and was already prepared to engage it in a great battle.

Because this was a pristine island with no humans, there were no ports. The Yomi had to anchor in the shallows, and they lowered the landing boat. Even Tom the shipwright came ashore; there was no need for anyone to stay behind to guard the ship.

"Finally ashore. What a beautiful, isolated island this is!"

The vegetation here was lush, the forests dense and dripping with green, and the grass was so perfectly level it looked as if someone had been trimming it.

As Brook's crew landed, all sorts of bizarre animals appeared on the shore to watch them: long-haired hippos, boars with trumpets, green giraffes...

None of them matched Brook's aesthetic; they were just a hodgepodge of crossbreeds. Was this what they called "rare beasts"?

A trumpet boar, upon seeing Brook and his crew, bolted away while screaming wildly, leaving a trail of thick smoke behind it. It was as if it were blowing a war horn, conveying information to the island and warning the other beasts that strange humans had invaded.

"Captain Brook, these rare beasts are so ugly, and so weak!"

Redfield remarked coldly, sounding a bit disappointed. This wasn't the kind of battle he had been looking for.

Before Brook could answer, thick smoke billowed in the distance. Like an army of thousands charging, countless rare beasts began to surround the shore.

While the group was slightly shocked, a magnificent golden lion flew down from the sky. Its head was crowned with golden, coral-like horns that looked like a royal diadem—this was the Beast King of the island, the Qilin Lion!

The Qilin Lion let out a roar, the sonic waves vibrating through the air and whipping up a violent gale, displaying its majesty to the invading enemies.

Redfield immediately looked at the Qilin Lion with longing, eager to fight it to prove his own strength and see if this Beast King was truly as strong as Captain Brook had claimed.

"What are you humans doing here!!!"

Suddenly, a voice reached the ears of Brook and his companions. Could the Qilin Lion speak? They saw a green parrot, over a meter tall, fly out from behind the beast; it was the one who had spoken.

"Wow, a parrot that speaks human language? A rare species indeed, Captain Brook."

Shakky was already staring at the parrot with burning eyes. She had to get it on the ship no matter what; she had never seen a talking bird before.

The parrot was frightened by the way Shakky and the others were looking at it and hid back behind the Qilin Lion, but confident in the lion's strength, it flew back out.

"Humans, state your purpose, or our King will drive you away."

Following the parrot's words, the Qilin Lion roared again. Its Golden Beast Horn glowed, firing a scorching beam of light that blasted a deep crater into the grass in front of the group, demonstrating its power.

"The strength seems quite decent!"

Redfield had already drawn his cane sword, ready to strike at the flying Qilin Lion to test its mettle.

"Very impressive power. Lion Beast King, and you, talking parrot—are you interested in joining us to sail the world?"

At that moment, Brook blocked Redfield and extended an invitation to the two beasts in the air. This Qilin Lion was simply too magnificent; it was golden and flashy—perfect for showing off!

"Humans, our King is called His Majesty the Qilin Lion, and I am the King's Elder, Wuzhu. Remember that!"

Relying on the Qilin Lion's might and the swarm of beasts behind it, the green parrot wasn't afraid of Brook's small group at all.

The Qilin Lion said a few words to Wuzhu, asking it to relay its message. The Qilin Lion could understand Brook, but it could not speak human language.

"Our King says he will never leave this place. He will guard this island until the day he dies!!!"

Wuzhu translated the Qilin Lion's words for Brook's crew, leaving Brook feeling somewhat disappointed. What a dashing beast!

"Captain Brook, do you like this beast? Let me capture it for you!"

Seeing his captain rejected, Redfield grew a bit angry. He stepped past Brook and unleashed a sword beam with his cane sword, striking directly at the Qilin Lion, then rushed forward to engage in close-quarters combat.

Brook wanted to stop Redfield. Perhaps due to the influence of his past life's personality, he still retained a sense of kindness that made him seem nothing like a pirate.

But look at a pirate like Redfield—if he likes something, he takes it. Isn't that what a true pirate does?

As the saying goes, if you aren't ruthless, you can't stand firm. Since he had become a pirate, he should stop trying to be a hero. Even Shakky and Silvers were already itching to join the fray; as pirates, wasn't plundering just a basic operation?

Thinking this, Brook abandoned his hesitation and cast aside his "saintly" heart. If you like it, take it! If you don't even dare to seize it, how can you say you like it?

He truly wanted this magnificent Qilin Lion mount, and his eyes began to fill with greed. If it wouldn't sail, he would have the Memory Seahorse devour its memories; he could always raise it again from scratch!

Brook pushed himself into the mindset of a true pirate. Putting profit above all else was the way of the sea!