Chapter Summaries

Bruce captured Turner, a pirate from the Claw Pirate Crew, so Charles could learn about the plane. Turner revealed the crew’s size and Tide Warriors, and began explaining how someone could become one.

• Bruce knocked out the drunk Turner, carried him to Charles’s raft, and rowed away with Charles.
• Charles and Bruce tied Turner up on the raft and questioned him, using Language Comprehension to communicate.
• Turner identified himself as a member of the Claw Pirate Crew and said it had two ships, more than seventy people, and five Tide Warriors.
• Charles learned that Tide Warriors were stronger fighters and asked how they gained their power.
• Turner said becoming a Tide Warrior required borrowing power from a powerful marine magic beast, but claimed he could not do it without help.

Charles studied the Tide Warrior cultivation system, killed Turner after Bruce interrogated him, and decided to infiltrate the pirate crew. He and Bruce prepared to attack the Claw Pirate Crew at night, approaching their island while the pirates celebrated.

• Charles bought Turner's cultivation insights and learned that Tide Warriors used aquatic Magic Beast blood and crystal cores to advance.
• Bruce tortured Turner for information, then killed him and threw his body into the sea on Charles's orders.
• Charles learned that the Claw Pirate Crew had five Tide Warriors and more than seventy pirates, and decided pirates would provide a useful identity.
• Charles and Bruce rested, ate grilled fish, and prepared aquatic demons for their planned attack.
• The Claw Pirate Crew continued celebrating without noticing Turner's disappearance as Charles and Bruce's raft approached the island.

Giles led three Tide Warriors in a charge against Charles, hoping to kill the Tide Priest and end the battle. Charles revealed that he had summoned an army of Abyssal Kuo-toa, and sent three Rank One Kuo-toa to meet the attackers.

• Giles woke to screams of an enemy attack, armed himself, and watched the fighting from his house.
• Giles saw deep-sea mermen battling his crew and recognized that the ice-spike attack came from Charles, whom he believed was a Tide Priest.
• Giles ordered the other Tide Warriors to follow him and swam toward Charles's raft for a decapitation strike.
• Charles explained that he had prepared contracts for Abyssal Kuo-toa, including Rank One fighters and apprentice-rank cannon fodder.
• Charles ordered the three Rank One Kuo-toa circling the raft to attack Giles and the other Tide Warriors.

Charles and Bruce defeated the Claw Pirate Crew with help from Abyssal Kuo-toa, capturing several Tide Warriors while killing the pirates who resisted. The remaining pirates hid on the island as Charles ordered Bruce to persuade them to surrender.

• Charles summoned Abyssal Kuo-toa to fight the pirate Tide Warriors underwater while Bruce guarded the raft.
• Charles killed nine battle-hungry pirates with Bone Needle Bee and struck Giles with Soul Strike, allowing a Kuo-toa to wound and capture him.
• Charles ordered the Kuo-toa to take Giles alive, and they captured another Tide Warrior but killed the third.
• Charles and the Kuo-toa defeated the brave pirates, leaving fewer than half of the crew alive and the rest hiding among the island's ruins.
• Bruce threw two injured Tide Warriors onto shore, and Charles ordered him to persuade them to surrender.

Charles and Bruce subdued the pirates on the island, forcing most to surrender while the Abyss Kuo-toa killed those who remained hidden. Charles left the captured pirates tied up and ordered a young pirate to treat the wounded Tide Warriors.

• Bruce landed on the shore and demanded that the pirates drop their weapons and kneel, while Charles relit the candles aboard a nearby ship.
• One pirate surrendered, and most of the surviving pirates followed; Bruce struck an old pirate who pleaded that he had been forced into piracy.
• Charles directed the Abyss Kuo-toa to attack the pirates hiding in the dark, and they killed them despite one pirate’s attempt to surrender.
• Charles asked who could treat wounds, and a pirate pointed out a young man, whom Charles ordered to stop the bleeding of four injured Tide Warriors.
• Charles praised Dalle for identifying the young healer, offered him better treatment in exchange for service, and ordered him to bind the other pirates.
• Dalle fetched rope and tightly tied up the captured pirates.

Charles searched the pirates’ hideout and ship, finding valuable water-element Magic Stones and a captain’s log he learned to read with Giles’s notes. He ordered Bruce to interrogate the surviving pirates and keep only enough crew to sail the ship.

• Charles collected the fallen souls, dismissed the Mermen, and searched the captain’s hut, where he found a chest of water-element Magic Stones.
• Charles boarded the ship, found Giles’s books and captain’s log, and bought Giles’s Notes on Learning Written Language to read them.
• Charles ordered Bruce to interrogate the surviving pirates and told him to send uncooperative prisoners into the sea.
• Charles assessed the ship’s crew needs and instructed Bruce which skilled workers to retain, leaving him to handle the prisoners and crew selection.

Charles read the captured pirate captain’s logs and books, learning about the sea’s regions, resources, and dangerous sailing seasons. As he considered using the pirate island as a temporary stronghold, the Luck Potion’s scent and a falling wooden frame warned him that the island was unsafe, leaving him to wonder what danger threatened it.

• Charles read the voyage log and learned that the pirates had recently raided wealthy Fangtooth Island.
• Charles studied books describing the sea-dominated plane, its islands, and the seasonal dangers that limited sailing.
• Charles noted that Storm Month was only fifty or sixty days away and considered securing resources and a base for an Outpost Base and Teleportation Beacon.
• Charles judged the pirate island suitable as a temporary stronghold but too difficult to defend against a serious attack.
• A cracked wooden frame toppled beside Charles, and he sensed the Luck Potion’s scent again.
• Charles concluded that the island was unsafe and wondered whether pirates, natural disasters, or Fangtooth Island posed the danger.

Charles chose twenty pirates to join him and declared himself the new captain of the Claw Pirate Crew. After forcing the new crew to kill their former companions as a token of allegiance, he appointed Valen, Dalle, Bruce, and Bell to positions of responsibility.

• Charles had Dalle select twenty pirates to join the crew, then replaced several of Dalle’s choices with sailors who had useful skills.
• Charles declared himself captain of the Claw Pirate Crew, and the chosen pirates swore to serve him and took up weapons.
• Charles ordered the new crew to kill the remaining tied-up pirates, and the crew obeyed, with Valen striking first and Dalle joining in.
• Charles named Valen boatswain and Dalle second mate, and put Bruce in charge as vice-captain and first mate.
• Charles appointed Bell, who had been treating the wounded Tide Warriors, as the crew’s physician.

Charles reorganized the Claw Pirate Crew into factions under Dalle, Valen, and Bell, then ordered the island’s captives and supplies moved aboard. He distributed gold shells to win the pirates’ loyalty as he prepared to expand his crew.

• Charles divided the crew’s management among Dalle, Valen, and Bell and ordered the four captured Tide Warriors locked up for later interrogation.
• Valen led the sailors in removing the island’s supplies, books, Magic Stones, and a chest of gold shells.
• Charles ordered the kidnapped women locked up while he prepared to abandon the stronghold.
• Charles gave each pirate twenty gold shells and promised double shares to Dalle, Valen, and Bell; Dalle publicly pledged his loyalty.

After taking Fangtooth Island and loading its goods, Charles sailed away with the pirates and questioned the captured Tide Warriors. Giles recounted how he became a pirate, while Charles learned more about the plane’s kingdoms and political divisions.

• Charles had the pirates load Fangtooth Island’s goods, left the imprisoned women behind, and set sail with two ships.
• Charles decided to sell three captured Tide Warriors as slaves and interrogated Giles, threatening his wound until Giles agreed to talk.
• Giles told Charles how pirates had killed his family, how he joined their crew, and how he eventually became a Tide Warrior and captain.
• As Giles spoke, Charles learned that the plane held three major kingdoms and many smaller territories, with nobles controlling land and armies.

Charles sailed toward a pirate ship island to trade the loot taken from Fangtooth Island and expand his forces. While inspecting the stolen goods, he discovered a model ship made from several kinds of Magic Beast bones that might reveal a Demonbone Ship design.

• Charles prepared to take Giles and the Fangtooth Island loot to a ship island where the Claw Pirate Crew fenced stolen goods.
• Giles told Charles that he had raided Fangtooth Island after a friend claimed its guards had left a gap in the island’s defenses.
• Charles concluded that Giles had likely been manipulated into the premeditated attack and that leaving his hideout early had been wise.
• Charles searched the looted goods for magical secrets and found a model seagoing vessel made from the bones of at least five kinds of Magic Beasts.
• Charles wondered whether the model revealed a Demonbone Ship formula.

Charles discovered that the Claw Pirate Crew had been manipulated into attacking Fangtooth Island and decided to eliminate its remaining Wave Warriors and Giles. Meanwhile, the Bone Anchor Pirate Crew arrived at the Claw Pirate Crew’s former lair and summoned Old One-Eye.

• Charles examined a Demonbone Ship model, understood its construction, and considered how he could improve it with witchcraft.
• Charles concluded that the Claw Pirate Crew had enemies among the people behind the scheme and the earl of Fangtooth Island, and decided Giles had to die.
• Charles killed the three injured Wave Warriors, absorbed their souls into the Crystal Ball, and told Bruce to dispose of their bodies.
• The Bone Anchor Pirate Crew arrived at the Claw Pirate Crew’s former lair aboard its Demonbone Ship.
• Iron Claw Marcus ordered his crew to bring Old One-Eye to him.

Iron Claw Marcus led the Rust-Iron Pirate Crew to the Claw Pirate Crew’s hideout, seeking a stolen model ship and Fangtooth Island’s method for building magic skeletal ships. They found the island abandoned after a battle, and Marcus concluded that a traitor had tipped someone off before setting out to hunt for the Claw Pirate Crew’s ships.

• Old One-Eye identified the Claw Pirate Crew’s hideout, and Marcus promised him a reward for helping locate it.
• Marcus sent the Rust-Iron Pirate Crew toward the island to seize the treasure and learn how to build magic skeletal ships.
• Rottooth Benny and the pirates found the harbor deserted and the island wrecked by a battle, with no Claw Pirate Crew or residents left behind.
• Marcus questioned Old One-Eye about who knew of the hideout, then killed him when he denied telling anyone.
• Isabel pointed out that the raiders had likely taken the Claw Pirate Crew’s ships, so Marcus ordered the crew to head for the nearest ship island and pursue them.

Charles brought the two pirate ships to Bloodsail Ship Island to sell the Claw Pirate Crew's stolen goods and the ships themselves. He sold the goods for Water Magic Stones and asked a broker to find buyers for both vessels.

• Charles spotted Bloodsail Ship Island and had Bruce and Dalle secure permission from the Bloodsail Raiders' patrol ships to enter.
• Charles docked at the ship island and asked Bell to bring aboard a broker who could arrange buyers for his cargo.
• The broker brought black-market merchants, who inventoried and offered to buy the goods looted by the Claw Pirate Crew.
• Charles accepted the merchants' price on the condition that they paid in Water Magic Stones, and they agreed.
• Charles sold the goods from both pirate ships and asked the broker to find buyers for the ships as well.

Charles sold the Claw Pirate Crew’s ships and abandoned the crew to avoid risks, but let Dalle join him after the young pirate realized what was happening. With Bruce’s help, Charles then killed the unconscious Giles and left his body in an alley on Ship Island.

• Charles sold both ships for Water Magic Stones and sent the crewmen ashore with gold shells.
• Dalle returned to Charles, asked to follow him, and was accepted after agreeing to change his appearance.
• Charles met Bruce at a tavern and explained that Dalle’s instincts and familiarity with Ship Island made him useful.
• Charles and Bruce used a Concealment Spell to take Giles to a side alley beside a casino.
• Bruce killed Giles with a punch to the chest and left his body in the alley.

Charles planned to buy a ship and recruit pirates, while seeking to learn how Tide Priests advanced Tide Warriors so he could build a stronger crew. After searching Ship Island for two days, he found several Tide Priests but realized he would need to spend heavily to find one skilled in the process.

• Charles gathered information in a tavern, decided to buy a ship and recruit pirates, and learned that Tide Warriors could become the backbone of his crew.
• Charles sent Dalle to investigate ship prices and assigned Bruce to follow and protect him.
• Charles studied the Tide Warrior cultivation notes and decided to secretly learn the Tide Priests' methods for advancing them.
• Charles searched Ship Island for Tide Priests over the next two days, found several, and decided to spend heavily because chance encounters were too inefficient.

Charles took Dalle to a Tide Priest to advance him into a Tide Warrior, then used Wu Duo Duo Mall to acquire the priest’s cultivation and advancement insights. After studying them, Charles realized he could reproduce the advancement techniques for the pirates under his command.

• Charles rewarded Dalle’s loyalty by promising to arrange his advancement into a Tide Warrior.
• Charles and Dalle found an old Tide Priest who agreed to handle Dalle’s advancement for a fee.
• Charles waited in the shop while Dalle went upstairs with the Tide Priest.
• Charles opened Wu Duo Duo Mall and bought the Tide Priest’s cultivation and advancement insights.
• Charles studied the insights and concluded he could help his pirates advance into Tide Warriors himself.

After learning the Tide Warrior techniques, Charles began recruiting men for his pirate crew on Ship Island. He rejected the poor pirates at a low-end tavern and paid a waiter at a better one to find suitable recruits.

• Dalle returned as a first-rank Tide Warrior, and Charles watched him spar with Bruce before deciding to recruit men.
• Dalle took Charles and Bruce to a tavern where poor, unattached pirates gathered, but Charles judged them unsuitable and left.
• Charles found a better tavern in Ship Island's inner ring, where cleaner pirates and some Tide Warriors gathered.
• Charles paid for drinks for everyone and gave the waiter extra gold shells to find honest, loyal recruits for his pirate crew.

Charles recruited Quake, an experienced first-rank Tide Warrior and former second mate, by offering him a chance to advance under a Tide Priest. Quake joined the crew, and Charles planned to buy a ship with him the next day.

• The bartender introduced Quake to Charles as a reliable Tide Warrior who had been driven from his former ship after a brawl.
• Quake told Charles that he had spent fourteen years at sea, risen to second mate, and fled after the first mate killed the injured captain and seized command.
• Charles offered Quake the second mate position on a two-masted ship, then admitted he had not bought the ship yet.
• Charles persuaded Quake to join by promising the support of a Tide Priest and a chance to become a second-rank Tide Warrior.
• Quake agreed to join Charles, and Charles told him to come along the next day to buy a ship.

Charles bought a fast, single-masted ship on Ship Island after Quake advised him to start small and recruit a crew gradually. He left the ship in his hands, while Gus hinted that they might meet again.

• Charles asked Quake where to buy a good, affordable ship, and Quake recommended a single-masted vessel because their crew was too small for a larger ship.
• At the harbor, Charles inspected a seventeen-meter ship with a bow-mounted ballista and learned it could reach seventeen knots with a favorable wind.
• Gus, captain of the Garrote Pirate Crew, offered the ship for 1,800 Gold Shells and accepted Charles's counteroffer of 1,600.
• Charles completed the taxed purchase through the broker, and Gus told him to sail the ship well before leaving with his pirates.