When Life Gives You Lemons, Hang Yourself from the Southeast Branch

David Jones's heartbroken appearance reminded Russell of a lyric, "Love brings joy, but also torment!"

Love turned to hate, and he was tormented by the back-and-forth between love and hate. Life was so dull that he felt it was better to be dead than to live. So Russell decisively shot him and sent him on his way.

David Jones was a pitiful man, but every pitiful person has something hateful about them. On the surface, it was Calypso who betrayed him, but in reality, he was torturing himself.

Anyone can shirk responsibility, but don't blame love every time something goes wrong. We're all adults; there's no need to use heartbreak to cover up your problems. Let's be realistic: humans are selfish creatures, and the root of suffering is always unfulfilled desires.

If David Jones truly loves her, he should tolerate Calypso's infidelity and remain a backup, silently offering his blessings from behind, waiting for the right moment for his goddess to need him and then stepping forward to become her father.

They don't even have this much awareness, yet they dare to say they love goddesses!

Russell wasn't a psychologist, so he wouldn't advise him to take things easy or think that if he felt everything in life was unsatisfactory, he should just hang himself to end it all.

To put it simply, the reason I'm clinging to life is purely because I'm afraid of dying!

Since David Jones couldn't bring himself to do it, Russell helped him by allowing him to return to the embrace of the sea and never be separated from the woman he loved.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—"

David Jones was shot and thrown from the ship's side into the sea. Russell, having had enough of being backstabbed, leaped out and followed him to the surface.

With his dual pistols sheathed, Russell took out his Adamantium Blade and slashed it down, the sword energy parting the sea to reveal the fully restored David Jones.

"That's strange. With your abilities, you shouldn't be unknown. Yet, after sailing the seas for so long, I've never even heard of you." David Jones stood with his feet on the sea, looking thoughtful. Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, his face darkened, and he abruptly raised his long sword to slash at Russell.

"Bite!"

Sparks flew as the blades clashed. David Jones felt a force no less than his own, which both shocked and enraged him. This was the first time he had encountered a human with such powerful physique since becoming a monster.

He might actually be human, but that's not necessarily true...

David Jones's furrowed brows slowly relaxed, concluding that Russell, like himself, was either a human endowed with divine authority or Half-human, Half-god with divine blood flowing through his veins.

The two froze for a moment, then Russell grinned and pressed down with both hands. The Adamantium Blade instantly sliced into the longsword and severed it, the force of which also removed the crab claw from David Jones' left arm.

There was no blood; instead, pale green, viscous droplets dripped from David Jones' severed arm, wriggling to form a blurry outline of the arm. The color gradually deepened, and the crab claws grew back.

Russell thought to himself that this was troublesome. In a one-on-one fight, ten David Jones wouldn't be enough for him to beat; in terms of equipment, he had the Desert Eagle God and the Adamantium Blade, giving him a clear advantage; in terms of pets, the Thunder Beast was superior to the Kraken in both appearance and ability; and in terms of underlings, Jason was uglier than the Seafood Crew.

But David Jones' Immortal Body leveled the gap between the two sides. His only weakness, his heart, wasn't nearby, and with the ocean as his home ground, he was impossible to kill.

In fact, David Jones is quite powerful. Immortal Body, Teleportation, pass through objects, contract with souls, and summon pets. He is a physically enhanced version of Wizard, following the same path as Russell.

After David Jones finished restoring the blade, he glanced at the broken knife in his hand, slightly surprised. He then ran his hand along the back of the blade, and the blade automatically extended and restored itself.

"It's no use. This knife is made of the hardest metal in the world. No matter how many times it's restored, I will cut it in two."

Russell stepped into the sea, kicking up water to distract David Jones, then swung his sword forward and, in the instant the two passed each other, once again severed David Jones's longsword.

"The hardest metal in the world, I doubt it..." David Jones said sarcastically, as he plunged his longsword into the sea. When he lifted it up, the broken edge was repaired by the seawater forming a new blade.

"Clang!!!"

As the blades clashed, Russell was surprised to find that the Adamantium Blade couldn't even cut through a clump of seawater. He tried to talk to his opponent about physics, but his opponent tried to talk to him about magic.

"Arrogant! The hardest metal in the world... Hah, once you see the weapon of the gods, you'll know how ridiculous that is." David Jones clamped the blade with his pliers and pressed the edge down on Russell with both hands.

Russell held the knife in both hands to resist the downward force, kicked David Jones in the groin, and while Davy Jones's face contorted and changed color, he raised his hand and fired the Desert Eagle in his left hand.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—"

David Jones's octopus head was smashed, and Russell seized the opportunity to sever his knife-wielding arm and store it in his Space Ring. David Jones, now fully recovered, sank into the water empty-handed, his face dark, and reappeared aboard the Flying Dutchman.

Continuing would only be a waste of time, and he didn't want to engage in pointless fighting. He steered the Flying Dutchman to submerge, and the pirates who were still boarding the ship were doomed. They were dragged into the sea by the whirlpool as the ship submerged, and most of them drowned.

The Flying Dutchman withdrew from the battlefield on its own initiative. Before the pirates could even cheer, a huge wave crashed over them, throwing them to the ground.

The time had come to test the captain's experience. The Chinese pirates lowered their small boat and ropes, pulled up several of their closest companions who had fallen into the water, and obeyed Barbossa's orders, sailing against the wind and waves towards Shipwreck Cove.

Half a day later, the Black Pearl was the first to emerge from the storm, followed by the two Junk ship. After a fierce battle and a struggle against the harsh weather, the crew was exhausted and could no longer continue, so they slowed down to allow the crew to rest.

"Strategist, before we arrive at Shipwreck Cove, I have something to discuss with you." Barbossa, Jack, Xiao Feng appeared together in the captain's cabin of the Black Pearl. Barbossa and Xiao Feng looked serious, while Jack looked listless, as if he were going to the execution ground.

"Regarding the matter of electing the Pirate Emperor at the Pirate Council, the three of us all feel that you are the most suitable."

Barbossa got straight to the point: pirates are used to their freedom and are a bunch of unruly madmen. Especially the Nine Pirate Kings, they would never choose a Pirate Emperor to lord it over them. The result of the vote was predictable; even if they voted a hundred times, there would be no result.

Barbossa himself felt the same way; it would be better to kill him than to make him vote for Xiao Feng or Jack. But Russell was different. His strength was a top-tier fighting force that the pirates desperately needed. After spending a few days with him, the shrewd Barbossa concluded that Russell had no ambition for fame or fortune and would be a nobody even if he became Pirate Emperor.

This is the same reason Jack voted for Elizabeth; it's optional, so who else would he choose if not him?

"Pirate Emperor ... I graduated from junior high school many years ago..." Russell muttered under his breath, and resolutely rejected the three's offer. "I am not the Pirate King, I am not qualified to participate. You three can discuss it and let whoever wants to do it do it."

"My lord, I am willing to relinquish the title of Pirate King of Singapore to you." Xiao Feng immediately jumped out to express his loyalty, fearing that Barbossa would beat him to it if he was a step too slow.

"Get lost, don't cause trouble here." Russell glared fiercely at Xiao Feng: "I'm not even a pirate, what kind of Pirate King am I!"

Throughout pirate history, only the first Pirate Council elected Pirate Emperor in order to seal Calypso. Since then, two more Pirate Council have been held, but no one has ever been elected Pirate Emperor.

According to the Pirate Code, Pirate Emperor possessed immense power, capable of leading pirates worldwide. His duties were detailed in the Pirate Code, including declaring war on enemies, negotiating, arming troops, and formulating strategies.

Russell's mission was not to lead the rise of pirates. He did not directly kidnap Jack and Barbossa to start the Trident expedition, but to give the East India Company a surprise when the war started. He did not care at all about the identity of the Pirate Emperor.

Jack coughed lightly and volunteered, "Since you, Captain, don't want to be the Pirate Emperor, I'll take your place. Barbossa, Xiao Feng, you can cast your votes..."

"Idiot, you don't even have a ship now. Even if everyone votes for you, you can't become the Pirate Emperor according to the law."

"That's true. What's the difference between making you Pirate Emperor and surrendering outright!"

Barbossa and Xiao Feng watched coldly, and Jack, seeing that the atmosphere was not right, shut up and retreated.

Russell glanced at the three of them and ended the discussion. "Xiao Feng, you are not allowed to vote for yourself when you vote. Barbossa and Jack, vote for whichever one you like."

"Yes, sir." This was not the outcome Xiao Feng wanted, but he could not disobey Russell's orders, so he could only agree despite his displeasure.

Jack put his arm around Xiao Feng's shoulder, his eyes filled with affection. "Captain Xiao Feng, my good buddy, I'm only one ship away from becoming Pirate Emperor, and your crucial vote. For the sake of our past friendship, you have to help me this time!"

Xiao Feng sneered, slapped away Jack's dog paw, and said to Barbossa in a friendly tone, "Captain Barbossa, I will vote for you, but I have one request. When you become the Pirate Emperor, the first thing you must do is order Jack to be tied to a cannon and thrown into the sea."

The two walked away arm in arm, and Barbossa said with a smile, "Captain Xiao Feng, rest assured, I would have done it even if you hadn't said anything."

"Pleasure doing business with you!" X2