Why were all the assassins willing to obey Robuchi's commands?
It was not merely because Robuchi was the middleman. His strength was equally crucial.
It was not as though no assassins had challenged Robuchi's position. It was simply that those challengers often died in inexplicable ways, while many assassins vanished outright, never to appear again.
With enough examples like that, the assassins naturally understood how formidable Robuchi was.
Hawkins withdrew his hair, then manipulated microwaves to burn out Robuchi's brain, ending Robuchi's sinful life.
After dealing with Robuchi, he searched Robuchi's body and found a golden badge. The badge was shaped like a strange spider, every one of its legs growing a skull, while its back bore an enormous skull.
[Animal Friend Badge, foolish lower lifeforms have no memory. No matter how you treat them, they will regard you as their most important friend and help you with everything they have. But at the same time, you may slowly come to like them as well, even beyond the boundaries of species!]
Hawkins looked at the badge and could not help smiling. Sure enough, the curse on this badge was especially bizarre.
When he had examined Robuchi's brain just now, he had discovered that Robuchi had many "wives." Now that he saw the badge, he finally understood why.
"Sure enough, most unorthodox types use Good Grade Cursed Relics, though this one isn't too bad." Hawkins tossed the badge into Eternal Space, then continued toward Dalton Hotel.
In truth, Robuchi had another Cursed Relic, a tool he used to cultivate insects, one that even he himself did not dare touch.
But that Cursed Relic was not going to grow legs and run away on its own, so Hawkins decided to deal with Dalton first.
In fact, he already had the ability to send the entire Black Market Island into Eternal Space. The problem was that he did not want to send Black Market Island's residents into Eternal Space as well, so he needed Dalton to step forward and take everyone away from Black Market Island.
For anyone who entered Eternal Space, there were only two outcomes: either they were one of his own, or they were dead.
Hawkins neither wanted these people to become his companions nor wanted to kill them, so he could only drive them away.
Inside Dalton Hotel, the security guards were at their wits' end, using every kind of tool imaginable to kill the rampaging insects. The ground was littered with the corpses of men and women.
All of these people had been bitten by venomous insects before they could react.
Not everyone could use electrical currents in time to stop venom from spreading like Hawkins. Without a method of detoxification, an ordinary person would lose their life in an instant.
At that moment, the doors were pushed open, and the clutter piled behind them rolled across the floor.
"Who are you? Who let you in? Get out, now!" Several guards faced him as if confronting a great enemy, while the security captain shouted.
Hawkins closed the door and smiled. "I want to see your boss. Go tell him Hawkins is here."
The security captain, who had originally intended to make a move, trembled inwardly. After snorting with a fierce exterior and a weak heart, he hurriedly turned and left.
Hawkins glanced at the corpses on the ground, then slowly walked deeper into the hotel. Though the guards had never seen Hawkins before, they had heard of his fearsome reputation. They all proceeded with utmost caution, not daring to approach him.
"Don't be nervous. I'm not here to kill anyone. As long as you don't attack me, I won't do anything to you." Hawkins looked at several guards as he walked and kindly reassured them.
But none of the guards believed him. Seeing Hawkins heading farther inside, they hurriedly followed behind him, though they kept their distance.
Hawkins smiled. "How much do you make a month?"
Unfortunately, no one answered. Hawkins guessed their pay must have been quite good, otherwise they would not have been so dutiful.
Compared with the miserable treatment of the naval soldiers, Black Market Island was a place where dragons and snakes mingled. As the largest den where money vanished like water, Dalton Hotel's treatment certainly could not have been poor.
"Do you make thirty Silver Coins a month?" Hawkins asked.
For some unknown reason, one of the guards answered, "Our salary is fifty Silver Coins a month!"
"That much?" Hawkins was genuinely surprised.
Mark only made thirty Silver Coins a month. A dignified Curse Caster earned less than a security guard at Dalton Hotel.
Should he raise his salary?
Hawkins considered it for a moment, then decided it was better to keep things as they were. After all, Mark probably did not care much about salary himself. If Hawkins exchanged some points for him, Mark would likely be happier instead.
This was using money to smash people into submission.
In the past, Hawkins's monthly income had fluctuated around a hundred Gold Coins. If he was lucky, he could even earn two hundred Gold Coins, while bad luck might leave him with only around fifty.
It mainly depended on whether he encountered good prey, or whether he struck at towns near the sea.
If it had been the Hawkins of the past, he certainly would not have refused a monthly salary of three hundred Gold Coins.
Unfortunately, the current Hawkins did not care about money at all. This island had gold mines, and once it was sent into Eternal Space, he could have as many Gold Coins as he wanted. By conservative estimates, there would be hundreds of thousands of Gold Coins.
So there was no way this little bit of money could tempt Hawkins.
At that moment, a group of people approached from ahead. Walking at the front was Dalton.
Dalton's expression was somewhat unpleasant. Hawkins had swaggered into the hotel, which meant every assassin had failed.
"Son of Pirates, welcome to Dalton Hotel. May I ask whether you're staying here, or are you looking to..." Dalton looked at Hawkins and forced a smile.
Hawkins glanced at Dalton, then let his gaze pass him and land on the burly man behind him. He smiled. "Blackbeard Braid, I was wondering why I hadn't heard news of you for so long. I thought you were dead. Turns out you became someone else's dog!"
"Son of Pirates, are you looking to die?" The burly man's face immediately reddened as he asked.
He had once been a pirate as well. Because his beard was black and lustrous, and because he liked braiding it, people called him Blackbeard Braid.
Like Son of Pirates, he had once been active in the Pras Sea. The two had been rivals, and had even fought once.
In truth, he was feeling very uneasy. He had failed to use money to crush Hawkins to death, and now Hawkins had come for him. His heart was beating like a drum, and he did not know whether Hawkins would kill him.
He had even mentally prepared himself to buy his life with money.
Hawkins smiled. "Don't worry. I won't kill you. I want you to do something for me."
"What is it?" Dalton relaxed slightly and asked.
Hawkins looked at him. "I'll give you one week. After one week, everyone on Black Market Island must leave. This is neither a request nor a question of whether you can do it. It is a notice.
"When that time comes, anyone who remains on Black Market Island will die. I trust you won't doubt whether I dare to kill people!"
After saying that, he turned and left.
Dalton watched Hawkins's retreating back with an ashen face, his teeth nearly crushed from clenching them.
He did not know that Hawkins intended to store Black Market Island in Eternal Space. In his view, Hawkins was preparing to imitate the Pirate Queen by occupying an island and declaring himself king.
The Pirate Queen occupied Jade Island and commanded tens of thousands of pirates, hence her title as the Pirate Queen.
Now Hawkins clearly wanted to occupy the larger Black Market Island and become a pirate king in the truest sense.
"Lord Dalton, what should we do?" the security captain asked quietly.
Dalton looked toward the masked man who had come with them earlier. The masked man frowned. "Since he'll come back in a week, why don't we prepare a grand gift for him on Black Market Island?"
"What if it fails? Are the Lords truly not going to act?" Dalton frowned.
Even if the Lords lost their share of Black Market Island's profits, they still had countless sources of income. But he only had Black Market Island, only Dalton Hotel.
Hawkins was trying to take everything from him.
His gaze gradually turned sinister. Gritting his teeth, he steeled himself. I absolutely will not hand Black Market Island over to you, Son of Pirates!
In an instant, he thought of Death Star Pavilion.
In truth, even Dalton did not know who the master of Death Star Pavilion was.
Before the Black Market had been established, Death Star Pavilion had already existed on Black Market Island. At that time, however, Black Market Island had not yet been called the Black Market. It had merely been an unnamed island inhabited by a group of natives who worshipped Death Star Pavilion as their faith.
Later, a group of pirates discovered the wondrous uses of Death Star Pavilion, gradually drawing more and more people there.
Those natives were captured and sold to nobles, becoming the nobles' slaves.
This was not Dalton's first time placing a commission with Death Star Pavilion. He knew very well how powerful Death Star Pavilion was.
That night, Dalton returned to his room, opened his treasure chest with a key, took out ten bags of Gold Coins, and left Dalton Hotel directly.
He came to Death Star Pavilion alone. After confirming there was no one around, he immediately entered Death Star Pavilion.
Within Death Star Pavilion, his vision was affected by an unknown force. He could see only things within one meter of himself.
He felt his way to an altar, took out paper and pen, and wrote Hawkins's name. Then he placed the Gold Coins on top of the name.
"Son of Pirates, you want Black Market Island? Hmph, I want you dead!"
As he watched the Gold Coins and the name gradually vanish into the darkness, he sneered inwardly.
Meanwhile, Hawkins had left Black Market Island. He was eating fish aboard the Black Knife while continuously tossing the fish caught by his tentacles into Eternal Space.
Unfortunately, he had not seen any whales yet, and whether the Pras Sea even had whales remained unknown.
Otherwise, he would only need to eat a few whales, and the energy he stored would probably be enough to use for a very long time.
Though he had looked calm and casual during his two eruptions on Black Market Island just now, his actual consumption had been enormous. That was why, after returning to the Black Knife, he began eating.
The naval soldiers left on the ship continuously brought him grilled fish, and he continuously ate. After finishing the meat, he tossed the bones into Eternal Space.
What Eternal Space lacked most was material from the real world, so he did not even let the bones go.