Death

Although the way ahead had been cleared, a new problem arose, and everyone found themselves at a standoff again over the order in which they would cross.

After all, there was only one rope, and only one person could cross at a time, so they would inevitably have to go in some order.

But the five factions lacked trust in one another. Those who crossed first were less of a concern. After all, this was the only known route, and the Third-Tier Professional [Angry Whale] Jaeger was still inside, his condition unknown. Unless they were completely out of their minds, they would not tamper with anything.

Those who crossed later, however, were another matter. Whichever faction remained until last might suddenly decide not to enter and cut the rope.

Then those who had gone inside would be in danger. If there was no other way out, they would most likely be trapped inside until they died. Even if they obtained the treasure in the ruins, they would never get to enjoy it.

This was hardly impossible. After all, the situation inside the ruins was unknown. Even against the third-tier Jaeger alone, they might not necessarily win. Even if they did, it would most likely be a pyrrhic victory, and no one could guarantee they would not be among the casualties.

The five pirate ships outside were also a considerable fortune. Rather than fight a third-tier powerhouse to the death inside, they could simply make off with the other captains' assets. Given the opportunity, the chances of that happening were certainly not small.

At least, Dunn knew that if he faced such a choice, he would most likely choose the latter.

After discussing it, they finally decided that each faction would send one person across at a time, taking turns.

Astor's people would go first, Grant's would go last, and Dunn's were placed fourth.

Dunn had actually wanted to go last, but the other four did not trust him. After all, the [Black Pearl]'s Navigator was still outside.

In the first round, each captain sent an agile subordinate across to scout the way. In the second round, the captains themselves crossed. None of them trusted the other captains to remain behind. If circumstances allowed, it would hardly be surprising for these selfish pirates to abandon their subordinates.

With this arrangement, all the pirates crossed the abyss and reached the other side without mishap, despite their apprehension.

From here onward, everything ahead was unknown. Neither Grant nor the captive Elvin had ever been here.

They advanced slowly along the straight corridor. Grant had confirmed that the two halls before this had originally been completely free of danger as well, and that all the deaths had resulted from his fight with [Angry Whale].

But this did not make them lower their guard. Instead, they grew even more tense. Something had to be wrong when things were this unusual. How could ruins on this scale contain nothing at all? They had not even seen any decayed mechanisms.

A Pirate King was no philanthropist. Why would he leave his treasure for later generations to take so easily? It was not as though this Pirate King was named Roger.

So none of them dared relax in the slightest. Though they had not quite reached the point of seeing enemies in every shadow, they remained fully focused, alert to every little movement around them.

They continued down the corridor. To their surprise, nothing happened along the way. After rounding a corner, they glimpsed a faint light ahead.

Their spirits immediately lifted, and their steps quickened. Before long, they reached the entrance to another hall. As expected, its stone doors stood open.

On a stone pedestal in the center of the hall, a purple orb shone brilliantly, bathing the entire underground space in purple light.

Anyone could tell at a glance that the orb was worth a fortune.

Greed crept into the pirates' eyes.

"Everyone, wait. Don't go in."

"There might be danger. Stop."

Fortunately, the captains were all cautious enough to hold back the eager pirates. Otherwise, they would already have swarmed forward to fight over it.

By the orb's light, Dunn surveyed the entire hall. Directly opposite the entrance stood an exquisite stone chair, inlaid with countless pieces of gold and gemstones that gave it an exceptionally splendid appearance.

A figure sat upright on the stone chair, its body withered, an ornate crown resting on its head.

Dunn did not know whether this was the ancient Pirate King or [Angry Whale], who had been trapped here. It was probably the Pirate King. If it were [Angry Whale], the other captains should have recognized him. Just as Dunn was studying the figure on the stone chair and pondering this, a pirate suddenly called out:

"Look! There are bodies over there."

Dunn immediately turned to look. In one corner lay a heap of bodies, sprawled every which way.

"That's the captain of the [Whaler]. The one with only half a body left is the [Whaler]'s Navigator. I saw him in Cutlass Harbor a few years ago." With his superior eyesight, Engels could clearly make out the details of the bodies.

"The number roughly matches what Elvin said, too." With a brief glance, Astor estimated that there were at least several dozen bodies.

"Just as I thought..." The captive Elvin went pale and let out a sigh of acceptance.

Dunn and the others had kept Elvin with them ever since entering the ruins. Since his earlier injuries were serious and had greatly reduced his fighting ability, they had not trussed him up tightly. That would have hampered his movement too much. They had simply bound his hands.

"Standing here staring won't do us any good. Let's go over and see how they died, so we can establish what we might face next." Having waited here for so long without any mechanisms or magical beasts appearing, Grant voiced his suggestion.

"You lead the way." This was directed at Elvin. After all, prisoners had no rights. At this point, he was not much use anymore, so using him to scout the way was ideal.

At these words, Elvin showed neither resistance nor fear. He stepped straight through the stone doorway and walked toward the bodies of his former companions.

The others waited a little while. Seeing that Elvin had almost reached the bodies without anything happening, they immediately followed.

Soon, the group arrived in front of the bodies.

"These people were all crushed to death by tremendous force. Even that Navigator wasn't cut in half by a sharp weapon. Some blunt instrument brutally severed him. It would have taken at least Transcendent-level strength." After briefly examining the bodies, Astor quickly reached a conclusion.

Every assassin was a master of the art of killing, deeply versed in the study of the dead.

"And..." Looking at the few heads among the bodies that remained intact, Astor said slowly, "Judging by their expressions of disbelief, they were probably killed by someone they never expected."

At Astor's words, everyone was startled.