Chapter 231: Interrogation
Some people, even when they realize how powerful their opponent is, always cling to a sliver of hope in their hearts. Blood Anchor was just like that right now.
He swung his Longsword, gathering all his strength for his most powerful strike.
Scorching flames, like molten lava, burned the surrounding air, filling it with the smell of char.
"I’ll fight you to the death!"
The Celestial Tier Warrior unleashed his full power, and a torrent of immense Strength surged forward.
’An ordinary Celestial Tier Warrior, but that’s a decent Enchanted Weapon in his hands!’
Duane raised his Longsword. An even purer Fighting Qi, infused with crackling Thunder, formed an incredibly domineering Fighting Qi Longsword as he executed a Perfection Level Breaking Army Slash.
Their attacks collided violently, and a tremendous shockwave swept out in all directions.
The railings were torn apart and the deck was pierced through. Another group of pirates on the ship was thrown into the sea.
They didn’t even have time to struggle, knocked unconscious by the impact before they even hit the water.
Blood Anchor was also caught in the shockwave and slammed into a cabin behind him. His body was covered in wounds, and he coughed up blood.
Duane mentally analyzed the exchange.
He still wasn’t sure just how large the gap between the Silver Moon Level and the Celestial Tier was.
’His full-power strike weakened my Breaking Army Slash by at least forty percent of its strength.’
Although he had still won with overwhelming force, the gap in the power of their Combat Techniques wasn’t as large as he had expected.
’If two Celestial Tier Warriors and one Earth Tier Warrior attacked together, they should be able to block my Breaking Army Slash.’
’However, that’s not my killing move.’
Breaking Army Slash was merely a Combat Technique learned by Advanced Warriors.
Duane’s strongest killing moves right now were Thunderous Triple Slash and Mountain Collapse Spear Skill.
After those came the Rainbow Piercing Spear Skill, the Earth-Shaking Staff Skill, and the fast-attacking Thousand Shadows Staff.
If he had just used Rainbow Piercing, ninety percent of the force would have likely struck Blood Anchor’s body directly.
"This is the third time I’m asking you. Tell me, who is the person backing you?"
Duane walked into the ruined cabin and spoke mercilessly to Blood Anchor, who was half-buried in a pile of supplies:
"I don’t kill the innocent indiscriminately. Just give me an answer, and I can take you back to Black Forest Island as a prisoner. I’ll even notify your master to come and ransom you."
"Heh heh!"
Blood Anchor grinned. He raised his hand and dropped a piece of white paper, which was coated in a black powder.
"You won’t get any information from me!"
Duane’s brow furrowed. He used the "Wind-Held" Magic to bring the paper to him.
Blood Anchor’s pupils contracted at the sight.
He simply couldn’t comprehend what was going on with the man before him. Why was he so absurdly strong?
Duane sniffed it. The black powder had a pungent smell.
If his guess was correct, the man had taken poison.
Just then, Blood Anchor let out a blood-curdling scream. Black blood trickled from his seven orifices, and within seconds, he stopped breathing.
Duane tossed the paper aside. "I’ll give you this, you’ve got guts!"
His mood was heavy.
A Celestial Tier Warrior who would rather die than expose his master... To inspire that level of loyalty, his master was definitely no simple character.
Duane walked out of the damaged cabin.
He looked at the other ship, which was turning to flee, and decisively swung his Sword.
A full-powered Sword Rain Storm, carrying the might of Thunder, blasted a huge hole in the ship’s hull. A massive amount of seawater poured in; it would sink in just three to five minutes.
Then, he activated his Starlight Eye and scanned the area, his gaze finally landing on the person with the densest Fighting Qi on this ship.
"You, come here!"
The man he pointed at crawled over, trembling. "My lord, spare me! Spare my life, my lord!"
"You’re an Advanced Warrior? What’s your position on this ship?"
Faced with Duane’s questioning, the man didn’t dare hide a single thing. He immediately revealed his identity and everything he knew.
After a while, Duane finally understood the identities of this group.
To be precise, there were three factions on these two ships: the client, the mercenaries, and the pirates.
The Celestial Tier Warrior, Blood Anchor, was the client. He had organized this operation.
The two Earth Tier Warriors Duane had killed were from a Mercenary Corps, hired by Blood Anchor to participate in this assassination.
As for the man before him and all the rest, they were all pirates.
According to this pirate Vice Leader, they had initially been unwilling to take on such a mission.
But Blood Anchor offered too much money. Combined with their own formidable strength and the fact that Black Forest Island only had one Earth Tier Warrior, Kaelon, the chances of a successful ambush were very high.
So, they went for it.
They just never expected a terrifying monster like Duane to be on the ship from Black Forest Island, shattering their dreams in a few swift moves.
"My lord, I can be your Slave! I can do anything for you, I only beg you to spare my life!"
The pirate Vice Leader begged, sobbing.
Duane didn’t respond, instead asking, "You said Blood Anchor gave you five hundred Gold Coins. Where’s the money?"
The Vice Leader had a sudden realization. "Quick, quick! Bring all the money over!"
As he spoke, he scrambled into a cabin and brought out all their money.
Duane waited quietly, simultaneously pondering who had arranged this assassination.
But no matter how much he thought about it, he had no leads.
Among these people, only Blood Anchor had contact with the mastermind.
Blood Anchor had committed suicide. No matter how he interrogated the others, he wouldn’t get anything useful.
Soon, the pirates had gathered all their money and valuables and placed them before Duane.
"My lord, this is all of our wealth, totaling 136 Gold Coins, 385 silver coins, and 1,369 Copper Coins. Please, accept it!"
Duane frowned. "Why is it so little? Didn’t you receive a five-hundred-Gold-Coin fee for the job?"
The Vice Leader nervously wiped away his sweat. "The rest was on our leader, but you just knocked him into the sea. I’m afraid he’s already drowned."
’A pity,’ Duane thought, considering the hundreds of Gold Coins now at the bottom of the sea.
"Fine."
He activated his Starlight Eye and used the Void Power in his left eye to absorb the valuables into his space.
Seeing this unbelievable scene, the pirates could only feel that the Baron before them was far too powerful and mysterious.
They didn’t dare say another word, only praying silently in their hearts that he would let them go like stray dogs.
"I won’t kill you."
Duane said this as he carried Blood Anchor’s corpse to the bow of the ship, then brought his Sword down in a single strike.
The Sword Rain Storm tore open the thick deck and continued downward, piercing through the ship. Seawater violently flooded the cabins.
The pirate Vice Leader’s face was pale. He didn’t dare resist and could only continue to kneel and beg, praying that Duane would suddenly change his mind and take him along.
Pledges of undying loyalty, resolute allegiance, and willingness to serve like an ox or horse flowed from his mouth endlessly.
"Whether you live or die depends on your luck."
Duane leaped, returning to his own ship just before the other one sank.
He looked back at their wails of despair, feeling no pity.
’Pirates belong in the sea.’
Jack and the others crowded around Duane.
They could only feel an immense pressure radiating from the Baron, so oppressive that they dared not raise their heads or even breathe too loudly.
"M-My lord... is there anything we can do for you?"
Duane threw the corpse in his hand onto the deck. "Strip the Armor off their bodies, then throw them into the sea to feed the fish."
Although the items came from dead men, the weapons and Armor on these three were all Upper Level quality. It would be a shame to throw them away.
Besides, when it came to life-saving equipment, Warriors couldn’t be picky. There were no taboos or feelings of disgust.
"Also, remind everyone to keep today’s events a secret. Especially after we reach the Silent Shore, no one is to speak of it!"
He didn’t know who the mastermind was, and it wouldn’t be good if news of today’s battle got out.
"Heck, wait for those two ships to sink, then we’ll set sail again."
"I understand, my lord!"
Duane nodded slightly and walked straight back to his room to inspect his spoils.
The spoils handed over by the pirate Vice Leader mainly consisted of Gold Coins and Magic Potions, but what Duane cared about most was Blood Anchor’s Enchanted Longsword.
He traced the Magic Patterns on it, the scene of his opponent using it replaying in his mind.
’This Enchantment’s effect is better than Blazing Fire. It’s definitely not something an ordinary Enchanter could create.’
Even though Blood Anchor had committed suicide, the matter still needed to be investigated.
Tracing it through the sales channels of this Enchanted Longsword was one possible way to do it.
Thinking of this, Duane put down the Longsword, took out a pen and paper, and began to draw a full-body portrait of Blood Anchor.