Pulling out the invitation he purchased from the skull tattoo bartender, Charles entered the auction venue.0
The inside of the ship was large but with just a few pieces of furniture. A simple stage was erected in front of the audience area, and it was blanketed in a blood-red carpet.0
Naturally, pirates couldn't care less about decorum and were drowning in debauchery. There were those drinking alcohol, some feeding on Comfort Fruit, and even a bunch sniffing powdery substances. The stale air in the auction venue was a blend of various smells.0
Amid the hushed whispers of pirate leaders, Charles' being alone seemed rather conspicuous. He hadn't let Audric follow him. He knew the pirates had vast experiences and was worried that they might notice that Audric was a vampire and the potential troubles it might bring.0
As the hall gradually filled up, the oil lamps illuminating the surroundings were dimmed to the lowest.0
Snap!0
A spotlight shone down on the center of the stage. Dressed in ostentatious clothes, a dwarf bounced onto stage.0
"Welcome, everyone, to the 157th Sottom Auction! We've got quite a number of amazing items today! Have you brought enough Echo with you?"0
The crowd was unresponsive. Most of the pirates in the audience seat didn't even spare a glance at the host.0
The dwarf wasn't affected by the dull atmosphere as he clasped his hands together and said with a smile, "And now, please welcome our most esteemed, invincible 'King'!"0
As soon as the dwarf's words fell, the spotlight shifted toward a nearby cabin door.0
A behemoth of a man who looked as though he weighed a ton was pushed out on a wooden cart. His unusually greasy face was marked by large boils. Coupled with his stomach that was nearly scraping the ground, "King" of Sottom was a startlingly hideous figure.0
"King" paid no attention to the audience. His attention was solely fixated on the mountains of meat on either side of his cart.0
Watching "King" chow down the food, occasionally exposing his rotten teeth and all, Charles felt a wave of nausea. Frankly, King's appearance was far from what he had anticipated.0
However, the pirates seemed to think otherwise. Their previous defiance was now gone and replaced with deference and respect as they rose from their seats and bowed to "King".0
"King" spared no word. He waved a greasy hand nonchalantly to signal to the dwarf to proceed.0
The spotlight once again shone down on the dwarf. He offered a deep bow in the direction of "King" before he loudly announced, "The auction shall begin now! Our first item is a woman!"0
The curtain behind the dwarf lifted to reveal a young girl in a lavish dress as she was pushed onto the stage.0
"Everyone, she isn't a mere plaything. She is the recently missing daughter of the governor of Isle of Whereto. Once you buy her, you can cut off a part of her daily, send it to the governor and blackmail him for money! Look closely! She's not a woman, but a cash cow!! The starting bid is five hundred thousand, with incremental bids of hundred thousand! Starting now!! This captain has bid one million! Two million!! Good! Now six million!!"0
Charles was oblivious to the pirates' bids. All his attention was on "King". That man had the clues he needed to return to the surface. His mind relentlessly ran through strategies on how he could get the nautical map from "King".0
Meanwhile, the governor's daughter had been purchased by a pirate. With a distraught expression, she descended the stage. It went unnoticed that she was closing the gap between her and "King".0
Just when she was merely three meters away from "King", her tear-streaked face twisted menacingly. Making swift movement, her left hand reached under her ruffled, leaf-trimmed skirt and pulled out a pistol before aiming it at "King" and frantically pulling the trigger.0
Bang! Bang! Bang!0
Bullets buried into "King's" obese body and blood splattered with bits of sickly yellow fat.0
Squelch.0
A large boil on "King's" face burst open as a palm-sized creature that resembled a facehugger emerged from it. It lunged toward the woman while leaving an afterimage in its path. The next second, the tearing of flesh sounded and the woman's decapitated body slumped lifelessly onto the floor.0
"King" remained seated in his spot nonchalantly. His greasy hand grabbed the scattered pieces of flesh, his own, and stuffed them into his mouth. He seemed oblivious to the fact that he had been struck with bullets.0
After several seconds of stunned silence, the dwarf hurried tried to smooth things over, "Haha, yet another delusional fool seeking death! All glory to our "King"! Our "King" is invincible! Now, let's move on to our second item!"0
Charles watched as the worm on the ground crawled back to its dwelling—the burst boil. He came to the realization that the entity that could control the whole of Sottom couldn't possibly be a simpleton.0
He was certain that "King" hadn't displayed even a fraction of his true strength, which ought to be terrifyingly immense.0
Soon, Charles' thoughts shifted back onto himself. With such a formidable adversary, how was he supposed to extract information from him?0
Talk things out? This was the first option that Charles struck out. The hideous being did not appear to be someone open to negotiations. Also the skull tattoo bartender was right—he would never share knowledge that would affect his monopolizing business.0
Taking a forceful approach was even more impossible since "King" was far more powerful, and his men greatly outnumbered Charles. Charles was thrown into a predicament.0
The auction was nearing its end, but Charles still didn't have a plan. He stared at the corpulent, round figure stuffing meat into his mouth from a distance. A sense of annoyance was gnawing at his heart.0
Cough.0
The sound of someone clearing their throat from beside Charles broke Charles out of his intense gaze. "Don't stare at "King" so intensely. He might take it as a challenge."0
Charles turned and nearly jumped out of his seat when he saw the white triangle on the stranger's forehead.0
His eyes burned with hostility as he looked at the follower of the Divine Light Order. "Sonny must be surprised to see that I'm still alive, isn't he?"0
Out of his anticipation, the follower showed genuine surprise. "Sonny? I'm sorry, but I don't know him well. He is an orthodox believer, whereas I follow the new faith."0
Charles eyed the man with suspicions. He couldn't figure out the newcomer's intentions.0
"There's no need for suspicions. As you know, we followers of the Divine Light Order can never lie."0
It was only then that Charles left his doubts aside. As far as he knew, it was indeed as the stranger said. Once followers of the Divine Light Order underwent their initiation rites, they not only lost the capacity to feel fear, but also the ability to lie.0
Charles carefully studied the appearance of the follower before him. He seemed to be on the older side, about sixty years of age, with graying hair and small round glasses on his nose. Coupled with his long, yellow, robe, he almost looked like an amicable grandfather.0
"I'm Kord. I'm a Sacred Acolyte of the Divine Light Order. Nice to meet you. Captain Charles."0
The name triggered a memory in Charles' mind. He recalled that Sonny had requested for him to come to Sottom to exterminate other followers from his religion. Was Kord the intended target?0
"Do you know me?"0
Kord flashed a smile. "Of course, I do. When you mentioned that you were seeking the Land of Light in the Explorers Association, we received word. Captain Charles, may we have a chat?"0
A flick of interest ignited in Charles. The enemy of his enemy could be a friend, and this man might be useful.0
"Sure, let's talk aboard my ship."
Pulling out the invitation he purchased from the skull tattoo bartender, Charles entered the auction venue.0
The inside of the ship was large but with just a few pieces of furniture. A simple stage was erected in front of the audience area, and it was blanketed in a blood-red carpet.0
Naturally, pirates couldn't care less about decorum and were drowning in debauchery. There were those drinking alcohol, some feeding on Comfort Fruit, and even a bunch sniffing powdery substances. The stale air in the auction venue was a blend of various smells.0
Amid the hushed whispers of pirate leaders, Charles' being alone seemed rather conspicuous. He hadn't let Audric follow him. He knew the pirates had vast experiences and was worried that they might notice that Audric was a vampire and the potential troubles it might bring.0
As the hall gradually filled up, the oil lamps illuminating the surroundings were dimmed to the lowest.0
Snap!0
A spotlight shone down on the center of the stage. Dressed in ostentatious clothes, a dwarf bounced onto stage.0
"Welcome, everyone, to the 157th Sottom Auction! We've got quite a number of amazing items today! Have you brought enough Echo with you?"0
The crowd was unresponsive. Most of the pirates in the audience seat didn't even spare a glance at the host.0
The dwarf wasn't affected by the dull atmosphere as he clasped his hands together and said with a smile, "And now, please welcome our most esteemed, invincible 'King'!"0
As soon as the dwarf's words fell, the spotlight shifted toward a nearby cabin door.0
A behemoth of a man who looked as though he weighed a ton was pushed out on a wooden cart. His unusually greasy face was marked by large boils. Coupled with his stomach that was nearly scraping the ground, "King" of Sottom was a startlingly hideous figure.0
"King" paid no attention to the audience. His attention was solely fixated on the mountains of meat on either side of his cart.0
Watching "King" chow down the food, occasionally exposing his rotten teeth and all, Charles felt a wave of nausea. Frankly, King's appearance was far from what he had anticipated.0
However, the pirates seemed to think otherwise. Their previous defiance was now gone and replaced with deference and respect as they rose from their seats and bowed to "King".0
"King" spared no word. He waved a greasy hand nonchalantly to signal to the dwarf to proceed.0
The spotlight once again shone down on the dwarf. He offered a deep bow in the direction of "King" before he loudly announced, "The auction shall begin now! Our first item is a woman!"0
The curtain behind the dwarf lifted to reveal a young girl in a lavish dress as she was pushed onto the stage.0
"Everyone, she isn't a mere plaything. She is the recently missing daughter of the governor of Isle of Whereto. Once you buy her, you can cut off a part of her daily, send it to the governor and blackmail him for money! Look closely! She's not a woman, but a cash cow!! The starting bid is five hundred thousand, with incremental bids of hundred thousand! Starting now!! This captain has bid one million! Two million!! Good! Now six million!!"0
Charles was oblivious to the pirates' bids. All his attention was on "King". That man had the clues he needed to return to the surface. His mind relentlessly ran through strategies on how he could get the nautical map from "King".0
Meanwhile, the governor's daughter had been purchased by a pirate. With a distraught expression, she descended the stage. It went unnoticed that she was closing the gap between her and "King".0
Just when she was merely three meters away from "King", her tear-streaked face twisted menacingly. Making swift movement, her left hand reached under her ruffled, leaf-trimmed skirt and pulled out a pistol before aiming it at "King" and frantically pulling the trigger.0
Bang! Bang! Bang!0
Bullets buried into "King's" obese body and blood splattered with bits of sickly yellow fat.0
Squelch.0
A large boil on "King's" face burst open as a palm-sized creature that resembled a facehugger emerged from it. It lunged toward the woman while leaving an afterimage in its path. The next second, the tearing of flesh sounded and the woman's decapitated body slumped lifelessly onto the floor.0
"King" remained seated in his spot nonchalantly. His greasy hand grabbed the scattered pieces of flesh, his own, and stuffed them into his mouth. He seemed oblivious to the fact that he had been struck with bullets.0
After several seconds of stunned silence, the dwarf hurried tried to smooth things over, "Haha, yet another delusional fool seeking death! All glory to our "King"! Our "King" is invincible! Now, let's move on to our second item!"0
Charles watched as the worm on the ground crawled back to its dwelling—the burst boil. He came to the realization that the entity that could control the whole of Sottom couldn't possibly be a simpleton.0
He was certain that "King" hadn't displayed even a fraction of his true strength, which ought to be terrifyingly immense.0
Soon, Charles' thoughts shifted back onto himself. With such a formidable adversary, how was he supposed to extract information from him?0
Talk things out? This was the first option that Charles struck out. The hideous being did not appear to be someone open to negotiations. Also the skull tattoo bartender was right—he would never share knowledge that would affect his monopolizing business.0
Taking a forceful approach was even more impossible since "King" was far more powerful, and his men greatly outnumbered Charles. Charles was thrown into a predicament.0
The auction was nearing its end, but Charles still didn't have a plan. He stared at the corpulent, round figure stuffing meat into his mouth from a distance. A sense of annoyance was gnawing at his heart.0
Cough.0
The sound of someone clearing their throat from beside Charles broke Charles out of his intense gaze. "Don't stare at "King" so intensely. He might take it as a challenge."0
Charles turned and nearly jumped out of his seat when he saw the white triangle on the stranger's forehead.0
His eyes burned with hostility as he looked at the follower of the Divine Light Order. "Sonny must be surprised to see that I'm still alive, isn't he?"0
Out of his anticipation, the follower showed genuine surprise. "Sonny? I'm sorry, but I don't know him well. He is an orthodox believer, whereas I follow the new faith."0
Charles eyed the man with suspicions. He couldn't figure out the newcomer's intentions.0
"There's no need for suspicions. As you know, we followers of the Divine Light Order can never lie."0
It was only then that Charles left his doubts aside. As far as he knew, it was indeed as the stranger said. Once followers of the Divine Light Order underwent their initiation rites, they not only lost the capacity to feel fear, but also the ability to lie.0
Charles carefully studied the appearance of the follower before him. He seemed to be on the older side, about sixty years of age, with graying hair and small round glasses on his nose. Coupled with his long, yellow, robe, he almost looked like an amicable grandfather.0
"I'm Kord. I'm a Sacred Acolyte of the Divine Light Order. Nice to meet you. Captain Charles."0
The name triggered a memory in Charles' mind. He recalled that Sonny had requested for him to come to Sottom to exterminate other followers from his religion. Was Kord the intended target?0
"Do you know me?"0
Kord flashed a smile. "Of course, I do. When you mentioned that you were seeking the Land of Light in the Explorers Association, we received word. Captain Charles, may we have a chat?"0
A flick of interest ignited in Charles. The enemy of his enemy could be a friend, and this man might be useful.0
"Sure, let's talk aboard my ship."
