Chapter 27: Pick Up and Put Down
The cold sea breeze blew towards him.
Soren stood on the roof of the shack, gazing at the distant sea. His expression showed no signs of change, looking as though he wore a mask. Only the most observant would notice that his fingers trembled slightly, with his index finger gently rubbing the blade. He carried a heavy scent of blood along with a strong aura of killing intent, not merely spoken words but built upon the stacks of heads he had collected.
Soren was unable to fully restrain his killing intent!
He had killed too many people recently, starting from the moment he encountered Adele, and through conquering Snake Island, he had harvested far too many heads along the way.
The repeated killings had bred a ferocity in his heart; this was a struggle of will.
Ssssss!
A faint sound of movement came from nearby. Soren’s figure disappeared from his spot, and when he reappeared, he held a spotted viper in his palm. This was Snake Island, home to a significant number of venomous snakes. A circle of repellent herbs was scattered near the shack, yet somehow the snakes still managed to enter. The snakes here were difficult to eliminate entirely because there was a snake den behind, and clearing them would certainly come at a great cost.
Soren pinched the head of the spotted viper with two fingers, the toxic body coiling around his arm, slowly tightening. A cold sensation coursed through his arm as he continued to silently gaze into the distance, as if something in the sea was drawing him in. Only when his gaze left the ocean did a hint of concealed ferocity flicker in his eyes, along with pupils faintly tinged with blood light. His Slayer Form had already been released; he had satisfied the bloodthirst of transforming into a Slayer, but it seemed that more desires were being born within him.
A sharp flash of light appeared.
Soren quickly sliced the viper in half and extracted its gallbladder with his fingers. He raised his hand and placed the gallbladder in his mouth, chewing gently. An unbearable bitterness emerged, causing the corners of his mouth to twitch and his brows to furrow, but he continued to chew slowly until the bitterness diminished. Only then did he swallow it down.
Thud!
He casually discarded the snake’s corpse, continuing to stare at the distant sea.
“Special Specialty: [Killing Thirst]. After transforming into a Slayer, you will be influenced by a killing thirst, making you extremely sensitive to blood and granting you enhanced perception regarding anything related to killing. However, after transforming into a Slayer, you must kill at least 4 targets to satisfy your killing thirst; otherwise, you will enter a frenzied state. This killing thirst will gradually increase with the number of times you transform!”
This was the special expertise of transforming into a Slayer.
If he remembered correctly, after his first transformation into a Slayer and killing the Demon Son of Fear, he only needed two heads to satisfy his killing thirst.
One, two. Four.
Soren realized that the number of kills required to satisfy his killing thirst after transforming into a Slayer was increasing, almost doubling geometrically. Although it was currently just 4, if this trend continued, the requirement to satisfy his killing thirst would become extremely exaggerated with more transformations. This ability could greatly enhance his power, but it also seemed to bring him closer to being a true Slayer.
………………
The faint sound of footsteps.
Adele Isabella appeared not far away. After the battle, she had removed her armor, temporarily liberating her ample chest, feeling uncomfortable with the tight bandages constraining her. She watched Soren in the distance, her body shivering slightly, her gaze distracted, as if she suddenly saw the shadow of her father in him. For a time, her father had liked to stand like this, gazing at the sea, as if it held vast meanings.
The sea was a captivating place.
Her father had spent nearly his entire life upon the sea; he had once been a notorious and ruthless pirate. However, ever since she became his daughter, he gradually began to restrain himself. It was said that he liked to hang the corpses of his enemies from the mast or nail them to wooden frames to be pecked at by seagulls. He almost never left survivors on the merchant ships he plundered, but ever since she grew up, she had never seen him do that again.
This change had become even more pronounced after her mother’s death!
That night, she knew her father knelt in the temple, repenting all night long. He often went to the temple because he was a believer in the Ocean Goddess, but in the past, he had only offered sacrifices and sought blessings. In Adele’s memory, her father had never repented in the temple before. Her mother must have hated him, even in her last moments, for he had killed her husband and forcibly abducted her. Yet her father must have loved her, for in Adele’s memory, he had never been close to any other woman aside from her mother.
From that time onward.
Her father had killed fewer people, often refraining from unnecessary slaughter after robbing merchant ships. He went to the temple every week to repent, and no one knew what he repented for, but Adele knew he would always feel guilty towards her mother.
Perhaps things should have passed like this.
Sadly, reality delivered them a merciless blow; his merciful repentance was seen as weakness by other pirates. More and more people began to feel dissatisfied with him, and eventually, some started plotting against him to overthrow him. It wasn’t until her father was attacked by hundreds, fighting to the death, that Adele saw his former ferocity and bravery. The man known as ‘Orca’ had not turned weak. He fought bloodily among the crowd like a fierce tiger, ultimately carving a path to ensure her escape, never falling until the moment he died!
Perhaps this was fatherly love.
Her father, who rarely killed after her mother’s death, displayed his true strength only when fighting to carve out a path for her. He remained the infamous pirate known for his bloody deeds. Those who had speculated that he had grown old and weak all recalled his past ferocity and cruelty in that moment!
Her father died.
He died fighting to protect her!
That night, many people died; wherever his blade struck, heads rolled. He was stronger than ever, even touching the edge of legend. However, Adele still couldn’t understand his thoughts. She couldn’t fathom why her father didn’t show his strength sooner; a little killing could suppress the rebellion of others. Why did he only choose to draw his blade at the last moment?
Adele couldn’t understand all of this.
Yet she still told herself not to be weak, for weakness would lead to cruel reality defeating her.
She had many memories of her father.
However, the most memorable one was still the image of her father standing high, gazing at the sea; that scene overlapped with Soren before her and inexplicably made her feel a resemblance between the two.
Perhaps within this man before her, there was also something he valued more than his own life.
The only difference was.
Her father set down his sword, while he picked his up.
………………
Adele still knew nothing about the man before her; all her feelings were merely a woman’s intuition.
The man before her seemed to notice her arrival, withdrawing his gaze from the distant sea and turning to glance at her lightly, slowly saying, “Have you finished the count?”
“Yes.” Adele slightly inclined her body to show respect and replied, “We found two chests of gold and jewels in the shack, and we’ve searched basically every hiding spot. There are quite a few goods in the warehouse, but they need to be transported to sell. The total value should be around 23,000 Gind; of that, about 8,000 Gind can be spent directly, and the rest consists of valuable goods.”
Soren lightly nodded.
He cast a satisfied glance at the woman before him and commanded, “Reward everyone who participated in the battle with 15 Gind each. Let them eat freely from the stored meat, but no one is allowed to drink. Check the valuable goods and take 5,000 Gind with you. Tomorrow morning, take a group of people to Taro Port. Sell all the goods, even if it’s at a lower price, that’s fine. Then you’ll recruit more hands; this funding should be enough for you to recruit a group of desperate outlaws.”
“I won’t stay here for long; we will eliminate the Sea Wolves in Shipwreck Bay in three days!”
“As for how to control these guys, I believe you should know how to do it.”
“Go ahead.”
Soren waved his hand lightly. After all, there were still few literate people in this world. Among the pirates were some skilled henchmen, but there were only a handful who could read or had knowledge. The woman before him was relatively decent; she had received some noble education from her mother and was stronger in knowledge, trade, and management than other pirates. Currently, the only thing she lacked was strength. As a woman, she needed greater power to subdue those unruly pirates.
Just being at the fourth tier wasn’t enough; she at least needed to reach the quasi-legendary level!
However, she still had Soren behind her. As long as the pirates knew that there was this mysterious and terrifying presence backing everything, they would not dare to cause trouble out of fear.
Because Soren’s authority was built upon the towers of their heads!
But.
The current number of heads was still insufficient.
Soren needed more heads to accumulate his authority, making those pirates tremble at the thought of him. Only then would he be able to ensure that everything he had carefully arranged here wouldn’t be destroyed after he went to the Overseas Islands.
Adele was merely a figure on the surface; to intimidate them, Soren had to employ thunderous means!
Killing and rewards.
This was still just the simplest method of control.
………………
(PS: I wrote this chapter all morning, not sure how it turned out. I did my best. The chapter title is a bit literary, but I really thought about it for a long time.) (To be continued ~^~)
