Chapter 699: Encountering Yamanashi Again (3k)
The pirate ship blocked their way, preventing the light ship from moving. Lin Chujiu, holding a pipe, walked to the front deck and tapped the metal railing with her pipe. She smiled faintly and asked:
“Friends ahead, we are a vessel of Sakura’s official fleet. May I ask if you need something?”
Upon hearing that it was an official vessel, the leading middle-aged pirate hesitated slightly. While he was dazed, the scarred-faced man, who looked like the first mate, stepped forward and whispered a few words into his ear.
“Really? They are the big fat sheep of Redbeard’s group?” The middle-aged pirate leader’s eyes widened, and a flicker of greed appeared in them.
“Is there any reason for it to be false?” the scarred-faced man replied with a smile, acting like a cunning strategist.
“Boss, I saw Redbeard’s group looting several tourist ships. Given Redbeard’s nature, he rarely kills; he usually extorts. The direction these people are heading is precisely Redbeard’s Strait, so they are bound to be paying ransom.”
After calming down, the former narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Lin Chujiu again. A smile appeared on his mustachioed lips, and he raised his hand high…
As soon as he made the gesture, dozens of elite pirates appeared on the pirate ship with “whoosh!” sounds. Their strength was all above High-Rank Battle General. With a flash of white light, they each held weapons, assuming a fighting posture.
“These pirates probably want to double-cross us. However, their leader is only an Intermediate Battle King. I don’t know where they got the courage to stop our ship.”
After observing the flag several times, Su Jiu could confirm that it was not Redbeard’s fleet. Looking at the rows of pirates holding weapons and the cold glint on their blade edges, she had a humorous thought.
An Intermediate Battle King is a pillar of strength everywhere, but here, they are not. Lin Chujiu and a few others could teach these pirates a good lesson.
“Are you all choosing to fight?”
Looking at the pirates ready to fight, Lin Chujiu narrowed her eyes. With a slight flick of her sleeve, the pipe transformed into a staff with a flash of white light, and a faint water aura emanated from her.
On the light ship, the other individuals and some sailors also drew their weapons, and a tense atmosphere spread. The only Magic Crystal cannon on the light ship was also controlled by the old sailors and aimed at the pirate ship.
A naval battle seemed imminent.
“Heh, little girl, are you paying ransom to Redbeard?” The middle-aged pirate leader stepped onto the deck and, with a “bang!” sound, reached the bow of the ship. He raised his half-meter long saber and pointed forward, grinning and saying,
“If you hand over your valuables aside from the ransom, we’ll let you pass.”
“That depends on whether you have the ability to take it—Tide Rise!”
Upon hearing this, Lin Chujiu raised her staff and focused her gaze on the pirate leader. With a forceful wave, accompanied by the surge of water-elemental External Qi, the seawater was stirred up. A wave over ten meters high, with a heavy and viscous aura, crashed towards the pirate ship.
“Extraordinary Attributes?! Quickly activate the ship’s defense formation!”
The pirate leader’s face changed slightly. He swiped his saber towards the giant wave. Instantly, golden saber light surged from the blade. The saber light streaked through the wave, and the giant wave remained viscous.
The Energy Shield was activated just as the giant wave was about to engulf them, emitting a pale yellow light in the dark night.
“Boom boom boom!!!”
The impact directly hit the Energy Shield, creating a thunderous noise that made all the pirates look nervously at the sky. The waves, like resounding war drums, piled one after another.
“This is bad! I’ve kicked a steel plate. This woman’s strength is definitely above mine, and she has companions who haven’t made a move yet…”
Feeling the oppressive aura from the waves, the pirate leader’s face changed. He could clearly sense the difference between himself and Lin Chujiu on the light ship. His gaze swept over Su Ze and the others, and his heart sank. He then spoke loudly:
“Everyone, this is all a misunderstanding. How about we each go our separate ways and leave peacefully?”
This time, they intended to imitate Redbeard and try their luck. They didn’t expect to encounter big brother when they didn’t find any fat sheep.
“As long as you pay some compensation, it’s not impossible…”
Upon hearing this, Lin Chujiu paused to think, narrowed her eyes, and agreed. After all, she was on a mission, and if a conflict broke out between the two parties, it would disrupt their journey.
There was no need to make completely enemies.
Watching this scene unfold, Su Jiu did not put away her thoughts. Instead, she swung her leg wrapped in a nylon sock and looked further into the distance, saying softly:
“It seems the host is coming out to greet the guests.”
“What host? Is there food?”
E Huo tilted her head and looked at Su Jiu with a cute expression. Clearly, as a supporting character meant to complement the scene, she was a bit unqualified.
The pirate leader, upon hearing the first part of the sentence, was overjoyed. He hadn’t expected the people he met this time to be so easy to talk to, only demanding compensation.
Just as he was about to reply, a rumbling sound of a ship came from behind. Immediately, a sharp blade flew through the air, and with a “whoosh!” sound, it pierced directly into his forehead. His head split open like a watermelon, and his body fell into the water with a “plop.”
“Your Little Whirlwind Pirate Group has quite the audacity to intercept my guests and still want to operate in these waters?”
A clear, slightly proud female voice rang out. Both the pirates and Lin Chujiu and her companions looked over. A tall woman in a flowing red dress stood on the bow of a ship.
“Yamanashi, Redbeard’s eldest daughter.”
Su Jiu retracted herGaze and said softly, then propped up her arm to pull on her black hood and walked towards the bedroom. She didn’t want to have too much interaction with the other party. Last time, she had destroyed the other party’s ship and even stolen her storage bag.
This had created a significant rift.
The matters outside were soon declared to be concluded. Yamanashi handed over the Little Whirlwind Pirate Group to her subordinates and had a few pirates board the light ship with her, instructing Su Jiu and the others’ ship to follow her.
When the Redbeard pirates boarded the ship, they seemed to have received orders and behaved very restrained. Even when facing a beauty like Lin Chujiu, they did not show any excessive reactions.
Approaching the deck, Yamanashi sat on a three-legged stool with her legs spread apart. Her black calf boots lightly tapped the deck, emitting a metallic sound. Her gaze fell upon Lin Chujiu, who stood quietly before her, and she said with a light smile:
“You are the granddaughter of the Capital’s Principal, aren’t you? Seeing you in person is far better than hearing about you. You truly have an extraordinary presence…”
“Heh, Miss, you flatter me. Let’s talk about the ransom, shall we?”
Putting down her staff, Lin Chujiu smiled slightly, revealing a perfect smile with eight teeth. She then transformed the staff back into a pipe and clasped her hands in a bow.
“Ransom? Haven’t the several leaders already discussed this with you, Miss? But…” Yamanashi’s gaze turned towards the sea ahead, as if lost in thought, and her eyes deepened with contemplation.
“But? Miss Pirate, we only have the ransom amount on us…”
Lin Chujiu’s expression became slightly serious. She was afraid that the pirates would go back on their word and increase the stakes.
“Don’t worry, we rarely harm Dragon Country people, especially you and that Miss Chen who is being held. You are both people of status.”
Seeing Lin Chujiu’s expression, Yamanashi chuckled, waved her hand, and continued to look into the distance, lost in her thoughts…
In the bedroom, Su Jiu looked out the window and could hear the conversation between Yamanashi and Lin Chujiu. The latter was very polite and without airs, which was in line with the respect due to Lin Chujiu’s status.
She cast a glance at Little Foolbird, who was quietly cultivating beside her, and a sense of unease, like wanting to play during university finals week while her roommate was diligently studying, began to spread.
She also needed to practice controlling her domain. Her current control over her domain was still too weak. Unlike the local residents, Su Jiu believed that the smaller the domain, the better. It should revolve around her body, like a Paladin’s debuff in a game.
She could tank, deal damage, sustain, and apply debuffs to melee opponents.
However, this required immense control, which Su Jiu, in her current state, was incapable of. Her growth was too rapid, and her control over domain only originated from the strength of her bloodline.
Thinking this, Su Jiu mobilized her most familiar Ice Dragon Domain. Without releasing it, she knew her Ice Dragon Domain extended nearly a hundred meters. At her current speed, if she continuously condensed and compressed it, she could compress it by about one meter per day. With the assistance of the gourd wine, it might increase slightly, but it would ultimately not be much faster.
To advance to High-Rank Battle King, one had to materialize their domain and condense fragments of laws, which could be ordinary natural attributes or her unique ones.
The reason why some High-Rank Battle Kings’ law powers were not as pure as Su Jiu’s speed and strength when operating was largely due to choosing a quicker method to condense natural attributes.
The only advantage of the common method was speed, and its disadvantage was simple—weak and mediocre.
Those with cultivation talent would not make such a choice. Such a choice was mostly made by those who knew they couldn’t improve further or were of a certain age and needed to increase their lifespan.
Su Jiu, naturally, was unwilling to be mediocre. She pursued personalized law fragments, and compressing laws now was part of her future planning.
Time passed quickly while cultivating. The ship drifted leisurely. Outside, the sound of an anchor dropping into the water was heard. When Su Jiu reopened her eyes, she saw that the ship had arrived at a strait.
High cliffs surrounded both sides, and the sound of the wind whistling occasionally blew. Not far away, there was a metal pier, where people dressed as ordinary folks were loading and unloading cargo, creating a bustling scene.
“We’ve arrived, Redbeard’s Strait.”
