Via looked at Carnes’ smiling face aboard the massive ship, then turned to look at the remains of her destroyed boat.
At that moment, she could clearly feel the malice radiating from Carnes.
And perhaps even the malice of the world itself.
But she had no way out anymore.
Her boat was gone.
Now, there was only one path left if she wanted to survive.
Suppressing the fear in her heart, Via forced herself to smile and replied in a trembling voice, “Y-Yes!
I’ve always believed that you’d be good people.” Hearing her stubbornly stick to that answer, Carnes didn’t respond immediately.
The smile on his face remained unchanged.
After all, anyone who wanted to stay alive in her current situation would probably say the same thing.
He watched her quietly for a long moment before finally speaking.
“Do you want to live?” “Yes!” Via answered without hesitation.
Carnes nodded.
“Become one of my crew members, and I’ll save you.” Via froze.
For a moment, she thought she had misheard.
But considering her current situation, she didn’t hesitate for long.
“Okay!” The moment Via agreed, Carnes didn’t immediately lower a rope ladder.
Instead, he opened his system panel and checked his Influence Value.
Just as he had expected.
The number that had previously been 135 had increased to 136 the moment Via agreed to join him.
However, when his eyes shifted lower to the Crew Count section, he noticed something interesting.
The total number of crew members remained twenty-six.
It had not increased to twenty-seven.
So only crew recruited through the system count toward the total?
With that thought in mind, Carnes looked down at Via.
“I’ll leave her to you.” After giving the order to the nearby crewmen, he turned and walked away from the railing.
Demiurge glanced down at Via once before following after him.
The remaining crew lowered a ladder, allowing Via to climb aboard.
Once she successfully reached the deck, one of the crewmen greeted her with a smile.
“The captain left you in our care.” “I’ll explain the rules on this ship so you don’t make any mistakes.” “There aren’t many.” “Only one.” “The captain’s orders are absolute.” “Remember that.” Via blinked in surprise.
But she neither dared to question it nor voice any concerns.
Instead, she cautiously asked, “Can I get something to eat…?” The crewman nodded.
“Of course.” “The dining hall is on the second deck.
I’ll take you there.” …
Meanwhile, Carnes had already begun planning how to rapidly increase his Influence Value.
At present, the only confirmed method was recruiting more crew members.
However, recruiting people one by one was both slow and troublesome.
Furthermore, natives of this world did not increase the Crew Count.
Via’s case had already confirmed that.
And without increasing the Crew Count, the Eternal Galebreaker’s classification couldn’t be upgraded.
If too many natives eventually joined the crew while the ship remained unchanged, overcrowding would become inevitable.
When that happened, he would need to prepare additional ships for them.
That would be another headache.
Thinking about it, Carnes looked up at the ceiling.
“Looks like it’s time to return to my old profession…” “A pirate stealing from other pirates.” A grin slowly appeared on his face.
“This time, I’ll take both the crew and the ship.” For now, this was the simplest solution.
Steal the people and gain Influence Value.
Steal the ship and avoid overcrowding aboard the Eternal Galebreaker.
Two birds with one stone.
…
Days passed as they sailed across the endless sea.
Nothing particularly noteworthy happened.
Aside from occasionally passing islands, they didn’t even encounter another ship.
Peaceful, uneventful days slipped by one after another.
Until a Marine warship finally appeared on the horizon.
The tranquility that Carnes and his crew had enjoyed for nearly half a month was abruptly shattered.
“Fire!” On the deck of the warship, a Marine officer wearing a white justice coat raised his arm and shouted the order.
The Marines stationed beside the cannons immediately aimed at the silver-white ship in the distance and ignited the fuses.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
A volley of cannon fire erupted.
Flames burst from the cannon muzzles as countless cannonballs shot through the air like a storm.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
RUMBLE!!
Their target was none other than the Eternal Galebreaker of the Pale Emperor Pirates.
Standing at the bow of the Marine warship were a man and a woman.
The man had short silver hair and a cigar clenched between his teeth.
Strapped to his back was a weapon forged from Seastone.
He was one of Marine Headquarters’ well-known officers.
Marine Headquarters Colonel Smoker.
Beside him stood a woman with black hair and glasses, a sword hanging from her waist.
She was his direct subordinate.
Marine Headquarters Ensign Tashigi.
“Haa…” Smoker exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.
Staring at the pirate ship in the distance, he frowned slightly.
“They’re not returning fire.” “They’re not running either.” His eyes narrowed.
“Instead, they’re sailing straight toward us?” “What exactly are these pirates planning?” CREATORS’ THOUGHTS AniForge_058 Enjoying the story?
Every stone means a lot.
Thank you!