846 Ransom

Rumble.

The rage of the sea arrived all of a sudden.

It had been sunny just a moment ago, but after Fang Yuan ascended to the lookout and gave an order, the entire world immediately darkened and a storm formed, engulfing the area.

Wilson broke out in a cold sweat when he witnessed this scene.

If they had not changed course under Fang Yuan's command, they would have bumped into the storm.

"This is the Nightmare Ocean. It is filled with ferocious and ruthless pirates, frightening giant sea monsters, and large-scale tropical storms that can form and disperse at any time… Even the most experienced voyager will find it hard to cope with… But one can only enter the Golden Sea Route by entering the Nightmare Ocean. We're at two entirely different levels compared to before!" Bill murmured, gazing at Fang Yuan's back in admiration.

Originally, these pirates on Mockingbird would have spent all their lives on the inshore waters.

But now, Fang Yuan had undoubtedly brought them into a whole new world.

In this new world, opportunities co-existed with challenges. They might die at any moment, but so what? They were pirates anyway! They risked their lives all the time for freedom and adventure!

"Onward! The destination is Bloody Mary Port!"

Splash!

Illuminated by the lightning, the world was as white as snow.

In the pouring rain, Fang Yuan stood at the helmsman's position, one of his hands holding the helm steadily.

Fiery Lotus indeed had the quality of a naval battleship, breaking the waves as it sailed forward in the rough seas.

Of course, even so, the horrible power of the sea still made it sway from side to side. As the terrifying waves beat against the ship, even Butcher, who had always been careless, had a lingering fear. "If this were Mockingbird, I'm afraid that it would have already fallen apart…"

"Helmsman, continue in this direction!"

After the wind had subsided slightly, Fang Yuan called for the helmsman, while he himself went to the deck.

In reality, what he had done was extremely dangerous.

After all, the wind was strong and the sea was rough. If a sailor had fallen into the sea due to the shaking or the beating waves, he would have been as good as dead. Even if the others wanted to rescue him, they would have been unable to.

But Fang Yuan and a few capable subordinates of his did not care much about it.

"Hmm?" At this moment, with his astonishing psyche, Fang Yuan detected something. "Below the ship… is some giant creature drawing near?"

Splash!

The next moment, a bolt of lightning struck right in front of Fiery Lotus.

Woo woo!

The sobs sounded like something from the ancient era. Suddenly, the water surface was torn apart by a long, black silhouette that looked like a giant snake.

Its head reached high above the water, and the bulging sea suggested the presence of a small hill underwater.

Splash!

With another bolt of lightning, the monster suddenly leaped back into the sea. Its long and slender neck, its four claspers, and its streamlined body resembling a drop of water were all clearly revealed.

"Plesiosaur? This shape…"

Fang Yuan's pupils contracted.

The next moment, horrifying waves built up and beat against Fiery Lotus.

Ah!

A pirate screamed as the rope he used to fix himself to the ship broke and he was thrown heavily into the sea.

Wilson looked uneasy and suddenly shouted, "It's the giant sea monster—Brasley! Everybody, don't move! This kind of sea monster has a mild temper, so as long as we don't irritate it…"

"Fire the cannons!"

The next moment, Fang Yuan's order was heard.

"Boss?" Wilson was extremely shocked. "Why?"

"Because I want to… Hahaha!!!" Fang Yuan's laughter was even louder than the thunder.

Bang bang!

On Fiery Lotus, no pirate dared to defy Fang Yuan's orders.

Within a short while, dozens of cannons sounded together, and at least half of the shots hit the giant body.

Woo woo!

A large volume of blood exploded in the dusky seawater.

Meanwhile, the giant creature below the water surface quickly approached the ship.

Obviously, given the Brasley's immense size, which was over twenty meters long, smaller sailboats would be directly ruined if it struck them.

"Prepare for impact!"

Fang Yuan went to the ship's bow and set up a huge ballista.

It was a ballista specially designed for fishing and could be used to capture whales in the inshore waters. This equipment was originally on Mockingbird. When the pirates were free and had nothing to do, they would not mind playing the role of fishermen occasionally.

Furthermore, the materials from some whales were very valuable in this world. Sometimes, the income from fishing could even exceed the income from plundering!

After all of the crew had moved to Fiery Lotus, Fang Yuan had transported all the high-quality equipment from Mockingbird onto Fiery Lotus, which turned out to be useful now.

"Weakness! Corruption! Fear!"

He waved his hand, shrouding a harpoon with the light of some extraordinary magic.

Accompanied by the roar of the ballista, the dreadful barbed harpoon was shot out at lightning speed. The rope tied to it stretched out like a viper thrusting its tongue as it accurately hit the Brasley's spiky back.

Woo woo!

Anyone could hear the agony in its deafening roar.

A strong pulling force was felt. Even though the Brasley was injured, it could still drag Fiery Lotus and swim onward.

"Wanna go deeper? Too late!"

Fang Yuan laughed coldly and gave an order. "Hold up against it!"

He was naturally confident in the harpoon that he himself had shot out. It absolutely went into the bones, and the curse on it would significantly weaken this giant sea monster's strength.

The enfeebled sea monster could only drag Fiery Lotus while swimming quickly on the sea.

And the loss of energy and blood would continue to worsen its injury, exhausting it until its death!

One day and one night passed in the blink of an eye.

The dark clouds dispersed and the rain stopped, no longer showing any signs of a storm. The sky was blue and the clouds were white. Seagulls flew close to the ocean in the sunshine.

On a deserted island, the giant corpse of the Brasley was stranded on the beach, revealing the huge wound on its back and the pale skin and muscles near the wound.

Twenty-four hours of hard fight had completely exhausted this sea monster.

In the end, it could only dash onto the beach, hoping to kill the hunters before its own death. Unfortunately, even this humble wish could not be realized.

Wilson bowed and congratulated Fang Yuan. "Congratulations, my great captain! You've hunted and killed a Brasley. Your name will be spread and remembered among pirates for eternity!"

"I know you don't find that worthwhile… I actually have other ways of using this sea monster's corpse!"

Fang Yuan ordered the small boats to be placed into the water and went to the beach. "Butcher, dismember it… I want the blood from its heart, its eyeballs, the tendons near its spine, and its spinal marrow. You can distribute the rest to eat!"

The materials from some giant sea monsters were a favorite among sorcerers, warlocks, and other spellcasters.

But to Fang Yuan, they only had a single use: creating Ocean Warlocks!

Since he was prepared to become a powerful pirate all across the ocean and even the Pirate King, he had to have at least a few capable subordinates.

Fang Yuan was the only Extraordinary on Fiery Lotus.

Butcher was merely a mortal relying on a few extraordinary items, and a real Extraordinary could readily defeat him.

This batch of pirates had followed him for the longest period and was the most loyal to him, so he would naturally start promoting them first.

Creating Ocean Warlocks, which he had already experimented with, was the best means.

And this promotion ceremony was simple, with only sea monster blood being relatively difficult to obtain.

Given the Brasley's giant body, it should even be sufficient to promote all the pirates on the ship.

However, Fang Yuan was not going to promote too many of them.

Anything that was large in quantity would become worthless.

Things like promotion to Extraordinary were rewards for only the most loyal members.

Moreover, abilities in other aspects were indispensable as well.

When it comes to who I should promote, Butcher, Bill, and Wilson are all pretty good candidates! But despite Wilson's excellent capabilities, he still has a lot of concerns. I need further observation. Otherwise, I may end up getting nothing from him…

With that thought, Fang Yuan asked Wilson directly, "Third Officer, I still haven't asked you what you want one thousand gold coins for."

Wilson had proven his value to Fang Yuan through his good performance.

Moreover, the dividends from the plunder of Dearborn Port had made this third officer rather affluent, and he was very close to his target.

Therefore, it puzzled Fang Yuan why Wilson did not look for an opportunity to leave.

"I want to… ransom someone! A slave… in Bloody Mary Pirate Port…"

Wilson took a deep breath.

"Oh? Don't tell me that this person is a woman!"

Fang Yuan was prepared to listen to a melodramatic story.

"No! It's a man!" Wilson said. "His name is Helga. He's an excellent voyager and my best brother, but unfortunately… his personality is problematic and he likes to gamble. He had to work on a pirate ship because of his debts… Recently, I received the news that he had lost a huge sum at Blood Mary Port and was deprived of his freedom, becoming a slave."

"Therefore… you want to raise the ransom as soon as possible?" Fang Yuan looked at Wilson. "You're really… a good brother!"

Bloody Mary Port was a pure pirate port. It had more freedom, but it also had stricter rules in some aspects.

Such ports had to be protected by powerful pirates, or else they would not survive for long.

And as far as Fang Yuan knew, the backer of Bloody Mary Port was the pirate governor of the Nightmare Ocean—Blackbeard!

Any pirate who caused trouble at such a place would be courting death!

In the Nightmare Ocean, Blackbeard was almost as frightening as an Evil God.

"Oh? Then it seems that we need to hurry to Bloody Mary Port as soon as possible!"

Fang Yuan nodded.

"That's right. Helga is considered a high-level slave because of his voyage skills, so someone will definitely buy him in this auction…" Wilson's voice was full of sorrow.

Behind his back, however, Bill and Butcher looked at him with strange and indescribable expressions…