Chapter 130 - Message

In an unknown section of the Forgotten Ocean, a ship was traveling at high speed through the immense expanse of water that seemed infinite. The sail placed on the main mast was loudly swaying as it received the gusts of impetuous wind. On the ship deck, a gray-haired young woman was lying with her face turned towards the sky. Her eyes were closed, and if it weren't for the light breathing she was emitting, one could have thought she was dead.

Suddenly the young woman opened her eyes and raised her back to sit up. Without warning, a sharp pang came behind her head. The young woman put her hand on her head as an instinctive gesture. She looked around, trying to think about what had happened.

'What happened? I am on the artifact ship, but why don't I see the other ships? Where's the big sister? Wait, now I remember-'

The young woman was Ho Yeon-Hong, and after a few moments of disorientation, she found her lucidity as she remembered the pair of blue eyes like sapphires. In an instant, she realized that she had been hit in the head by Lian. However, she couldn’t understand why Lian had done that. But above all, her heart wanted to know if this was something that Hei had ordered because Lian would never act on her own without orders from the young brown-skinned man.

"You woke up."

A familiar voice rang out behind her. Instinctively, Ho Yeon-Hong tried to turn around, but the blow to the head she had received caused her another pang of pain. But she didn't need to turn around to find out who the owner of the voice was. She could recognize him just from the sound.

"Hei... is that your idea? Tell me it wasn't you, and it's only Lian's initiative.”

Ho Yeon-Hong's voice was shaky. She feared the answer she would receive, and a part of herself didn’t want to hear the answer. But she had to know - to know if Hei really ordered Lian to attack and kidnap her.

Hei didn't reply and started to move slowly over the deck before stopping in front of Ho Yeon-Hong. His dark brown eyes looked at Ho Yeon-Hong's while his expression remained serious.

“Yes, I was the one who ordered Lian to do this. That's why I told her to stay close to you all the time.”

Thud!

As if she had fallen into an abyss, Ho Yeon-Hong's vision blurred. She couldn't believe her ears. No, on the contrary, she couldn’t believe that this was the reality. Inside, she hoped that it was nothing but a bad dream, that when she woke up, she would find herself in the Steam City as usual.

“This is the reality, Ho Yeon-Hong. I have a task that I have to complete. To do this, I need all the power I can accumulate. The treasure of the Pirate King Hae Seong, a spirit master. I need to take possession of it, but the map that leads to the treasure is divided into several fragments. Fragments that have been scattered throughout the Forgotten Ocean and that have ended up in the Pirate Generals' hands."

"So... you just used me? Everything you said and did was a lie just to get to this day. To steal my big sister and Hong Shin’s map fragments? Why? You could have just talked it over with my big sister. I bet she would have given you some of the treasure as a reward. Furthermore... furthermore, if we got together, she would have given you a prominent position and all the resources you needed. Why did you betray me?”

From Ho Yeon-Hong's eyes, a cascade of tears came out and wet her face. A normal man would have been made uncomfortable at the sight of a beautiful girl crying, and they would have been quick to give her help. Yet Hei remained standing before her with an impassive expression.

“I didn't betray you, and the things I said and did weren’t a lie. It's just that my goal has never been to become a pirate or join your sister's crew. Much less, my final destination is the Forgotten Ocean. For this reason, I need all the treasure and not just a part. I cannot accept less. I'm sorry if I hurt you, but I can't respond to your feelings, I don't feel that kind of emotion towards you at all. Also, the 'we' you speak of doesn’t include my spirit beasts and Lian. They are my family.”

Hei's tone was calm, but in Ho Yeon-Hong's ears, it was cold like the freezing wind of winter. The young woman's heart was frozen with the abrupt refusal she had just received. Although it hadn't been long since she met Hei, during the moments spent together, she had become increasingly fascinated by that mysterious young man. This curiosity had become something else without her knowledge, and a strong feeling of attachment had formed inside her. But now, all this had been destroyed by the very source of that attachment.

"You betrayed the crew! You betrayed the big sister! You betrayed ME! Bastard!”

Gritting her teeth, Ho Yeon-Hong pounced on Hei. She didn’t draw her sword, but her assault full of anger was giving a not lesser pressure. But before she could even touch Hei, a silver ribbon moved behind her, binding itself to her waist and pulling her back.

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"NO! Let me go, bitch. Release me, I told you!”

Behind Ho Yeon-Hong, Lian had one hand stretched forward as she commanded one of her two ribbons, holding Ho Yeon-Hong suspended in midair, one meter high from the ship's deck. Ho Yeon-Hong activated her spirit power and tried to break the ribbon by force. Despite her efforts, the strength gap was too much, not to mention that the ribbon’s material itself was impossible for her to break.

“Calm down, Ho Yeon-Hong. I have something to tell you.” Hei told the gray-haired young woman who was struggling with all her strength suspended in the air.

"NO! I don't want to hear a word from you. Tell her to let me go."

"I'll let you go when you've heard what I have to say. Even if you don't trust me, I give you my word that I will free you as soon as you have heard what I have to say.”

Ho Yeon-Hong, hearing this, stopped moving. Although she didn't trust Hei after what had happened, a part of her couldn't help but do as he asked. Seeing that she was no longer struggling, Lian lowered her ribbon until Ho Yeon-Hong’s feet touched the ship deck. However, she didn't let go of the young female pirate.

"What do you have to tell me? Then? Speak.” Ho Yeon-Hong said as she looked away from Hei's face to look sideways. She couldn’t look him in the eye.

“I have a message for your sister. From Hong Shin’s space ring, I know that Jin-Sang has five spirit soldiers and three of the map fragments. Considering that the remaining Pirate General, the Storm Lightning, must have one, Jin-Sang should have got hold of the fourth fragment by now. In the past, I killed a team of Jin-Sang’s crew, sent to look for one of the fragments. With that of your sister and Hong Shin’s, I have three fragments. Since there are only seven fragments, it is natural that Jin-Sang must come behind me to get the remaining fragments.

I want you to tell your sister to make public what happened between us but without giving too much detail about what was stolen. Jin-Sang will likely understand the truth and will surely send one of his spirit soldiers to hunt me down. Soon, Lian and I will advance to the second rank, becoming spirit soldiers. Therefore it isn’t impossible for us to kill the spirit soldier that would be sent by Jin-Sang. In this way, not only will we draw Jin-Sang's attention to us, but we will significantly diminish his power. Your sister will, therefore, have time to reorganize her forces.

I don't have any aims in becoming Pirate King, unlike Jin-Sang, who won't stop until he has killed your sister or made her his slave. If she agrees to leave me the treasure, I will give her a hand. Together with my two spirit beasts, she will have the strength of four spirit soldiers. Besides, the four of us are capable of using a Battle Formation. Therefore our strength can compete with higher stage spirit soldiers. Your sister cannot beat Jin-Sang; he has reached the sixth stage of the second rank and has a pseudo bloodline. But with our help, Ho Ri-Na can completely turn the tables.

Hei concluded his speech, turning his back to Ho-Yeon Hong. The young woman was speechless as she gazed at Hei's back with wide eyes. She didn't know what to think. She thought Hei had betrayed her and her sister, and yet from what he had just said, it didn't seem to be the case.

"Do not misunderstand. The only reason I'm proposing is to repay Ho Ri-Na for the time spent in her crew. It's not because I need her help or have a particular attachment. If I want, I can take out Jin-Sang after he has used up his strength against your sister. Tell your sister that there is no need for an immediate response, but she still has to do as I said if she doesn't want to be overwhelmed immediately by Jin-Sang's thirst for power.”

At that point, Lian released the ribbon holding Ho Yeon-Hong. The latter, after being released, rubbed her hands, not knowing what to say or do. Hei's revelations had been a severe blow to her, both for good and for bad. She had mixed feelings inside her heart - on the one hand, she was hurt by that betrayal; on the other hand, the betrayal itself had become a hope for his sister's final victory.

"Hei-"

"You don't need to say anything. We will soon arrive at the port of a city, our streets will separate there, and you can contact your sister. While it may seem like a lie, it wasn't bad the time spent with you.”

After saying this, Hei started walking towards the lodgings under the deck, followed by Lian. Ho Yeon-Hong stood there motionless with tears in her face as she watched that back go away forever.

*

A week later, on an unknown island.

"Boss, I'm back." Said a man with a hidden face as he knelt before a kind of stone throne.

"Tell me what you've discovered." Replied a voice from the stone throne.

“Our information says that during the battle between Ho Ri-Na and Hong Shin, a couple of young martial artists, called Hei and Lian, threatened the Steam Goddess with the life of her younger sister. There are no precise details behind this blackmail, but we know for sure that Ho Ri-Na has delivered the Hong Shin’s space ring to the young couple of martial artists. Furthermore, even if it has been modified, it seems that these two have an artifact ship similar to the one owned by one of our teams."

"I understand. So it was them... if so, then, what they took ... okay, you can go."

"Yes, boss. "

After making his report, the man with the hidden face left, leaving alone the person sitting on the stone throne. That person then began to laugh out loud while clenching his fists.

"Hahaha, Ho Ri-Na. You got screwed by a couple of brats. I knew that women are too emotional to be in charge. They should just obey and warm the bed for us men. Mok Tong-Hyon!”

“Did you call, Captain Jin-Sang?” Another voice immediately answered the man sitting on the stone throne, who was none other than the Red Devil Jin-Sang.

"Yes, I have a mission for you. You must find the two brats called Hei and Lian, who were part of Ho Ri-Na’s crew. Offer them to join the crew and bring them to me."

"What if they don't listen? Am I allowed to use heavy manners?"

"Do as you wish, but bring them to me alive. Even if it's a remote possibility, I can't risk that they have hidden the fragments in some secret place. They are just brats with a half step spirit soldier cultivation. With your strength as a third stage spirit soldier and your pseudo bloodline, you should have no trouble catching them."

"As you order. I, Mok Tong-Hyon, will successfully complete the mission entrusted to me.”

Having said that, the man called Mok Tong-Hyon went off, leaving Jin-Sang alone, who was now prefiguring the moment he would have all seven fragments of the map.