“Blood price? What’s that?” asked Zach curiously. The others were just as clueless, but Bruce’s face changed color upon hearing those words. He seemed to have heard about it as well.

“Within certain arcane practices, there exist rituals that demand a sacrifice from the mage in order to bring a spell to fruition. Among these dark rituals, the most prevalent form of sacrifice is that of human blood. It is a grim transaction, where the potency of the spell is believed to be directly linked to the life force offered in exchange. Only the most formidable and impactful spells necessitate such a substantial quantity of blood to be employed in their casting.

The act of sacrifice in this manner is shrouded in the belief that the spilled blood carries with it a vital energy, a conduit between the realms of the living and the mystical forces being harnessed. The depth of the sacrifice underscores the gravity of the intended magic, and it is a testament to the profound lengths that some are willing to go to wield the most potent spells. This kind of sacrifice means that the spell cast has to be a sufficiently powerful one.” explained Christina, who was the most learned in the magical arts among all those present beside her, including Clara.

“What kind of spell could it be?” asked Zach, who understood the danger of the scene in front of him. If the spell had yet to be cast, maybe the force he had brought with him would be in danger.

“Perhaps you’ve already borne witness to it without realizing,” Christina mused, her thoughts echoing with contemplation. “In retrospect, I couldn’t help but wonder during that moment. How could the leader of those pirates, besieged on all sides by his enemies, conjure forth a summoning spell with such apparent ease? The answer lies in this revelation. This very principle explains it all.

The sacrifices made are the key, the dark underpinning of his power. It’s the reason he was able to command the sea dragon’s might in the midst of that dire situation. The very price he paid for that control was etched in human blood. This is the chilling truth behind his actions – a pact with darkness, a transaction of life for power. The summoning was the culmination of his willingness to forfeit so much in order to ensure his own survival, to wield the power of the sea dragon as his own for a short moment.”

Christina’s words hung heavy, a realization dawning upon them, the extent to which some are willing to go, the horrors they are prepared to unleash, all in the pursuit of power and survival.

Zach couldn’t help but feel anger on behalf of the sacrificed pirates. Their own captain had ousted them to the devil in order to save himself, which was the ultimate form of cowardice a leader could display. He felt bad for those people who put their belief no matter how twisted, in their wretched captain who only cared about his own survival and benefits rather than the lives of his subordinates.

Although he was feeling indignation towards the filthy pirate leader, he had no intention of sympathizing with the pirates who had suffered such an end.

Instead, he was feeling a little bit odd since the objects of his fury had died at someone else’s hands. Had the pirates encountered him, Zach was sure that they would have suffered a similar, if not the same fate.

In the wake of those despicable pirates having audaciously laid their hands on his beloved family, a seismic shift occurred within him. The once gentle and kind-hearted demeanor he had exhibited was now replaced by an unyielding resolve. No longer bound by notions of mercy or compassion, he vowed to unleash the entirety of his formidable strength against these marauders.

Gone were the days of being the amicable and forgiving soul. The time for playing the role of the magnanimous figure had come to an abrupt end. The sheer audacity of the pirates’ actions had ignited an unquenchable fire of vengeance within him.

Zach didn’t stand aside like he did in the past. He was actively leading the soldiers as he used the drones to scour the entire width of the island.

Zach employed a grid-based search pattern, directing the drones to fly in overlapping paths across the island’s terrain. This method ensured that every inch of ground was thoroughly scanned, minimizing the chances of overlooking any potential clue. The captured imagery was streamed in real-time to him by the system. Zach put his entire attention into figuring out the location of the remaining pirates who were no doubt still close to the center of the island as the location marker of Diana’s headphones indicated.

Just as he had expected, one of the drones soon found the remaining pirates all huddled up together in the center of the island. Blackbeard sat atop his heavy throne while the pirates were sitting on the various empty tables all around the hall. This was the exact same hall that they had used in the past for their meals but now it was as deserted as a graveyard. None of their fellow pirates who had departed for Greenland had returned while the remaining ones lay in a heap of blood and guts around the island.

They couldn’t go back to the past anymore.

While the pirates were busy licking their wounds and thinking of countermeasures against the enemy that was surely going to strike back at them for vengeance, Zach had an animalistic smile on his face as he began thinking of the various methods at his disposal to dispatch these remaining pirates to the netherworld.

“The pirates are all huddled up together in the center of the island. The coordinates are…” announced Zach on the intercom so that each and every individual in the force he had brought would be able to hear his commands.

“I want you to surround them from all directions. Not a single one of those dogs should be able to escape. Rain fire and death as soon as you are in position and destroy them in one go. We won’t give them a chance to make a comeback again. Destroy them utterly and thoroughly this time.” 𝘦𝘯.𝘰𝘳𝘨

Without wasting any time, the soldiers dispersed in all directions and began to surround the pirates as if wild beasts were closing in on their prey like seasoned predators out for blood.

With weapons ready, the soldiers waited until all of them were in position before opening fire.

…

Blackbeard was suffering from a stinging pain that coursed through his entire arm. It had previously been broken by Clara with a single punch. At first, he had thought that there was only a single fracture at the point of contact. But it turned out that the bone in his arm was broken in several different places along the length of the arm. The shockwave of the impact of Clara’s fist had travelled throughout his arm and had wreaked havoc on the bone. A portion of it at the point of contact had even turned into bone dust which not only rendered his arm physically impaired but also hurt him like hell.

He wailed as one of the pirates tried to immobilize his arm from his elbow to the wrist with the help of a temporary splint. The pain that Blackbeard felt from the procedure was enough to drive any suffering man to insanity. The throbbing pain in his arm felt like searing hot lava was running through his arm as it burnt its way through it.

Yet Blackbeard only wailed once the pain became too intense for him to bear.

After the pirate had successfully realigned the bone and immobilized Blackbeard’s arm, he proceeded to secure the injured limb with a cloth sling. This simple yet effective solution prevented Blackbeard’s arm from flailing or moving around, ensuring that the delicate process of healing could take place without any further disruption. The cloth sling served as a support, cradling the injured arm in a stable position and promoting the recovery that was much needed.

Blackbeard nodded to himself in acknowledgement of the skill level of the pirate once he felt that the pain in his arm had somewhat subsided. The slightly itchy feeling that accompanied the healing process began to appear in most parts of his broken arm.