Zach wondered whether the pirates were truly this weak or if there was some reason behind it. After careful consideration, he believed that there was only one hypothesis that could explain everything.

The reason he had been able to penetrate into the heart of the island so easily wasn’t because the opposition forces were weak. It was just that they were too lacking in terms of numbers. The individual capability of each pirate wasn’t lacking at all. They were skilled in battle and had probably gone through various life and death situations along with their captain.

Moreover, some of the pirates just stood by and raised their hands above themselves in surrender as if they had no intention of fighting his forces. It looked like they had given up on resistance after seeing the attitude of their cowardly captain who ran away by himself in tough situations.

This made Zach’s job all the more easier. As to why the number of pirates on the island was so low, it was because of the sacrifice Blackbeard made in order to summon the sea dragon. The bloody scene they had witnessed earlier was the reason the pirate island couldn’t defend against Zach’s invasion.

Imagine a captain who, like a siren’s song, lured his loyal crew into treacherous waters, only to abandon them in the clutches of a sea dragon, much like a puppeteer who cuts the strings of his marionettes once they’ve danced to his tune.

The crew, like weary soldiers on a battlefield, had fought valiantly, following the captain’s orders with unwavering dedication, only to find themselves betrayed and sacrificed.

No one would willingly heed the call of such a captain, for trust shattered is like a mirror cracked, impossible to mend, leaving a bitter taste as if sipping from a cup of poisoned wine, the poison being the captain’s deceitful actions, leaving scars as deep as the ocean’s abyss.

As such, Zach was positive that the internal affairs of the pirate force were definitely in disarray because Blackbeard couldn’t have kept the massacre out of the public eye no matter how discreetly he carried out the promise he made to the sea dragon.

How could a pirate who had been betrayed already still dare to follow Blackbeard’s orders without thinking of self-preservation first?

The surrendering pirates stood on both sides of the road leading to the center of the pirate island as soldiers from Zach’s side took control of their weapons and got them all under control.

Being pirates, they weren’t too averse to betrayals and shameless ambushes. Therefore, they weren’t to be trusted. With hulking soldiers wielding deadly weapons keeping them all in check, Zach finally didn’t have to keep an eye on them all. He was only interested in Blackbeard who had dared to kidnap Diana.

As for the rest of the pirates, he didn’t think they had to be killed immediately. Killing them could wait until after he retrieved Diana from their grasp. Even though they had just faced an apocalyptic situation in the form of the murderous sea dragon, there was no guarantee that these filthy pirates would have a change of heart. Some of them were miscreants from the moment they were born and knew nothing else. These people couldn’t be left alone to their devices or innocent people would eventually suffer at their hands.

Zach had no sympathy for villains. As to why he didn’t kill those who had surrendered immediately, it wasn’t because he had some code of honor to uphold but because he didn’t have the time to do that in this urgent situation.

But those who had dared to put up resistance in their captain’s name were a separate case altogether. They were all taken care of by the soldiers at the spot. Zach had already ordered them to show no mercy to the enemies.

While Zach meticulously traced the elusive trail of Blackbeard on the map, Bruce, driven by an overwhelming impatience, could no longer contain his restlessness. His sister, the one constant in his ever-changing life, served as a counterbalance after he bid farewell to the comforts of Elizabeth City and the familiar embrace of the Luther family home. He couldn’t allow any harm to befall her even if he had to exchange his life with hers in order to do so.

As her brother, the turbulent waves of worry crashed relentlessly against Bruce’s resolve, making it nearly impossible for him to find a moment of calm. Zach’s repeated assurances, like fragile lifeboats on this tempestuous sea of concern, offered temporary respite, a brief pause in the storm, hinting that she was safe, at least for now.

She represented Blackbeard’s sole lifeline, the one chance for his survival. Zach firmly believed that Blackbeard wouldn’t harm her, recognizing her crucial role in ensuring his safe passage through the challenges ahead.

Despite repeated assurances from Zach, all Bruce could see was red like an enraged bull charging straight towards the matador in his madness. He wasn’t willing to believe anything until he could see his sister in the flesh, living and breathing normally.

Until then there was no way he could calm down and meticulously follow the plan like Zach. Therefore, Bruce couldn’t control himself the moment he came across the first pirate in the center of the island. He stomped his way towards the dirty but cowardly looking pirate who was beside himself in fear at the sudden invasion of Zach’s forces.

The pirate didn’t even belong to the combat forces of Blackbeard. He was part of the group of pirates who stayed on the island all year round and were responsible for housekeeping on the island and for other household chores like washing and cooking. Though he looked fierce and dirty like normal pirates, he was far from sharing the same temperament and greed as them.

The poor pirate couldn’t even remember his name the moment Bruce shook him wildly after grabbing onto his collar.

“Where is that bastard? WHERE IS HE?”

The pirate wanted to ask the name of the bastard whom Bruce was looking for. How was he supposed to know who that bastard was? There were countless bastards on the island. Was he supposed to name everyone in succession until Bruce could find the person he wanted to find?

Alas, he never got the chance to ask any question because Bruce looked like he wasn’t interested in the answer at all. Instead, he seemed more interested in shaking the pirate insides like a smoothie machine.

“Where is Blackbeard… that bastard you call your captain? I swear…I will tear you into a thousand pieces…if you don’t…if you don’t tell me the truth…right now.”

Bruce was getting impatient with the pirate’s unresponsiveness. He even wanted to carry through with his threat to make sure the next pirate wouldn’t dare to lie to him.

The pirate on the other hand was unable to answer due to the severe bout of dizziness that assaulted him following all that shaking. The only thing he could do in response to Bruce’s questions was to keep shaking his head to indicate he didn’t know anything. 𝙚𝙙𝙣𝒐𝙫𝙚𝙡.𝙤𝙧𝒈

The pirate felt that the invader was being too unfair. For Sea God’s sake, he did chores on the island…he wasn’t the vice-captain or anyone important like that. Why would the captain even bother to tell him anything? Did he look like someone important?

But Bruce was too far from realizing the truth; the truth that these people probably didn’t know anything. They looked far less important to know such a piece of information and Blackbeard wasn’t a fool to tell them anything when he already planned to ditch them in order to survive by his lonesome.

While Bruce was being violent, Zach was in a predicament. The blip had vanished. The location marker that indicated Blackbeard had vanished all of a sudden. He had been urging the system to try and locate him again but there seemed to be some kind of interference in the signal.

The location where Blackbeard was hiding seemed to be somewhat special. Either there distorting magnetic fields in that place capable of producing electromagnetic interference or the place was under the ground making it impossible for the signals to transmit past the solid layer of earth to reach Zach.

Therefore, he had no means to find Blackbeard at the moment.