Quadruple split.

Chapter 2818, Part Fourteen (II)

Strictly speaking, the [Slaughter] and its crew did not betray XIV.

The truth is, the entire ship was surrounded on the sea by a vast, boundless sea creature that appeared out of nowhere.

Moreover, those sea creatures were not third-rate seafood that the [Slaughter Ship] would occasionally rout in groups of; their strength was utterly insignificant. Instead, they were a disciplined and well-trained regular army.

Of course, for the equally powerful outlaws on the [Slaughter], the regular army of the sea creatures was nothing special. Although they didn't know where these seafood came from or whose house they came from, the atmosphere on the ship remained extremely relaxed even when they were surrounded. Some even started betting on who would kill the most during the breakout with their recent 'harvest'.

But things are not that simple, especially after the appearance of nearly ten epic-rank sea creatures, the situation has become even more complicated.

To put it simply...

Can't beat it.

Really can't beat it.

Can't beat one point!
If they were on land, the crew members on the [Slaughter] might have been able to fight their way out under Fourteen's leadership. Although the opponent possessed Epic-level power, Fourteen, who had also reached the Epic level after setting sail, had an almost overwhelming advantage in battles against opponents of the same level. This was the ultimate reason why he had such great prestige before and after boarding the ship.

Powerful, and not stupid enough, is the cornerstone that can deter everything in such a brutal organization.

However, when this power is shaken, those entities that are bound together by violence and 'rules' but lack 'belief' are easily disintegrated.

For example—[The Massacre]

"Hand over that half-breed sea creature, and the noble Queen Gilina will spare your lives."

Finally, after the muscular, well-equipped Epic-rank Seahorse Knight at the head of the ship shouted this all night, the morale of the [Slaughter] finally plummeted to rock bottom, and their gazes toward Fourteen gradually filled with resentment, greed, and bitterness.

At that moment, everyone tacitly forgot that everyone had the right to share the spoils of plunder, but unanimously believed that they had fallen to this state because of Fourteen.

They resented Fourteen for offending the sea creatures, forgetting that they too took pleasure in killing those with gills.

They resented that the fourteenth member always took the lion's share, but they forgot that the rules of the [Slaughter Ship] were always to reward merit.

They resented Fourteen for bringing in the enemy, forgetting that the captain had suggested they return a week earlier.

It was only because these greedy individuals, blinded by greed, protested and begged Fourteen to lead his brothers into the deeper waters that the [Slaughter Ship] ended up in this predicament.

Unfortunately, no one cared about any of that. They only cared whether the other party was truly willing to make an exception for Fourteen, and their silence was the most subtle form of betrayal.

No one wanted to be the first to speak out. Although people probably had a consensus in secret, no one dared to challenge the captain's authority. Everyone knew that even if they were to eventually make a deal with the sea creatures, the first person to stand up and defy Fourteen would surely die.

Finally, when the ship's fresh water was almost exhausted, a lizardman crew member who had studied under Haru Kutata, the "Poison King," in the arena for two years finally lost his patience and poisoned the captain's food.

Fourteen knew about the poisoning, but he did not expose his subordinates' conspiracy. Instead, he ate the most exquisite and delicious meal under the watchful eyes of countless people.

Moreover, he was able to completely counteract the toxin with his strong resistance, and even consciously suppressed this resistance, trying to let himself be knocked out by this nerve-paralyzing poison.

Unfortunately, given that Fourteen possessed a powerful physique that even the true form of the [Poison King] couldn't overcome, despite his best efforts to cooperate, the poison only managed to make him yawn.

Left with no other choice, Fourteen forced himself into a 'low-energy hibernation' state. It took a lot of effort to convince his subordinates that he had lost consciousness. Then, he secretly negotiated with the incredibly patient sea creatures outside, allowing the epic-rank seahorse knight to board the ship and transport him away in his 'unconscious' state.

The reason he did this was very simple: Fourteen himself couldn't find a way to break the deadlock, so he decided to grant his subordinates their wish and let them use themselves as bargaining chips to gain a chance to survive.

To Fourteen's disappointment, despite his many opportunities, his crew did not even dare to bind him and hand him over to the sea creatures. Instead, they beckoned to the sea creatures to take him away like rats that could not be seen in the light.

He didn't mind his crew becoming rats, but he was disgusted by their pathetic lack of awareness that they didn't even dare to take responsibility for 'selling themselves'.

Soon after, the sea creatures kept their promise and released the [Slaughter], whose captain had been lost. Fourteen was taken to the deep sea and given education in a complex called 'Deep Blue Bottom'.

During this process, Fourteen gradually learned about the origins of the group that kidnapped him.

Those legions and powerful individuals belong to the most powerful and ancient races in this sea area, and their names, if translated into common language, should correspond to the word "tide".

Because the 'indoctrination' of those fish-men priests also included the language of the sea people, although it took a lot of twists and turns, Fourteen, who has always been good at thinking, basically mastered the new language within half a year and gained some preliminary understanding of the [Tide] tribe.

According to the priests, the Tides were very weak centuries ago. They were originally a group of 'deep-sea losers'. However, as time went by, countless sea creatures that were eliminated in the dark trenches gradually gathered together and, under the call of a down-on-his-luck prince, the first 'Tide King', they came together to keep warm.

Over time, the Tides, who not only actively helped each other but also traded with terrestrial species, grew stronger and became a force to be reckoned with in the sea. Although the Tide King did not like violence and conquest, the tribes that had once oppressed them dared not be negligent as their influence grew. In the end, they even negotiated to reclaim a large territory for the Tides in the deep sea, giving these tribes who were more accustomed to and preferred the deep sea a place to live.

Although many people believe that this territory was relinquished out of fear, the [King of the Tides], as a great pacifist, is still very grateful to these kin who once treated him with hostility, and spontaneously leads his people to defend the stability of the near seas and prevent harassment from land-based species for his fellow kin.

Furthermore, this "King of the Tides" also established the "Deep Blue Bottom," a place somewhere between an academy and a monastery. Its main purpose, besides imparting knowledge, was to educate the warlike members of the tribe, guiding them to embrace peace and tranquility, and to genuinely become pacifists. Time flew by, and centuries later, the "Tides" tribe truly became a safe and peaceful force, far removed from conflict and war. This peace brought not only an ever-growing population and wealth, but also the title of "Arbitrator of the Deep Sea." From some point onward, the sea creatures had become accustomed to sending representatives to the "King of the Tides" when conflicts were about to spiral out of control, allowing him to adjudicate the interests and conflicts of both sides, thus minimizing losses for both.

So why would [Tide] cause trouble for Fourteen?

The answer is simple: it's because the seas that the [Slaughter Ship] previously ravaged were within the sphere of influence of the [Tide] race, and the several caravans they plundered and slaughtered were all long-term partners of the [Tide].

Initially, [Tide] only wanted to teach [Slaughter] a lesson... Simply put, to kill everyone on the ship. After all, although they valued peace, they had no reason to show mercy to villains who had cruelly killed their long-term partners.

However, during this process, [Tide] discovered the existence of 'Fourteen' and also identified him as a 'hybrid sea giant' using methods unique to the sea race.

This discovery shook almost the entire high command of the [Tide] clan.

The reason is simple: the existence of 'sea giants' is almost comparable to 'golden behemoths' among land-dwelling species. In other words, although they have some serious flaws, they are even rarer than dragons, a race that is almost extinct. After a brief observation of Fourteen, [Tide] was even more surprised to find that this hybrid sea giant did not have the innate flaws of pure-blooded species, such as brutality, irritability, loss of control, and low intelligence.

After a brief discussion, the [King of the Tides] immediately issued an order to send all his elite forces to bring the half-sea giant back to the [Tides] tribe's territory using the most 'gentle' means possible, and to classify this as top secret, forbidding anyone from spreading it even within the tribe.

And the ending was just as the [King of the Tides] had hoped for; although there was some stalemate, Fourteen was brought back.

Admittedly, the captain and founder of the [Slaughter] don't seem like good people at all, much less the kind of good people who can resonate with the ideals of the [Tide King] and transcend base desires. But for the 'Sea Giant' race, Fourteen's behavior is already the kindest of the kind.

At least he won't lose his mind without warning and indiscriminately attack all living and non-living things around him.

At least he won't recklessly unleash his power, acting like a wild beast that's difficult to communicate with.

He can even understand human speech!

He can even speak human language!
He can even learn the language of the sea creatures within six months!!!

Although the last one was discovered six months after Fourteen was contained, this did not diminish the heartfelt joy of the [Tide King] and his high-ranking members.

In their view, although Fourteen might not be 'civilized' by the priests in a short time, as long as he is a being capable of normal communication, he will eventually be moved, see through the illusions of the world, and convert to our... uh, [Tide] family.

It's important to understand that eight out of ten of the epic-level powerhouses who went to capture the Fourteenth were once ruthless men who had lived on the edge of a knife. They were the kind of guys who would fly into a rage at the slightest provocation, with their minds filled with thoughts of chopping their enemies into mincemeat. However, after the [King of the Tides] established the 'Deep Blue Bottom', they have become quite gentle after being influenced by it for many years. Although they occasionally use ruthless methods to eliminate threats, in the eyes of other sea creatures, these guys have essentially become 'good people' in the literal sense.

In conclusion, given that the average lifespan of sea creatures is much longer than that of land creatures, and even the most numerous murlocs have a lifespan almost equivalent to that of pure-blooded elves, the [King of the Tides], who has not yet entered 'old age', still has plenty of time to wait for Fourteen to be influenced, and the tribe's higher-ups also have plenty of time to wait for him to be influenced by 'Deep Blue Bottom'.

After that, Fourteen would naturally become the guardian of the race. Although he was only at the peak of the high-level at the time, everyone felt that this hybrid with 50% sea giant bloodline would definitely break through to the epic realm. Once he broke through to the epic realm, he would become the pillar of the race for more than a thousand years to come!

Fourteen himself was also very clear about what the Tide group was thinking, and his assessment of them was... naive.

That's right, it's naive.

It wasn't just ordinary naivety, it was utterly naive!

The reason is simple: although these people's ideas sound plausible, they have overlooked the most important point, which is 'Fourteen's' own thoughts.

Admittedly, surrounded by more than ten epic-level powerhouses, it would be extremely difficult for Fourteen to escape from [Tide] or even 'Deep Blue Bottom' at this moment. However, the problem is that, since there are no legends within the tribe, once Fourteen completes his breakthrough, it is foreseeable that even if the tribe's powerhouses can defeat him in a head-on attack, they will absolutely not be able to stop him from escaping.

Fourteen knew better than anyone that those idiotic priests who were just loafing around in the Deep Blue Bottom were simply not capable of "converting" him before he advanced to the Epic level.

Those idiots don't even understand philosophy, worldview, or philosophy of life as well as the Fourteenth Prince himself. Trying to persuade him to 'convert' or 'become good' under these circumstances is just wishful thinking.

In other words, while [Tide] was calmly waiting for Fourteen to be influenced, Fourteen was also calmly waiting for himself to advance. In this tug-of-war with almost no suspense, Fourteen had no chance of losing from the start.

unless……

The other party wasn't as foolish as he imagined.

Even when that man visited late at night with a smile, Fourteen felt like the naive fool.

In short, no one knows what the two talked about that night, but the result was that Fourteen carried out an unbelievable prison break that very night.

And now-

"It's time to go back..."

The giant, as large as a mountain, lowered his eyes, looked at the ants before him, and revealed a chilling smile.

Chapter 2809: The End
(End of this chapter)