Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

Chapter 123 tells the story of Wall's fear in a lighthearted way.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

After a brief silence, Walter's deafening laughter erupted on the deck.

This usually dignified and imposing second-tier Ripper, without any hesitation, strode forward and patted Xilun's shoulder heavily with his calloused hands.

The immense force caused Xilun's body to sway slightly, but he withstood the force without taking a single step back.

"Well done! Excellent!"

Wall's eyes gleamed with undisguised fervor and admiration, and his voice echoed in the sea breeze, "I've always thought you were a promising young man who, given time, would surely be entrusted with important responsibilities."

But I never expected your performance to be so much better than I anticipated!

Wall looked around at the stunned sailors and escorts and loudly proclaimed the victory.

He desperately needed a crushing defeat like this to restore the Brotherhood's prestige.

Faced with Wall's praise, Xiren simply lowered his head slightly, his tone remaining calm and unsettling: "Lord Wall, I have not failed you. However, I have some unclean things on me, please allow me to go and change my clothes first."

Looking at the deep, bone-revealing but now stopped bleeding knife wounds on Siren's body, a barely perceptible glint flashed in Wall's eyes before he readily nodded: "Go ahead, go to the cabin and rest. We'll handle the rest."

After saying that, Wall suddenly turned around, his smile vanishing instantly, replaced by a chilling murderous intent.

His terrifying eyes, belonging to a second-tier extraordinary being, swept over Cook and Cecily behind him.

"That old bastard Sislow should still be on the island right now."

Wall drew his sword, its blade gleaming coldly in the moonlight. "Pass down the order: no rest! Launch the small boats and land immediately! Seal off every corner of this island! Find Sislow, even if you have to dig three feet into the ground!"

A cruel smile curled at the corner of Wall's lips: "I will personally twist his head off and wipe out the Gray Hemp Pirates completely."

According to Wall's calculations, Sislow must still be fast asleep in some hidden corner, completely unaware of the commotion outside.

Otherwise, if Sislow were awakened and took action himself, given his renowned reputation and terrifying record of killing one and injuring two of four veteran baptists single-handedly, a newcomer like Siron, who had just been baptized, probably wouldn't have lasted three rounds and would have been a floating corpse long ago.

"Lord Wall."

Just as Wall was about to give the order to charge, Siren's slightly hoarse voice came from behind, but it was like a bombshell dropped on a calm lake.

"I met Sislow."

Wall froze, turning to stare intently at Silen, his voice rising an octave involuntarily: "What did you say? You saw Sislow?"

Not only Wall, but Cook and Ceci, who were standing to the side, also changed their expressions instantly.

Cook tightened his grip on the musket, and Ceci's previously languid gaze instantly sharpened like a needlepoint.

Xilun nodded slightly, his expression completely calm: "Yes. Because he suffered serious injuries to his shoulder and leg, he ended up taking the remaining pirates on the island and escaping on a ship."

"They got away?" Wall stood there, stunned, his mind racing. He looked at the sharp knife wounds on Xilen's body and seemed to make a connection, but reason made him immediately dismiss the absurd idea.

Wall took a deep breath, suppressing his shock, and said in a relieved tone, "You're really lucky. It just so happens that Sislow was injured. Otherwise, if he were in his prime, your decapitation operation would have failed completely, and you would have lost your life."

In Wall's subconscious, Sislow must have been injured during a previous raid, which allowed Siren to take advantage of the situation.

However, what Siren said next plunged the entire deck into a deathly silence.

"No, Lord Wall."

Silen raised his head and looked directly into Wall's eyes. "After I successfully infiltrated the pirate ship and killed that scarred first mate with my bare hands, I was discovered by Sislow. I immediately fired a signal flare to try and escape."

Xilun paused, seemingly recalling the fierce battle: "But at the time, I was quite far from the edge of the ship's railing. If I had turned around and run away directly, it would have been easy to expose my back, a fatal weakness, to the other party. In order to buy time to jump into the water, I engaged in a brief exchange with him."

"A fight?!" Cook couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, as if he had heard something unbelievable.

Ignoring Cook's outburst, Xiren continued to state the horrifying truth in a calm tone: "I was indeed no match for him. His swordsmanship was extremely fast, and his qi and blood were incredibly robust. However, I used some special techniques, risking injury, to tear his shoulder, and only then was I able to escape the deck amidst the chaos."

"hiss-

'

A collective gasp rippled through the deck.

Wall, Cook, and Cecily looked at each other, their eyes filled with disbelief and shock.

Wall had an extremely clear assessment of Sislow's abilities.

In his mind, Sislow was the kind of person who was definitely among the top strong among the senior baptists.

Even with Cook and Ceci, two experienced veterans, working together, they could only barely match Sislow on land.

The man before them, Siron, was just a newly minted Extraordinary who had been struggling to earn a few pennies at the bottom of society a few months ago and had just been baptized.

He actually possessed the ability to fight Sislow head-on, and even in a very passive situation, injure his opponent's shoulder and escape unscathed?

This completely defies the strict class norms of the extraordinary world.

Wall's rough, large hands trembled slightly on either side of his trench coat. He swallowed hard, his voice hoarse. "Then—what about his leg injury?"

Xilen glanced at the dark sea, a cold glint in his eyes: "After I entered the water, Sislow did not give up, and he jumped into the water to chase after me."

I'm a pretty good swimmer, and underwater, he couldn't unleash the full power of his sharp black blade, and his speed was also limited.

Using the advantage of the terrain and water pressure, I injured his right leg underwater. However, his counterattack before leaving also caused me some internal injuries.

Silen pointed to his chest: "I lurked in the deep water and watched him drag his broken leg ashore. Then a small boat from the island set off. On board were the badly wounded Sislow and the remaining few terrified pirates."

The entire deck fell into a long, deathly silence once again.

The sea breeze howled through the mast, making a whistling sound.

Wall nodded blankly, his brain somewhat overloaded.

He originally thought it would be a thrilling assassination, but he didn't expect it to be a head-on crushing defeat.

"So that means—" Wall's voice was somewhat ethereal, "Sislow is gone too. This is now a desert island."

After a long period of contemplation, Wall finally recovered from the immense shock.

He gave Xilun a deep look, his gaze containing not only admiration but also something extremely complex.

"Sirlen, you did a great job. Go and rest in your cabin. You don't need to worry about the rest." Wall waved his hand, signaling Sirlen to leave.

Watching Xilun's not-so-robust but exuding a calm and composed aura as he disappeared behind the hatch, Volle let out a long sigh of relief.

He turned to Ceci, who was still in a daze, and instructed her, "Cesci, go to the storeroom and find some of the best healing potions. Send them to Xiren. Remember, the very best."

Sisi nodded silently and turned to leave.

Wall slowly walked to a wooden crate at the edge of the deck and sat down heavily.

He stretched out his fingers and vigorously rubbed his throbbing temples, as if trying to clear the jumbled thoughts in his mind.

"Cook," Wall suddenly spoke, his voice so low that only the two of them could hear it.

Cook stepped forward and bowed slightly.

"Do you know what I was thinking just now?" Wall raised his head, his eyes, belonging to a second-tier Ripper, gleaming with a dark light.

Cook looked at Wall's face, which appeared unpredictable in the moonlight, and pondered for a moment.

As a trusted confidant who had followed Wall for many years, he knew the man's temperament all too well.

"It must be unbelievable."

Cook lowered his voice, still tinged with shock, "After all, for a newly baptized extraordinary individual to be able to infiltrate alone, kill several people, and even defeat a veteran powerhouse like Sislow head-on is truly—truly beyond the realm of common sense."

Upon hearing this, Wall's lips curled into a bitter smile.

He shook his head, took a cigar out of his trench coat pocket, but didn't light it; instead, he held it between his fingers and rubbed it repeatedly.

"Unbelievable? Not only that, Cook."

Wall's voice carried a hint of weariness and deep apprehension. "His ability to cross the ten-nautical-mile deadly waters of the Sirens' Anvil could perhaps be explained by his exceptional swimming skills and the fact that an unknown breathing technique granted him the ability to hold his breath underwater."

However, the terrifying combat power he displayed was truly unbelievable.

Wall's mind kept replaying the calm, almost cold look in Siren's eyes.

He had only ever seen that kind of look in the eyes of monsters who constantly teetered on the edge of life and death and crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

"I even—" Wall's voice was so low it seemed to blend into the darkness of the night, "I felt a faint sense of fear."

""

Cook was startled and abruptly looked up at Wall.

How could a second-order Ripper be afraid of a first-order Baptist?

If this gets out, it will definitely become a laughing stock in the entire underworld of Saint Laurent City.

But Cook couldn't laugh, because he had broken out in a cold sweat when he heard Silen casually recount how he had torn Sislow apart.

Ignoring Cook's shock, Wall muttered to himself, "Thank goodness—thank goodness he's my subordinate. Judging from Mark's assessment, Siren's character is still trustworthy; he's a grateful person with principles."

At this point, a fierce glint flashed in Wall's eyes: "If he were someone else's knife, or one of those unruly wild dogs, then I'm afraid—I might even start to plan some things."

This unspoken statement conceals the coldest, most ruthless, murderous intent of those in power.

For outliers that are beyond our control and grow at an alarming rate, nipping them in the bud is the most basic survival rule on this vast ocean.

Wall shook his head vigorously, as if trying to shake the dark thought out of his mind.

He threw the crumpled cigar into the sea and let out a long sigh.

"Forget it, now is not the time to think about these things."

Wall regained his commander's stern expression. "Cook, you immediately take your men ashore and ransack the island inside and out. Sislow fled in haste; he can't possibly take much with him in such a short time."

The remaining gold, silver, jewels, and extraordinary resources are all ours. Tell the brothers to hurry up and get things done.

"Yes, Lord Wall." Cook accepted the order.

"Then," Wall glanced at the distant horizon, "signal to headquarters, notify Scotland Yard. Whether they decide to occupy the island of Siren's Anvil or turn it into a military fortress is no longer our concern."

"The suppression of the Grey Hemp Pirates is naturally a credit to our Brotherhood, but we also have to consider the opinions of the officials there and make sure the facade is maintained."

"As for Sislow—"

Wall's eyes turned completely cold. "Issue the highest level bounty and search for him slowly. He's so badly injured, he can't have gone far."

Notify me immediately once you find him; I will personally take his head and rip it off.

Meanwhile, in the passenger cabins on the lower deck of an armed merchant ship.

Xilun took off his tattered sharkskin diving suit and carefully wiped away the congealed bloodstains on his body with a rough towel dipped in water.

Warm water flowed over the deep, bone-revealing knife wounds, bringing waves of excruciating pain.

He looked down at the large bruise on his chest, a mark left by Sislow's terrifying burst of blood energy during his near-death struggle underwater.

If it weren't for the powerful blood and qi condensed from the Great Sea Whale Guiding Technique within him, and the black scale patterns hidden beneath his skin protecting him, this kick would have been enough to shatter his heart completely.

"Knock knock knock".

A soft knock came from the door.

Xilun casually threw on a dry linen shirt, walked over, and opened the hatch.

Outside the door, Ceci leaned lazily against the door frame, holding an exquisite black wooden box in his hand.

He looked Xilun up and down, his gaze lingering on the gruesome wounds for a moment, before stepping into the house.

"This is something Lord Vol personally requested; it can accelerate the healing of the flesh and skin of extraordinary individuals."

Cecily placed the box on the table and pushed it in front of Xilun. "We usually apply this when we're seriously injured at sea. You should have some too, so you don't leave any hidden injuries that might affect your future cultivation."

Xilun nodded slightly, without being polite.

He opened the black wooden box, inside which was a fine white powder that emitted a faint, cool scent of mint mixed with some kind of seaweed.

He picked up a pinch of powder and pressed it directly onto the deepest cut on his left arm.

嘶」