Chapter 574: Preparing to Head to Devil's Island!
Kirito nodded after hearing his words.
"Alright. We move first."
"Morgans and his people should already be making preparations."
"At most, they'll arrive here within two days."
"We'll go investigate ahead of time."
Shino immediately agreed.
Kirito and Sinon rarely did anything out in the open on the high seas, and plenty of people did not even know who they were.
After all, the work they handled was always covert support, the kind that stayed in the shadows.
"Shino's right," Kirito said.
"Then we head to Devil's Island under the name of the Sword Pirates."
"This is the kind of place where fists decide everything, so finding somewhere to stay won't be hard."
The rules here felt like a game system.
Because of that, Kirito adapted naturally.
Mars and his three companions also changed into different clothes and pulled up their hoods, hiding their faces.
One elder even put away his sword, wrapped it in black cloth, and carried it across his back.
With their disguises complete, the group headed straight toward Alcatraz Island.
At the same time, a small boat appeared in these waters.
And at the same time, a pirate ship was sailing straight toward it.
This was Devil's Island.
The pirates gathered here were not weak at all.
Under the old bounty system, most of them had bounties in the tens of millions, and plenty were in the hundreds of millions.
"Captain, there's a small boat up ahead."
The lookout on the pirate ship licked his lips.
"There are girls on board."
"There's also an old man."
"Should we rob them?"
"Pirate life's getting harder and harder these days," someone laughed crudely.
"It's not just the Marines hunting us."
"The Revolutionary Army's coming after us too, and even other pirates are biting at our throats."
"Now we finally find some good goods, we have to cash in big!"
The captain of the Hudlow Pirates, Hudlow, slammed his fist down and roared.
"Men, get ready!"
"We'll all have some fun in a bit!"
It was obvious this guy had been holding back for far too long.
They used to live freely on Alcatraz, like kings of their little corner.
Then a group suddenly stormed in and took the territory.
They were not killed, but they were driven out like trash.
Hudlow's anger had been boiling ever since, and hearing there were girls nearby only poured oil onto the fire.
His crew was the same.
A pack of filthy lechers, all of them.
The pirate ship surged forward, rushing toward the small boat.
"Sir. Pirates are coming."
On the small boat, the girl glanced back and spoke calmly to the old man behind her.
"Mm," the old man replied, still seated with his eyes closed.
"No rush."
"We can kill them in a bit."
"It's been so long since I sailed the open sea… the ocean's probably forgotten my little broken boat."
He showed no panic at all.
"Yes, sir."
The girl said nothing more.
She sat down on the deck and continued wiping the long blade in her hands, slow and steady.
…
"A pirate ship is up ahead," Shinon reported as she climbed down from the mast.
"They're about to attack that small boat."
"Should we intervene?"
Shinon personality leaned toward compassion.
When she saw something like this, her first instinct was to help.
Everyone knew what happened to a small boat once pirates set their sights on it.
"Should we just ignore it?" Figarland said, frowning.
"What we're doing here requires stealth."
"If we act and expose our position, it'll be bad for the operation."
Peter nodded as well.
"I agree. Under the current situation, we shouldn't move for now."
"Besides, anyone who can sail a small boat all the way here isn't ordinary."
"Whether we intervene or not, the outcome might be the same."
It had to be said, these people were experienced.
And also very practiced egoists.
"Get ready," Kirito said, voice firm.
"Dealing with one pirate crew isn't difficult."
"No matter who the other side is, we act first."
As he spoke, he drew his sword.
To conceal their identities, the Evictors had been painted white by Kirito.
"Understood."
"Full speed. Close in on the pirate crew ahead."
Shinon spoke quickly as she landed back near the mast.
At the same time, she set up her sniper rifle.
At this pace, they might arrive a little late if they relied on the ship alone.
But Shinon had range.
This distance was more than enough.
After setting everything up, Shinon transformed into a sniper platform and lay perfectly still on the mast.
Her sights never left the pirate ship ahead.
"Captain, there's a pirate ship coming from behind!"
The lookout of the Hudlow Pirates shouted in panic.
"It looks like they're targeting us!"
"What do we do?"
"Run or fight head on?"
These were waters near Alcatraz.
If it was one of the monsters from Devil's Island, they would not stand a chance.
Even at his peak, Hudlow's bounty had only reached 120 million.
On Devil's Island, there were plenty of pirates with bounties in the hundreds of millions.
And the fact that the other ship was coming straight at them screamed confidence.
When Hudlow heard the lookout's report, he had the exact same fear.
They were already like stray dogs.
If they got cornered here, they might be wiped out completely.
"I don't know," the lookout said quickly.
"Based on the flag… it's unfamiliar."
"A knife, a sword…"
"It looks like a new pirate crew!"
That was when Hudlow's expression twisted.
Pirates who showed up here were not always powerful.
Some were just desperate for fame.
All they wanted was to make their name known.
Those people loved challenging stronger pirates, gambling everything for reputation.
That was why every year, some fresh idiot tried to challenge the Four Emperors.
Of course, challenging an Emperor was basically suicide.
So plenty of them chose another path.
They came to Alcatraz.
In the New World, besides the Four Emperors, the fastest way for pirates to become famous was to raid Devil's Island.
If they could take down even a few pirates here, or simply survive an attack from a true powerhouse, they could still gain a terrifying amount of fame.
Hudlow sneered.
"So a rookie crew thinks they can use me as a stepping stone?"
"Fine."
"Let them come."
"When they get close, kill them all."
"Understood, Captain!"
The lookout relayed the order.
At first, the pirates had been lazy, seeing only a small, shabby ship.
Most of them did not even care.
But the moment they heard another crew was coming to stir trouble, their eyes went bloodshot with excitement.
One by one, they began howling like beasts.
If you did not know better, you would think they were all sick in the head.
After spotting Kirito's ship, the Hudlow Pirates slowed down.
They acted as if they could not escape.
That move reassured Shinon and the others even more.
It meant they could enter effective range before the pirates reached the small boat.
A dozen minutes later, the two ships entered striking distance.
On the other side, some pirates were already preparing to move against the girls on the small boat.
A long ladder was slammed against the railing, ready for boarding.
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