Chapter 58: The Empress
Miniature Sweet Orange felt her thoughts gradually clearing. Memories from the battle that had just occurred surfaced continuously. Her expression instantly froze, and the look on her face slowly turned to terror. Soon, she tilted her head back slightly, her mouth wide open, tears welling up in her eyes, and even drool began to flow out.
"Ah!!"
A scream pierced through the dense forest. Miniature Sweet Orange tumbled off the mushroom. Guang Mu stood frozen beside her, pondering how many plant lifeforms Sweet Orange's shriek would attract.
...
The Doom Number surged out of the sea surface. Over the past two days, no major changes had occurred on the Eternal Life Island. All factions had arrived, but they were mostly blocked at the island's outer zones.
The five outer zones—Poison Insect Zone, Crocodile Zone, Snake Zone, Active Plant Zone, and Hunter Zone—had given the three major pirate forces and a group of contractors a taste of Eternal Life Island's hospitality.
Most contractors were in the Hunter Zone and Active Plant Zone. Though they hadn't cooperated, they were attempting to concentrate their firepower to break through these two areas. If they didn't clear these out, any battle in the central zone would inevitably draw monsters from the outer zones with the noise.
All the Eternal Life Island creatures in the five outer zones followed a survival rule: once the central zone was threatened, they would swarm toward it.
These Eternal Life Island creatures possessed some intelligence. After producing offspring or seeds, they would send them to the edge of the central zone, letting them drink from a ring-shaped river or soak in it. The river water was mixed with Primordial Water.
This was why the Eternal Life Island creatures were so powerful. Generations of reproduction, evolution, and adaptation had brought them to their current level.
The Active Plant Zone and Hunter Zone were being cleared by contractors. After two days, progress was decent, but many contractors had been permanently left behind.
The Poison Insect Zone was being cleared by Little Black Witch Sa and his people. Little Black Witch Sa's head had almost been beaten to a pulp, yet he persisted in clearing the area, putting on a show of "trespassers will die."
The remaining Crocodile Zone and Snake Zone—the Snake Zone was being handled by Duke, while the Crocodile Zone was assigned to Twin Towers·Empress.
The three major pirate forces differed from the contractors. They had begun cooperating. Little Black Witch Sa and Duke could hold their ground, even showing signs of breaking through the Snake Zone and Poison Insect Zone.
During this time, pirates kept arriving. Incomplete statistics showed that at least ten thousand ordinary pirates had died on Eternal Life Island in the past two days.
Things weren't going well for Twin Towers·Empress. The Crocodile Zone had a total of 95 giant crocodiles. After Empress's people had killed 42, they couldn't hold out any longer. There was a dominant-level giant crocodile so strong it was terrifying.
Twin Towers·Empress retreated. This infuriated Little Black Witch Sa, who confronted her. For the first time, Empress showed a forceful attitude. In front of everyone, she backhanded him, nearly knocking his head off. This stunned everyone—no one had expected Empress to be this strong.
Twin Towers·Empress and Little Black Witch Sa's people nearly clashed. The final result was that Little Black Witch Sa led his people out of the Poison Insect Zone and into the Crocodile Zone, where he got beaten until he lost consciousness. It was said Little Black Witch Sa was carried out, the white cloth covering him soaked in blood.
When this news spread, everyone gained a new understanding of Twin Towers·Empress. This Empress had disguised herself too well—usually weak and submissive, but at the critical moment, she struck back.
After discussions among the three great pirates, Duke continued to handle the Snake Zone, while Little Black Witch Sa and Empress jointly managed the Poison Insect Zone. Later, the three sides would join forces to clear the Crocodile Zone.
"Boss, that's what happened in the past two days. The situation on the island is basically clear."
Baha landed on the ship's railing, looking half-dead. The past two days had exhausted him.
"Just the Crocodile Zone left?"
Su Xiao felt the situation was getting more interesting. If he wasn't mistaken, in the end, all parties would converge on the cave at the island's center to besiege the dried corpse together. That was almost certainly the final boss of Eternal Life Island. The rewards for killing it would be unimaginably high.
The final boss currently looked like a dried corpse, but Bubu Wang had sensed its aura—it was immense. Once awakened, it would likely be a large-bodied final boss requiring a group assault.
The rewards were so tempting they made one's eyes red. Even the Demon Sea Baptism paled in comparison. But there was one issue: too many people would be besieging the final boss.
Duke's forces, Empress's forces, Little Black Witch Sa's forces, Moon Wolf, Gask, the Warden Squad, and also Guang Mu, Black Rose, and others.
Given the current situation, these people had a high probability of appearing. During the outer zone clearing, no conflicts would erupt because, with fewer people, they genuinely couldn't defeat the final boss of Eternal Life Island.
At that point, it would come down to who could kill the final boss with the highest attack intensity. Without a team mechanism, the killer got everything, and the losers got nothing.
In this regard, Su Xiao wasn't worried at all. Demon Blade could kill targets with less than 25% health. At the end, he would first lay down Azure Shadow King, then finish with Demon Blade.
Thinking of this, Su Xiao decided to act now. He would head to the Giant Crocodile Zone and clear that area first. He still had 118,500 Demon Sea Gold Coins, enough to replenish many curse people. If he ran short at the end, he could squeeze some from Kaisa—that guy definitely had no less than 80,000 Demon Sea Gold Coins.
After clearing the five outer zones, three wild big bosses lurked at the edge of the central zone. All factions would then split up to deal with them.
The dominant-level giant crocodile in the Crocodile Zone, then the three wild big bosses in the central zone, and finally the final boss, the dried corpse. Every battle would be tough, but the rewards would be correspondingly high.
The Doom Number anchored near Eternal Life Island. Su Xiao took Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha onto a small boat. A group of curse people also detached from the Doom Number's hull.
Reaching the island's shore, Su Xiao walked on the sandy beach. Scattered limbs and broken arms littered the sand. In some places, the sand hadn't yet been soaked through with blood—leftovers from the giant crocodiles chasing pirates.
After passing through a dense forest ahead, a swampy area appeared, where the giant crocodiles lurked.
Su Xiao entered the forest first. The smell of decaying leaves drifted into his nostrils, mixed with a faint stench of blood.
The surrounding vegetation showed extensive trampling marks. Su Xiao followed these traces for about two kilometers until a swampy wetland appeared ahead.
...
In the Poison Insect Zone, a cluster of crude wooden huts had been set up. Many pirates sat on the ground between the huts. Some had lost arms, the white cloth wrapped around their stumps red with a hint of black—clearly poisoned.
"Captain, most of the poison insects have retreated into their nests. Should we really continue? The brothers are all..."
A pirate with blood-stained white cloth wrapped around his head and a sallow complexion spoke. He was the navigator of the Black Witch Sa Pirate Group, holding a high position on the ship.
"Continue."
A pale-faced, gloomy young man spoke. His aura was like a black mamba—cold, venomous. This young man was Little Black Witch Sa, currently the captain of the Black Witch Sa Pirate Group.
"Little Black Witch Sa, is this really okay?"
Twin Towers·Empress, wearing a dark brown leather jacket, spoke. The front slit of her leather jacket was extremely low, almost down to her navel. Her attire had changed since she needed to fight.
"Are you questioning me?"
Little Black Witch Sa glanced sideways at Twin Towers·Empress. She tilted her head slightly, seemingly backing down, not wanting another conflict with him.
"Come inside to discuss."
Little Black Witch Sa strode into a wooden hut, followed by three trusted subordinates. Twin Towers·Empress also entered, followed by her two trusted subordinates, 'Silver Snake·Xiu Lu' and 'Heart Ripper·Liedixiya.'
The wooden door closed. Twin Towers·Empress stretched her slightly stiff neck and sat on the only chair in the room. She crossed her legs, the brown leather boots on her feet adorned with a small ring of red gems.
With a thud, Little Black Witch Sa dropped to his knees, a fawning expression on his face. The five pirate leaders in the room seemed unfazed, as if used to this.
"You've performed well lately, especially that stab at your father. It wasn't wasted getting that knife for you."
Hearing Twin Towers·Empress's words, Little Black Witch Sa's face no longer held any coldness. Instead, it showed a genuine, yet doll-like joy. He was indeed selfish, but not to the point of patricide. Someone had tampered with Little Black Witch Sa, making him do those incomprehensible things. This seed had been planted long ago—by Empress.
Why did Little Black Witch Sa take on the toughest nut, the Poison Insect Zone? It was actually to eliminate dissidents, manipulated by Empress.
"West Sea King was taken out by the Doom Number's captain. That was expected. Black Witch Sa's side is also cleaned up. Only Duke remains."
Twin Towers·Empress glanced at Little Black Witch Sa, considering when to dispose of this waste. His value was basically drained.
Just then, Empress began talking to herself.
"Sister, you've worked hard all this time."
"How could I? Whatever sister asks, I'll do well."
"Sister, there's one last thing I want you to do."
Twin Towers·Empress continued her self-dialogue. The others in the room stood facing the wall. Only these five pirate leaders knew Empress's true face and abilities. They were willing to follow capable people, and Empress was among the best.
"Sister, the matter of the Sea King's Horn wasn't handled well enough. You silly child, you should have given that horn segment to the Doom Number's captain, not tried to give it to Duke."
"Sister, I..."
"Sister, I said there's one last thing I want you to do."
"Sister, tell me."
"Sister, can you... die? With you here, I'm not complete."
"Since it's sister's request, then I'll die."
With these words, Twin Towers·Empress's head drooped. A tear flowed from her right eye, tracing down her cheek, finally dripping from her chin. This tear might have been Empress's reluctance to let go of her sister, or her sister's attachment to this world.
The tear splattered on the wooden floor. Empress raised her head. Her gaze had changed. The five pirate leaders in the room all knelt on one knee before her.
"Empress, welcome back."
"Mm."
Empress slowly stood up. Suddenly, she kicked forward. Little Black Witch Sa's head burst like a watermelon. Blood and brain matter splattered everywhere, covering the five pirate leaders' faces and bodies. But none of them dared move.
With a thud, Little Black Witch Sa's headless body fell. Empress stepped over his corpse. At the door, she seemed to think of something, slightly turning her head to say:
"Find some place to bury this waste."
"As you command."
Four pirate leaders began dealing with the body. The last one picked up a pirate hat with feathers stitched on its edge and respectfully handed it to Empress. The Empress of the Demon Sea had awakened. Now there was no Twin Towers, only Empress.
...
In the Snake Zone, on a pile of hundred-meter-tall python corpses, Duke sat shirtless, staring at a gem in his hand. The gem bore a Twin Towers pattern, now cracked at its center, the pattern completely shattered.
"Empress has awakened. Death Knell."
"Here."
"Go inform Bai Ye. Tell him everything about Empress."
"Sir, this..."
"Bai Ye is far more trustworthy than Empress. Bai Ye is a madman, no doubt, but he dares to act and take responsibility. Go."
"Yes."
The pirate leader Death Knell·Gang Ji walked toward the nearby forest. Before he could enter, he saw several figures approaching.
"Who goes there!"
"Death Knell, come back."
Duke leaped down from the corpse pile. He saw Su Xiao approaching from the forest with several curse people.
"Twin Towers·Empress..."
"Empress has awakened..."
Su Xiao and Duke spoke almost simultaneously, then both stopped, falling silent.
"Temporary alliance, then. Empress's own forces, plus her absorption of Black Witch Sa, make her very difficult to deal with now."
Duke spoke with a hint of displeasure in his eyes. He asked, "That witch—you created her?"
"Yes."
"You! Hah~"
Duke slowly exhaled, calming himself. He couldn't deny that he really wanted the Primordial Water.
Su Xiao had come here to seek cooperation with Duke. He hadn't expected Duke to have the same intention—a perfect match.
As for how Su Xiao knew about Empress's situation, after Twin Towers·Empress and Little Black Witch Sa joined forces, Bubu Wang sensed something was off. Though silly, it wasn't stupid. It had been watching all day and finally got results. Bubu Wang had a good chance of becoming the 'MVP of the Eternal Life Island Battle.'
After reaching a preliminary agreement, Su Xiao left with his people. Duke continued leading his men to clear the Snake Zone.
Behind a tree near the negotiation site, a figure leaned against the trunk—Moon Wolf. He had been passing by, planning to check on the Hunter Zone next door, when he witnessed Su Xiao and Duke's alliance.
Moon Wolf's original purpose in entering the Demon Sea World was another high-risk area, the Great Whirlpool, but he hadn't found it. Now that he could reach Eternal Life Island, he was in a good mood.
But upon arriving, Moon Wolf found things weren't what he expected. That hunter named Bai Ye had not only lured a large number of contractors to Eternal Life Island but also drawn in the pirate forces.
Of the four largest pirate forces in this world, three had arrived. The absent one was because that hunter named Bai Ye had wiped it out, so it couldn't come.
Thinking of this, Moon Wolf's head ached. He had originally thought Eternal Life Island would be a deserted island survival + treasure hunt + high-reward killing.
Instead, it had become almost a war zone. Those great pirates kept bringing in wave after wave of men, sacrificing over ten thousand pirate lives to stabilize the situation on Eternal Life Island.
Moon Wolf had a nagging worry: would he fight for days, only to end up 'working' for someone else?
Thinking of this, Moon Wolf's mood was complicated. He had spent 150 Soul Coins to get the coordinates of Eternal Life Island, only to find the situation completely different from what he had imagined.
"What a pain."